Hi ,

When on a cruise do you eat when ashore ?

I don't think I ever have! I carry small snacks with me to tide me over...but I eat onboard even if I don't get back onboard until 1-2:00. After that I grab their pizzas, hot dogs, etc. if the main meal/buffet is closed!

At night I'm always back onboard by 8PM to partake in those delicious dinners!

I have already paid for those meals plus I'm fearful of eating locally many times due to a sensitive stomach!! Sort of like-----don't drink the water!!

I do hate the thought of eating ashore due to all the food aboard, but my husband and I usually take our own excursion to some beautiful beach that we've researched and have a fresh seafood lunch at a tiny beachside place. For instance, when in St Martin, we ferried over to Anguilla and lunched on lovely Shoal Bay. In Cozumel, we usually go to Chakkanaab and eat at a beach restaurant. I don't drink the water either- the rum drinks kills all bacteria, LOL. That's Caribbean, but ditto for Meditteranean. A lunch doesn't cost that much and it's worth it to try good local cuisine.

We usually eat a big breakfast on the ship, and might stop for a snack during the day, but don't generally take the time for a full meal.

To me, eating ashore is one of the best things about cruising, but then I like to try new foods and different cultures. I can get that stuff offered on the cruise ship anytime at home, but I can't get island food! I don't know how many times I've asked a person who lived on the island for a recommended place to eat, and once the person realized I didn't want a just another hamburger, I've been sent to some really good local restaurants.

I agree with GoAway. There is nothing like true Mexican food in Mexico or real Greek in Greece.

While I have not asked in a while, the last I knew, most lines (Carnival was the last I remember using) would provide you with lunches to go. You call room service and they bring it to you like a box lunch.
While I'm probably overly sensative to it, I have gotten sick before eating in foreign ports and it's just not worth the risk to me. I spend too much on a cruise to risk spending it in my room sick, so I always avoid eating ashore. If you're concerned, this might be something to try.

Maybe I'm missing something here (and I do understand the points made by those with 'sensitive stomachs - and maybe it's a special case when visiting the Carib or Mexico), but isn't food one of the main parts of most cultures? I don't quite understand visiting a (presumably foreign) port that (presumably) is part of the reason why you booked a particular itinerary...and then high-tailing it back to the ship for on-board food.

We've been on only one cruise (so far, a trans-Atlantic crossing), but for us, the absolutely outstanding fish and chips sampled at a small cafe in St. Johns Newfoundland or the scrumptious lobster at an oh-so-pleasant restaurant in Halifax NS (both lunch meals and both recommended by locals) were highlights of our quick visits to those cities.

True enough, your meals on board have already been paid for, but I think opting out of dining ashore is also opting out of some worthwhile 'travel' experience. I do think, however, that I'd be more likely to skip a shipboard lunch, in favor of finding something ashore, but we'll be tested in July when our Alaska cruise has us in a couple of ports until 10 p.m.......

At home I don't eat on the "other" side of town even though the cuisine is different. I just know it's not for me. Henceforth I don't eat when I'm in some strange port. I've got to know the restaurant. I've got to be sure it's safe. Also when they want you back on board at say 4:30 PM that leaves precious little time to enjoy a real sit down epicurean delight.

I am confused...you treat ship as if it was 'home' made meals (even after so many food poisoning stories) and ports as if it was 'kill me' cusine?
What if you flew to the Island and stayed at Hotel? What would you consume then?

I know NCL provides you with dine ashore programm where you get vouchers to eat in places ashore. It is nice and I am looking forward to get sick in every local 'poisoner' I will have time to.
People never fail to amaze me...

Maybe it's not that it's 'home' made, but more that it is familiar. I will admit that sometimes it is a bit daunting to not recognize anything on the menu... but it's also kind of fun.

A few years ago, a friend of mine toured Eastern Europe with a group from college for an international business class (for credit). She said that at most of the restaurants, she had no idea what was being served, because she didn't speak or read any Eastern European languages. But she likes mushrooms. So she found out what the word for 'mushrooms' was in each language, and when she saw the word for mushrooms listed in the description, she ordered that dish. Her professor was astounded by some of the really good meals she managed to pick with that method.

When we take the Caribbean cruise at Christmas we eat on board since my sister is a family of 6. Would be too expensive for her.
Now when we were in Europe on our cruise we ate lunch out since it was a waste to go back to the ship. Some cities your city is an hour away from the ship.