Ultimate World Cruise 245 days and all the parts. Ongoing review, questions, opinion

[Jim Avery]

We miss TominNC and his great photos.  We have had two glorious sea days.  Most of us are sporting new bright pink skins.  Really relaxing and we had reservations in the Chef's Table the first sea day and Manfredi's last night.  This might be a spot for speaking of food.  Ok, food is probably the most subjective thing we do.  My great is your crummy and vice versa.  As I have posted before, I am not a fan of the Chef's Table.  But we gave it a try and it was the Pan Asian theme.  The "Peking" duck was pretty good and I was surprised that it was better than last year.  Still the despised excessive use of foam (told you my opinion may vary) but I could scrape it off most times.  The wine pouring were not very good and we have had much better as the standard pour in the Restaurant.  So my opinion of CT is meh. Better but still not my fave.  Next up we had Manfredi's .  This is about the 5th time we have eaten there this trip and we know the menu by heart.  Overall I believe Manfredi's is not as good as last year.  Specifically, most of the meat dishes, chicken or veal, are plate size breaded and fried cutlets.  There is almost universally not enough sauce.  In Boston I had one of my fave Italian meals, Veal Saltimbocca.  It was perfectly prepared and was in a beautiful white wine, cheese  sauce.  In Manfredi's it was the above named breaded pizza sized dish with prosciutto on top grilled to a crispy crunch.  No cheese, no sauce.  Yuck!  On the plus side we have been enjoying the mussels and other appetizers as well as the lasagne and other pastas.  Sorry I cannot get good veal saltimbocca.  Had veal Marsala last night and it was pretty good.  Not breaded.  In general we have really enjoyed the fare at the Restaurant.  We feel it is a considerable step up from last year.  Same for the World Cafe.  Safe to say we ain't going to starve....😎  

So today we are in St. John's, Antigua.  Thankfully the only ship in town.  Last visit here we were on one of 4 ships.  It was a zoo.  Today very nice.  All the shopkeepers, cabbies, etc. were glad to see us and most accommodating.  We saw a cabbie we liked the look of and he gave us a 1.5 hour tour of the island for $10 each!  As we have been here a few times before that suited us well.  A bit of shopping after and cleaning up for sail away.  Nice hot, sunny day.  I hardly remember all the wind, rain, and cold.....  Right....🍸🍸😎

[RJMAROB]

We sailed on the Jupiter earlier this year on the Cities of Antiquity cruise. I agree regarding your comments on the Chef's table. The wine pour was small and some choices were the same wines poured in the restaurant. The waiter was reluctant to give us a second glass of the same wine. We found the Mexican menu to be one of the better choices of the chefs table menus. I also read that King is the guitarist on board. He was excellent during our cruise in March.

[Tom.in.nc]

OK, here’s a few snapshots from Bermuda and Antigua...

 

That's Eric Clapton’s little house below.

 

 

Edited October 17, 2019 by Tom.in.nc

[Tom.in.nc]

Cooking classes on the Sun

 

Edited October 17, 2019 by Tom.in.nc

[mariavii]

1 hour ago, Jim Avery said:

 In Boston I had one of my fave Italian meals, Veal Saltimbocca.  It was perfectly prepared and was in a beautiful white wine, cheese  sauce.  In Manfredi's it was the above named breaded pizza sized dish with prosciutto on top grilled to a crispy crunch.  No cheese, no sauce.  Yuck!  On the plus side we have been enjoying the mussels and other appetizers as well as the lasagne and other pastas.  Sorry I cannot get good veal saltimbocca.  Had veal Marsala last night and it was pretty good.  Not breaded.  In general we have really enjoyed the fare at the Restaurant.  We feel it is a considerable step up from last year.  Same for the World Cafe.  Safe to say we ain't going to starve....😎  

 

 

On and off topic...

 

On topic...I was not impressed with Manfredis the two times we went on our Midnight Sun itinerary (Star).  Generally speaking as a restaurant, it was good.  As an Italian restaurant - I would rank it lower.  (The breads were delish, iirc, though - I hope they still are)

 

The off topic bit... where in Boston did you have the Saltimbocca of which you rave??  Though i am also curious...saltimbocca shouldnt be in a cheese sauce.  There shouldn't be cheese anywhere near saltimbocca.   Is this a thing now?   As a lover of cheese, I would put cheese on almost anything, but saltimbocca is sacrosanct. 🙂

[Jim Avery]

13 minutes ago, mariavii said:

 

On and off topic...

 

On topic...I was not impressed with Manfredis the two times we went on our Midnight Sun itinerary (Star).  Generally speaking as a restaurant, it was good.  As an Italian restaurant - I would rank it lower.  (The breads were delish, iirc, though - I hope they still are)

 

The off topic bit... where in Boston did you have the Saltimbocca of which you rave??  Though i am also curious...saltimbocca shouldnt be in a cheese sauce.  There shouldn't be cheese anywhere near saltimbocca.   Is this a thing now?   As a lover of cheese, I would put cheese on almost anything, but saltimbocca is sacrosanct. 🙂

Ristorante Limoncello in the North End.  One of the best I can remember having.  VS has had prosciutto and, usually Fontina Cheese, in a white wine sauce.  Don't know the ingredients exactly as I am a diner, not a chef, but I have had it this way in NYC, most major US cities as well as in Rome and Florence.  The way it is prepared in Manfredi's is unique in my opinion.  Dry, crispy broiled prosciutto, and no sauce???  You obviously cook more than I but does that sound like the right way to do it?  I know dishes can vary greatly depending just where you are standing in Italy but you would think such differing dishes would have different names.

Edited October 17, 2019 by Jim Avery

[Tom.in.nc]

Cooking class FOOD!
 

[Jim Avery]

25 minutes ago, Tom.in.nc said:

Cooking classes on the Sun

 

You cook, I'll eat.  Great picture Tom.

[Tom.in.nc]

8 minutes ago, Jim Avery said:

You cook, I'll eat.  Great picture Tom.

 

We cook it AND we eat it for lunch!

[vnb2003]

51 minutes ago, Tom.in.nc said:

OK, here’s a few snapshots from Bermuda and Antigua...

 

That's Eric Clapton’s little house below.

 

 

Tom, do you still use iPhone for pictures? What model do you have?

Your pictures are great, the sunset one is spectacular!!!

[muddleaged]

I wonder if we are confusing saltimbocca and osso buco?

[Jim Avery]

1 hour ago, muddleaged said:

I wonder if we are confusing saltimbocca and osso buco?

No. Vitello Saltimbocca . I am not a fan of Osso buco.

[TrulyBlonde]

1 hour ago, Jim Avery said:

No. Vitello Saltimbocca . I am not a fan of Osso buco.

That is because you have not had mine. 😉  You are welcome to dinner in our home anytime. xo

[vnb2003]

Saltimbocca, also spelled saltinbocca (UK: /ˌsæltɪmˈbɒkə, -ˈboʊkə/, US: /ˌsɔːl-/, Italian: [ˌsaltimˈbokka]; Italian for '[it] jump in the mouth'), is an Italian dish (also popular in southern Switzerland and Greece) made of veal lined or wrapped with prosciutto and sage; marinated in wine, oil or saltwater depending on the region or one's own taste.

The original version of this dish is saltimbocca alla Romana ("saltimbocca Roman-style"),[1] which consists of veal, prosciutto and sage, rolled-up and cooked in dry white wine and butter. Marsala is sometimes used. Also, sometimes the veal and prosciutto are not rolled-up but left flat. 

Edited October 18, 2019 by vnb2003

[vnb2003]

Sorry 😐 Don’t know what happened

[Tom.in.nc]

5 hours ago, vnb2003 said:

Tom, do you still use iPhone for pictures? What model do you have?

Your pictures are great, the sunset one is spectacular!!!

Yes, I use this iPhone X and transfer to iPad Pro to crop and tweak and post. 
Glad you like them. 
Tom

[Clay Clayton]

14 hours ago, CTBob said:

We attended the special tomahawk steak dinner on the pool deck last night and were surprised by it.  The food and service with music provided by King were all Great!  Our thanks to Food Manager John, Head Waiter Jeffrey and Special thanks to Beverage Manager Nikolay who mentioned it to us and also provided the Cherry Crush bourbon drinks.  CTBob

Was that open to all? Or just non-segmenters?  

[Cyber Kat]

14 hours ago, Tom.in.nc said:

OK, here’s a few snapshots from Bermuda and Antigua...

 

That's Eric Clapton’s little house below.

 

 

Love! Love! Love Bermuda!  Gorgeous photos! ❤️❤️❤️

[Jim Avery]

5 hours ago, Clay Clayton said:

Was that open to all? Or just non-segmenters?  

Haha, if there is special food just for world cruisers I have yet to find it.  Even at the time to time WC cocktail parties, the nibbles are not as good as the ones served at the Cruise Critic meet and mingle at each segment.😎

[WAVTAM]

Have been enjoying all the entries in this travel blog. We pick you all up in Valparaiso  for the LA run.

Have a side bar question relating to the gym.

We go every day and in the last 2 sailings on the Star, none of the TV screens on the treadmills offered any TV signal or movies. Is that true with the Sun also.????

[Jim Avery]

1 minute ago, WAVTAM said:

Have been enjoying all the entries in this travel blog. We pick you all up in Valparaiso  for the LA run.

Have a side bar question relating to the gym.

We go every day and in the last 2 sailings on the Star, none of the TV screens on the treadmills offered any TV signal or movies. Is that true with the Sun also.????

Sometimes yes, sometimes no.  Hate to be vague but I am not sure who controls the feeds to them.  Does not seem to work in sync with our room tv.  Wish I had better news for you.

[mariavii]

18 hours ago, Jim Avery said:

Ristorante Limoncello in the North End.  One of the best I can remember having.  VS has had prosciutto and, usually Fontina Cheese, in a white wine sauce.  Don't know the ingredients exactly as I am a diner, not a chef, but I have had it this way in NYC, most major US cities as well as in Rome and Florence.  The way it is prepared in Manfredi's is unique in my opinion.  Dry, crispy broiled prosciutto, and no sauce???  You obviously cook more than I but does that sound like the right way to do it?  I know dishes can vary greatly depending just where you are standing in Italy but you would think such differing dishes would have different names.

 

I remember Limoncello...I lived just few blocks from there.  Mmm.....

 

As for Saltimbocca...it should just be a nice thin cutlet, two or three sage leaves and then a slice of prosciutto - all held together by the magic of Italian love for good food.  it gets a light dusting of flour (no dredging, breading,  etc), then sauteed until the cutlet is cooked and the prosciutto has a touch of crisp on the edges by is still tender.  Then the pan sauce of a little butter and white wine.  Dry, crispy, broiled...all no-nos (and an example of why Manfredis hurts my feelings) 🙂

 

The cheese is not traditional and I prefer the simplicity of the original, but I can see why some add it (Cheese is delicious!). However... it just makes it an italian cordon bleu. 

 

Away from food...Thank You all for taking the time to add to this thread (and the past world cruise one).  I am a ways off from having the ability to take a cruise of that length (work gets in the way!) so i am traveling vicariously with all of you, and adding to my list of must-see places.

[vnb2003]

3 hours ago, mariavii said:

 

I remember Limoncello...I lived just few blocks from there.  Mmm.....

 

As for Saltimbocca...it should just be a nice thin cutlet, two or three sage leaves and then a slice of prosciutto - all held together by the magic of Italian love for good food.  it gets a light dusting of flour (no dredging, breading,  etc), then sauteed until the cutlet is cooked and the prosciutto has a touch of crisp on the edges by is still tender.  Then the pan sauce of a little butter and white wine.  Dry, crispy, broiled...all no-nos (and an example of why Manfredis hurts my feelings) 🙂

 

The cheese is not traditional and I prefer the simplicity of the original, but I can see why some add it (Cheese is delicious!). However... it just makes it an italian cordon bleu. 

 

Away from food...Thank You all for taking the time to add to this thread (and the past world cruise one).  I am a ways off from having the ability to take a cruise of that length (work gets in the way!) so i am traveling vicariously with all of you, and adding to my list of must-see places.

I never had it but this is how Wikipedia describes an original dish. I copied it to my post but for some reason CC made it hidden and blocked all my other posts yesterday :(

 

Edited October 18, 2019 by vnb2003

[CTBob]

Tomahawk Steak rules!  CTBob

[CTBob]

18 hours ago, Clay Clayton said:

Was that open to all? Or just non-segmenters?  

Open to all, but it was very quietly introduced.  We happened by it by accident.

CTBob - Segmenter