Cruise fare

We were with a group of friends on an Azamara "small boat" cruise on the Adriatic for 7 nights this past fall - small boat being often equated with excellent food and service.  We ate at least two meals a day on the boat, breakfast and dinner with lunch usually on land.  So what was the food like?

I would say the food was tasty, well-prepared and well-presented and the service excellent.  There were lots of variety with a regular menu and a changing daily menu.   I was impressed by the diversity in the food choices - from basic steak to more exotic middle eastern fare and lots of seafood - all nicely dressed-up.  The only drawback that I could see, looking back on those 7 days on the boat, was that it was like eating out at the same restaurant seven nights in a row.

Even though we were trying different dishes every night, the cooking, the style, the presentation, all ended up being very similar.  The elements of surprise and discovery were diminished after the first two meals and these were often a large part of the food experience after the "basic needs" were met.  Going through my food photos, I find it hard to select from the many that were taken in the course of the week but I have tried to capture the tone in the selection below.  It would have been nice if there were more local regional dishes on the menu but I suspect they may not suit the nouvelle cuisine style Azamara seemed to be aiming for.

Still, the meals were very enjoyable - we had a great time because of the great company we were with and the food obviously added much to the dinner table conversation, especially when all eleven of us were seated at one table.  There was much food sharing and the waiters were very obliging in providing extra dishes of most things for sharing - it was like having a banquet every day!  Ultimately, it was the "abundance of riches" that detracted from what was actually a superior dining experience and we were glad that we lunched on land where we were relieved to be served "real" food, mainly local fish that actually looked like a fish...;-)

Soft-shell crab - can't complain about this one - it actually looked like a crab!

Shrimp appetizer

Fresh-tasting Seafood pasta

Delicious grilled red snapper

Grilled arctic char - tasty!

Perfectly done lamb - and I love the grilled egg plant!

Bouillabaisse - delicious but obviously not quite the real thing

Scallops and fish

Lobster, scallops and squid - this was at the specialty restaurant Aqualina - we had to pay a cover charge to eat here as we were not in the right class cabin

Great desserts!

And a perfect Gran Marnier souffle!