Kosher Meals

I am looking at taking the Freedom of the Seas over new years and wonder if anyone can give me any info on kosher meals - what is available, was it edible, and any suggestions of requests to make in advance. Also, what about breakfast, can we bring our own fry pan etc..

Why not leave your fry pan at home and borrow one on the ship.;)

Why not leave your fry pan at home and borrow one on the ship.;)

I know you are trying to be helpful but what exactly does the "fry pan" reference actually mean"

I am looking at taking the Freedom of the Seas over new years and wonder if anyone can give me any info on kosher meals - what is available, was it edible, and any suggestions of requests to make in advance. Also, what about breakfast, can we bring our own fry pan etc..

While I'm not Jewish myself, having worked for Lubavich for a while, I'm familiar with kosher laws. Your options are going to vary widely based on what level of kosher you keep and how strict you are. While bringing your own cooking utensils may be an option, I'm not sure that they even have separate ovens for heating the kosher meals. You'll want to check with RCCL special services desk to be sure.

You should have no problem finding packaged kosher items such as cereal and may be allowed to check the symbols on packages for things like bagels. Getting disposable dinnerware shouldn't be a problem. There are a lot of fish options. I'm just thinking you may have a problem with dairy if you keep (I'm sorry if I spell this wrong, I used to just say it...not spell it) Hallav Israel. I can guarantee the milk they serve is not.

Good Luck

Why not leave your fry pan at home and borrow one on the ship.;)

Someone who is strictly kosher would not use a frypan that has previously been used for non kosher food.

You can get answers to some of your questions at Kosher@rccl.com.

Here is the response that we received in January 2009:

"We have received your request for kosher meals and will forward your

information to the ship. Please note – any request that is faxed or

e-mailed less than 6 weeks prior to sailing is dependent on the ship’s

product availability. We will try to accommodate to the best of our

ability.

Once on board please meet with the Maitre 'd to review the menus and

address any additional questions you may have.

The kosher meals available on board are prepared by Weberman Traditional

Foods and are similar to those found on airlines. They are glatt kosher and

O K certified.

Breakfast consists of what is customarily found on our menus (cereals,

yogurt, untoasted bagels, untoasted English muffins, whole fruit, etc.)

Smoked salmon is also available, though it is not handled under kosher

supervision. Frozen kosher breakfast items are not available and no special

arrangements will be made.

Kosher meals are available in the main dining room for lunch and dinner

only.

We do prepare hand-torn salads and a daily fish special that is

double-wrapped and cooked in aluminum foil. These items are served on paper

plates with disposable cutlery. These a la carte items are prepared in our

galley and are not prepared under kosher supervision. If you have not done

so already, please provide the vessel name, voyage date and individual

booking number that accompanies your request for these meals.

Kosher meals are not available in the Windjammer Café, the Specialty

Restaurants, nor are they available through room service.

Guests are reminded that they are not allowed to bring on their own kosher

meals as the ship will not receive, store or heat these meals. Any such

items brought on board will be discarded immediately."

Last January on the Adventure of the Seas we ordered kosher meals just for Shabbat. The challah was delicious, but the rest of the meal was not very good. I don't think we would order it again. We usually eat vegetarian with some dairy and fish on cruises.

Some of the best kosher food that we have ever eaten was on the Majesty of the Seas in November 2002. We were part of a kosher group and all the food was cooked fresh in a kashered kitchen on board! I wish we could find a program like that again. Enjoy your cruise.

We were on Freedom of the Seas last winter. First of all, be assured that the staff is VERY accomodating and will do their best to make you comfortable. If you order 6 weeks in advance, they will have kosher food prepared by Weberman's in Miami and double wrapped in foil. The food is not what the others are eating but we found it tolorable. The first night at dinner is pot luck, whatever the waiter heated up for you. After that you will order your meals at dinner for the next day's lunch and dinner. There is a choice of about 15 different meals, dairy or meat and you may order more than one per person. There is also fish available and due to health codes each type of fish has its own cutting table and utensils in the kitchen that will never be mixed with one from another type of fish or meat. They can double wrap fish, a potato and veggie, which we did on several nights and were very happy with. You can also order hand torn salads and they have dressing packets but be careful because some to the dressings are dairy. Upstairs in the Windjammer buffet, the bagels come from a kosher bakery called Bagelmania, there are individual packets of cream cheese, lox, ice-cream, yogurt, cereal, etc. Sometimes it's difficult to find paper plates and plastic utensils there but the dining room seemed to always have them. There is kosher wine available for some ridiculous price, like $42 a bottle. On Shobbos they gave a free bottle of kosher wine at the services. Have a wonderful time!

Thanks for the information, it's good to hear from someone who has first hand knowledge. How did you handle the stateroom door on shabbos?

Be warned, on the Indie a few weeks ago, a table ordered Kosher for the trip and it did not arrive - but this was out of the UK. They ate salads and fish - but is this so terrible? Those kosher prepackaged things are pretty horrible!!

Frankly, if one is that religious, I would think a kosher cruise is the only way to go, as it is properly supervised.

I suppose it all depends on just how religious you are.

I THINK this is how it works . . . If you are on a ship that is partially chartered by a kosher cruising company, then they will have one area of the kitchen and one area of the dining room. The mashgiach will kasher that part of the kitchen and supervise the cooking all week. So you will have cooked-to-order kosher food. However, if you are just traveling on a regular cruise and select kosher meals, then you get pre-packaged, shrink-wrapped kosher meals (like on an airplane).

Thanks for the information, it's good to hear from someone who has first hand knowledge. How did you handle the stateroom door on shabbos?

invite a shabbos goy to come along?;)

There are plenty of Shabbos goys working there!! I was on the FoS in August and pretty much found all the things in the RCCL reply to be the case. The brisket was fine and I think there was something like barbequed ribs (although I don't think it was ribs) also that was okay...I don't quite remember the rest. If you order your meals earlier in the day or the night before, the meals will be ready earlier. Other posts about wine and other things are correct. I have a tip for the door on Shabbos but please PM me for details and/or other questions. Its a great ship and lots of fun.

CB

PS: We were in the Ben and Jerry's Suite so we also had lots of ice cream!

There are plenty of Shabbos goys working there!! I was on the FoS in August and pretty much found all the things in the RCCL reply to be the case. The brisket was fine and I think there was something like barbequed ribs (although I don't think it was ribs) also that was okay...I don't quite remember the rest. If you order your meals earlier in the day or the night before, the meals will be ready earlier. Other posts about wine and other things are correct. I have a tip for the door on Shabbos but please PM me for details and/or other questions. Its a great ship and lots of fun.

 

CB

 

PS: We were in the Ben and Jerry's Suite so we also had lots of ice cream!

The CC message board does not have Private Messaging.

Somebody asked what we did with the stateroom door on Shabbos. We locked up our valuables in the safe before Shabbos. We put a piece of paper in the door so it wouldn't lock. Also we told our steward why the paper was there so he wouldn't take it out and lock the door. The other thing worth mentioning is that on Thursday night we ordered our Friday night dinner to be delivered via room service a little bit before Shabbos started. This way we knew that the meal wasn't heated on Shabbos. For lunch we had cold food. Does anyone know if the frozen yogurt has a hechsher or what brand it is?