Galileo Dining

The quality of food onboard this little ship varies. It's certainly not fancy and nor does it try to be, but it is authentic and some meals -- such as Greek night and the Captain's Dinner -- do stand out.

All meals are served in the dining room, on a mixture of different table sizes (you can usually bag one for two, if that's what you want, or big family-size tables). There’s a big table seating eight outside the dining room, where people often take their lunch, while others carry their plates upstairs to two tables with oversized sun umbrellas, when these are in use (when it's not too windy).

The ship is half-board and offers breakfast and either lunch or dinner most days, except the final sea day, when all three meals are served.

Menus are not marked with any allergy symbols, but servers are knowledgeable and helpful and will help you find out what each dish contains, if that is a concern. There is a vegetarian option at every meal.

Breakfast is buffet-style (but served to you) and consists of all the usual breakfast items you might expect, including a few local Greek specialties such as spinach parcels and Greek yoghurt. Tea, coffee and juice are poured at the table.

Lunch, when it’s served on board, is a buffet, with a selection of Greek-themed salads and dips, a pasta dish and a choice of four or five mains, including one vegetarian. Passengers queue at the buffet and are served by waiters. Dessert, which could be anything from sweet baklava to cake, is served from a separate station. Fresh fruit is always available at lunchtime. Some lunches have themes, from barbecue, which included meat on skewers, to seafood, where prawns baked in ouzo was a highlight.

Dinner consists of an appetizer, which might be traditional Greek dishes like "saganaki" (a parcel of spinach and cheese) or local dishes such as "revifada" (split peas and herbs); a salad and a choice of three mains: meat, fish and vegetarian. The meat might be a beef filet or something more traditional, such as lamb boukla; the fish may be grilled sea bass or again something more local such as oven baked sardines. The vegetarian dishes may be vegetable lasagna or a broccoli and cauliflower souffle.

Dessert consists of a delicious local delicacy such as "karpouzopita" (watermelon pie from the Cyclades) and a choice of fruits and ice cream.

There is also a small bar in the restaurant where you can order specialty coffees and drinks when it is manned.