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Food, Glorious Food
Good cruises pride themselves on their food, and the Aurora Explorer is no exception.
Donna Sawatzky is one of two alternating cooks on the Aurora. She plans meals ahead , taking into account passengers’ dietary restrictions and preferences, and carefully designing menus to avoid repetition or waste.While the meals are plentiful and rib-sticking, wine choices are limited. “We don’t have much onboard storage so I don’t bring a lot of different wines,” says Sawatzky. “I choose a red and a white, something middle-of-the-road, dependable, that suits most palates and goes well with the meals.” Guests are welcome to bring their own beverages if they wish.
Sawatzky’s day typically starts at 4am when she prepares breakfast and does the day’s baking. Next she does cooked-to order hot breakfast. Right after clean-up, it’s time to start lunch. “I alternate a buffet lunch with a cooked lunch, ” she says, adding that even the buffet lunches always include hot soup. “It’s warm and comforting,” she says. “People love soup, especially if the weather’s damp.” Occasionally the Aurora stops for a picnic lunch on shore.
After a post-lunch nap, Sawatzky’s back in the kitchen making dinner. She plans at least one seafood meal during each trip. “There’s so much great seafood here, the choices are wonderful, ” she says. “And guests expect to have fish or seafood on board.” She prepares three or more vegetable choices for each dinner. “Flexibility is important, ” she says. “People are on vacation — they shouldn’t have to eat food they don’t like!”
A typical day’s menu might start with Eggs Benedict for breakfast. Lunch could be quiche or barbecued burgers, accompanied by spinach salad, an assortment of pickles, and fruit pie for dessert—or a buffet of clam chowder, fresh bread, raw vegetables, tuna and salmon salads, and a selection of cheese. Dinner might be chicken breast on a tomato-zucchini bed, crispy pan-fried potatoes, fresh steamed asparagus, Greek salad, and marble cheese cake, all washed down with wines from the Okanagan Valley’s Sawmill Creek.
And don’t forget the daily cookie. Coffee and tea are always available in the dining room, and Sawatzky puts out a jarful of freshly-baked cookies every day, ready for help yourself snacking.
Nobody could possibly go hungry on the Aurora Explorer—each meal is a social event. Guests mingle and often remain deep in conversation long after the dishes are cleared and the wine bottles are empty.
Rock-a-bye Freighter
Great meals, stunning scenery, isolated destinations, contact with the vessel’s crew. What’s left?
The other passengers, that’s what. With the ship’s slow pace and limited onboard space, you’re bound to get to know one another. On deck, in the wheelhouse, over a card game or a cup of coffee, during a shore walk or picnic, passengers revive the fine art of conversation. This is not to say that you can’t escape for some quiet time; reading and naps are encouraged. But you meet the most interesting people on the Aurora, from all over Canada, the U.S., and overseas. Talking with fellow passengers is at least as enlightening as talking with the crew.
Adults of all ages find the pace relaxing but this is not a child-friendly cruise. The Aurora takes passengers as young as 16, but guests are typically in their 50s and 60s. The Aurora is not wheelchair-accessible, though passengers using walking aids can usually be accommodated. Good weather, of course, is not guaranteed and seas can be rough. Noise is a fact of life—even with the engines shut down at night, the onboard generator continues to whine “like a bad soprano” in the words of one passenger, and each stateroom is thoughtfully equipped with several pairs of earplugs. Apart from a small outdoor smoking area , the entire indoor area and all of the cargo deck is strictly non-smoking.
Noise and other inconveniences not withstanding, the Aurora is the embodiment of relaxation. Your worries are left on shore, your days are full of sweet salt air and talk, seagulls and beaches , and heart-warming food. Your personal clock becomes synchronized with tides and delivery stops and the gentle roll of the ship. Like some immense cradle, the Aurora Explorer rocks you, feeding both body and soul. And isn’t that what a cruise should do?
Holly Quan last wrote for Northwest Palate about Ainsworth Hot Springs Resort. She lives in Turner Valley, Alberta.