Ask and you shall receive...
most of you wanted to see the cruise food post first, so here it is my friends.
There really is nothing like the dining on a cruise ship.
Delicous food and drinks are all around you.
In fact, the very first thing we did upon boarding the ship, was make our way to the lido deck for lunch...
That's right. We don't mess around.
This was my lunch on day 2. But each day I ate a salad beast that looked something like this. The coconut water I brought from home. It was nice and refreshing. And don't laugh at how big that salad is alright. I ate every last drop of it. Even those two beans that fell on the tray. I ate those too. ;)
We had early seating in the dining room at 6pm.
That was fine, because at home we usually eat by 6 if not before then, but on a cruise ship, I made a note to myself- on future cruises (without children) always take the late dining at 8pm. Sounds late I know, (well at least it sounds late to this 30 year old!) but then you can hang by the pool longer before having to go in and get cleaned up for dinner, and all of the good shows and comedians and all that fun jazz starts about 9:30pm-10 which is just after late dinner.
So, now that we have that noted, moving on.
Ya'll know how dinner works on a cruise ship right?
They bring you a menu with appetizers, starters, salads, soups, entrees, and desserts, and you can order something from each category, or two things from each, or basically as much food as you want!
Cute picture of my sister and David at dinner, and there I am in the background ordering my food. I think I was saying, "I'll have one of those, and two of those, and better have two of these as well, and oh yes please get me that too...That's all..."
The first night I started out with a fruit bowl.
Then followed that with the tiger shrimp.
Followed by gazpoucho soup. This was so good. It tasted like a chilled mild salsa with fresh bits of onion in it. I loved it.
For my main entree I ordered the mahi mahi and it was overcooked and very dry. I was bummed because I love mahi mahi.
I was actually a bit full by this time (I had also eaten an entire bread basket but there's no picture of that) so I just took bites of my sister's dish.
Vegan pot pie with butternut squash and cinnamon. Pot pie is not usually my thang but this was SO good. I wished I ordered one myself.
The other bummer about early dining at 6pm is that I felt like they really rushed you to finish so they could get ready for the next group of hungry cruisers. I understand that, but that's not how my family does it. We like to sit and talk, and finish the last tasty bits of our wine, and then perhaps have a cup of coffee while we enjoy our dessert. We still did that anyway, but I think they gave us the stink eye about it.
Carnival cruise is known for their famous chocolate melting lava cake.
Now, you know I am not a cake fan, but I do love chocolate.
And melting lava, whatever that is, yeah I love that too.
It was literally melt in your mouth, make you moan out loud good.
Day 2's dining experience did not disappoint.
This was the formal night.
AKA lobster night.
I started out with stuffed mushrooms in a delicous cheese sauce.
Those were good.
I probably could have eaten 8 more.
This was absolutely so delicious and refreshing.
Prosciutto with melons. Quite tasty. I loved the sweet and salty combination.
Pumpkin cinnamon soup. Hmmm mmmm.
Somehow I missed this on the menu and I spotted David's sister eating it. I asked her what it was, and then quickly flagged down our server, pointed, and said, "I want that."
And the mac daddy food of all. Lobster tail, with shrimp, broccoli, and mashed potatoes. You better believe I ate it all.
Doesn't this look so good?
It is chilled strawberry soup. David ordered this, and again, it somehow snuck past me on the menu. I wanted it. I almost stole it from him, but I didn't.
Now I wish I got it.
See, you really do need to order one of everything on a cruise just to try it all out.
And most nights, more than just eating goes on in the dining room...
If you have never cruised before then I will tell you, each night at some point they will turn on some really fun music, and the waiters all walk through the room dancing by the tables, and trying to encourage the guests to jump up and join them.
This night my sister and I were just returning back from the bathroom when the dancing was going on. We were already up, so we had to dance a little bit. We're crazy. And how's that double chin of mine eh? Probably should have laid off that pumpkin soup. ;)
Day 3. Our last meal in the dining room.
Crab cakes. Crab cakes are a favorite of mine and these were delicous. The sauce on them was so good and there were tiny chopped granny smith apples underneath that complimented the flavors perfectly.
This was a grapefruit and melon arugula salad. It had a citrus dressing and was very good.
Salmon was my entree and it was oh so so so so good.
Since I had the chocolate lava cake two nights in a row, I went with something different the last night. Pineapple sherbet. It was so yummy.
Each morning I had an egg white omlette with veggies and cottage cheese. I never had my camera on me, but the last morning I did. I did not want to stand in the omlette line so this is what I went with the last day.
Am I the only one who is hungry now???
Now I'd like to talk about alcohol...
How do you feel about it?
Do you drink?
Why or why not?
I am not a big drinker, but I do like to enjoy a drink or two now and then.
If you have read my profile, you know that I love love love red wine.
But I do not drink red wine, or anything else with the intention of getting drunk.
I never have.
I do not like to be drunk.
I am a control freak, and I do not like that feeling of not being in control.
I do however like the feeling after a glass of wine or two. I think it is relaxing and most enjoyable.
I grew up with alcohol present in my home, but never abused.
My Dad would have a beer while watching the Laker game, my parents would enjoy a glass of wine occasionally with dinner, and they would even let us have a sip if we asked.
Not because they let us drink, but because to make something forbidden can sometimes do more damage than good.
They taught us what alcohol is, the dangers of it, and why it is never to be misused.
I think that because of that, I never had the desire to go crazy and experiment with alcohol once I was a teenager or when I turned 21.
Red wine makes me think of my family. It makes me think of my Papa who knew a lot about red wine. It makes me remember when I was a kid and after family dinners at my Grandma and Papa's house, all the adults would sit around the table with their glass of wine talking and telling stories.
Some day I want to visit lots of vineyards in Italy and learn more about wine.
I also had sambuca after dinner every night .
My parents would have sambuca on occasion, and my Grandma said that her and Papa used to have sambuca every night when they were in Hawaii.
The three coffee beans have to be in it. They stand for health, wealth, and prosperity.
Sambuca smells like black licorice, and I do not like black licorice at all.
I don't think it tastes like that though.
You just take little tiny sips and let the taste roll around on your tongue.
My Grandma said it is supposed to settle your stomach after dinner too.
I thought it was really refreshing.
During the day I usually just had one or maybe two drinks by the pool. Followed by a huge jug of water. The older I get the more easily dehydrated I get too. I also am very aware of the extra calories and sugar in a pina colada. So I kept that to a minimum.
Sitting at the bar and talking after dinner was one of my favorite things.
We would finish sipping our sambuca, and possibly finish the night with a martini.
(I had my first dirty martini. I knew I'd like a dirty martini.)
My Grandma and I talked one night about the difference in the way some people drink.
Some people don't seem to care what it is that they are drinking at all, as long as it gets them drunk.
I think that is abusing alcohol.
I know that there are some who simply can not drink at all because the temptation to abuse is so strong.
I think a lot of how you drink (if you drink) has to do with how you were raised, and of course how you are chemically wired too. I know that alcoholics simply can not help that they are alcholics. Alcoholism really is a disease.
So I guess that is where drinking gets tricky.
It really is different for everyone.
I'd love to know your thoughts on the subject.
If you drink, do you know when to say when???
