Lessons Learned - Food

Are you an eat-to-live (e2l) person or a live-to-eat (l2e) person? I'll give you a minute to ponder that.

(jeopardy music, da da da da da da da, da da da da da DA, dadadadada, etc)

I want to be the former but I'm the latter. I accept it. Maybe it's my heritage, (food=love), or maybe it's just my firm belief that breaking bread together is the best and most wonderful way to engage with people and to bring them into fellowship with one another. Perhaps it's both. But if you're the e2l type, you can treat this post like the fine print of a drug interaction disclaimer and ignore it or just skim it for only the words that apply to you like bacon, lobster and filet. But if you're an l2e person, get a cup of coffee and maybe a croissant, find a comfy chair and savor every morsel of this post.

Napoleon is said to have claimed that an army marches on its stomach.

And while comparing a modern cruise ship to a unit of the Grande Armée might be a bit of a stretch, both face the same basic problem: how to keep several thousand people constantly supplied as they move from one place to the next. It's a logistical phenomenon, in my opinion. The sheer quantity of food we consume is staggering. Even a relatively small cruise ship, like the Viking Orion, with a maximum capacity of 930 passengers, goes through some 5,000 eggs per day to name just one example. Those chickens must be exhausted! Then consider the variety and the quality aspects of feeding 2000 passengers and 900 crew 3+ meals a day. It's mind boggling.

For those of you reading this because you're booked on the WC 2024 or the WC 2025, you should know up front that the number of eating venues is limited compared to other ships. There are basically 2 included options, the diningroom and the buffet. There are also 2 mini outlets, one that serves excellent pizza and a grill that serves basic hamburgers, hot dogs and sandwiches. If you go there, order the fries extra crispy.

But, or should I say BUT, what they lack in outlets, they more than make up for in their willingness and mission to make your dining experience the best it can be. I'm going to break this post into 2 parts. The first is the basic, informative "here's what you get" on this cruise if you do nothing but show up. The second part will be about all the ways I learned to elevate your dining experience and make it extra special. My mouth is already watering.

Here's the scoop on the standard, included offerings:

The dining room offers classic white table cloth service 3 meals per day, except port days when it's just breakfast and dinner. We never ate breakfast in the dining room and just had lunch there twice. If you prefer to be served, that's where you should eat. The service is GREAT, variety is good, and they handle special requests amazingly well. I'll discuss that more in the next section. The day's menu is available on the medallion app, so you know if you'll find something you like.

Tonight we ate dinner in the dining room. As mentioned before, it's all white tablecloth service where they put the napkin in your lap if you forget. Here's the menu from the themed Italian night.

By this point, if you eat in the diningroom regularly, you sit at the same table with the same waiter and guests. If you like a certain drink, it's waiting for you when you arrive. They know how you like your steak and they know your favorite salad dressing. It's wonderful. I'm going to miss it (the service, not the dressing).

The Buffet:

Then there's the buffet. Not to disparage it in anyway, but it's an upscale Golden Corrale. It's convenient, easy to navigate, a wide variety and plenty!!! It's also surprisingly good. Just add salt to your liking. It's open from 6am to 11pm, so good for snacks too.

Breakfast is ALL the normal breakfast fare everyday and a few casseroles that rotate. They have lox everyday which my wife loves. They also have a section for custom omlettes and such. You can eat light or heavy, hot or cold, sweet or savory. They have it all. Here are some pics to give you an idea.

Not surprisingly, they serve coffee like it's coming out of a keg. I love that.

Lunch is also served at the buffet and always offers sandwiches (hot and cold), pastas (hot and cold), salads (lettuce-based and mayo/vinegar- based combinations like Waldorf salad and such), fried fish, chicken nuggets, charcuterie type offerings, 2 kinds of soup and finally about 4 main dishes ranging from lasagna, sliced roasts, make your own pita or wrap, and stews with chicken, beef and lamb. They have lots of vegetarian options and gluten free as well. Everything is labeled as such. So like I said, an upscale Golden Corrale, but in a good way.

Dinner at the buffet is good too. It is usually themed, like Chinese, mexican, Thai and such. On the Asian themed nights, they have a sushi station as well. But even if you don't favor a certain culture's cuisine, there's always the standard chicken breasts, salads, fruit available. One thing they've never had on this buffet that's on every other buffet I've ever been to..... fried chicken. Good ol' crunchy fried chicken. My first meal off this boat is KFC.

Tonight was food from India.

Making it Special

Here's where it gets fun for me. When you're eating in the same restaurant for 100+ days, it can get boring and it's no different on a cruise. Here are some ways to spice it up:

• Book a reservation at the specialty restaurants for dinner. There are 2 on this ship, the Bayou ($29 surcharge pp) and Sabitinis ($19 surcharge pp). The Bayou is Cajun themed but it's really their steak restaurant. I consistently ordered the 20 oz porterhouse and my wife ordered the 8 oz filet mignon, though sometimes we ordered the lobster tail. We ate in the Bayou about 8x over over the course of the cruise. Our package included lots of specialty dining vouchers so we never paid the surcharge. In fact, twice we treated friends to dinner using our vouchers as well. It's amazing. Here are some pics.

• The other restaurant is Sabatinis which has upscale Italian cuisine. Here are pics from that dinner. We went twice using our vouchers. Both restaurants are 5 course experiences.

• Mix and match - on any menu in the diningroom, there was always more than one thing I liked and wanted. I make my own combos consistently. If you look back at tonight's menu, I ordered the Fettuccine Alfredo and added the salmon and the breaded chicken on top. One of the best combos I've made. It was great. Don't be shy. Sometimes they'll even bring you something that's not on the menu if you ask.

• Breakfast is by far the most consistent with very few changes. So it gets the most boring. But it has a wide variety, so you can make up your own combo. Combo #1 is a classic breakfast sandwich. I get a bagel from the bread area, 2 fried eggs to order from the griddle, bacon from the buffet and swiss cheese from the charcuterie area. A little assembly and voila....an outstanding breakfast sandwich. Combo #2 is my own special omlette. I gather bacon, sausage, cheese, hash brown potatoes, and lyonaise potatoes in a bowl. I hand it to the griddle chef and he makes me my perfect omlette. Much better than the standard omlette options they offer.

• I love an ultimate meat pizza. You know, the one with pepperoni, sausage, meatball and bacon. The pizza venue normally has just pepperoni to add. So I get sausage and bacon at breakfast and store it in our fridge till lunch. Then I hand it to the pizza guy and he makes me a personal pizza that's outstanding. A real treat.

• In Ravenna, I made a picnic lunch for me and my wife. I assembled a charcuterie from the breakfast buffet, with cured meats, cheese, nuts, dates and figs. I topped it with another plate and then they graciously wrapped it all in plastic. I also got apples, plums and oranges. Lastly I got croissants and foccocia. It all fit in my backpack. While in Ravenna, we bought more bread, a bottle of wine and cannolis. We found a park and laid out a travel blanket and had the most wonderful lunch. Seriously! It was great. It would have been impossible to pull all that together in Ravenna, but it was easy to find a few special things to round it out.

• My last special treat is a cookie ice cream sandwich. I just get 2 cookies from the dessert bar, I head over to the ice cream parlor and get a scoop of ice cream. The attendent will compress the ice cream between the cookies and then will roll it in sprinkles. I never remember to take a picture....it doesn't last long enough.

There are two more options I didn't mention yet....room service and the Chef's Table.

• I hear room service is great. We never did it but I know a lot of people did. It's free too, no surcharge. On the medallion app, you can order food for delivery anywhere on the ship. They know where you are by your medallion. I really enjoyed the fruit plate and would order it if I was working and needed a little snack. That way I didn't disrupt my work streak.

• The chef's table is a by-invitation only option that you can sign up for but there's no guarantee you'll get it. There is a $95 surcharge pp, but it was totally worth it. It may have been the best meal I ever had. In summary, it's a 7 or 8 course meal, specially prepared for a reserved table of 10, that is so over the top, you'll be in a food coma by the time it is over. I suggest you look at my blog for that day entitled The Chef's Table for pics and a more in depth description. But if you can do it, do it. But wait till the 4th segment....you'll appreciate it much more than in the beginning.

You can steal my recipes or make your own. The point is feel empowered to spice it up, make your own concoction and mix & match. They are so happy to help you make your dining special. Enjoy!!!!!