A decade ago, 80 percent of the guests sailing on Royal Caribbean International ships were from North America. Today, 50 percent of guests hail from other continents, and their taste buds are as varied as their backgrounds.
According to Brian Abel, Royal Caribbean’s Vice President, Food & Beverage, the cruise line has historically provided cuisines from around the world in the way of themed experiences, such as Italian or German nights. However, the expansion of global itineraries, and subsequently international customers, over the last 10 years has led to menu modification on a larger scale.
“When we started cruising to the Mediterranean, we had a couple ships sailing out of Europe. We realized we needed to accommodate the taste of a British cruiser and the kinds of condiments British guests like to have, or the taste of an Italian cruiser, incorporating espresso in our offering,” Abel says. “When we began to realize we had a substantial number of true international guests, we started to modify our menus and have been doing so progressively ever since.”
Nowhere will this progression in worldly flavors be more evident than on Quantum of the Seas, which will set sail from the New York area in November 2014 before making its home port in Shanghai, China in May 2015. The ship’s Dynamic Dining experience features 18 distinct restaurant concepts that span a range of American, Asian and European cuisines.
“The variety we are offering our guests on Quantum is based on a lot of research and input from shipboard teams and people in the industry,” Abel says. “One thing we found is that people not from the U.S. are very interested in understanding regional American dishes, like New England clam chowder and Carolina ribs, which are represented in American Icon Grill. We also knew there is incredible interest in the spices and flavor profile of Thai, Vietnamese, Chinese and Indian dining, so we developed Silk, where we will offer a unique selection of foods from the Silk Route.”
When developing Dynamic Dining’s restaurant concepts, Abel said his team kept in mind the interests of not only international guests, but also new guests and loyal, returning guests. For example, specialty restaurant Wonderland will appeal to those looking for creative, never-before-seen dishes and sensory surprises while Chops Grille, a Royal Caribbean standby with many repeat customers, will feature a revitalized modern steakhouse menu. Three specialty restaurants developed in partnership with celebrity chefs Jamie Oliver, Michael Schwartz and Devin Alexander will tempt anyone, new or returning, from North America to Asia, looking for fresh, flavorful, on-trend fare.
How did Royal Caribbean find the talent to staff such a diverse gastronomic landscape? The answer is: from within their very own ranks.
“The cool thing about being an international brand is that we hire that way,” Abel says. “Our culinary employees come from around the world and they bring to the table their experience, their education and their background. These employees have been growing in our system, honing their skills, and were the base for selecting chefs for Quantum.”
As Royal Caribbean’s homeports now span North America, Europe, Brazil, Australia and Asia, the cruise line has also designed at least 15 different menu programs for its other ships beyond Quantum.
“In all our regionalization efforts, we try to build menus that incorporate the flavor profile of guests from that area,” Abel says. “For example, we learned a long time ago that on ships sailing between Shanghai and Bejing, the soy sauce we use needs to be different to accommodate guests’ tastes.”
When it comes to procuring different types of international ingredients for a particular ship, an item as specific as a regional type of soy sauce probably needs be sourced in its country of origin, according to Abel. Ships also work with their homeports to source fresh produce and some seafood and beef. Dry goods and general grocery items, however, come primarily from Miami, which boasts an impressive distribution of global products.
Once the ingredients are on board, Royal Caribbean ships are ready to serve up something for everybody. So whether you hail from the U.S. and hanker for lamb curry or call India home and crave New Orleans gumbo, a feast for your particular palate awaits you at sea.
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