Where to stay

Travel Information

The itinerary

Mediterranean cruises on Oceania feature iconic spots including the likes of Corfu, western Sicily, Amalfi, Portofino and the French Riviera. No two itineraries are the same. Vista offers a ten-day Athens-to-Monte Carlo
trip on 3 Oct 2025, visiting Santorini, Rhodes, Heraklion, Syracuse, Civitavecchia, Livorno and Marseille. Allura, the new sister ship to Vista that will set sail in July 2025, departs from Athens to Monte Carlo on

24 July. The 12-day itinerary will also stop at Valletta, Barcelona and Saint Tropez. The 5 August departure will include Türkiye. Find more itineraries and sailing dates at oceaniacruises.com.

Where to eat

All venues are complimentary and feature open seating. Speciality restaurants (S) work on a reservation-only policy

Aquamar Kitchen The restaurant of choice for wellness-oriented guests. Breakfast options range from cold-pressed raw juices and superfood smoothies to energy bowls, avocado toasts, omelettes and banana pancakes, while lunch might be poké, yellowfin tacos with cabbage slaw and colourful salads. Drinks include a range of non-alcoholic and low-sugar wines. Eat at the convivial communal table by the counter or enjoy the view from a table next to the floor-to-ceiling windows, soaking in a beach-club ambiance. Breakfast, lunch. Deck 12

Baristas and The Bakery When it comes to caffeine cravings, the bright bar on deck 14 has you covered. Coffee options from espresso to a variety of lattes come with panoramic sea views. The adjacent bakery offers a rotating selection of pastries, pies and finger sandwiches, and the comfy sofas and armchairs in the seating area make for a relaxing corner when it’s too hot outside. All day, plus pre-dinner apéritifs at Baristas. Deck 14

Ember (S) The sleek fireplace, exposed-brick ceilings and laid-back California vibes of Oceania‘s latest addition make you feel as if you’re in a Sonoma winery. American classics include porcini-dusted, bone-in ribeye steak with foie gras-truffle demi-glace; marinated pork chops with creamy polenta and barbecue sauce; and scrumptious roasted apple tart with Humphry Slocombe gourmet ice cream. Sip on a smooth cabernet from California or a slightly drier Chilean. Dinner. Deck 5

Polo Grill (S) With its white linen tablecloths, dark wood furnishing and high-back leather chairs, not to mention the black jacketed waiters, this place could be an exclusive polo club on water. Beef is a speciality – to enhance tenderness and flavour, the meat is 28-day, dry-aged, certified Black Angus USDA. Excellent fish alternatives include grilled swordfish and a decadent lobster Wellington. To finish, try the Polo Quintet, a selection of the executive chef’s favourite desserts, including Americana classics such as chocolate fudge brownie and caramelised New York cheesecake. Dinner. Deck 14

Red Ginger (S) French-Indochina is the influence for this Pan-Asian restaurant with a long and articulated menu. Start with a spicy duck and watermelon salad with cashews, mint and Thai basil, then move on to a seven spice-crusted lamb rack with fresh wasabi-lamb jus. Drink options include a premium saké selection, plus Japanese and Thai beers and Asian-inspired cocktails that call on spices such as lemongrass, ginger and turmeric along with exotic fruits like lychees. Dinner. Deck 5

Terrace Café A relaxed all-day affair with a vast choice of international-inspired dishes, along with tasty roasted and rotisserie meats. Come evening, freshly made, hand-cut sushi and sashimi are added to the list along with lobster tails grilled to perfection. Dine indoors or take in the scenery from the stylish terrace. The Chef’s Market Dinner takes place here twice on every cruise and showcases locally inspired specialities made with the freshest ingredients from the ports of call. Breakfast, lunch, dinner. Deck 5

Toscana (S) An elegant showcase of all things Italian, from hand-blown Venetian glass to Carrara marble and custom-made Versace china. All the classics of Italian cuisine are here, be it Milanese staples like cotoletta and ossobuco or southern favourites such as caprese salad and Sardinian roast suckling pig. A glass of DOCG Chianti is an essential accompaniment. Salute! Dinner. Deck 14

Food Glossary

Food and Travel Review

Strong, intense and unfiltered. Our mornings in Heraklion starts with a cup of Greek coffee - its thick mouthfeel mitigated by the comforting creaminess of freshly backed bougatsa, one of Crete's most delectable pastries. The historic Phyllosophies café is bursting with life, from our upstairs seating to the terrace in the main square, where the lions of the Morosini Fountain evoke a time when Venetian rule held sway over this part of the Mediterranean.

We are on the second day of our Yachts and Palaces cruise onboard Oceania Vista and this chef-led Culinary Discovery Tour is more than your average excursion. It’s a chance to delve into Greek life through the universal language of food.

Chef John Stephano leads us along Heraklion’s busy pedestrian streets. A brief walk separates us from our alfresco lunch at Peskesi restaurant, well known for its organic farm situated just outside town. A feast of flavourful dishes follows, from the tenderest slow-cooked lamb with kefalotyri cheese all the way to a shot of rose-infused liqueur to round things off.

See these tomatoes?’ asks John, while dishing a colourful salad on to our plates. ‘They were likely picked in the shade last night, to protect the nutrients and the quality. When you cut through them, they’re not loose and wet – they’re juicy and succulent. And the goats’ cheese! You can taste the freshness of the milk as well as the grains, grasses and wildflowers the goats grazed on in the fields.’

Oceania’s mantra, ‘built by foodies, run by foodies, for foodies’, is still upheld 22 years after its launch. Our 11-day cruise across the Mediterranean is an indulgent journey from island to island – from cold-pressed Cretan olive oil and mineral wines produced on the slopes of Mount Etna to the huge lemons grown along the Amalfi coast and the scent of freshly cut Genoese basil, ready to be turned into the most perfect pesto.

It’s not just about the pleasure of immersive experiences ashore, though. Oceania has the highest percentage of personnel devoted to the dining experience, with one chef to every ten guests. Half of the ship’s crew are dedicated to the culinary aspect of the journey, something unmatched by other cruise lines. Launched to great acclaim in 2023, Vista further enhances that reputation. Its nine restaurants – each with its own kitchen and staff – are a microcosm of world cuisine, ranging from Asian to American and Italian. They offer flexible dining options, health-oriented menus and exceptional pairings, such as the Dom Pérignon Experience.

A dinner at Toscana restaurant is a must while sailing on the Mediterranean. Here, the mood is set by the cart featuring an extensive selection of olive oils and vinegars from different regions of Italy that is rolled out alongside our bread basket. And, oh, the bread... A wide selection of baked goods, including an airy and golden rosemary focaccia, a crunchy schiacciatina flatbread and thick breadsticks. A culinary journey across Italy, then, before we even get to look at the menu. And that menu, featuring a selection of Italian classics, will not disappoint.

‘It all starts with the produce,’ explains Vista executive chef Kevin Symes Salazar. ‘We source as much as we can locally – and we taste every preparation and every dish before each service. Every single day, in all our outlets. That really raises the bar. So I never sit down and have a meal – I taste non-stop from 9am,’ he laughs.

The Italian connection continues at Baristas, where Massimo and Barbara serve Italian espresso all day long, using a Victoria Arduino coffee machine and paying close attention to small but important details like preheating the espresso cups, Neapolitan-style.

Captain Luca Manzi gets his daily dose of caffeine here. And, like all Italians, he loves talking about food. ‘What sets Oceania apart is thoughtful research on ingredients and a commitment to maintaining high-quality produce. The food has been a key element from the start, explains the Liguria-born captain, who has been at the helm of Oceania vessels since its inception in 2003. ‘Whenever I feel homesick, I go to Toscana or I come here,’ he smiles as we sip our macchiato looking down on the pool deck. ‘I’d never been a fan of Asian food, but I found myself converted after eating at Red Ginger. The combination of flavours intrigues me.’

It’s easy to understand why the Asian outlet on deck 5 is a big favourite. Pan-Asian cuisine that ranges from Thai classics like a mildly spiced tom kha gai soup – light, fragrant and creamy – to Japanese ramen and slow-cooked Indonesian beef rendang.

The Chef’s Market Dinner is another highlight of the trip. Held in the Terrace Café, it showcases the best cuisine from one of the countries visited on the cruise. In our case, it was an Italian-themed do; an epicurean banquet with a lavish assortment of tomatoes – plum, cherry, heirloom, you name it – mozzarella and melt-in-the- mouth burrata, delectable prosciutto, freshly filled cannoli. There was even a whole porchetta.

‘It’s held for two evenings in a row, as we want to give everybody the chance to experience it,’ explains Kevin, while we wander along the fresh pasta counter, pondering whether to go for fettuccine or ravioli. ‘The chefs are invited to get creative according to what’s in season, local and fresh. Even though we have our regular suppliers, we like to venture out, get in a taxi and hit the market, wander around, deal directly with local farmers and get inspired. Last week, for the Greek-themed dinner, among other things, we came up with 12 different kinds of olives. This is a very exciting part of our job in this company. We love it.’

Towards the end of our cruise, we meet Philly-born chef John again, this time in the fully equipped, state-of-the-art teaching kitchen of The Culinary Center for a Taste of Greece cooking class.

‘Chef Kathryn Kelly, the founder and driving force behind The Culinary Center, created something magical; over 100 culinary classes,’ he explains while we learn to make Corfu’s pastitsio, accompanying our efforts with a shot of ouzo. ‘Like our immersive tours, they are the result of unbelievably extensive travel around the world. There’s a lot of research behind each one of them.

‘Some of our tours take the guests into a local market,’ he adds. ‘Tours are awesome when you don’t see a lot of lollipops, when you dive into the culture and the only thing you hear is not just the local language, but the dialect. Then you know you’re in the right place. We give participants some local currency and a shopping list. Sometimes they don’t even know how to translate the words. First, they get nervous, and then they get super excited, buzzing all over the place. Most sellers at the market are farmers themselves – they care about the people who are going to eat their food and want to help our guests pick the best produce. They create a connection. Then we bring our shopping bags back to the ship, buy some local wines, create a menu, cook the ingredients into culturally specific recipes in class, with the backdrop. Now, how cool is that?’