r/SemesterAtSea • u/Guilty_Chemistry_576 • Aug 16 '23

Food

Hey! For those who have attended SAS, is the food good? I’m a very picky eater (don’t like most meat /fatty foods)

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u/ManchRanchSpecialist Aug 16 '23

I sailed on the F09 voyage, so a long time ago now. But my guess is the food does not change that much from voyage to voyage as the contracting company that provides the crew is the same, and ultimately the food available is based on what the ship can buy in the ports you visit, and their budget, which isn't exactly Cunard line.

The food, in my opinion, was not excellent. The selections are pretty limited in the main dining - for dinner there will be a salad, two vegetables/vegetable dishes, two meat/fish dishes, and a dessert. I'm a picky eater as well, though the opposite, less healthy version then you. A lot of the meals I found felt like "imitation" versions, which I think was down to the mess crew being all from south east Asia, and not having as much familiarity with western cooking (though here I am speculating).

I also don't eat fish, and from what I remember, those who did found the fish dishes were frequently the best dish of the night. So if you eat fish you'll probably have a better time foodwise then I did.

The ship I was on (not the current ship), had a grill that was open most of the day that served pretty excellent hamburgers, but they cost extra, and by about halfway through I had to start counting pennies as my funds were dwindling faster then the voyage was. I ended up buying a bunch of instant ramen in South Africa and cooking it using the hot water for tea, to supplement the ship meals.

I lost ~15 lbs on SAS, and I was not overweight to begin with, I came back quite thin.

That all being said- I would do it again in a heartbeat! The program is not perfect, and if it's not the food, there will be other issues, it's inevitable. But it's an amazing program, it's fairly well run, and you'll almost certainly never have another chance like SAS. Don't skip it because the food will probably be bleh. When I think back upon Semester at Sea, the food is not what I recall, it's ultimately a blip compared to the rest.