Boats

The popularity of cruise vacations has increased dramatically over the past 20 years. More than ten million people a year set sail on holidays at sea. And many of them will tell you it's the dining experience that has them coming back again and again. For many people, cruising is the ultimate vacation experience. Escaping your cubicle for adventure on the high seas serves up some options you won't find on dry land. You unpack once, go to several ports of call and you have lots of entertainment options just a few steps from your stateroom.

Jeff Bronson, Carnival Cruise Director says, "Cruise vacations, well, you've got everything included right here on the ship. Many, many dining options, all types of nightclubs. We've got shows for you, usually a couple of shows each day. We've got a variety of activities and events to do, and it's- it's kind of neat, because everything is literally within five minutes walking distance."

Since 1970 the number of vacationers taking cruise vacations has risen by close to ten percent a year. A dramatic increase in the number of ships is one reason for the jump, but passengers onboard the Carnival Paradise have their own ideas why cruising works for them. Jean Sayeg, a cruiser says, "Being on the water, looking out at the ocean, people-watching, dancing, eating, drinking..." Vanna Hlubek another cruiser says, "Food is great, entertainment is great and the lovely weather is marvelous." Cruiser, Shanna Price exclaims, "This is my 4th cruise." When asked, what keeps you coming back? She laughs, "The food!"

Sure, the scenery may be spectacular, but the cruise vacation decision for many folks hinges on the delightful delicacies of culinary mastery! Simply said: We like to dine. Vacationer, Erica Penrose confesses, "I'm obsessed with the all-you-can-eat frozen yogurt. (laughs) I visit it about 10 times a day." George Sayeg also on vacation says, "There's just too much food, basically, and you can have almost anything you want."

Great meals have always been a draw for cruise vacationers, but these days, guests onboard ships like the Carnival Paradise have a dizzying array of food choices from the heartland.

Kevin Thorogood, Hotel Director says, "Many years ago, the Lido deck, which is our relaxed dining, would've been burgers, hot dogs, coleslaw, and potato salad. If you go there today you'll find a 24 hour pizzeria, a deli bar, a Mongolian station, you know, the rotisserie. There's-- the expectations of what we produce and what we offer our guests are now much higher than many, many years ago." Adriano Binacchi, Carnival Captain says, "We're changing because now we are more becoming like a floating resort and less like a ship."

More than 500 crew members make up the ship's food and beverage department, the largest section on board. For the ship's passengers that means something to sample, all the time, anytime. Ganesh Khalipe, Food and Beverage Manager explains, "If you want the room service, it's open all the time, and then we have the Pizzeria which is around the clock. We have different dining rooms. We have a formal dining room where you have regular seating and assigned seating. And then we have-- this is the casual dining room, but breakfast is going on until 12 for the late risers. Then bistro dinner is from six o'clock onwards until 9:30. And then after that, the midnight buffet comes around 11:30, 12 o'clock."

Once a week, in home port the Paradise replenishes provisions for the next sailing. It's a finely orchestrated dance---- getting heartland food favorites from the port warehouses to the ship's galley.

Thorogood says, "And the supplies come on to the pier and our storeroom manager and the sous chef or the chef will be out on the pier checking the quality, checking the- the amounts that we've ordered were received correctly. It'll be brought on board, go to the storeroom facilities, where we have vast expanses of refrigeration and storage."

Erwin Gomes, Chef de Cuisine says, "Most of the foods-- our fresh produce is all homegrown in America. We have certain things like butter and cream, which come all the way from New Zealand. We have cheese, cheese from Wisconsin, potatoes from Idaho, and uh all the other parts of America. Most of the food is homegrown."

And even before the ship sets sail on the next cruise, the kitchen is working full time. That means those "homegrown" items from the heartland are being fashioned into meals for the ship's 26 hundred guests.

Gomes adds, "The most important thing on a seagoing vessel is we need to see that all what is needed to be served on the menu are on board before we sail, because just like a restaurant, you cannot go out to the supermarket and buy something. So we've got to see that everything what is ordered is on board according to the right quality, quality that we can serve our guests. That is the most important thing is seeing that all food is on board before we sail."

Khalipe says, "The challenges I would say, most of the times we all are very well organized. We are organized by the restaurant side; we are organized by the chef side. When we have the uh... all the food, the appetizers, the soup, the salads are very well made in advance and, you know, we are ready for the show."

Tonight is "formal night" in the dining room and the featured item on the menu is a cruise favorite-lobster. 360 pounds of the cherished crustacean will be prepared, plated and served to diners.

Gomes says, "A guest orders a lobster and if twelve guests on the same table order a lobster, all the twelve lobsters need to look identical. So that is part of our specification that we follow, so that every guest-- If you come after another six months and eat a lobster again, it will-- it will be exactly the same, prepared, cooked, and presented."

Trying new offerings with established heartland favorites, the food and beverage staff hopes that guests will enjoy foods they've never tasted before. In addition, they work to appeal to the taste buds of the next generation of passengers.

Thorogood says, "Gone are the days of the hotdogs and burgers for the kids. I mean, you know, there's a lot of salad stuff. It's- it's much healthier for their families as well. And this is why families come to us because we- you know, we can take care of their- their child's needs so the parents can get a little bit of a break away from their kids as well."

On the downtime between meals, guests try their hand at activities as they sail to the next port of call. Activities which may even help them burn a few calories. Bronson adds, "As a Cruise Director, well I get to bring everybody the fun. I get to bring them the shows and the activities, and the live music, and the nightclubs - that type of thing. And to see guests out there just enjoying themselves, it's really fantastic."

Family cruise vacations look to be a growth area for the cruise industry- more than a million and a half youngsters were on cruise vacations in 2008. And cruising, in general has proven to be a boom to heartland producers providing those "homegrown" products from grains, to vegetables, meat, poultry and fish.

The cruise industry generated spending of more than 18 billion dollars in goods and services in 2007 with job creation and purchases in all 50 states. And if you sample passengers on their experiences, most surveys show that "setting sail" continues to be a favorite holiday choice. That's some very positive "food for thought" for those on board.