Foodie Cruise in the Caribbean

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Last month, my husband Alvaro, baby daughter Isabel and I embarked on a cruise around the Caribbean sea. It was a first for baby Isa, barely ten-months-old, and the second cruise for her parents. The friendly invitation from Carnival enticed us from the email inbox with the most evocative and attractive of itineraries. Eight days at sea, four ports: Grand Turk, La Romana, Curaçao and Aruba. And here’s the kicker: it was a foodie cruise, with fellow food content creators tagging along to share in the most delectable food offerings sailing through the Antilles. Naturally, we ended up accepting the invitation, and couldn’t wait to jump on board.

We flew from San Diego to Miami and headed to PortMiami, the busiest cruise ship port in the world. When we arrived at the terminal, we were taken aback by the sheer size of the ship, with all of its fifteen floors towering into the Florida sky, crowned with colorful water slides, an obstacle course, and a basketball court. As we boarded, I held baby Isabelita in my arms, and she couldn’t tilt her head back enough, agasp, to take in the majestic dimension of the ship. The elegant vessel that was to be our home for a week was the Carnival Horizon, barely six months old, and bursting with elegant venues, modern amenities, and endless conveniences to ensure each minute of our trip was filled with sheer, unmitigated fun and relaxation. Our stateroom looked out of the starboard side and featured a small balcony from which to witness the gentle Caribbean sea extend into the horizon. As we left port, baby Isa was thrilled at the new sights -not that she knew all too well what was going on. But there was laughter and music in the air, and the sun shone on the Lido deck as this resplendent colossus started to glide away from the Miami skyline. A breathtaking sight for a little person who had just gotten her first teeth. She was ecstatic, kicking about in her parents’ arms, and smiling and waving at every fellow traveler who passed her way. Little did we know that Isa was about to turn into one of the cruise’s most unsuspected sources of joy… but more on that later.

That night we met the rest of the foodies who, like us, had been the lucky enough to be invited onto the Horizon. It goes without saying that we met around dinner and that before digging into each meal, brief photo sessions of the food were observed religiously. Soon talk of food governed the table; anecdotes, stories, tips, recommendations, and live reviews of the meals were shared between the diners. Droolius talked tech with my husband, exchanging lenses and comparing the small LED lights that complemented their foodie photographer arsenal. It felt great to sit at a table with so many people so passionate about the same things. The food that first night did not disappoint, but in hindsight seems almost prosaic with what was to come.

Over the next few days, we were treated to the Horizon’s finest food offerings. On the first day at sea, my husband discovered what seemed to be one of the ship’s best-kept secrets. Away from the hustle of the Lido deck, (where much of the food is concentrated on the ship), on the 5th floor stood Guy Fieri’s Pig and Anchor Bar-B-Que Smokehouse. What a treat to enjoy the smoky flavors of low-and-slow Southern barbecue with the sound of the waves caressing the ship’s hull beneath you. Baby Isabelita particularly enjoyed the juicy blue-ribbon chicken, soft enough for her newly-acquired teeth, while Alvaro and I favored the oh-so-tender, slow-cooked-to-perfection beef brisket. As expected, this gem of a place became more and more concurred as the cruise advanced and the word got around. And yes, the smokehouse was great, but hardly undisputed in the title of “best meat on the Horizon”.

Enter Fahrenheit 555 Steakhouse, with all of its gloriously dry-aged cuts, its eight different types of salt, its doneness gradations stated in French… As a person who is not so versed in red meats, it was hard to keep up! And so it proved to be a very fruitful learning experience. I went for the New York Strip Steak, “demi-anglais, please”, while my husband opted for a 18-oz ribeye, “saignant”, (which, I learned, literally translates as “bleeding”!) All this paired with a fine Cabernet, and culminated with a dessert/performance called “the art of the table”, in which an inspired cook used jams and syrups to render a sort of edible Kandinsky, adorned with various sweets and white chocolate spheres which he cracked open to reveal further confections topped with ice-cream. All of this went down immersed in the live jazz music from the adjacent piano bar. Is there a way to feast the senses even more?! The specialty dining cost at Fahrenheit 555 Steakhouse is $38 per person.

Another one of my favorite places on the Horizon was Jiji, an Asian restaurant with uniquely exotic flavors. We tried Hakka stir-fry noodles, soft steamed buns, Kung Pao chicken, peppered beef, jiaozi pot stickers, and slow-braised pork belly (this last one being my husband’s favorite dish in the entire cruise). Our stomachs filled with joy, and the dishes kept coming. For dessert, how about a richly-textured creme brulee with hints of ginger?

Across from Jiji stood La Cucina del Capitano, a fancy Italian restaurant decorated with historical photographs of the Carnival Corporation. As we learned, Italy is home to one of the biggest naval academies in the world, so Carnival has been graced with numerous Italian captains through the decades. The dinner at Cucina del Capitano was elegant and loaded to the brim with those quintessentially Italian ingredients and flavors we love. Sat around the staple red and white chequered table, the giddy foodies passed the dishes around between servings and snapshots. Artisanal pasta, homemade burrata cheese, fried calamari, grandma’s meatballs, salmon carpaccio… I was surprised at how much we ate and yet how refined and gentle each of the dishes felt -unusual for Italian food fare. Both Jiji and La Cucina del Capitano feature specialty dining offerings for $15.

Last but not least, there was the Chef’s Table experience, in which we treated to a fantastic display of unbridled culinary talent in the very heart of the Horizon’s galleys. We knew we were in front of something special when we were served a soup in a levitating dish. Yes, you read that right. The chef cupped the bowl in his hands and slowly descended upon a magnetically-charged wooden tray. He removed his hands to leave the bowl floating in mid-air. What followed was a parade of minimalist food expressions in which the food items were distilled to their very essence and displayed in exquisitely balanced presentations.

Some items on the menu sounded as delicious as they did mysteriously impossible. Edible charcoal? Check. Bacon snow? Why not! Eggplant candyfloss? Not sure what that is, but bring it on! Lobster bisque sphere, kimchi glass and foam, sesame olive sponge… it was as if the chef had rolled several dice labeled with food terms and committed to the outcome wholeheartedly, no matter how bizarre the combinations seemed. Baby Isabelita accompanied us as the head of the table on her high chair, nibbling on more baby-friendly versions of the highly sophisticated menu. The chef loved her so much that he gifted her a chef’s hat at the end of the night. It was a memorable night for all involved!

The week spent at sea onboard of the Horizon was probably the week consistently filled with the best food in my entire life. Each and every meal was a treat. Seaday brunches were a true delight to wake up to, with that delicious grilled salmon and “the funnest french toast” (for the topping, I choose Fruit Loops, please). And what to say about the Dr. Seuss breakfast experience, in which I tasted genuine “green eggs and ham” as a gleeful Isabelita met some of Dr Seuss’ most beloved characters. For more guilty pleasures, there was great pizza available 24 hours a day, -and you could have it delivered directly to your jacuzzi, if you so desired-, and a colorful dessert station at the main buffet on the Lido deck. If that wasn’t enough to satisfy your sweet tooth, maybe you would’ve fancied the quaint candy store perfectly named “Cherry on top”.

The trip was simply splendid, and this entry merely focused on the food on the Horizon! The ports were equally enjoyable, particularly when seen through the eyes of our baby. She marveled at the iguanas in Aruba, basked with great peace in the turquoise waters of La Romana, and waved at countless locals in the colorful town of Willemstad, Curaçao. At the Horizon, Isabelita stole everyone’s hearts with endless smiles and waves that seemed to wish everyone on board the happiest of stays. Isa had a sort of social awakening at sea, to the point that if a fellow traveler had their back turned to her on the elevator, she would mischievously tap them on the shoulder to get their attention, and then deliver one of her charismatic waves (if you were among the lucky ones, she would even blow you a kiss!) In the short span of a week, Isabelita developed endearing friendships with some of the stewardesses. Precious, from the Philippines, and Seleni, from Perú, grew particularly fond of her, and the feeling was mutual. Strangely, at first we figured a baby couldn’t possibly get much out of a cruise, where most attractions are for, well, humans of the more developed kind. But we were proved wrong when we saw how Isabelita rejoiced in all of her interactions, growing more confident and communicative with every little wave. Hopefully, in that little head of hers, now she has some form of understanding of how big the world is and what an enriching delight it is to explore it. Heck, even if there was no great food on the cruise, but Isabelita got that takeaway, the trip was well worth it!

Big thanks to Carnival and thanks to all of our foodie friends who made this trip unforgettable! I’ll link their websites below!