Cruising for FOOD!!!

It's winter time. It's cold. The pollution levels are up. Dogs and cats are living together. Mass hysteria.....sorry to go negative on you this early in the year!

Now is the time to go on a cruise to some tropical lo-cal, clear your lungs and get the year started off right. Even though I'm not going on a cruise anytime soon a few of my acquaintances are so I thought I would put a blog together about cruises and the dos and donts of eating on these floating cities.

My first cruise was right after high school graduation. We did a week long western Caribbean cruise on Norwegian cruise line. The the main thing I remember about the cruise is gaining 10 pounds by the time it was over. I couldn't believe I could order whatever I wanted and it was included. This was the first time I ever tried escargot and caviar. If I wanted a side of lobster or steak I could get it. As a hungry fastfood induced 18 year old with a high metabolism it was heaven. It seemed like their was a buffet every few hours somewhere on the ship. Nothing beats the Midnight buffet after 3 or 4 hours dancing in one of the clubs. But I also learned a few lessons the hard way.

By the time I took my wife on our first cruise together on Carnival cruise line I learned to pace myself. Because the food is so readily available you really have to have self control.  It seemed like I was never hungry enough to eat when we did our shore excursions and I regretted not trying any of the local food because I was too stuffed. Not to mention the bloated feeling. It can really affect your snorkeling activity. Plus your in a swim suit so you need to be able to suck in your gut when your on a beach.

So hear are my rules for cruise eating:

• Make sure you can choose when and where to eat. Cruise lines these days give you open seating at numerous restaurants all over the ship. Long gone are the days of sitting at a table with people you don't know every night at a certain time. Why deal with the pressure to be somewhere to eat and having to try to get to know someone from Borneo.
• Pace yourself and eat smaller meals. This cuts down on the uncomfortable feeling and frees you up to try all of the different foods and desserts. Plus when you get off at a port you are actually hungry enough to try some local food while your there.
• Try some unique foods you've never tried. Like I mentioned earlier I tried escargot and caviar on my first cruise. I've also had sword fish and some very funky sushi (not sushi roll sushi but funky sushi). Again if you monitor your food intake you can sample a lot of different things. I actually can say I like snails....yikes!
• Go with some people you know. That way if you have some assigned seating meals you can sit with people who will let you try their food as well. It's awkward to ask a couple from Australia who you just met to try their shrimp kabob.

I have yet to find someone who went on a cruise and complained about the food. The cruise lines I've been on do a great job at variety and more and more themed restaurants are popping up all the time. You really do get your money's worth with all of the food you can get.

Just watch out for the bar tabs. They will keep track of everything you drink outside of water and it can add up at the end. I think I dropped about $100 on Cokes. Another warning: make sure the bar tenders hear you say "Virgin" if you want to try the tropical slushy drinks. I would hate to hear of anyone going overboard because they had to many "Virgin" drinks.

Let me know of your cruise recommendations as it's never to early to start planning your next getaway.

Until next time "May the eats be with you, always!"