Cruise lines now offer more refined and environmentally-conscious dining options

In an effort to satisfy passengers and improve the sustainability of culinary operations, cruise companies continue to upgrade the food and beverage alternatives available onboard their ships.

That was the takeaway from F&B@Sea, which took place March 28-29 in Fort Lauderdale in conjunction with Seatrade Cruise Global. Around $2 billion in annual food and drink sales can be attributed to the six largest cruise lines. Exhibitors were able to showcase their food and drink offerings to the large cruise line market.

Executives from cruise lines took part in the State of the Cruise F&B Industry Keynote to start the event. Despite consumers’ misconceptions about the quality of food options onboard cruise ships, panelists agreed on the significance of culinary offerings to the passenger experience.

“The strongest brand pillar at Celebrity is culinary; that’s what we’ve always invested most of our capital in—not only in the quality of product but also the quality of our employees,” Cornelius Gallagher Jr., vice president of food and beverage operations at Celebrity Cruises said.

“There’s a preconceived notion that the cruise industry and food onboard is all about volume, “Gallagher added, “and a big part of what we all do here is to try to change people’s perception.”

“We still need to do a better job of getting the message out,” Wes Cort, vice president, food and beverage operations for Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd. concurred. “The impression is there’s an abundance of food [on cruise ships] but they’re not sure about the quality. And we don’t get credit for making nearly everything from scratch—you don’t see that in hotels or in many restaurants.”

Norwegian’s shore excursions are a prime example of how the company is striving to improve the quality of its food and drink offerings, highlights Travel Pulse. They do this by finding places like small Italian trattorias in Naples where passengers can learn to make pasta from scratch. “We try to find authentic experiences, more so than people experienced in the past,” Cort said.

Cruise lines are also stepping up to the plate to meet the needs of passengers on special diets including vegan, vegetarian, and gluten-free. Carnival Cruise Line’s executive vice president of food and beverage, Richard Morse, noted that “guests have become a lot more demanding in terms of dietary restrictions,” making it harder to satisfy everyone’s tastes. The Menu Mate food ingredient program, powered by CertiStar software, is available on all Carnival ships, allowing crew and passengers to easily find allergen-safe dining alternatives.

That development, Morse remarked, will remain. He continued by saying that when it comes to food, cruise ships put more of an emphasis on the passenger’s enjoyment than hotels do on land. Except for the largest resorts, “hotels have kind of walked away from food and beverage,” he added. “Food, beverage and entertainment are what make the guest experience and what brings people back.”

Ships’ kitchens, like those in other businesses hit hard by the pandemic, had to improvise to keep operations running. For MSC Cruises’ Jacques Van Staden, vice president of worldwide food and beverage operations, QR code menus were a lifesaver. “They enabled us, because of the sourcing challenges, to adapt and make substitutions to the menus,” he said, adding that supply chain issues are “leveling out, becoming more stable—not stable in pricing, but stable in supply.”

Inflation and price increases are influencing business as well. For instance, Norwegian supplied smaller eggs as a result of the recent spike in egg prices. The cruise line has become more proactive about its food supplies, putting a safety stock in place in some regions, and making accommodations, according to Cort.

By adopting eco-friendly practices, cruise lines can cut costs and reduce their carbon footprint. The expense of inflation is something that can be reduced or kept under control, according to Gallagher of Celebrity.

The Metropolitan Bar on the Norwegian Prima, as mentioned by Cort, is the first sustainable bar at sea for the line. Banana syrup, manufactured on board from discarded banana peels, is just one example of the ship’s zero-waste cocktail ingredients.

In the future years, several new cruise ships will debut, and with them, agents may anticipate the arrival of fascinating new food concepts.

“Most new ships are pretty large, so we have spaces we can be innovative with,” added Cort. “We still have to have the traditional—the French restaurant, the steakhouse, teppanyaki, Italian—but we can take risks and have fun with some of the others. That’s what we love to do.”

Evie Blanco is a journalist with nearly a decade of experience who was born in the Dominican Republic and raised in Queens, New York. She is extremely well-versed in hip-hop music and culture and is always aware of any developments within it. Whether it’s the latest in pop culture, a fascinating foreign destination, a truly amazing new restaurant, or breaking news, she loves to write about it all.

This story was originally published April 6, 2023 at 10:55 AM.