CGTNORMANDIE

On 7/2/2021 at 5:45 PM, BklynBoy8 said:

What the number of subjects we covered on this forum really covered the selection of food/cuisine/courses we would experience on a Sailing On Board.

 

We recently went away on a land based get away and had to make a decision of the choices we had to make related to the Sides with the Entree.

 

Do we really think about the Sides the accompany our Entrees? Do we just take it for granted they are the proper Sides the we should accept.

 

Broccolini, Butternut Squash, Scalloped Potatoes, Herbed Carrots, Haricot Vert, Au Gratin Cauliflower, Mashed Purple Potatoes (recently with Grilled Steak).

Of course Baked Potato w Sour Cream or Butter/Chives, Sauteed Leeks, Asparagus Gratin to name a few..... to add on later.....

 

So what are yours?

One of my favorites is whipped potatoes as opposed to mashed.  You need to have a soft potato whipped with half and half butter, salt and pepper.  This has to be done in just the right consistency so you end up with a paste.  Top with gravy or jus and prepare for ecstasy.  

On 7/2/2021 at 5:50 PM, BklynBoy8 said:

Lois,

Not sure if still MIA....recovering.......

Hi gang,

I’m here…recuperating.  They moved me from the ICU last night.  I went in Monday at 6:00 AM and was out after 12:00 Noon. They cracked my chest and did a fantastic job with my triple bypass.  I was very weak and sore for the first 5 days.  Tonight I was able to walk a great distance with a walker.  I think I’ll be going home in two more days.   Then I will put the full press on for a new kidney!  Then it will be TIME FOR A CRUISE!!

All the best to all of you,

CGT

47 minutes ago, Rotterdam said:

I just thought today about the best of the old liners & if someone rebuilt them would there be enough demand for this type of cruise ships.

With respectful recreation & some modernization i would love it. With  the FRANCE, I liked the first redo but hated it when they added extra decks.

It would be nice to see some new "SHIPS OF STATE" w the best of artists, designers & engineering.

What do you all  think??? 🚢 

Every ocean liner enthusiast would love to see the great liners recreated.  They are actually building a replica of the Titanic in China.  Should be ready by next year.  There isn’t enough money in the world to recreate Normandie.  It cost over 50 million in 1935, some say more than 70 million dollars, and featured the greatest artists of the day.  Just the art work today would be in the billions.  There were 400 First Class cabins…every one of them was decorated differently by famous artists.  
 

The SS France, to me, was a bit of a disappointment.  It did not have the chic designer looks or palatial dimensions of Normandie.  I’ll admit the two decks that were added ruined the profile but those suites were necessary.  The France was in need of more upscale cabin space.  The suites had floor to ceiling windows with great views.  We stayed in one of those suites in 1993 and enjoyed it very much…sure beat looking out a porthole!

1 hour ago, norboy76 said:

I found those on board photos in Skagway in a box on a counter of an antique store. Sounds like I have a great find as that being the Duke and Duchess of Windsor, considering I only paid I think $9 for the 6 photos of on board the QE and QM.

That certainly looks like the Windsors.  The Duke’s forehead, shown behind the Duchess,  is unmistakable.  The Windsors were frequent passengers on the Cunarders.  They were very frugal…always insisting on paying basic First Class rate and then being upgraded to the best suite available…lol.  

Thanks NB,

coincidently…I was onboard Bremen in 1971 when they announced the merger…HAPAG Lloyd.  
 

I remember talking to a travel agent back in 1972.  She told me the best cruise she had ever been on was the Europa.  She said that ship fit like a glove.  She said it was really comfortable and the food and service were second to none.  This lady had been on a lot of cruises.  I always thought Kungsholm/Europa looked the way a liner should…great lines.

14 minutes ago, BklynBoy8 said:

I know I learned on the HAL a longtime ago that the Waiters learn your preferences. From the next morning till we departed they knew all our likes and dislikes. Drinks, S&P, wants with each meals. Didn't have to say anything. What pleasure.

 

We find that with Cunard in the Club Britannia Dining Room. Having all three meals at the same table.

 

In the Main Dining Room, breakfast and lunch are different waiters each seating.

I would be inclined to attend the first dinner in MDR on Cunard.  That is a different situation.  RCI, Princess, NCL…not so much.

5 hours ago, norboy76 said:

I'd be happy to start a Hapag and Hapag Lloyd Thread as I have postcards and items for those lines, did you want me to include NDL too who would merge with Hapag? I have items from that line too. My thread has started, so feel free to comment in it on the NDL and Hapag Items.

Will do NB and thanks.

I believe the Europa on your plate was originally the first Kungsholm.

NB,

The lady in the fur coat is The Duchess of Windsor with the the Duke right behind her.

49 minutes ago, rkacruiser said:

 

I would be interested.  North German Lloyd's Bremen came in second place when I was deciding on my first cruise in 1970.  I have wondered for years, if I had chosen her rather than Rotterdam V, what would my first cruise have been like.  

RK,

I do believe that you would have had a great time.  The Bremen wasn’t as big or as fancy as Rotterdam but the Bremen had class.  Funny thing…when I was onboard Bremen at Nassau we were berthed behind Rotterdam and I got a good look at her.  Rotterdam would have been my next choice…lol.

1 hour ago, BklynBoy8 said:

We always take buffet first lunch to get back to unpack. But always first dinner to settle in and get to meet and introd to the Waiters. Only once did we have a not so pleasant dinner on first evening. We changed tables and got a very good set of waiters. Rest of cruise - Great.

I always check out the table first then notify the waiters that we won’t be there.  This way I get to check out the waiters and the table.  Only twice have I had to move the table.  I find the first night to be mediocre so I would just as soon do the buffet and have never been disappointed.  The second night out is always much better.  

2 minutes ago, BklynBoy8 said:

Sometimes for ask for a plate to share with the table to see what it was like.

2 people…4 desserts…sounds right to me!

1 minute ago, BklynBoy8 said:

Saw the Cheese Plate on another table but had a large meal so Cheesecake was lite....

In days gone by we would have gone for both!  LOL 

The black and white photo of the dining room was the Tourist Class dining room…definitely not the Cabin Class dining room.  I know because I took my meals in the CC DR in July 1965…before the refit.  I was one of the last pax to see QE in her original livery as she looked when she made her debut in 1947.   I believe your color photo of the CC DR was after the refit.  

8 hours ago, norboy76 said:

Hi Normandie,

As can see in my Cunard Collection, I have some items for Cunarders that ended in disaster sadly and were lost. I was at a show a couple of years ago and was lucky to find that Lancastria Trophy and Menu. That trophy is heavy as it's I believe a solid bakelite base on it. If there's any other lines you want me to start a chat on let me know, as I have items from over I believe 140 different lines, so please let me know and I'd be happy to start a chat for that line if I have it.

Thanks NB, 

I have always been interested in the HAPAG and HAPAG LLOYD.  HAPAG really became a major player in the transatlantic ferry during the end of the nineteenth century.  This was due to the dynamic leadership and innovation of Albert Ballin.  Albert literally invented luxury cruising in the late eighteen hundreds.  His board of directors scoffed at him when he told them he was going to take one of the HAPAG liners out of winter storage and cruise the Mediterranean and Suez.  On January 22, 1891 the August Victoria sailed on the first pleasure cruise personally conducted by Albert Ballin.  The cruise became the successful social event of a very dull European winter social season.  The Luxury Cruise was invented by Albert Ballin.  HAPAG became a leader in all things liner.  Ballin built the Amerika…the first ship to have elevators and other innovations.  Ballin built what was known as “The Big Three” before WW I…the Imperator, Vaterland and Bismarck.  These ships exceeded all innovations for their time.  Ballin employed the greatest architects and designers of their day.  He even employed Caesar Ritz and August Escoffier to plan his Carlton Grill onboard hid three ships.  He was a friend of the Kaiser and begged him to turn away from any military intervention.  Ballin was an innovative genius and hero for the German people.  Unfortunately his story was lost in the chaos of WW I and its aftermath and his demise.

Noshing and grazing at the buffet is what we do at embarkation.  If we are assigned to the Main Dining room we always take our first dinner at the buffet and avoid the chaos in the MD the first night.  

1 hour ago, BklynBoy8 said:

Liverwurst has to be sliced and not smeared. Not like braunschweiger in a plastic tube.

 

 

Absolutely…I ordered some Boarshead liver wurst yesterday and the deli actually peeled it before slicing.  That was a first!

1 hour ago, BklynBoy8 said:

Went away this week and had a selection of desserts that were being offered for the entire dinner time.

• Crunch Cake (composed of chocolate, toffee, etc....
• Textures of Raspberry (composed of different chiffon puddings
• Lemon Cheesecake w Meyer Lemons (BEST)
• Strawberry and Cream (fresh field strawberries and farm Whipped Cream
• Entremet ( like a very, very, very chocolate mississippi mud cake or decadent 
• Composed Cheese Plate (Local Hudson Valley farm cheese w fruit & brioche toast
• Nightly Warm Dessert offering (ex. Warm Bread Pudding, Banana Bread, Creme Brulee 
• Selection of Ice Cream or Sorbets

Interesting and tried it and liked it a lot..........Basil Ice Cream....yes.....Basil Ice Cream.....

 

Very hard to select a choice after a full meal.....

The Lemon Cheesecake and the Composed Cheese Plate stand out for me.

2 hours ago, BklynBoy8 said:

WOW, Liverwurst on a Kaiser Roll w Mustard and Crispy Iceberg Lettuce. I like a warm cup of tea with it.

 

Mangia!

Liver wurst on light rye with deli mustard and a very thin slice of onion and sweet pickles on the side.  My standard comfort food.  I would still like a slice of duck pâté with some grilled bread and a nice glass of Niersteiner Gutes Domtal.

15 minutes ago, BklynBoy8 said:

 

I do have favorite country pate from a French Restaurant in the theater district in NYC we go to before a show. They used a country grain mustard w English type of crackers.

 

Organ meat I know is not all. We had in our house we had tongue with resembled a pork tenderloin. Mom boiled it. Cow stomach with called tripe. It's used by Italians but also in Polish cuisine in a tomato sauce. 

 

Jacque Pepin always makes a great pate on one of his episodes. Either in a cellophane tube or smaller pound cake pan to serve small slices. Some food speciality shop serve one with either a hard boiled egg in the middle or incorporate pistachios.  

BB, you are making me hungry and all I have in the house is liver wurst!  So sad…

17 minutes ago, BklynBoy8 said:

 

One dessert we like very much is what we also get in the Grand Tier Restaurant in the Met called Opera Cake. A very like yellow cake, a mild espresso filling and like chocolate icing. It's topped with a standing Chocolate Music Staff crafted out of chocolate.

 

 

 

 

Opera Cake is wonderful if made properly and therein lies the rub.  Very seldom is it made with all the necessary layers and fillings.  Opera Cake, in baking, is one of the most difficult cakes to make.

Hi Norboy,

Great to see parts of your collection…especially RMS Lancastria.  She was bombed and  sank at The evacuation of Dunkirk June 17, 1940…81 years ago.  Captain Harry Gratidge described this tragic event in his biography, “Captain Of The Queens”.  

On 6/19/2021 at 3:25 PM, rkacruiser said:

 

Acquired through a local thrift store, but someone bought it in the gift shop on Queen Mary:  a candy tin (empty) with a painting of Queen Mary on its lid.  

That would be the same box that was used in the movie…Shawshank Redemption!  
 

I had an entire trunk load of Cunard memorabilia now it resides in a collection at the Peabody Essex Museum in Salem, Massachusetts.  

On 6/12/2021 at 8:49 PM, BklynBoy8 said:

We all do a bell curve on sailings with desserts and other foods.

 

I personally  enjoy the beginning of a sailing and hit a low in the middle and then know the end is near and won't have the items at home. It does work with moderation.

Funny thing is…I don’t go big for desserts at sea.  I find that most offerings are mediocre.  I do enjoy a flan, ice cream and creme brûlée.  It’s hard to go wrong with those.  The gelotti and chocolate venues on MSC are changing my opinion.  

4 hours ago, rkacruiser said:

 

You have given me the idea to see if my local upscale grocery might have some types of pate available for sale.  They have a dedicated Cheese Shop within the store.  I wonder if that is where I might find such a product?  

I believe you will.  Even my working class supermarket offers a decent country pâté.  Better yet…learn how to make it.  Pâté lasts a long time in the fridge and you can freeze it.