scubagal44

The helpful VV employee says SOR can enter the terminal at 12:40, so we're chillin til then on a little bench outside. Not bad so far!

Checked out of hotel. Peace out, Sheraton. ✌️

Got some food at Pilao cafe, I had a pistachio muffin and hubby got 2 eggs, ham, and "toasts." Good fuel to get ready for the shenanigans.

Stepping out the front door of the hotel and she's right there.

On other lines I've gotten a little chilly indoors in the evening, but that has never been a problem on any of my VV sailings. I'll keep you posted about the weather this trip! I didn't even bring any sort of sweater/jacket other than the hoodie I wore on the plane because that's how much of a non-issue I think it will be (and I'm always cold), but I'll let you know if I come to regret that decision lol.

Omg how funny! Happy anniversary!!

Just dropped off luggage to get it done with, super easy and smooth. Now going to find a bite and chill for a little before heading back to the ship.

Thank you! We have SOR so hoping around 1:30ish, but if for some reason that doesn't work out we have a 1:45 boarding slot.

Awesom, see you on board!

It's embarkation day!!!

The final course, dessert! I went with the Choco-L8, which was decadent and rich but I'm a sucker for chocolate so whatever. If anything the serving was much too big, it could have been half the size and would have still been perfectly satisfying. And that didn't stop me from eating all of it. Hubby had the B3, which was a much different direction than he usually takes for dessert. Neither of us are really fans of fruit incorporated into dessert, but he enjoyed it. He said the bacon was weird because it was just plain bacon, not candied or dusted or coated or anything so it kind of felt like an afterthought, but otherwise the dish was good. The end. Some things here and there we'd have preferred to be different, but overall I'd say the restaurant is a solid and delicious option when in San Juan.

For the main (fourth) course, I went with the beef tenderloin. If you were going to guess that it was also oversauced you'd be right, but I still really enjoyed it! The beef was cooked to a perfect medium rare, and it was tender and flavorful even without the sauce. The potato puree was super yummy, and I was surprised by how much I loved the mushrooms. They usually aren't my fav, but these were delicious. I left most of the kale on the plate only because I was getting full by then and had to prioritize what was going to end up in my belly, but it was also good. The dish could have used something with a different texture to add another element, but the flavors were on point. Hubby's Three Pigs was a bit misleading because there were only two preparations of pork on the plate, but they were both good. I think the pork cheek was the winner of the two but it was close. The smashed parsnips were, unsurprisingly, smashing. But, again, too much sauce. Have you noticed a theme here?

The tiny white bean soup was our first intermediary course, and it was really good though super rich. I'm not a fan of truffle, I think I actually have a mild allergy to it because whenever I have it I end up with a stomachache, so I scooped the freshly shaved pieces off the top of the soup and dumped them in hubby's bowl. The pancetta dust added a nice component and overall the soup was enjoyable, but it could have used some acid to balance it out. My black garlic gnocchi (second intermediary course) was delicious, but again, overly sauced. Lovely flavors though and the shortrib was perfectly tender. I think "shortrib" should have been in the name of the dish though and not just in the description, because I found that the shortrib was actually the star of the dish while the gnocchi was a sporting player. Not that I'm complaining because I love love love shortrib, it just wasn't what I was expecting from a "gnocchi" dish. Hubby's lobster risotto was also very good in flavor. The portion was huge and unexpected, esp in a five course menu, but hey, it was good.

Each menu page is a course and you get one choice per page. As stated above, there are essentially two second courses, the first of which is always the tiny bean soup and the second is your choice. My choices are annotated with a red dot, hubby's in blue. My heirloom beets were great, being nitpicky here I would say that the dish was overdressed and I'd have preferred less of the almond vinaigrette. Otherwise the flavor combos were a home run, beets and goat cheese are always a favorite pairing and I love hearts of palm. Also, no, beets do not taste like dirt. 😝 Hubby's popcorn shrimp was delightfully flavored and the ancho chile provided a lovely pop. Both wines complemented the dishes well, though mine was not what was listed on the menu. Still loved it, though!

Ok, Marmalade! So the only option is a five course tasting menu for $135pp, but you do get your choice of dish in each course. Essentially you get to choose 4 of the 5 courses, and everyone is given the the tiny bean soup as a second course to complete all five. There are also optional wine pairings for an additional $79pp, which of course we did. We are self admitted wine snobs (hard not to be coming from Northern California) and we enjoy trying the wine pairings when available. Overall the meal was great and we'd definitely eat here again and recommend it to others. We are huge foodies and have eaten at many 1-, 2-, and 3-star Michelin restaurants so we can be nitpicky and certainly point out more than a couple missteps that hold it back from true fine dining, but that did not diminish our enjoyment of it at all and again, we'd visit again in a heartbeat. Menu and our choices follow below.

On it!

Also because I know he's reading and today is our anniversary - happy anniversary, babe! Love you!! 😘

We did dinner at Marmalade, which was super great and we loved it. I'll happily go into the details if anyone is interested, but won't bog down the thread if nobody cares. [Not] Shockingly, we ended up back at Antiguo 26 to say a final goodbye to Jesus and get some after dinner drinks. No clue what either were as they were both off menu, but they were fantastic.

We're back to see our guy Jesus at Antiguo 26 for a pre-dinner drink. We did the entire first page (yellow page) yesterday, so today we had to start the second page. I'm having the Monchito, hubby has the Arbusto. This Monchito may be the best cocktail I've ever had, anywhere.

Yes, it's at Pier 4! Basically right across the street from our hotel (Sheraton) so that'll be super convenient tomorrow.

It was so good! Again, could have eaten a dozen of those, too. 😆

Yeah, the kitchen didn't open until about 6:15. It was worth the wait! You'll have to come back and hopefully stay longer.

Forgot the Scryer menu.

After the tour ended we just did more wandering, and of course found a bunch of kitties to ooh and ahh over. 😆 Ended up at Scryer for drinks, which is right next door to last night's drink spot and was recommended by the bartender there as a not-to-miss bar. They make their own rum and had the same vibe as Antiguo 26, and now we're trying to figure out how to squeeze in another visit there. I had the La Colada, hubby had the Fight Club. Both were mind-blowingly delicious. Now we're caught up. Quick shower, change, then back out for drinks and dinner!

The walking in between food stops was great as well, Old San Juan is so picturesque and quaint. I took a bazillion photos, here are just a few.