The cruise line loved by foodies where every restaurant is free onboard

SORRY, Shakespeare – music is not the food of love. Food is.

I’m three days into a voyage on Oceania Cruises’ Vista ship and I’m besotted with its cuisine, which is doing a very good job of living up to the company’s promise of being the finest at sea.

Matt Dutile Creative

Actually, I’m loving everything about this ship.

The decor veers from classy Art Deco in the Grand Dining Room to hand-cut mosaics in Italian eatery Toscana and lilypad-like loungers in the pool.

“It looks like they are floating,” the ship’s designer tells me.

I’m not convinced but they are certainly a lovely place to top up the tan.

In the atrium, a spectacular two-deck-high glass sculpture that changes colour looks like a shoal of fish swimming to the ceiling.

My cabin features a huge bathroom and super-sized shower, a private balcony and a bed so comfy, it is a struggle to get up each morning. It is not even the best in the house.

That honour goes to the Owners’ Suites. These span the width of the ship and are decked out by Ralph Lauren Home.

They have separate dining and living rooms and come with a butler, lots of free booze and first dibs on tables in the restaurants.

But food is the star of the show on Vista, which has one chef for every ten passengers — it holds 1,200 holidaymakers, . . .  so that is a lot of cooks!

And there are so many places to eat — a week is not long enough to try them all.

Best of all, they are free on the grounds that Oceania Cruises cannot promise the finest cuisine at sea and then charge for it.

I start my culinary journey in the Grand Dining Room, where the multi-course dinner menu changes daily and there are no set dining times or seating plans — just turn up and eat when you are ready.

There is no less a feast at the Terrace Café buffet.

This is my favourite spot for an al-fresco breakfast and it is even better for dinner, where serving stations groan under the weight of salads, seafood, steaks and stir-fries.

I head to the create-your-own pasta station and order spaghetti laced with garlic and chilli. Luckily I’m travelling solo!

That is just for starters, though. The next four days are a foodie feast as I do the rounds of the four speciality restaurants.

Matt Dutile Creative

Detox body wrap

In Polo Grill, a fancy restaurant with a clubby feel, I enjoy a 14oz ribeye steak.

And in Toscana, a posh Italian, I have eggplant rolls, white bean soup, homemade pasta and suckling pig.

Talk about guilty pleasures. So guilty that the next day I seek out the gym for all sorts of instruments of torture. And there are free yoga and fitness classes.

All good stuff, but give me the detox body wrap in the spa that promises wonders for the mind, body and soul any day.

Matt Dutile Creative

The healthy stuff ticked, it is time to undo the good work in Red Ginger, with chic red-and-black decor and a wall of glass lanterns that appear to float. At least that’s what the designer tells me.

He clearly has a thing about floating and who am I to argue?

The food is as gorgeous as the decor — gently spiced rather than blow-your-head-off hot — and beautifully served.

A fourth speciality restaurant, Ember (think upscale grill with fast service), is being replaced later this year by French fare at Jacques, a favourite on other Oceania ships for its Dover sole and scallop and watercress carpaccio.

Still hungry? You can indulge in burgers and pizzas in Waves, go (a bit) healthier in Aquamar, grab a Danish or two in the bakery in Baristas coffee shop and even learn to cook in the Culinary Centre.

There are lessons in everything from making risotto to dressing salads.

It costs extra, but you get to tuck into your culinary creation at the end.

After all, Oceania doesn’t want anyone on Vista to go hungry.

Not when they could be dining on the finest cuisine at sea.