Here at Freightlink we’re suckers for nostalgia, so when we reached out to our friends at TruckNet UK to find out what their favourite food aboard a ferry was, it soon turned to talk of days gone by. We were loving every second of it!

Times aren’t what they used to be, either on land or at sea. Meal deals cost more than your monthly mortgage and (although it’s important), all anyone ever talks about is how healthy food is.

So, let us cast your minds back to the good old days when your shifts weren’t monitored by a digital tachograph and all that mattered was the quality of your fry up.

The year is 1998…

You still think house sharing is cool, you’ve not developed a bad back yet and you’re sporting a pair of curtains that would make Hugh Grant jealous. Most importantly, what’s on the ferry menu?

Who doesn’t love a roast dinner? You say carvery, we say night-time sailing between Hull and Zeebrugge. One driver fondly recalled

the late-night sailing to Belgium offering the crème de la crème of cuisine – meat and veg.

Rocking all the trimmings that would even make Toby blush, apparently it could satisfy

the pickiest of palates, the grumpiest of drivers and would keep you set for the longest of journeys.

Three course meal? Yes, please!

A firm favourite amongst the commenters was Brittany Ferries’ famous Steak Blue, offered on a number of voyages.

Accompanied by a lovely glass (or bottle) of wine (drink responsibly!), it sounds like it would be a firm favourite amongst everyone at Freightlink, so it’s no surprise that this meal was one of the most popular.

With a selection of starters and followed by the pear cheesecake, the fact that it used to be waiter service made it even better.

A world away from the truck stop...

We love a party!

Despite not always offering the best cuisine, several contributors fondly recalled the voyages with discos, bars and parties.

As long as you had plenty of time to sober up, it would have been completely rude not to take up the free bar that was on offer.

When at sea, enjoy its offerings

Dominating the favourites of chosen starters were the fresh crab and lobster offered as part of the extensive menus back in the day. Freshly caught before departure and prepared on board, there was nothing pre-prepared about these offerings. Fresh, not frozen – every time!

Who doesn’t love a buffet?

Especially when they’re free!

Sliced meats, fruit, pastries, artisan breads and everything in between used to be on offer.

Some operators however are starting to improve their food offering again.

Trying the local cuisine

A lot of the options offered on board had never been heard of back home. Being away from home so often gave lot of commenters a refined palate, whilst everyone back at home would look at you with horror.

You could differentiate between a pierogi and a cepelinai when everyone back home still struggled with what pasta was.

All this reminiscing has made us hungry. Let us know what you think about food options on your next sailing.