LIVE FROM THE MARINER 11/12 (precruise)

[winncove]

Loving your reviews, hating your pics of the GS! LOL. Sure makes for an awesome comparison to our PRs and even the hump balcony on Serenade. Our balcony on Serenade to Alaska was bigger, if that counts for anything! All you newbies: better go to RCCL site & ck your regular rooms or you'll be really shocked when you see them! Maybe someday for us! The sunsets are glorious. I must make time for them this next cruise. Guess I'm usually feeding the slots about then. Keep on having such a "grand" time!

[Bowlersbus]

Great pics - sunsets are AMAZING!

Thanks for all the info.

 

I have a question - on old compass there was an 80's Glo Party. Did you have that - did you go? Was it black lites?

 

We sail this sunday the 19th and we're sooo excited.!

 

 

[burnsie]

I am loving your posts! We will be there in less than two weeks and I am getting so excited/jealous I can't wait to be there!!!

 

Did you find out about Captain Johnny is this his last cruise? I emailed about a week ago asking about the entertainment on our cruise 11/26 and they said he would be there. I have read so much about him I'm looking forward to sailing with him.

 

Keep the posts coming they are great! Enjoy!

burnsie

[Pootersmom]

Cubs07, if your parents are misbehaving...I ain't tellin! DH says "Haven't you heard? What happens on the Mariner, STAYS on the Mariner." LOL

 

Sachem, our suite is third down from the top (I believe). There is the Royal Suite at the top (has a grand piano in it), then the Owners Suite, then the Grand suite, then the mini suite, then the family suites (just larger rooms with higher capacity) then aft balconies (regular balcony rooms with HUGE balcony's off the back of the ship) then balcony's, then ocean view (with windows) then the promenade rooms with bay windows that look down into the promenade, then inside cabins, no window, no balcony. Looked at a handicap inside room today and it was spacious with lower cabinets and a wheel chair accessible shower.

 

This IS Captain Johnny's last voyage for awhile. The new captain has already introduced himself (I wasn't there, so I didn't get his name, but will report back)

 

Ros......I think all the guys going to Windsor will be a good thing for you. At least you won't have them calling in as well as the customer load. You have no idea how THRILLED I am to know that the office has been left in your VERY CAPABLE HANDS, and I promise to make it up to you when I return. This has been a wonderful vacation.

 

Bowlerbus, haven't heard anything about the 80's glow party, but if I see "Hello Luv Becky " or whoop whoop ..........(only know him as whoop whoop) I'll ask about it.

 

With regards to the things for teenagers to do....there will be a ton of pictures to follow of Adventure Ocean, which is a huge video arcade and segregated areas for the different age groups of children. We counted 50 video games in the arcade ranging from 25 cents to 2 dollars per pop. You load up the sea pass with a certain amount of credits paid in advance and they play until they run out (and then you load up more).

 

Alright....let me post my review.

 

Day 3, Sea Day

 

We woke up at 8:00 this morning with a phone call from room service saying they were ready to deliver our breakfast. We both slept WONDERFULLY last night. We had ordered a caraf of coffee with cream and sugar and they sent plenty of everything. There was fruit and pastries and croissants and eggs and bacon and hash browns. It was wonderful. We ate out on our balcony and it was a little breezy, but certainly manageable. Everything was hot when it arrived.

 

After that, DH was slow to start so I went down to the Café Promenade where I posted yesterday’s review and uploaded the pictures. The trick is to prepare the review the night before and then the next day go find a hot spot on the ship for wireless, and cut and paste it into cruise critic. Even with that, after only three days at sea, I have used up my 150 minute package and will have to order another. The internet is so-so with regard to speed, but there are so many steps with uploading the pictures to photobucket FIRST, and then downloading them to cruisecritic. It just burns away those minutes faster than you can blink an eye. I usually pick up a few cookies from the Café Promenade on my way back to the room to appease DH for the time I was away.

 

On my way back to the room, with my lap top under my arm, and balancing a paper plate with cookies on it, I stopped the Concierge Club lounge to pick up tickets for the ice show. I was unprepared (poor planning on my part) to select a day, so I picked 5:00 on Friday night. I raced back to the room, and fed DH his cookies and then looked at my schedule. There was a conflict! The second formal night is Friday night at 6:00 and I have a hair appointment at 3:00 (I have long hair and usually take two hours). So I raced back to see Ricardo at the concierge lounge, only to discover that all the days available for the ice show are equally booked up for me, so we are going Friday night at 5:00. It’s a 45 minute show, so we will race from the foreward part of the ship where the ice skating rink is, to the aft of the ship where the dining rooms are. My dress is going to be spectacular so the upside of this is that I will get to wear it to two places that night, instead of just to dinner….wheeee.

 

About 11:00 DH was finally dressed and ready to go so with camera in hand we went to explore the ship. We took some pictures out by sports deck and then headed towards Johnny Rocket’s. This is not to be missed. A lot of people complain about the $3.75 cover charge, but in my opinion it was well worth it. You have to pay for your milkshakes, but everything else is free. Do not let this deter you. You MUST get a milkshake. I highly recommend the black and white. It will take you back to a time when your taste buds were young and new and uncorrupted by wannabe milk shakes. Holy Cow!. I could not believe the flavor. It was intense, to say the least. The hamburgers were thick and juicy and the onion rings were the most crisp I have ever had. PLUS you got a free show. Towards the end of our meal, all the waiters and cooks lined up and did a little dance to the Bee Gee’s Stayin Alive. We did not mind the cover charge at all, and were even inspired to tip our waiter an extra five, because at one point as he was tapping the bottom of a ketchup bottle to dispense ketchup onto a plate for the fries, the cap came off and he THREW HIMSELF BODILY in front of my husband, absorbing the splatter of ketchup on his white uniform. (They will probably auction that off later this week as modern art).

 

After Johnny Rocket’s, DH’s batteries began to run dead in the camera so we came back to the room and got my camera (this explains the variation in sharpness from one picture to next throughout this report). Now it was time for our Cruise Critic Meet-n-Mingle. A lot of people participate in Cruise Critic, but never sign up on their roll call boards or sign up for the meet-n-mingle. If you have not done this, I highly recommend it. There are roughly 3,000 passengers on this ship. It is “way cool” to meet up with people you have already met, recognize them and swap stories or compare notes throughout the week. Our meet-n-mingle had about 40 people show up for it,I think and while it was not the highlight of our trip, it was really fun to attach faces to the names of some of the people who have posted on our roll call. Plus you get a neet little holder to place your sea passes, with a pen that is permanently attached with a little note pad, and a retainer to wear this item around your neck. If you are like me and you don’t want to carry a purse around all the time, and the sexy little clothes you packed to wear on the cruise do not have pockets, this could be very useful to have. So join your roll call, sign up for your meet-n-mingle, and then don’t forget to attend.

 

Ours was held at Ellingtons Bar which is on the 14th deck with great windows that overlook the entire pool deck. We got some great pictures of the pool deck from those windows. This being a sea day, you can see how crowded it was. Even so, we saw PLENTY of lounge chairs all around the pool. No sign of the infamous chair hogs I have heard so much about.

 

After that, we went down to the photo gallery and found our pictures and hid them so that no one would be able to see how bad some of them were ….Yikes. They had the formal pictures taken last night and I heard DH’s voice ring out across from the other side of the gallery…..”AH HAH!”. I raced over to where he was pointing accusingly at a photo of a nice looking couple and I said, “what? What?” And he said, “That was formal night and the man is not wearing a coat and tie!”……Oh brother. So we found our one renegade for formal night who didn’t dress formal. Not too shabby.

 

Checked with one of our cruise critic members who has late seating for dinner. She had previously said the dining room was very quiet with many, many empty tables, or people missing from tables. I told her that the purser had told me that while they were not at capacity, all staterooms were full. She scoffed at that and said that she highly doubts that. I wouldn’t be surprised by her assessment, because at no time have we had to wait an inordinate amount of time for anything (except that first day as we boarded and nothing was open), and it never really feels crowded for anything.

 

It almost time to get ready for dinner. I have started this report early tonight because we are going to have to post this from Ellingtons (another hot spot) late tonight rather than waiting until tomorrow. Tomorrow is our shore excursion, then a hair appointment for me, then Portifino’s. I will probably post between dinner and the game show Quest, as I understand this is not to be missed. I sure hope DH can stay awake for this one. He is napping right now and I will have to wake him to get ready for dinner. Lemme see if I have any cookies hidden around here. In case you are wondering what kind of traveling companion he is, I recently told someone that he is a cross between Jackie Gleason and Jackie Gleason (perpetually grumpy).

 

Below are pictures taken today. I have included two more of our stateroom. One is of the bed because I finally noticed today that each day that Sandra makes up our room, she places the pillows in different and creative arrangements. Yesterday was a butterfly. So I thought I would start including a photo of our bed. The second was a merging of two photos that DH tried to make to get more of the entire room in one photo. Photobucket will probably cut it back down to a single size pic….but I thought I would include it just in case.

 

Time for dinner.

 

All these pics are from Adventure ocean.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Pootersmom]

 

 

 

 

[Pootersmom]

All Solarium Pictures on a Sea Day (as busy as it is going to get).

 

 

 

 

 

[Pootersmom]

Pool area pics on a Sea Day (busy as it will ever be) and the ice skating rink.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Pootersmom]

Our Cruise Critic Meetn-n-Mingle.....

 

 

And Johnny Rockets. A fun place for lunch, casual dinner or late night snack (DING!...there's an idea)

 

 

[andy1962]

that is Phil (Whoop Whoop)

 

 

Our Cruise Critic Meetn-n-Mingle.....

 

 

And Johnny Rockets. A fun place for lunch, casual dinner or late night snack (DING!...there's an idea)

 

 

[andy1962]

Cubs07, if your parents are misbehaving...I ain't tellin! DH says "Haven't you heard? What happens on the Mariner, STAYS on the Mariner." LOL

 

Sachem, our suite is third down from the top (I believe). There is the Royal Suite at the top (has a grand piano in it), then the Owners Suite, then the Grand suite, then the mini suite, then the family suites (just larger rooms with higher capacity) then aft balconies (regular balcony rooms with HUGE balcony's off the back of the ship) then balcony's, then ocean view (with windows) then the promenade rooms with bay windows that look down into the promenade, then inside cabins, no window, no balcony. Looked at a handicap inside room today and it was spacious with lower cabinets and a wheel chair accessible shower.

 

This IS Captain Johnny's last voyage for awhile. The new captain has already introduced himself (I wasn't there, so I didn't get his name, but will report back)

 

Ros......I think all the guys going to Windsor will be a good thing for you. At least you won't have them calling in as well as the customer load. You have no idea how THRILLED I am to know that the office has been left in your VERY CAPABLE HANDS, and I promise to make it up to you when I return. This has been a wonderful vacation.

 

Bowlerbus, haven't heard anything about the 80's glow party, but if I see "Hello Luv Becky " or whoop whoop ..........(only know him as whoop whoop) I'll ask about it.

 

this is Phil (Can I get a Whoop Whoop!!) ...........................

 

 

With regards to the things for teenagers to do....there will be a ton of pictures to follow of Adventure Ocean, which is a huge video arcade and segregated areas for the different age groups of children. We counted 50 video games in the arcade ranging from 25 cents to 2 dollars per pop. You load up the sea pass with a certain amount of credits paid in advance and they play until they run out (and then you load up more).

 

Alright....let me post my review.

 

Day 3, Sea Day

 

We woke up at 8:00 this morning with a phone call from room service saying they were ready to deliver our breakfast. We both slept WONDERFULLY last night. We had ordered a caraf of coffee with cream and sugar and they sent plenty of everything. There was fruit and pastries and croissants and eggs and bacon and hash browns. It was wonderful. We ate out on our balcony and it was a little breezy, but certainly manageable. Everything was hot when it arrived.

 

After that, DH was slow to start so I went down to the Café Promenade where I posted yesterday’s review and uploaded the pictures. The trick is to prepare the review the night before and then the next day go find a hot spot on the ship for wireless, and cut and paste it into cruise critic. Even with that, after only three days at sea, I have used up my 150 minute package and will have to order another. The internet is so-so with regard to speed, but there are so many steps with uploading the pictures to photobucket FIRST, and then downloading them to cruisecritic. It just burns away those minutes faster than you can blink an eye. I usually pick up a few cookies from the Café Promenade on my way back to the room to appease DH for the time I was away.

 

On my way back to the room, with my lap top under my arm, and balancing a paper plate with cookies on it, I stopped the Concierge Club lounge to pick up tickets for the ice show. I was unprepared (poor planning on my part) to select a day, so I picked 5:00 on Friday night. I raced back to the room, and fed DH his cookies and then looked at my schedule. There was a conflict! The second formal night is Friday night at 6:00 and I have a hair appointment at 3:00 (I have long hair and usually take two hours). So I raced back to see Ricardo at the concierge lounge, only to discover that all the days available for the ice show are equally booked up for me, so we are going Friday night at 5:00. It’s a 45 minute show, so we will race from the foreward part of the ship where the ice skating rink is, to the aft of the ship where the dining rooms are. My dress is going to be spectacular so the upside of this is that I will get to wear it to two places that night, instead of just to dinner….wheeee.

 

About 11:00 DH was finally dressed and ready to go so with camera in hand we went to explore the ship. We took some pictures out by sports deck and then headed towards Johnny Rocket’s. This is not to be missed. A lot of people complain about the $3.75 cover charge, but in my opinion it was well worth it. You have to pay for your milkshakes, but everything else is free. Do not let this deter you. You MUST get a milkshake. I highly recommend the black and white. It will take you back to a time when your taste buds were young and new and uncorrupted by wannabe milk shakes. Holy Cow!. I could not believe the flavor. It was intense, to say the least. The hamburgers were thick and juicy and the onion rings were the most crisp I have ever had. PLUS you got a free show. Towards the end of our meal, all the waiters and cooks lined up and did a little dance to the Bee Gee’s Stayin Alive. We did not mind the cover charge at all, and were even inspired to tip our waiter an extra five, because at one point as he was tapping the bottom of a ketchup bottle to dispense ketchup onto a plate for the fries, the cap came off and he THREW HIMSELF BODILY in front of my husband, absorbing the splatter of ketchup on his white uniform. (They will probably auction that off later this week as modern art).

 

After Johnny Rocket’s, DH’s batteries began to run dead in the camera so we came back to the room and got my camera (this explains the variation in sharpness from one picture to next throughout this report). Now it was time for our Cruise Critic Meet-n-Mingle. A lot of people participate in Cruise Critic, but never sign up on their roll call boards or sign up for the meet-n-mingle. If you have not done this, I highly recommend it. There are roughly 3,000 passengers on this ship. It is “way cool” to meet up with people you have already met, recognize them and swap stories or compare notes throughout the week. Our meet-n-mingle had about 40 people show up for it,I think and while it was not the highlight of our trip, it was really fun to attach faces to the names of some of the people who have posted on our roll call. Plus you get a neet little holder to place your sea passes, with a pen that is permanently attached with a little note pad, and a retainer to wear this item around your neck. If you are like me and you don’t want to carry a purse around all the time, and the sexy little clothes you packed to wear on the cruise do not have pockets, this could be very useful to have. So join your roll call, sign up for your meet-n-mingle, and then don’t forget to attend.

 

Ours was held at Ellingtons Bar which is on the 14th deck with great windows that overlook the entire pool deck. We got some great pictures of the pool deck from those windows. This being a sea day, you can see how crowded it was. Even so, we saw PLENTY of lounge chairs all around the pool. No sign of the infamous chair hogs I have heard so much about.

 

After that, we went down to the photo gallery and found our pictures and hid them so that no one would be able to see how bad some of them were ….Yikes. They had the formal pictures taken last night and I heard DH’s voice ring out across from the other side of the gallery…..”AH HAH!”. I raced over to where he was pointing accusingly at a photo of a nice looking couple and I said, “what? What?” And he said, “That was formal night and the man is not wearing a coat and tie!”……Oh brother. So we found our one renegade for formal night who didn’t dress formal. Not too shabby.

 

Checked with one of our cruise critic members who has late seating for dinner. She had previously said the dining room was very quiet with many, many empty tables, or people missing from tables. I told her that the purser had told me that while they were not at capacity, all staterooms were full. She scoffed at that and said that she highly doubts that. I wouldn’t be surprised by her assessment, because at no time have we had to wait an inordinate amount of time for anything (except that first day as we boarded and nothing was open), and it never really feels crowded for anything.

 

It almost time to get ready for dinner. I have started this report early tonight because we are going to have to post this from Ellingtons (another hot spot) late tonight rather than waiting until tomorrow. Tomorrow is our shore excursion, then a hair appointment for me, then Portifino’s. I will probably post between dinner and the game show Quest, as I understand this is not to be missed. I sure hope DH can stay awake for this one. He is napping right now and I will have to wake him to get ready for dinner. Lemme see if I have any cookies hidden around here. In case you are wondering what kind of traveling companion he is, I recently told someone that he is a cross between Jackie Gleason and Jackie Gleason (perpetually grumpy).

 

Below are pictures taken today. I have included two more of our stateroom. One is of the bed because I finally noticed today that each day that Sandra makes up our room, she places the pillows in different and creative arrangements. Yesterday was a butterfly. So I thought I would start including a photo of our bed. The second was a merging of two photos that DH tried to make to get more of the entire room in one photo. Photobucket will probably cut it back down to a single size pic….but I thought I would include it just in case.

 

Time for dinner.

 

All these pics are from Adventure ocean.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

................................................................................

[Heckah]

OMG Phil (WHOOP WHOOP)

 

We won free bingo at the honeymooners party so we reluctantly went (we're not bingo players) after one session we were back at every session the rest of the week, just to see Phil in action.

[BuilderMan]

Pootersmom - We are really enjoying your posts and pics! We sailed the Mariner in May and loved it so much we booked onboard for May 2007. Your pics bring back such great warm and fuzzies! Thanks!!

[jules815]

Pootersmom - We are really enjoying your posts and pics! We sailed the Mariner in May and loved it so much we booked onboard for May 2007. Your pics bring back such great warm and fuzzies! Thanks!!

 

Builderman-We're doing the same thing. We were on Mariner June 2006, and booked again for June 2007 (western route this time). It was the perfect family vacation...everyone had a great time.

 

Pootersmom: Thank you so much for posting and also all the great pictures. Enjoy your cruise!

[SherriZ366]

Pootersmom -- thanks for the updates about Captain Johnny. It sounds like the relieving captain comes on a week early to shadow the captain that will be going on vacation. If you get to talk to Captain Johnny, please ask him if he comes on Jan 21 to do this shadow thing. We sailed with him 2 times before and I have bought his book which is really neat as it details what the life of a captain is like. He sells and autographs the book in the Royal Promenade on the last day.

[HB Cruiser]

Pootersmom

 

We are on the Mariner with Builderman in May. We were together on her last year the same weekend.

 

As is Builderman, we are really enjoying your review and pix. It sure does remind us of our cruise past and what we have to look forward to this next May.

 

Thanks for taking the time to do all this work!!!

 

Tim & Crystal

[powelweb]

Pootersmom-

 

You are amazing for taking time out of yuor vacation to write up and post such wonderful pictures along with the play by play summary of each day. It is so much fun being on vacation with you!

 

Thank you for confirming that Capt Johnny is leaving this week- I'm disappointed he won't be on our 11/26 sailing but we'll still have a wonderful cruise I'm sure.

 

Looking forward to the rest of the week,

Wendy

[Fitnessmaniac]

Wow!! Brings back memories! (we were on Mariner Nov 5-12)

We LOVED Captain Johnny! We even were invited to have dinner at his table on Friday (formal night) What a treat!!! He is amazing and such a sense of humor!

I've said this in other posts...but..if you even have a chance to meet him..you'll love him!

The other cruise members have a high regard for him. (his sense of humor and also his professionalism) I totally agree!

Have fun! Thanks again for taking so much time to post!!! It's truly appreciated! :)

[sj25]

Pootersmom

 

I didn't know if you got a chance to see if a Emily is still on board working in the general store...where the liquior is being sold....we meet her last year...after 2 weeks .....she was soooo nice...and she thought she would be on this Dec...when we will be on once again???

Oh I can't wait soon I'll be there.....

[dachshunddoglover]

It's been such a joy reading your posts. We have never been on the Mariner before but will be sailing on her next May. I can't wait!!! Your stories and pictures have left me giddy with anticipation. Thanks! E-Beth

[jillybabes]

Pootersmom: What is your GS cabin #??? We will be in our 1st GS compliments of the upgrade fairy Dec. 10th. It will be the 3rd time that we will be sailing the Mariner....Love your posts and pictures...Later, Jill:cool:

[Pootersmom]

Jillbabes, our suite is 1274, midship (exactly I think). Captain Johnny is GREAT....and he is a lot of fun. Thanks for helping me out with whoop whoop Phil.....he is about a nut.

 

I have only seen one attendant in the general store so far and he is a male, not real friendly but polite......I did get a laugh out of him tonight when DH sent me down there to get coca cola for him. I told them attendant (as I placed five cokes on the counter and he made the comment that I must be thirsty) that I said, I don't DRINK coke products, these are for DH. And then I whipped out DH's sea pass card and said, "In fact, HE can pay for these!" He smiled a little then. I'll have to get his name.

 

Okay...lemme post some review...I wrote it throughout the day and there are just a mish mash of pic. I gotta hurry. The first midnight buffet is tonight and I wanna get some pics.

 

Day Four, St. Thomas

 

Let me begin today’s review by finishing up with the rest of yesterday after I posted at Ellingtons. We had a great dinner last night, still only three couples at our table but we are enjoying their company immensely. Last night I had the chilled apple soup, (which was excellent) Caesar salad (always really good here), black Angus steak (pretty good) with baked potato and baked Alaska for dessert(delicious). DH had the clam chowder (which he said was fair) Maryland Crab Cake (excellent), a spinach salad (which I was surprised he ate), lamb chops (very good) and (he asked and they brought it) a pork chop. (Which he said was very good). For dessert he had the chocolate mousse.(good)

 

After dinner we went to the Audience Participation Game Show, “Quest”. Much has been written about Quest and how funny it is (it really is!). I cannot tell you what goes on in Quest, or I may not make it back to the states alive. I will only say that it is adult in nature and if you are easily offended you might want to skip it, otherwise…..it is really a lot of fun and I was hoarse from screaming and laughing by the time it was over.

 

We headed back to our room and off to bed. Slept really good again.

 

We arrived in St. Thomas this morning promptly at 9:00. It is mandatory that every single passenger on the ship report to US customs (located in the various dining rooms) before disembarkation can begin in St. Thomas. This is whether YOU plan to go on shore or not. EVERY SINGLE PASSENGER must report. On every cruise I have ever been on, there has always been someone who thought that everyone meant everyone ELSE, but not them. The checking in for US customs took us no longer than 5 minutes, (the line moved line it had been greased with Crisco first), but there were four passengers who even after repeated paging for all remaining passengers to please report to US Customs NOW……ignored the pages. Finally, the pages began to include their name specifically and a reminder that failure to show up could result in a fine of $3,300.00

 

We were off the ship by 10:30 and walked to the shopping area and bought Sunglasses for DH and a Virgin Island’s tote bag. We ran into one of the couples from our dining room table and walked back towards the ship with them (they were planning to take advantage of the quiet of the solarium today). We were scheduled for the BOB excursion and the boat was right there in front of the gang plank of the ship, ready to take us aboard.

 

The BOB. (Breathing Observation Bubble). I cannot recommend this excursion enough. According to the captain (Cap’n Jim) They are getting ready to change the name to BOSS (Breathing observation submersible scooter). The new website, which is under construction right now will be BOSSUSVI.COM. They will be using the pictures taken today on the website once it is up and running. I wish I could post some pictures with this post, but, the underwater cameras are not digital and the photos will have to be developed, so that will be done pronto when we return home.

 

The boat ride out to the coral reef where they launch the BOB’s was about 10 minutes. The crew is funny and friendly and very, very helpful. The reason I chose this excursion (besides the fact that I HAD seen pictures and it looked like a lot of fun) was because I wanted an underwater experience where I could keep my contact lenses in. You can wear contact lenses, prescription glasses or sunglasses with the BOB helmet on. They give you a quick “how to” on the scooters and hand signals, how to equalize the pressure in your ears by making them pop, etc. They divided the passengers into to two groups and we were in the second group, so we got to watch the first group get into their submersible scooters. They bob right at the surface of the ocean, and your head is under water only long enough to slip in under the helmet and then you are breathing air again. No more than 1 ½ seconds at the longest. The crew (all experienced divers) are very helpful. There was one woman in the first group who was claustrophobic, and once inside the BOB, she panicked and came right back out. I felt sorry for her but I know how powerful phobia’s can be. But that was okay, she was still able to snorkel and swim. It was pretty funny….we were all in the water just swimming around and Cap’n Jim was throwing puppy chow into the water next to us and the fish went into a feeding frenzy, which with the mask on was really beautiful. Bright yellow and striped fish EVERYWHERE. He threw a peanut butter and cheddar cracker and you could see the cracker bouncing up into the air as the fish scrambled for it. He threw one and it landed on the butt of one woman who was face down in the water, and I heard Cap’n Jim say, “Uh, oh, This could get ugly”…as soon as the woman’s hips broke below the surface of the water, the fish were all over her. It was pretty funny.

 

Next it was our turn. I told them I wear contacts and they stood ready to guide me inside the helmet if I ran into difficulty (I didn’t). As soon as you are in, they allow the scooter to sink to 8 feet. There is a large buoy attached to a line up on the surface of the water that keeps you from going deeper. The bottom of the ocean looks like you could put your feet out and touch it, but it was at least 20 feet deeper there. They check and make sure you are having no difficulty getting your ears to pop. Then off we go. We went single file (like a bunch of drunken sailors, single file!). We had underwater cameras and took pictures (as best you can, since you can’t hold the camera up to your face to aim) and the divers would take our cameras from us and turn them back on and us and take pictures from all vantage points. I LAUGHED through the whole adventure. It was so much fun. Fish EVERYWHERE. We floated over an old ship wreck and along the reef. It was all over way too soon.

 

DH FINALLY said he was having a great time today and I believe that he was. He was grinning ear-to-ear through the whole thing too and said he had wished that we had done a back-2-back BOB excursion today.

 

Cap’n Jim gave us some hints on where to go for the best pictures of the sunsets, where the best drinks are served, what the best drink is, and where to go shopping for some authentic and unusual pirate related souvenirs. (LOTS of jewelry shopping in the Caribbean). He pushed the tips for the crew and I recommend you take some cash along with you because you WILL want to tip your crew. I know it is almost 100 bucks for the excursion, but you are going to feel the gratitude gushing out of you, and you are going to want to tip the crew…..so come prepared.

 

We got back to the cabin and I took my shower and then we headed to Windjammer for afternoon tea (light snacks) to tide us over until our dinner tonight at Portofino’s. I have a hair appointment in 15 minutes, so I will report back after dinner and let you know how it was.

 

 

CAN YOU TELL I GET A KICK OUT OF THE TOWEL ANIMALS!

 

[Pootersmom]

I’m back. Have some time before dinner. Stephan (pronounced “Steffon”) from Serbia wound my hair (MY thick, long hair) into a Grace Kelly French twist. He is VERY cute, very polite and I have decided to let him have his way with me (or, at least my hair) Friday before the last formal night and when I wear my special dress. He is going to create something fabulous for me.

 

We downloaded the pictures from yesterday’s sunset and from our arrival into St. Thomas today so when I post later on, I will include those. Off to dinner.

 

 

 

 

Portofino’s! In a word….OH, my God. The meal was excellent. I had the Insalata Dip ere e Gorgonzola (mesclun greens, gorgonzola cheese , pear slices and candied walnuts with an olive oil and balsamic vinegar dressing. Very good.

 

DH had the soup of the day which was a seafood bisque that had shrimp and crab in it. He said it was better than what they had in the main dining room,, but he wished they didn’t feel the need to put so much celery in it. He also had as an appetizer, the Melanzane Ripeni Di ricotta E Spinach Alla Parmigiana, which was thin slices of egg plant with ricotta and spinach. He loved it. I am not an eggplant fan but I tasted a bite of it and thought it was pretty good.

 

THEN……I had the Penne Alla Caminetto, which was a penne pasta with a red marinara sauce and parmesan. You can get this as a large main dish or as a smaller side dish, so I ordered the small side dish. This is an important detail……so bear with me.

 

For DH, I ordered the Spaghetti Di Mare, which was shrimp, scallops, squid, mussels and calamari in a linguini with a garlic herb sauce. I ordered the small size for him too (DH left his glasses in the room), but I think they took one look at him (he’s a big fella) and saw a challenge because there is no way that the bowl they brought to him could have gotten any bigger. The amount of seafood in that bowl was ……….impressive to say the least. So if you like this kind of thing….you will love this dish. DH said it was the best pasta and seafood, cooked in an authentic Italian style that he can remember having had in years. He is from the Bronx, NY and really appreciates good ethnic food. And I have to say, watching him eat is enjoyable. I don’t think I have ever watched anybody enjoy food the way my DH does.

 

Anyway, he just raved and raved about that pasta dish.

 

NEXT, they brought him the Saltimbocca Alla Romana which was veal with prosciutto and a porcini mushroom risotto. I had the filet mignon which melted in my mouth like butter with the best truffle mashed potatoes I have had in a long time.

 

DH, started to run into trouble on the second piece of veal. I began to see that my vision of writing a report that said…..”I can’t believe he ate the whole thing” was about to be squashed, but I felt sorry for him because he really started to get uncomfortable. I left half of my steak, because I have no desire to ever feel stuffed. I was satisfied and there was still dessert, which is also famed to be pretty spectacular at Portofino’s. DH was really suffering but he wanted to try the tiramisu. I suggested that instead, how about having the dessert sampler, which gives you a tiny portion of each of the four desserts, and we could split that. So I ordered that for us. But the stars were not with DH tonight, because the waiter came back with TWO dessert samplers, one for each of us.

 

Here is my opinion about the flourless chocolate cake. If you think you would like to have chocolate mousse thrown into a blender, with the richest chocolate fudge you have ever had thrown in beside it, then pry the last piece of triple chocolate cheesecake from the dish and put it into the blender……..then top that off with the some hot fudge sauce and blend for 30 seconds and chill so it firms up again…..you will have what I felt was the flourless chocolate cake. HOLY MOLY!......I sliced off a tiny piece of it with my spoon, and it was so rich and thick and gooey, I never did clean all the chocolate from my spoon (even dipped it in my coffee cup a couple of times to see if I could wash it off). There are people out that that will never think that something is too chocolaty for them. I am not one of those people. I still get a head rush just remembering it.

 

The little taster of tiramisu was excellent. If you have over indulged at dinner, I recommend this dessert, it is very flavorful, but extremely light (almost like eating whip cream). There was a really pretty apricot tart brulee kinda thing that was good, but the tiramisu gets my vote this time. The fourth one……………dang…………I can’t remember what it was but it was like a little white custard with a raspberry jellied topping on it. It was good…..but still the tiramisu was my favorite.

 

DH, ate all his dessert and he was really hurting by this time. As I type these last few paragraphs of my report, he is laying in bed behind me, mercifully asleep because he really put a hurtin on himself tonight.

 

My recommendations…………..taste the bread, but don’t eat all of it. The salad is not huge so go ahead and eat if you want. The appetizers themselves seemed to be reasonably small, so I wouldn’t hesitate in ordering one, but remember you have two very rich courses (and then dessert) to go. If you order the pasta course…..make sure you specify you want SMALL……..and make sure they understand that you mean it!!!

 

Now, for all of you that thought to be impressed by my grasp of the Italian language, don’t be. I swiped the Portofino’s menu from the Concierge Lounge for the purposes of writing this review and now I \have to go sneak it back in before they discover it is gone……See ya in a bit.

 

 

 

 

[maxs mom]

Hey! I want to see a picture of the Grace Kelly "do"!!

[Spurs Fans]

Your reports continue to be excellent.

 

Do you know what the minimum age is for the underwater scooter excursion is? That looks like a great time. We will have an 11 year old with us next summer. Hope she can go on it.

[iswimlikearock]

Can I ask a favor... would you see if you could get a copy of the Vintages Bar Menu or take a picture of it? We are going in August, and I would love to show that to my parents!

 

Thanks,

Jenn