Kosher Cruiser

Although I have never been on a cruise ship during Passover, many cruise lines do make accommodations. I have spoken to several cruise lines to learn about their Passover accommodations. Although none of these cruise lines' Sedarim appears to work for an Orthodox Jew, I am providing a summary of my findings here. Several lines do offer kosher for Passover food however. Offerings by cruise line Carnival will offer Kosher for Passover food provided by their kosher caterer, upon request, which must be received 60 days in advance. A Sedar is only offered on board if a rabbi contacts the cruise line to lead it on a volunteer basis.  (read more at: Keeping kosher on Carnival ) Celebrity stated there is a Sedar on board. The person I spoke with was unaware of who leads it or if they have only 1 or 2 Sedars. No information available on Passover food as well.  (read more at: Keeping kosher on Celebrity ) Costa makes no kosher food accommodations and makes no spe...

Although you may not have Allstate for your car insurance, you still can use them for Drivewise. The way the program works, is you allow them to track your driving and rather than redeeming for discounts on your insurance, you cash them out for discounted gift cards. When registering, register through the app, then select that you only want Drivewise, this will give you 10,000 points added within 3 days. Once you are registered then log on through the website, this will give you an additional 5,000. Once on, you can select that you want gift cards, and most gift cards will give you 10% off using points. For example, those 15,000 points you get for signing up can be used to buy $1,500 worth of Carnival gift cards for $1,350. Not bad for about 3 minutes of work. If you want more gift cards, you just need to get more points. The app will give you 200 points for three days without stopping short, you will get another 200 points for three days of not topping 80 MPH. You will also ...

Coffee is a very important aspect of every adult’s morning, whether they are Jewish or not. Fortunately, there is plenty of coffee on board a cruise, but there are a few things to keep in mind. Basic coffee If you are only interested in a basic cup of coffee, you are in luck. Basic coffee is free on all major cruise lines, and on some there is free coffee available 24/7. Its pretty universally accepted that all plain coffee is kosher, so feel free to drink as much coffee as you want on a cruise. They do have paper coffee cups on a cruise which is very nice, but only by request. The standard are ceramic coffee mugs, which are an issue to use. If you do the sit down breakfast, they will provide you with the paper ones by default with your kosher food, but I have waited upwards of 20+ minutes for someone to find them at other times. In order to avoid this needless wait, I suggest bringing a spill proof, travel coffee mug, with you. You can grab your coffee and take it on t...

Cruise Line: Royal Caribbean Cruise Line Kosher Caterer: No caterer information was available from the cruise line when I spoke with them; however, they stated all food is Glatt kosher and certified by the OK. Meals offered: All meals come double wrapped. Food is available only in the main dining room when open and available in the Windjammer Café at all other times. Although there is no kosher breakfast meals offered, RCCL has stated they ensure that there is kosher cereal, bagels and cream cheese on all ships. Appetizers: • Challah • Matzo ball soup • Corn chowder • Israeli couscous with green olives and peppers • Pita with chummus and baba ghanoush • Rice and bean salad Meat: • Coconut chicken with eggplant and yellow rice • Chicken with mushroom sauce and garlic mashed potatoes • Braised beef with green beans and potatoes • Beef stew with rice pilaf Dairy: • Mushroom Ravioli with tomato Pareve:  • Grilled...

I discussed previously the items concerning when embarking or disembarking the ship on Shabbos . Once you are on board your issues are far from over. The doors to your stateroom, just like any hotel door, are operated by a key card, which uses electronics and therefore cannot be used on Shabbos. You can also not specifically ask a non-Jew to open them for you on Shabbos (however you may be able to hint at it). One big advantage, which you don’t have with a hotel, is your stateroom attendant has a relationship with you, and they get to know you over the course of the vacation. The best thing to do is   explain to your stateroom attendant before Shabbos the situation (they all know about it, so they won’t be confused). Then when they see you coming on Shabbos they will know to open the door for you without even being asked. If they do not see you, and you can find them, they will gladly drop everything and help you out. I have heard of other people going to Guest Servic...

Royal Caribbean will often run a promotion, which they call “Kids Sail Free”. As it sounds, the deal allows for kids to sail for free, when sale with 2 adults. Although often times this promotion is only available to book during times schools are in session, there may still be ways you can take advantage of it. If you have kids who are younger, you certainly can take advantage because you are not reliant on a school schedule. If you are your spouse are in the same room as your little ones, you can bring 2 kids with you, free of charge. The only thing you need to pay for is the taxes and port fees. Another big advantage is Yeshiva Break is not one of the blackout dates (see blackout dates below). So should you wish to take your kids away during break, you are able to, assuming you are in an area that has off Yeshiva Break rather than Christmas/New Years. As an example, I attempted to book a cruise during Yeshiva Break 2021, taking advantage of the promotion. In the first e...