The 6 best dishes I've eaten on cruise ships, from Japanese fusion to prime rib.
Cruise food has evolved past mediocre buffets and lukewarm hotdogs.
Options like teppanyaki, Italian, and Mediterranean restaurants have become on-board staples.
I've sailed on eight ships — these are my six favorite onboard restaurants.
Have food, will travel — even, or maybe especially, if it's on a cruise.
I've sailed on eight ships, which means I've had my fair share of cruise food.
Before you throw me a pity party, it's not as bad as it sounds.
Gone are the days of lukewarm hot dogs and unseasoned burgers. Nowadays, attractive options like Japanese teppanyaki, Italian, and Mediterranean restaurants have become cruising staples — sometimes at more affordable prices than land-based venues.
Some of the best at-sea restaurants I've tried serve grilled octopus, slices of jamón, and prime rib that rival expensive steakhouses. Here are my six favorites, including a surprise pick.
This isn't one of those overpriced trendy food halls. Instead, Norwegian's Indulge Food Hall is all-you-can-eat, complimentary, and available on all Prima-class ships.
Say goodbye to self-serve, heat lamp-nuked buffet glop. At Indulge, guests can use the digital screens at every table to order individual portions from seven vendors.
The pickings are as small as a few jamón slices at the tapas stall to as large as chicken biryani with garlic naan at the Indian kiosk.
If the heavy cruise food starts getting to you, opt for salad and soup from The Garden. Otherwise, there are noodles, Latin, Texas barbecue, and rotisserie stands — totalling about 50 main and side options.
I spent four complimentary nights on Norwegian Prima in 2022. Despite my limited time, I returned to the food hall several times, drawn to the diverse options, convenient ordering system, and my cravings for the lunchtime chicken korma.
If your travel plans revolve around expanding your palette, dine at Silver Ray's SALT Kitchen.
Luxury, all-inclusive cruise line Silversea's SALT (sea and land taste) program brings local dishes on board its ships. As such, Silver Ray's SALT restaurant has two menus: one that remains consistent and another that changes almost daily according to the destination.
I attended the ship's five-night complimentary test sailing in Portugal and Spain in 2024. In Libson, the appetizers and mains included tender grilled sardines and octopus. For dessert, guests could finish with travesseiros, a popular sweet treat from nearby Sintra, Portugal.
It can be difficult to immerse yourself in your cruise's destinations when you're only at port for an afternoon. SALT Kitchen won't replicate a local dining experience, but it'll at least give you a taste.
Plus, the sardines were divine.
The restaurant is also available on Silver Nova, Dawn, and Moon ships.
If you're already on Silver Ray, consider reserving a table at the small-plate, family-style Silver Note.
Yes, many trendy and expensive land-based restaurants have turned this dining concept into something to bemoan. However, it's not as common at sea — nor is it always served with a side of live music.
Throughout your dinner, a pianist and singer will serenade you with Frank Sinatra and Bill Withers classics, creating a city jazz bar-like atmosphere.
The lighting will be dark, the music will be good, and the food will be sufficiently luxurious.
Expect fun plating, such as vegetable dumplings in a heated stone-shaped bowl and a triple-chocolate dessert shaped like a swan. Be sure to save room for the perfectly cooked beef tenderloin and the grilled octopus on a bed of carrot planks.
The restaurant is also on Silver Dawn, Nova, Muse, Spirit, and Moon.
Indulge Food Hall is my favorite dining venue on Norwegian Prima. If you want to treat yourself to a specialty restaurant, consider my second favorite, Onda by Scarpetta. (It's also available on Norwegian Encore, Spirit, and Viva.)
I've been to my fair share of lackluster Italian joints. The pappardelle Bolognese proved Onda by Scarpetta isn't one of them.
The deeply rich Bolognese was the perfect porky, beefy, and veal-y embrace for the pasta's thick folds. I could smell it from feet away — and so could the table next to me, which quickly asked what I had ordered.
If you're not feeling pasta, opt for pizzas (such as Margherita) or meaty entrées (such as veal Milanese). To rev your taste buds, start with appetizers like yellowtail crudo or burrata with prosciutto, arugula, and tomatoes.
Be sure to conclude your meal with the superior Italian dessert: tiramisu.
If the restaurant sounds familiar, you might have heard of its sister concept, Scarpetta, which has several locations worldwide.
The pasta at the New York establishment ranges up to $45 per plate.
The entire dinner at Onda by Scarpetta on Norwegian Prima costs $40 per person.
Regent Seven Seas is known for its luxury all-inclusive cruises. Emphasis on "luxury" — its Pacific Rim restaurant serves a mix of East and Southeast Asian classics with a high-end flair.
For example, chicken and foie gras gyoza, tom kha gai with truffles, and watermelon salad with Peking duck.
The siu mai has a whisper of back truffle, while the seafood laksa is a pool party of lobster, shrimp, scallops, and squid.
Order the tempura lobster or giant tiger prawns if you're partial to crustaceans. For a humbler dish, opt for a side of the nostalgic Mie Goreng.
The restaurant is available on Seven Seas Grandeur (where I spent three complimentary nights in 2023), Splendor, and Explorer.
Surprised to see a main dining room on the list? Let me be clear — there's only one reason I'm including it: the prime rib.
Complimentary dining rooms are often offered as a dinnertime alternative to the buffet or upcharged specialty restaurants.
I've sailed on three Royal Caribbean ships, which means I've had my fair share of MDR meals. Theoretically, they're nothing special — unless you know what to order.
Depending on the night's menu, I suggest passing on the signature fried chicken and pork bao buns. However, I highly advise (demand, even) that you order the scrumptiously tender prime rib.
I've hated most prime ribs. This is the best I've ever had and the first I've inhaled. I might even venture to say it turned me into a fan. And for that reason, I will defend its spot on this list.
Read the original article on Business Insider
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
25 minutes ago
Air India flight returns to Hong Kong due to a midair technical issue
HONG KONG -- An Air India flight returned to Hong Kong on Monday shortly after takeoff due to a midair technical issue, days after another of the airline's flights crashed and killed at least 270 people. Air India said in a statement that the New Delhi-bound plane landed in Hong Kong safely and was undergoing checks 'as a matter of abundant precaution.' Airport Authority Hong Kong said in a separate statement that flight AI315 returned to the southern Chinese city's airport around 1 p.m. The plane was a Boeing 787 Dreamliner, the same model as the London-bound flight that struck a medical college hostel in a residential area of the northwestern Indian city of Ahmedabad minutes after takeoff on Thursday. The crash killed 241 people on board and at least 29 on the ground. One passenger survived. The flag carrier of India said alternative arrangements have been made to fly the affected passengers to their destination at the earliest convenience.
17 hours ago
Spaniards packing water guns blame mass tourism for housing crunch
BARCELONA, Spain -- Protesters used water pistols against unsuspecting tourists in Barcelona on Sunday as demonstrators marched to demand a re-think of an economic model they believe is fueling a housing crunch and erasing the character of the Spanish city. 'The squirt guns are to bother the tourists a bit,' Andreu Martínez said with a chuckle after spritzing a couple seated at an outdoor cafe. 'Barcelona has been handed to the tourists. This is a fight to give Barcelona back to its residents.' Martínez, a 42-year-old administrative assistant, is one of a growing number of residents who are convinced that tourism has gone too far in the city of 1.7 people. Barcelona hosted 15.5 visitors last year eager to see Antoni Gaudi's La Sagrada Familia basilica and the Las Ramblas promenade. Martínez says his rent has risen over 30% as more apartments in his neighborhood are rented to tourists for short-term stays. He said there is a knock-on effect of traditional stores being replaced by businesses catering to tourists, like souvenir shops, burger joints and 'bubble tea' spots. 'Our lives, as lifelong residents of Barcelona, is coming to an end," he said. "We are being pushed out systematically.' Similar demonstrations against tourism are slated in several other Spanish cities on Sunday, including on the Balearic islands of Mallorca and Ibiza, as well as in the Italian postcard city of Venice, Portugal's capital Lisbon and other cities across southern Europe — marking the first time a protest against tourism has been coordinated across the region. In Barcelona, protesters blew whistles and chanted, 'Everywhere you look, all you see are tourists.' They held up homemade signs saying 'One more tourist, one less resident' and 'Your Airbnb was my home.' They stuck stickers saying 'Citizen Self-Defense,' in Catalan, and 'Tourist Go Home,' in English, with a drawing of a water pistol on the doors of hotels and hostels. There was tension when the march stopped in front of a large hostel, where a group emptied their water guns at two workers positioned in the entrance. They also set off firecrackers next to the hostel and opened a can of pink smoke. One worker spat at the protestors as he slammed the hostel's doors. American tourists Wanda and Bill Dorozenski were walking along Barcelona's main luxury shopping boulevard where the protest started. They received a squirt or two, but she said it was actually refreshing given the 83 degree Fahrenheit (28.3 degrees Celcius) weather. 'That's lovely, thank you sweetheart,' Wanda said to the squirter. 'I am not going to complain. These people are feeling something to them that is very personal, and is perhaps destroying some areas (of the city).' Cities across the world are struggling with how to cope with overtourism and a boom in short-term rental platforms, like Airbnb, but perhaps nowhere has surging discontent been so evident as in Barcelona, where protesters first took to firing squirt guns at tourists during a protest last summer. Spaniards have also staged several large protests in Barcelona, Madrid and other cities in recent years to demand lower rents. There has also been a confluence of the pro-housing and anti-tourism struggles: When thousands marched through the streets of Spain's capital in April, some held homemade signs saying 'Get Airbnb out of our neighborhoods.' Spain, with a population of 48 million, hosted a record 94 million international visitors in 2024, compared with 83 million in 2019, making it one of the most-visited countries in the world. A poll in June 2022 found just 2% of Spaniards thought housing was a national problem. Three years later, almost a third of those surveyed said it is now a leading concern. Spain's official public opinion office said 76% of people responded 'Yes' last year when asked if they were in favor of tighter government regulations on tourist apartments. (Those polls were of 4,000 people, with a margin of error of 1.6%) Spain's municipal and federal authorities are striving to show they hear the public outcry and are taking appropriate action to put the tourism industry on notice, despite the fact it contributes 12% of national GDP. Last month, Spain's government ordered Airbnb to remove almost 66,000 holiday rentals from the platform which it said had violated local rules. Spain's Consumer Rights Minister Pablo Bustinduy told The Associated Press shortly after the crackdown on Airbnb that the tourism sector 'cannot jeopardize the constitutional rights of the Spanish people,' which enshrines their right to housing and well-being. Carlos Cuerpo, the economy minister, said in a separate interview that the government is aware it must tackle the unwanted side effects of mass tourism. And last year, Barcelona stunned Airbnb and other services who help rent properties to tourists by announcing the elimination of all 10,000 short-term rental licenses in the city by 2028. The short-term rental industry, for its part, believes it is being treated unfairly. 'I think a lot of our politicians have found an easy scapegoat to blame for the inefficiencies of their policies in terms of housing and tourism over the last 10, 15, 20 years,' Airbnb's general director for Spain and Portugal, Jaime Rodríguez de Santiago recently told the AP. That argument either hasn't trickled down to the ordinary residents of Barcelona, or isn't resonating. But Txema Escorsa, a teacher in Barcelona, doesn't just oppose Airbnb in his home city; he has ceased to use it even when traveling elsewhere, out of principle. 'In the end, you realize that this is taking away housing from people,' he said. The government measures were not enough to keep Sunday's marchers at home in Barcelona.
Hamilton Spectator
17 hours ago
- Hamilton Spectator
Spaniards squirt water guns at foreigners in Barcelona and Mallorca to protest overtourism
BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — Protesters used water pistols against unsuspecting tourists in Barcelona and on the Spanish island of Mallorca on Sunday as demonstrators marched to demand a rethink of an economic model they believe is fueling a housing crunch and erasing the character of their hometowns. The marches were part of a coordinated effort by activists concerned with the ills of overtourism across southern Europe's top destinations, including Venice, Italy, Portugal's capital of Lisbon and several other Spanish locations. 'The squirt guns are to bother the tourists a bit,' Andreu Martínez said in Barcelona with a chuckle after spritzing a couple seated at an outdoor café. 'Barcelona has been handed to the tourists. This is a fight to give Barcelona back to its residents.' Martínez, a 42-year-old administrative assistant, is one of a growing number of residents who are convinced that tourism has gone too far in the city of 1.7 million people. Barcelona hosted 15.5 million visitors last year eager to see Antoni Gaudi's La Sagrada Familia basilica and the Las Ramblas promenade. Martínez says his rent has risen over 30% as more apartments in his neighborhood are rented to tourists for short-term stays. He said there is a knock-on effect of traditional stores being replaced by businesses catering to tourists, like souvenir shops, burger joints and 'bubble tea' spots. 'Our lives, as lifelong residents of Barcelona, are coming to an end,' he said. 'We are being pushed out systematically.' Around 5,000 people gathered in Palma, the capital of Mallorca, with some toting water guns as well and chanting 'Everywhere you look, all you see are tourists.' The tourists who were targeted by water blasts laughed it off. The Mediterranean island is a favorite for British and German sun-seekers. It has seen housing costs skyrocket as homes are diverted to the short-term rental market. In Venice, a couple of dozen protesters unfurled a banner calling for a halt to new hotel beds in the lagoon city in front of two recently completed structures, one in the popular tourist destination's historic center where activists say the last resident, an elderly woman, was kicked out last year. Squirts cause tension, and provide refreshment Protesters in Barcelona blew whistles and held up homemade signs saying 'One more tourist, one less resident.' They stuck stickers saying 'Citizen Self-Defense,' in Catalan, and 'Tourist Go Home,' in English, with a drawing of a water pistol on the doors of hotels and hostels. There was tension when the march stopped in front of a large hostel, where a group emptied their water guns at two workers positioned in the entrance. They also set off firecrackers next to the hostel and opened a can of pink smoke. One worker spat at the protesters as he slammed the hostel's doors. American tourists Wanda and Bill Dorozenski were walking along Barcelona's main luxury shopping boulevard where the protest started. They received a squirt or two, but she said it was actually refreshing given the 83 degree Fahrenheit (28.3 degrees Celsius) weather. 'That's lovely, thank you sweetheart,' Wanda said to the squirter. 'I am not going to complain. These people are feeling something to them that is very personal, and is perhaps destroying some areas (of the city).' There were also many marchers with water pistols who didn't fire at bystanders and instead solely used them to spray themselves to keep cool. Crackdown on Airbnb Cities across the world are struggling with how to cope with mass tourism and a boom in short-term rental platforms, like Airbnb , but perhaps nowhere has surging discontent been so evident as in Spain, where protesters in Barcelona first took to firing squirt guns at tourists during a protest last summer. There has also been a confluence of the pro-housing and anti-tourism struggles in Spain, whose 48 million residents welcomed record 94 million international visitors in 2024. When thousands marched through the streets of Spain's capital in April, some held homemade signs saying 'Get Airbnb out of our neighborhoods.' Spanish authorities are striving to show they hear the public outcry while not hurting an industry that contributes 12% of gross domestic product. Last month, Spain's government ordered Airbnb to remove almost 66,000 holiday rentals from the platform that it said had violated local rules. Spain's Consumer Rights Minister Pablo Bustinduy told The Associated Press shortly after the crackdown on Airbnb that the tourism sector 'cannot jeopardize the constitutional rights of the Spanish people,' which enshrines their right to housing and well-being. Carlos Cuerpo, the economy minister, said in a separate interview that the government is aware it must tackle the unwanted side effects of mass tourism. The boldest move was made by Barcelona's town hall, which stunned Airbnb and other services who help rent properties to tourists by announcing last year the elimination of all 10,000 short-term rental licenses in the city by 2028. That sentiment was back in force on Sunday, where people held up signs saying 'Your Airbnb was my home.' 'Taking away housing' The short-term rental industry, for its part, believes it is being treated unfairly. 'I think a lot of our politicians have found an easy scapegoat to blame for the inefficiencies of their policies in terms of housing and tourism over the last 10, 15, 20 years,' Airbnb's general director for Spain and Portugal, Jaime Rodríguez de Santiago recently told the AP. That argument either hasn't trickled down to the ordinary residents of Barcelona, or isn't resonating. Txema Escorsa, a teacher in Barcelona, doesn't just oppose Airbnb in his home city, he has ceased to use it even when traveling elsewhere, out of principle. 'In the end, you realize that this is taking away housing from people,' he said. ___ AP Videojournalist Hernán Múñoz in Barcelona, and Associated Press writer Colleen Barry in Venice, Italy, contributed. Error! Sorry, there was an error processing your request. There was a problem with the recaptcha. Please try again. You may unsubscribe at any time. By signing up, you agree to our terms of use and privacy policy . This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google privacy policy and terms of service apply. Want more of the latest from us? Sign up for more at our newsletter page .
