A compilation of the different dining experiences on board the MSC Armonia on our 5 day Adriatic cruise.
Day 1
The buffet
I didn’t take a photo, I was too mad about the 3 hour embarkation process and the almost 2 hour tender to the ship at the Marghere Port. We just needed something to eat quick. And honestly a trained monkey could cook better food than this crap. A pasta salad with almost raw penne, a bland shepherds pie and some chef boy r dee like tomato pasta. Not a good start.
The coffee bar:
Pretty good cappuccino. Not as good as the ones we have been having in Venice every morning, but decent enough.
We didn’t arrive in time for lunch, we were sitting in the middle of the harbour for what seemed forever.
So we have the early sitting for dinner. And we are lucky to have a table to ourselves.
Our menu for today.
For starters Merilynn had the not so creamy Cream of Asparagus soup.
Merilynn described it as eating dirty dish water. I didn’t think it was quite that bad but it certainly wasn’t awesome.
I had the crispy puff pastry triangles. I was expecting something like spanakopita. I think I got a quiche. It was ok though. Nothing to write home about.
Merilynns main was the Seafood Casserole.
Other than the chewy calamari it was pretty good. The most flavorful of the dishes that we had. The clams in particular were very good.
I went with the Red Lobster risotto.
Not much lobster flavour, not much lobster. One piece in fact. And a little too al dente for me. A little too bland overall. Where’s the lobster flavour? I can tell you where it isn’t. This risotto.
A Dove cake and a meringue nest for dessert.
The dove cake is the Easter version of a Pannetone, though I’m not sure if this is a good representation. It was quite dry. I did like the almond icing, pearl sugar and almond topping though. If it’s supposed to be anything like pannetone this really wasn’t. Moist, rich and sweet it was supposed to be. Dry and chewy it was. Now I’d like to try a real Dove cake though.
The meringue was pretty good. I suppose their take on a pavlova. It had a delicious lemon curd and fresh fruit on the top. Light and airy, it finished off what otherwise was a disappointing meal
It is a good thing we are a bit tipsy at this point.
Winning $100 in the casino afterwards made us feel a bit better too.
Heres hoping the food will be a bit better on day 2.