Paul Gauguin Cruises Dining Experience

For many travelers like my husband and I, the quality of the food and wine aboard a cruise ship is an integral aspect of the vacation. We look for cruise lines that offer a variety of dining experiences from multi-course chef's table menus to a strong main dining room to casual snack options and room service. We especially appreciate cruise lines—Seabourn, SeaDream, Celebrity, and Azamara to name a few—that aren't afraid to use spices and the salt shaker!

As we prepared for our French Polynesian vacation, we wondered about the food that would be served by Paul Gauguin Cruises. I have to admit that we were a bit apprehensive. This ship used to be managed by Regent Seven Seas and we'd been disappointed in the past with the food aboard a Regent ship (too bland and too many repeat menus during a 14-day voyage).

We knew that an entirely new company, Paul Gauguin Cruises (part of Pacific Beachcomber), now owned and managed the m/s Paul Gauguin. But we still were a tad worried that the provisions purveyors would be the same and, perhaps, disappointing. We were more than pleasantly surprised by what we found aboard the PG and were impressed with the overall culinary experience.

Download a pdf of m/s Paul Gauguin dinner menus here.

Executive Chef Mark Bishop held court over the kitchens during our cruise. His menus were varied and included mainstay favorites like chateaubriand and lasagna, mouth-watering low-sodium and vegetarian menus, and dishes that took advantage of regional foods (like moonfish and local pineapple).

He was accessible to guests and presented several cooking demonstrations during the voyage. Visiting Chef James Dean Max of Fort Lauderdale's 3030 Ocean was also aboard and we enjoyed his demos as well.

There are three restaurants aboard Paul Gauguin:

• L'Etoile—a la carte dinner only, no reservations necessary
  
  
• La Veranda—buffet and a la carte breakfast and lunch, a la carte dinner, reservations necessary
  
  
• Le Grill (called Pacific Grill in the evening)—buffet breakfast and lunch, grilled specialties at dinner, reservations necessary

There was only one night for which we couldn't get reservations at the restaurant of our choice (La Veranda).

My husband enjoyed the complimentary wines served throughout the cruise. Here's a short list of a few bottles that were on offer during our itinerary:

Whites
Cantaluna Sauvignon Blanc, Casablanca Valley, Chile
Pinot Grigio, Bollo Italy
Cycles Gladiator, Chardonnay, Central Coast, California
Mount Riley, Sauvignon Blanc, Marlborough, New Zealand

Reds
Seven Deadly Zins, Zinfandel, California
Santa Alicia Reserva, Carmenere, Maipo Valley, Chile
Koonunga Hill Penfolds, Shiraz-Cabernet Sauvignon, Australia
Cycles Gladiator, Pinot Noir, California

All in all, we were very happy with the cuisine on board. Room service was quick and efficient (although the server did not set the table for us on two occasions). The breakfast buffet at Le Grill was extensive. Lunch was the weakest link with themed buffets featuring French, Pacific, German, Tex-Mex, and Italian specialties. Some lunches, like the German spread, were excellent and others lacked luster. Dinners were uniformly excellent in all dining venues. Portions were just right and the presentation was always impressive. I'm still yearning for more of L'Etoile's Tahitian Wok entree!

—Andrea M. Rotondo for LuxuryCruiseBible.com

Photos © Leonard Hospidor