Cruising Through the Holidays

The holidays may, in some ways, feel like a strange time to be cruising. But those who do take a cruise get the treat of seeing the ships and ports in a way they wouldn’t at any other time of the year.

The ships take on a special glow, decked with new finery. Our Emerald Princess last week was covered bow to stern with garlands and ornament-laden trees. And then one day, the trees came to life with small bright-white lights. I did a double take when live poinsettias suddenly appeared out of nowhere in every nook and cranny, as if Santa had come down the smokestack just to bring us some pre-holiday fun.

Christmas in Bonaire

One of my strongest memories of the ports around the holidays was from our first visit to Saint Maarten. It was the quintessential Caribbean day: sunny with soothing warmth and skies the color of the sea. From the pier to the town, the tender was playing Christmas music, reggae-style. 

Each port has its own take on the holiday. It’s neat to see how they use the tropical foliage as a canvas to express their holiday spirit.

Speaking of spirits, I thought I’d end by sharing a few recipes for Caribbean Christmas goodies, which were posted last week outside the public library in Roseau, Dominica (tip: there’s free wi-fi and it’s only a few blocks from the pier). Here's a
link to one for Caribbean Christmas cake. And below is one for the local version of eggnog:

Chaudo or Chodo 

1 tablespoon brandy or rum

2 eggs
1 pint milk
4 tablespoons white sugar
½ teaspoon nutmeg
Peel of 1 green lime

 

Method

Beat eggs together with sugar and lime peel. In a saucepan, bring milk to the boil and pour over egg mixture, adding all other ingredients. Whisk until frothy. Serve hot or warm.
Enjoy!

 

Cruise Food: What Are Your Standouts?

Cruises and Food. Where to Begin?

There are few topics that generate more opinions than cruise food. Take the same ship, the same food, and one person will roast it and another will applaud it.

Since I’m solidly in the “some live to eat” part of that old quote, I’m going to be one of cruise food’s harsher critics.

In general, I find the food on the mass market ships pretty much the same. That is, occasionally great, sometimes good, but most of the time, merely edible. I admit that I’m extremely picky, so please take that into account!

So, from the perspective of a picky, finicky and moderately experimental eater, here’s my list of standouts—all free of charge—on Celebrity, Princess, Holland America and Royal Caribbean:

Celebrity

·       AquaSpa Café—This tiny café tucked away on Millennium- and Solstice-class ships does made-to-order salmon. After a steady diet of mass-produced food and steady over-eating, this is a real treat

·       Ice cream at lunch—Speaking of treats, with its colorful candy toppings and sauce choices,

The ice cream bar on Celebrity

Celebrity’s cafeteria ice cream bar helps make up for the less-than-exciting lunch offerings. Lines for ice cream can get long, though

·       Waffles at breakfast—The cafeteria also does small, Belgian-style waffles, but don’t take the ones piled high in the stainless steel warming bins; ask for them made to order

Princess

·       Pizza—Many feel that Princess has the best pizza at sea and I agree. Makes you want to eat nothing else

·       Late night noshing—From time to time, we’ve wandered up to the cafeteria at 9 or 10 p.m. for a cup of coffee and have been shocked to find some real specialty stuff. German salamis and hams, interesting cheeses, dried figs and apricots—it made us wonder what else we’ve missed

·       Popcorn, cookies and milk—Princess has a few extra touches like bags of popcorn for movie-goers “Under the Stars,” and cookies and milk for people-watchers in the Atrium

Holland America

·       The dates-mint-and-ginger man—He stands quietly and unobtrusively at the dining room exit, but frequent HAL cruisers know where to find him. The dates, mints and crystalized ginger provide a  sweet and spicy way to end the meal
 

HAL's signature dessert

·       Desserts—The four cruise lines usually have a few terrific desserts each trip, but my prize for the most memorable goes to HAL for the mousse tucked inside a white chocolate chef’s hat and the chocolate bomb, with its ice cream encased in a hard chocolate shell

·      Asian food—If you’ve bemoaned the disappearance of decent Chinese restaurants on land, you’ll enjoy the excellent stir fries in the Lido

Royal Caribbean

·      Main dining room lunch salad—I know it’s strange to highlight a salad, but until you check it out, you won’t understand. This is the mother of all salad bars. Just some of what it includes:  prosciutto, shrimp, arugula, brie. After one of these, you’ll feel like you had a full-course meal!

What are your standouts? Do share!