One of the fun benefits of a cruise vacation is the FOOD! So many choices, so many new experiences and tastes. The last cruise Russ and I were on was a Disney Cruise for our honeymoon – 3 decades ago. I remember ice sculptures and scads of food buffet style, but also themed dinners and impeccable table service.
The Holland America dining experience was different than our honeymoon cruise, but not in a bad way. We ate the majority of our breakfasts and lunches on Deck 9 (Lido Market) where a buffet was served cafeteria style. Breakfast choices included made-to-order pancakes, waffles, French toast, ham, sausage, bacon, cereals, fruit, eggs, salmon, bagels, and crepes. Lunch offered freshly made sushi, noodle dishes, sandwiches, pizza, and some of the best shrimp curry I’ve had (I had seconds). Meals were also available in the room, and on other decks at a higher rate (and not covered by all-inclusive).
As we didn’t purchase a premium meal & drink package, we didn’t have an assigned table for evening meals. Most nights we ate with our friends at a table for four, although one night one of our party was suffering from motion sickness, and the remaining three joined a table of 7. Each night we made our way down to the third deck and gave the host our name and # in our party. We were seated – most nights by the window there were several tables with a view that were not directly by the window.
Some nights were ‘dressy nights’, others were casual dress. Holland America, sails of course, under the Dutch flag, and as the royal family is of the House of Orange, we were encouraged to wear orange one night. I don’t usually wear orange as it’s not a great color for me, but we had fun finding orange scarves and shirts to fit in with the theme.
The menu was broken down into Drinks, Starters, Mains, and Desserts. Most items were included in our package; those that weren’t were clearly marked. Dietary restrictions were available, and the serving staff were very knowledgeable about meals and what they contained. My favorite starter was the salmon chowder, and my favorite mains were the veal scallopine and Alaskan Rockfish; the desserts were to.die.for. Everything was beautifully plated and served on pretty dishes with linen napkins and silverware.
Our last evening on board, Clynton was the most personable of all our waiters. He spent a lot of time answering our questions about life in the cruise industry, his family, his vacations; and agreed to take a photo of all of us for posterity!
No ice sculptures or buffet meals in sight, we ate like royalty and although I expected to gain 20+ pounds over the course of the month, I watched what I ate the rest of the trip and came back with only 3 extra pounds of body weight (I didn’t weigh my suitcases)!
You can continue following our adventures on Facebook at Normads (Norman Adventures), or here on the blog.
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