Do you know what really grinds my gears? When food is described as faecal matter.
Allow me to step up on my soap box and spruik my two cents - or more.
I can't accurately tell you how many times I have read a description of a meal as excrement on cruising forums, Facebook pages and reviews. What I can tell you, it has been more than just a few times - and I've had a gutful.
In no way am I saying that all food experiences on cruise ships are positive; everybody has different tastes, expectations and standards. However, describing a meal or dish as akin to human or animal waste is completely and utterly unconscionable.
The other word I read too often is 'disgusting'. Disgusting food to me means that it's rotten, mouldy, covered in hair or animal droppings, rancid and only fit for the rubbish.
Food that is not up to one's palate or standard can be described as: flavourless, bland, unappetising, cold, inedible etc. Obviously, there are many other synonyms, and until you've seen starving children in famine or war stricken areas literally eating mouldy scraps of bread and crying from hunger, you have no right to call food 'disgusting' or refer to it as s**t.
(If you'd like to read more about my relationship with food and eating on cruise ships, click here)
End rant.
For the Plantation restaurant (aka the buffet) review, read here, and I've already written up my review of Salt. Once again, I didn't sample Room Service - I'm never in my cabin long enough - so I can't review that. For Breakfast at the Waterfront, click here.
Over the three nights on the Pearl, my girlfriends and I ate breakfast twice and dinner twice at the Waterfront. New cruisers may not know the correct process to book a table at Waterfront, so here's a tip:
At the Waterfront, it is ANYTIME dining, but you can choose an earlier or later time frame. Once you embark, call the restaurant or just head down to the Waterfront and book your table for dinner at the time you want/is available. All you need is your room number. Once you've done that, you don't have to worry about it for the rest of your cruise as your time will be reserved. We booked an earlier time for dinner for two reasons:
- If you want to watch a show, an earlier dinner will ensure you aren't rushing and. This means you can have dinner and also watch a show.
- If we got peckish later on, we could always grab a bite at Plantation.
For breakfast, you just arrive at the Waterfront and wait for a table. It's usually only a few minutes, however make sure you go before 9.30am.
Dinner 1
We were seated promptly and soon enough were handed menus. A waiter came around after a few minutes to bring us bread. On this night, the Specials of the day had a Swedish theme, so in addition to the regular menu, there was an entree, main and dessert in that vein.
Here's another tip
- You can order an entree in a main size, or a main in an entree size.
- You can also order more than one entree, main or dessert.
- You can also order MORE sides or any other dish if you're still hungry.
Main - Roast chicken with all the trimmings. Who doesn't love a roast? And I didn't have to slave over a hot oven, peel all the potatoes and stuff it. While I'll eat the red meat, I prefer white meat - and boy did I get a big hunk of breast. It was cooked very well and not dry whatsoever. I love gravy, but this one was too salty if I'm to be honest. I still polished that plate though.
Dessert: Chocolate cake. Anything with chocolate I love, however sometimes chocolate cake can be dry OR very heavy. This was neither. You'd be excused if you looked over at my table when dessert arrived and believe you just saw an amazing magic trick called, 'disappearing cake'. Why? Because I literally inhaled this light, creamy, incredible cake in about two seconds. I'm actually a little embarrassed how quickly I ate it - manners went out the window. I wanted more, but refrained this time. Now I regret it. I want that cake again!
I won't go through what my companions ate, but there was a wide variety including meatballs, fish, pasta and savoury crepes. Dessert options included fruit, ice cream, cakes and a cheese platter.
Dinner 2
Tonight's specials had a Spanish theme.
Entree - Cheesy-croquets, shaved radish with a creamy, tangy dipping sauce. Nice, crispy, not oily. However, the portion was too small as an entree, it was more an appetiser size. I'd suggest at least three or bigger croquets.
Main - Steak, polenta and roasted veggies. The steak was large and could be cut with a butter knife and there was the smallest amount of gristle. The red wine jus was flavourful and seeped into the veggies wonderfully. Now, the polenta. I've never really enjoyed it, but this was so damn good. The outside was nice and crispy, the inside creamy and seasoned very well.
Dessert - A meringue nest with fruit and cream. I can't remember what it was called, but it was like a mini pavlova. The trick with meringue is to not have it gritty or too crunchy. This was neither. Lovely crisp shell and fluffy inside. Sweet and exactly what a meringue should be.
There were no complaints from the ladies who sampled burgers and grilled fish. There was minor negative feedback in regards to the crab cakes - a little too fishy.
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| I have to include here the joy Mrs T felt when she got her trio of ice-cream. Isn't she adorable? |
There are a few things - other than the food - I'd like to address.
Decor: A little dated, but comfy chairs. The level of cleanliness was outstanding.
Service: Our waitstaff at dinner were all amazing. The head guy came to check on us numerous times, and nothing was too much for them. They accommodated our every request, the food was brought out quickly and efficiently with the utmost courtesy and professionalism. The waiters did appear to be very busy and it appeared they were understaffed.
The extras: It's the little things like singing 'Happy Birthday', remembering our names and sharing a joke that made our dinners so enjoyable.
All in all, dinner at Waterfront was great! I didn't cook, clean up or have to serve anyone. I was grateful for the delicious meals and appreciated the effort the chefs and staff put in.
The mind boggles when I imagine the magnitude of what goes into preparing and cooking all the meals on a cruise ship, and I'm always intrigued as to how they manage to feed so many people! Maybe one day I can get a behind-the-scenes tour of the galley? Kudos to all involved!
Have you eaten at Waterfront on the Pearl? How was your experience?
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