“Suite!” Just Retired to be a pirate at sea with Sea Dog and Polly The Pirate Semi Live Explorer Nov. 7th

[Luckynana]

Jim and I love the Schooner Bar.  Our favorite!

[Sea Dog]

DAY 3 ST. CROIX

 

Today's adventure would be the Half Day Sail from Frederiksted aboard the custom catamaran Jolly Mon (perfect name for us retired pirates) for a half-day tour of easygoing fun and relaxation on the water.

 

 

The Jolly Mon was actually a racing Catamaran that actually holds the record for the fastest sail from Martha’s Vineyard to the Bahamas. Captain Pony as he likes to called was very personable and knew a lot about the migration and laying of eggs from the massive leatherneck sea turtles.

 

 

We saw the  Sandy Point National Wildlife Refuge at the distance, a bird and turtle sanctuary located at St. Croix's southwestern point. You can't see the tracks in the picture but there where where what looked like ATV tracks rising out of the water and onto the beach. These massive turtles reaching weights of up to 2,200 pounds, the leatherback turtle is the largest living turtle on the planet.

 

 

We enjoyed nice tropical breezes and views of the coast on our one-hour round-trip cruise along the West End beaches. 

 

 

Interesting note: That point section of beach pictured above was used in the final scene of the :Shawshank Redemption." Remember In the movie, the two meet up in Zihuatanejo, on Mexico's west coast. (Indeed, Morgan's last line is: "I hope the Pacific is as blue as it has been in my dreams.") Obviously the film company had to pay big bucks to use this portion of the park.

 

Some pics for you.

 

 

 

 

 

Jonathan enjoying a rum punch. No plastic cups here, just tin. The owner of the boat is very environment conscious. 

 

 

We then headed to scenic Cowboy Beach, a small private beach where the catamaran anchors just off shore where you can swim, sun and stroll and enjoy some more rum punch. The crew was really talented swimming on a life preserver with one hand holding a pitcher of rum punch and the other holding another pitcher of ice cubes. Great job pouring by the way.

 

And now a short video of the day. Enjoy!

 

 

 

[lenquixote66]

19 hours ago, Ocean Boy said:

 

It seems that Explorer was the initiation to RCI for a few of us. Apparently the ship does something right since it got us hooked.🙂

I am sure that all of us share something in common .

[Sea Dog]

Here is the video of the day at Ct. Croix and the Jolly Mon Half Day Sail and Beach.

 

 

[Sea Dog]

I have to apologize. The curse of the Black Pearl is still on me.

 

My Google Fiber in my area is having outages. It seems I am cursed to get a good internet speed. Things hopefully will be fixed soon.

 

The above video was supposed to be with the St. Croix post. The video took forever to upload and my edit of the post stalled out.

[Luckynana]

No worries, Greg!😉

[Sea Dog]

More Moorings

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Now underway. Next up Giovanni's.

[Sea Dog]

3 hours ago, Seville2Cabo said:

Can you get the Louis XIII with C&A coupons?

 

I wish !

 

3 hours ago, Luckynana said:

Jim and I love the Schooner Bar.  Our favorite!

 

Great charm and decor. It always is my go to bar. I seem to always get a great bartender. More on Nover later.

 

[h20skibum]

I agree that Schooner Bar is one of my favorites.  The one exception was our recent sailing on Odyssey.  It seemed like they put the rookie bartenders there, and they were always referring to a cheat sheet to see how to make a drink.  They never did seem to get one right.

 

More than once, I would get a drink at another bar and carry it there.

[Sea Dog]

GIOVANNI’S TABLE

 

 

Editor notes: This is a continuation of post number #374 so to include pictures as the internet on Explorer was giving me fits.

 

Our first experience at Giovanni’s was on Adventure 4 years ago . I was underwhelmed. It was good but did not have the wow factor.

This time Giovanni’s had the wow factor. We started out with 4 different appetizers.

 

 

The meat and cheese plank was still as good as it’s always been.

 

 

 

 

We also had the Ahi Tuna Sashimi

 

 

And a delicious pork belly.

 

 

Along with mozzarella and heirloom tomatoes.

 

 

But the wow factor came from the grilled octopus. Wow this was so tender and so full of flavor. Best octopus I’d ever eaten. I don't know what they did to get it so tender. In "Jiro Dreams of Sushi" documentary, Jiro used to have his son massage the octopus for 4-6 hours a day to get it tender. I don't think the chef's had that much time but they did something. This is was incredible.

 

 

For the mains I had heard people say their filet was better than Chops so I had to see and taste it for myself. This tasted just as good if not better. The key was the sauce that you could pour over the steak or dip. Now I’m normally not a sauce guy for steak. Just some salt and pepper and let the meat speak for itself but this Broccolini Barolo Sauce was out of this world. It gave the steak a whole new flavor profile. I highly approve.

 

 

Jonathan had the Ossobuco and he really enjoyed it and Linda had the same filet as I did. She loved it. I had a side of the Pasta Carbonara  with poached egg on top and lots of grated Parmesan on it.

 

 

We were so full that we almost did not get dessert. But the waiter insisted. We ordered Tiramisu to split but the waiter also brought  out a chocolate torte with chocolate ganache on top. Wow again. And the Tiramisu was a hit also.

 

 

 

 

All in all a outstanding meal at Giovanni's. I can't wait to come back.

[Sea Dog]

 

 

Linda wanted to chill on the balcony and Jonathan went to on of pool deck to read. I went to headliner show to hear Paul Hughes a singer that sings the classics like Sinatra, Bobby Darin and Michael Buble. He was good. Not Sinatra but good. I was really impressed with the big band that had about a hour and half rehearsal with him to learn all the charts. They sounded great. I was very impressed.

 

 

After that back to schooner bar to drink with my new friends from Cruise Critic and my new friend a great bartender Norvo.

 

I wanted to see if Norvo could recreate the Baton Rouge Drink that used to be on Schooner menu but was taken off.

 

 

It was Captain Morgan Spiced Rum with Hennessy Cognac and simple syrup. The original recipe called for rose syrup which he substituted another syrup for. I present to you Sea Dog's "Baton Rouge 2.0."

 

 

 

A happy pirate now. Rum and cognac I will sleep well tonight.

Edited November 16, 2021 by Sea Dog

[Biker19]

47 minutes ago, Sea Dog said:

More Moorings

You and @harryfat1, what’s with the mooring line fetish?

[Sea Dog]

38 minutes ago, h20skibum said:

I agree that Schooner Bar is one of my favorites.  The one exception was our recent sailing on Odyssey.  It seemed like they put the rookie bartenders there, and they were always referring to a cheat sheet to see how to make a drink.  They never did seem to get one right.

 

More than once, I would get a drink at another bar and carry it there.

 

That's not good. I know they put good ones out on the pool bars because they have to make a lot of frozen drinks fast. Most of the bartenders I have met in the Schooner bar are very experienced. Norvo was one of them. Love that guy. More later.

[Ocean Boy]

6 minutes ago, Sea Dog said:

 

That's not good. I know they put good ones out on the pool bars because they have to make a lot of frozen drinks fast. Most of the bartenders I have met in the Schooner bar are very experienced. Norvo was one of them. Love that guy. More later.

How hard can those frozen drinks be to make? Don't they just put mix in a blender and then add the alcohol?

[perfect match]

48 minutes ago, Biker19 said:

You and @harryfat1, what’s with the mooring line fetish?

LOL! Here I am posting that I love the mooring line photos! I even have a few of my own if you want to see them! 😂 🪢 🤣

[#55worktoplay]

Fantastic Review. Can’t wait for the rest. 
 

I tried posting several times but you weren’t the only one with technical issues. 
 

Thanks

 

[helen haywood]

58 minutes ago, Ocean Boy said:

How hard can those frozen drinks be to make? Don't they just put mix in a blender and then add the alcohol?

And not only that…the blenders cut off automatically!

[Sea Dog]

1 hour ago, Biker19 said:

You and @harryfat1, what’s with the mooring line fetish?

Meant to be more of a homage since he loves that shot and you remember how we talked about it in the routine thread about others trying to get that shot and crossing the yellow line and getting in trouble. I found it to be a fun challenge.

 

1 hour ago, Ocean Boy said:

How hard can those frozen drinks be to make? Don't they just put mix in a blender and then add the alcohol?

 

Not hard at all but the amount of drinks they have to crank out and the huge amount of different frozen drinks they have to know how to make. Also it does take longer to make a frozen drink than it does to make a rum and Coke. I much prefer the craft bartenders who can make an excellent martini. That’s why I love Schooner Bar. Better drinks.
 

46 minutes ago, perfect match said:

LOL! Here I am posting that I love the mooring line photos! I even have a few of my own if you want to see them! 😂 🪢 🤣

 

Moore, moore, moored.

[Ozark_Kid]

There's got to be a mooring after
We're moving closer to the shore

[jk04]

33 minutes ago, Sea Dog said:

Moore, moore, moored.

How do you like it, how do you like it! 😊

[Sea Dog]

ST. MAARTEN

 

 

 I was wide awake at O dark thirty. Let's watch our approach to St. Maarten.

 

 

 

We were welcomed into St. Maarten with foggy skies and light rain. Our excursion would be the Great Bay Beach Escape at the Blue B#$% Bar which I love. we experienced rain for the first 20 minutes and then after that the sun came out and it was a glorious day. I like Great Bay as it’s got the best of both worlds. A nice beach and the downtown is right there for shopping and my favorite Gulmohar's,  Whiskey Paradise. Time to go bourbon hunting.

 

 

A short walk down the street and I found whiskey paradise. They are the only store that I know of that can get all the varieties of Blanton’s bourbon. 

 

 

 

Upon entering I found a display case that had all the Blanton’s in it. I took a picture and was quickly reprimanded that no pictures were allowed. When I asked why I was scolded that if I posted pictures on social media that people would go there just to make a run on all the Blanton’s. 

 

Apparently one person did and a man booked a flight the very next day and bought every bottle in the store. So I get it. I am still posting the picture anyway.

 

 They never seem to run out of Blanton’s. I got the original Blanton’s  for $75, cheaper than the $99 in the duty free shop on the ship. I gave the bottle to security upon arriving back to the ship. Now hopefully I can pack it in my suitcase so it will not break or make my suitcase over weight. If it breaks I'll be sucking on my clothes for weeks.

 

The first time I bought Blanton’s at St. Maarten It made my suitcase overweight and I had to pay an extra $75. Most expensive bottle of bottle I had ever purchased.

 

FAST FORWARD UPDATE: I carefully packed my precious cargo and it did make it back home safe and sound.

 

 

 

We left St. Maarten after a great day to a beautiful sail away.

 

 

 

Edited November 16, 2021 by Sea Dog

[jmklade]

51 minutes ago, Sea Dog said:

ST. MAARTEN

 

 

 I was wide awake at O dark thirty. Let's watch our approach to St. Maarten.

 

 

 

We were welcomed into St. Maarten with foggy skies and light rain. Our excursion would be the Great Bay Beach Escape at the Blue B#$% Bar which I love. we experienced rain for the first 20 minutes and then after that the sun came out and it was a glorious day. I like Great Bay as it’s got the best of both worlds. A nice beach and the downtown is right there for shopping and my favorite Gulmohar's,  Whiskey Paradise. Time to go bourbon hunting.

 

 

A short walk down the street and I found whiskey paradise. They are the only store that I know of that can get all the varieties of Blanton’s bourbon. 

 

 

 

Upon entering I found a display case that had all the Blanton’s in it. I took a picture and was quickly reprimanded that no pictures were allowed. When I asked why I was scolded that if I posted pictures on social media that people would go there just to make a run on all the Blanton’s. 

 

Apparently one person did and a man booked a flight the very next day and bought every bottle in the store. So I get it. I am still posting the picture anyway.

 

 They never seem to run out of Blanton’s. I got the original Blanton’s  for $75, cheaper than the $99 in the duty free shop on the ship. I gave the bottle to security upon arriving back to the ship. Now hopefully I can pack it in my suitcase so it will not break or make my suitcase over weight. If it breaks I'll be sucking on my clothes for weeks.

 

The first time I bought Blanton’s at St. Maarten It made my suitcase overweight and I had to pay an extra $75. Most expensive bottle of bottle I had ever purchased.

 

FAST FORWARD UPDATE: I carefully packed my precious cargo and it did make it back home safe and sound.

 

 

 

We left St. Maarten after a great day to a beautiful sail away.

 

 

 

I love your review especially the videos.  The island music is getting me very excited for our December cruise. 

[Sea Dog]

 

The Chef’s Table

 

We love the Chef’s table and we book it on every sailing. What made this Chef’s Table so special was that it was a surprise retirement gift to Linda and I from our longtime dear friends back home. Thank you for this amazing experience we love you!

 

 

 

Our invitation was in our stateroom it told us to meet in the R Bar to be introduced and have a welcome cocktail. It was a champagne cocktail called a L’Aristocrate.

 

 

 We were introduced to our other guests. There was only 6 of us so it was a great small group. They were all delightful dinner guests and so interesting. One woman was a Jet Blue flight attendant. The other a Chef at a hotel in NY. The most interesting dinner companion was a contract doctor for Royal Caribbean. He worked as a doc for DOD specialized in mass casualty ER. He was also a hired doc in Afghanistan at the very end of the withdrawal. He is one of a handful of doctors hired by Royal to be on ships. So fascinating talking to him.

 

 

We were introduced to our head chef from Jamaica and the wine steward who would explain the 6 different wines we would be tasting.

 

 

Bread was amazing. I’d be happy just eating this.

 

 

 I will not comment on every course and let the pictures speak for themselves. Let me just say the food was as incredible as it looked.

 

 

 

I wish there was smellvision. The soup had a wonderful smoke to it.

 

 

 

Edited November 16, 2021 by Host Kat
Per author's request.

[TravelGirlinDallas]

1 hour ago, Sea Dog said:

If it breaks I'll be sucking on my clothes for weeks.

😂😂😂

Glad the bottle made it home intact!!

[Sea Dog]

Once again my apologies. I am getting very annoyed with Cruise Critic. This is my third attempt to post my Chef's Table experience. First one crashed. Second after copying and pasting crashed after a failed upload. Disregard the place holder comments. Now let's continue.

 

 

 

 

 

 

I have to comment on the Branzino (Mediterranean  Sea Bass). Linda does not eat seafood so they altered the menu for her. She however agreed to try the branzino and loved it. It does not taste like fish. It was crispy on the outside and had so much flavor. It was by far my favorite dish.

 

 

 

And never to forget the wine. Some would argue that the selection is not that great. I am not a wine expert. I had no problem with any of the wines and I thought they tasted very good. Especially after the 6th glass...hiccup...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited November 16, 2021 by Sea Dog