Did you know that avg cruise passenger gains one and 1/2 pounds PER DAY?
Yep! Well that is what Cruise Director Josh said during an info session on Friday morning on our first day Fun Day at Sea. Umm, excuse me? 1 1/2 pounds is 5,250 calories. An extra 5,250 a day! How the hell is that possible?!?! As I sat there in stunned disbelief I started to consider that on a cruise people would eat larger, more indulgent meals, eat more often, and drink a lot of high caloric alcoholic drinks. Well that made me immediately want to die. It actually was good to hear that as it made more much more aware of what I was ordering and made me (try to stick to) the 3 bite rule for desserts.
Here is a little run down on the meals we had in the main dining rooms. There were plenty of amazing food that we enjoyed from the buffets and serving stations for other meals but I didn’t bring my camera around for everything. I do really suggest going to the Mongolian BBQ (Stir Fry) station because that was so good… glass noodles with shrimp. yum!
For sit down meals in the main dining rooms there was a menu that had the standard menu items (left page) and the specials of the day (right page).
-Thursday Dinner-
Cream of Sun-Dried Tomato Soup. Must make this at home
Grilled Flat Iron Steak- Price didn’t get to eat this tonight, he had a horrible headache and went to bed. I was tempted to eat 2 dinners, but I didn’t. I swear!
Steamed fish on a bed of tomatoes & onions, a teeny tiny portion of mac & cheese, and steamed, glazed carrots. Everything about this was perfect
-Friday Lunch-
The weather was crappy and it was the first day at sea so we decided to have a long lunch in the dining room instead of the various stations on the lido deck.
My California roll sushi and Price’s Mongolia Hot Pot. We both loved our appetizers. The sushi roll was made with real crab, none of that imitation junk!
Shrimp and crap sandwich. Not what I expected but it was good. I did find that all of their tomatoes were not a great quality and/or under ripe and didn’t eat any on the cruise.
Creme Caramel. ‘nuf said
-Friday Dinner-
Must hydrate after an afternoon lying out by the Azure Lido (adult only) Pool. We split a bottle of wine for dinner. (Maybe that’s why I fell asleep during the show that night!)
Stuffed mushroom starter. This was very light and so good! Mushrooms stuffed with spinach and topped with some cheese.
Broiled lobster and shrimp with mashed potatoes and broccoli. I heard some people swapping out the shrimp to get some steak instead- wow!
Melty chocolate cake and a carmel apple napoleon. The chocolate cake was insanely rich and the portion was insanely large. I honestly think they should make it half the size, which is what we had and that was pushing it. The napoleon was great and will be easily recreated at home.
-Saturday Breakfast-
Just as the woman next to Price said ‘No, thank you. It’s too early for a drink.’ I ordered one for us. That is just how we roll. It was 8.10 in the morning.
Worst eggs benedict that I have ever had. I had a side of hash. I ignored at as well as I was so turned off from the meal in general. At least that meant I had room for a great lunch in Saint John.
-Saturday Dinner-
ah-MAH-zing french onion soup
Penne with shrimp, scallops, calamari, and mussels. This reminded me of penne al la vodka, but with very fresh sea food.
We always ordered different desserts so we could always have a taste of each other’s. We shared the date and fig cinnamon cake with rum raisin ice cream and a diet lemon cake.
-Sunday Dinner-
My starter: Maryland crab cake | Price’s starter: small portion of the grilled chicken breast over pasta with a mushroom cream sauce
I did not like this as it had olives- which the menu did not say. I picked out all the olives but I could not get past it to enjoy it.
Orange souffle with a vanilla cream sauce. This was the after pic.
I give a lot of credit to the chefs and staff on board for preparing and serving such wonderful dishes. I’m proud of myself when I can cook for a party but I can’t imagine cooking for THOUSANDS of people. Amazing job.