Viking Cruises: What to Eat and Drink on Board

Table Of Content

• At the same restaurant, I loved the chocolate, caramel tacos.
• PALATE PLEASING CULINARY CRUSADE
• I tried the newest ships from Carnival, Royal Caribbean, Celebrity, and Norwegian. Here’s how they compare
• What is open dining vs. set seating on a cruise?
• Check out these articles for more information on cruise dining:
• Best burger: Carnival Breeze
• Indonesian Food in the Caribbean

While the old days of exceptional gourmet dining are long gone there are newer lines that have, pardon the pun, gone overboard, with fine dining and alternative options. Celebrity and Cunard are good mass market lines with better than average dining options. Windstar, Oceania and Azamara are very good small ship boutique lines with exceptional dining options. Then you have the luxury lines…Seabourn, Regent, Silversea and Crystal are top notch with Regent winning that race by a nose. Then you have the Yacht Club on MSC…which is a mass market line with a ship within a ship concept. The YC is an excellent product for those who don’t want to give up the big ship experience but want an upscale experience on a mass market line.

At the same restaurant, I loved the chocolate, caramel tacos.

At the buffet, a crew member may be assigned to show you which items should be avoided. Some cruise lines will offer hosted tables for solo travelers, especially on luxury lines where dining is always flexible. These lines may even employ gentleman hosts to guide the conversation and make sure everyone feels welcome and included. Inquire with guest services or the maitre d' and they can get you sorted.

PALATE PLEASING CULINARY CRUSADE

Global Tastemakers is a celebration of the best culinary destinations in the U.S. and abroad. We asked more than 180 food and travel journalists to vote on their favorites, including restaurants and bars, cities, hotels, airports, airlines, and cruises. We then entrusted those results to an expert panel of judges to determine each category’s winners. In many categories, we’ve included a Plus One, hand-selected by our expert panel, to shout out more culinary destinations we don’t want our readers to miss.

I tried the newest ships from Carnival, Royal Caribbean, Celebrity, and Norwegian. Here’s how they compare

Onboard restaurants can match land-based eateries in sophistication and style, with chefs as driven by seasonal ingredients as their peers ashore. The 2024 Global Tastemakers, selected by food and travel journalists this year, favor luxury ocean lines, which invest heavily in food and wine, yet also embrace expedition ships and riverboats. All operate small vessels by today’s standards; kitchen crews can more readily cook with artistry and ingenuity for fewer passengers. Norwegian’s focus on “freestyle cruising” definitely extends to the line’s approach to dining.

What is open dining vs. set seating on a cruise?

The meal starts with your hosts, Ant-Man and the Wasp, explaining what the interactive quantum core on your table is for. Then, throughout the meal, you'll work with Marvel superheroes to save the ship from an impending villain. "Beauty and the Beast" fans will love dining in the restaurant named after the candelabra in the film.

The best restaurants on a Virgin Voyages cruise ship - Business Insider

The best restaurants on a Virgin Voyages cruise ship.

Posted: Sat, 20 Apr 2024 12:36:00 GMT [source]

Check out these articles for more information on cruise dining:

The Sushi Bar is complimentary, but seats are available on a first-come, first-served basis. Every Crystal passenger enjoys one complimentary dinner at Umi Uma, during which you can order off the sushi menu. The Restaurant, the main dining venue on Seabourn ships, offers a variety of gourmet options in an open-seating arrangement, allowing guests to dine whenever they wish.

Best burger: Carnival Breeze

Experience exquisite dining on vacation with Navigator of the Seas cruise restaurants. Discover an insider’s guide to the best places to eat on your cruise vacation while dining onboard Odyssey of the Seas at its many restaurant options. Enjoy an insider’s guide to the best places to eat on your cruise vacation while dining onboard Rhapsody of the Seas at its many restaurant options. Enjoy an insider’s guide to the best places to eat on your cruise vacation while dining onboard Brilliance of the Seas at its many restaurant options. Enjoy an insider’s guide to the best places to eat on your cruise vacation while dining onboard Jewel of the Seas at its many restaurant options. Enjoy an insider’s guide to the best places to eat on your cruise vacation while dining onboard Serenade of the Seas at its many restaurant options.

Berlin for Oktoberfest: What To Know Before You Go Royal Caribbean Cruises

My burger tasted freshly made and of high-quality, something I’d find at a restaurant. It was definitely higher quality than anything you'd find at a fast food restaurant. The fries were nicely seasoned too, although not as hot as I’d like them. I only wish the menu was easier to understand for making quicker, better informed decisions with fewer acronyms. This was one of my favorite spots last time I cruised; so, on our first sea day, I decided to have this for lunch. Last summer, I sailed the Mediterranean Sea for seven days on a luxury Virgin Voyages cruise ship.

Indonesian Food in the Caribbean

That way you don’t have to worry about anything once you’re on the sea and you're not expected to have any nasty surprises when it comes to dining on a cruise. In general, you can expect that on most cruise ships fantastic food will be served. However, there are some ships that stand out, which is why we broke down the Cruise ships with the best food for you and your special preferences. These dining venues are included in the cost of the cruise yet may require reservations for dinner. You’ll have the freedom to savor gourmet meals across multiple venues without worrying about the bill. This often includes main dining rooms, buffets, and sometimes even specialty restaurants.

It’s worth noting that many specialty restaurants offer discounted rates for children so that the whole family can enjoy the treat. Speaking of treats, make sure to try the fantastic gelato at the ice cream parlor. Another one of my favorite cruise ship restaurants is Pacific Rim, found on the two largest Regent Seven Seas Cruises vessels.

If you don't have a sea day on your itinerary, brunch might be served on a port day. On a recent cruise, I made a reservation for brunch at Palo when the ship was docked in Nassau, Bahamas. From the oldest Disney ship, Disney Magic, to the newest, Disney Wish, the cruise line has continued to raise the bar when it comes to dining on a cruise ship. One thing that makes Disney cruise dining stand out among its competitors is the line's rotational dining program. Throughout a sailing, guests rotate dinners through three main Disney cruise restaurants, and their service team moves with them.

Located in the Lido Buffet next to Carnival Deli, Pizza Pirate serves up small, hand-tossed pizzas. This pizza parlor is open 24 hours, so it’s very popular at night when guests have late-night munchies. Since it was so expensive for one drink ($17 after tip) and I didn’t have a drink package, I didn’t make another trip back to the bar. Hopefully on a future Carnival cruise, I can sample some of the other delicious sounding cocktails. The small tacos, served on flour tortillas, reminded me of street tacos.

Despite its name, Royal Caribbean goes far beyond the Caribbean, with sailings to Alaska, Hawaii, the Mediterranean, Asia, and Canada. The massive ships have a suitably huge variety of onboard dining options. Highlights include Jamie’s Italian by Jamie Oliver, meat and seafood grilled right before your eyes at Teppanyaki, modern American at 150 Central Park, and a globally-inspired buffet at Windjammer. There are plenty of kid-friendly options, like Johnny Rocket’s, as well as bars like a Latin-themed club with a live band playing salsa, merengue, samba, and cumbia. Celebrity positions itself as a relaxed luxury resort at sea, with entertainment, pools, a spa, and diverse drinking and dining outlets.

Outside on the pool deck of Disney Magic, Duck-In Diner dishes out lunch and snacks to hungry cruisers. The menu here is a fun mix of American favorites like burgers and dogs, plus Middle Eastern-inspired shawarma wrapped in a warm pita. I love the shawarma because you can see it rotating on a vertical spit right behind the counter and load up your sandwich with your favorite toppings.

Holland America offers flexible dining options or reserved seating, depending on your preference. The cruise line has just over a dozen restaurants and features a mix of included and specialty venues on each ship. Several lines have done away with the assigned dining concept, most notably luxury lines such as Regent Seven Seas Cruises, Silversea and Seabourn, but also brands such as Norwegian Cruise Line and Virgin Voyages. The ships in these lines offer multiple onboard dining venues where you either make a reservation or try your luck as a walk-in, as you would at any land-based restaurants. Most will have one main dining room venue that is larger and does not require reservations or extra fees to eat there.

Given their venues’ relaxed elegance and gourmet menu options, there’s so much to love. We're talking about miso-glazed sea bass wrapped in a hoba leaf, and sole tempura with an orange ponzu sauce and spicy daikon. While it's easy to rack up a $150 per person bill at a Nobu on land (a single piece of toro sushi costs $17 at Nobu New York Fifty Seven), a night at Umi Uma on a Crystal ship is included in the fare.