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.

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See our The Galley photo album for more pictures.

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Anatomy of a River Cruise

​So you want to go on your first river cruise and you don't know what to expect.  We'll walk you through the cruise from start to finish.

If you've been on ocean cruises before, and not on a river cruise, you'd notice several differences upon arrival at the embarkation port. You'll probably first notice it's a much smaller ship with not as many people. Perhaps one of the most dramatic, and welcome differences, will be how easy the embarkation process is.

Pre-Cruise Option

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We will assume a European river cruise for the purposes of this post.   Since most passengers are traveling from overseas, the cruise line offers a pre-cruise package.  Selecting this option takes all the extra planning out of the equation and offers the most seamless experience.

You arrive at your destination one or two days before the cruise departure and are either met at the airport or you can arrange your own transportation to the pre--cruise hotel.  Let's assume you have the first day to explore on your own.  Most hotels have mid-afternoon check-in times, but they can store your baggage so that you aren't held hostage to your bags until then.  You can then explore the city until later in the day.

The day of your cruise there are two choices:  a pre-cruise excursion (usually at an extra cost ) or transportation to the pier.  In either case, when you arrive at the ship, you'll drop off your baggage and meet in the lounge on the ship.   The crew will take care of your checked bags.

Embarkation will take place in the ship's lounge.  Someone from the crew will come around and check you in and then the staff will give a short briefing about the evening's events.   After a champagne toast and introduction of the crew, it's time to head to your cabin to freshen up before dinner.

Welcome Aboard Briefing

Each evening you'll gather in the lounge for a briefing about the next day's tour options.   On most cruise lines, there will be included excursions and there may be optional excursions available for additional cost.   Most tours will have different groups so that you can participate at your own pace.  Walking tours for example will have slow pace and fast pace at a minimum.  

Besides the briefing, there usually is a cocktail hour before dinner.   Most lines have open seating for dinner so you can meet different people throughout the cruise or stay with your own group.

To Be Continued ...

You've had an enjoyable day at the pre-cruise excursion.  You've already made some new friends during the past two days, and you are planning to meet them for dinner.  It's time to relax a bit before the evening festivities. 

 

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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.
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