Here’s Everything I Ate on a Luxury River Cruise (Main Meals, Buffet and More)

I booked a luxury cruise on the Uniworld river ship, SS La Venezia, in a sale. Normally this trip would have been out of my price range, but I got a really good deal.

I was so excited to find out what luxury cruising was about.

We sailed around Venice and the Islands in the Venetian Lagoon In July 2024. It was really hot!

The food onboard was wonderful, we were never short of high-quality food options to choose from. The staff were very attentive.

The ship had only 96 passengers onboard, and there were 44 attentive crew members to look after us.

In this article, you can look at the menus and photos of the food we ate when onboard.

Dinner Day 1

Every dinner, there was a sit-down meal, all of this food is included in the cruise fare!

There are a few extra wines you can buy but all other wines are included.

Buffet Lunch & Dinner Day 2

We had a buffet lunch and dinner on day two, because there was an included excursion in the evening.

It was never too busy and the staff were always around to get us drinks. By the end of the cruise I didn’t even have to order my favourite drink, a coke zero, they’d just ask me and bring one!

Day 3 Lunch

One day we decided to skip the excursion and stay on the ship for lunch, there was only 5 of us who did this so they didn’t put on the full buffet, understandably!

They still provided a three course sit down meal and I decided to have both desserts, because why not.

Theres no limit on how much you can order!

Dinner Day 3

In the bottom right was a selection of always available options.

Day 4 Buffet Lunch

I had some odd combinations for lunch but that’s the great thing about a buffet, you can have whatever you’d like even if the things don’t necessarily go together.

There is a pizzeria onboard on the top deck but during our cruise this wasn’t ever used as it was too hot. I thought that was a shame because I love pizza but it was very very hot in Venice in July!

Dinner 4

There was a starter and a soup option but I usually opted for one or the other. That is totally fine!

Dinner Day 5

The presentation of the food was always fantastic.

Dinner 6

I did find that when I ordered the vegetarian options the portions were much smaller than the meat versions, this is common on cruise ships for some reason!

Allergens and vegetarian options were clearly marked on all the menus.

Dinner 7

The great thing about river cruising is that if you have any dietary needs the chefs will be able to work with you to custom make dishes if there’s nothing on the menu you like or can eat.

This is a massive benefit of having such a high staff-to-passenger ratio.

We also received the additional starter/ palette cleanser below that we didn’t order. It was mostly prawns and caviar!

Other Buffet Options

Breakfast and lunch were usually a buffet and the times varied depending on the excursions of the day.

The breakfast buffet often ended quite early (sometimes 8am or 9am).

There were pastries available after this time in the main lounge, but I often skipped breakfast if we weren’t going out on an excursion. I’m not a big fan of breakfast.

I love how they even cut the edges off the cucumber, to me that shows just how much care and attention was given to each item!

Before You Go

Compare the above food with the food served by the budget Italian cruiseline Costa. I think they provided excellent value for money:

Everything I Ate on my Costa Cruise (Photos and Menus) – Food Review

Find out what is the difference between eating in the buffet and the main dining room on a cruise ship here:

What is the Difference Between Eating in the Buffet or the Main Dining Room on a Cruise Ship?