Another year is winding down, and we here at Cruise Critic are taking stock of the hits, misses and outright surprises that made up our cruising year (and we invite you to share your own!)
Today: Best Cruise Dining Experience
America’s Pacific Northwest already has a reputation as a superb region for food and wine. On my Columbia River cruise, American Queen Steamboat’s American Empress held its own throughout the week with its regionally influenced menus and locally produced wines and beers. While its River Grill alternative restaurant had the same menu throughout the cruise, it stood out for its inventive tweaks, superb service, and just simply delicious food (the surf & turf married lobster and lamb chops with a fantastic honey mustard sauce). The meal was so good I went back and had the same exact dinner again.
- Carolyn Spencer Brown, Editor in Chief
We had standout meal after standout meal onboard Paul Gauguin. I consider myself a bit of a foodie who is willing to try just about anything once. My husband’s tastes lean to the simpler side. On Paul Gauguin, you get the best of both worlds at virtually every meal. I loved the high-end adventurous choices (pate and scallops; traditional Tahitian dishes like poisson cru), and my husband enjoyed some perfectly prepared standards (a quesadilla or spectacular sirloin). It’s rare the two of us agree on a meal, but we both dined happy on Paul Gauguin.
- Colleen McDaniel, Managing Editor
As big fans of the Bravo TV show Top Chef, my husband and I, along with my sister and her husband, couldn’t wait to get onboard Celebrity Summit for the line’s first in a series of themed cruises. And Top Chef at Sea turned out to be as fun as we anticipated, with quick fire challenges, cooking classes with show cheftestants and plenty of photo ops with Angelo Sosa, Spike Mendelsohn and Ash Fulk. We loved the latter’s down-to-earth personality, as well as his chilled potato leek soup that was served in the main dining room. To paraphrase the show’s strap-line, pack your bags and go!
- Chris Gray Faust, Destinations Editor
Three of my favorite things in the world are seafood, Greek food and cheap carafes of wine, so on a Celebrity Silhouette cruise via Mykonos and Corfu, I couldn’t wait to hit up the local tavernas for the real deal. To choose a venue, my boyfriend and I invented the ‘octopus index’, comparing the prices at all the waterfront restaurants. The most memorable was Veranda, on a clifftop in Corfu Town, with panoramic views of that distinctly ‘Mediterranean blue’ ocean. Silhouette didn’t depart until 9 p.m. so our long lunch spilled into sunset drinks while watching other ships departing the island. For a few hours at least, we could pretend we were staying there. In the end, the (delicious and great value) food was secondary to the romantic setting, the chance to spend a summer’s evening in port, and dining with the sea salt still on our skin after swimming in the ocean.
- Louise Goldsbury, Australia Editor
Hands down my best meal was on P&O Cruises’ Ventura in Atul Kochhar’s East restaurant, which takes the best of his signature modern Indian cuisine with some outstanding dishes from across Southeast Asia, including: Chiang Mai ribs, Malaysian-style curry puffs, Thai fish cakes, chicken satay, Khmer king prawns, spiced sea bream fillets, Burmese fillet of beef and 24-hour slow-cooked lamb rending, Thai green chicken curry… Just writing that list has made my mouth water!
- Adam Coulter, UK Editor
There’s just no contest; I had the absolute best cruise meal of my year at Jamie’s Italian on Quantum of the Seas. It started with a vegetarian plank that consisted of the most delicious buffalo mozzarella I’ve ever had (bar none), roasted-in-garlic vegetables and an aubergine spread of some sort. We then moved onto crispy arancini, which are risotto rice balls stuffed with mozzarella, spicy arrabbiata sauce and a touch of parmesan and sweet red chilies. My main entry was grilled aubergine layered with Bella Lodi cheese and a tomato and basil sauce and served with the most divine freshly baked twisted garlic bread knots.
- Dori Saltzman, News Editor
I fell in love with Moderno Churrascaria aboard Norwegian Breakaway earlier this year. I was skeptical because of the added cost, combined with the fact that I’m not a huge fan of red meat, but I came away super impressed — and super full. Don’t miss the restaurant’s colossal pre-dinner buffet, which features items like shrimp, veggies, pasta salads, cold cuts and cheeses. In an effort to further stuff you prior to offering you meat, your waiter will also bring a selection of amazing sides – buttered rice, savoury black beans, garlic mashed potatoes and fried sweet bananas – to your table. When it’s finally time for you to bring out your inner carnivore, be sure to try the filet mignon, garlic beef and bacon-wrapped chicken. Dessert is included, too. The best part? You can have all the seconds and thirds (and fourths) you want.
- Ashley Kosciolek, Ports & Copy Editor
Just about everything I ate on Un-Cruise Adventures’ S.S. Legacy was worthy of praise, but my best dining experience was crab night. As a Northeasterner who grew up with some of the best blue crabs around, I had high expectations before slipping on my bib and digging into to a pile of Alaskan Dungeness crabs. My expectations were met, but shamelessly eating with my hands drenched in butter was even better.
- Gina Kramer, Associate Editor
While I dined on multicourse French, Brazilian, Chinese, Cuban, seafood and American meals at sea, it was the small, sleek sushi bar onboard Norwegian Getaway that really dished up my favorite. Trying to enjoy an unscheduled meal and tight on time, I plonked down on one of Wasabi’s stools right at opening and asked the chef what was good. After determining that I wouldn’t break out in hives from a surprise ingredient, he immediately set to work while I snacked on tsukune (succulent chicken dumpling balls). When my sushi roll arrived, it demanded a gallery of photos before I could even touch it. Piled high was tuna and cucumber with scallions covered in tempura crumbles, tobiko (roe) with a spicy chili mayo and Sriracha sauce, all topped with seaweed salad. The flavours were well blended, the spices balanced with the fresh fish, and all of the elements combined to not only create one of the most satisfying sushi rolls I’ve ever had, but also one of the most colourful. The off-menu “volcano roll,” as he called it, came in at an astonishing $4.75, making it also the best value onboard.
- Brittany Chrusciel, Editorial Assistant
This one’s easy: the guacamole at Sabor Taqueria & Tequila Bar on Oasis of the Seas. There’s a dedicated staff member who prepares the guac fresh at your table, and it is the best I’ve ever tasted. As an American living in the U.K., guacamole is a rare treat, and combining it with a delicious margarita made it that much better.
- Jamey Bergman, U.K. Production Editor
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