Ah, spring break. Arguably the worst break (unless you're on a quarter system... *curses Northwestern*) because you probably had homework due and exams scheduled as soon as you got back. You spent half of the week stressed about everything you had to do once you got back to campus. The reason you were stressing so much was probably that, even though you took your books with you, a small part of you knew you weren't going to touch them until the Sunday before break ended.
I was that person. I went on a four-night spring break cruise aboard Carnival Victory. I took not one, but two textbooks with me. I even took my computer, even though I wasn't going to have internet, and I knew that. But what did I do the whole time? I tanned, slept, drove a Jeep through Mexico, drank... but mostly? I ate. A lot.
Cruises are food central. Why? Because the price you pay includes the food, which means any time there's food available and you're not eating, you're wasting money. If you're anything like me, you're thinking, "I AM A STUDENT, I HAVE NO MONEY TO WASTE." So naturally, I ate everything. Here's a list:
Day 1
(Got on the boat after 2 p.m.)
Bagel with lox, cream cheese and onions
Okay, I didn't know what to expect because it was my first bite of food on the boat, but it was actually amazing.
Ice cream
I'm not gonna lie, I got the fro-yo at first to be healthy, and it was not my favorite. So I switched to soft-serve ice cream, and it was incredible. I had several throughout the trip.
Fried calamari
I thought it would be a good idea to eat seafood while I was at sea, so this seemed like a safe bet. They were crispy and delicious.
Braised beef brisket with corn pudding and roasted root veggies
Honestly I wasn't expecting much of this dish, but the meat was tender and the corn pudding made for the perfect side dish. It blew my mind that it was so good.
Melting chocolate cake with vanilla ice cream
It was as good as it looks, if not better. We got it again at a later date.
Day 2
(Key West, FL)
Breakfast buffet
There were eggs Benedict, cereals, croissants, waffles. The works. It was 7 a.m. though, so I wasn't fully aware of my surroundings at the time.
Key Lime Pie
When in Rome...but the pie was dipped in chocolate. It was cray.
Burger, salad, French fries
We ate this on one of the terraces by the pool, with a view of the sea. The only issue is that it was really windy and some of the fries kept flying away. Eh, it was still really good.
Spinach and cheese stuffed mushrooms
I gotta say, this was probably the best sauce I've ever had on any food.
Eggplant and zucchini Parmesan
This was literally just a mountain of cheese. Do you see that? The hills are alive (with cheese).
Also, it's worth mentioning that the servers put on mariachi sleeves and danced on the table during dinner.
Four-cheese pizza
The only thing better than four-cheese pizza, is four-cheese pizza at 2 a.m. Only complaint? They only gave us half pizzas. However, they did give us the other half once we asked.
Day 3
(Cozumel, Mexico)
Breakfast buffet
This time I took a picture. Aren't you so proud?
The best mojito I've ever had in my entire life
The place was called "Welcome to Miami," and it was on the beach. The bartender ground up fresh mint leaves and added alcohol to the mix, and it was absolutely amazing.
Steak fajitas, guac and chips
We added some ~spicy~ sauce and drank some cheladas (beer with a ton of lime juice and a salted rim) and it was a grand ol' time.
Oysters
I guess after I spent the whole day drinking in Mexico, I felt ~fancy,~ because these called to me from the menu. I don't think I had ever had oysters before. They mostly tasted like garlic and cheese, so I was pretty happy.
Veal Parmesan with spaghetti and broccoli
This was probably the best meal I had on this cruise. It was perfect in every way.
Day 4
(At sea)
Bagel with cream cheese, lox and tomatoes
It was as beautiful as it was delicious. Which is very.
Beef lasagna
In case you hadn't noticed the trend, I really like food with a lot of cheese on it.
Cheesecake
Just cheese in dessert form. NBD, just perfect.
In total (not pictured), I ate 2 chocolate melting cakes, about 10 cookies, 4 soft-serve ice creams and 3 (half) pizzas, in addition to all the regular meals...I told you I wasn't going to waste any money. Even though I got absolutely no work done (and I probably didn't do too well on the exam I had the week I got back), I had an amazing time on spring break, and I came back a little tanner (and probably a lot fatter).