capncarp

I live in an area with 6,000 East Indians. Until I moved here, I had no idea that Indian food was so tasty. I find it fortunate that Indians are a very sharing culture and my Indian neighbors often bring food to my home.

You lucky dog!:D You'll be blessed with lots of real Indian "home cookin'", which is one thing most folk don't get a chance to sample.

Enjoy! (and report back!)

The same one I'd like to skip on every cruise I'd take: ,,the one where I'm supposed to debark.:D

Slight addition to my prior post:

Raw seafood, especially shellfish. I ain't gonna put a raw filter in my mouth to have it slide its way down my digestive tract. Sorry, I prefer my biologically-magnified ocean contaminants _cooked_, thank you very much :p.

I once had a fried oyster po' boy sandwich, and it was delicious. Though I did have a moment of dread when I looked at a bitten-in-half oyster and saw that inside its golden crunchy coating was something from a horror movie :eek:. I finished the sandwich but didn't take a second look.:rolleyes:

For me, the "big thing" about Lobster Night has nothing to do with the taste of the lobster, it is about the whole experience of the evening. When you have tablemates that are also enjoying the night, it becomes an great experience. Replace these tablemates with the complainers, and it is just like any other night (albeit on a cruise).

I hadn't considered the festive aspect of Lobster Night.

One of the other factors that dissuade me from crustacea, etc., is that I'm basically lazy; all that cracking and digging is simply too much work for the result IMNSHO. Once a few friends and DW and I went to an AYCE crab house in Maryland just across the PA state line from Gettysburg. After mangling a few crabs, I asked for the fried chicken option. Everybody left satisfied.

Emjay65, good overview!

DW has used the phrase "like Buddha" when trying to convey her "no meat" wishes at Chinese restaurants. I would guess that asking for food suitable "for Jains" would make the correct communication for Vegan food at an Indian or Pakistani restaurant.

If offered durrian I might try it, but I don't foresee myself seeking it out, thanks.

As they go by, loudly ask them if they forgot the "safe word".;)

Stingray City was an adventure we'll never forget, but when we were planning a cruise that included Grand Turk, Gibbs Cay's just off-the-beach option appealed to DW and the physically challenged couple we were planning to travel with. A day with the rays is a good day no matter what.

<snip> I took hold of the napkin and a card fell out onto my lap, I thought "Hmmm this is a cabin pass...what is it doing in a napkin" I turned to show my wife my find and I felt a tug on my left pant leg.... when I felt a hand on my left thigh. I calmly looked over to my left to see a gleeful look in an sixty somethings eyes. Bwuhahaa .....SOMMELIER! I shouted. I ordered wine lotsa wine. My alcohol tab was the most expensive excursion of the cruise.

C-Boy, you're what they call "cougar-bait" in these here parts. ;)

1. DW (she does all the heavy lifting for finding and reserving the cruise)

2. A sense of adventure and curiosity

3. An open mind to new experiences and cultures.

4. A plan.

5.$$$, ¢¢¢,¥¥¥,€€€,£££, dinero, shekels, rupees, etc., etc.

I would have been tempted to smile evilly saying "if I told you that I'd have to kill you" :D

How about <best Hannibal Lecter voice and quirky smile accompanying> "The medals were just a side benefit. It will be lovely having you for dinner."

Is America the only place in the world where cheese is considered a vegetable?

Not only is it considered "not a vegetable", more importantly, it is considered "not a meat".

Ergo. vegetarian.

Ipso facto, quod erat demonstrandum, carthago delenda est.:p

For me, a nice multi-cheese and onion omelet with crispy home fries if available, coffee and rye toast with butter, and coffee, plus melon chunks and other fresh fruit for the sweet part. And coffee.

Here's a neat gizmo to try your own photos. Better make sure they conform to State Dept. requirements, though.

http://travel.state.gov/content/passports/english/passports/photos/photos.html

http://travel.state.gov/content/passports/english/passports/information/fees.html

Some post offices actually have passport services, including photographs, onsite. (Although getting the photos done at AAA if you're a member is probably much less expensive--here in Central PA, basic members $9 plus tax, Plus members first set free, non-members, about $14 plus tax. MUCH less expensive than when we got ours at the Post Office.)

https://www.google.com/?gws_rd=ssl#q=US+postal+service+Illinois+passport

Husband and I usually book MTD . On our last cruise , they couldn't accommodate us and sat us at a table of eight friends . Before they started eating they joined hands and asked us to join in and started saying grace. I found that to be uncomfortable.. Then one " gentleman " tells me he never eats all the food on his plate.., It was lobster night and he was trying to send me a message. I did not have seconds so how rude and he was portraying himself as a southern Christian " gentleman " . Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Sadly, some (not all, thank God) people portraying themselves as "Christian" or "gentlemen/women" are indeed trying to impose their narrow/intolerant/skewed/what-have-you worldview on those around them.

A few rejoinders to his plate comment come to mind:

--"Oh, my: isn't that what some Muslim cultures do to show the host they've had so much they couldn't eat any more? I understand they burp for the same reason." <follow with the best belch one can attain at the moment>:eek: "Did I do that right?"

--or the simpler, "Well, my Momma _always_ told me it's a sin to waste food!" (possibly adding, pointing to his plate "Are you going to finish that?")

As to the joining of hands: "I'm sorry, but that would make me 'unclean'.";)

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

@brazilgirl: :confused::confused::confused: You might want to say that again.

Thank you SO MUCH! I appreciate you taking the time to post this. Can't wait to try some Indian food!

Why let one aspect of a cuisine stop you from the entire rest of a very interesting journey? Besides, we never even started talking about the exquisite Indian desserts;).

I LOVE food - but I can't seem to get past the smell of certain curries. I understand that curry can be different ingredients and not all taste like that pungent smell. I feel about curry the same way my husband feels about cilantro. The smell kills me. BUT I have heard of some milder curries that are fantastic although I wouldn't know where to start when ordering. Can someone suggest dish that I can "start" with? What exactly IS the ingredient with that smell? If I can just avoid THAT. (Sorry if this has been asked - I didn't read through all the pages).

Taking a wild guess, you may be picking up on asafoetida, aka "Hing" in Hindi(?)/Punjabi(?), a very pungent spice with a distinctive smell. The smell can "get up your nose" quite easily, even for those who know what it is and have had it before in dishes. It _will_ clear your sinuses.

If it makes you feel any better, asafoetida was also burned, along with sulfur , gunpowder, and rotting fish :eek:, during the American Revolution in stink-bomb grenades for use in ship-to-ship boarding parties!

If you do find that Hing is your bete noir of Indian cuisine, from what I've found it is used in "Sambar" dishes, but also in various dals (lentils/beans/pulses).

Suggest you try some of the kormas, which are a milder cream-based sauce dish, and can be wonderfully delicate in flavors. Biryanis (rice-based dishes may be a good starting point. Dishes made with Jalfrezi seasoning might work. If in doubt, ask the cook or restaurant manager. Most of the tandoori dishes I've seen do not include hing in the spice mixture.

Here's hoping you find your happy medium, without asafoetida.

My wine bottle wears a life jacket.

Man the icebuckets! Magnums and splits first!:eek:

This thread has launched itself into the twilight zone. Cruise critic posts are useful in many situations, however, amateur diagnosis and treatment recommendations for serious psychological conditions is not one of them.

 

OP, the best advice for you here has been to let it be, let it be. Not your problem to solve, and certainly beyond the scope of expertise of anyone here.

Now, if you want to know the best way to get from Heathrow to Southampton, there are plenty folks who will have great suggestions.

I heartily disagree.

All of the advice given here was worth every penny the OPpaid for it.:rolleyes:

Naw, yours was a bump.. the other was a request to see more...

 

So on a recent cruise we saw the usual ways to "reserve" a chair around the pool (don't do the pool but love to see the antics), but this seemed a novel way.

 

We've seen the pic of the blow doll on a chair all tucked into a towel BUT this one was across 3 chairs upside down with the 4 corners of the towel tied to the chairs... someone went to a lot of work to save 3 chairs!

Hmmm, for three chairs I would have expected at least 2 blowup dolls in "interesting configurations" (a-hem!) with leathers and/or handcuffs. Now _That_ would be a way to reserve the chairs _and_ lend a note of gentility and artistry to the pool deck.:eek: After all, who would be willing to try to take it apart just to get the chairs???:cool:

One might as well get creative if one wants to sequester valuable commodities!;)

Yep, on the back of the ship on the Magic. They're grilling and making fresh naan bread right on the spot.

All I can say to that is... where's my passport? Where's my S&S card? who needs luggage??? <drooling> B^P~~~~~~~

I have a coworker who's wife is deathly afraid of being on the water. The family all wants to go on a cruise but the wife so far refuses. Any suggestions to how they can possibly convince her to try it.

It would seem from the original post quoted above that the OP is trying to help out his coworker-and-family, so he came to his cruising community cohorts (us) to try to come up with possible solutions, which we have generously provided of numerous types.

To thump someone else's drum again, it all comes down to how intractable this loved one's fear is and how far, if at all, they are willing to try to deal with it to go along on the cruise. And, what fallout will the the family encounter from taking the cruise without the thalassophobic party coming along? That puts it squarely upon the shoulders of the coworker and family; OP is merely a well-intentioned purveyor of our freely-given options and sources.

I also love the butter chicken from the Tandoor restaurant on some Carnival ships.

<ears perk up, starts to sniff the air> Tandoor restaurant?????:)

Welllll....I seem to think a really, really good meatloaf does beat cruise ship lobster most of the time.

<best Homer Simpson voice>: Mmmmmmmm...meatloaf....:rolleyes:

Now, a decent bacon cheeseburger would definitely get _my_ juices flowing, but that's just how I roll.