Proof I’ll Always Order the Prawns…

Back in January, I embarked on another cruise (shock), where I ate some seriously good food (double shock). And my standout dish of the whole trip? Prawns. Obviously. If you’ve read my other supper club entries, this will come as no surprise.

Having grown up around jerk chicken, Jamaican patties and curried goat thanks to my uncle’s heritage, I thought I knew Caribbean food pretty well. But this trip – island hopping around the southern Caribbean – introduced me to something new: crispy coconut shrimp.

And honestly… I haven’t stopped thinking about them since.

Barbados: where it all began

At The Boatyard in Barbados, I somehow (very unlike me…) ordered the most expensive thing on the menu. Six absolutely massive shrimp, coated in golden, crispy coconut.

They were everything you want them to be: crunchy, sweet, juicy – and even better dipped into a spicy BBQ sauce. One of those dishes you immediately wish you’d ordered more of.

The rest of the table went for a fried fish sandwich in a southern-fried-style batter, which felt very right for a beach lunch. All of this, naturally, washed down with a couple of rum punches after a morning swimming in that ridiculously blue Bajan sea.

St Kitts & Nevis: no regrets, round two

A few days later, we were in St Kitts and Nevis on a land and sea tour, and when we stopped at a beach before jumping on a boat… I didn’t even hesitate. Straight back to coconut shrimp.

Ben went for the fish of the day – mahi mahi – served with grilled yellow courgettes, buttery corn on the cob and caramelised plantain. It was one of those plates that just felt properly Caribbean – simple, fresh and full of flavour.

And yes, there was more rum punch involved.

Why I love a cruise (and why I’ll keep booking them…)

A question I get asked a lot is why cruises?

And for me, it’s this exact trip in a nutshell. You get to see just enough of each place to get a real feel for it; the food, the pace, the people – without committing to a full trip straight away. It’s like a taster session of multiple destinations in one go.

This time, it was the lesser-known islands that stood out the most. Places I’ll admit I hadn’t really heard of before — and now would absolutely go back to properly explore. Dominica in particular felt completely untouched, with waterfalls, lush greenery and locals casually picking fresh fruit straight from the trees for us along the way.

It’s that ability to discover somewhere unexpected that always wins me over. Discover my Mediterranean cruise eats in a different blog post.

Rum, coconuts and island stops

One of the best moments of the trip was stopping at a viewpoint where the Caribbean Sea meets the Atlantic. Waiting there was a van selling fresh coconuts, and conveniently, rum.

So obviously, I combined the two… Fresh coconut water with a splash of rum straight through the top. Simple, slightly chaotic, but perfect.

We then visited Old Road Rum Company, one of the oldest rum distilleries in the Caribbean, dating back to 1681. Originally a sugar plantation, it’s now producing small-batch rum again. The tasting quickly turned into one of those slightly hazy, very enjoyable afternoons.

Back on the ship (and behind the scenes)

It wasn’t all beach shacks and rum. Back onboard, there were some genuinely impressive food moments too – especially the sushi nights, where fresh wasabi was grated tableside alongside sashimi and hamachi ceviche.

But it didn’t stop there. Across the different restaurants, the variety was huge — perfectly cooked steaks, rich, comforting curries and big, generous paellas that felt made for sharing. It’s that range that makes cruise dining so enjoyable; you can go from something light and fresh one night to something indulgent the next.

One of the most interesting parts of the trip, though, was going behind the scenes.

We got a full tour of the kitchens, where they explained how two centralised kitchens service four different restaurants for dinner – something you’d never notice as a guest. Everything is meticulously planned, with orders placed weeks in advance to account for the length of each cruise.

We also went properly below deck… Into the dry stores, alcohol storage and the huge fridges for fruit, veg and dairy. By day 10 or 12, you could see things starting to run low, which somehow made it all feel even more impressive.

One of the more unexpected takeaways? Apparently, on this sailing, we weren’t big banana eaters. So the team had been getting creative, turning the surplus into banana loaves instead.

The next morning, I was at the smoothie bar just as a delivery of more bananas arrived… only to be met with the staff joking that they really didn’t need any more. A very niche, but very funny, full-circle moment.

A quick nod to the burrito bowl

Not the best burrito bowl I’ve ever had (I’ll leave that to Brorritos), but it deserves a mention for the sheer commitment to presentation – served in a deep-fried tortilla bowl. Slightly over the top, but I respected it.

Final thoughts

Even when you think you know a cuisine, there’s always something new to discover. For me, this trip was all about those simple moments done really well- beachside cooking, fresh ingredients, and dishes that don’t try too hard but completely deliver.

And yes… I’m now fully on a mission to recreate coconut shrimp at home.

Watch this space.