DAN HOTELS OF ISRAEL A SUPER EXPERIENCE Cruising Kosher Singapore to Bangkok GABE LEVENSON SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH NEWS W arm the year around are the equatorial wa- ters of the South China Sea, but a kosher cruise of them was, nonetheless, an ice- breaker for the 70 observant pas- sengers who made a two-weeks' voyage from Singapore to Bangkok. It was an unprece- dented "first," opening up to these travelers an experience which had formerly been denied them. The unavailability of fresh kosher food and the prospect of landings and departures on the Sabbath had previously deterred Orthodox Jews from undertak- ing such journeys. On this occa- sion, however, Lotus Tours, a pioneer in developing kosher land tours of the Far East, negotiated with the Orient Line, operator of the large cruise ship, Marco Polo, to overcome these two major ob- stacles. The problem of Sabbath em- barcations and disembarcations was overcome very easily — by the choice of an itinerary on which there simply were no ar- rivals or departures from Friday to Saturday sunsets. I had been on several trips for which hundreds of packages of frozen kosher food had been brought aboard the ship, heated in microwave ovens for each meal and served, still wrapped and sealed, to observant passengers. They were quite good, and better than the best kosher airline meals. But this was an entirely dif- ferent procedure, and the results were far superior, of gourmet standards. Food was cooked aboard the ship, from start to fin- ish, under proper halachic con- trols. Under the supervision of Hen- ry Valier-Grossman, a highly-re- garded English mashgiach, a per person in double room including- breakfast Starting at DAN PANORAMA, TEL AVIV — DAN PANORAMA, HAIFA DAN PEARL, JE,RUSALEM* — DAN CAESAREA Any combination of Dan Hotels for a minimum of seven nights. *Opening Winter 1995 Rates valid as of March 1, 1995 (varies by season) PL US per person in double room including- breakfast Starting at KING DAVID, JERUSALEM — DAN TEL AVIV — DAN CARMEL, HAIFA DAN ACCADIA, HERZLIYA — DAN EILAT* Any combination of Dan Hotels for a minimum of seven nights. - *Opening Winter 1995 Rates valid as of March 1, 1995 (varies by season) For information and reservations, please call your travel agent or Israel Hotel Representatives (212) 752 6120 or outside New York State Toll Free: 800-223-7773/4 or FAX: (212) 759-7495 - ETB .( /fill(,/.• ,(Av•c/ ELLIS TRAVEL BUREAU, INC. CORPORATE & PERSONAL TRAVEL CRUISE DISCOUNTS GOLF, TENNIS, SKI & TOUR PACKAGES AL HARRIS 149 Pierce Street, Birmingham, MI 48009 Telephone 810 647 9660 - - 1-800-860-9660 Mon-Fri 9-6; Sat 10-4 #1 IN BUICK SALES er can coley of Travel Agents Integrity in Travel TBMBROFF 28585 Telegraph Rd. 353-1300 1 section of the Marco Polo's galley was set aside for the preparation of kosher food, and a stove, oven and dishwasher were scrupu- lously blow-torched, inch by inch, to remove impurities. Instead of the paper dishes and the plastic utensils ordinarily used for prepackaged kosher meals, the ship line provided newly-unpacked china dishes, glasses and silverware. Each item was clearly identified: one tiny red mark for dairy foods; two, for meat products. Matthew Blass, executive chef of Jet Kosher Caterers, a major Long Island firm, was engaged to do the cooking, with the assis- tance both of Valier-Grossman, who checked all the meats, fish, vegetables and fruits — meal by meal — and of two of the ship's regular chefs, who were assigned to work full time with him. Similarly, one of the ship's headwaiters and a staff of wait- ers were assigned, and trained, for the specific responsibility of setting the tables with the ap- propriate utensils, for serving kosher foods from a menu of sev- eral choices and for ensuring that dishes, glasses and silverware were returned to the dishwash- ing machine which had been set aside and supplied with kosher soap powders. The first meal aboard ship was on a Friday evening, following an afternoon departure from Singa- pore; and, for everyone involved, the preparation and service of the dinner for that premiere were as anxiety-ridden as the opening night of a Broadway show. Blass and Valier-Grossman had boarded the Marco Polo only that morning, when the ship had docked in Singapore at the end of its previous voyage. They had to meet and instruct their staff;