A Royal Luncheon Aboard Royal Princess

Recently, I made the journey south to spend a few hours aboard Princess Cruises Royal Princess for her ‘Royal Luncheon’. It was my first time aboard the ship (which I liked very much) and we were promised a few little treats, one of which turned out to be a galley tour by Executive Chef David McDonald. I have been in the galley on several ships, but this one was by far the biggest, it literally was huge! We were given some interesting facts and information on each area within the galley and I am going to start my blog today by sharing some of that information with you.

Pastry Shop 

During the day, thirteen people perform their craft here, while four work steadily at night to prepare sweets and pastries.

Average amount of assorted pastries prepared daily: 6,000 | Average amount of ice cream prepared daily: 100 gals | Average amount of cakes and pies served daily: 300

Bakery

Ten bakers utilize dough mixers, ovens, refrigerators and special proofing ovens, which create the perfect environment for the dough to rise. On average, 1,500 lbs. of flour is used every day to create he following fresh breads: Sweet Rolls, Bread Rolls, Croissants, Pizza, Bread Sticks, Biscuits and Vol-au-Vents.

Grade manger (cold kitchen)

Grade Manger is the French name given to the area where all cold dishes and salads are prepared. Eleven crew members work in this area, which contains mixing and slicing machines and refrigerators where all prepared dishes are kept.

                Average amount of salads served daily: 1,600 lbs | Average amount of shrimps used daily: 400 lbs  Average amount of mayonnaise used daily: 13 gals | Average amount of sandwiches made daily: 1,500 each

Dishwashing area

A total of fifty-seven people work continuously throughout all the ship’s galleys pre-washing, sorting and feeding a constant stream of china, glasses, silver, pots and pans into the dishwashing machines. In the sculleries, ten workers scrub and polish all of the specially constructed oversized pots, and sauté and braising pans to make them ready for the chefs and cooks. Silverware is cleaned and polished through the night so that the surfaces achieve a fine finish for the following day. On average, 70,000 dishes and 21,500 glasses are washed daily!

Royal Princess Ship Tour

We also had a tour of Royal Princess during the visit and there were a few areas that I liked above others. Her atrium was beautiful, reminded me of the atrium aboard Emerald Princess, but on a much grander scale. I also really liked the Spa area, Lido Deck and Casino. My absolute favourite area onboard, however, was The Sanctuary. I was completely wowed by this area and the cabanas that hugged the side of the pool. It is by far the nicest outdoor relaxation area I have seen aboard any ship! I was also taken by the four Sanctuary Cabanas, which offer amenities such as a personal television with noise-reducing wireless headphones, cushy sofas, luxurious robe and slippers, a welcome cocktail, and healthy snacks including nuts, and dried and fresh fruit. The cabana also features a fully stocked mini-bar with refreshing waters and sodas, as well as a choice of alcoholic options, including beer or wine. I don’t usually haunt these areas onboard, but I would happily pay to use this one. The Sanctuary is $20pp for a half day and $40pp for a full day, and the Sanctuary Cabanas are $80 for a half day use.

A Royal Luncheon

Lunch was served in Sabatini’s, Princess Cruises Italian restaurant and the one in which during my time onboard Emerald Princess I think I ate just about everything on the menu – the kitchen just kept sending food! We had a specially prepared menu during our visit and to start I went with the chilled seafood Assiette sampler, which was very nice indeed. I really enjoyed the dressed baby shrimps and the lobster. The choice of main course was either rack of lamb or butternut gnocchi and as I don’t eat lamb, I went for the latter. I had never had it before and I doubt I will ever have it again. The taste of it was fine, the sauce was nice, but it was the consistency of the gnocchi itself that put me off. Dessert came in the form of a 5oth anniversary chocolate heart and it was a rather nice way to end the meal and a sweet way to end our visit to Royal Princess.

I hope it won’t be my last time aboard, I could have seen myself spending a week or two on her, cruising to some interesting far-away lands and chilling in my private little cabana with a cocktail. 😉

Danielle

About CruiseMiss

Trying to explore each and every inch of this wonderful planet via cruise ship.