Dining at sea means both the expected and the unexpected are now being offered for an additional cover charge beyond the cruise fare, allowing cruise ship guests more options than they ever previously had.
A crepe theme restaurant offers a range of crepe choices, as shown in this photograph we took.
There are both main course savory and then sweet dessert options, and more.
For example, savory options might include beef (cowboy grilled flank steak, spinach, caramelized onion, bacon and provolone), chicken (Cajun spiced grilled chicken, pineapple rice, and lemon dressing), or veggies (such as a Tuscan Sun offering of sauteed artichoke, mozzarella and sun dried tomato aioli).
Sweet dessert crepe choices could include examples of Crepes Suzette (French Grand Marnier with Candied Oranges), or a chocolate crepe, or even a banana-nutella-pistachio crepe, etc. Each entree crepe can be served with a creative chopped style side salad, while dessert crepes might have whipped cream and a fruit sauce available and each crepe is made-to-order.
You can even “build-your-own”crepe if you wish. For early risers, there are even breakfast crepes with scrambled eggs (with or without applewood bacon) on them since the venue is open 6 AM – 2AM. On Celebrity mega ships, there are also panini choices.
There are still Classic French restaurant options, now inspired with elements from the Mediterranean. Such a venue offers table-side service with either a left-side menu called the “Five Senses” focusing on specific wine pairings with food, or a right side menu of typically 4 courses without specific wine pairings (but rumor has it staff could be pursuaded to offer a 5th course of another appetizer or soup or salad offering).
You might check out a sample menu from that restaurant venue. This photo shows a sample filet of Dover Sole Veronique that would be deboned tableside during service. Other examples in the photo include pan seared Filet Mignon, etc., on through a flight of six petite dessert servings, and of course Perrier Jouet champagne from Epernay, France, etc.
The newer, informal Qsine restaurant, offers an eclectic “tapas size” items approach to dining, as noted by these photos we took. You can view the Qsine menu for yourself.
Yes, those are “sushi lollipops” sitting in a grass tray, and yes, a “rubik’s cube” approach is used to pick your dessert.
Diners get to pipe their own icing on cupcakes using plastic squeeze bags, a selection of soups might come in tall more rectangular test tube like glasses on a rack, and small tapas size offerings of theme items might arrive in what reminds you of a display case for miniature knicknacks.
With 20 themes to choose from at Qsine, diners at a table are encouraged to agree on what to sample and then enough servings for all will be provided.
Dining there is considered to be the most fun in a group that likes to enjoy a hands-on approach to eating, just like a child does, bringing out the child in all those table mates sharing a more informal meal over a two hour time span.
Two other venues worth mentioning include the warm offerings of the Cafe al Bacio including cappuccinos, lattes, etc. and then the cool offerings of the Gelateria serving Italian Gelato on board the vessel.
An older menu for the cafe before the recent price increases does indicate the variety of choices, and shown here are the 4 flavors of chocolates (complimentary) found in the dark wooden box at the venue (cacao, cafe au lait, framboise and honey). The cafe features tea choices from Tea Forte and coffee based on the espresso of the Lavazza coffee company of Torino, Italy. When we wanted a good cup of coffee during the evening or even during mid-day, this is where we would sometimes stop and have the beverage there or grab it to go.
During the day, starting with pastries in the morning, finger sandwiches mid-day, and petite desserts in the evening, the glass case at the cafe is available as part of the cruise ship fare for anyone to grab a fast snack to eat there or to go (and there are always glass cookie jars filled with various cookies to also choose from whenever the cafe is open).
We were told that the Gelateria Gelato and Sorbetto is made fresh on board daily using a base from Italy. For the Gelato, the kitchen galley staff add a mixture of 35% heavy cream and 65% whole milk, along with various flavorings.
The resulting mixture is then prepared in a special gelato machine from Italy to incorporate a lower level of air than goes into typical ice cream, resulting in a denser product.
Flavors available will vary, but on both sailings we were on, the choices included Cappuccino, Caramel, Chocolate, Chocolate Hazelnut, Coconut, Coffee, Mango, Mint Chocolate, Pistacchio, Raspberry, Rhum Raisin, Strawberry and Vanilla.
Various toppings for the gelato are also available.
The waffle cones for the Gelato and Sorbetto are made fresh on board throughout the day and edge dipped in chocolate, which is then covered in sprinkles. The enticing aroma of the cones baking wafts through the more open areas of a couple of decks of the ship near the glass elevators.
We never had a full cone or dish, but did have a taste of a few of the choices and the flavors were pungent! Definitely a feast for the senses just to walk by the Gelateria any time it was open!