Eating on board ending the day with a special dinner

For the remainder of the cruise, we took it easy onboard relaxing in our cabin and sleeping in. The Aquavit Terrace became our go to place for breakfast. It served essentially the same menu but it opens for breakfast service about a half hour later than the restaurant and stayed open later in the morning. This was a great option for when we didn't have to rush to eat before a tour. The area on our ship had an outside area with tables and an indoor area with a few less tables. We always could find an inside table since by then the bulk of the passengers were on tour. There was some delay with dining there as they often only had one crew member working the area and they'd be running back and forth to the restaurant if a passenger ordered a hot dish item. Not having a tour to hurry off for and having been able to sleep in after fighting with sore joints, fatigue, and a cold made it worth having to wait some extra time for service.

Here is what we ate on board during the days in Rouen:

Substantial pancakes that managed to still be light and fluffy. I loved that this dish was served with the syrup and the fruit in their own separate dishes. It was great being able to control how much syrup was used and my fruit didn't get soggy sitting in the syrup.

Over medium eggs & a bagel with cream cheese on day 2 for breakfast:

Lunch in the restaurant started off with a simple mixed green and tomato salad:

My main dish was a steak sandwich. Feel free to ask the waiter to switch and swap from dishes. I asked to get french fries as my side that normally would have been with the hot dog menu choice. Since it was an item they had on hand anyway, there was no problem making the swap. 

Why there was a small dish of what looked like half melted butter and honey mustard sauce had a baby included with this dish, no one at the table had a clue. Several tables asked for ketchup instead and were brought these baby sized sealed jars. I found the jars adorable but wasteful given that they were discarded after one use since the seal was broken.

Dad couldn't resist ordering the banana split for dessert. Note the array of tiny ketchup jar lids lining the middle of the shared lunch table at the top of the photo.

I tried this chocolate mousse style dessert and chose to let Dad have the rest. Notice the extra inclusion of a pistachio crumble on the top for decoration.

Day 2's lunch was full of comfort food starting with a broth heavy soup:

And followed by a chicken quesadilla. The waiter insisted on bringing me another one when I told him how good it tasted.

And dessert:

Lunch on Les Andelys day:

I swapped the side for this monte cristo style sandwich for the sweet potato fries from another main dish.

A quick rundown of dinner from our second night in Rouen...

This main dish was way spicier than I expected. 

 ...and our night in Les Andelys

 

For dinner our first night in Rouen, the restaurant offered a themed meal called "Taste of Normandy." Described as a hearty French dinner, Viking kept passengers out of the restaurant until they were ready for the big reveal. The usual buffet counters were stacked with trays of regional food. There was a mix of help yourself as well as crew behind the counter to serve up as much as you wanted. They tried to do crowd control by calling up tables bit by bit after everyone had been seated. I swooped in for some pictures before the crowd descended.

There were various dishes that would have been served by course such as cheese slices and pate or the table full of individual dessert portions. With everything being out at the same time, everyone came back with plates piled high with a little of everything. All the passengers were readily encouraged to go back as much as they wanted to try something else or get more of something we ended up liking.

Started off with some sauteed shrimp and a cold beet salad. The beet salad was diced up to look like miniature Jello squares. I'm so proud of Dad for trying the beet salad!

My super white/beige plate held chicken, pork, fish, rice pilaf, and mashed potatoes. This may look like the plate of a picky eater but that's just what the bulk of the food looked like.

The food spread included a dish of what looked like individually wrapped long pieces of taffy. The maitre'd kept encouraging everyone to take some and try it. All of our table mates were trying to figure out what this squishy item could be. Many guessed it was some sort of candy or dessert and saved it for the end of their meal. We all had a roaring laugh when someone finally tried it and discovered that it was simply a thick butter meant for your bread with a fancier presentation than the usual wrapped individual pats of butter. Some of us were way too close to popping the whole thing in our mouths like candy!