Is there a microwave available for guest use aboard?

[mconthehighseas]

Yes, I know it sounds crazy, when there are lots of restaurants and tons of food onboard.
But motherhood can make you crazy.  And kids aren't always easy to please or patient when it comes to food.
 

I know that the staff will gladly do special things for children if time allows, but they have lots of people to worry about, and if I can satisfy a picky child without bothering the staff, that's sounds like the right thing to do.

 

Hoping this phase ends before we cruise, but trying to prepare in case it doesn't

 

[trivimp]

Good idea, but no microwave will be available.  

 

Mine are grown now, I don't miss the days when they would eat, say, only instant mac-n-cheese for every meal for six months straight, or something.  They do get in a funny rut sometimes 

[ColeThornton]

No.

 

And before anyone suggests it, you CAN'T bring your own.  🙂

[ChiefMateJRK]

6 minutes ago, ColeThornton said:

No.

 

And before anyone suggests it, you CAN'T bring your own.  🙂

Maybe the OP can find that guy who took a grill on his cruise.  Can Mac-n-cheese be cooked on a grill?  Just make sure to leave the bubbles at home.  We KNOW that bubbles are totally unacceptable.

Edited September 28, 2022 by ChiefMateJRK

[chengkp75]

Not only are there no microwaves for passengers, there are virtually none on the ship (perhaps one in crew lounge)

[BirdTravels]

35 minutes ago, mconthehighseas said:

Yes, I know it sounds crazy, when there are lots of restaurants and tons of food onboard.
But motherhood can make you crazy.  And kids aren't always easy to please or patient when it comes to food.
 

I know that the staff will gladly do special things for children if time allows, but they have lots of people to worry about, and if I can satisfy a picky child without bothering the staff, that's sounds like the right thing to do.

 

Hoping this phase ends before we cruise, but trying to prepare in case it doesn't

 

No microwave. 
 

No, the crew won’t cook food you bring onboard. 
 

The kids menu is available in all restaurants. 
 

[deliver42]

I've never seen a microwave on any cruise ship, regardless of cruise line.

[phillygwm]

1 hour ago, chengkp75 said:

Not only are there no microwaves for passengers, there are virtually none on the ship (perhaps one in crew lounge)

I know you mentioned this in a similar thread.  I'm not surprised that there were none for public access but I'd have thought with all the mass food prep that SOMETHING would require reheating.  Clearly, cruise ships don't take the shortcuts I do 🙂

 

[chengkp75]

10 minutes ago, phillygwm said:

I know you mentioned this in a similar thread.  I'm not surprised that there were none for public access but I'd have thought with all the mass food prep that SOMETHING would require reheating.  Clearly, cruise ships don't take the shortcuts I do 🙂

 

According to "Food Safe" and the USPH VSP, there is no "reheating" allowed.  Microwaves do not control temperature.  Food must be under "temperature control" (ovens, hot boxes), or "time control".  Once a food is removed from temperature control, it goes into time control, which means it must be discarded within 4 hours.  Food cannot go back from "time control" to "temperature control".  There are no "left overs".

[phillygwm]

4 minutes ago, chengkp75 said:

 There are no "left overs".

As always, you're a wealth of knowledge!  I did know there were no leftovers and assumed there was some time control.  Just figured that some pre-made stuff would be microwaved.  But your explanation makes perfect sense.

[chengkp75]

I will revise my post to say that there are cases where food is cooked one day, and used another.  Some things like pasta sauce, or some proteins are taken from the temperature controlled ovens, and placed in "blast chillers" which can bring the food from 135*F to 41*F in 6 hours (guaranteed and documented), but then they must be reheated under temperature control again.  With a blast chiller, the food never leaves temperature control.   Besides, I've never seen a microwave that was large enough to handle anything needed on a ship.

[mconthehighseas]

2 hours ago, BirdTravels said:

No microwave. 
 

No, the crew won’t cook food you bring onboard. 
 

The kids menu is available in all restaurants. 
 

I was not expecting the crew to cook food they couldn't vet,  just to be clear.
Thank you for providing the children's menu.   SOMETHING on there should work!!

[hallux]

1 hour ago, phillygwm said:

Just figured that some pre-made stuff would be microwaved.

'pre-made', on a cruise ship?

 

I just can't stop imaging a crew member seated by a microwave, putting something in, setting the time, waiting for time to be up, removing the item and putting in the next one - 3,000 times!  lol

[chengkp75]

7 minutes ago, hallux said:

'pre-made', on a cruise ship?

 

I just can't stop imaging a crew member seated by a microwave, putting something in, setting the time, waiting for time to be up, removing the item and putting in the next one - 3,000 times!  lol

And, while in the new USPH regulations, microwaving is allowed for some food items, each must be stirred and the temperature confirmed at multiple points in the dish, before it can be served.

[shof515]

i want microwave popcorn

[chengkp75]

2 minutes ago, shof515 said:

i want microwave popcorn

That's about the only thing the crew can use a microwave for.

[mconthehighseas]

This thread went in a direction I wasn't expecting.
Just to make sure I got my point across - I am not asking the crew to use a microwave for us.  
A chef on another cruiseline once cooked broccoli just for my child, and I was very embarrassed. 

 

I was looking for something quick and non-obtrusive that I could do. While the children's menu should be sufficient,  if someone has a suggestion for something that would not involve the staff doing something they aren't paid to do,  I would welcome that.


 

[ChiefMateJRK]

24 minutes ago, mconthehighseas said:

A chef on another cruiseline once cooked broccoli just for my child, and I was very embarrassed. 

What?!  You were embarrassed because a kind chef cooked a vegetable for a child?  This makes no sense.

[SeaShark]

25 minutes ago, mconthehighseas said:

While the children's menu should be sufficient,  if someone has a suggestion for something that would not involve the staff doing something they aren't paid to do, 
 

 

Preparing, serving, and cleaning up after your meals is EXACTLY what the staff is paid to do. 

 

Let them.

 

As you said yourself in your first post, motherhood is making you crazy. 😉 Relax. Enjoy. And don't overthink things.

[Robkat]

1 hour ago, mconthehighseas said:

 

I was looking for something quick and non-obtrusive that I could do. While the children's menu should be sufficient,  if someone has a suggestion for something that would not involve the staff doing something they aren't paid to do,  I would welcome that

 

Well, that kids menu looks like it has some pretty decent and varied choices.  

 

If you're looking for something that you can do, how about taking your child on a little walkabout in the buffet, to see if there's something there that they get excited about?  Depending on what they like, there are wonderful breads and rolls, and then various sandwich fillings (or some kids just like to gnaw on certain rolls).

There are vats of different possibilities ... veg choices, .fruit things, pastas, etc etc.  That way, they can feel like they've made their own choice.  

If those kids menu choices or all the choices in the buffet still don't work, then ... good luck.

 

 

Edited September 29, 2022 by Robkat

[Robkat]

Sorry @mconthehighseas, I quoted you above and then my reply got caught up in the quote box.  Tried to edit but it didn't work.  Hope you can see my reply.

[Karaboudjan]

1 hour ago, mconthehighseas said:

This thread went in a direction I wasn't expecting.
Just to make sure I got my point across - I am not asking the crew to use a microwave for us.  
A chef on another cruiseline once cooked broccoli just for my child, and I was very embarrassed. 

 

I was looking for something quick and non-obtrusive that I could do. While the children's menu should be sufficient,  if someone has a suggestion for something that would not involve the staff doing something they aren't paid to do,  I would welcome that.


 

 

I would think you could find something on the buffet and bring it back to your room, to a restaurant or wherever...

[Sailing12Away]

On 9/28/2022 at 3:33 PM, ChiefMateJRK said:

Maybe the OP can find that guy who took a grill on his cruise.  Can Mac-n-cheese be cooked on a grill?  Just make sure to leave the bubbles at home.  We KNOW that bubbles are totally unacceptable.

Darn... I knew I forgot something on our most recent trip! Remind me again in February.... we can revive another long dead thread 🐀

On 9/28/2022 at 3:46 PM, chengkp75 said:

Not only are there no microwaves for passengers, there are virtually none on the ship (perhaps one in crew lounge)

Depends on the ship. On the Star we had one in our garden villa that was available to use. Worked great when we heated up our leftover pizza from LaCucina the next morning for breakfast.

 

[ChiefMateJRK]

21 minutes ago, Sailing12Away said:

Darn... I knew I forgot something on our most recent trip!

Was that the grill or the bubbles? 🤣

[mconthehighseas]

19 hours ago, Karaboudjan said:

 

I would think you could find something on the buffet and bring it back to your room, to a restaurant or wherever...

You would think so, but when my child was small, buffet items did not work.  That's when a server found a chef and broccoli appeared soon afterward.

Honestly, I would not have brought this up if I had not spoken with other parents who encountered the same issues.