Gourmet Meal

Back in March, when I booked our short passage on the Hurtigruten, the broker forewarned me that meal costs (outside the full-voyage fare) would be billed separately and therefore be expensive.

The Hurtigruten agent told him that we could expect to pay about $100 extra per day – $25 each for breakfast and lunch and $50 for dinner – when using the ship's dining room.

As a group, we ladies opted for the ala carte line for breakfast and lunch, still spending about $12 for a yogurt and pastry and $15 for a soup and/or sandwich lunch.

Our intent was to treat ourselves to one Gourmet Meal on board. Friday afternoon, I booked the six of us for dinner during the evening's first sitting at 6:30 PM.

When the time came, we had trouble making our way. Elevators, stairwells and hallways were fully loaded with passengers preparing to leave the ship which docked in Ålesund at 6:30 PM. We inched through the crowd and eventually met up as a party (down the hallway in the photo above) outside the dining room.

At the front desk, the hostess welcomed us, showed us the seating chart and pointed out our assignment. We found the table. However, it was partially occupied by two women. The hostess came over to explain they were booked for dinner's second sitting at 8:30 PM and asked them to return later.

Our waitresses scrambled for fresh glasses and napkins. Shortly afterward, we were served:



Clipfish Salad

marinated olives,
lime,
garlic vinaigrette

and
a slice
of bread



Liveche Chicken

rice
and
vegetable
pilaf

and

apple and lentil sauce



–and for dessert–



Cheese Cake

berry coulis




Each course was visually appealing, delicious and filling.

Our waitresses came with three bills – one for each room of two. Quiet struck the table as we observed "740 kroner." Quick math turned that into 370 kroner per person. And that amount divided by roughly 5 kroner per dollar gave each of us an estimated cost of $74.

"Norm..." I muttered the name of the agent who helped me book this trip. "...will be getting an email about this when we return! $74 is a bit more than $50!"

We all agreed it's a good thing we had just one day of meals on board.

"Would anyone like more?" the waitress returned asking in a polite manner ready to dismiss us. We shook our heads, "No, thanks."

"Coffee is served in the lounge down the hall," the waitress continued – and by the baffled look on our faces – she added, "It's included with the meal. Please feel free to help yourselves."

And so, after settling up with the hostess, we took our cup –

and pocketed

a souvenir

Dansukker

sugar cube

to go.