Reflection - Review - Ultimate Caribbean - April 2, 2018 - April 13, 2018

[bighairtexan]

Enjoying your photos and review very much. Thanks for taking the time to do this.

[Noreen411]

Enjoying your photos and review very much. Thanks for taking the time to do this.

 

 

 

Thank you

 

I enjoy doing the reviews. It’s a great way to relive the trip. And have something to look back at later.

 

 

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[G&G]

Thank you

 

I enjoy doing the reviews. It’s a great way to relive the trip. And have something to look back at later.

 

 

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Great review of your cruise and our cruise too. We also went to Mambo Beach, one of my favorites. I guess we got the early bird special; only $5 pp cab ride for two couples :D. Got there 7:30 am, only ones there, and snorkeling along rocks was very good. Left by noon when it was hard to see the water; do many people in it :eek:. Look forward to see what you did in Bonaire. Again great review.

PS: thank goodness there is different writing on your DH blue shirts; otherwise I thought he wore the same shirt every day:D

[oskarNZ]

Still reading along and still enjoying your posts. Thanks for taking the time to do this.

[Noreen411]

Great review of your cruise and our cruise too. We also went to Mambo Beach, one of my favorites. I guess we got the early bird special; only $5 pp cab ride for two couples [emoji3]. Got there 7:30 am, only ones there, and snorkeling along rocks was very good. Left by noon when it was hard to see the water; do many people in it [emoji33]. Look forward to see what you did in Bonaire. Again great review.

 

PS: thank goodness there is different writing on your DH blue shirts; otherwise I thought he wore the same shirt every day[emoji3]

 

 

 

LOL - I am always telling him that about his shirts.

 

If he likes something he will get a bunch of them. And his favorite color is blue so he has blue from all the islands. A few other colors thrown in too, but always blue. It’s usually the same style and brand from the different islands so all that changes is the island name.

 

When we first met, he looked like he always had the same shirt on. Until I finally saw his closet and the stack of them.

 

I am going to be more aware next trip of getting him to wear the other colors too.

 

I can’t wait to tell him this.

 

In Bonaire we rented golf carts to see the island. Very fun.

 

I am hoping to finish my Curaçao posts tonight. We went to Le Petit Chef and I have lots of pictures to go through for that.

 

 

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[Noreen411]

Still reading along and still enjoying your posts. Thanks for taking the time to do this.

 

 

 

Thank you for the encouragement.

 

I enjoy writing them but it makes it even better when I know others are reading and enjoying them too.

 

 

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[G&G]

LOL - I am always telling him that about his shirts.

 

If he likes something he will get a bunch of them. And his favorite color is blue so he has blue from all the islands. A few other colors thrown in too, but always blue. It’s usually the same style and brand from the different islands so all that changes is the island name.

 

When we first met, he looked like he always had the same shirt on. Until I finally saw his closet and the stack of them.

 

I am going to be more aware next trip of getting him to wear the other colors too.

 

I can’t wait to tell him this.

 

In Bonaire we rented golf carts to see the island. Very fun.

 

I am hoping to finish my Curaçao posts tonight. We went to Le Petit Chef and I have lots of pictures to go through for that.

 

 

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Actually I did see your DH at Mambo Beach cause I told my DW that I wish I had bought the blue Aruba shirt in Aruba. Currently wearing my blue Cozemul t shirt. We maybe related. Half of my family from NYC.

[Cruise a holic]

Monday 4/9/18 - Curacao

 

We went to the gym at 6:45am. Being a port day, it wasn’t crowded at all.

 

We went back to the cabin to shower and get dressed.

 

We took a few pictures from the balcony. We are already docked.

 

 

 

We had breakfast at Blu around 9am. We wanted to try something different.

 

Looking at the menu, the yogurt parfait (Blu Parfait) sounds like the one we’ve been getting from room service. It’s really good. But I will get something different today.

 

 

 

 

 

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Any breakfast potatoes available in Blu? My carb eater husband really enjoys them.

[Noreen411]

Actually I did see your DH at Mambo Beach cause I told my DW that I wish I had bought the blue Aruba shirt in Aruba. Currently wearing my blue Cozemul t shirt. We maybe related. Half of my family from NYC.

 

 

 

Small World :)

 

 

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[Noreen411]

Any breakfast potatoes available in Blu? My carb eater husband really enjoys them.

 

 

 

Hi

 

We only had breakfast that one time in Blu and neither of our dishes came with breakfast potatoes.

 

I checked the menu and don’t see them listed. I expected them to show as sides or maybe with the egg dishes.

 

I’m guessing if you ask for them, they would find them for you. Or maybe if not that day, have them for you the next day.

 

Thank you

Noreen

 

 

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[Noreen411]

Monday 4/9/18 - Curacao - Continued

 

The employees working at the beach did come around a little later to collect the money for the chairs. This was actually a nice way to do it. You just chose your location and got settled in rather than having to wait for someone to set things up for you.

 

Around 12:30ish I changed and we walked around the shops near the beach.

 

 

 

 

 

 

We found an ornament, magnet, and postcard, but surprisingly did not find a T-shirt for Scott. He usually likes a specific brand/style that he can find on most of the islands.

 

The cab driver and the other couple were right on time and ready to go at 1pm.

 

We browsed the shops right at the pier and Scott was able to find a T shirt there. It wasn’t exactly like the others he likes but it was pretty close.

 

 

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[Noreen411]

Monday 4/9/18 - Curacao - Continued

 

Scott wasn’t interested in wandering around the town so we headed back to the ship

 

 

 

I have been here before and even though the town is cute, it was fine to head back to the ship. I didn’t need to buy anything specific.

 

We dropped the beach bag in the cabin and head up to the OceanView Cafe (the buffet) to give it a try for lunch.

 

We found a table and took turns getting food. It was surprisingly crowded.

 

We ordered soda from a bartender who was walking around. I know I’ve said it before, but we really like that you get cans rather than fountain soda. We were both thirsty and the cold canned soda was so refreshing.

 

While sitting at our table and looking out the window there was a little pilot boat bobbing around in the waves. We weren’t moving, we were docked and I didn’t feel any motion, but I guess the little pilot boat is much smaller. It wasn’t raining out but they were cleaning the windows.

 

 

Scott got fish from the fish and chips station which had a huge line. He also got some beef stir fry

 

 

I got some chicken pot pie and beef pot pie from the English station and a bit of salad.

 

 

We each took a bite of our food and didn’t like it very much. I tried the fish Scott had since I usually really like fish and chips, but it was way too greasy.

 

We felt bad about wasting the food, but we didn’t like it. The salad was OK, but since Scott wasn’t happy with his food and I didn’t like the bite of pot pie I tried, we didn’t stay.

 

Maybe we chose the wrong items, but we decided to leave and go elsewhere for lunch.

 

 

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Edited May 18, 2018 by Noreen411

[Noreen411]

Monday 4/9/18 - Curacao - Continued

 

We went to the Porch for lunch.

 

 

We shared a lobster roll and each had two shrimp. We didn’t want a whole tower just a few shrimp. Knowing we had a pretty early dinner at Le Petit Chef we didn’t want to eat too much for lunch. This was perfect to share.

 

 

I wanted a chocolate chip cookie after lunch so walked back into the OceanView Cafe (buffet) assuming they would have cookies. I didn’t see any.

 

We stopped at Cafe Al Bacio and got Cappuccino for Scott and Iced Caramel Macchiato for me. We also got two chocolate chip cookies (one for each of us).

 

We took our treats back to the cabin.

 

 

We rinsed our snorkel gear in the jacuzzi on the balcony and washed our bathing suits out in the sink.

 

The cookies were a bit hard, almost stale. Scott wouldn’t eat them but I like hard cookies so it was OK for me.

 

We hung out in the suite just enjoying the balcony, reading and relaxing.

 

The water is such a beautiful color.

 

 

 

 

Walter stopped by just after Scott dozed off. It’s a running joke that he keeps waking him up.

 

We showered and got dressed for the evening.

 

 

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Edited May 18, 2018 by Noreen411

[Noreen411]

Monday 4/9/18 - Curacao - Continued

 

We had dinner at Le Petit Chef in QSine restaurant. They have two seatings a night and we are scheduled for the early one at 6pm.

 

We were seated at a shared table with two other couples. There wasn’t a choice as they only had shared tables available. There were a few tables for two but they were already taken. The couples we sat with were very nice and we chatted with them throughout the meal.

 

It’s a fixed menu and there is also an alternative menu (the other menu) if someone has a shellfish allergy. They can also accommodate other allergies as one lady at the table couldn’t have dairy so they substituted the desserts for her.

 

 

 

 

 

This is a very interesting concept. There are projectors over the tables and a video is shown on the table and your plate for each course. The lights go out for the videos and then come back on when the course is served.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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[Noreen411]

Monday 4/9/18 - Curacao - Continued

 

The first course is a Bouillabaisse soup. The video shows the Petit Chef gathering the ingredients and making the soup.

 

 

 

 

He has a run in with an Octopus that gets him caught in the tentacles.

 

 

Then the soup was served. It was pretty good but a bit on the salty side.

 

 

Everyone at the table was laughing and amused by the video.

 

 

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[Noreen411]

Monday 4/9/18 - Curacao - Continued

 

The next course is a Lobster Tail. The video starts out with the chef trying to get the lobster onto the plate.

 

 

 

 

 

Then he has to split/slice the lobster open

 

 

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[Noreen411]

Monday 4/9/18 - Curacao - Continued

 

The video continues with a wave coming and leaving some greens on the plate.

 

 

 

The lobster is served. It tasted good but was a bit on the salty side.

 

 

They have a lot of serving staff here since everyone gets served very quickly once the video segment ends.

 

 

 

 

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[Noreen411]

Monday 4/9/18 - Curacao - Continued

 

The next course is Filet Mignon.

 

The video shows the Petit Chef grilling meat, potatoes, and broccoli.

 

 

 

 

The Filet Mignon was served. This was the best course so far. It was very good.

 

 

 

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[Noreen411]

Monday 4/9/18 - Curacao - Continued

 

The next course is a Rice Pudding Brûlée.

 

The video has the chef going through a lot of steps to make the dish.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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[Noreen411]

Monday 4/9/18 - Curacao - Continued

 

The Petit Chef is still making the Rice Pudding Brûlée

 

 

 

 

 

The Rice Pudding Brûlée is served. I thought it was very good but Scott didn’t like it.

 

 

 

 

 

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[Noreen411]

Monday 4/9/18 - Curacao - Continued

 

The final course is a Vanilla Ice Cream Sundae.

 

The video has the Petit Chef skiing out of an igloo.

 

 

He makes snowballs that are the ice cream.

 

 

 

He squirts chocolate sauce on it.

 

 

Then he squirts whipped cream on it

 

 

 

 

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[Noreen411]

Monday 4/9/18 - Curacao - Continued

 

The chef sticks gets a match to light and stick in the ice cream

 

 

 

 

The candle topples over and blows down his igloo. You aren’t sure if the Petit Chef drowns which is a morbid ending.

 

 

 

The ice cream sundae was brought out and this was good.

 

 

It’s a bit odd that there are two dessert courses. One lady said she would have preferred maybe a salad course. If they wanted to include both the rice pudding and ice cream, it could have been mini versions of them on the same plate in the same course.

 

 

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Edited May 18, 2018 by Noreen411

[Noreen411]

Monday 4/9/18 - Curacao - Continued

 

The lights were dimmed again and there was a bit more video - thanking us for coming and some fireworks.

 

 

 

Le Petit Chef was fun and we laughed a lot. The food was better than we thought it would be. We didn’t have high expectations assuming it would be more about the show than the food.

 

I don’t think there is much repeat value unless they change the video and menu. I’m guessing that probably isn’t that difficult to do if it’s making a new video with different food items.

 

We hung out with Rich and Eileen after dinner for a while.

 

 

We all went to the show together at 9 - John Bressler. It was OK.

 

We hung out a bit more after the show.

 

Scott went down to the casino

 

I was tired tonight so went to the cabin.

 

Scott got pizza at OceanView Cafe on his way back to the room when the casino closed. I don’t have a picture since I was sleeping when he got back.

 

 

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Edited May 18, 2018 by Noreen411

[KateWes]

Following along! Looked amazing! Le petit chef looks like a lot of fun!

[Noreen411]

Following along! Looked amazing! Le petit chef looks like a lot of fun!

 

 

 

Hi

 

Thank you for joining.

 

Le Petit Chef was a lot of fun. I have so many pictures, it was hard to pick which to include without it being overkill.

 

 

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