Food on Alaskan Cruises

cabrales · June 7, 2002

I'd appreciate members' input on the relative quality of the cuisine on board cruises departing from Vancouver for Alaska.

Also, for day excursions that involve salmon fishing, is there an opportunity, for a program offered by any cruise line, to sample the salmon flesh right after it has been caught? :wink:

Rosie · June 7, 2002

We went on Holland American but got off in Juneau and went into the Yukon territory. The food on the boat was fine, not fabulous but we had no complaints. You certainly get enough to eat. We never went to the midnight buffet. We basically ate salmon or halibut everynight. Off the boat we had outstanding fish and again stayed with the halibut and salmon.

cabrales · June 7, 2002

Rosie -- Do you recollect what types of salmon were offered (e.g., from what origin) and was there typically a good choice of preparation method?

Jaymes · June 26, 2002

Rosie -- Do you recollect what types of salmon were offered (e.g., from what origin) and was there typically a good choice of preparation method?

ALL of the cruiselines plying those waters offer shore excursions, including fishing for salmon, and there is nothing to stop you from dragging one into your boat and sinking your teeth into it immediately, if that's what you want to do.

Also, ALL of the upscale lines (and probably even Carnival as well...sorry Carnival) have an option whereby if you notify the chef ahead of time, he will cook that day's catch of whatever you catch however you wish it prepared... ie, poached, baked, etc., including offering you suggestions as to his favorite way of preparing it.

If you don't wish to eat it in the boat immediately after you catch it, or that evening, or if you just catch too much to do so, they will also prepare it for you for shipping....or freeze it, or do whatever you wish with it. Most of the Alaskan fishing towns (Ketchikan, Homer, Seward, etc.) also have companies that will trade with you your catch for already processed fish....smoked, canned, whatever. They are well prepared for you. You will find that you are far from the first tourist to travel north and catch a big mess o' fish, so they know what to do to make it easy for you.

The type of salmon you catch on the shore excursions depends on what is running when and where you are fishing. If you have some really big preference among chum (the Alaskans call it "dog salmon" because that's what they feed their dogs) or reds or silvers or kings, or whatever, you should contact the Alaska Fish & Game Department and ask what is running when and where and time your excursion accordingly.

All the cruiselines offer considerable salmon dishes on their regular menus on that itinerary, and the types vary. But it seems to me that every Alaska cruise I've ever been on has had some type of salmon available every single day as one of the choices.

Like the rest of life, the level of service you receive depends in large measure on how upscale the cruise line is, but most of them are very happy to honor special requests and you will, most likely, get to know your waiter and maitre d' pretty well and can inquire into special methods of preparation.

Furthermore, it is very interesting to arrange for a galley tour, especially if it includes the storage areas down below the main galley. You can walk through the freezers and see just how complicated a process it is. Also, I am sure that if you wish to chat up the head chef, that can be arranged as well.

In addition to all of this, I know you didn't ask, and may well have already booked your trip, but you said you were interested in cruises that depart Vancouver for Alaska. That leads me to believe that you are planning on cruising up and flying home. Unless you live in the western portion of the U.S. or Canada, I'd STRONGLY urge you to book it the other way around. Fly up, tour if you wish, and then cruise home.

And believe me, I know what I'm talking about.

Fat Guy · June 26, 2002

I was assuming a round-trip cruise out of Vancouver. That's the most typical arrangement as I understand it, or at least that was the case when we did it a few years ago.

I'm not sure the issue of cuisine on Alaska cruises is separate from the issue of cuisine on cruise ships in general. The bulk of the stuff served is container-shipped out of California, Florida, etc., to wherever the ships are, totally bypassing any local anything. The occasional item is brought on locally (lobsters in Portland, ME, for example, on an autumn cruise we once took) as a special menu feature, but it's the very rare exception.

Cabrales, you will absolutely hate the food on any cruise ship, no matter how expensive or upscale. Even on the super-luxe lines, it's banquet food. It may be good banquet food, but that's what it is. I can virtually guarantee that you'll never experience a single culinary revelation on any cruise ship.

That being said, the buzz I hear is that Celebrity places a greater emphasis on serving quality food (defined in a middlebrow sense) than most of the other large lines. Also, you'll find that the smaller ships most always have better food -- albeit fewer midnight buffets -- though I'm not sure which ones cruise to Alaska. You can easily find that out online, though. In fact, in my experience of maybe eight or ten cruises, the smaller ships are more tasteful and superior in just about every way (from the perspective of someone like you who has impeccable taste), unless you're really into organized activities.

Jaymes · June 26, 2002

I was assuming a round-trip cruise out of Vancouver. That's the most typical arrangement as I understand it, or at least that was the case when we did it a few years ago.

Actually, that's not typical. Although it's not a long way from Vancouver to Ketchikan (so, technically speaking, one could cruise to "Alaska" in two days), it takes seven days to get from Vancouver up to Seward on the Kenai Penninsula. Assuming you want to get up farther than, say, Juneau, it would take you two weeks of cruising to do the roundtrip, if you go "all the way." Also, of course for the most part, you'd go right by the same stuff you already saw, although most of those longer roundtrip itineraries go by Juneau and the inside passage on one way, and Sitka and the outside route the other.

Older people who have plenty of money and time on their hands will, indeed, opt for the longer cruises, as will those who are afraid to fly. On the other hand, people with much more limited finances will take a shorter "round-trip" to Juneau or sometimes Skagway, because it is often much cheaper since you don't have to pay for the air. In addition, those cruises are not as popular (because you don't see and do as much) and don't fill up as fast so you frequently can find them deeply discounted.

But by far the most "typical" is to cruise the seven days one way, either up there or back to Vancouver, and fly the other way with, often, a 4-6 day "land tour" of interior Alaska.

Another very popular option with the "small ships" is to fly to Ketchikan or Juneau and get on one of the "Explorer" or "Expedition" ships....sail around a bit up there (eliminating the long haul from Vancouver into Alaskan waters) and then fly home.

The best food in Alaska BY FAR is generally considered to be at Gustavus, at the legendary Gustavus Inn, which is included in some of the smaller ships' itineraries.

Rachel Perlow · June 26, 2002

Jaymes - I'm curious, are you a travel agent or formerly from Alaska?

Jaymes · June 26, 2002

Jaymes - I'm curious, are you a travel agent or formerly from Alaska?

I was a travel agent for over fifteen years, owned my own agency for eight, and lived in Alaska for three, where I worked at (no kidding) Santa's Travel World in North Pole, Alaska.

Should add that the agency was (and, I believe, still is) located on Santa Claus Lane.

cabrales · June 26, 2002

Jaymes -- I was thinking about a cruise one-way. Two weeks would be too lengthy a time to allocate to an Alaskan trip for me. And it is telling that the salmon catching part seems the most fascinating day excursion. I would want to take flesh from the salmon while it was *live*, and not just terminated after having been caught by me. Oh, out of curiosity, what happens if the participant in the salmon catching expeditions does not catch anything? Can one buy "live" fish?

Jaymes · June 26, 2002

How old are you?

cabrales · June 26, 2002

Jaymes -- I'll provide a PM.

Jaymes · June 26, 2002

If you go at the right time, it's highly unlikely you wouldn't catch anything. As to what happens if you don't.... Well, if you are asking if you can run up and grab someone else's fish off of their line and take a bite out of it.... I'd advise against it. Alaskans can be pretty persnickity about their fish.

And they are also a rather "no nonsense" bunch of folk. You'd probably get banged upside the head with an oar.

Even if you had a napkin on your head.

Especially if you had a napkin on your head.

Jaymes · June 26, 2002

Want to elaborate a little on the "best food in Alaska."

Pretty-much everyone in Alaska, certainly everyone in the know, would tell you without hesitation that the best food in the state is reputed to be had in the small town of Gustavus, on the Salmon River, near to the mouth of Glacier Bay, at the legendary (and I do mean legendary) Gustavus Inn.... Where one can also rent kayaks and paddle through ice floes to one's heart's content.

Anyone interested in knowing more about the best place to stay, and the best food, in Alaska can check out their website... www.gustavusinn.com

uuummmm.... Alaskan breakfasts with sourdough pancakes and freshly-picked blueberries...... Salmon and halibut just pulled from the streams....

Now, if I could just win the lottery and get my butt back up there........

PS - Wish I could have posted this information in an "Alaska" thread. Not only isn't there one (that I could find), didn't seem to be any place to put it, either.

Rachel Perlow · June 27, 2002

Cabrales - I know you've had that whole live food thread, which I haven't really been following. But I had to laugh at that image Jaymes just created. How do you propose to get the flesh off a live fish w/out killing it first? Wait, please don't answer in gory detail. I don't want to debate the cruelty, but what fishing tour operator is going to let you slice a filet off a flopping fish? I'm afraid the freshest possible sashimi is the best your going to get from an organized tour. Your question sounds like you're going to be imitating a bear! :huh:

Lesley C · June 27, 2002

Er...did I miss something or is Alaska now in Canada?

Not to be a fuss ass here but more people might see all this nice information about Alaska if it were in the Pacific Northwest board no?

Jaymes · June 27, 2002

Er...did I miss something or is Alaska now in Canada?
Not to be a fuss ass here but more people might see all this nice information about Alaska if it were in the Pacific Northwest board no?

Actually, I just "PM'd" Rachel about that very thing earlier today. She said that they are working on it.

I'm hopeful an Alaska board will pop up, as if by magic, sometime soon :smile:

cabrales · June 27, 2002

How do you propose to get the flesh off a live fish w/out killing it first? Wait, please don't answer in gory detail. I don't want to debate the cruelty, but what fishing tour operator is going to let you slice a filet off a flopping fish?

Rachel -- I would worry about interference from the tour operator, and have come up with several possible solutions. I would imagine the operator team would have to handle at least a dozen guests. When the supervisors were not looking and assuming I have secured a salmon that is close to me ... I would don rubber gloves (the dish washing kind) and hold the fish with one hand while pulling out my P Starck Laguiole dinner knife (folding version) with the other. I would use the knife to extract the flesh. If necessary, with my hands protected by the rubber gloves, I would use my hands directly as necessary. :laugh: :laugh: :laugh:

Sandra Levine · June 27, 2002

Or, you could just put a napkin over your head.. :raz:

mamster · June 27, 2002

Alaska is now part of Pacific Northwest, and after reading this thread, I couldn't be happier.

Jaymes · June 27, 2002

Or, you could just put a napkin over your head..

Or explain that you're from New York. Alaskans always get a kick out of that.

Rail Paul · June 29, 2002

There are several fishing camps based on the Campbell River, at the extreme northern end of Vancouver island (which puts us back in Canada). The location is highly prized by people who seem to be in the know.

Fish may be eaten within minutes of extraction from the water.

Cabrales - NPR did a piece a few weeks ago about a woman who specializes in the design of humane killing systems for cattle. Apparently, the fear and shock of the noise, etc in the slaughterhouse creates a surge of endorphins, which translates into tougher meat. Her system offers a lulling, comforting voyage, until the bop on the head.

You may wish to consider whether the experience on the wrong end of a hook will provoke an undesirable fish endorphin release...

cabrales · June 29, 2002

There are several fishing camps based on the Cambell River, at the extreme northern end of Vancouver island (which puts us back in Canada). The location is highly prized by people who seem to be in the know.
Fish may be eaten within minutes of extraction from the water.
Cabrales - NPR did a piece a few weeks ago about a woman who specializes in the design of humane killing systems for cattle. Apparently, the fear and shock of the noise, etc in the slaughterhouse creates a surge of endorphins, which translates into tougher meat. Her system offers a lulling, comforting voyage, until the bop on the head.
You may wish to consider whether the experience on the wrong end of a hook will provoke an undesirable fish endorphin release...

Rail Paul -- Thanks for your very helpful post. When you have a chance, could you please discuss whether you experienced or heard second-hand information about the fishing camps on the Campbell River. This seems to be a less expensive and less time-consuming means of experiencing "live" salmon. :biggrin: Plus, I have wanted to visit Wickannish Inn (spelling) at Tofino on Vancouver Island for some time now.

On endorphins and the relevance of the method of termination to taste, that's a very interesting topic. I don't have much to contribute, but I would be interested in hearing members' input. :laugh: