Cheese Course Onboard

[ClipperinSFO]

With all the menus being posted of late (thank you!) it got me thinking about the cheese trolley at dinnertime.  I am a big fan of the cheese course, as it seems such a luxury, and something I usually only do when in France or on a ship. On our last QM2 crossing a couple of years ago I was a bit underwhelmed by the cheese trolley in QG.  Not a huge selection, nor anything particularly interesting.  There was the Stilton wheel each night of course, which is what we frequently ended up having -- a marvelous cheese, but there are so many more! 

 

We are booked to cross on QM2 again in December in QG, and I was wondering what cheeses are on offing in any of the dining rooms on board these days.  Do people even have a cheese course any more?

[exlondoner]

I resist saying that the food on Cunard has deteriorated, because on the whole I don't think it has. But the QG cheese trolley seems a poor dull thing compared to that on QE2. I didn't sample it on our recent trip, but saw it wheeled past, and it only had a few cheeses, no more than ten, which all looked very mainstream. On a recent trip on one of the Vistas, I asked if they had Epoisse, and they looked at me blankly. But people were certainly having cheese.

[ClipperinSFO]

10 minutes ago, exlondoner said:

On a recent trip on one of the Vistas, I asked if they had Epoisse, and they looked at me blankly. But people were certainly having cheese.

 

I love Epoisses -- that was one of the cheeses missing, and it's not even that obscure a cheese. Glad to know I am not alone.

 

[BigMac1953]

Unfortunately, Cunard stopped Epoisses acouple of years ago. Whilst we were on board QE, our waiter told us that it wouldn't be re-stocked, so he kept the very last half round for me and I was able to enjoy it every night.

 

On the plus side, both Morrison's and Waitrose now stock it and we bought some more last week.

 

..and don't forget the port to wash the cheeses down. I usually have a bottle that our sommelier will appear with as the cheese arrives.

 

Stewart

[Windsurfboy]

They have some nice English cheeses on the room service menu, but when  I asked if I could get one of them after dinner the next night , thought I was asking for the moon. Happy with food off menu in QG but cheese off menu seems to stump them

[steve1young]

I've read that the cheese offerings in Kings Court are more extensive than MDR. My QM2 notes taken from previous posts:

 

·         Kings Court Buffet – “The cheese station was impressive -- and far better than the cheese board served in the Britannia Restaurant -- including several different types of cheese, chutneys, crackers and accompaniments such as a selection of nuts.” Cheeses are portioned by request from the station attendant chef.

 

Cheers/Cheese!

[Elephant1151]

We were on QM2 earlier this year and found the greater cheese selection in the King's Court each evening. A special area with knowledgeable staff and a different selection most nights.

Edited August 21, 2019 by Elephant1151
correction

[tv24]

Yes there is a cheese trolley and yes it is disappointing.  I am also not a fan of the cheese selections in Kings Court.  Sort of like going to Costco.

[Victoria2]

12 hours ago, Windsurfboy said:

They have some nice English cheeses on the room service menu, but when  I asked if I could get one of them after dinner the next night , thought I was asking for the moon. Happy with food off menu in QG but cheese off menu seems to stump them

It might stump them in QG  if it's an on the night request and they're too busy for a member of the wait staff to go and get some for you, but put in a request for the following night/s and if the cheese is on the ship, it will be there for you. I know because I've done this on a few occasions.

[Colin_Cameron]

15 hours ago, ClipperinSFO said:

Do people even have a cheese course any more?

I'm afraid that the cheese 'course' has become an option of the desserts, in the same way that the soup 'course' and the salad 'course' have become options of the starters and the fish 'course' has become an option of the mains. And the inter-course palate cleansing sorbet has disappeared altogether. 😞

[Victoria2]

5 minutes ago, Colin_Cameron said:

I'm afraid that the cheese 'course' has become an option of the desserts, in the same way that the soup 'course' and the salad 'course' have become options of the starters and the fish 'course' has become an option of the mains. And the inter-course palate cleansing sorbet has disappeared altogether. 😞

In QG, which is the restaurant to which Clipperin referred, all these 'courses' are only optional if the clientele wish them to be. 

I prefer savoury to sweet which is why I opt for cheese, but I could have both if my stomach, or more important, the scales,  allowed me too.

Sorbet appears on the menu as an interim addition on an ad hoc basis. Intermittent I know, but it's still there.

[exlondoner]

12 minutes ago, Victoria2 said:

In QG, which is the restaurant to which Clipperin referred, all these 'courses' are only optional if the clientele wish them to be. 

I prefer savoury to sweet which is why I opt for cheese, but I could have both if my stomach, or more important, the scales,  allowed me too.

Sorbet appears on the menu as an interim addition on an ad hoc basis. Intermittent I know, but it's still there.

 

I certainly agree that the main restriction on how many courses one orders is capacity. Certainly in QG on QM2 in June we were served the pre-desert every night without asking, as well as an often really delicious amuse bouche while they were organising the starters. If I'd had a starter, fish, and salad, I should have been unable to leave the restaurant, and they would have had to lay up for breakfast over me.

[hamrag]

2 hours ago, Colin_Cameron said:

I'm afraid that the cheese 'course' has become an option of the desserts, in the same way that the soup 'course' and the salad 'course' have become options of the starters and the fish 'course' has become an option of the mains. And the inter-course palate cleansing sorbet has disappeared altogether. 😞

 

Yes, but you can have a more substantial starter and then soup or salad if you wish. We did that most nights in the QV Britannia restaurant last month. Rarely does a desert cut it for me, much prefer a cheese plate....albeit the Cunard iteration is amongst the worst experienced on a cruise ship. One night there was a desert I liked, so had both that evening! 

[Windsurfboy]

7 hours ago, Victoria2 said:

It might stump them in QG  if it's an on the night request and they're too busy for a member of the wait staff to go and get some for you, but put in a request for the following night/s and if the cheese is on the ship, it will be there for you. I know because I've done this on a few occasions.

 

're cheese off menu, I think I made the mistake of just asking our waiter when she brought round the cheese, if they could get some ilse of Wight blue for the next day. I did this twice , she said she'd try but no luck.  I now realise it will best to treat it as any other off menu item and ask the head waiter or Maitre D'  . I'll  remember this in November. Thanks 

[ClipperinSFO]

6 hours ago, Colin_Cameron said:

I'm afraid that the cheese 'course' has become an option of the desserts, in the same way that the soup 'course' and the salad 'course' have become options of the starters and the fish 'course' has become an option of the mains. And the inter-course palate cleansing sorbet has disappeared altogether. 😞

 

An accurate, if sad, comment with which I agree.  On our upcoming crossing in December on formal nights, we are looking forward to having proper fish, salad and cheese courses slotted in amongst the normal flow of dishes.  This is possible due to blessedly small portions.  Having lived in France, I rail against the the "cheese-as-dessert" and "salad-as-appetizer" habit we see in the US.  For me, dinner is the main entertainment of the evening: dressing up, a cocktail in the CC, long multi-course meal in a beautiful dining room, followed by a nightcap in the Chart Room.  This is admittedly, a wildly extravagant way of living that I could never sustain on a regular basis for so many reasons (budget, liver, and waistline to name but three), but it's great to be able to take advantage of my time on the ship to have my retrograde idiosyncrasies indulged.

 

The dining rooms on QM2 (QG, PG, Britannia and Verandah) are all beautiful rooms.  Dressed-up and lingering in them over multi-course meals (with wine!), feeling the slight sway of ship is one of the greatest attractions of a crossing.  Ah, to be "home"!

[Windsurfboy]

I always have a leisurely 4 courses, a starter, a main, warm dessert then cheese and of course coffee and petit fours. If my waistline would take it I'd love to have 5 courses with both a meat and fish course , but would have to go to the gym in mornings as well as afternoon if I did that. As a slightly old fashioned Brit I don't have a salad,  I think if salads as part of a picnic not an evening meal.

 

The one problem is that this leisurely dinner means we tend to miss the early show as it's hard to leave the table before nine, normally much later.

 

 

[Colin_Cameron]

On 8/22/2019 at 10:33 AM, Victoria2 said:

In QG, which is the restaurant to which Clipperin referred, ...

Taking my most recent QG menus that I have to hand (QV) as an example; every night the cheese is listed as one of the dessert options, fish dishes are listed under the entrees, and soups and salads are listed under the appetisers. (On five of the nine nights the soups and salads were the appetiser options.)

 

Of course you could order more than one of these in the same way that you could order two mains, and that applies in Britannia as much as in Queens Grill. But as you and others have pointed out the limiting factor is not the ability to order but the ability to consume. That, I would suggest, is because the menus, and in particular the portion sizes, have been designed as a three course meal and not a four, five or six course meal.

 

Colin.

[Victoria2]

4 minutes ago, Colin_Cameron said:

Taking my most recent QG menus that I have to hand (QV) as an example; every night the cheese is listed as one of the dessert options, fish dishes are listed under the entrees, and soups and salads are listed under the appetisers. (On five of the nine nights the soups and salads were the appetiser options.)

 

Of course you could order more than one of these in the same way that you could order two mains, and that applies in Britannia as much as in Queens Grill. But as you and others have pointed out the limiting factor is not the ability to order but the ability to consume. That, I would suggest, is because the menus, and in particular the portion sizes, have been designed as a three course meal and not a four, five or six course meal.

 

Colin.

I don't keep menus as we'd be snowed under if I did and I can't remember what last March and April had on the menu or, in all honesty, how it was laid out. I'll make a point of looking later on nearer Christmas, but I suppose from experience, I know the  menu is a guide in QG  and some of our table waded through it night on night. Not me. I often have appetiser of Caviar and then a soup, and the salad with my entree. There's no magic to eating sufficiently but without overloading.The quantity with regards to portion size  might be offered but there's no need to accept it. It's designed for those who can and I'm not one of them.

I always specify my requirements and that usually is sauce on the side, very few carbs and no bread, and loads of salads [no dressing] and steamed veg. 

Works for me. It means I can sometimes have four courses, disregarding any  amuse bouche. Five would definitely be pushing it.

 

[resistk]

There was an entire cheese section in the Kings Court on the QM2 when I did TAs June and July this year.  You had to line up and have the attendent slice the cheese and serve you.  However the selection was excellent at least as many if not more cheeses than on the trolley in the Princess Grill.

[cruiseluvva]

On 8/23/2019 at 2:15 PM, Victoria2 said:

I don't keep menus as we'd be snowed under if I did and I can't remember what last March and April had on the menu or, in all honesty, how it was laid out. I'll make a point of looking later on nearer Christmas, but I suppose from experience, I know the  menu is a guide in QG  and some of our table waded through it night on night. Not me. I often have appetiser of Caviar and then a soup, and the salad with my entree. There's no magic to eating sufficiently but without overloading.The quantity with regards to portion size  might be offered but there's no need to accept it. It's designed for those who can and I'm not one of them.

I always specify my requirements and that usually is sauce on the side, very few carbs and no bread, and loads of salads [no dressing] and steamed veg. 

Works for me. It means I can sometimes have four courses, disregarding any  amuse bouche. Five would definitely be pushing it.

 

I’m impressed. I can seldom manage more than two courses, often only one. Like you no bread. We always dine on a two top for that very reason.