CGTNORMANDIE

A good question. The history of diners originated with the US railroads. Dining cars were being built by the end of the 1800’s. They were called dining parlors or “diners” for short. Then there were the lunch wagons of the 1800’s. As the horse drawn lunch wagons morphed into more permanent dining establishments the prebuilt diner came into being…an inexpensive way to break into the restaurant business. Among these was the Worcester Dining Car Company In Worcester, Massachusetts. They built complete restaurants with a full kitchen counter service and booths. These were delivered all over the New York and New England region. They resembled a railroad dining car. A lot of them were built with the same gleaming stainless steel that you found on the railroad cars. Hence the concept of the diner. We have a couple of outstanding examples right here in Somerville, Massachusetts…Google…The Rosebud Cafe and Kelly’s Diner and you’ll get the idea.

Great review…thanks so much for making the effort. I’m sitting here in “dry dock”waiting for a kidney transplant…5 years+ in dialysis and will hopefully return to cruising shortly. Reading reviews like yours lets me live vicariously, keeps me informed and hopeful for a future on the sea! Thanks again.

Thank you Uktog and Riocca. I’m so glad Uktog explained the pointless waste of time by taxing a TA for impractical scenarios that waste time. It is important to approach your TA with a sound plan. Having a good TA is like having a good marriage…you need to respect the boundaries. I have used and maintained relationships with TA’s since 1971. I had one outstanding TA for more than 30 years. I count him as a close friend he has since retired. I can’t begin to tell you how many great benefits he got for me over the years.

I always use a TA…in fact, I have a very good one! The problem is…I like to do my own research so I don’t waste the TA’s time. Once I am satisfied with my research then I go to my TA with a solid plan.

I have been trying to research and get pricing on an Azamara cruise. I can only get as far as the number of people in a cabin and then…nothing. Anyone have any ideas???

EXCELLENT review…thanks so much for your level headed non biased observations.

How about a bread pudding made with fresh peaches soaked in peach brandy…with a creme anglais? A well made tapioca pudding, grape nut pudding, lemon curd meringue all good.

Having crossed the Atlantic 8 times I can say there is a vast difference between the North Atlantic and the South Atlantic. The North Atlantic can be vicious. Once upon a time I was on the QE2 in a hurricane with head winds in excess of 100 mph. Most Azamara ships and many others are repositioning from Florida and the Caribbean to the Mediterranean in the Spring…mostly in March and April. Those sailings can be a bit more dicey but not usually as they sail the southern Atlantic into the Mediterranean. The western route is sailed in the Fall…the southern Atlantic from the Mediterranean to Florida and the Caribbean…mostly in October and November. This is also usually calm although ships sometimes have to reroute as they avoid occasional hurricanes although this is usually rare.

Len, the French have a saying “each person to his own taste”. I’m not saying Sorrento’s is bad…it’s just not what I think is great. Hey…people line up for Dominos Pizza…go figure…that has to be the worst. Do you really think Sorrento’s ranks up there with New York pizza? New York is the epicenter for great pizza.

LOL LOL LOL…Sorrento’s is not even in the same league with my pizza or the custom room service pies made in the evening onboard MSC. Those pies are better than the pies served in the Cafe…and miles above Sorrento’s. I buy my pizza dough from a local grocery store that makes a special pizza dough. My sauce is made with hand squeezed San Marzano tomatoes and sautéed with minced onions and garlic along with my secret spice blend. Hand grated mozzarella and a small amount of Asiago comes next. Then the pie is topped with sliced mushrooms slightly sautéed in butter, thinly sliced onions and chunks of special fennel Italian sausage from the same grocer who makes the dough. Lay out some basil leaves and pop it in the oven. Now you know “the rest of the story”.😉

Nonsense…my homemade pizza can stand up against any cruise ship pizza and that includes MSC. I learned to make pizza when I was onboard the Italian Line Leonardo DaVinci…in 1976 and that was the best pizza I’ve ever had at sea.

Hi Lois, Yes the Brighams brand is local and it stands with the best. I love their peppermint stick, pistachio and DW favorite coffee fudge!😃

Hmmmm…how about a hot fudge sundae on Brighams pistachio ice cream with a mountain of whipped cream and a fat cherry on top.

And we’ll worth it for homemade hand crafted high quality ice cream. High butterfat content cream is expensive as are high quality ingredients.

In 1966 the minimum wage was $1.65 per hour…LOL. We also got tips that were accumulated and split each week…usually about $5-$10 per week…working about 20-25 hours per week part time.

Yes…I worked at Friendly’s Ice Cream when I was 16 years old. We used to make banana splits with chocolate syrup unless the customer requested hot fudge. We were not the only ice cream purveyors that employed that trick. The syrup was cheaper.

The best was Steve’s Ice Cream. They made it in the window with old fashioned ice cream churners. There used to be lines a block long.

When I was a kid we used to vacation on Cape Cod. There was a clam shack that had great fried seafood and homemade ice cream. One of my favorites was apple pie ice cream. It tasted just like apple pie and vanilla ice cream.

Believe me…it was incredible!

One of my all-time favorites was chocolate cinnamon raisin. Sadly the shop that made it is long gone.

The problem with banana splits…a lot of places use chocolate syrup instead of hot fudge. The best splits have pineapple topping, strawberry topping, hot fudge and whipped cream with a cherry.

Cheer up…you should be seeing the real berries shortly. I’ve been looking out for the Florida strawberries. They should be arriving soon. All the berries I’ve seen are Cali or Mexican…look good but no flavor.

What a joy to see those classic Chandris X menus from the beloved Victoria. Imagine Caviar, Baron of Lamb, Beef Wellington and roast duck…all on the same menu! I had an entire collection of Victoria menus from her original owners…Incres Line. She had all Italian service in those days. Chandris acquired her later. Victoria was a classic and much loved ship. She used to call at Boston on occasion and I would drive over to Commonwealth Pier to see her.

Nothing like farm fresh ice cream. We have several farm stands in our area and more in Western Massachusetts and southern New Hampshire. All of them are unfailingly good.

We usually see native strawberries in June. I remember going to pick them in June when I was a kid. The native Massachusetts strawberries were superb…much better than the Cali berries the stores sell. Then came the blueberries, blackberries and raspberries in July and August. We would pick quarts of blueberries when they came in abundance in late July. I also remember picking wild strawberries in June. They were the best…so sweet and so few that I would eat them as fast as I could pick them…lol.