'Twas the Cruise Over Easter - 9 Day Southern Caribbean - March 29 - April 7, 2024

[POA1]

Tonight's CO Dinner Menu -

 

 

 

co_mdr_dinner_day_8.pdf

[POA1]

Poohby Joe is ready for the Orange Party. Michelle, not so much.

 

[Huskerchick]

2 hours ago, Haljo1935 said:

@HuskerchickThrilled hear you liked the Pork Dumplings. I do not eat seafood, so I would not ever consider Morimoto. But the Dumplings caught my attention on the menu you posted and got me thinking I could try them. So so so happy you liked them - could I pair w/a salad to have a full meal?

The dumplings are Pork and we're very tasty. As for non fish items there is a tenderloin similar to the one served in Tamarind, a chicken dish and a vegetarian curry

[POA1]

In case anyone was wondering, the Bubble of Awesome does not work in the casino. We played roulette's give them some money today.

Edited April 4 by POA1

[POA1]

Official Orange Party Tee

[POA1]

Pre-Dinner Caviar at the Pinnacle Grill -

 

Cheers!

 

After a wee bit of coaxing, we kept the bottle.

 

 

 

 

Extra blinis, off to the left. I think this is key.

 

Invariably, someone is going to ask. Here is the label.

 

 

 

Edited April 4 by POA1

[Haljo1935]

3 hours ago, Huskerchick said:

The dumplings are Pork and we're very tasty. As for non fish items there is a tenderloin similar to the one served in Tamarind, a chicken dish and a vegetarian curry

Thanks - I did enjoy the tenderloin at Tamarind. 

My leftover ham was doing just fine holding its own until all your awesome food pics - now I feel deprived, lol.

[POA1]

We had a relatively low key evening tonight. After caviar in the Pinnacle Grill, we meandered over to Club Orange for dinner.

 

It warms the cockles of my heart when our excellent waiter Ris sets us up with 3 wine glasses each.

 

As per usual, I ordered our wine straight through. Since knew what we were ordering food-wise, this is pretty easy. Ris took my order for six wines - without writing anything down. He got all of the selections right and had them delivered in the correct order. That shows serious skill

 

Soup to nuts - Wines paired for the appetizers, mains and desserts.

 

View from the flight deck.

 

Edited April 5 by POA1

[POA1]

For the appetizer course, Michelle had the Watermelon & Feta.

 

 

I had the Tuna Turanito

[POA1]

For our main courses, Michelle had the Morimoto Epice Lobster Tails which are a $25 supplement. They come with seasonal vegetables and a bowl of rice. According to our waiter, some people find the dish to be too spicy. Michelle did not find it to be too spicy, perhaps because she ate it with the rice.

 

 

I will admit that I am nowhere near the lobster fan as my wife is, but I had a bite, and liked it.

 

 

If you enjoy the Italian dish, Lobster Fra Diavolo, I think you'll enjoy this. On the other hand, if you think anything beyond drawn butter with your lobster is heresy, you'll want to give this a pass.

 

Verdict? "Would order again." If you are keeping score, both this plate and the Morimoto Black Cod are keepers for us.

 

The wine pairing here was Chateau Ste. Michelle Chardonnay. I failed to mention the appetizer wine choices. (Two demerits!) The watermelon and feta got the Conundrum White Blend. My tuna dish took Sokol Blosser Pinot Noir.

 

Seared Tuna with Shaved Asparagus - This is one of the Club Orange everyday selections (along with the Beecher's Macaroni and Cheese and the Grilled Salmon with Capers and Dill.)

 

I ordered this because we're going to be in the Pinnacle Grill Friday night, and I wanted something a little lighter. The salad was fine. It didn't wow me, but it is not that kind of entrée. I would order it again. The wine choice was the Sokol Blosser Pinot Noir again.

 

I was Mister Tuna, Tina! Pinot, Pinot! tonight.

 

 

Edited April 5 by POA1

[POA1]

Rounding out the meal was dessert.

 

Michelle went with the Chocolate Raspberry Tart with Chocolate Cremeaux. Pairing was the McPherson Shiraz. And, of course, cappuccino.

 

For me, it was the Tres Leches Crème Caramel, accompanied by Gérard Bertrand Côte des Roses.

 

There was a Coconut Bread Pudding on the menu, and that's normally in my wheelhouse. However, I wanted to keep things light. (Sorry, puddin' pals.)

 

Both desserts were good. The win went to Michelle's dessert by virtue of its having a collectible, semi-sweet chocolate medallion.

[POA1]

We caught island Drsams' late show. It was their final performance of the current contract, but they'll be back again next Caribbean season.

 

There are two Island Dreams bands. One is on the Rotterdam. The other is on the Eurodam.

 

Considering that this show was up against the Orange Party, Island Dreams has a pretty full house. Like their Broadway & Classical show earlier in the week, their traditional steel pan drum show received a hearty standing ovation.

[VMax1700]

As one of the great unwashed who does not like caviar, but loves to eat fish, I will admit to a 'sharp intake of breath' when I saw the 'Caviar Russe' label, but after 10 minutes of gooooogle and discovering the Ukrainian orgins of 'Caviar Russe' and its Michelin star accreditation, I will confess to my blood pressure almost returning to normal now.

 

Loving the review, but honestly Brian, how about an occasional smile 🙂in the pics?  Just pretent that you are enjoying yourself and its not all unrelenting research 😁

 

[POA1]

2 minutes ago, VMax1700 said:

oving the review, but honestly Brian, how about an occasional smile

Michelle, and pretty much everyone who knows me, are surprised to see the slightest upturn in my lips. Would it help you to know that I'm happy on the inside?

[VMax1700]

4 minutes ago, POA1 said:

Would it help you to know that I'm happy on the inside?

😁

[POA1]

 

We're in the process of docking in Grand Turk. We have an early all-aboard at 1:30 PM.

 

No special plans for today, but Grand Turk is one of the best places to take exterior photos of your ship, so we'll probably hop off for a smidge.

 

 

[POA1]

We're being joined by the Caribbean Princess, the ship I like to call the shopping cart. Look for a profile photo of her and you'll see why I call her that. She sails out of Port Everglades, so we're faced with the shopping cart handle roughly once a week.

[kazu]

21 hours ago, Vict0riann said:

We have the Morimoto dinner booked on NS, and, providing we get to Fort Lauderdale (there are storms in Alberta, we may get stuck in Calgary like we did last year) I know exactly what I'm going to order.  Thanks for the food porn!

 

I hope the storms are kind and you can get to FLL easily, Ann 🤞 

 

 

20 hours ago, POA1 said:

My birthday is shortly after the cruise. We're doing caviar in the Pinnacle Grill tonight at 5:00 PM. That's my present. No need to wrap it, or blow out any candles. (Candles won't stand up in the blinis.) We will have normal dressy night dinner in CO around 7:30 or so.

 

Your pics make my mouth water.  I love doing caviar in the PG.  When you make your reservation do you tell them you are just doing caviar?  I ask as I believe you posted in another LIVE thread that you didn’t have to pay for the PG dinner since you were just having the surcharge item.  

 

 

19 hours ago, POA1 said:

We got our formal nights messed up. I was almost certain that it would be today. Apparently it's now on Grand Turk day. Fortunately, we have dressy clothes for every day.

 

The only thing that it throws off is that we have PG dinner scheduled for tomorrow. That's okay, because other than the escargot, DW's favorite, there's nothing we really "need" on the second dressy night. I suppose we could pop in to CO for snails as an early bird special.

 

One time we ended up in the PG on escargot night (not on purpose) and when the waiter knew I was sad at missing the escargot, he told me not to worry and I had my escargot in the PG.

I’m sure Michelle can too 🙂 

[POA1]

36 minutes ago, kazu said:

When you make your reservation do you tell them you are just doing caviar?  I ask as I believe you posted in another LIVE thread that you didn’t have to pay for the PG dinner since you were just having the surcharge item.  

That's correct. You only pay for the caviar. I usually make it for 5:00 PM, and then we eat dinner around 7:30 - 8:00 PM. It's like a hoity-toity happy hour.

 

The PG manager likes it because you're a high-revenue check and they can turn the table far faster than normal. Our PG waiter last night thought we were there for dinner initially. I don't think a lot of people do the caviar-only thing.

 

It took a little finagling to get them to leave the bottle of Ch. Ste. Michelle Brut. The wine steward wanted to point out that the EBP is one drink at a time. We explained that if he wanted to run back our table every 10 minutes, that was up to him. Common sense prevailed.

Edited April 5 by POA1

[kazu]

10 minutes ago, POA1 said:

That's correct. You only pay for the caviar. I usually make it for 5:00 PM, and then we eat dinner around 7:30 - 8:00 PM. It's like a hoity-toity happy hour.

 

The PG manager likes it because you're a high-revenue check and they can turn the table far faster than normal. Our PG waiter last night thought we were there for dinner initially. I don't think a lot of people do the caviar-only thing.

 

It took a little finagling to get them to leave the bottle of Ch. Ste. Michelle Brut. The wine steward wanted to point out that the EBP is one drink at a time. We explained that if he wanted to run back our table every 10 minutes, that was up to him. Common sense prevailed.

 

Thanks Brian.  that’s just so brilliant.  It just might be copied 😉 🤣

[POA1]

Continuing our International Salute to Breakfast series...

 

Michelle had the Full English Breakfast, crisp banger.

 

I had the Asian Congee. I did not finish all the rice though. I'm leaving room for some irresponsible life choices later today.

 

I think we started this project a little late. There are still Swedish Pancakes, French Toast, Belgian Waffles, European Cold Breakfast Plate, and a few others. Looks like we have to schedule another cruise.

 

As a ponder the worldwide array of breakfast options available, I ask - nay demand - whither Canada? They could do something with back bacon, maple syrup, maybe a licensing deal with Tim Hortons?

 

I wonder what would happen if a few thousand people put the Canadian Breakfast suggestion on their post cruise survey. I bet there'd be meetings. Perhaps a working committee? Maybe a special task force. 🇨🇦

 

 

Edited April 5 by POA1

[POA1]

A little Grand Turk photo action. Ever since the Salt Museum closed, I've been at a loss for what to do here. 😉

 

 

 

 

 

 

[POA1]

If that seems like a lot of ship photos, it is. We're at Half Moon Cay with the Nieuw Statendam tomorrow. Whether or not to disembark is going to be a game time decision.

 

I remember when I thought having the Ryndam and the Zuiderdam in at the same time was crazy crowded.  I know that they expanded the facilities over the years, but still....

[0106]

17 minutes ago, POA1 said:

There are still Swedish Pancakes, French Toast, Belgian Waffles, European Cold Breakfast Plate, and a few others.

My DH often subbed 1 slice of French Toast or a Belgian Waffle with his English breakfast for the potatoes and toast.  I have also customized the English breakfast, no eggs or meat, add spinach and asparagus.  The CO chef stir fried the veggies.  Delish!  One of the best perks of a CO breakfast.  My favorite is the Pan Asian breakfast, particularly when doing a tour.  The protein keeps me going until I return to the ship.  

 

9 minutes ago, POA1 said:

I remember when I thought having the Ryndam and the Zuiderdam in at the same time was crazy crowded.

The NS was at Half Moon Cay with the Rotterdam in March.  It was crazy crowded.  We didn’t want to miss the beautiful beach and water so we made a plan that helped us avoid the crowds. We left the ship about 10 and walked a long way down the beach to the area with trees in order to find quiet chairs.  We returned to the ship about 1 for lunch because I have never been impressed with the island bbq.  
 

@POA1I hope you have a relaxing day tomorrow, be it in The Retreat or on HMC. Thanks for this thread.

[POA1]

I just fired up my laptop for the first time since March 29th.  It must be feeling neglected, because the Logitech mouse buttons aren't working. The cursor moves fine, but clicking the buttons isn't doing squat. No worries though, The TrackPad is working and I have another back up travel mouse.

 

I needed the laptop to upload some attachments because it's time for....