Luxury Cruise Ship Puts in Giant Greggs Order of Sausage Rolls

On a luxury cruise ship, passengers will normally expect the finest fare when it comes to cuisine, from the best wines and champagne to oysters, caviar, lobster and kobe beef.

Indeed, a typical luxury cruise will require as much as 60 tonnes of the finest food stuffs to cater to its discerning clientele. On an average 10-night sailing, passengers and crew will apparently eat as many as 35,000 meals.

However, the 700 passengers on board Azamara Journey were instead treated to sausage rolls, vegan sausage rolls and the north-east delicacy Stottie Cake from famed British bakery chain Greggs when they stopped over at Newcastle upon Tyne this week.

Azamara Journey’s cruise director, Lee Hetherington, has long been a fan of Greggs and would love to see some of the bakery’s famous items on the ship’s menu. Norwegian Captain Johannes Tysse subsequently took it upon himself to order a ship load for the 10-day culinary and cultural tour of Northern Europe.

The team at a local Greggs shop on Newcastle’s Grainger Street were on hand in the early hours to prepare for the morning delivery, which was delivered directly on to the luxury cruise ship.

Captain Johannes Tysse of Azamara Journey said:

“On our cruise of Northern Europe passengers will enjoy amazing dining experiences including visits to Bruges and Amsterdam.

“Our UK crew told us that a visit to Newcastle wouldn’t be complete without a taste of Greggs as a culinary ‘must-try’, and that for European travellers it joins the echelons of British food icons alongside Fish & Chips, Afternoon Tea and the Sunday Roast. We were all very impressed and even got a cheer.”

Matt Beeton, CEO of the Port of Tyne, also commented: “We’re delighted to welcome Azamara Cruises as we celebrate 20 years of cruising from the Port of Tyne. When we heard about a special order from Greggs we were only too happy to help, after all only the best is good enough for the Captains table.”