Dining @ home vs. on cruise

[pris993]

We are retired, so we have plenty of time to shop and cook at home. We actually eat better at home because we eat a lot of fresh fish and vegetables and fruit. We eat red meat only about once a month. Our focus is eating healthy. We do okay on ships but we are selective and often order off menu. Depending on the cruise line, we sometime do better at the lido, again being very selective.

[LindaM]

We are the opposite of the retirees with time. Since DH has retired, we eat a lot of easy and fast to prepare foods, like fish, with vegetables, brown rice and salad. We also have our staples of prepared foods from the big box stores, like shrimp scampi or mussels, to serve over pasta. I always have something in the freezer liked stuffed peppers or pot roast!

 

We aren't home enough to cook!! The food on cruises is a real treat for us!

[RuthC]

As other solos have posted on this thread, when you are cooking for one, you are either preparing very small, simple dinners, or ending up with leftovers until you want to scream. Roasts are out of the question. Even turning the oven on to bake two pork chops and potatoes seems extravagant.

 

That's why it's nice to be able to sit down to a selection that must be made in quantities, but not have to deal with the aftermath. When a good dinner like that is a treat, you want the meat to be good quality, and have it prepared properly.

As Peaches said, in recent years HAL has gone to a lesser grade of beef, and is trying to make it palatable with sauces, creams, and other things that we never saw when HAL used better ingredients. Some of us are disappointed in that.

[mamaofami]

Carol, we've done 21 days cruises several times, most recently the Mediterranean and Transatlantic Collectors, as you know.

 

He's probably not bored with the food. More than likely, after a while, going to the MDR every night gets to be a drag. And, too much food.

 

My tip to you for Sam: Don't eat every dinner in the MDR. Go to the Lido every couple of nights for a casual dinner in a more relaxed atmosphere. We enjoyed Canaletto for this reason, as well. We did this often on the NA and really enjoyed it. Sometimes, on a lengthy cruise, the MDR can get monotonous. And, after a while, I just don't want to look at food!

 

All good ideas, Sheila, and on 14 day cruises we have had several Pinnacle dinners and several Caneleto, but not Lido.We'll have to try that this cruise. Truth be told, Sam does get bored with the food selection and is looking for something "different". Hard to explain it.

[RuthC]

Truth be told, Sam does get bored with the food selection and is looking for something "different".

Don't forget there's a children's menu, and you don't have to be a child to order from it. :D Especially on a longer cruise you get sick of going to dinner for a big meal. The comfort food a child's menu provides can be just what's needed some nights.

[Typhoon1]

Much less at home. For example, cruising, we'll eat a full breakfast. At home, a glass of OJ and a quick bite.

 

Lunch is next, before you know it, its dinner time.

[cbr663]

Cbr663 - off topic but may I ask what brand of grinder you use? I would value your opinion/experience in this. DH suffers from gout from time to time so we are careful about what we eat - minimal beef, lamb, turkey (chicken's OK), seafood so being able to make our own pork sausage etc would be great. TIA

 

I have the Kitchenaid Professional 600 series mixer with the meat grinder attachment. It does a wonderful job. I tend to use the larger grind as I prefer a larger grind. We buy our pork from a local farmer.

 

Once the mixture is made, I use a large cookie scoop (smaller than an ice-cream scoop) and shape round patties. I quickly freeze them and then store them in plastic bags in the freezer. The sausage thaws quite quickly in the morning.

[innlady1]

Don't forget there's a children's menu, and you don't have to be a child to order from it. :D Especially on a longer cruise you get sick of going to dinner for a big meal. The comfort food a child's menu provides can be just what's needed some nights.

 

Interesting, Ruth. I'll have to take a look. We don't get "bored" with the food necessarily. But after a while, we've "had it up to here" with thinking about more food!

 

We enjoy Pinnacle at dinner a couple times per cruise, but honestly, I prefer the lunch menu.

 

Just can't eat so much food at night anymore. That's why, on our last cruise, we enjoyed the Lido.

 

We're doing Open Seating from now on, too. For us, it gets "old fast" having to be in the MDR at a set time each night. Been there, done that, for all our cruises! :eek:

Edited December 27, 2013 by innlady1

[CowPrincess]

We use the best available ingredients, and enjoy cooking at home. For the solos, (having been one for a decade at one time in my life) there are some amazing, healthy, delicious and nutritious things you can cook, enjoy, and freeze the leftovers. I still use some of the recipes that were my "go to" items in the past. We also try to cook for the freezer a couple of times a month, to avoid frozen pizza and/or takeout food.

 

It is obvious to me that the food budget continues to be reduced on HAL.

[mamaofami]

Don't forget there's a children's menu, and you don't have to be a child to order from it. :D Especially on a longer cruise you get sick of going to dinner for a big meal. The comfort food a child's menu provides can be just what's needed some nights.

 

Interesting idea, Ruth. Will have to see what they serve up on that.If we were on a ship with Tamarind, I could eat there every night.

[MermaidWatcher]

We don't eat elaborate or costly meals every night And our preferences haven't changed in the last 10 years or so that we have been cruising HAL. What has changed to a large degree is what HAL is preparing for the MDR, therefore our expectations are no longer being met because we know what the cruise line is capable of and how that has changed in the last 5 or 6 years. In order to keep cruise fares down there have been cuts in the quality of the MDR food and that is what is disappointing long time HAL pax, IMO, not that they are expecting personalized food and service. There were hundreds and thousands of pax on board years ago also, but the dinners served were of much higher quality.

 

I understand your point, and agree that not only cruise lines, but just about every service we were used to has been degraded in the name of cost cutting over the last 5-10 years. But from the business's perspective, it is either raise prices(translating into fewer sales), or figure how to reduce costs without crossing the line of diminishing returns. Just like air fares, cruise fares are a bargain when compared to what they used to be, on an adjusted cost.

I'm sure many of the dedicated HAL fans are going to say they would be willing to pay more for the return of the "good old days", but that number is miniscule compared to how many cabin/nights have to be filled weekly in a market that now has IMO reached saturation, and driven by bargain expectations.

 

Amusing note.... as you see from my signature, my wife and I have been reliable RCL in recent years. On our last two sailings, we felt the same way, that the food had taken a drastic dive, so we decided to try another line. HAL had a good reputation for food, so we went with it. Not having that reference of what the food used to be like, we were very pleased and think it is currently excellent.

Edited December 27, 2013 by MermaidWatcher

[Irish Eyes Are Sailing]

I love to cook, it is my hobby....I have a small library of cookbooks and am a big fan of Food Network/Cooking Channel/Public Television cooking shows. I really love Lidia Bastianich and Ina Garten. I would say that I cook more simply during the week, and much more elaborate recipes on weekends and holidays. I love trying new recipes and new ingredients/methods. I enjoy the cruise ship meals because I like to try things I have not had/made before and try to figure out the spices used, the types of sauces, etc. I use it as a learning experience. Some of my meals at home are fancier preparations like on a cruise, however, we rarely eat desserts. That is saved for special occasions. I am more of a savory chef, than a pastry chef!! I especially like all the Asian food on the ships, different ingredients/spices from all over the orient, India, etc. I find it fun to eat those dishes and try to figure out how they did it.......kind of a "treasure hunt" for me! I am seldom disappointed.

[serendipity1499]

We have always enjoyed dining on cruise ships. Yes, there are times there are things we don't care for but there is always another choice that suits us just fine.

 

My DH is actually fairly picky when it comes to food, he likes most things but if something is not prepared well he won't eat it. With that said, we don't have fine dining experiences every night at home. A typical week of eating at home means dishes like spaghetti and meatballs, roast and potatoes, take-out pizza, hamburgers or hot dogs, salads, veggie chili, stir fry and yes, there are nights we simply heat up frozen chicken strips and fries. We rarely have dessert when eating at home.

 

In reading reviews cruise ship dining (over the years, not just recently), I'm starting to think that many (most?) people are used to eating meals that are much more elaborate and costly than ours. I guess that's why food is so subjective, it depends on your personal taste, expectations and what you are used to.

 

It helps to know what people are accustomed to when determining how to interpret reviews. So I'm curious ... what types of meals do you make at home? Do you find the cruise ship offerings better/worse/the same/more exotic than what you normally eat?

 

We are only two & eat very simply at home..Much like you eat..We enjoy going out to lunch with Friends..When we do this we have soup & a sandwich for dinner..I used to cook much more than I do now, but have become lazy in my old age..:D

 

Carol, we've done 21 days cruises several times, most recently the Mediterranean and Transatlantic Collectors, as you know.

 

He's probably not bored with the food. More than likely, after a while, going to the MDR every night gets to be a drag. And, too much food.

 

My tip to you for Sam: Don't eat every dinner in the MDR. Go to the Lido every couple of nights for a casual dinner in a more relaxed atmosphere. We enjoyed Canaletto for this reason, as well. We did this often on the NA and really enjoyed it. Sometimes, on a lengthy cruise, the MDR can get monotonous. And, after a while, I just don't want to look at food!

 

You have hit the nail on the head..On our longer cruises I too get tired of going into the MDR every night..DH will eat in Canaletto, but not the buffet for dinner..He likes to be served..If I could get away with it, I would gladly go to the buffet every couple of nights..

 

I think it's because I have to get out of my shorts or jeans, take a shower before dinner & change into something presentable..At home I cook & eat in my daytime clothes & take a shower just before bedtime..:D Yes I've become truly lazy!!;)

 

Betty

[BlueLadyBlue]

I have the Kitchenaid Professional 600 series mixer with the meat grinder attachment. It does a wonderful job. I tend to use the larger grind as I prefer a larger grind. We buy our pork from a local farmer.

 

Once the mixture is made, I use a large cookie scoop (smaller than an ice-cream scoop) and shape round patties. I quickly freeze them and then store them in plastic bags in the freezer. The sausage thaws quite quickly in the morning.

Thank you very much. I appreciate you taking the time. I will look into that as I was considering buying one of those as we are hoping to be semi-retired soon and I'll have more time to "play" in the kitchen.

[innlady1]

You have hit the nail on the head..On our longer cruises I too get tired of going into the MDR every night..DH will eat in Canaletto, but not the buffet for dinner..He likes to be served..If I could get away with it, I would gladly go to the buffet every couple of nights..

 

I think it's because I have to get out of my shorts or jeans, take a shower before dinner & change into something presentable..At home I cook & eat in my daytime clothes & take a shower just before bedtime..:D Yes I've become truly lazy!!;)

 

Betty

 

I noticed the change in how we dined on board this past Collectors Cruise. We have always had Early Seating. I found myself envious of those who had chosen Open and could dine whenever they wanted! And it got to be a "drag" going to the dining room every night at 5:30.

 

I forgot that on our Mediterranean cruise there were several "on location" buffets at the Sea View pool so we did those. And on the TA portion, several "On Location" buffets also for the Spanish ports. Those were a welcome break in routine!