CHICAGOPAUL - LIVE!!!!!! CRUISE BLOG - The EDGE February 24th!

[MartiniBarhooked]

23 minutes ago, chicagopaul said:

 

This is the regular (perhaps you’d say large) martini glasses. Covered under the premium package. I have seen them serve the smaller ones for classic but haven’t seen any bigger ones above the premium package.


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Do they have Grey Goose VX at the martini bar?  And do they want an up charge?  Thanks for checking.

[MrsKC08]

Following along with you. We were supposed to be on this sailing but sadly had to cancel in September before final payment. I'm having serious cruise withdrawals.

[UnorigionalName]

2 hours ago, TeeRick said:

Paul,

Is that a large martini glass or one of the smaller ones?  On other ships we order the large size martini's from the Martini Bar and they are covered in our Premium beverage package at $15.  On Edge they gave us the small martini's for $15 and had the larger ones for $18 - which was a $3 upcharge.  I'm wondering if this is just Edge or now fleet wide? Kind of a pet peeve.  Yeah I know we could just order more of the $15 size and be covered.  However when they are busy it takes time to get another drink!

 

haha, are the big ones the same recipe just more of it? are they being hipster and trying to push you towards authentic recipes or are they just serving the same diluted cocktails in smaller glasses?

 

https://www.thekitchn.com/3-reasons-you-should-choose-sm-137356

 

Traditional cocktail recipes are too concentrated. You don't want to be serving 10oz of like 30-35% cocktails. Would have to pick up too many passengers off the floor.

[chicagopaul]

I’ll take some photos of the martini bar menus tonight. I’d say the glasses are 6oz glasses. Not filled to the top and then you have to account for ice in the shaking which is probably 1 to 1.5oz of water. So likely each martini is 3oz of liquor. I drink Ketel One straight up so it’s stronger than the other martinis that may have a mix of liquors at lower proof.


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[chicagopaul]

Good Evening Everyone. We are crawling into bed now. We had a wonderful dinner at Eden. Did some more shop exploring. In the morning I’ll have answers to questions and some much more substantial updates. My apologies for not posting much today but I’ll make up for it tomorrow.


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[reallyhooked]

1 hour ago, chicagopaul said:

Good Evening Everyone. We are crawling into bed now. We had a wonderful dinner at Eden. Did some more shop exploring. In the morning I’ll have answers to questions and some much more substantial updates. My apologies for not posting much today but I’ll make up for it tomorrow.


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Have a good night. Looking forward to more.

[muffin1327]

On Board Credit: $925 total. Part of this was $300 from using a booking we booked on board which we transferred to this booking.

 

I was unaware you you could use an an OBC from another booking or did I read this incorrectly? I thought if you do not use your OBC you lose it?i

[Norwaylady]

God morning

So fun to follow along, really looking forward to april. Then we will try Edge😁

Can you post what the current onboard booking offer is? 

 

[chicagopaul]

Good Morning Everyone from the BVIs.

Let’s catch up on some blogging today. First let’s start with the Daily.










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[chicagopaul]

Yesterday we spent most of the morning and day in the retreat. We were at the bar, in the pool, hot tub, and even ordered food at the retreat bar area. We started sailing into Puerto Rico area around 1:45 and it was really a beautiful sight from the retreat. If you are in a suite this is exactly where you want to be to sail in or sail away.



Menu from the retreat for food. We tried one of everything. The burger was pretty good. The wraps were good but very small. Shrimp cocktail was fresh.





The one negative of yesterday at the retreat was the wind. It was windy! Edwards drink blew over at the bar and went everywhere. Hats were flying off. Once we got closer to PR it calmed down.

After we docked we headed down to the pool bar to see Milton, he’s working there from 1 to 6. I Made from the martini bar is there too. We caught up with Milton, had some wine, and listened to Milton mess with people with his usual jokes. It never gets old when you hear him say “Let it snow man” and someone who has never met him before looks at him like he’s crazy. When we sat down he was trying to convince a guest that the ship had a missile defense system. Gotta love Milton.

Here is a photo of the pool from sitting at the pool bar.



I do like the stools and ledge around the end of the pool. Looks like a great place for watching pool games. The pool bar itself is covered and shaded for the most part. It’s wider than the S Class bars and looks to be set up better for multiple bartenders. We saw 4 back there making drinks and they weren’t bumping into each other.


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[RICCruisers]

21 hours ago, florisdekort said:

It took me a while to understand the complaints about the Martini Bar.  I counted 200+ seats in the bar yesterday, but people are talking about actual bar stools at the bar itself.  Now I get it.  We mostly take a table and there are plenty of those.  We also frequently go to The Club for drinks, the Eden Bar or The Retreat.  Lots of choice on this ship. 

So glad you had your AH-HA Moment. There are many of us who have enjoyed the Martini Bar on S and M Class ships for years. On those ships the MB has its own identity where there is a lot of interaction between guests and bartenders in a more confined space. On Edge, that has been lost. The 200+ seats that you mention is actually the Grand Plaza and the MB just happens to be part of it. 

 

I’m not sure the bartenders enjoy working at the MB either. They are very very busy trying to fill orders from all directions. Plus you very rarely hear the little bell being rung by the bartenders (regular MB users know what that means)

Edited February 27, 2019 by RICCruisers

[chicagopaul]

God morning
So fun to follow along, really looking forward to april. Then we will try Edge[emoji16]
Can you post what the current onboard booking offer is? 
 

Sure! I haven’t seen a sheet yet on it but we will likely book on board so I’ll let you know what it is.


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[chicagopaul]

On Board Credit: $925 total. Part of this was $300 from using a booking we booked on board which we transferred to this booking.
 
I was unaware you you could use an an OBC from another booking or did I read this incorrectly? I thought if you do not use your OBC you lose it?i

No, I didn’t word it properly. We had a booking we made on board for a cruise. When we booked this cruise we “transferred” that on board booking to make this reservation. When you book on board you get an additional $300 OBC so that is what I was referring to.


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[chicagopaul]

On Board Credit: $925 total. Part of this was $300 from using a booking we booked on board which we transferred to this booking.
 
I was unaware you you could use an an OBC from another booking or did I read this incorrectly? I thought if you do not use your OBC you lose it?i

No, I didn’t word it properly. We had a booking we made on board for a cruise. When we booked this cruise we “transferred” that on board booking to make this reservation. When you book on board you get an additional $300 OBC so that is what I was referring to.


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[chicagopaul]

Do they have Grey Goose VX at the martini bar?  And do they want an up charge?  Thanks for checking.

I’ll check on this. All the bottles are kept behind and not put on display so it’s hard to see. I’ll ask them tonight and will post the menu as well.


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[chicagopaul]

Paul,  we are sailing on the Edge March 24th. We met I Made on the Equinox last year, and loved his service. Could you kindly ask him him if he will still be on the Edge for the March 24th sailing?
 
Thanks and Happy Birthday!

Thanks! I’ll ask him. I think he is on through April but I’ll double check and will report back.


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[chicagopaul]

Last night dinner was in Eden. This was the dinner comped by Joao due to the room change and my birthday dinner. There was no show in Eden for dinner last night but there were still some characters out and about.

Here is the menu.








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[chicagopaul]

Above is the Descending Frost



Above is the Blue Velvet



Pictures above is the Cove



This is the Life After Death pictured above



Forbidden Fruit



This was my birthday cake




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[chicagopaul]

So what did I think about the good in Eden? It was very good. My favorite items were the Blue Velvet and Life After Death. Life After Death is a ribeye and the quality was great. Very tender, not tough, well seasoned.

As I mentioned there was no show with dinner but the characters were still roaming around and doing some serving. Our waiter was Ignatius and he was fantastic. Excellent service.

Eden really is a beautiful space, especially at night. Unfortunately last night it was not that crowded. The guitarist Michael Redden (could be a slight misspell) was playing in Eden last night so after dinner we had a drink and listened to him and then chatted with him a bit.

My overall thoughts on the Eden concept are still in flux. I loved the food. I loved the service. I love the bartenders there. I just wish that the space itself was used by more guests. It has just felt like underutilized square footage. I’ll likely be in there for a drink later tonight when they’re having a show so we will see how it is.


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[hcat]

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

[chicagopaul]

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

Thank you!


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[Bo1953]

13 minutes ago, chicagopaul said:

Above is the Descending Frost


Above is the Blue Velvet



Pictures above is the Cove



This is the Life After Death pictured above



Forbidden Fruit



This was my birthday cake




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Happy Natal Anniversary....

 

bon voyage

[chicagopaul]

Happy Natal Anniversary....
 
bon voyage

[emoji23][emoji23] Thank you Bo!


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[cgolf1]

1 hour ago, chicagopaul said:

So what did I think about the good in Eden? It was very good. My favorite items were the Blue Velvet and Life After Death. Life After Death is a ribeye and the quality was great. Very tender, not tough, well seasoned.

As I mentioned there was no show with dinner but the characters were still roaming around and doing some serving. Our waiter was Ignatius and he was fantastic. Excellent service.

Eden really is a beautiful space, especially at night. Unfortunately last night it was not that crowded. The guitarist Michael Redden (could be a slight misspell) was playing in Eden last night so after dinner we had a drink and listened to him and then chatted with him a bit.

My overall thoughts on the Eden concept are still in flux. I loved the food. I loved the service. I love the bartenders there. I just wish that the space itself was used by more guests. It has just felt like underutilized square footage. I’ll likely be in there for a drink later tonight when they’re having a show so we will see how it is.


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We really liked the look of Eden and thought it would be a great space to hang out. Unfortunately the incense type smell they have in there at night made my wife nauseous and she couldn’t be in there. It even seemed to bug her the next day if we went in. The good was we could sit outside of Eden on deck  5 and listen to the singers inside through the speakers the had out there. I don’t think she spent more than an hour total in Eden the whole trip. 

 

Michael Redden was our favorite singer onboard, great voice. Hope you are having a great time, sounds like it so far. 

Edited February 27, 2019 by cgolf1

[spammie]

Happy Birthday!  No better place to celebrate another trip around the sun then on a cruise ship!  🍸  Wanda