Back to Reality: When the Cruise Ends and the Kitchen Calls
Have you ever noticed that some of the people who say they prefer to eat at home are the ones that don’t cook?
After a week-long cruise where your napkin is laid on your lap before you choose an appetizer, entree, and dessert from a menu each night, I’m back to grocery shopping, meal prepping, and answering the dreaded question, “What are we having for dinner tonight?”
My husband is happy to be home and back to our own kitchen. Meanwhile, I’m staring into the fridge, hoping a chef in a white jacket emerges and asks, “Will you be starting with the escargot or the shrimp cocktail tonight?”
Cruising Ruins You.
On the ship, I didn’t have to make a single decision beyond red or white wine. The biggest stress of my day was choosing between the short ribs or the salmon. I barely touched a plate, except to fork up bites of my wedge salad.
I miss having a waitstaff who makes recommendations about the choices I have for dinner and refills my wine glass without being asked.
Now? Reality looks like this:
Scouring Pinterest for dinner ideas that don’t involve more than 30 minutes of work and can be made with one pan - or better yet, can be put in a crockpot
Pushing a squeaky cart through the grocery store at 7:00 a.m. to avoid the crowds
Hauling in the loot, then chopping and preparing food for the week
It’s not you. It’s me.
On a cruise, dinner is a magical event. You show up and food appears. Dirty dishes are whisked away and never seen again. At home, no one is slipping a menu in my hands at 6:00 p.m. Instead, it’s all on me. The planning, the shopping, the chopping, the cooking, the cleaning. It’s amazing how spoiled one can get in just a week’s time.
So, to everyone who says they love eating at home — I get it.
Homemade food is healthy and budget-friendly and all that—especially when it’s simply presented to you without having to figure out what to make, brave the grocery store, and spend an hour putting it all together into a presentable meal.
I’m convinced that the ones who rave about preferring to eat at home are the ones lucky enough to just show up at the table, napkin in lap, exclaiming, “That looks good!”
Kind of like me on the cruise ship.