Foghorn Requiem

When you eat a buffet on a boat to Amsterdam.

As part of the wonderful Festival of the North East, we were recently invited by DFDS Seaways to sample some food on board the mighty Princess Seaways, as part of the interesting/creative Foghorn Requiem event. Sunderland legend the Souter lighthouse is soon to be decommissioned, so it was a grand way for the local landmark to bow out, and what better way for us to watch the performance from the largest ship in the armada scoffing our faces!

Leaving from hometown North Shields, sailing off invokes memories of the past – something like the beginning of Titanic, without the whole iceberg incident. As we sailed down towards Seaburn, we were hosted in the Seven Seas restaurant – the buffet style resto on bard, though there is also a steakhouse, and an a la carte service available for the slightly more adventurous.

We were served a hot and cold buffet, featuring something presumably from each of the seven seas – a bit of everything. The food was fresh enough and replenished quickly, obviously not sitting around for too long, even if the presentation was a bit 1970s in places (see decorative salads!) As is par with these types of service, there are some winners and some not so great dishes, but there should be something for everyone, especially those on the booze cruise over to the Netherlands.

Possibly more a a reflection of North East tastes than anything else, the much less exciting dishes seemed the most popular as fellow diners poured on heaps of chips and onion rings with very safe chicken curry and lasagne. Swaiths of salad went unnoticed by some discerning Geordie palates, which is a shame, as they were fresh and possibly the most interesting food there.

As we’re vaguely trying to stay on the heathy bandwagon (yeah right), we were taken by the large choice of cold cut meats, cheese, and varieties of bread available, which is probably the sensible option on a larger vessel that could get choppy! Also digging the gratifying chilli which we couldn’t help but go back to for seconds (or thirds). The bolognese was meh at best, which is a shame.

We’ll be back on board soon for a quick jaunt to Asmsterdam, and would consider dining on board the Princess Seaways again, albeit probably paying a little more and going a la carte. in the meantime, check out some of these horns – incredibly loud.

*DISCLAIMER: We were invited by PR to try the buffet complimentary, which is usually £21.99 on board the Princess Seaways.

Above: Souter lighthouse & dozens of other ships in the distance.