CGTNORMANDIE

I recall a chocolate buffet onboard the SS Norway way back when.  It was great for chocoholics.  It featured more than 100 feet of chocolate treats.  
 

Over the past 50 plus years we have seen many superb gala buffets.  A few of them stand out as really memorable.  The greatest was on the TS Bremen…truly stupendous.  So many wonderful food memories back in the days when cruising was a luxury.  

On 4/30/2023 at 1:41 PM, BklynBoy8 said:

Easy to make at home..... 

 

Except have to master Cherries Jubilee 

Use brown sugar!  Brown sugar, cinnamon and orange juice with cornstarch to thicken.  Cook and thicken then add the cherries and cook with a touch of red vermouth or cherry brandy then flame with brandy and serve with ice cream.  

On 5/2/2023 at 11:51 AM, shipgeeks said:

Ketsup being hard to come by is a really serious issue??  Somebody needs to go back to RoyalNorwegianCarnival.

On Divina…I actually overheard a man say his cruise was ruined.  He didn’t like the oatmeal they served at breakfast!  YIKES!

Great pictures!  Thanks so much for posting your review Steff!

CGT

Coulibiac Of Salmon.  This was offered onboard Celebrity back in the days when they had the Grand Buffet once per cruise.  It is basically a Salmon Wellington.  A whole side of King Salmon sautéed with herbs and spices covered in a fish stock cream sauce and wrapped in puff pastry with egg wash and baked…out of this world.  It is an intricate dish to prepare as you have to get the salmon sautéed rare so it does not overcook during the baking process.  If done to perfection it is an excellent entree.  

I might be “in dry dock” but I am well aware of the MSC pratfalls.  Building a giant fleet of ships is no easy thing.  Most of the problems at MSC seem to come from customer service.  The above list of grievances is a good indicator of what to watch out for when booking.

On 4/21/2023 at 10:13 AM, nancy1031 said:

chilled mango soup

 

am of russian/ slovak background- not many of us on the ship!!!

Yes…but I’ve seen Borscht, Chicken Kiev and Kulibec of Salmon onboard ship and those are Russian-Slovak!

7 hours ago, Seamus6 said:

I like Arby's a lot but don't go there that often.  I end up at the golden arches far more often due to convenience.

 

I also like Quickway Japanese Hibachi

I’ll never understand the fascination with MacD’s burgers…fast food or not.  To me they are uniformly horrible.  I can get a far superior burger at one of our local pubs.  Even Wendy’s and Burger King are better than MacD’s.  

3 hours ago, norboy76 said:

I forgot to mention that the bottle of schnapps for the Bremen is from between 1929-1939. That makes this small Norddeutscher bottle between 84-94 years old now as of 2023. 

 

Hello Norboy,  I still say you should get an offer on German EBay.  I’ll bet those bottles are worth a lot!

On 4/22/2023 at 7:21 PM, RICHARD@SEA said:

back in 1969 my Auntie Mame and a friend of hers from work took a cruise out of NYC to the Carib on the Bremen.  Onboard they met 2 men that were best friends.  3 years later my Aunt married one man & her friend married the other man.  They honeymooned for a few months in Europe after sailing TA on the FRANCE!!!

 

She preferred the FRENCH & Italian Lines of that era but she said her most memorable the BEMEN.

 

My Aunt treated me like her son & took me on my first cruise.

Great story Richard.  It just shows how romantic an era that was.  All those ships oozed romance.  My DW and I honeymooned on the Bremen and we’ll be married 52 years in October!  We also crossed on the SS France and sailed to the Caribbean on the Leonardo DaVinci.  Your aunt was right…she must have had really excellent taste.  All those ships were so special…a totally different experience from today’s mega ships.

12 hours ago, travelbug11 said:

I love Viking- no formal nights, only smart casual 

Just about every line is smart casual now except Cunard.  With Cunard we would need to take along a third suitcase!  

If you go at 2:30 PM you will miss lunch.  11:00 AM is always a good time…just in case there is a holdup Coast Guard inspection, etc.  There are always those who get there early and clog up the line waiting so let them go first.  The point is that you have paid for a premium service so you should be allowed to enjoy it from the moment you step into the YC tent.  And that includes a flute of Prosecco and munching on a macaroon before you board the ship…LOL.  

“We have read horrid reviews on the Seaside.”  
Thousands of happy pax cruise every week on Seaside and, as usual, a handful of bad reviews come to the forefront to scare new pax like yourselves.  Pay them no attention and go and enjoy.

Hi Bea,  I want to thank you for a highly informative and entertaining review.  It means a lot to this sailor who is still stuck in dry dock for the past 5 years.  Hopefully we’ll be out there before he year ends.  Anyway…thanks Bea…you are one of a kind.

CGT

Good old Coca Cola on ice…real Coke…not the diet or flavored stuff.  A close second place would be a Raspberry Lime Ricky or a chocolate ice cream soda.  The chocolate ice cream soda has about a third of the calories and cholesterol as a chocolate malted frappe.  

6 hours ago, lenquixote66 said:

I never ate sausage and I hate mushrooms

Your loss…my gain.

5 hours ago, lenquixote66 said:

Even grilled cheese ?

Yes…even cheese goes with chutney.  One of my favorites is chutney with cream cheese on a cracker.  Makes a great snack or even an hors d’ouvre.  

On 4/10/2023 at 9:08 PM, Kenhel said:

Will be on a Princess 23 day westbound TA next year. Would appreciate feedback on typical dress codes, especially on the very long cruises compared with shorter cruises, on "chic" nights.  Due to luggage weight restrictions are these typically less formal? 

Times have changed.  Dress code on. Princess is basically country club casual.  You can dress in your formals but luggage restrictions on TAs make it difficult for men.  Women can always get away with the cocktail dress or silk pants and fancy top.  Some people do and some don’t and nobody seems to notice.  Do not overpack!

Italian fennel sausage, mushrooms and onion…

Homemade chutney with lime pickle, yellow and dark raisins, chopped sweetened  orange and lemon peel, etc.  Goes on anything!

On 4/1/2023 at 10:44 AM, shipgeeks said:

Ok, what is an egg cream?  I see it on menus in NYC coffee shops.  Have asked what it is, never got a clear answer.  So have never ordered one.

An egg cream is a couple ounces of syrup with a shot of cream topped off with seltzer water.  The ratio is about 1/3 syrup and cream and 2/3 seltzer.

11 hours ago, Seamus6 said:

 

I fully understand.  For most of my life I only ate well done steak and burgers.  It's just been the last 6-7 years I started trying medium-well then medium then medium-rare.  I like Medium best but can tolerate medium rare.  I generally don't order medium rare because I can't handle if the under-cook to rare but If I order medium and they under-cook to MR, I can enjoy it.  I still like a  little char on the outside even when pink inside.  I just need some juice inside, if possible.  

 

As I said I also like a wide variety of condiments but enjoy making my own caramelized onion jam when grilling at home. 

What do you like on yours?

 

A medium rare burger does not make the grade.  A medium burger is just right.  Just a little ketchup and cheddar cheese.  I always shake on a little garlic salt and pepper before cooking…charcoal grilled is my favorite.  I prefer a lighter bun or even bread lightly grilled with butter.  

9 hours ago, lenquixote66 said:

I had a friend who came from Jamaica BWI.His grandmothers specialty dish was pickled pigs feet.

That is also a German delicacy along with pickled lamb tongue.  Both of these were some of my grandfather’s favorites!  

7 hours ago, martincath said:

The absolute pinnacle of fancy food tends to run offal-heavy - foie gras, pate, sweetbreads, ortolan (eat ANY animal whole, and you're eating brains & guts!) Italian and French food is at least as offal-ly as Chinese if not more so - other than Scotland, Italy is the only country I know that deems lungs suitable for human consumption... Whenever I travel anywhere for the first time, I learn local language terms for offal dishes and specifically look for restaurants serving them - this almost perfectly weeds out boring 'focused on tourists' restos and guarantees finding some authentic local recipes!

 

To pull it back onto US foods though - what about chit'lins? Classic American dish! Liver & Onions? Various regional sausages? Boudin is arguably more of a Cajun than French thing these days - and if you've ever eaten a hotdog, you've been guzzling offal (even Kosher dogs might have appropriately-drained-of-blood liver involved) unless you make your own dogs!

 

The only truly horrifying American food is that foul concoction that pretends to be Chocolate - Hershey's especially is gag-inducing if you were raised anywhere else as a kid. I'll take a plate of haggis over that any day of the week 😉

Very good summation!  You mention pate’ and fois gras…some of my favorites.  I love starting a great dinner with pate’ with bread and butter.  Then you mention liver and onions.  I love calf’s liver or lamb liver with bacon and onions.  How about another favorite…lambs kidneys.  Agreed…Chit’lins and Boudin are disgusting!  I must disagree with you on the Hershey Chocolate.  It is an acquired taste.  You see…Milton Hershey made his chocolate with soured milk.  That’s what sets it apart from the rest just as Pennsylvania German Chocolate Cake is made with soured milk.   

On 3/31/2023 at 4:53 PM, coralskygirl said:

Bourbon for me!

By golly I’m going to try the Bourbon in my nog!  I love Bourbon.  A well made Manhattan is my go-to high octane drink .