When the salad is no more

[BillderBo]

Coming up is my first cruise as a serious dieter (made necessary by health issues), so I asked HAL about the availability of certain foods. I was surprised to learn that ability to stay on my diet of mostly raw veg will be even harder than I thought. The ship does not replenish food inventory along the way on a 14-day cruise, and therefore there would be no fresh vegetables in the second week. I guess we all eat out of the freezer the second week.

 

Is that your experience? Is it the same on other cruise lines?

[ger_77]

On longer cruises there are enough provisions for fresh fruit and vegetables. There may be less of a selection closer to the end of your voyage, but you will still have ingredients to choose from that will keep you on track.

 

Smooth Sailing ! :) :) :)

[Boytjie]

Welcome to Cruise Critic and HAL!

 

One thing you need to know is that calling HAL can get you some really bad information!

 

I am pretty sure they don't switch to frozen and canned veggies after 7 days. A lot of provisions last quite a while with proper storage.

 

Where are you cruising?

Edited July 1, 2016 by Boytjie

[CruiserBruce]

I am pretty sure they don't switch to frozen and canned veggies after 7 days. A lot of provisions last quite a while with proper storage.

 

Where are you cruising?

 

This is the correct answer. Have been on many longer cruises- while 10 days is the desired time without resupplying fresh fruit and vegetables, they can go up to about 15 days, with proper storage. This is from the Hotel Manager on one of our longer cruises.

 

Yes, they might run out of a few fruits or vegetables, but it is likely there will still be plenty of fresh produce.

[sail7seas]

This is the correct answer. Have been on many longer cruises- while 10 days is the desired time without resupplying fresh fruit and vegetables, they can go up to about 15 days, with proper storage. This is from the Hotel Manager on one of our longer cruises.

 

Yes, they might run out of a few fruits or vegetables, but it is likely there will still be plenty of fresh produce.

 

Yes, ^^ This. :)

[Krazy Kruizers]

We just did another 21 day cruise this past spring.

We did not pick up any new supplies in any of the ports. And some fruits and vegetables did run out.

We have done this cruise several other times and when we got to Puerto Quetzel on the past cruises, we did pick up lots of fresh flowers, fresh fruits and vegetables. And one time we stayed longer there while waiting for another refrigerator truck with meats and fish supplies.

[BillderBo]

Thanks for the good, reassuring and oh-so-quick response. I wrote to HAL about this because I read on their special needs fact sheet that, "Holland America Line is responsive to special dietary needs." In response to the one item I asked about, the answer was, "No, we do not carry that." Maybe I need to be a bit more aggressive in my request.

 

Answer to Boytjie's question: This is the Southern Caribbean route. In the second week we are in St. Lucia, Curacao, Aruba and Cayman Is. This is not our first HAL cruise--just the first on a diet. There are some things in life you just never consider until you have to.

Edited July 1, 2016 by BillderBo

[kazu]

Tons of salad on HAL :). And veggies and fruits.

 

Like KK, we replenished supplies on our cruise too - they do that on longer cruises. On a 14 day, there is really no need and the ship will re-stock when it returns to port.

[OlsSalt]

Coming up is my first cruise as a serious dieter (made necessary by health issues), so I asked HAL about the availability of certain foods. I was surprised to learn that ability to stay on my diet of mostly raw veg will be even harder than I thought. The ship does not replenish food inventory along the way on a 14-day cruise, and therefore there would be no fresh vegetables in the second week. I guess we all eat out of the freezer the second week.

 

Is that your experience? Is it the same on other cruise lines?

 

The copious salad bar had plenty of fresh vegetable offerings for our last 29 day cruise - Zuiderdam. I would not expect a daily change in variety however. Sorry to hear you have such a limited raw vegetable diet. That will be a challenge in interest probably more than availability.

Edited July 1, 2016 by OlsSalt

[BillderBo]

Here is the direct quote from HAL:

"...we don’t have fresh items as the cruise continues, we don’t pick up fresh items with in the voyage so as we get to day 7,8, and 9 our salad items are not available."

 

I hope this advice falls into the category Boytjie mentioned:

"...calling HAL can get you some really bad information!"

 

From what everyone is posting here, hopefully I received bad information.

[wander]

In the past few years doing some longer cruises (1 14 day, rest over 30 days) they have never run out of most salad ingredients ands even most fresh fruit. The longer between ports where they restock foodstuffs, the more the impact but I have never experienced a significant loss of availability. Because of my dietary restrictions - I have to be somewhat picky about what I eat and even on a 72 day cruise I never was lacking in terms of so many options at the Lido (and MDR)

 

On at least some of the ships they have one storage with a controlled atmosphere to keep fresh foods fresh for longer. Also, as explained one one galley tour, on the Lido the reason the lettuce is almost always romaine is that it keeps "fresh and crip" days and days longer than other lettuce types. (PS - same goes for us at home. While I prefer red leaf or butter lettuce they wilt in days versus Romaine which remains in good shape for days if not weeks longer.)

[OlsSalt]

Here is the direct quote from HAL:

"...we don’t have fresh items as the cruise continues, we don’t pick up fresh items with in the voyage so as we get to day 7,8, and 9 our salad items are not available."

 

I hope this advice falls into the category Boytjie mentioned:

"...calling HAL can get you some really bad information!"

 

From what everyone is posting here, hopefully I received bad information.

 

For yet another reassurance -- you got bad information. Enjoy your time onboard. There might be confusion about their ability to pick up fresh --local-- produce in any local port. I believe everything served onboard must go through HAL purveyors to control food safety. Which can be a shame when traveling in more exotic food source locales but I can see the need to control supply source.

 

However, nothing prevents anyone from enjoying all the local fresh produce one can find locally (with due food handling precautions) in port to make up for the variety that may be lacking onboard.

 

I suspect you will also be able to bring local produce back on board. Saw passengers enjoying that lovely, sweet "green" grapefruit from Tahiti at a Lido table on our Tales of the South Pacific cruise. We also brought back fresh flowers onboard from Fiji.

[mef_57]

Thanks for the good, reassuring and oh-so-quick response. I wrote to HAL about this because I read on their special needs fact sheet that, "Holland America Line is responsive to special dietary needs." In response to the one item I asked about, the answer was, "No, we do not carry that." Maybe I need to be a bit more aggressive in my request.

 

Answer to Boytjie's question: This is the Southern Caribbean route. In the second week we are in St. Lucia, Curacao, Aruba and Cayman Is. This is not our first HAL cruise--just the first on a diet. There are some things in life you just never consider until you have to.

I appreciate we pay for our meals with our cruise, but do consider supplementing your diet independently. Islands have a vast selection of fruits that can be pealed (to stick with the 'peel it, boil it, or forget it' travel health consideration), and if avacados are in season, then a great dietary source there too.

Day 1 make friends with the dining room steward and have a chat with him about whether you can talk to the kitchen. The other option is whether they will safely prepare veggies for you if you pick them up part way along the cruise - or they might also hold back some fresh stuff for you.

Thankfully it isn't a transAtlantic or antarctica cruise.....

[Happily@Sea]

On longer cruises there are enough provisions for fresh fruit and vegetables. There may be less of a selection closer to the end of your voyage, but you will still have ingredients to choose from that will keep you on track.

 

Smooth Sailing ! :) :) :)

 

I agree with this post. I am also a raw vegetable eater and there was always enough, even if the selections changed. I have been on extended itineraries and have never gotten close to going hungry for my fresh veggies.

 

Having been spoiled by HAL's excellent salad bar, I was sadly disappointed by the very few raw vegetable choices on the QM2 and no romaine except one meal.

[Sir PMP]

Welcome to Cruise Critic and HAL!

 

One thing you need to know is that calling HAL can get you some really bad information!

 

I am pretty sure they don't switch to frozen and canned veggies after 7 days. A lot of provisions last quite a while with proper storage.

 

Where are you cruising?

 

Yes, Carrots, carrots, carrots.....

[KirkNC]

On our Amazon cruise last year the Hotel Director talked about how they store some items in sealed containers that have nitrogen inside. Said fruits and veggies would stay fresh for weeks and even months stored like that.

[chefestelle]

Also, look for a wire basket in your room. It has a selection sheet to tick off fruits you want added to it. A nice, healthy snack right in your room for whenever the mood strikes!

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums mobile app

[chengkp75]

On our Amazon cruise last year the Hotel Director talked about how they store some items in sealed containers that have nitrogen inside. Said fruits and veggies would stay fresh for weeks and even months stored like that.

 

Some fruits are transported in refrigerated containers that have been sealed and the atmosphere replaced with nitrogen, in a process variously called "transfresh" or whatever. Even without refrigeration, the fruit in these containers will have a nearly indefinite shelf life, since there is no oxygen or carbon dioxide to cause the fruit to ripen.

 

If you've ever watched those shows about the "amazing world of cruise ships" you'll see the provisions master looking over every container of fruits and vegetables, and ranking them into categories; "use now", "use by end of week", and "good for next week", and so on. The provisions crew will look at all the boxes of produce daily, and remove anything that has started to go bad, as this causes the spread of rot to increase dramatically.

 

The chill boxes where the fresh produce is kept also are equipped with ozone generators, which create ozone in the air in the boxes which slows ripening as well. Ships should almost never have a problem with two weeks worth of fresh produce (unless the supplier has screwed them, which happens), with the exception of some fragile "stone" fruits mainly.

[OlsSalt]

 

Some fruits are transported in refrigerated containers that have been sealed and the atmosphere replaced with nitrogen, in a process variously called "transfresh" or whatever. Even without refrigeration, the fruit in these containers will have a nearly indefinite shelf life, since there is no oxygen or carbon dioxide to cause the fruit to ripen.

 

If you've ever watched those shows about the "amazing world of cruise ships" you'll see the provisions master looking over every container of fruits and vegetables, and ranking them into categories; "use now", "use by end of week", and "good for next week", and so on. The provisions crew will look at all the boxes of produce daily, and remove anything that has started to go bad, as this causes the spread of rot to increase dramatically.

 

The chill boxes where the fresh produce is kept also are equipped with ozone generators, which create ozone in the air in the boxes which slows ripening as well. Ships should almost never have a problem with two weeks worth of fresh produce (unless the supplier has screwed them, which happens), with the exception of some fragile "stone" fruits mainly.

 

Thank you for this careful explanation - perhaps this "freshness preservation technique" is what the HAL rep was referring to when they said nothing would be "fresh" after one week - in that it would still be served as "fresh" due to this onboard nitrogen preservation process, but not literally fresh as in directly off the tree, vine or bush.

 

I always wondered how HAL got deliveries around the world to their ships far, far away from Seattle or wherever they order most of their provisions -I thought refrigerator cargo ships were just temperature regulated, but now I learn they are probably nitrogen atmosphere regulated as well. Is this correct?

Edited July 1, 2016 by OlsSalt

[chengkp75]

Thank you for this careful explanation - perhaps this "freshness preservation technique" is what the HAL rep was referring to when they said nothing would be "fresh" after one week - in that it would still be served as "fresh" due to this onboard nitrogen preservation process, but not literally fresh as in directly off the tree, vine or bush.

 

I always wondered how HAL got deliveries around the world to their ships far, far away from Seattle or wherever they order most of their provisions -I thought refrigerator cargo ships were just temperature regulated, but now I learn they are probably nitrogen atmosphere regulated as well. Is this correct?

 

The cruise lines can obtain fresh produce around the world, provided they have vetted the suppliers and the suppliers meet the WHO or USPH requirements for verified handling. Some lines will ship containers of food to various ports from a central vendor to maintain consistent standards.

 

The nitrogen inerting is a costly process, and not one where you would be opening the box daily to check or count produce, so I'm not sure how prevalent it is aboard cruise ships.

 

Very few "refrigerated" ships exist today. Nearly everything is shipped in containers now, and these have their own refrigeration unit mounted in it, and the ship just plugs it in. Certain cargoes will require checks on the venting of fresh air to the cargo, and adjustment of the vents, or CO2 monitoring. These monitoring techniques somewhat mirror the ability of ozone to suppress ripening. The nitrogen inerting system will add about $20,000 to the cost of shipping the container, so as I say it is used primarily for some stone fruits (peaches, plums, mangoes). I have heard that the Washington State apple growers use this to keep their apple stocks fresh year round for shipping to the rest of the US.

[KirkNC]

The cruise lines can obtain fresh produce around the world, provided they have vetted the suppliers and the suppliers meet the WHO or USPH requirements for verified handling. Some lines will ship containers of food to various ports from a central vendor to maintain consistent standards.

 

The nitrogen inerting is a costly process, and not one where you would be opening the box daily to check or count produce, so I'm not sure how prevalent it is aboard cruise ships.

 

Very few "refrigerated" ships exist today. Nearly everything is shipped in containers now, and these have their own refrigeration unit mounted in it, and the ship just plugs it in. Certain cargoes will require checks on the venting of fresh air to the cargo, and adjustment of the vents, or CO2 monitoring. These monitoring techniques somewhat mirror the ability of ozone to suppress ripening. The nitrogen inerting system will add about $20,000 to the cost of shipping the container, so as I say it is used primarily for some stone fruits (peaches, plums, mangoes). I have heard that the Washington State apple growers use this to keep their apple stocks fresh year round for shipping to the rest of the US.

 

Thanks for the great in depth explanations!

[sail7seas]

You should find all fresh fruit you might want in all the islands. We are not permitted to take fruit or veggies off the ship but you can bring it a aboardfor your own consumption.

Edited July 1, 2016 by sail7seas

[mef_57]

Some fascinating information here. Thanks. Looks like I need to youtube how cruise ships store food. I am not a foodie and would normally not attend food related tours or events on board, but I am thinking a tour of the 'workings' would definitely be interesting.

[OlsSalt]

Some fascinating information here. Thanks. Looks like I need to youtube how cruise ships store food. I am not a foodie and would normally not attend food related tours or events on board, but I am thinking a tour of the 'workings' would definitely be interesting.

 

The Vista class ships (Noordam, Oosterdam etc) have offered an extensive behind the scenes tour for about $150 each -- pricey yes, but utterly fascinating. Well worth thinking about and they load you up with a lot of goodies plus a priceless inside perspective of much of the ship's inner workings, including the bridge, navigation, laundry, crew cabin areas, waste management, food prep and and food storage. (No engine room)

[mef_57]

The Vista class ships (Noordam, Oosterdam etc) have offered an extensive behind the scenes tour for about $150 each -- pricey yes, but utterly fascinating. Well worth thinking about and they load you up with a lot of goodies plus a priceless inside perspective of much of the ship's inner workings, including the bridge, navigation, laundry, crew cabin areas, waste management, food prep and and food storage. (No engine room)

I'm scheduled for Nieuw Amsterdam, but thanks for the details for Vista class for future consideration.