MV Swell Dining

3.5 / 5.0
3 reviews
Editor Rating
4.0
Very Good
Dining
Ginger Dingus
Contributor

With a maximum of 12 passengers, everyone dines together. Unless a picnic or deck barbecue is planned, meals take place around two maple-topped tables for six or seven in the main deck's wood-paneled salon. Seating is on built-in benches and a few chairs. Meals are served by the crew and captain. A chef prepares dishes similar to those you would expect at an upscale bed and breakfast inn. Menus depend on the chef's whim as well as any fresh fish caught by passengers. The chef announces each dish just before it's served. Everyone is served the same dishes, and there are no choices. Special diets, however, can be accommodated, and passenger preferences are noted on pre-cruise forms.

Coffee is available from 6:30 a.m., the time when the generator is switched back on for the day. A self-serve light breakfast of yogurt, granola and fruit is set out at 7 a.m. A hot breakfast is served at 7:30 a.m. and may be a frittata, pancakes or scrambled eggs. The timing of lunch depends on shore excursions. It may happen at noon, at 3 p.m. or any time in between. Lunch is a single course, perhaps pasta with a salad or a hearty soup.

Dinner, a three-course meal with included wine, takes place anywhere between 6:30 p.m. and 8 p.m. The captain and crew take turns dining with passengers. The first course may be a salad or appetizer. The main course is often fish or chicken accompanied by rice and vegetables. Desserts are amazing, considering the small galley. One night it's carrot cake, the next creme brulee. All dishes are skillfully presented. One red wine and one white wine is selected each day. The bottles come from Canada, New Zealand, California and Chile. Canadian microbrews are occasionally offered, and sometimes the ship does a craft-beer itinerary. Cocktails are not available because there is no bar, and don't come to party -- the company's website notes that passengers should plan on light consumption.

The mid-morning snack is usually scones or muffins. A mid-afternoon snack might be nuts, cookies or cheese and crackers. There is no room service, but you can help yourself to coffee, tea, hot chocolate, filtered water and juices throughout the day.

Restaurants

  • Aft Deck Lounge - Al Fresco
  • Salon - West Coast Canadian
  • * May require additional fees

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