On the other end of the food spectrum are the passengers who are never satisfied in spite of the variety of foods and venues on the Crown Princess.
We met the first case in point the day after we embarked. Earl and I were sitting in the Trough just enjoying the fact that each of us had found something to our liking without either of us having to prepare it. We were marveling at how the chefs must cater to a variety of nationalities and their particular favorites three times a day for the length of a cruise.
Just then a woman asked if she could share our table for six. We nodded. She sat down and began critiquing the food.
“I hate eating in the Buffet,” she whined. “Nothing’s ever hot. And I like my food hot.” She prodded her Eggs Benedict with a fork. “I’m not eating this,” she announced, as her husband sat down with his full plate.
“I don’t understand why the main dining rooms aren’t open for lunch,” she harrumphed, even though it was only early morning. “And room service? Forget it. You can’t get a hot cup of coffee there either.”
Earl and I said our farewells and moved along.
Then there was the man in line behind us at some other meal who claimed he hadn’t had a single thing he’d liked on the entire voyage. His diet had to be extremely unusual or restricted, because I assure you the culinary staff does everything in its power to accommodate requests from how you want your meat cooked to special orders of mashed potatoes which aren’t on the menu that night to extra helpings of shrimp cocktail at no extra cost. You want bland? You’ve got it. You want spicy. You can have that too.
Earl and I understand the chefs are cooking about fifteen thousand meals a day, so if one of them isn’t to our liking it just isn’t worth harping about. We also use this opportunity to try dishes we wouldn’t try at home, since they’re already included in the price of the cruise. It’s not as if we have to spend an extra fifty dollars to find out we don’t like curried pigeon. (Just kidding about the pigeon, but you see my point.)
The bottom line is that cruising shouldn’t just be about the food; rather, it should be about the various culinary experiences. Which is why I tried some kind of German potato tonight. I will agree it wasn’t particularly hot – I like my food hot too – but then it was only one serving.
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