Lite bites: onboard eating options are healthier than ever

Cruise Travel, May-June, 2004 by Lorraine Shapiro, Phil Shapiro

Norwegian Cruise Line, in association with Cooking Light Magazine, features a "Cooking Light" menu option with food values listed in all the ships' main restaurants, at all meals. On the Norwegian Sun, not only are these dishes available in all the dining rooms, but the Pacific Heights restaurant is also dedicated to this healthy-living concept.

For newcomer Oceania Cruises (which debuted last July) consulting chef and cookbook author Jacques Pepin designed menus of great food and glamour, including "Lean And Light" dinners served in the Grand Dining Room.

Globe-trotting Orient Lines draws upon the regions visited, offering vegetarian and "Healthy Choice" four--course meals.

"We've returned in elegant multi-course meals with flavorful, healthful dishes in smaller portions." said Princess Cruises' corporate chef Alfredo Marzi. "Healthy Choice" three-course dinners feature a first course, salad, and entree, usually fish. "Flavor has more to do with a balance of seasonings than fat. Doing things we never dreamed possible, we combine fish with fruit and vegetables, such as halibut in papaya sauce, not Hollandaise," noted Marzi.

Radisson Seven Seas Cruises' specially menus in the main dining room include four-course "Well-Being" alternatives that minimize tat and calories and maximize taste, four-course lacto-ovo vegetarian, and "Simplicity" basics of pasta, grilled sirloin, chicken breast, and salmon fillet.

Created by Royal Caribbean International's registered dietitian, "ShipShape" dining provides less than 30 percent calories from fat for all restaurant meals. Five types of fresh fish are served in Alaska. Vegetarian options are available at lunch and dinner.

The yachts of Seabourn Cruise Line feature innovative low calorie, low cholesterol, and low fat "Lighter Fare" on every lunch and dinner menu, perhaps with luxurious lobster, baby greens, and wild mushrooms.

Silversea Cruises' upscale "Cruiselite" three-course meals satisfy hearty appetites and good intentions. Long on taste, short on cholesterol, fat, and sodium, entrees range from a traditional grilled Black Angus fillet to the more trendy marinated ostrich fillet.

On today's ships alternative dining goes beyond a different menu in a separate venue, taking on new meaning with healthy fare and vegetarian selections. More details of light dining options onboard cruise ships are available from your travel agent or on the cruise lines web sites.

EATING LIGHT: AT A GLANCE

CRUISE LINE                  VEGETARIAN  LIGHT  CUISINE NAME

Carnival Cruise Lines            No       Yes   Nautica Spa Selections
Celebrity Cruises                No       Yes   Light And Lean
Costa Cruise Lines              Yes       Yes   Salute E Benessere
Crystal Cruises                 Yes       Yes   Lighter Fare
Cunard Line                     Yes       Yes   Spa Selections
Delta Queen Steamboat Co.       Yes       Yes   Heart-Smart
Disney Cruise Line              Yes       Yes   Lighter Fare
Holland America Line            Yes       Yes   Perfect Balance
Norwegian Cruise Line           Yes       Yes   Cooking Light
Oceania Cruises                 Yes       Yes   Lean And Light
Orient Lines                    Yes       Yes   Healthy Choice
Princess Cruises                Yes       Yes   Healthy Choice
Radisson Seven Seas Cruises     Yes       Yes   Well-Being
Royal Caribbean
 International                  Yes       Yes   ShipShape
Seabourn Cruise Line            Yes       Yes   Lighter Fare
Silversea Cruises               Yes       Yes   Cruiselite
Windstar Cruises                Yes       Yes   Sail Light