kosher cruises. | Imamother

WhatFor

Tue, Jun 06 2023, 12:49 pm

There are companies that offer kosher food on cruises. I believe they have their own kitchens and dining rooms among the larger cruise? I'm not 100% sure how that works.

Also some people go on regular cruises and eat only certain foods that have a hechsher and fruit/veg, and kosher meals. (Be advised: the kosher meals are basically like airplane food.) Some people will eat salmon or other kosher fish double-wrapped in the oven.

amother

Seafoam

Tue, Jun 06 2023, 12:53 pm

WhatFor wrote:

There are companies that offer kosher food on cruises. I believe they have their own kitchens and dining rooms among the larger cruise? I'm not 100% sure how that works.

this is how it works. https://kosherica.com/

amother

Chestnut

Tue, Jun 06 2023, 8:38 pm

I went on a kosher cruise, I really dont know how anyone with yiras shamayim can do that (saying as someone who did it lol). our kosher dining room was a sectioned off area in the regular restaurant. servers using the same dishes. I went out back to ask the waiter if they differentiate the dishes and he's like oh yeah the kosher ones go here - it was all mixed up. I'm no mashgiach but I have no idea how any of it is okay. we were so turned off from that.

amother

Ecru

Tue, Jun 06 2023, 8:47 pm

It is kosher only regarding food and even then usually poor quality and so many stories of mixups where people are treif that none of the reputable kashrus agencies will certify.

As far as pritzus, it’s a very big issue onboard most of the cruises unless DH stays pretty much in the cabin…

amother

Snapdragon

Tue, Jun 06 2023, 9:11 pm

amother Chestnut wrote:

It's not only the food that's a yiras shamayim issue......
Cruises are total pritzus that you can't avoid. Those that eat kosher, may do so in their bikini....

amother

Currant

Tue, Jun 06 2023, 9:22 pm

amother Ecru wrote:

Then why does he go on the cruise? Seems pretty pointless to me.

amother

Bottlebrush

Tue, Jun 06 2023, 10:00 pm

Even if you don't go with kosherica you have the option of airline prepackaged meals that cannot get treif. Also many things on board are kosher and you have to see what has packaging unless you eat chalav yisrael and the like.

Second, not all cruises are pritzus. You avoid the pool deck and its just like a city street. Same issues. Or go somewhere its not warm.

amother

Birch

Tue, Jun 06 2023, 10:23 pm

WhatFor wrote:

There are companies that offer kosher food on cruises. I believe they have their own kitchens and dining rooms among the larger cruise? I'm not 100% sure how that works.

Is it true that they have their own exclusive kosher kitchen on these massive ships? I thought I heard otherwise, though I would love to be proven wrong.

amother

Snapdragon

Tue, Jun 06 2023, 10:26 pm

amother Bottlebrush wrote:

Women are in bikini's all over the ship, not just at the pool. I can't imagine a man with real yiras shamayim going on a cruise ship. The whole vibe in general is not on yiras shamayim/torah standards.

amother

Snapdragon

Tue, Jun 06 2023, 10:27 pm

amother Birch wrote:

Is it true that they have their own exclusive kosher kitchen on these massive ships? I thought I heard otherwise, though I would love to be proven wrong.

Not year round. During midwinter vacation, a private kosher catering kashers one of the kitchens.

WhatFor

Tue, Jun 06 2023, 10:58 pm

amother Birch wrote:

Is it true that they have their own exclusive kosher kitchen on these massive ships? I thought I heard otherwise, though I would love to be proven wrong.

Possibly, I'm not sure but there are people who are experts on all of this. I knew people who relied on certain industry standards (that they can't mix knives, etc.) to double wrap salmon. I'm not verifying that there are such standards, I have no clue. There's a lot of other stuff that's simply kosher if you ask to see the package, like ice cream, milk, etc.

The airplane food doesn't have to be a deal breaker and if someone goes in expecting airplane food, they probably won't be disappointed. Those are double wrapped and heated in the packages.

Responding to a different comment, if seeing someone dressed not tznius is a dealbreaker, a Caribbean cruise is not for you. Don't go to a beach and complain that people wore bikinis. But there are other options around the world. Also, different cruise lines tend to attract different ages and types of people. You can read reviews of the cruise lines, ships, and destinations to get a feel. I believe that longer cruises tend to attract an older crowd (think retired) because younger people simply can't afford and don't have the time to spend two weeks on a cruise. The ship amenities might also influence the type of people.

amother

Chestnut

Tue, Jun 06 2023, 11:10 pm

Not really from the crowd who harps on shmiras einayim so I can't speak about the pritzus, I mean one night we went to a comedy show and it wasn't that clean.

But the cruise we went on (an islands cruise during yeshiva cation week) was definitely white trash vibe. Like amusement park crowd. Like the boat was either white trash or rich frum people lol.