capncarp

Without repeating what has been mentioned in other threads, almost all commercial dolphin encounter/swim offerings involve dolphins that were the "lucky"(?) ones purchased from Japanese dolphin procurers. The lives of the captive dolphins and cetaceans are not humane. Even SeaWorld is discontinuing their obtaining of any new whales, etc., and supporting those animals remaining until they expire from natural causes.

If you haven't heard of it, check out a little film called "The Cove", which shows the fates of those dolphins _not_ selected to be in purchased for these encounters.

http://www.thecovemovie.com/the_team/the-filmmakers.htm

There's always La Iglezia de San Miguel, if you want to share in the local culture.

DW and I managed to slip in and sat quietly at the back for a few minutes during what appeared to be a baptism. We felt like we had touched a small but important part of the place. It is only a moment to stop in and say a prayer.

This is a total non-issue. The French-made Dassault Falcon is mostly used as a private jet, and although the military may use it, it carries no armaments at all. I've flown them- nice aircraft, and there should be no concerns at all. Just a little post-9/11 paranoia here. Enjoy the sight! :cool:

After watching the video, I concur with loubetti: definitely a non-combat light transport plane that took a broad swing around the ship's port side. By the time people noticed it, the pilot would have been hard-put to crash the plane into the ship even had he desired to.

Still, a fun exclamation point to a day at sea.

I spent my afternoon cleaning house and packing the bags. Found that even packing light we needed 2 large suitcases for the 4 of us. It was a good distraction and needed to be done.

Good therapy, and also keeps you moving toward your goal: being ready for a helluva fine and fun cruise.

Remember to breathe (that's what my counselor taught me to break the omigodI'mgoingtopanicandIcan'tpanicbutI'mgoingtoanywayand:eek::eek:....cycle).

You are going on an adventure:): take it as it comes and keep remembering that

a. you are going to have a good time:D,

b. any bumps will get straightened out, ;)and

c. you are going to laugh off any problems because they are not as important as your enjoyment of this trip. :p

Enjoy, and tell us how it turned out, 'kay?

I have a curry on the stove tonight so it got me thinking of this thread! I found some pakora at Patels so don't need to mess about making it. Some popadoms and mango chutney will be enough for tonight with some garlic Naan.

 

The places round here just aren't interested in authenticity as there is a whole new load of tourists next week and the week after than and so on, so standards are low. I think you would find something added to your curry if you complained, and it won't be nice:D:D

If you're feeling lazy about heating up oil to make pappadums, try this: spray them with cooking spray and nuke them in the microwave. It works and is a lot faster and less messy!:D

Another thing to consider is that between 40-60% of the chefs on board are Indian!

Soooo....they should be doing a righteously good job of it, no?:)

Here is what makes the eggs benedict on HAL so great. They are all made fresh to order in the lido with 8 different styles to choose from. I love the crab meat, mushroom and smoked salmon versions. Sometimes I got wild and mixed the mushroom and crab meat together. :)

 

As my godson would say (in awe) Dayyyum! That looks tasty!

English muffin with bacon on top of it, a small scoop of scrambled eggs and fresh fruit.

 

High on the fat content, but hey..it's vacation!

 

Olivia Charter on the Zuiderdam 04/03/04

RCI 06/90

Hey, you need all that reserve energy--you could be stranded on a tropical paradise....:p

<SNIP> Love the lox and bagels with cream cheese (substitute at home with cheese yogurt-no fat-for way less calories & just as good not to mention cheaper). Ask and I will explain how easy it is to make cheese from yogurt...Was a part-time caterer so have a little knowledge I wld enjoy sharing..Happy cruisin'!

If you're sharin', I'm askin'.:D DW always looking for ways to up the protein and pare the fat.

Rice porridge is sometime made with water or stock and is served piping hot. The cantonese tend to add all sorts of savory flavors in them (zook) the northern Chinese tend to have it plain without flavors. The condiments are across the board, generally salty. There can be fried 'donuts' served as well as fried eggs or salty duck eggs and of course... Thousand year old eggs. Pickles, like the zillion varieties of pickled cabbage, radishes, cucumbers are brined and garlic flavored. Often there is marinated tofu squares as well. Only thing served sweet sometimes is Fresh Soy Milk but usually also savory with chili oil drizzled along with green onions as a topping. Almost every major chain in the east has these on the breakfast bar for the Asian business person and traveler. I'm sure it puzzles the Westerner initially but generally its prepared better than the western breakfast because the staff and kitchen knows how to prepare it better than waffles and pancakes! :D

I think, with a little guidance, I could make a decent breakfast out of the above selection. While some, more traditionalist, Western folk (DW and I are a bit more adventurous than the norm) might be leery of a garlic-flavored pickled meal component in the morning, I'd give most of the objects a try.

Again, the "mystery factor", I think, would be the major impediment; and suitable description cards or a handy server fluent in the diner's language would eliminate most fears about the food. To be truthful, the Thousand Year-old eggs, while I know how they're made, might give me pause. But, once face to face with one, I'd probably try it!:)

Easy question!

Travelers have noted when they are in any of the far east large cities, even if staying in an American chain hotel, they will find un recognizable things on the breakfast bar. These include rice porriage, asian pickles, salted eggs, salted peanuts. 1.5 billion people in the world start the day this way. :D

<snip>

Thanks (part asian cruiser)

Would the rice porridge be eaten like western oatmeal/hot cereal--usually with fruit and/or some form of sweetening, or like American Southern Hominy Grits--generally with cheese, or bacon, ham, or a more savory flavoring (which is actually my preference with hot cereals, even with oatmeal:rolleyes:)?

Also, can you describe the asian pickles a bit more? Right now only kimchi comes to mind, but my only other experience with non-Western pickles has been achar and such from Indian/Pakistani/Bhutanese cuisines.

Here's some free advice, which will be worth every penny you paid for it:

One of your best gauges is how your 3-year-old child deals with animals on land, like unfamiliar pets and petting-zoo inhabitants? Do they tend to approach the new, or are they retiring and reluctant to get close with the unfamiliar?

Next, the water depth varies a bit; when we were there, the water was about 3.5' to 4' deep, with only a mild bit of uncresting waves; how does the child deal with that depth of water? A flotation device and a retention cord/leash might be of service here, if the child can already swim/float a little in practice. Otherwise, children can be held in arms, piggyback, or on the hip, and still get in on the action. Yes, the rays can be a bit forward, once they determine there might be some squid available. But our own experience with them was more like an aquatic cat brushing against our shins looking for a treat.

<Warning: very biased personal opinion follows:o> BTW, the rays' skin is not slimy, it feels like wet velvet. And they have very human-looking eyes, in that they are indeed looking back at you. And they don't swim, they _fly_.:cool:

Do your homework, make some honest appraisals, and, if you decide to go for it, good luck, have fun, and may the experience be a happy one for all involved. It is truly a bucket-list experience.:)

Sadly, my Ocho Rios experience is 10 years old, but...

After briefly touring the "sterilized for your protection petting zoo"called Island Village (although one thing I enjoyed there was watching a young lady hand-rolling cigars), DW and I taxied into town, went through the Craft Market, haggled in good humor with some of the merchants, bought a few items of local manufacture, then went across the street to some of the local shops. Stopped in the local supermarket to see how the real people live an eat. There, we bought 2 pounds of Jamaican Blue Mtn coffee for about a third of what the guys on the street corners were hawking it for to unwary non-locals. Two regrets:

1. I missed the Ocho Rios Jerk Centre, which was a couple of blocks south of our area of exploration.

2. I had the misfortune of witnessing a horrorshow of culinary abomination-- Jamaica, ground zero for jerked foods, meat patties, and other lovely local taste experiences, had a KFC restaurant smack in the downtown area!:eek:

Go see and interact with the folk who live there. Eat the home-cookin' that's available. Haggle for fun. Come back to Jamaica, even if it's your first time!:cool:

Sounds like a blast!

But better keep the War Stories to a minimum at mealtimes; too many non-911 folk would be losing their lunches/dinners/last Thursday's breakfasts if we'd share our "interesting on-the-job experiences" within their earshot:eek:.

That's how I made the fateful decision to get my EMT card--listening to DW and some NY State paramedic buddies "sharing" during a party one night.

How did I miss this?.

More importantly, when is the next one?

And what foodstuffs would an Asian breakfast likely consist of? :confused:

On our first cruise in 2010, DW and I both ordered the lobster on elegant night. When the server came back for the plates and asked if we enjoyed our meal, my wife said it was so good she could eat another. The server said "Certainly, would you like another as well, sir?" I said that I would like to try the prime rib and she replied "Certainly" again. After we finished those plates, she asked if we wanted another! I asked how many we were allowed and she said that she would keep bringing them out as long as we wanted!:eek:

Which is the absolute correct answer for the situation. No judgment, merely ascertain the guest's desires and try to fulfill them.

Ah, cruising!;)

Can't wait for our next cruise to get some authentic Indian food, the stuff round here stinks and I don't mean literally. I make a better curry at home than they do in the local restaurant.

Rereading your post brought up a question: Have you gone up to the owner/cook in said Indian restaurants and asked them if they would serve _this_ to their parents? Then tell them that you want "home-cookin'", not what tasteless slop the local "gora" (that's the Indian equivalent of "goyim" or "you ain't from 'round here") would accept. You can say that spice isn't that expensive. Then tell them not everybody in the US has dead tastebuds or noses, and some people can appreciate _real_ Indian/Pakistani/Sri Lankan flavors. If you get under their skin, you might get results.:cool:

BTW, have any of the lines started to serve pickle with their Indian buffet, yet? <wipes away a little bit of drool>:o

Can't wait for our next cruise to get some authentic Indian food, the stuff round here stinks and I don't mean literally. I make a better curry at home than they do in the local restaurant. It's the one thing I miss from back home but with the help of Patels grocery store we are in heaven. Even my OH who didn't like curry that much when we met wants the curry hotter, I have it upto Madras for now. (I like hotter)!

One hint on choosing an Indian restaurant: if other Indians are eating there, chances are good the food is decent--kind of like the truckdriver/diner theory;). To my and my DW's experience, if it is as good or better than they can make at home, they'll come to eat it at that restaurant.

Oh, and in case you aren't aware of it, Bolst's curry powder can be obtained through Amazon, if it isn't available in your local Indian grocery store:).

Keep working on OH--you know they're there when you feed them vindaloo and they want it hotter!:eek: You know it's well-spiced when you start sweating, and turning bright red, and you're loving every minute of it!

Now that's a great party boat!

"Ahoy! We are the Party Patrol; Prepare to have fun--or else!":rolleyes:

I still feel like a newbie (and sometimes act like one) and I've been on 17 cruises!

Good on ya, mate!;)

Thank you for bringing this topic up. I just go off the Explorer of the Seas and they devoted an entire section to just Indian food. Which started out small but then moved over to take over all the other areas of the buffet. By day 7 I had a hard time finding something that wasn't Indian Cuisine. It would have been a better fit for the buffet to have a build your own salad bar. Is it too much to ask for the cruise lines to alternate and not just cater to a single type of food every day? How about a veggie stir fry, Cheese enchiladas, etc.

 

I am from the San Francisco Bay Area and we are known for our diversity. I love ethnic food and could live on the food from my local taqueria. However, I happen to live above a family who cooks nothing but Indian food. After a while I don't know how they can even stand the smell of curry, it is that strong. It was very potent on board the ship as well.

My sympathies; the idea is to have access to new and interesting foods, not be crowded out and oppressed by one particular aspect.

And I can commiserate with you on the intensity of certain spices under certain preparation conditions: DW and I were test-firing a couple of Indian recipes for a large dinner party. We had heated (too hot) a skillet with vegetable oil in it, and then added a fair dollop of mustard oil. Oops. We cleared the kitchen door in 3 seconds, having barely time to turn off the burner and run through the "mustard gas" cloud to fresh air outside.:eek: It took a while to get our tears to stop flowing and our noses to stop running. So, Yes, Indian food can be quite intense.

@ goddessofstrife: I don't know about the tofu: in today's hyper-security-consciousness, they might think it's some form of plastic explosive!:rolleyes:

And while I'm not a vegetarian, DW is, and I have learned through her cooking to appreciate a well-turned culinary phrase that doesn't contain meat.

Ditto and ditto again on the joys of legumes/pulses/beans; as long as I'm getting adequate protein to make me feel satisfied, and the flavor is there, I'm in! Bring 'em on! :D The ironic thing is that lentils have an extremely short cooking time and can be made up into so many simple yet delicious dishes; prep time should be on the bottom of the reasons why they are not more available.

Indian food never lasts long enough to be leftovers at my house.

I've turned several of my co-workers on to Indian food by hauling a container of leftover tadka dal or mattar paneer or palak paneer in for lunch along with some naan or rice and leaving a fragrant halo around the lunchroom microwave. "Mark's got Indian food again!" is the battlecry.:)

Lots of Indian kitchen staff, and the mixture of vegetables, meat, and sauce means the dish will sit for a long time but remain serviceable without drying out our getting soggy like Italian food.

One of the bonuses of Indian food is that it improves over time, as the spices reach their full flavor bloom. This makes leftovers even better, which is why we cook up a couple of meals' worth. Usually, it reaches peak flavor by day three.

And "leftovers" is not a bad word in our house.