Lunchtime in The Galley

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The Galley is Scarlet Lady's floating fresh food market. Start by grabbing something quick and head back out to the pool or sit down and check out the stunning design and incredible views. With more than 10 different international eateries (all included), food is made fresh to order, so it’s always tasty. From light bites and bold burgers to noodles, tacos, and much much more. This is the closest thing to a traditional cruise buffet.

Tip:  Your first time in The Galley we recommend walking around to get an idea of the various choices. Then sit down and someone will com to wait on you and take your drink and food order.

Getting Served

We took our own advice and walked around The Galley.   Since it was after 2 PM, we wanted something to tide us over until dinner, but not too filling.  You can scan the QR code on the table to view the menu or request paper menus.  Since this was our first time here, we asked for paper menus (see above).

We opted for the Taco Al Pastor - marinated pork, pineapple, salsa verde.   We made sure to leave some room for dessert.  The scarlet lady and smores cup were our favorites that we selected.  See our The Galley photo album for more pictures.

We found ourselves contrasting The Galley with a traditional buffet on other cruise lines.  There are several different stations, like a traditional buffet.  Since Covid, many cruise lines have eliminated the self-service option, so that is very similar.   The big difference that we saw was that the menu does not change at all throughout the cruise.  Also, the selections are quite limited from what a normal buffet would have.   If you want variety, you need to plan meals at the other dining venues.

Having said that, we did find ourselves eating many breakfasts and lunches in The Galley.   Stay tuned for more details about our favorite choices for breakfast and lunch.

Another difference is you don't need to dig out a room key (Sailor Band) to pay for your soda - basic drinks are included with your cruise fare.   You can help yourself from the fountain drinks or one of the wait staff will bring it to you.

Final Thoughts

Since we were sailing with only about 25% capacity, there wasn't a long wait for the made to order food.  We'd be interested in knowing how this process works when the ship is at capacity.  There is only one or two cooks preparing the food at each station, so unless they increase staff as capacity grows, you will most likely be waiting for your meals.

There is a selection of packaged goods which you can grab and go.  At lunch time these included salads, wraps, trail mix and the various Bento Boxes with fresh fruits and other choices.

This is a nice addition if you are looking for something quick any time of the day.

Click the image (left) to read more about this cruise.

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See our The Galley photo album for more pictures.

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Welcome Aboard Dinner

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Majestic Princess
Concerto Dining Room

After the mandatory safety drill it was time to get ready for dinner since we had early seating.  We had an assigned table in Concerto Dining Room, one of the main dining rooms on deck 6.   

We like meeting other people during dinner, so our requested seating arrangement was large table.  When we arrived at the dining room, we were escorted to our table by the window which was set for 8 people.  The first night there were only three of  us there but later on in the cruise there were six of us most nights.

Princess Menus

Some of you may not be familiar with Princess Cruise's menus, so we'll give you a run down before getting to the specifics of our welcome dinner.  Each night there is a theme for the meal.  On welcome night the theme was "Australia / New Zealand Cuisine".   The left hand side of the menu features information about the theme and the "Princess Favorites".  These are main dishes which can be selected any evening.   On the right hand side are the featured "Starters, Soups, and Salads" and the "Mains".   This is the variable portion of the menu.

You can select as many starters as you like and then a main dish.   Typically you select a starter along with a soup or salad, but you can have all three if you like.  Sometimes we ask for one of the main dishes in a small portion as a side.  This works great when you have a pasta you'd like to sample along with your main meal.

If you click on the menus to the right to enlarge them, you can get a good idea of the types of choices you have each night.

I've not forgotten the most important part of the meal - the Desserts.  That is a separate menu which is brought to you after the main course.

Dinner is Served

We both started off with the same two starters, something we rarely do. The first starter was "Chilled Apple and Cider Soup" with cinnamon and creamy yogurt.  If you've never had chilled soups before, we highly recommend you try them on your next cruise.  Princess does an excellent job with the chilled soups.  Close your eyes and imagine you are eating a freshly made apple pie.  That's exactly what this chilled delight tasted like.

Next we had "Fried Dim Sum Dumplings" with gingered soy sauce on the side.  Since our cruise was originally sailing to Southeast Asia, we were looking forward to getting many meals with oriental cuisine.   We savored every bite of these yummy dumplings.

My selection for the main dish was "Pad Thai - Southeast Asian Favorite" wok-fried rice noodles with tofu, eggs, vegetables, cilantro chili, lime, and peanuts.  My husband had the "Grilled Spring Lamb Chops" with roasted rosemary potatoes, grilled tomato, butter beans, and thyme jus.   Both of these dishes were excellent.

By now we were both full and dessert was yet to come.  The waiter tempted us with all sorts of cakes but we selected two scoops of ice cream.   I had plain chocolate and hubby had a sundae.

We sailed shortly after dinner started.  The next day would be a relaxing day at sea, which is typical of most voyages we've sailed. The night was still young, so onto some entertainment in our next post.

For more dining images from our cruise, see our Concerto Dining Room photo album.

For more images, see our Shutterfly Photo Page.
Hopefully, you've followed us live on our social media channels as well.  Don't worry if you didn't, as our anchor post will tie everything together for you.  Just click the image (left) to our diary post.
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The Point Steakhouse Embarkation Day

Hope You Are Hungry

Continuing our exploration of Carnival Conquest shortly after embarkation, we discovered that we could make our dinner reservations for the specialty restaurant, "The Point" Steakhouse without leaving Lido Deck.   Initially we checked availability for Thursday, the second formal night of the cruise.   

Embarkation Day Special

We made the reservation and then were told that if we wanted to dine Sunday evening, we would be given a complimentary bottle of wine.   Didn't have to twist our arm too hard to decide we'd skip the main dining room that evening - especially when they told us the dress code that evening was casual and we were fine as dressed.

More images: The Point Steakhouse 

Specialty Dining

In the early 2000's specialty dining was introduced to the cruise community.   Norwegian Cruise Line introduced it in the form of "Freestyle dining" while others went with the term "specialty dining".   In both cases, the passenger selects the venue, usually an upscale restaurant, and pays an additional gratuity for special attention and better quality food.   Presentation is a large part of the experience with food often prepared table side or made to order at the very least.   Also, plan on spending several hours enjoying your meal.

"The Point" Experience

As with meals in the main dining room, you are presented with a menu to select your starters, entree, and dessert.   Since we were taking advantage of the free bottle of wine, we needed to select from white or red.   Instead of simply reading the menu to determine our entree selection, we were shown a selection of meats and other choices by our waiter.

Starters for us included bread, salad, and soups shown above which were all excellent.  The chef prepares a special treat for you following your starters.  We were presented with a small hamburger and a tomato based appetizer.

The Main Feast

There were so many choices to select from ranging from prime cuts of beef, lobster, lamb, and even chicken if red meat wasn't your preference.   Filet Mignon is a typical high-end steak option so that was one of our choices and an 18 oz. Grilled Prime Cowboy Steak was the other.   Back home if we ordered such a large steak, we'd be bringing part of it home.   Here, there aren't carry out boxes, so we just had to finish the entire meal at the steakhouse.   That is why we suggest going there hungry and planning on spending about four hours savoring every bite of your meal.

Think about what just this portion of the meal would cost you at home and we haven't even gotten to the side items or dessert yet.   Do you think it's worth the $35 surcharge?   We certainly do, although we hear from many of our clients that they don't want to pay anything extra for their meals and that is certainly their right.  We do however think they are missing out on a fabulous dining experience that they would most certainly repeat cruise after cruise.

Here are some of the menu options you can pick:



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Do take advantage of the Embarkation Day special if you like wine.  For a house bottle of wine we found the white (Chardonnay) selection to be very good.   Red wine was a Merlot, but only one of us likes reds.   Make reservations when you get onboard to be sure you get the day / time desired.   It wasn't crowded the first evening, which would be another reason to select embarkation day even without the special offer.

Next we'll look at the Embarkation Day entertainment.  It was Super Bowl the day we boarded for our cruise.

What Does The Fish Say

You Won't Hear These Fish But They Have 

Something to Say

If you've ever been confused about which way forward and aft are on your Norwegian Cruise Line ship, these fish can tell you which way to go. The fish are swimming towards the forward (bow) of the ship. So when you step outside your cabin or turn down the corridor, just check the direction of the fish relative to the location on the ship that you want to go.

Finding Your Way Onboard

As ships get larger and more complex, it can be confusing to get from one location to another.   The cruise lines have employed various technologies to make finding your way a breeze.   The best improvement is the "way finder" which was introduced on Royal Caribbean Oasis and Allure of the Seas.  This touch screen allows you to map your route, find your current location, find out what's currently happening and much more.  They are located throughout the ship nearby elevators.

Digital signage is a big advancement which is being adopted on other ships and cruise lines.   Read this article to find out about the largest ship afloat: Navigating the Allure of the Seas

This is one of the features included in the Royal Advantage upgrades fleetwide.

 

What to Do 

While navigation is an important capability with the digital signs, equally important is helping you plan your day. On Disney Dream for example, you can find hours of operation and movie selection for Buena Vista Theatre, you can learn about It's a Small World Nursery and their hours of operation, and find out when and where your favorite Disney characters will be making an appearance.

When & Where to Eat

The first to pioneer relaxed dining times was Norwegian Cruise line with their Freestyle Dining program.   At first you'd have to call to find out if there was availability, but they were among the first to implement digital touch screens to assist you in planning your meals.

These are just a few of the ways you can use to navigate the cruise ships of today.  We'll complete the story in another article.