Breakfast
We chose to browse the Horizon Buffet for breakfast. Lon was very happy with the wide array of smoked fish, Mahi Mahi, swordfish, whitefish, and more (at least 7 types). I thought most were either too chewy or two salty but did finish my slice of smoked salmon.
Lon also enjoyed the squid ball soup, which was indeed good and unique.
The French toast and bread pudding were both pretty good, not great, but I was happily surprised to see perfectly cooked over-easy eggs.
The papaya was presented so nicely but the fruit was not yet ripe enough. Surprisingly, the cream filled donut is the best thing I’ve eaten on this boat so far, so fresh, I know it was just fried and filled, and it wasn’t too sweet. Hooray!
After breakfast, we saw a quick fruit/vegetable carving demo. Well it wasn't really a demo, more just quick assembly of already carved pieces.
Lunch
Lunch was a series of unorganized wondering around and picking up food. We hit the pizza bar first where I was actually impressed. It wasn't great but it was the closest to New York style pizza I’ve ever had outside of NY. Lon didn’t like the cheese but I've had much much worse.
I continued walking and eating to accompany Lon to the buffet. Unfortunately, we didn’t find anything good. We didn’t even see much that looked enticing. It was just a sad looking buffet. We reluctantly chose a few things to try and the Mozzarella En Corozza was over-battered and dry. There was also some weird fish in it.
The fresh mozzarella was probably the best thing on the buffet but the sliced tomatoes were flavorless. The pureed vegetable soup with white beans were ok, as was the corned beef brisket, but lunch was still looking bleak.
We decided to give it one more try at the Trident Grill where burgers, dogs, and such are served poolside. The chicken sandwich was dry. The Veal bratwurst was pretty good, although we both think it tasted more like pork than veal. The fries were decent.
Lunch was over and remained a sad memory.
Afternoon Tea
I had expected some nice teas but only a plain Lipton-like tea was offered. Trays of pastries and finger sandwiches were carried around by servers. We sampled nearly every pastry since Lon was still hungry from his unsatisfied lunch and the waiter didn’t seem to know what they were. Overall, the scones and pastries were mediocre in taste, but a step up in presentation. The chocolate filled cream puff was my favorite.
The finger sandwiches had hit or misses, the ham and cheese mini croissant being the best, the salami sandwiches and vegetable sandwiches were hard. At least we had some good table company, even though the chances are slim to be sitting with people near our age.
Dinner
We sat with three other couples in the Da Vinci dining room, exactly like the Michelangelo dining room, which we ate in the previous evening. They have the same menu too. You have to share a table unless you want to be waiting for 30 minutes to be seated.
I started with a duck appetizer, thinly and evenly sliced, perfect with a touch of cranberry sauce. It’s definitely the best savory dish I’ve had so far.
Lon’s crab quiche was just acceptable, as the majority of the food is.
Both of us chose the Filet Mignon for dinner since not much else grabbed our attention. While the demi-glace was very well balanced, our steaks (ordered medium rare) came medium/ medium-well, which pretty much destroyed our entrée. In most instances, Lon and I would have sent the steak back (as you’ve witnessed before) but the service of the dinner had dragged on for so long already, we were afraid we would never make it to another activity. The potato croquettes were also dry and unappetizing anyway so I chalked this up to a loss.
Luckily, desserts saved reputations a little bit. I was expecting a fake soufflé but the Hazelnut Souffle was actually quite good. It wasn’t perfect because it should be lighter, more delicate, but it was certainly made fresh and very enjoyable. Lon’s dessert was a simple heart shaped chocolate ganache.
Through our conversations with our dinner companions, I had expressed some dissatisfaction over the food on board so far. In comparison to the previous cruises I’ve been on, the food isn’t as good, especially at the buffet. My previous experiences (2 cruises in Hawaii and 1 in the Carribean) included really impressive and expansive looking buffets that always had a wow factor. I had told Lon all about ice carvings, fruit and vegetable carvings, way more variety and I felt I had let him down. It seemed that our table was full of frequent cruisers who pointed out that they too noticed better food on some of the smaller ships. Who knew? Most of the research I read pointed to bigger ships being better but in general I do have to say that I’m disappointed in the food so far.
To end things worse, we weren’t completely full after dinner so after some comedy and acrobatics show, we went back to look for food. Unfortunately, the late night snack buffet is just a lay-out of left-overs from the day, being picked over by hungry crew members. It was very sad looking and nothing like my past experiences.
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Asianmommy said:
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Wow-that bird carving is so cool! I like the flowers, too. |
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Ellen said:
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That donut sounded really good! |
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Kasi&Stephen said:
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Stephen is impressed with the egg, since that's his preferred style as well. I guess they were cooking them in a mold (given the square shape)? |
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wow... looks yummy. |
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Lon said:
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K&S, more likely they were cooked on an open surface and then cut into squares, removing the extra. This would be similar to the approach usually used to cook and cut poached eggs (in boiling water and then trimming the excess). It's also possible (Jessica thinks definitely) that they cooked many of these on a griddle at once, letting the whites run together. This would ensure that the whites were more substantial and even (rather than trailing off...) |