Is Anyone Else Like Me?

[Kristelle]

Of course if you go on organised land tours you don't have to organise your own meals either. 

[ontheweb]

10 hours ago, Hlitner said:

Ahhh but for those of us who live to eat, dining at various land restaurants is wonderful.  Most cruise cuisine is not in the same category although some of what we enjoyed on EJ1 was world class/

10 hours ago, clo said:

LOL. Ooooohhhhh, that's one of my major joys when traveling is planning a great dinner OUT.

Hank

Some of us are not foodies. And if you do not eat meat, planning meals out becomes much harder.

 

And I said you do NOT have to find a place to eat each night. For those of you who want to you still can.

[ontheweb]

4 hours ago, Kristelle said:

Of course if you go on organised land tours you don't have to organise your own meals either. 

I disagree. We have been on organized land tours where a few dinners, but far from all of them are planned.

[Kristelle]

 I suppose depends on the company and the tours.

We went on Trafalgar 16 days round Uk/ Ireland  all  main meals were included ( usually you just bought your own lunch from a cafe or suchlike during the excursion or travelling time) .

We went on Wendy Wu land tours of Vietnam and then China, all meals  were included. 

[clo]

3 hours ago, ontheweb said:

Some of us are not foodies. And if you do not eat meat, planning meals out becomes much harder.

 

And I said you do NOT have to find a place to eat each night. For those of you who want to you still can.

On a cruise it's more about planning a good lunch 🙂 

[clo]

3 hours ago, ontheweb said:

I disagree. We have been on organized land tours where a few dinners, but far from all of them are planned.

Reading @KristelleI can say we've only used one company and these others that are mentioned sound much better. Gate 1 has occasional 'group dinners' which we learned to skip as the food was kinda 'one size fits all.' And we would do our research and go off on our own. 

[ontheweb]

15 hours ago, clo said:

LOL. Ooooohhhhh, that's one of my major joys when traveling is planning a great dinner OUT.

Not all of us are caviar and foie gras people. In fact, near the end of our very first cruise my DW said that she missed peanut butter and jelly!

[Terry Bill]

37 minutes ago, ontheweb said:

Not all of us are caviar and foie gras people. In fact, near the end of our very first cruise my DW said that she missed peanut butter and jelly!

I recommend Cunard's Queens Grill - they make whatever you want, including peanut butter and jelly!  We prefer plain food and are happy to pay up to have it.  The standard fayre has too much fat and sugar unless you stick with salad (and then you don't get the calories).  Fish or meat with boiled veg or rice.  Lovely.  It's great that there is a choice,

so the foodies are happy, too.

 

[clo]

2 hours ago, ontheweb said:

Not all of us are caviar and foie gras people. In fact, near the end of our very first cruise my DW said that she missed peanut butter and jelly!

I apologize if I gave the impression that those foods are anywhere near my regular diet! I have each maybe twice a year - at home cause it's too expensive in restaurants. In no way is most of the food we eat while traveling high falutin'. Squid cooked street side in Bangkok. An amazing soup in Vietnam. A fantastic - mostly pork so avert your eyes 🙂 - Saturday lunch dish in Rio. that was all manner of the non-prime parts of the pig with beans, rice, okra , salad and more. 

 

And speaking of PBJ, of which I'm not a huge fan, my husband says I make THE best egg salad in the whole world. And the main reasons I want to get back home is #1 to see Hairy Red Dog and a strong #2 is to cook. I LOVE to cook.
So again, my apologies.

 

[clo]

On 3/14/2024 at 3:32 PM, ilikeanswers said:

 

I am curious what makes the Baltics more of a hassle for you to travel to? Is it just the long flight you are trying to avoid? 

No. It's the likelihood of our hitting all those places on independent or even escorted land trips.

[Hlitner]

On 3/17/2024 at 1:11 PM, ontheweb said:

Not all of us are caviar and foie gras people. In fact, near the end of our very first cruise my DW said that she missed peanut butter and jelly!

She might appreciate the lido cuisine on Carnival and other lower priced lines.  DW loves PB&J, but it is something she eats at home, not when paying money to be on a cruise.  I happen to really like decent caviar and have sometimes mentioned that we probably eat $50-$100 a day of caviar when on Seabourn.  That might sound like a lot of money, but consider that some mass market lines do charge around $100 for a single serving of those black/gray eggs.

 

Hank

[YourWorldWithBill]

5 hours ago, clo said:

No. It's the likelihood of our hitting all those places on independent or even escorted land trips.

Our cruise in May is to the Baltics, and we suppose in case we don't take the time to visit all the places we'll see on the cruise excursions, we can at least appreciate what we see. And if we like anywhere enough, we'll return. This cruise is, in fact, a return to some places we've been. Especially the pre- and post-cruise locations will give us more time there.

[clo]

1 hour ago, YourWorldWithBill said:

Our cruise in May is to the Baltics, and we suppose in case we don't take the time to visit all the places we'll see on the cruise excursions, we can at least appreciate what we see. And if we like anywhere enough, we'll return. This cruise is, in fact, a return to some places we've been. Especially the pre- and post-cruise locations will give us more time there.

Oh, I'm with you on the pre and post but I'm honestly not going to head back to those inbetween places. Some of that I'm sure is our age - mid70s.

[cruisemom42]

On 3/17/2024 at 1:11 PM, ontheweb said:

Not all of us are caviar and foie gras people. In fact, near the end of our very first cruise my DW said that she missed peanut butter and jelly!

 

I'm a fancy food lover. When I go on vacation I don't want to eat things I can easily make or get at home. Give me eggs benny for breakfast, vichysoisse for lunch and caviar, foie gras, beef Wellington for dinner. 

 

I'm not referring to you, but I think some people enjoy posting about how they stick to their Spartan diets while cruising -- only lean meat, grilled, veggies, oat milk, no desserts, blah blah blah.

 

I eat enough plain chicken and salads at home.

 

If that's what they want to eat, I'm all for it. Just don't appreciate those who post here as if enjoying somewhat less healthy food is beyond the pale while on vacation.

[DarrenM]

46 minutes ago, cruisemom42 said:

 

I'm a fancy food lover. When I go on vacation I don't want to eat things I can easily make or get at home. Give me eggs benny for breakfast, vichysoisse for lunch and caviar, foie gras, beef Wellington for dinner. 

 

I'm not referring to you, but I think some people enjoy posting about how they stick to their Spartan diets while cruising -- only lean meat, grilled, veggies, oat milk, no desserts, blah blah blah.

 

I eat enough plain chicken and salads at home.

 

If that's what they want to eat, I'm all for it. Just don't appreciate those who post here as if enjoying somewhat less healthy food is beyond the pale while on vacation.

This.

 

My breakfast whilst on board was almost exclusively eggs benedict.

 

Never eat this at home. Its cereal with oat milk.

 

Mind you, at home I don't have half a dozen cocktails per day either.

 

Honest.

[DarrenM]

Mind you, I eat so well at breakfast that its just not feasible to eat lunch as well.

 

So more often than not, lunch is missed ready for the evening meals 4 courses.

 

Unless I partake in very early alcoholic beverages then the munchies strike, so afternoon pizza is usually consumed.

 

I don't usually do this at home either.

 

I generally cant be doing 3 meals a day though.

 

That's just extreme gluttony to me.

 

I would need to be running 10km daily to counteract the fact that I would look like Augustus Gloop by the end of the cruise.

 

 

[Terry Bill]

I like my cruise ship to be a home from home, including food and routine.  It's nice to follow the routine in a different environment with better weather and new destinations.

 

Obviously, my wife doesn't cook and wash on the voyage - what sort of throwback to the 1950s do you think I am?  No, she enjoys a break too.

[ontheweb]

10 hours ago, Hlitner said:

She might appreciate the lido cuisine on Carnival and other lower priced lines.  DW loves PB&J, but it is something she eats at home, not when paying money to be on a cruise.  I happen to really like decent caviar and have sometimes mentioned that we probably eat $50-$100 a day of caviar when on Seabourn.  That might sound like a lot of money, but consider that some mass market lines do charge around $100 for a single serving of those black/gray eggs.

 

Hank

 

5 hours ago, cruisemom42 said:

 

I'm a fancy food lover. When I go on vacation I don't want to eat things I can easily make or get at home. Give me eggs benny for breakfast, vichysoisse for lunch and caviar, foie gras, beef Wellington for dinner. 

 

I'm not referring to you, but I think some people enjoy posting about how they stick to their Spartan diets while cruising -- only lean meat, grilled, veggies, oat milk, no desserts, blah blah blah.

 

I eat enough plain chicken and salads at home.

 

If that's what they want to eat, I'm all for it. Just don't appreciate those who post here as if enjoying somewhat less healthy food is beyond the pale while on vacation.

 

10 hours ago, Hlitner said:

She might appreciate the lido cuisine on Carnival and other lower priced lines.  DW loves PB&J, but it is something she eats at home, not when paying money to be on a cruise.  I happen to really like decent caviar and have sometimes mentioned that we probably eat $50-$100 a day of caviar when on Seabourn.  That might sound like a lot of money, but consider that some mass market lines do charge around $100 for a single serving of those black/gray eggs.

 

Hank

I begrudge no one being a foodie, we just are not. In fact when we were not married that long and hardly knew each other yet and I observed her eating very little, I asked her would she like it if she did not have to eat and just took vitamins or such. And she enthusiastically said yes. I think she does now enjoy some foods more.

 

My most memorable food on a ship was the last dessert on our cruise this past summer in a dining room that featured comfort food. Boy, that hot fudge sundae was great.😊😊😊😊

[ontheweb]

Actually, the foods we eat on a cruise are not the same as at home. No kidney bean burgers, black bean burgers, lentil patties, or lima bean loaf that I remember on a ship.

 

Now lima bean loaf is interesting. Her youngest sister told me about it, lima beans, peanut butter, bread crumbs, and milk are the ingredients. When I was told about it, her sister was making fun of it, but then said, you'd probably like that. And we still eat it.

[Hlitner]

58 minutes ago, ontheweb said:

 

 

I begrudge no one being a foodie, we just are not. In fact when we were not married that long and hardly knew each other yet and I observed her eating very little, I asked her would she like it if she did not have to eat and just took vitamins or such. And she enthusiastically said yes. I think she does now enjoy some foods more.

 

My most memorable food on a ship was the last dessert on our cruise this past summer in a dining room that featured comfort food. Boy, that hot fudge sundae was great.😊😊😊😊

The history of cruising is very interesting, in terms of onboard cuisine and other unique amenities.  Since we started cruising (in the mid 70s) and based on my parents own experience (they were cruising in the 50s and 60s) we have a pretty good idea of how the industry evolved into what we know today.  For whatever reason, cuisine has always been a major part of the cruise industry, and even before that industry when one goes back to the days before modern cruising when folks mostly used ships to cross large oceans.  Just look at some of the exhibits. for the Titanic, and you will see that cuisine was a very important part of the industry back in the early part of the 20th century.

 

In the 70s we started to see a real "cruise industry" as lines like Carnival, NCL, Sitmar, etc. turned ships into something close to what we think of as modern cruise ships.  In those days, the amount and waste of food was shocking.  Lines would generally have huge midnight buffets, nearly every night, and they were often quite spectacular.  2nd sitting (or late dining) was the most popular, so many of us would finish dinner around 10pm and then line-up around 11:30 to eat again!  It was obscene and lots of fun.  

 

I think NCL should get some credit for again changing the industry when it started its so-called "Free Style" marketing campaign.  This spurred many alternative restaurants, and for the first time we saw a movement towards "maximizing onboard revenue" by encouraging folks to pay extra for better food.  In those days there was little attention paid to special diets, things like "gluten free" and "vegan" hardly existed on ships.  And the idea of "healthy cuisine" was not a thought for most cruisers who expected to gain about 1 pound a day!

 

Now, the industry has again reinventd itself.  Spectacular midnight buffets have all but disappeared (with a few exceptions), you can find healthy alternatives, gluten free, vegan, etc.  The old reserved deck chairs (with service by your steward) are gone (except for some who want to pay extra) replaced by an era of "chair hogs."   

 

We do think there is a new move to really improve cuisine for those willing to pay the price.  Many ships have high-end alternative restaurants (that can cost hundreds of dollars for a meal) and the new Explora Journeys cruise line (which will soon have six - 900 passenger ships) has made cuisine a major part of its being (this line does not even have a main dining room).

 

For folks who are not "foodies" the question becomes whether it makes sense to book some of these lines that really emphasize cuisine (at a big price in terms of the cruise price).  There are still lines like NCL and MSC where folks, who have little interest in cuisine, can book relatively low cost cabins and be content with the lowest denominator of food offerings.

 

Hank

[navybankerteacher]

1 hour ago, ontheweb said:

…

 

Now lima bean loaf is interesting. Her youngest sister told me about it, lima beans, peanut butter, bread crumbs, and milk are the ingredients. When I was told about it, her sister was making fun of it, but then said, you'd probably like that. And we still eat it.

Well, Monticello is a far away place - where people might be expected to eat strange foods.

[ldubs]

8 hours ago, cruisemom42 said:

 

 

I'm not referring to you, but I think some people enjoy posting about how they stick to their Spartan diets while cruising -- only lean meat, grilled, veggies, oat milk, no desserts, blah blah blah.

 

 

And some seem to enjoy posting about how they do fancy fine dining.   Not sure why sharing one preference is any different than sharing another. 

 

I like food that is fresh and well prepared.  Don't care if it is called sauce or demi-glaze.   Lol.  

Edited March 19 by ldubs

[ontheweb]

4 hours ago, navybankerteacher said:

Well, Monticello is a far away place - where people might be expected to eat strange foods.

Hey, lima bean loaf does not come from here, but from my DW before being my wife lived on Long Island. I think she gets recipes from vegetarian cookbooks like Diet for a Small Planet. But I do not know where the lima bean loaf recipe comes from.

[cruisemom42]

2 hours ago, ldubs said:

 

And some seem to enjoy posting about how they do fancy fine dining.   Not sure why sharing one preference is any different than sharing another. 

 

 

It's in the tone. And agree there are some on each side.

Edited March 19 by cruisemom42

[Terry Bill]

14 minutes ago, ontheweb said:

 But I do not know where the lima bean loaf recipe comes from.

 

The capital city of Peru?  Just a guess.