Wow.. that was some trip! Forty (that is right "40") of us friends on one ship for three nights...and we are still talking to each other!!
The cruise (on Royal Caribbean's Monarch of the Seas) was a three night affair with halts scheduled for Nassau and CocoCay islands. The Nassau stop was fun. Some of us just walked around the island while the adventurous amongst us rode scooters, went swimming or jet-skiing. However, the trip to CocoCay was unfortunately cancelled at the last minute due to extremely rough seas.
The ship was quite old, (commissioned in Nov 1991, and as Radhika would say "older than me") and it showed. Looked like she badly needed a makeover. However, the cabins were quite decent with extremely comfortable beds.
Breakfast and lunch were casual and we ate at the buffet. For dinners (semi-formal sit-down affairs), we went to the dining room. The second night was the Captain's dinner and some of us dressed up for the occasion. They served free wine that night (alcohol is quite expensive on board).
The food on board was not as wonderful as we expected. Personally I thought that food on board the Carnival ship we were on a few years ago (our first cruise) was better.
The buffets featured standard American fare as well as Oriental (decent) and Indian dishes (which quite frankly was not up to par). The dinner menu in the dining room offered some variety including an Indian selection. A few of the dishes that we enjoyed included a refreshing pineapple sorbet, chicken in hot chili sauce, and white chocolate mousse.
After a few mediocre meals, I requested for an appointment to meet with the ship's Food & Beverages Manager. Mr. Seamus Mee was fun to talk to and I used the opportunity to offer a few "suggestions" for improvement. I will leave it at that.
I also had an opportunity to do a galley tour which was fascinating. The kitchens were fairly small but well equipped and tidy. I watched one of the Indian cooks on board try to impress the galley tour members with a "roomali roti" demo.. all went well until the roti flew out of his hands and on to the floor. Poor chappy looked quite embarrassed, as can be expected.
The logistics behind feeding 2600+ guests and 600+ staff on a daily basis is mind-boggling (the ship sails 365 days a year unless it is in dry-dock). Met the chef as well as the purchasing manager who explained how he keeps the shelves stocked at all time.
On the whole we had a fun trip thanks to having a whole bunch of friends and family around.
Now that we are back safe on land, it is time to get back to routine.
Hope all of you had a wonderful 2010.
Here is wishing You and Yours a fantabulous 2011.
Happy Cooking!!
The cruise (on Royal Caribbean's Monarch of the Seas) was a three night affair with halts scheduled for Nassau and CocoCay islands. The Nassau stop was fun. Some of us just walked around the island while the adventurous amongst us rode scooters, went swimming or jet-skiing. However, the trip to CocoCay was unfortunately cancelled at the last minute due to extremely rough seas.
The ship was quite old, (commissioned in Nov 1991, and as Radhika would say "older than me") and it showed. Looked like she badly needed a makeover. However, the cabins were quite decent with extremely comfortable beds.
Breakfast and lunch were casual and we ate at the buffet. For dinners (semi-formal sit-down affairs), we went to the dining room. The second night was the Captain's dinner and some of us dressed up for the occasion. They served free wine that night (alcohol is quite expensive on board).
The food on board was not as wonderful as we expected. Personally I thought that food on board the Carnival ship we were on a few years ago (our first cruise) was better.
The buffets featured standard American fare as well as Oriental (decent) and Indian dishes (which quite frankly was not up to par). The dinner menu in the dining room offered some variety including an Indian selection. A few of the dishes that we enjoyed included a refreshing pineapple sorbet, chicken in hot chili sauce, and white chocolate mousse.
After a few mediocre meals, I requested for an appointment to meet with the ship's Food & Beverages Manager. Mr. Seamus Mee was fun to talk to and I used the opportunity to offer a few "suggestions" for improvement. I will leave it at that.
I also had an opportunity to do a galley tour which was fascinating. The kitchens were fairly small but well equipped and tidy. I watched one of the Indian cooks on board try to impress the galley tour members with a "roomali roti" demo.. all went well until the roti flew out of his hands and on to the floor. Poor chappy looked quite embarrassed, as can be expected.
The logistics behind feeding 2600+ guests and 600+ staff on a daily basis is mind-boggling (the ship sails 365 days a year unless it is in dry-dock). Met the chef as well as the purchasing manager who explained how he keeps the shelves stocked at all time.
On the whole we had a fun trip thanks to having a whole bunch of friends and family around.
Now that we are back safe on land, it is time to get back to routine.
Hope all of you had a wonderful 2010.
Here is wishing You and Yours a fantabulous 2011.
Happy Cooking!!
sir, i follow your blog and find it quite interesting.
ReplyDeletejyotsna (your student (ihm kov)