Holland America Culinary Cruises

[Mapu]

Has anyone had experience on a HAL cruise advertised as a Culinary Cruise? If so what distinguishes them from other cruises?

[OlsSalt]

We were on one once many years ago when they were trying out their Culinary Council concept. I wondered also if this featured cruise was a way to try out new menu items on a larger scale. So that is only my speculation about "Culinary Cruises". 

 

The food was very good on that cruise, and many dishes we enjoyed  unfortunately never did make it into the final menus on later cruises, so it was fun to be their culinary guinea pigs.  There was  seared ahi with horseradish mashed potatoes, that I still dream about from that cruise. 

 

 

[kazu]

3 hours ago, Mapu said:

Has anyone had experience on a HAL cruise advertised as a Culinary Cruise? If so what distinguishes them from other cruises?

 

On most of them, a featured chef will be on board.  And you can expect either special pop up offerings or interesting additions to meals - depending on the chef and their specialty.

[Mapu]

Kazu.

Will there be any cooking demonstrations?

Edited January 26 by Mapu

[kazu]

1 hour ago, Mapu said:

Kazu.

Will there be any cooking demonstrations?

 

There was on mine but I can’t comment on the others, sorry.

[Caribbean Chris]

We were on an Alaska culinary cruise late in the season one year on a two-week itinerary RT from Seattle. A guest chef who had a restaurant in Anchorage, and a Pacific NW wine expert were featured guests. 

 

There was a reasonably priced special lunch in Pinnacle Grill with a menu they had created, and the two made brief remarks about the course-by-course pairings there. In addition there was a free culinary center cooking demonstration by the chef with samples. And I think a wine-tasting of the Pacific NW.

 

Two very fun and generous sisters on our smallish roll call were already making social plans for our group when, not long before sailing date, they were upgraded to a Neptune.  Lucky roll call! They invited us all for frequent cocktail hours, and roll call members contributed assorted wines & champagnes to the bar. Their stewards brought a plethora of hors d’oeuvres. One of the sisters already had a connection to the genial wine expert, so he & his wife joined the group at the suite parties a couple of times.

 

A very fun cruise for so many reasons.

Edited January 26 by Caribbean Chris