When it comes to a Royal Caribbean cruise, eating is one of the best things about this sort of vacation because of all the different option you have.
There are familiar dishes, crowd favorites, and a lot of international flare too to the food served around your ship. Out of the many options you can consider, there's one cuisine that I love and I'm not alone: Indian curries.
Whether in the Main Dining Room or at the Windjammer buffet, there's bound to be at least one Indian dish available, and many times there's more than one.
One select nights, the Windjammer buffet actually expands to offer an Indian themed night of choices.
These Indian curry dishes are all the rage on Reddit, with diehards littering the thread with compliments about how good it tastes and how it's been a favorite for many years among cruisers who recognized it as a lesser-known great choice. One comment even exclaims, "The Indian food on the ship was their best food they had!"
Personally, I've been ordering Indian dishes ever since my first Royal Caribbean cruise. Not only do I enjoy this cuisine, but I find it flavorful and a healthier option in some cases.
Why so many people order Indian food on their cruise
Royal Caribbean tries to offer a wide array of cuisines to satisfy the needs of their customers, and that includes dishes from all over the world.
For many years, Indian curry was useful not just because it was popular, but because it was a good vegetarian alternative option to offer.
But Indian food has become more popular over the years, and it's offered every day on the Main Dining Room menu. There's an Indian dish, along with a vegetarian alternative listed on every day's dinner menu.
Examples include chicken curry, chicken korma, saag, butter chicken, and more.
Adding to the quality of the food is the undeniable fact there are many Indians that work on Royal Caribbean cruise ships. With such a large population onboard, the attention to detail of the food is important as many times foods served to guests are also offered to crew members.
Reddit user sastrid posted, "I used to work for Royal Caribbean, and the staff Indian food was amazing. Made for Indians, by Indians."
Royal Caribbean cruises that depart from Southampton, UK typically have even more Indian food offered because of how culturally interwoven food from from the Indian subcontinent is in the UK.
In a different Reddit thread, the question was posed what is the best complimentary food on Royal Caribbean not to miss, and the top upvoted result was Indian food.
"Indian night in the windjammer was incredible. Every dish was super delicious and flavorful," wrote avazah.
"All of the Indian food on board is phenomenal, but the vegetarian Indian entree is exceptional even by those standards," added crazypurple621.
What you should try
Assuming you've never had Indian food before, there's a few good starting points.
First and foremost, curry is not inherently spicy. There's a common misconception that all Indian food is very spicy, but that's not the case.
In my experience, the curry served on the menu is often mild in order to be palatable to a wider audience. There are various garnishes you can add in to make it spicier, but the food is pretty tame in terms of heat.
If you've never had Indian food before, there are two dishes I would recommend trying first: Butter chicken or chicken curry.
These are two basic Indian curries that have a pleasant flavor, no vegetables, and lack any spice that might be too much for a newbie.
It's a very tasty choice that satisfies without venturing too far out of most people's comfort zone. Both are essentially chicken in a sauce, and it pairs extremely well with the white rice that comes with it.
I like to eat the chicken first and then pour the rice into the remaining curry, but maybe that's just a me thing.
I also think the chicken korma is quite good, but it has a bolder flavor and more vegetables with it.
You'll find either of these curries served in the Main Dining Room or Windjammer.
Speaking of vegetables, the vegetarian curries are usually my favorite. I will absolutely have multiple servings of aloo gobi anytime they have it, which is a curry mixed with cauliflower and potatoes.
It's healthy and really tasty, with good textures.
The one curry I never, ever got a taste for was dal.
Dal comes in a few forms, but it's a vegetarian side dish that's just something I never got the taste for because of its consistency, I think.
One great thing about a cruise is you can feel free to taste and try food without fear of wasting it. Royal Caribbean will encourage you to do this, and there's nothing wrong with ordering it and getting something else if it's not to your liking.
Skip the bread
I might get hate for this, but the one thing I never liked on Royal Caribbean was the naan or roti bread.
On land, I'd order that every time, but I've always found the Indian breads that accompany a curry tough and almost stale.
Reddit user Joatboy agrees with me, "I do find their naan to be the major weak point on those days. It's always like a pita."
You can try it yourself and see, but I usually leave it to the side.
