POA1

I just fired up my laptop for the first time since March 29th. It must be feeling neglected, because the Logitech mouse buttons aren't working. The cursor moves fine, but clicking the buttons isn't doing squat. No worries though, The TrackPad is working and I have another back up travel mouse. I needed the laptop to upload some attachments because it's time for....

If that seems like a lot of ship photos, it is. We're at Half Moon Cay with the Nieuw Statendam tomorrow. Whether or not to disembark is going to be a game time decision. I remember when I thought having the Ryndam and the Zuiderdam in at the same time was crazy crowded. I know that they expanded the facilities over the years, but still....

A little Grand Turk photo action. Ever since the Salt Museum closed, I've been at a loss for what to do here. 😉

Continuing our International Salute to Breakfast series... Michelle had the Full English Breakfast, crisp banger. I had the Asian Congee. I did not finish all the rice though. I'm leaving room for some irresponsible life choices later today. I think we started this project a little late. There are still Swedish Pancakes, French Toast, Belgian Waffles, European Cold Breakfast Plate, and a few others. Looks like we have to schedule another cruise. As a ponder the worldwide array of breakfast options available, I ask - nay demand - whither Canada? They could do something with back bacon, maple syrup, maybe a licensing deal with Tim Hortons? I wonder what would happen if a few thousand people put the Canadian Breakfast suggestion on their post cruise survey. I bet there'd be meetings. Perhaps a working committee? Maybe a special task force. 🇨🇦

That's correct. You only pay for the caviar. I usually make it for 5:00 PM, and then we eat dinner around 7:30 - 8:00 PM. It's like a hoity-toity happy hour. The PG manager likes it because you're a high-revenue check and they can turn the table far faster than normal. Our PG waiter last night thought we were there for dinner initially. I don't think a lot of people do the caviar-only thing. It took a little finagling to get them to leave the bottle of Ch. Ste. Michelle Brut. The wine steward wanted to point out that the EBP is one drink at a time. We explained that if he wanted to run back our table every 10 minutes, that was up to him. Common sense prevailed.

We're being joined by the Caribbean Princess, the ship I like to call the shopping cart. Look for a profile photo of her and you'll see why I call her that. She sails out of Port Everglades, so we're faced with the shopping cart handle roughly once a week.

We're in the process of docking in Grand Turk. We have an early all-aboard at 1:30 PM. No special plans for today, but Grand Turk is one of the best places to take exterior photos of your ship, so we'll probably hop off for a smidge.

Michelle, and pretty much everyone who knows me, are surprised to see the slightest upturn in my lips. Would it help you to know that I'm happy on the inside?

We caught island Drsams' late show. It was their final performance of the current contract, but they'll be back again next Caribbean season. There are two Island Dreams bands. One is on the Rotterdam. The other is on the Eurodam. Considering that this show was up against the Orange Party, Island Dreams has a pretty full house. Like their Broadway & Classical show earlier in the week, their traditional steel pan drum show received a hearty standing ovation.

Rounding out the meal was dessert. Michelle went with the Chocolate Raspberry Tart with Chocolate Cremeaux. Pairing was the McPherson Shiraz. And, of course, cappuccino. For me, it was the Tres Leches Crème Caramel, accompanied by Gérard Bertrand Côte des Roses. There was a Coconut Bread Pudding on the menu, and that's normally in my wheelhouse. However, I wanted to keep things light. (Sorry, puddin' pals.) Both desserts were good. The win went to Michelle's dessert by virtue of its having a collectible, semi-sweet chocolate medallion.

For our main courses, Michelle had the Morimoto Epice Lobster Tails which are a $25 supplement. They come with seasonal vegetables and a bowl of rice. According to our waiter, some people find the dish to be too spicy. Michelle did not find it to be too spicy, perhaps because she ate it with the rice. I will admit that I am nowhere near the lobster fan as my wife is, but I had a bite, and liked it. If you enjoy the Italian dish, Lobster Fra Diavolo, I think you'll enjoy this. On the other hand, if you think anything beyond drawn butter with your lobster is heresy, you'll want to give this a pass. Verdict? "Would order again." If you are keeping score, both this plate and the Morimoto Black Cod are keepers for us. The wine pairing here was Chateau Ste. Michelle Chardonnay. I failed to mention the appetizer wine choices. (Two demerits!) The watermelon and feta got the Conundrum White Blend. My tuna dish took Sokol Blosser Pinot Noir. Seared Tuna with Shaved Asparagus - This is one of the Club Orange everyday selections (along with the Beecher's Macaroni and Cheese and the Grilled Salmon with Capers and Dill.) I ordered this because we're going to be in the Pinnacle Grill Friday night, and I wanted something a little lighter. The salad was fine. It didn't wow me, but it is not that kind of entrée. I would order it again. The wine choice was the Sokol Blosser Pinot Noir again. I was Mister Tuna, Tina! Pinot, Pinot! tonight.

For the appetizer course, Michelle had the Watermelon & Feta. I had the Tuna Turanito

We had a relatively low key evening tonight. After caviar in the Pinnacle Grill, we meandered over to Club Orange for dinner. It warms the cockles of my heart when our excellent waiter Ris sets us up with 3 wine glasses each. As per usual, I ordered our wine straight through. Since knew what we were ordering food-wise, this is pretty easy. Ris took my order for six wines - without writing anything down. He got all of the selections right and had them delivered in the correct order. That shows serious skill Soup to nuts - Wines paired for the appetizers, mains and desserts. View from the flight deck.

Pre-Dinner Caviar at the Pinnacle Grill - Cheers! After a wee bit of coaxing, we kept the bottle. Extra blinis, off to the left. I think this is key. Invariably, someone is going to ask. Here is the label.

Official Orange Party Tee

In case anyone was wondering, the Bubble of Awesome does not work in the casino. We played roulette's give them some money today.

Poohby Joe is ready for the Orange Party. Michelle, not so much.

Tonight's CO Dinner Menu - co_mdr_dinner_day_8.pdf

Pinnacle Grill Lunch: Maker's Mark Old-Fashioned and the PG Yuzu Margarita (Michelle would like to say thank you for the suggestion.) Bread Basket with Garlic Butter Michelle ordered the Crab Cakes. Now she knows why they're my go-to Pinnacle lunch appy. I chose the Prawn Bruschetta. A nice choice. Michelle had the Lobster Roll with Coleslaw and Fries. (Deemed good, and should hold her until the lobster supplement at dinner.) All the good things people said about the Pinnacle Grill Burger are true. I can't believe I waited this long to try it. Michelle went off-menu for the Key Lime Pie. This was something done in December by @LAFFNVEGAS I ordered the Strawberry Pavlova. This is the very pretty airhead of the dessert menu. Looks stunning, but you know it's not going to be a long term relationship.

5:00 PM.

I swear, no one proofreads or tests anymore. We have the Surf Wi-Fi package as Part of Have It All. We should be able to upgrade to Premium (~$5/day) or Stream (~$10/day.) What options does the app give me? Let's look, shall we? That's right. Premium for $5/day. So far, so good. Or, for a mere $10/day, I can upgrade to the plan I already have.

We've had formal nights on days with short port times in the past. I did not expect it this time because the Navigator app originally showed tonight as dressy. Our first dressy night bopped around as well. It was the first sea day initially. Then it moved Easter, which was sea day #2. Eventually, it moved back to the first sea day.

Perhaps the folks on your cruise were worried about getting on Santa's naughty list. There were no such fears today The average number of cake slices per person was 3. We looked out of place at our table with only glasses of water. (We were headed to the PG and a slab o' cake would have ruined our appetites.) A woman seated next to us had 3 slices of cake and a bowl of bread pudding. Not to worry though. She has a small salad, too.

We got our formal nights messed up. I was almost certain that it would be today. Apparently it's now on Grand Turk day. Fortunately, we have dressy clothes for every day. The only thing that it throws off is that we have PG dinner scheduled for tomorrow. That's okay, because other than the escargot, DW's favorite, there's nothing we really "need" on the second dressy night. I suppose we could pop in to CO for snails as an early bird special.

I managed to get some behind the scenes photos when they were setting up for "On Deck For A Cake" event (sponsored by Metformin.) If any of you remember the Tasmanian Devil from the Bugs Bunny / Looney Toons cartoon shorts... That's the current situation.