Menus in mediterranean?

[maureenk]

DH and I are hoping that menus during our upcoming mediterranean cruise will have regional selections. Will we be able to tell based on the dinner menu that we are sailing near Italy, Greece, and Turkey, or are the menus pretty much the same as a cruise in the Caribbean? Thanks in advance - Maureen

[Cruzin Terri]

DH and I are hoping that menus during our upcoming mediterranean cruise will have regional selections. Will we be able to tell based on the dinner menu that we are sailing near Italy, Greece, and Turkey, or are the menus pretty much the same as a cruise in the Caribbean? Thanks in advance - Maureen

When we sailed on the Zuiderdam in the Mediterranean in Sept. 2008 there were regional selections on the menu based on where we were on the given night. There were also other selections as well.

Terri

[RuthC]

I just left a 12-day eastern Med cruise on the Westerdam. The dinner menus were the typical ones I've seen on all my other cruises. I do not recall seeing anything that I would call "Mediterranian".

[catl331]

Ditto with Ruth except ours was a Western Med. cruise a few years ago. But now with the Canaletto I will be happy.

[schoolinmy3]

On the Eurodam last week in the Mediterranean we ate twice in the Canaletto and it was excellent, especially the chocolate dessert. Some tried but couldn't get reservations so we felt fortunate to have snagged two reservations. It is also free. I am not sure which ships now have the Canaletto however. Same for the Tamarind, excellent, also free for lunch, but do not recall if any of the other ships have the Tamarind. We only ate in the dining room once for dinner, for the second formal night. My daughter's steak was excellently prepared but I don't recall any special regional dishes.

diane

[Mary Ellen]

The only cruises on which we've encountered 'regional' selections on the menu have been on Alaskan cruises where HAL has offered multiple salmon selections each night. I think it was called 'Alaskan Salmon Feast'. We've done Europe, South America/Antarctica, and Africa on HAL and so far nothing else remotely 'regional'.

[kelleherdl]

We were on the Eurodam the week prior to Schoolinmy3. I did note that the menus were labelled as 1-10, I think, for Med-10day... Ours was a Western Med 10-day. Nothing that stuck out from a run-of-the-mill HAL menu. Yes, HAL does have items on the regular menu that do fit the region, but I would not say that there was a menu built around the Med.

[catl331]

On a Baltic Cruise on the Westerdam we did have a appetizer buffet of Scandinavian herring recipes and shrimp. Delicious! In Warnamunde Germany we had a beerfest with sausages and kraut etc. on the Lido deck. Most of the passengers missed it because they took the whole day trip to Berlin. BTW the local restuarants there along a canal had wonderful fish!

[m steve]

changes based on sailing location. Alaska cruises are a bit better but it's just so homoginized selections. The same for the choices in the bars. The same rums and beers every cruise in the Caribbean even though the df shop on board may offer other choices. I wonder if the luxury lines are more locovare?

[maureenk]

Thanks for all your help. I was figuring that we would have a typical cruise menu...of course, nothing wrong with that for 10-days!!! We'll have to fit in a few lunches on shore then to get the regional specialties.

 

For the Canaletto, can you reserve for any night at the very beginning of the cruise? I hadn't really thought of it filling up, but glad it came up here. I'm definitely planning on at least one night there. Besides the chocolate dessert, what are the other standout dishes there?

[schoolinmy3]

Thanks for all your help. I was figuring that we would have a typical cruise menu...of course, nothing wrong with that for 10-days!!! We'll have to fit in a few lunches on shore then to get the regional specialties.

 

For the Canaletto, can you reserve for any night at the very beginning of the cruise? I hadn't really thought of it filling up, but glad it came up here. I'm definitely planning on at least one night there. Besides the chocolate dessert, what are the other standout dishes there?

 

I did reserve the Canaletto for an evening right at the beginning of the cruise for the 2nd night of our cruise which happened to be a formal evening. Just look for the podium set up outside the Lido or beside the Canaletto to make reservations. After we enjoyed that meal so much everyone wanted to make a 2nd reservation right away (I think they wanted to skip everything and go right to dessert):D. So I did end up successfully booking a second dinner. My daughter had the penne vodka both times and she really enjoyed that. The wait staff kept trying to get her to order off the kid's menu but she wanted the penne vodka! Also, the lasagna was very good. Also, while waiting for your food they come around with anipasti selections which is a nice touch. Besides the chocolate dessert - MILLE-FEUILLE OF MADAGASCAR CHOCOLATE, the trio of tiramisu was excellent. The other kind of cool thing was they give you a huge plate piled high with cotton candy. I am not sure why, noting that cotton candy doesn't really have an Italian vibe to it in my mind, but anyway, it was a big hit with our kids. The Canaletto was the only dining venue that got an excellent rating on the survey from my husband and he is picky!

diane