tmlowry Posted June 20, 2018 #1 Share Posted June 20, 2018 Which cruise lines, including river cruise companies, can accommodate a Kosher diet? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare LHT28 Posted June 20, 2018 #2 Share Posted June 20, 2018 most ocean cruise lines do You have to contact them well in advance so they can stock kosher foods check the FAQ section on the cruise line website or call them Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1025cruise Posted June 20, 2018 #3 Share Posted June 20, 2018 Just about everyone will accommodate a Kosher diet, but it will be food prepared off ship, and delivered frozen, and then reheated, served to you in plastic. There is a company out there that does semi charters a few times a year where they will Kosher a galley and bring everything on board that you might want to look into. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cb at sea Posted June 20, 2018 #4 Share Posted June 20, 2018 You will need to contact the "Special Needs" department on your cruise line, so they can be prepared for you! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bob brown Posted June 20, 2018 #5 Share Posted June 20, 2018 Years ago, ocean liner's like the QE2 had a 'kosher section' of their galleys. But the demand for that fell off on cruise ships, so they were not done. Hence the pre-prepared meal option. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishywood Posted June 20, 2018 #6 Share Posted June 20, 2018 You will need to contact the "Special Needs" department on your cruise line, so they can be prepared for you! Are you trying to say that being an Orthodox Jew is the equivalent to a disease? A "dietary request" is totally different from a "special need" and handled separately by most cruise lines. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
packer99 Posted June 20, 2018 #7 Share Posted June 20, 2018 Are you trying to say that being an Orthodox Jew is the equivalent to a disease? A "dietary request" is totally different from a "special need" and handled separately by most cruise lines. Pretty sure what the poster meant, was contact the cruiseline ahead of time to let them know of your request. Don't wait until you board the ship and be mad they can't help you. Most cruiselines does have some sort of "access" or "special needs" email/phone so they can be prepared when you arrive. A kosher diet, or allergies, etc is considered a special request. Think of it as a "special request" line. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lbjen Posted June 20, 2018 #8 Share Posted June 20, 2018 Are you trying to say that being an Orthodox Jew is the equivalent to a disease? A "dietary request" is totally different from a "special need" and handled separately by most cruise lines. Are you trying to say that being disabled is a disease?! Special Needs is the name of the department that handles requests for specific dietary requirements on board, amongst other things. Could it have a better, more considerate name? Sure. But the OP won’t know who to contact if we don’t tell them what their current name is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishywood Posted June 20, 2018 #9 Share Posted June 20, 2018 Are you trying to say that being disabled is a disease?! Special Needs is the name of the department that handles requests for specific dietary requirements on board, amongst other things. Could it have a better, more considerate name? Sure. But the OP won’t know who to contact if we don’t tell them what their current name is. Many cruise lines have different departments for dietary and medical special requests. For example, on Princess dietary requests are submitted through the Cruise Personalizer. One-click and its done. But for persons who are "disabled" (YOUR WORD, NOT MINE) there is a separate Shoreside Medical team who will work with you. The term "special needs" generally applies only to the latter, not the former. Dietary requests are handled by the Maitre d', not the Medical Center. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spookwife Posted June 20, 2018 #10 Share Posted June 20, 2018 Are you trying to say that being an Orthodox Jew is the equivalent to a disease? A "dietary request" is totally different from a "special need" and handled separately by most cruise lines. special needs is the department that handles dietary requests. eating Halal or Kosher requires informing the ship ahead of time so that they can order the prepackaged items to have on board for your cruise. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AdGuyMG Posted June 20, 2018 #11 Share Posted June 20, 2018 Special Needs is the name of the department that handles requests for specific dietary requirements on board, amongst other things. Could it have a better, more considerate name? Sure. But the OP won’t know who to contact if we don’t tell them what their current name is. Why, if you Need some thing Special, would the "Special Needs" department of a business be inconsiderately or inappropriately named named? It seems spot-on to me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lbjen Posted June 20, 2018 #12 Share Posted June 20, 2018 Many cruise lines have different departments for dietary and medical special requests. For example, on Princess dietary requests are submitted through the Cruise Personalizer. One-click and its done. But for persons who are "disabled" (YOUR WORD, NOT MINE) there is a separate Shoreside Medical team who will work with you. The term "special needs" generally applies only to the latter, not the former. Dietary requests are handled by the Maitre d', not the Medical Center. You are the one who used the word disease! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Hlitner Posted June 20, 2018 #13 Share Posted June 20, 2018 Most cruise lines will stock "frozen" prepared Kosher meals if given sufficient notice. Many would consider these meals akin to TV Dinners. The problem is that the ships do not have a Kosher Galley. Years ago some of the Ocean Liners like the Queen Mary actually had a separate Kosher Galley..but those days are long gone. Hank Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sail7seas Posted June 20, 2018 #14 Share Posted June 20, 2018 Princess, HAL, Carnival and there likely are others. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sail7seas Posted June 20, 2018 #15 Share Posted June 20, 2018 If sailing HAL, one would co ntact ship's services at HAL's Seattle offices to request Kosher meals, low fat, vegetarian etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
navybankerteacher Posted June 21, 2018 #16 Share Posted June 21, 2018 There is an organization: Kosherica, which organizes kosher cruises - and I am pretty sure the meals would not be the frozen TV dinners earlier posters referred to. I know they have several sailings this year - on NCL, Royal Caribbean and HAL - possibly others. I was on a HAL Panama Canal cruise on Zuiderdam with a Kosherica “charter”: a major section of the MDR was set aside for all meals - and, I assume, a kosher galley set aside as well, and programmed Shabbat (sp ?) elevators at each area. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lenquixote66 Posted June 21, 2018 #17 Share Posted June 21, 2018 There is an organization: Kosherica, which organizes kosher cruises - and I am pretty sure the meals would not be the frozen TV dinners earlier posters referred to. I know they have several sailings this year - on NCL, Royal Caribbean and HAL - possibly others. I was on a HAL Panama Canal cruise on Zuiderdam with a Kosherica “charter”: a major section of the MDR was set aside for all meals - and, I assume, a kosher galley set aside as well, and programmed Shabbat (sp ?) elevators at each area. One can order kosher meals on RCI ,Celebrity ,NCI,Carnival ,HAL and Cunard . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
diane.in.ny Posted June 21, 2018 #18 Share Posted June 21, 2018 While it certainly is possible to order Kosher meals, they may not be too appetizing. My suggestion is to go vegan for the cruise. Very easy to do and the food will be a lot tastier. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marco Posted June 21, 2018 #19 Share Posted June 21, 2018 OP: We were on a Celebrity cruise a few years ago and Kosherica had a large group onboard. The dining experience was wonderful as well as them a number of hosted events and religious services. It was not a full ship charger, but I would say there were maybe 300-ish folks as part of that group. If timing/price/ship/itinerary meet you needs, I would highly recommend going on a cruise as part of this group, however, I don't think they do more than a few cruises a year. Google them and check it out. I've seen the Kosher meals ordered on various other ships/lines. Frozen, pre-packaged, skimpy, styrofoam plate w/ plastic utensils. VERY unappetizing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1025cruise Posted June 21, 2018 #20 Share Posted June 21, 2018 There is an organization: Kosherica, which organizes kosher cruises - and I am pretty sure the meals would not be the frozen TV dinners earlier posters referred to. I know they have several sailings this year - on NCL, Royal Caribbean and HAL - possibly others. I was on a HAL Panama Canal cruise on Zuiderdam with a Kosherica “charter”: a major section of the MDR was set aside for all meals - and, I assume, a kosher galley set aside as well, and programmed Shabbat (sp ?) elevators at each area. Yes, but if not on one of their cruises, you get frozen meals. I understand you need to tell them to NOT heat up the gefilte fish. My last cruise, I saw a couple make use of the meals. While I didn't see the meals themselves, they were getting eaten. I think the couple did supplement the meals with veggies and rice from the galley. Looked like they also got a mini challah with each meal. But to answer the OP's question, yes you can get Kosher meals, but it must be arranged in advance. Or book a Kosherica cruise. I believe you do need to book through them to get the advantages. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LandlockedCruiser01 Posted June 21, 2018 #21 Share Posted June 21, 2018 Kosher cruising is often about more than just food. For example, on Shabbat (Friday sunset to Saturday sunset), many prohibitions go into effect. One of the biggest ones is a prohibition on electricity. This includes light switches, elevators, and automatic doors. Which poses a big problem if you have an inside cabin: Do you do everything in the dark or sleep with the lights on? You can't use your ship card, since it activates electric circuits. And it's very hard to get around the ship, since automatic doors are everywhere, Shabbat elevators (google it) are very rare outside of Israel, and most crew members don't know Jewish laws. I do wonder how Kosherica crusies are set up, in light of all this. They probably make sure their cruises don't fall on any part of Shabbat, considering the complexities involved. Judaism makes provisions for travelers, but it's up to one's rabbi's interpretation whether a closed-loop cruise is considered a form of travel. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishywood Posted June 21, 2018 #22 Share Posted June 21, 2018 I do wonder how Kosherica crusies are set up, in light of all this. They probably make sure their cruises don't fall on any part of Shabbat, considering the complexities involved. Judaism makes provisions for travelers, but it's up to one's rabbi's interpretation whether a closed-loop cruise is considered a form of travel. The cruise can be over Shabbat as long as the ship is at sea and in motion (no gangways opening or closing, no restarting of the engines) from sundown Friday to sundown Saturday. The outer hull is considered an adequate eruv allowing normal activities (carrying and using your cruise card) as long as one remains inside for the duration. My suggestion is to go vegan for the cruise. Very easy to do and the food will be a lot tastier. Even if one arranges "special" (that word again) vegan meals through the Maitre d' if they are not prepared in a kitchen that has been kashered they are considered cross-contaminated. Even the "modern" Orthodox generally do not patronize vegetarian/vegan restaurants on land. And at my Bar Mitzva (10,000 or so years ago) even though dinner was Kosher chicken served on plates that never touch dairy, for our Orthodox guests we had to have separate meals prepared at the caterer's offsite strictly-Kosher kitchen. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LandlockedCruiser01 Posted June 21, 2018 #23 Share Posted June 21, 2018 The cruise can be over Shabbat as long as the ship is at sea and in motion (no gangways opening or closing, no restarting of the engines) from sundown Friday to sundown Saturday. The outer hull is considered an adequate eruv allowing normal activities (carrying and using your cruise card) as long as one remains inside for the duration. I'm familiar with the concept of the eruv; I just didn't realize the ship's hull could function as such. Even so, the eruv only allows for carrying of objects in a public location, like your ship card or plates of food. But wouldn't using your card violate the prohibition on using electricity, since using your card completes an electric circuit? (Which is derived from the prohibition on building a fire, since most electricity is generated by burning fuel.) I'm sure Kosherica accommodates for that somehow, but just saying. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sail7seas Posted June 21, 2018 #24 Share Posted June 21, 2018 Wikipedia says : er·uv [ˈero͝ov] NOUN judaism an urban area enclosed by a wire boundary which symbolically extends the private domain of Jewish households into public areas, permitting activities within it that are normally forbidden in public on the Sabbath. : Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Julie MacCoy Posted June 22, 2018 #25 Share Posted June 22, 2018 Most cruise lines will stock "frozen" prepared Kosher meals if given sufficient notice. Many would consider these meals akin to TV Dinners. The problem is that the ships do not have a Kosher Galley. If the frozen meals are heated up in a non-kosher oven, they cease to be kosher. Vegan meals prepared in non-kosher baking pans and baked in a non-kosher oven also are not kosher. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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