When you
reach a certain age, one of the few pleasures left is eating. Of course, you
want to eat not only well, but tasty stuff pleasing to the palate. Let me tell
you, cruising provides you with the ability to eat well and enjoy every single
bite.
On the two
cruises I’ve been on, they had what is called the Lido Market. It has a wide
variety of choices that are available beginning with breakfast and ending with
snacks between 10:00 pm and 12:00 am. The Lido Market is included as part of
your package. In addition, there is a taco bar adjacent the swimming pool with
a very wide variety of choices to include in your taco or your taco salad…I
went for the taco salad at least twice and it was very very good. There’s also
the Dive In, which provides a variety of hamburgers and French fries until 5:00
pm. I don’t know what they put on their French fries, but they were excellent.
There were
also three other restaurants. There was the dining room which was also included
in your package, and you could make a reservation or take your chances when you
decided to have dinner. I had lunch there once and the food was excellent…the
company, maybe not so much. They seated me at the only empty chair at a table
for 10. Eight of those 10 were couples. The gentleman seated next to me was a
solo like me. He abruptly got up and left the table just after I was seated. We’d
barely begun lunch when he excused himself again saying he’d taken a water pill
that morning. On his return, I asked if he was taking Lasix and he responded
affirmatively. Well, that was it for me…he may have been attractive and slim,
but John took Lasix for years and there was no way I wanted to even contemplate
getting to know a single male who was already on Lasix. We had a very nice
lunch and I never saw him again.
The Pinnacle Grill would have been an
additional charge on my Visa; however, my decision not to try that restaurant
was because it served Northwest food. Why would I fly thousands of miles and
get on a ship to pay for food I could undoubtedly get right at home that would
be cheaper and fresher?
There was also the Canaletto restaurant
which served Italian food. The Lido Market also had a variety of pasta and
sauces, so why would I pay extra to eat in that restaurant. True, the
restaurants provided wine service, but were I so inclined, I could have asked
my Lido server for wine as well.
Finally, there was in stateroom
service. I used this for the mornings I had to be up early to go ashore. It was
rather nice to have your breakfast delivered when you’re barely awake and to
sit in your chair with your coffee and stare out at the water beyond the
verandah. The delivered food wasn’t as good as what I had in the Lido Market
for breakfast. That was understandable because the menu choices were not as
broad. I mean you could get a bowl of oatmeal and then
wander around to various locations and add fruit, nuts, cream and a wider variety
of additions than were listed on the in-stateroom menu. 
Seriously, I expected to return home
weighing many more pounds than when I left. I was amazed to find myself about the same weight
as when I left, especially because I ate and ate and ate and ate. In addition
to the taco salads and hamburgers and French fries, I had perfectly cooked
salmon, collard greens, a variety of vegetables cooked to perfection, steak,
pasta, pizza, a couple different kinds of fish, crispy bacon, rolls and butter
and a huge variety of desserts. I could even have ice cream cones almost any
time of the day or night.
I’ve heard stories about people who do
nothing but go on cruises. After this one, I can certainly understand why that
would be a great choice. You have a steward who comes in and cleans up your
stateroom. You have access to wonderful and yummy food almost 24/7. There’s a
medical facility on board if you should become in need of one. There are people
to talk to almost 24/7. There are a wide variety of entertainments from piecing
puzzles to an on board dance troupe, comedians to make you laugh, a casino in
which you can lose your money (I didn’t play, but loved watching some of the
folks who did.), books you can borrow and read, movies on your stateroom television,
plus other TV stations if you are so inclined. You can even get a massage, your hair and
nails done, acupuncture, and a wide variety of health benefits from the on-board
spa. Then, there’s the fitness room and two swimming pools so you can keep
yourself in shape. You can also walk around the 10th deck innumerable
times to get your steps in for the day. I didn’t utilize any of those
facilities, but assume if I were to become a permanent cruiser, I’d definitely
work all of them into my schedule.
The only thing I didn’t really like so
much was my inability to be on the internet. And, yes, I could have been, but I
was not willing to pay the extra $120, or whatever it was, in order to go on
line, text, email and play Words with Friends. I kind of missed that, but it
was also very good to be off the grid (as they say) for a while.
The last
time I cruised, it was with John to Alaska through the Inside Passage and
including Glacier Bay. It was a wonderful trip, but John was already fading at
that point in time. He would take the elevator up one floor to the Lido Market
and I would take the steps. He would look at the various foods available and
tell me his choices. Then, I would prepare his plate and drinks and serve him
before I made my own choices. I didn’t resent him or having to wait on him, I
simply thought it was sad he was unable to do all the things I was able to do.
One day, I got him to walk from one end of the ship to the other to get a
latte. He had to stop and rest once we reached the Crow’s Nest before heading
back to our stateroom. He took a nap every afternoon. We didn’t attend any of
the evening entertainments. But, we got to sit on our verandah and watch the
glaciers calving and that was fun and exciting.
This trip, I waited only on myself. I
thought of John now and then when I was eating something especially yummy and
that I know he would have enjoyed. With or without John, the pleasure of eating
was immense…YUM, YUM, YUM.