Cooking on a Cruise

[Two if by Sea]

I don't want to hijack Hammybee's excellent thread about AYWD, so I thought I would carry this quote over and start a new thread. I hope that is proper etiquette.

 

You want to grocery shop, and then COOK on a cruise???? To be honest, I have NEVER seen that wish posted here before.

 

There are SO many food options that cooking your own food is not necessary to have healthy meal.

 

Please don't blame it on the cruise...Not to be mean, but maybe the will power needs a boost?

 

Just a thought...Judy

 

I'm not trying to blame anything on anybody! I just happen to like good home-cooked meals. I have never taken a long cruise (I've only ever taken one cruise and that was 25 years ago -- this summer will be my second ever) but in general, on vacations of even just one week, our preference is to rent an apartment with a kitchen, so that we can cook about half or two-thirds of our meals in.

 

Of course I could eat just a soup or just a salad many nights of the cruise. And if I don't, I am fully aware that that is MY decision and that nobody is forcing more food on me than I care to eat.

 

But there is still something very different about eating IN versus eating OUT (and I am not referring to room service). I am not COMPLAINING -- I have no misconceptions about what it is we have booked. I am just sort of wistfully indicating a wish for something nonexistant, and wondering idly if perhaps it exists after all.

 

I did find one cruise ship (The ResidenSea World) with fully-equippped apartments on board, but alas that one appears to be just a tad expensive for our lifestyle.

 

[jhannah]

I have absolutely no desire to cook while on vacation ... land or sea. To me, a vacation is an escape from the every-day routine.

 

There are many healthy options onboard ship. There are vegetarian dishes, and you can get menu items that are not covered in rich sauces.

 

As far as I'm concerned, though, ladle on the good artery-hardening stuff! :D

[jrzebird]

I just woke up, so maybe I'm reading wrong ... but you can't possibly mean that you'd rather spend time preparing, cooking and cleaning up than having someone do these things for you and VERY well, at that. :eek: I can understand a preference to eat in when on a land vacation. After all, when you eat out, you have to clean up, find a place, take a chance on the quality of food, and spend a fortune for the experience. It's a hassle to go out to dinner some nights. But in my wildest dreams, I can't imagine having this problem on a cruise, where I could eat in my room, in my pj's, if I wish. Plus, it's already paid for and wonderful. I am NOT criticizing you, trust me ... everyone gets pleasure from different things. What I like might not be to your liking, and vice-versa. For instance, I would never consider camping, yet others find it their greatest pleasure. Doesn't make either one of us right or wrong. Just different. Viva la Difference!

[mamaofami]

No one forces you to eat anything on a cruise. There is so much to chose from, you should be able to get whatever you want. Eating a salad and soup for a meal is certainly an option. Many people do just that. I have room service for breakfast so I don't over eat. I know exactly what is coming and it comes on time and quite hot. Go to the salad bar fro lunch. There is loads to choose from. Dinner is easy. Just order as little or as much as you want. ZThere are healthy selections to pick every day.

 

Relax and enjoy yourself. Perhaps you should have booked a land vacation instead of a cruise so you could have your kitchen. I know in the summer we go to a resort where we have a kitchen and we eat breakfast and lunch in, but we look forward to dinner out every night.

[gizmo]

In all the years I have been reading CC and other cruise forums this is a first. :D

 

I have read where people bring coffee pots, tea kettles, folding tables, beach umbrellas, blow up palm trees, and of course blenders, but never read that anyone wants to cook their own meals.

 

Different strokes for different folks. ;)

 

If you can afford the Penthouse, there is a microwave you can use.

[WeLoveCruising]

TwoIfBySea,

 

I'm trying to understand your reason - do you have a specific concern (for example: healthy diet, allergy, sanitation, religious requirements?)

 

There is just so much available on the ship, and the staff is so accomodating, I'm trying to imagine a scenario where you wouldnt get what you wanted, without having to do the work yourself.

[Two if by Sea]

As I mentioned, this will be my second cruise ever, and my first in 25 years. So, I have only land vacations to compare to. When I come back, I may well understand why my idle wish for kitchen facilities was completely silly onboard a cruise ship.

 

But to answer the question about what is my reason, I guess the biggest one is that my wife likes to cook, enjoys it -- and looks forward to vacation times as a time when she finally has TIME to do it, and I like to be there and help out. So for us it has always been a relaxing down time between all the other things we're doing on vacation, and every bit a part of our vacation.

 

Again, I am not complaining. We haven't always found an apartment with a kitchen during land vacations either -- sometimes we're moving too much for it to work out.

 

Maybe the cooking classes will be sufficient. I hope they've got one on our cruise.

 

[mamaofami]

I was going to suggest going to the cooking classes and cooking demos. Go to the front desk when you board and ask if you have to sign up. Some of them are limited. ANd then, enjoy the food on the cruise. If you like something, there is a cookbook with all the recipes. I don't recall the name but maybe someone else will read this and tell you.

[hammybee]

We have been vacationing gulf front on Sanibel Island, since forever. The condos include wonderful kitchens and I make use of them.

 

While at sea, when enough is enough, I sometimes order dinner off the Children's Menu. It creates a balance for me.

[Krazy Kruizers]

No way do I want to cook while on a cruise.

[Maui Mermaid]

We also love to cook and it's a great relaxation activity for us, so I can appreciate your desire to cruise and cook....when we cruise, we use it as an excuse to find out more about food in different cultures...when we do a port, we try to find a great local place to have lunch and experience the cuisine...we also check out the grocery stores and specialty shops for unique food products to bring home (noting USDA restrictions on some imports). It's fun to cook a few weeks after a cruise and use "vacation ingredients" to re-live the trip.

 

We just did a Mediterranean cruise and picked up a bottle of the best local olive oil from each port, plus some great spices.

 

We also went to several outdoor markets and took lots of pictures of the fabulous vegetable and fish displays...I know some of the shots will go up on our kitchen walls for further inspiration.

 

MM

[cruz chic]

I can sort of relate to the OP. I'm happy to get away from cooking but after a while everything smells/tastes the same. I was on a Panama Canal cruise for 20 days in 2006 and I started to feel like I'd like my own cooking for a meal or two. For me I eat pretty healthy at home but when I go on vacation all bets are off. I do realize that I can pick healthy things on a cruise but it's just not the same. What I wouldn't mind on a long cruise is to cook a meal here and there when I felt like a change but not all meals everyday. Please don't suggest a land vacation.....I love cruising for more reasons then the food.

[O2B@C]

What no one has mentioned here is the safety issues. Maybe that's because this is just a fantasy thread, but it does nonetheless bear mentioning. Cooking on a ship on the high seas is not the same as cooking on land. Stoves have to be built so their tops stay level when the ship moves. Things spill and fall much more easily. Fire danger has to be taken much more seriously.

 

True, most passengers would be sensible enough not to make the attempt unless things were calm. But squalls can come up unexpectedly in the middle of your dinner preparations, and then what? Plus there are always those few passengers who have too many drinks or too little sense, or both, and do dumb things. Can you imagine the havoc those folks could wreak if they were given kitchen knives, stoves, and pans, and let loose without supervision?

 

Nuff said. I'll eat HAL's cooking, thank you - and enjoy it!

[Two if by Sea]

Ah, I had not thought of the issues of cooking safety as they relate to the motion of the ship. That makes perfect sense.

 

I wonder how they do it on the ResidenSea World. Maybe they only allow residents to cook while docked.

 

Thank you for the suggestion of shopping for local ingredients while in various ports. Not sure we'll find much that is extremely different in Maritime Canada as compared to Boston, but we do always look!

[prescottbob]

Ahoy!

 

We no longer cruise with our hot plate, microwave and popcorn popper. They tended to blow the one and only fuse in the cabin.

 

Hope this helps.

 

Seriously, Have a Wonderful Cruise!

 

Bon Voyage and Good Health & Merry Christmas!

Bob:)

[JimVrhovac]

The Penthouse has a kitchen that can be used for cooking

 

Ruth & Jim

[KCat]

But to answer the question about what is my reason, I guess the biggest one is that my wife likes to cook, enjoys it -- and looks forward to vacation times as a time when she finally has TIME to do it, and I like to be there and help out. So for us it has always been a relaxing down time between all the other things we're doing on vacation, and every bit a part of our vacation.

 

No offense...but when I read your opening post, I thought you were crazy.:o ;) But after reading this, I find it extremely sweet that you enjoy spending time cooking or just being in the kitchen with your wife. I do sincerely hope you and your wife are able to find a comparable event or activity on your next cruise (shopping, snorkeling, sailing, playing cards, ect.) that brings you together as much as your kitchen.:cool: Happy sailing & hope you enjoy your cruise and time together!:)

[jhannah]

Maybe you could do like that Food Network program where the guy just shows up at someone's house and prepares them a meal out of what they have available. Grab a taxi at the port and ask to be taken to a decent neighborhood, then pick out a house! ;)

[Two if by Sea]

LOL :D. I could just about see us doing it....

 

Didn't know the PS had a kitchen -- thought it was just a microwave. Not that that helps us much at this time of life.

 

I was realizing after someone wrote about shopping locally that of course we don't want a grocery store on Deck 3. We'd want to use the local grocery stores in each port. It is still the kitchen and cooking facilities that we would be lacking, however.

[alphakitty]

In the Bahamas, they have a program called People to People. Perhaps one could meet a local and cook them dinner? ;)

 

http://www.grand-bahama.com/

 

Click on "encounter" in the article to read more about the People to People program. Sounds like a great experience.

 

Back on topic ;), I do love to cook but not on vacation. Although, I can see where eating out after a couple of weeks can be boring and a home cooked meal would be great!

[sail7seas]

Maybe that is why they tried adding meatloaf and mac and cheese to the menus. Many of us did not welcome that 'homey touch'..... ;) me included. Perhaps this thread demonstrates 'what they were thinking'. At the time, I couldn't imagine where their heads were at. :o

[RuthC]

Maybe that is why they tried adding meatloaf and mac and cheese to the menus.

I know on longer cruises I reach the "Do I have to go to dinner again?" stage. It's then that simpler foods, or ordering from the children's menu, are welcomed very much.

I can fully understand offering "comfort food" on the menu on those longer cruises.