What’s to the best thing to do while sailing the high seas? Eat, of course! The Sapphire Princess delivers flavourful cuisine
[dropcap]J[/dropcap]ogging tracks, swimming pools and state of the art fitness machines – you’d imagine that a cruise with all these facilities is the perfect place to get in shape. But perish any thought of trying to lose weight.
With many wonderful things to eat on a cruise, it would be amazing if you didn’t gain weight over the course of a weekend.
Captive Audience
[su_pullquote align=”right”]Thin crispy crust, succulent salty anchovies, flavourful cheeses, beautiful presentation and in a wonderful ambience. Order one, or ten. It’s all free!
I think I gained a kilo in one sitting.[/su_pullquote]
In the days of old, unsuspecting pedestrians were drugged or clubbed then shanghaied to serve as crew on ships. These days, we are seduced by the casinos, theatrical productions, spectacular swimming pools, excursions and the food on board the luxurious cruise ships plying our harbours.
We surrender ourselves, willingly, to days and nights of indulgence as thousands of crew members serve our every need on the high seas. Other than the short excursions ashore, passengers are essentially ‘captives’, finding and trying all of the different activities on board while the ship sails at 30 knots/hour to the next port of call.
But one is the champion of all cruise activities – EATING!
Food, Glorious Food
Breakfast, lunch, afternoon tea, dinner, supper and even late night snack – from Day One, thousands of passengers never miss the opportunity to eat every single possible meal and then some!
The food served is divided into a few categories. There is the main buffet area where most of the meals are served, the more traditional themed restaurants, a myriad of cafes and light bite options and a few free-standing kiosks serving ice cream, prawn noodle soup, hot dogs, etc.
All you can eat, all for free!
Pizza Pleasure
With the exception of the main buffet area, where the food tends to be of cafeteria standard, the rest serves excellent fare. For instance, on the Sapphire Princess, Alfredo’s Pizzeria served some of the best authentic Italian pizza I’ve ever tasted.
Thin crispy crust, succulent salty anchovies, flavourful cheeses, beautiful presentation and in a wonderful ambience. Order one, or ten. It’s all free! I think I gained a kilo in one sitting.
Breakfast is Served
For breakfast, one can opt for the self-service buffet areas or one of the full-service restaurants.
You can order any of the full breakfasts from pancakes to salmon and bagels, to egg platters. The glutton within me wanted all of it!
Premium Dining
For those who are looking for more exceptional cuisine, most cruises offer premium dining where they serve the ship’s best fare, with a cover charge. US$25 per person, for instance, will get you into Sapphire Princess’ Sabatini’s or Sterling Steakhouse. There, you can choose from a variety of dishes for each of the courses, at no additional charge.
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At Sabatini’s, for antipasti, I had the burrata with tomato carpaccio and balsamic vinegar along with the white bean and black mussel soup. For the pasta, I couldn’t resist the langostino and seafood in cherry tomato sauce. For the “secondi”, I had the lobster three way, which was a combination of lobster tail, lobster orzotto and lobster bisque sauce.
I couldn’t help but think how much this would’ve cost in Singapore! Overall, the taste was exquisite and the experience was delightful.
Of course, this is only the food I experienced on the cruise. There is also the food that I experienced on excursion to Penang!
The gourmand’s experience on board a cruise is truly relentless.
By Frank Young
Weekender thanks Princess Cruises for arranging this trip aboard the Princess Sapphire.
For more information about Princess Cruises visit www.princess.com.
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