Long vs. short cruises

[zdgp]

We have been on several short cruises (7 to 10 days), and one long one, all on HAL. On the long cruise, dinner in the main dining room was not as good as on the other cruises. I suppose they have relied more on frozen food on a long trip. It appeared to us that more of the dinner entrées were prepared items from the freezer.

[spencercoop]

That is weird. I have only cruised on Carnival and none of the food looks or tastes like it was frozen. That is weird. Sorry I can't answer your question.

[richstacy]

We have been on two very long cruises on HAL (both 30 days +)and have never noticed this effect at all.

We have noticed that the overall quality of food on cruise ships industry wide has declined somewhat, compared to, say ten or fifteen years ago.

[spiaggedelmondo]

I agree, it makes sense that shorter cruises would have fresher foods... It may depend on the cruise line as well.

[Chuck Palm]

I suspect the difference is the ship itself rather than the length of the cruise. Some H.A.L. ships have great head chefs and some not so much.
Or so it seems to me.

On longer cruises they buy food supplies along the way. Location may dictate what kinds of food are available. Buying local in South America may be very different from buying local in Asia, for instance.

[richstacy]

The length of the cruise makes little or no difference in the 'freshness' of the food. We have been on three cruises of more than a month in length and the food was fresh throughout. The food is refreshed throughout the cruise at ports along the way, all prearranged and planned. Most of the meats and seafood are frozen anyway and thawed as needed. On a longer cruise, you will frequently see them bring aboard a few pallets of produce, fruits and veggies. On shorter cruises, they tend to stock for the week at the point of departure.

[jones5]

I am a very fussy person but I like to go on a cruise every once in a while. I like detailed care and a range of services. Do you know any cruise lines?