Part 6
It's no secret that food is one of the big selling points of a cruise (except on Carnival which I heard is little more than a floating frat house). I ate like a pig even though I had planned on watching myself. Sure, I could have skipped a couple courses of the 5 course dinners served every night, but why deprive yourself while you're on vacation? That wouldn't make any sense. There would be plenty of time for deprivation once I got back to Jersey.
The food was ridiculous. Everything was good and it's available all the time. The lunch buffet was hardly what you would call "light." You could go a little crazy with all that food and it wasn't unusual to see people piling two plates high at breakfast or lunch. I stuck to one plate, but sometimes I would end up with odd combinations. I've never had fried shrimp with pizza before, but when it's there, just staring you in the face, it's hard to resist. Breakfast was a particular treat since my normal breakfast consists of a bowl of cereal. Pancakes, waffles, scrambled eggs, bacon, and sausage (links and patties); I had them all during the cruise.
I also made my first acquaintance with the bizarre Baked Alaska ritual. On the penultimate night of the cruise, lobster tail is generally served for dinner with Baked Alaska for dessert. Before dessert is served, the restaurant staff is introduced and then, with much fanfare, the Baked Alaska is brought out, held aloft by the waiters with a lit candle in the middle, and paraded around the dining room while diners are encouraged to go nuts and wave their napkins in salute to what, by all appearances, is the King of Desserts.
Believe it or not, I've never had Baked Alaska before, so I wasn't sure what to expect. Imagine my surprise when it turns out that the Baked Alaska is nothing more than a glorified ice cream cake. Sorry, but this emperor has no clothes. Seriously, I've had better from Carvel (I would take a French Bordeaux-laden Cookie Puss over the Baked Alaska's meager meringue covering any day).
The other major food spectacle was the Grand Buffet. Have you ever seen a goose in mid-flight made out of cold cuts and olives? Well, neither had I until I viewed the various food sculptures on display during the Grand Buffet. I only went to the "viewing" because I had just finished my dinner (how people were able to continue gorging themselves after they just ate dinner is beyond me). Plus, I don't think I would have had the heart to make a sandwich out of that goose's head.
The food was ridiculous. Everything was good and it's available all the time. The lunch buffet was hardly what you would call "light." You could go a little crazy with all that food and it wasn't unusual to see people piling two plates high at breakfast or lunch. I stuck to one plate, but sometimes I would end up with odd combinations. I've never had fried shrimp with pizza before, but when it's there, just staring you in the face, it's hard to resist. Breakfast was a particular treat since my normal breakfast consists of a bowl of cereal. Pancakes, waffles, scrambled eggs, bacon, and sausage (links and patties); I had them all during the cruise.
I also made my first acquaintance with the bizarre Baked Alaska ritual. On the penultimate night of the cruise, lobster tail is generally served for dinner with Baked Alaska for dessert. Before dessert is served, the restaurant staff is introduced and then, with much fanfare, the Baked Alaska is brought out, held aloft by the waiters with a lit candle in the middle, and paraded around the dining room while diners are encouraged to go nuts and wave their napkins in salute to what, by all appearances, is the King of Desserts.
Believe it or not, I've never had Baked Alaska before, so I wasn't sure what to expect. Imagine my surprise when it turns out that the Baked Alaska is nothing more than a glorified ice cream cake. Sorry, but this emperor has no clothes. Seriously, I've had better from Carvel (I would take a French Bordeaux-laden Cookie Puss over the Baked Alaska's meager meringue covering any day).
The other major food spectacle was the Grand Buffet. Have you ever seen a goose in mid-flight made out of cold cuts and olives? Well, neither had I until I viewed the various food sculptures on display during the Grand Buffet. I only went to the "viewing" because I had just finished my dinner (how people were able to continue gorging themselves after they just ate dinner is beyond me). Plus, I don't think I would have had the heart to make a sandwich out of that goose's head.
posted by BayonneMike at 3:02 PM
4 Comments:
"...while diners are encouraged to go nuts and wave their napkins in salute to what, by all appearances, is the King of Desserts."
You didn't bow to that thing did you? These rituals creep me out. It's like that tabu the Brady Boys found in the cave. The Perils of the Tabu...pooh-pooh. The olive loaf sounds delightful. Any ice carvings?
Nah, I didn't bow, but I think I did wave my napkin a bit (didn't want to be a spoilsport). And, yes, I believe there were ice carvings, too, but I can't remember what of. I've never been a big ice carving fan.
Any gambling on board? Any noteworthy alcohol consumption? Any Snorkeling?
And most important, did you get to the Dominican Republic?? (Jorge reference, wink-wink.)
There was gambling on board. I didn't participate (except for a couple games of bingo near the end--I mistakenly thought I could beat the oldsters at their own game). Hanging around the Freehold racetrack as a youth kind of put me off gambling for life, I guess. Alcohol consumption was limited by the fact that I had to pay for it and also by the fact that most of the ship's occupants were in bed by midnight. Didn't do the snorkeling thing. I've seen fish before.
No stops in the DR. Coincidentally, our headwaiter's name was "Jorge" (he asked us to call him "George").
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