Great Cruising Memories

[CGTNORMANDIE]

Just now, rkacruiser said:

 

Then, going to St. Martin on the other side of the island, the most recent time that I did so, it seemed much the same.  

The French side bores me to death.  At least on the Dutch side you can get a Heineken.    

[rkacruiser]

8 minutes ago, CGTNORMANDIE said:

The French side bores me to death.  At least on the Dutch side you can get a Heineken.    

 

Your have your priorities in order!  😁

[ryndam]

The discussion of St. Maarten prompted a deep dive into my photo archives. Here are some views from a cruise on Crystal Serenity from December 2006.

 

 

[shipgeeks]

Thank you all for the thoughts, and photos, of St. Maarten.  They bring back some good memories.

We were on the first ship to return there after the hurricane and subsequent damage 2 (3?) years ago. They had prepared a lot of festivities to welcome us, including souvenir bracelets, dancers, stilt walkers, musicians, etc.  We were all anxious to go ashore and spend, to help the restoration efforts.  Sadly, it rained - no, poured - all day.  Vendors whose shops had been destroyed set up open-air stalls and bars that got drenched.  It was a sad end to what was going to be a day of great celebration.

We will be back, though!

[marco]

A couple of yrs ago (maybe 2 or 3) we were on a cruise and our next port was supposed to be Martinique.  I forgot which port we were at, but it was SOOOOO windy, the ship could not leave at 6PM and we ended up leaving around 2 AM.  Not enough time to get to Martinique, so we went to St  Martin instead, which was not on the itinerary. .  It was just a couple of months after a terrible hurricane hit the island and many ships were diverting from going there.  There was a HUGE sign on one of the buildings on the dock "THANK YOU CRUISE SHIP PASSENGERS".  All of the shops/bars/restaurants were soooo glad to see us!  I also remember yeas ago, when we went to St Martin the entire beach area on that Dutch side was just a completely open beach.  We'd just plunk down a towel and sit/swim/snorkel.  Now.....it's one long chain of chairs/umbrellas and a bucket of beer for $20.

Edited January 30, 2021 by marco

[ryndam]

1 hour ago, marco said:

I also remember yeas ago, when we went to St Martin the entire beach area on that Dutch side was just a completely open beach.  We'd just plunk down a towel and sit/swim/snorkel.  Now.....it's one long chain of chairs/umbrellas and a bucket of beer for $20.

 

Still a few stretches of vendor-less Great Bay beach. Well, at least it was in 2006 (our last visit there).

 

 

[ryndam]

Oops...correction. I just found these pics from December 2013. I really didn't even recall the visit! Quite a change from 2006!

 

 

[rkacruiser]

A favorite cruise memory of mine for St. Maarten was a comprehensive tour of the island going to St. Martin.  After a couple of hours at Marigot, we boarded a catamaran for a joyous, scenic, Rum Punch soaked, with a steel band boat ride on the Simpson Bay Lagoon to the Western side of St. Maarten, an area of the island that I had never seen.  I have never been able to repeat that tour even though it has been offered when I have since visited St. Maarten.  The tours operate in the reverse order and such a Rum Punch party to start the tour in the morning would not be an ideal way to start my day!  

[shipgeeks]

On 1/24/2021 at 5:29 PM, rkacruiser said:

 

No.  It was a rectangular cookie with a windmill embossed on it, as I recall.  

I saw a cookie like that in the store yesterday!  Light brown, almond flavoring, I believe; called Windmill Cookies.  Not bad, especially with a nice bowl of ice cream.

[CGTNORMANDIE]

2 hours ago, shipgeeks said:

I saw a cookie like that in the store yesterday!  Light brown, almond flavoring, I believe; called Windmill Cookies.  Not bad, especially with a nice bowl of ice cream.

They are made by Voortman...a Canadian company with Dutch roots?

Edited February 4, 2021 by CGTNORMANDIE

[rkacruiser]

3 hours ago, shipgeeks said:

I saw a cookie like that in the store yesterday!  Light brown, almond flavoring, I believe; called Windmill Cookies.  Not bad, especially with a nice bowl of ice cream.

 

1 hour ago, CGTNORMANDIE said:

They are made by Voortman...a Canadian company with Dutch roots?

 

I will look for them.  Sounds like what I enjoyed.  

[CGTNORMANDIE]

44 minutes ago, rkacruiser said:

 

 

I will look for them.  Sounds like what I enjoyed.  

They are some of my favorites.  

[shipgeeks]

This gives me an idea.

Are there other food products, available in our stores, that could help remind us (or let us fantasize) of being on a ship?

I have my doubts about MSC chocolate ships and sticky buns, but still.......

[CGTNORMANDIE]

22 minutes ago, shipgeeks said:

This gives me an idea.

Are there other food products, available in our stores, that could help remind us (or let us fantasize) of being on a ship?

I have my doubts about MSC chocolate ships and sticky buns, but still.......

Hmmmmmm...we could move our Cruise Foodies over here to reminisce about great dishes prepared onboard.  After all those recipes qualify as cruise memories...LOL.

 

Let’s start with smoked salmon and gravalax.   Go to Trader Joe’s  for the best selection or Costco or BJ’s.  If you buy fresh salmon for the gravalax you will need a lot of fresh dill.  Smoked salmon and gravalax reminds me of morning breakfast onboard ship.

[rkacruiser]

1 hour ago, shipgeeks said:

MSC chocolate ships

 

There will be nothing that we will find that will compare with those.  

[rkacruiser]

1 hour ago, CGTNORMANDIE said:

we could move our Cruise Foodies over here to reminisce about great dishes prepared onboard.

 

Maybe we ought.  Arguments could be made for or against, I suspect.

 

A Spanish cheese, Manchego, was served as part of an appetizer on the Volendam in 2019.  A delightful Cuban-American couple tablemates of mine recommended that when it appeared on our menu.  I ordered it and was very pleased.  The cheese was offered again and it re-affirmed my opinion.  Very happily, I discovered in the last couple of weeks that a local specialty grocer has it in stock in 3, 6, or 12 month varieties.  No idea what I ate on the Volendam (I suspect it was a 3 month cheese; it's less costly than the others).  But, I will be able to get a "taste of a cruise" again when I want it.  

 

 

[CGTNORMANDIE]

1 hour ago, rkacruiser said:

 

There will be nothing that we will find that will compare with those.  

Too much sugar in those chocolate ships!  We left both of them behind...hope they were able to melt them down and recycle...LOL.

[rkacruiser]

19 minutes ago, CGTNORMANDIE said:

Too much sugar in those chocolate ships!  We left both of them behind...hope they were able to melt them down and recycle...LOL.

 

I left mine behind as well.  Arriving on the last night of the cruise, packing is basically done, how am I going to get it off the ship was a question?  That question was followed by the fact that I still had many days in Florida on an additional cruise with a car parked in the Florida temperatures before I traveled North.  How would such a chocolate ship survive?  

 

Providing such a gift was memorable, but not practical for this cruise guest.  And, I imagine for others as well.  

 

Maybe the crew enjoyed some quality chocolate by that which we left behind?  

[Heidi13]

How about the real Baked Alaska from the 70's & 80's, with actual meringue on the outside and a lit candle on the top. The replicas they provide now are gastly. 

 

Curry on an Indian crew ship where the cooks could be seen out on deck every morning grinding the herbs and spices by hand. Incredible lunches, where we had a selection of 3 curries.😀

[Lowiepete]

For many years after leaving the MN,  I looked in vain for whole figs in light syrup. On board Caronia they came in huge catering size tins, far too many to consider for just an occasional single breakfast serving. In the UK, more or less the only time you can buy figs is either for cake baking, where they're dried and need to be chopped and re-hydrated first, or in slightly softer versions around yuletide, along with soft dates.

 

The only supermarket that sells them in syrup here is one that I have boycotted for years. I saw what this company did in the USA and they were set on decimating shopping districts (not malls) here too. The local council were so taken in by them that they installed an access road, commonly mis-described as a by-pass. 

 

However, by chance, I found this other company that supplies them at a reasonable cost. This along with other delicacies, such as borlotti beans, artichoke hearts (another Caronia hors D' speciality) and dried shitake mushrooms, so I can put together an order worth shipping, and prepare some interesting meals too.

As a commis waiter, if there was just one or two too many figs to fit into the glass bowl we decanted them into, then to me there was nothing more refreshing. So, each time I now open a tin, chilled first as they were, I'm transported back nigh on 60 years to those hectic mornings rushing around to set up the breakfast service. All my mates thought me weird for liking these small, sweet bombs of the myriad crunchy seeds. Happens, that once drained of the extra sugar, they're one of your 5-a-day, so no guilt! 

 

More on Breakfast Preparation Aboard Caronia

 

Regards,

Steve

 

[CGTNORMANDIE]

7 hours ago, Heidi13 said:

How about the real Baked Alaska from the 70's & 80's, with actual meringue on the outside and a lit candle on the top. The replicas they provide now are gastly. 

 

Curry on an Indian crew ship where the cooks could be seen out on deck every morning grinding the herbs and spices by hand. Incredible lunches, where we had a selection of 3 curries.😀

Ohhhhhh how I wish I could have been there.  When DW and I were young we took a round trip to Blighty on the SS France.  When we arrived in London, for the four day turnaround,  we got our first introduction to high quality curry with all the condiments.  A full dinner with all the sides and a couple of pints of chilled lager set us back a total the equivalent of $10.00 US...and that included a little extra for the service!  We cannot get good curry here in the USA.  I swear the folks who go into the restaurant business here are former engineers, etc...not real Indian cooks.  As usual, being a former chef, I have to prepare curry and condiments myself but how I long for those wonderful days of my youth in London.  

[CGTNORMANDIE]

3 hours ago, Lowiepete said:

For many years after leaving the MN,  I looked in vain for whole figs in light syrup. On board Caronia they came in huge catering size tins, far too many to consider for just an occasional single breakfast serving. In the UK, more or less the only time you can buy figs is either for cake baking, where they're dried and need to be chopped and re-hydrated first, or in slightly softer versions around yuletide, along with soft dates.

 

The only supermarket that sells them in syrup here is one that I have boycotted for years. I saw what this company did in the USA and they were set on decimating shopping districts (not malls) here too. The local council were so taken in by them that they installed an access road, commonly mis-described as a by-pass. 

 

However, by chance, I found this other company that supplies them at a reasonable cost. This along with other delicacies, such as borlotti beans, artichoke hearts (another Caronia hors D' speciality) and dried shitake mushrooms, so I can put together an order worth shipping, and prepare some interesting meals too.

As a commis waiter, if there was just one or two too many figs to fit into the glass bowl we decanted them into, then to me there was nothing more refreshing. So, each time I now open a tin, chilled first as they were, I'm transported back nigh on 60 years to those hectic mornings rushing around to set up the breakfast service. All my mates thought me weird for liking these small, sweet bombs of the myriad crunchy seeds. Happens, that once drained of the extra sugar, they're one of your 5-a-day, so no guilt! 

 

More on Breakfast Preparation Aboard Caronia

 

Regards,

Steve

 

Hi Steve,  

 

The figs you describe are called Kadota figs.  They are readily available in the US.  I believe they are grown and canned in California.  Funny thing...I am also a Kadota fig addict!  My grandfather, who was a train buff, used to get them for breakfast when he traveled by train.  He introduced me to them when I was a very young lad.  I try to shy away from them these days because of the high sugar and calorie count.  There is nothing better than a small bowl of Kadota figs and cream for breakfast.  I always get them when I’m on a cruise.  Again...thank you for reminding me of another one of the joys of meals onboard.

[shipgeeks]

Congee!

I've been reminded that although I discovered congee on land, and my attempts at making it at home have not been good, it's something that I enjoy on a cruise, especially as it evokes "far away places with strange-sounding names".

A long, long time ago, we flew from Sydney to Kuala Lumpur, arriving in the middle of the night.  Our pre-booked hotel room was available, but two Malaysian women we had met on the flight had nowhere to stay.  So we shared our room with them.  In the morning, they said we must go to the hotel coffee shop and order congee.  We had no idea what it was, but we did, and it hit the spot.  We didn't see it again until a HAL cruise many years later.  Now I see it on RC and MSC, and always have some.

[Heidi13]

After a 4-month contract and eating mostly amazing meals daily, on arrival home, all I wanted was a couple of greasy Scotch pies and a few pints of heavy. For breakfast, a plate of Bubble & Squeak and fried eggs just hit the spot.

[shipgeeks]

1 hour ago, Heidi13 said:

After a 4-month contract and eating mostly amazing meals daily, on arrival home, all I wanted was a couple of greasy Scotch pies and a few pints of heavy. For breakfast, a plate of Bubble & Squeak and fried eggs just hit the spot.

I get it!  When we sailed to Australia on a freighter, we were given very nice meals three times a day.  At some point in the Pacific, we started asking if we could have some crew food instead.  I believe we got some split pea soup once, then back to the regular menu.  By the time we reached our second port in Australia, we went ashore on a search for pizza.