Dining
Inspired Cuisine — Every Day of Your Trip
During your river cruise, you’ll savor a sumptuous dinner of beef with shallot red wine sauce and sautéed forest mushrooms with bacon. Or a juicy burger grilled just the way you like it. Visit the buffet brimming with field-fresh salads, local cheeses, and homemade breads hot from the oven. You may even choose from a selection of local vintages to complement your dinners.
We can call our meals "inspired" because they’re inspired by our travelers, whose tastes are reflected in the culinary marvels whipped up by our expert chefs, who have been trained at Europe’s best culinary schools. With so many of your meals included, you’ll have ample opportunity to sample the best of regional cuisine — on board our ships, in our hotels, in restaurants, even at tastings on board and at private venues, where we learn (right from the source) how some of the local delicacies are prepared and, most importantly, how scrumptious they taste!
Fine fare in the Bourbon Street Bistro
The Bourbon Street Bistro is our main shipboard dining venue. Here, you can enjoy breakfast, lunch, and dinner, featuring a menu of gourmet cuisine based on classic continental and American favorites, as well as regional specialties and healthy choices at every meal. Dinners are single-seating dining with no seating plan, so you can dine with whomever you choose. Some breakfasts and lunches are served buffet-style. In this refined yet relaxed setting, you’ll also find crisp white table linens, fine crystal, Villeroy & Boch dinnerware and silverware, fresh flowers, and attentive service.
Healthy Choices at Every Meal
Along with the international fare you’ll also find many American favorites and choices for the health-conscious — such as a broiled filet of halibut — noted with an asterisk on the daily menu. Lighter fare is served for lunch and dinner in the Cotton Club Lounge (See below), and you are welcome to help yourself to a fresh fruit smoothie, available in the lounge. We are happy to accommodate any special dietary requests you may have, such as vegetarian, lactose-free, gluten-free, and diabetic fare — provided that you make requests to Vantage prior to departure. Please make your needs known at the time of booking, then confirm with the reception desk or Concierge once on board.
Dine Alfresco in Our Cotton Club Lounge
For a change of pace while you cruise aboard the
ms River Splendor, you'll also be able to dine in the new Cotton Club Lounge seating area, where you can enjoy healthy spa cuisine and other lighter choices, buffet-style. The Cotton Club Lounge boasts floor-to-ceiling windows for incomparable views. When the weather is right we retract the glass roof and slide open the back wall for a full al fresco experience. While seating is open during the day, demand is high at dinnertime and reservations are required. Send a request to your concierge prior to your cruise to confirm the evening you prefer, or wait and reserve once you are on board.
View our sample menu
In-Room Dining
If you have chosen accommodations in our Owner’s Suite or Deluxe Suite categories — or if you are a member of our President’s Club and have chosen any cabin category — you have the option of taking your meals in your room. In-room breakfasts are continental, but you may order lunch and dinner right off the regular menu. Simply speak to your steward in advance so that we may accommodate your wishes.
Raise a glass
Aboard your Vantage river ship, local wines — as well as beer and soft drinks — are included with lunch and dinner during your cruise. And in the lounge, you’ll find a full cocktail selection available for purchase during the afternoon and evening, in addition to fruit smoothies throughout the day.
Venues as memorable as the menus
And along with your included shipboard meals, you’ll have frequent opportunities to sample regional fare on land. Depending on your itinerary, you might share lunch with a Croatian family in their Vukovar home … try traditional specialties — like paprika and sausage in Hungary — during tastings … or seek out tempting treats while exploring on your own. Our onboard Concierge will have plenty of recommendations for great restaurants, and can help make your reservations, too.
