We booked a back to back cruise on Azura, taking in a 7 night Fjords cruise, then a 14 night Canaries cruise. On embarkation day, I received a detailed Special Dietary Needs letter from the Senior Restaurant Manager, which for new cruisers must be very comforting.
At our first dinner in the Oriental Restaurant, we liked our waiters Gilbert and Rupesh so much, we asked Restaurant Manager Venkat, if we could have the same table on the second cruise, which he kindly arranged. We were also looked after by two wine waiters, Lucas and Vinod and along with our waiters and Venkat, they were one of the best teams we have had the pleasure to encounter on a P&O Cruise.
I was looked after by two diet chefs, Rohan the first cruise and George the second and I was impressed by them both. I am not sure passengers appreciate the role of the diet chef, it is a very responsible position, especially where allergies are concerned and with the number of diets, on each dinner sitting, it must be intense pressure.
I was looked after by two excellent Head Waiters who took my order each night, Krishna the first cruise and Sushant the second. I avoided all bread onboard the first week, as on our Arcadia cruise last year, on the two occasions I ate bread, I was quite poorly, so I emailed shoreside diet reservations about it when I returned home. They contacted the Head Baker on Arcadia, who confirmed soya was an ingredient, suggesting I asked about an alternative when I next cruised.
Steven kept urging me to ask Sushant about bread, so I did and he liased with the Head Baker, who to my amazement, suggested he make me four bread rolls each day, which could be sent to whichever dining venue I visited. You have to consider the number of passengers they are catering for each day and yet they made me four bread rolls daily, that is service going beyond the call of duty.
I had a late breakfast each day, which included a wide selection of fresh fruits, prunes, dried fruits, cereals and of course my bread rolls, but I am sure if I wanted a hot option, this would have been no problem. Lunch was usually a jacket potato with loads of salad or being a Northern lass, my love for chip butties won me over many a day.
I had a soup course each night including tomato, broccoli and almond, sweet potato, mushroom, vegetable consomme, celeriac and apple, parsnip, minestrone, the list goes on, but for some reason my photos were not very clear, but rest assured they were delicious.
Below is a selection of the starters I had during dinner on both cruises.
Tempura Vegetables with Sweet Chilli Sauce
Vegetable Pakora with Mint & Coriander Chutney
Houmous Salad (I asked for plenty houmous!)
Vegetable Sushi with Ginger, Wasabi & Chilli Sauce
Dolmade, Babaganoush & Houmous
Soba Noodles with Peanuts & Sesame
Vegetables & Potato Wedges with Romesco Dip
Mushroom & Pimento Salad
Confit Tomato & Avocado Salad with Balsamic Syrup
Onto main courses, which most nights I had with a salad, plain vegetables or chips, the pasta was made with eggs, but I was quite happy with the gluten and egg free pasta.
Garlic Mushroom Pasta
Vegetable Brochette with Spicy Tomato Sauce
Mushroom Risotto
Chickpea & Vegetable Curry
Spicy Stir Fry with Vegetable Rice
Sweet Cherry Tomato Pasta
Mushroom & Asparagus Stir Fry
Smoky Vegetable Cassoulet
Vegetable Tacos with Guacamole
Saag Aloo
Porcini Mushroom & Truffle Pasta
I am not a sweet toothed person and most nights I was usually far too full to manage anything more than fruit salad or sorbet or sometimes nothing, although Krishna and Sushant both asked me many times about ordering a dessert. Swedish Glace ice-cream is always available, but as its made with soya, its off limits for me and although I had thought of packing some cartons of Oatly cream, I forgot.
I see improvements being made, on the dietary requirements front, each time I cruise, with new innovative and interesting vegetarian menus and clearly labelled vegan options being introduced, long may it continue.
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