EdSails

Wow, sounds like dressing up nice is a thing of the past I guess.

Does anyone still wear tuxes for Elegant/Formal Nights on the Legend in Alaska?

This is my first time on a Carnival ship. On Princess and Celebrity, I've alway brought a tux for formal/elegant night. It just seems nice once in a while to do it, not that many chances anymore to dress up like that. My question is----on carnival, will I be the only one in the MDR in a tux? From this discussion, it sure sounds like it. what say you?

I'm looking for some good local food for lunch in either Kihei or Lahaina, preferably Kihei if someone knows a place there that is ono. Also, a great poke place too!

Since I eat most breakfasts and lunches in the MDR, I think I get the best of both worlds. or breakfast and lunch I constantly meet new people by sitting at larger tables and have had some great conversations. At dinner time, Traditional dining is nice since not only do you have the same table mates which can be really nice, but the wait staff gets to know your likes and dislikes as well. Also, if you have good wait staff, they seem to try harder to please you once they get to know you. So anytime for breakfast and lunch along with Traditional for dinner is a great combination!

I did notice last month on the Celebrity Millennium that there were more guys (including me) wearing tuxes for Formal nights. Also, I saw them actually turn someone away at dinner wearing a collarless shirt. MY hat's off to the staff member that enforced this!

I just got back from a cruise on the Celebrity Millennium, after two Princess cruises on the Island Princess. In 2 days I'm leaving on the Star Princess and am looking to confirm my position on exactly this subject. Gut feeling right now----the food in the Main Dining Room on the Princess ships was better, but the buffet on Celebrity had a slight edge in terms of variety and quality. I did all my meals at dinner and most of my breakfasts and lunches on the Millennium in the MDR. Food just didn't seem as exciting as it was on the Princess ships, both in terms of variety and creativity. I'll report back after I get back and see if Princess is still better.

ELUA They have been doing this for several years now. Dave and David share in the ukulele lesson classes. They have several ukuleles for folks to borrow.

Displaced Local Girl

I'm sailing on the Star in a few days and Elua is on there. I want to make sure and get one of the loaner ukeleles for the class. Any suggestions how to get that done as soon as I get on the ship?

Torrance has more Japanese and Koreans than Chinese. The Chinese restaurants are pretty generic but not as "westernized" as PF Changs.

 

Another option for Chinese food is Sea Empress in Gardena. http://www.yelp.com/biz/sea-empress-seafood-restaurant-gardena

Sea Empress is good but pricy. My favorite is Seafood Port in Torrance at the corner of Torrance and Hawthorne Blvds. Very authentic and great lunch specials. I try to get there once a month.

http://www.yelp.com/biz/seafood-port-chinese-restaurant-torrance

The food is incredible and clientele mainly Chinese.

An added benefit is that there is a BevMo directly across the street.

The only disappointing part about the tea time was that the tea was Lipton, poured from a silver teapot. When you are seated, you walk past a beautiful display of different types of tea (Darjeeling, English Breakfast, etc.), so I found it peculiar that they served Lipton.

On my last two cruises on the Island Princess, I brought my own loose leaf tea and they were kind enough to brew a pot for me. As far as Thomas Lipton goes, maybe it's just an homage to the man who represented England several times in the top sailing race in the world, the America's Cup.

The butterfish in Hawaii will most likely be the Black Cod instead of the laxative fish the Escolar..... sushi chef called it White Tuna

Interesting, the different names for that fish. I just purchased some smoked sablefish which was supposedly another name for black cod. In addition, I have had Japanese Miso Marinated Black Cod many times. Makes me wonder why a sushi chef would call it "white tuna". Oh well, a rose by any other name......

Kippers on Princess. I'm sure they prepared them properly, but after one bite I had to send it away and order my breakfast favorite, smoked salmon.

I'm fortunate to live in an area of Southern Cal where we have access to a lot of fresh seafood. I can go to the local market and buy a live Maine lobster any day of the week and cook it at home. Just did it last month, as a matter of fact. Locally, spiny lobster season has started and I just saw some beautiful live lobsters in the seafood market. I can go to my favorite Chinese restaurant and have a live Maine lobster brought to my table from their live tanks and then cooked to perfection in one of several sauces.

Is cruise ship, frozen lobster as good? Of course not. But in a few weeks my decision will be how many lobsters to get on Formal Night. Bottom line is that it's still lobster and I eat it whenever I can. And hold the butter-----I like the lobster meat straight!

Butterfish is very popular in Hawaii. It's a key ingredient in "Lau Lau", basically pork and butterfish wrapped in a taro leaf and steamed. Yum! Glad to know in the quantities used in that dish that I won't be "running"!

:D

Amazing. I have been trying for years to remember what RCI ship I sailed on for my first cruise in 1991. It was the LA-Catalina-Ensenada trip. I guess it was the Viking Serenade!

I toured the Queen Mary in Long Beach CA last week. Spent quite a bit of time in the radio room. It's open and staffed by a local amateur radio club. Very interesting-----they showed me the original ship equipment as well as the new HAM equipment they use. Their call sign is W6RO.

What about the orlop deck or the poop deck?????????????

Old sailing ship terms. The orlop deck is the lowest deck in the ship that's mainly for storage of lines and cables. The poop deck is above the stern cabin. You can see it especially in pictures from sailing ships of the 1700's and 1800's.

A few cruises ago on RCCL I decided to not have my usual smoked salmon and bagel and instead tried the kippers for breakfast. After one taste I ordered my usual and haven't changed since.