This is a follow-on post to the First Transatlantic Cruise – Part One. Here are a few “secrets” regarding food on the Crown Princess cruise ship:
- Look for the free ice cream between 3:30 and 4:30 every afternoon. Go to deck 15, whichever side of the buffet is closed, that’s where the ice cream is! There are only two flavors each day (they vary every day), but they have nice toppings to go with them, as well as brownies, cookies and milk. One day I filled my bowl with a “brownie sundae” grabbed a glass of milk and went off to watch a movie at the inside theater (more on this later). I thought I was in Heaven!
- Located on deck 5 is the International Cafe. If you’re a coffee drinker this is the place for you to be but make sure you purchase a “coffee card” first. It’s about $24.95 and this gets you unlimited fresh brewed coffee and hot chocolate at the International Cafe and 15 “specialty” coffee drinks purchased at any of the restaurants. The coffee cards are sold in the buffet as you board the ship, or they can be purchased in the restaurants throughout the cruise. Gelato is sold at the Cafe at a reasonable price. But what most people don’t know is that the wonderful cold salads in the case are free. This is a nice place for a “light” lunch. The chicken salad is wonderful. In the later afternoon and evening there is a charge for various foods in the cold case. The part I liked best about the Cafe is the fresh, hot cookies. These are passed around straight out of the oven and yes, they have milk to go with them! This is a nice place to sit, relax, or maybe catch up on your internet chatting. Who cares if your keyboard has cookie crumbs between all the keys when you get home!
- Last secret, after dinner, in either anytime or regular dining rooms, if you’re looking for something different, ask for The Volcano. It’s something normally on the kids menu. It’s an ice cream banana split/sundae with all kinds of good gooey stuff on it. They are all made individually so they will always be different. You can get chocolate or vanilla ice cream or ask for one of the ice cream flavors that is the special on the menu that day.