bertrande

Before heading for our dinner date, I called room service requesting for the broiled salmon and steamed chicken breast (both sans salt and from the MDR Classics section) that my two girls have been taking every night. While I was in the shower, our butler called. Apparently room service had dumped the order responsibility on him as they don't do the "no salt" orders. We had to direct him to our regular waiter in Luminae who informed him it was a standing instruction for the galley. He then asked the galley and found out they knew. We will know better next time who to call. It is our first time in a suite on Celebrity (and only our third cruise on the line) so we are still getting our feet wet so as to speak.

We were in OL tonight but here are the menus from Blu, Luminae and MDR (in that order):

On the face of it, dinner tonight should have been much like a regular experience at OL. The menu wasn't all that special - as you can see, most of the items were available on the normal menu that I posted earlier:

The cost of this menu was also not included in our suite specialty dining. I don't drink at all so it would have been quite expensive ($99) given that many items were found in the usual menu. To our delight (or relief?), there was a no pairing option of $59 which DH and I gladly took.

My choices were the lobster bisque, the salad, the pork belly and the sole. Here is a picture of the food I remembered to take:

Dinner was fantastic. Every dish with the exception of the pork belly (which was hard rather than crunchy) hit the right note and was properly balanced in taste and texture. Service was top-notch and the dining experience was truly enjoyable, way better than our first night. We didn't eat the dessert because I had requested that the dessert from Luminae (chocolate sphere) be served instead, which they very kindly obliged. It is not our first time seeing the dish served but I still like to see it presented each time.

It tasted every bit as good as it looked. Stuffed to the brim, we made our way out of the restaurant, agreeing that it was one of the best meals we have had on a ship.

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RCL didn't enforce their dress code at all. On our last cruise in December people were entering the MDR in tshirt and shorts on formal night. On our current cruise, we have seen far better dressing on both smart casual and Evening Chic nights including quite a few long gowns and bow ties. The dress code on Celebrity is what we are super comfortable with and I hope it doesn't change in either direction for quite some time.

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Day 9: Boracay

The ship was supposed to anchor at 8am and, following clearance, start tender operations shortly thereafter. At 8am, the Captain's voice rang loud and clear through our stateroom. Never a good sign as typically his announcements can only be heard if you tune in to a particular channel in your stateroom or are in the public areas. The captain said the winds were too strong for tender operations and we would wait for two hours to assess if things improved. We later found out that it wasn't the then current conditions that were worrying but the fact that the winds were forecast to grow stronger over her course of the afternoon, which would mean a real possibility that tenders would have to cease operations early, leaving behind passengers who might still be on Boracay. As expected, things did not improve and we left the Philippines with an additional sea day. This was the view that we left:

A lot of us were disappointed but I think none more so than so many of the crew members who had scheduled to meet their family at Boracay. My heart went out to them. Some people questioned why, if the forecast had already been known the day before, the captain had not prolonged our stay in Manila. However, we were told by Megan the Michael's Club concierge that the captain had made the decision to try anyway, in case conditions improved. It was just too bad that his gamble did not pay off.

There was the usual mad scramble to put together more activities for the day and a revised schedule was printed and circulated. DD was still running a viral fever that peaked every 6-8 hours so for us, the day was spent very leisurely and slowly. We had lunch at Luminae which was hastily opened with the following menu:

I had the burger (pictured) and lava cake while DD had the tuna and DH had the lamb burger. All were tasty, although the lava cake was not quite lava-ish as I preferred.

We literally lazed the day away, with me moving my spa appointment from tomorrow to this afternoon and before we knew it, it was time to prepare for our Valentine's Day dinner at Ocean Liners.

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Thank you Bertrande, this has been a joy to read - I too cannot wait until we join the ship on Sunday 19th.

Pleasure Waggie, enjoy your cruise!

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thank you. we will be in 6148 on Sunday and so excited to finally have PH.

That's our stateroom! It's wonderful. When we arrived, the previous occupants had spoilt the automatic rollers but they fixed it the first opportunity they could. Enjoy, we will be leaving it very reluctantly.

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Hope you have a great time, we are on it next week x Any tips gratefully received x

Having a wonderful time. I don't notice the age of this classy lady at all - everything is running well. :) I do not think you are stopping in Manila but if you are and are a first time visitor, I would not recommend making the trip up to Tagaytay (see my review above). Sushi on Five IMO is also hit and miss in relation to the food - much preferred the old Bistro on Five with its crepes and soups.

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Short final post on dinner and menus.

Blu

Luminae

MDR

The shrimp cocktail amuse bouche was fresh and crunchy but we have been spoilt by our butler who delivers a plate of it every other day. For the first time, nothing on the Luminae menu screamed out and I went for two MDR options. The cobb salad and the prime rib (no longer to be seen on RCL cruises) were both excellent. The palate cleanser was a slice of tangerine which was sweet and refreshing. Did not want to stuff myself after the heavy lunch buffet so had a simple chocolate ice cream for dessert.

We meant to catch the Not So Newlyweds Gameshow but our eyelids couldn't keep open (and DD came down with a high viral fever as well) so that was the end of our day.

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Thanks,

 

See my comments in red above

I think you can go ahead and book it pre-cruise unless you have a chunk of OBC waiting to be used. I have to say I have not seen it widely promoted, unlike our previous cruise on RCL (where the price pre-cruise was $150 and dropped down to $75 (buy one get one free) during the cruise due I suppose to poor response). Internet is very important to us as both my husband and I need to work throughout the cruise - unfortunately that's the only way we can take two weeks off. For that I'm glad it came as a room perk.

How is michaels ? What suite type are you in ?

We are in one of the Penthouses. Went from an S2 to a RS to a PH. MC is wonderful! Megan is bubbly cheerful and so keen to make our cruise a wonderful one. The bartenders are friendly and really try to make the drink you want. My DH ordered an Iced chocolate for me not knowing they didn't have the ingredients at the bar. The drink magically appeared in ten minutes. They also have music every evening at about 745pm so it's really a nice place to sit and just chill. Enjoy your cruise! We will be sorry to disembark on Sunday...

Our next stop was a brief visit to a jeepney assembly workshop. Jeepneys of all sizes could be found, with people working on them:

I wonder what if we had arrived on motorcycles instead?

And a nice euphemism for the WC:

We then left Manila and made the 1.5-hour journey to Tagaytay, which was supposed to be the highlight of the tour. This is where we felt it was a little of a let down - the highlight of the tour was, according to our guide, the buffet lunch at the Taal Vista hotel. We were all a little surprised to find that all we would do at Tagaytay was to have lunch and take pictures of the view from the hotel. The food was very nice but nothing you cannot get at any good hotel (as one of the passengers put it "we get off the cruise ship and travel for 1.5 hours to have more food?").

Here is the view from the hotel. I imagine it would be much nicer if the fog lifts but this is the best I could do yesterday lol.

We spent about 1.5 hours at the hotel and then headed back to the ship where again we were greeted by an enthusiastic band of performers.

On hindsight, we would not have taken this tour had we known what we know now regarding where the ship would dock and what the tour truly was about. We would have opted to tour or explore Manila instead. Our excursion to Tagaytay was, for the 8 hours, a little of a non-event. Also, as we had a group of 7, I should have explored doing a private tour ordered from the ship instead - yes it would cost us a lot of money but the traffic in Manila is every bit as bad as it seems so ensuring the ship wait for us is critical. Many crew members who went to the nearby mall were almost late for their all-aboard time. Their journey to the mall took 15 mins but the return journey was almost an hour for some. As they say, hindsight is always 20/20!

In summary, I felt we didn't get as much out of Manila as we could have and our choice of excursion was a poor one. For a first timer to Manila, I would not recommend it; it is more suitable for repeat visitors who wish to try something else.

One thing that was really heartening was how so many family members of the crew met them, both on and off the ship. Celebrity even organised a buffet on deck 4 for the visitors, which was a nice gesture on their part! It was the first time this season that Celebrity was visiting Manila and it was good to see them take care of their crew in this manner. Our butler told us they also had a buffet for the family members of the Indian crew during the stop at Goa earlier. Of course, the farewells were bittersweet but the crew we spoke with still appreciated the number of hours they had with their family (however short) so, way to go, Celebrity.

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Day 8: Manila

Weather was sunny and bright in the morning as we pulled into Manila bay. We were on our only ship shore excursion so it was an early start. Our butler brought a simple continental breakfast and we then headed to the Celebrity Theatre. That was where things went downhill.

It's been 10 years since we have taken a group shore excursion direct with the cruise line. A number of factors converged to make this happen, namely an abundance of OBC (which we didn't know whether was refundable or not until a couple of days into the cruise), the reputed traffic in Manila and basically lack of information on the boards as to where we were docking etc. Not many ships call at Manila so there was a paucity of information and prior research attempts on the destination boards weren't too fruitful. Turns out the ship docks right at Manila (unlike the ports that were named "Ho Chi Minh" and "Hue/Danang") so it would have been perfectly fine to walk around on your own if you so wish. Anyhow, we signed up to take an excursion to Panaromic Tagaytay.

Making our way to the theatre along with a million others and knowing it was a 1.5 hour drive to Tagaytay, MIL and I decided to make a beeline for the bathroom and DH and the other five in our group went ahead to get our stickers. When we attempted to rejoin our group however, we were rudely rebuffed by our fellow passengers who thought we were attempting to queue cut. They refused to listen to our explanations and used hands to stop us from proceeding inside with lots of "to the back!" And "queue is behind". And then there were the others who were speaking English only moments before and who suddenly turned mute when I asked for clarification, only showing us their tickets and nudging us behind. It was a horrible and embarrassing experience. In the end, I had to phone DH (wifi and 4G both seemed to not work in the morning for some reason so he was not responding to my whatsapp messages) to come out and get us, all the while enduring the withering looks from the other passengers, some of whom shook their heads and pointed their fingers at us. I felt like a criminal and seriously regretted our decision to go with the ship at that instant.

Thankfully, things picked up once we got on the road, although there were further minor kinks before we got going. We were delayed as there were two missing passengers and the bus actually departed without them. However, the couple caught up and we stopped by somewhere along the road to pick them up. It was a full bus of 45 and we had to travel convoy style with the other two buses on the same excursion for security purposes. There was very loud feedback from the mike so the poor tour guide had to alternate between lowering the volume and shouting but we made do. Also, the seat in front of us was broken and could not be set upright. I am not of a large built so wasn't uncomfortable even with the restricted space but I felt sorry for the poor passenger occupying the seat proper. She said it was very uncomfortable but as the bus was full, she could not find an alternative.

As the three buses travelled together, there was always a big crowd at each stop, although movement was largely smooth and unhindered. Our first stop was to see the only bamboo organ in the world at the St Joseph's church. We arrived during the annual festival:

The church is next to a well built, beautiful school.

Inside the church, there was an exhibition area where you could see the mechanics of the organ and even hammer on a few keys.

The interior of the church was lovely, and the organ itself was imposing. We heard it being played while we were there so it was a nice treat.

We then reboarded our coach to carry on to the next stop:

I have to pause here to comment on the wonderful warm welcome the Filipinos gave us upon arrival. There was much dancing and music and it was a beautiful colourful sight to behold. One could not help but smile. Also, many Filipinos would wave at us as our buses passed their shops/vehicles/roads. It was truly lovely!

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We had thought about going to Ocean Liners before it closes. Did you find it to be worth missing a night in Luminaes??

Because specialty dining is included in our suite, I would say yes. Otherwise most days between the Luminae and MDR menus, there are always good options when dining in Luminae. We are going to OL again tonight for their special Valentines dinner which costs a whopping $99 per person. I will let you know how it goes lol.

It's lovely to read such positive posts and to know that you're having such a wonderful time!

This is so kind of you, thank you. It has been a lovely time on the whole so far - my next post will contain a few negative experiences but these are just overshadowed by the positives so far.

Enjoying your review and the nice photos.

Thank you!

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The Signature Suite comes with unlimited specialty restaurant dining, and free mini bar. Also, unlimited internet, and free laundry twice a cruise. :)

Thanks for the reassurance!

bertrande, I had the same question when I looked to upgrade from a Sky suite to a Signature suite for our sailing this April. There was differing info on the Celebrity site.

Yes that's exactly the same situation we are in. Booked an S1 aft but I don't think my DH can do aft cabins after our current cruise (PH on Connie is in the aft section). The only other S1s that sleep three on the Reflection are under the pool so not ideal. We don't have enough sea days (two only in a ten day cruise) to justify a PH and the RS price has gone up by usd900 per pax since when itineraries first came out. Same for CS prices. SS on the other hand has remained the same price. So we were wondering whether to do the SS. Although after posting I went to see the deck plans and noted that the SS are all fwd rooms. Not ideal as well! Have fun on your April cruise - would love to hear how it went!

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We are considering a Reflection sailing in a signature suite. I know the website and most descriptions indicate that the Signature Suite has all the perks of a Royal Suite except for the layout/space difference in the two suites. However, when I search for sailings, the description of a Signature Suite indicates that complimentary dining in specialty restaurants is limited to 1-2x a cruise depending on the cruise length. Also, does the SS come with unlimited internet for all passengers (like the RS) and complimentary mini bar etc? This is what I get when I click on the description on the pricing page for the suites when looking at my sailing (or any sailing for that matter):

Access to the private Michael's Club Lounge

Priority check-in & early debarkation

Located in a private area on Deck 14 accessible only by guests carrying the suite's SeaPass® card

Separate living area

Dedicated private restaurant\, Luminae\, reserved exclusively for all Suite Class guests

One complimentary dinner in specialty dining for all guests in suite (cruise of 6 or 7 nights) and two complimentary dinners for all guests in suite (cruise of 8 nights or more)*

Premium Reverie® Dream Sleep System™ customizable mattresses

Personal butler service 24/7

Luxury bath amenities & plush robes

Celebrity eXhale™ bedding\, pillow menu\, plush duvets and pure cotton linens

This differs from the description for the RS, which specifically includes complimentary minibar, unlimited internet for all guests in the suite, complimentary premium beverage package for all guests etc. Does anyone who has recently travelled in a SS care to clarify on this? It's not a biggie but it is one of the factors we would take into consideration in deciding whether to sail in a CS or a SS.

Many thanks!

Yes, I read that too - extra staterooms in the front section :confused:?

I am the writer of that paragraph. Yes I took the information with some measure of disbelief as well! I think the only consistent thing running through all this is that 1) OL is going away and 2) Qsine is being added on. As to where and what will move etc, I guess we will just have to wait and see!

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Thank you, i found it very interesting. We are on the March 5th cruise. Not sure about those swells you experienced though

Hopefully those were a one-off. Our Luminae waiter told us tonight will be a rough night but we will see.

A couple of questions:

 

Was any Internet package offered on board that was not just the expensive unlimited use package or short term package that had to be used within one continuous hour or one 24 hour period? In other words, could someone get a number of minutes that could be used anytime with no restriction on when they had to be used other than the end of the cruise?

 

Also, the "Inside Access Behind-the-Scenes Ship Tour" is being offered pre-cruise for $79. Is the price the same if booked on board?

Re the internet package, the only one that was advertised was the unlimited package. It was $319 until a couple days ago when price was revised down to $219. The discount was 50% off the second device but as far as I am aware, no short term package was available for purchase.

I believe the inside access tour is not cheaper onboard (they might push price downwards as we are into the second week of the cruise but it hasn't happened so far).

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Just rechecking on an earlier question here if you dont mind --- was Sushi On 5 only a la Carte , or available as part of any Dining Package or any set price or discount offered ?

I'm afraid I can't shed any light on the dining package and whether it's included therein. However, I have not seen any discounts offered for any of the specialty dining restaurants. As we have specialty dining covered within our suite, we had the entire bill charged to our room at no extra cost yesterday. The sake at $14 a glass was also covered under the premium alcoholic package. I didn't try re-ordering the wasabi so I'm not sure if we would have been charged the $10 supplement. Doesn't make sense for us to be charged but we didn't care to find out.

The MC concierge did say though that our OL booking on Valentine's Day would be charged the $99 per pax due to the "special" menu. Also, there is a special grill night that has been advertised for $65 a pax (see picture) and I am not sure if it's included under our suite. We are still debating whether to go for it.

Sorry that we can't be more helpful - perhaps there are others who can respond more definitively.

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They are making us very excited for our cruise in June on the Connie.

Thank you Amy! I hope you'll enjoy her as much as we are.

Do you know who the cruise director is?

Rich Clesen is the CD. Not the best but not the worst by far, gets things done. Yesterday he was feeling under the weather so the Activities Manager took the stage after the evening performance for the usual debrief.

We will be on the Constellation on May 2, different itinerary, Italy and Spain. Looking forward to it.

We have Italy and Greece booked on the Reflection next year and are wondering whether to change to the Connie instead!

One question if you don't mind: I see you are posting Blu menus; as a suite guest, can you order from that menu (and have delivered to Luminae) or can you eat at that restaurant

We can eat in Blu subject to space (our butler said to just tell him when we want to do so and he will make the arrangements). We have never been offered the Blu menu at Luminae (unlike the MDR menu, which has been provided every evening) but have never asked either. Blu is on deck 5 and Luminae on deck 4 so what I have been doing is making a photo stop at Blu in the evening before heading down for dinner. :)

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Thank you bertrande for this live report! We are on the 5-March sailing of this itinerary. I appreciate your well written tips and beautiful photos!

Pleasure and thank you! You will love this ship - it's in great condition but the people are what makes it sparkle!

Two more pictures to end off the night. Desserts tempting passers-by at Cafe al Bacio tonight.

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Day 8: Sea day

The rockiest day at sea by far had even the crew members talking about it. We had drawers thrown open by the swells and we all talked of the ship dancing without being drunk. I spent the morning in the forward section on Deck 10 (indoor cycling class followed by a facial) and all I can say is I am thankful seasickness hasn't affected me this voyage (might be jinxing myself there). We bumped into and spoke with the Staff Captain who said the swells should subside by mid afternoon and they did, although it turned slightly rocky again in the evening. He also said that the Constellation would feel movement more, being a smaller ship (bad news for DH).

Every passenger had to present himself in front of Philippines immigration and health authorities who had boarded in HK the day before. We were each issued this card which had to be filled in:

To encourage passengers to go early (the set time was between 1230-230pm), an announcement was made at 1245pm to say the process was going on "very well" and we should proceed to the lounge where it was being conducted. Unfortunately this led to utter mayhem and chaos as everyone seemingly decided to go up at the same time! There were snaking queues and queue cutters reared their ugly heads. DH left something in the lounge and went back up at about 215pm and said it was near empty. We will know better next time.

Luminae lunch menu:

We decided to eat at Sushi on Five instead. I miss Bistro on Five, the crepes were always excellent on both our previous cruises. I know they did the replacement as Bistro was not earning its keep but, on this cruise anyway, Sushi doesn't appear to be well-frequented. We have eaten here twice but every time we have walked past the venue, it has been near empty. The food is also uneven- the rolls are very good (especially the shrimp tempura and the sunset rolls - those are truly awesome), and the desserts are a must try. However, both times we have dined there, the sashimi has been hit and miss. In this aspect, it's a quality issue relating to freshness of the ingredients rather than food preparation. The service - well, I am biased as our favourite waiter is currently there so obviously we think it's stellar (which might explain why we still returned despite the uneven food the first time round!). We had him as our MDR waiter back on the Equinox and then saw him again (then at Blu) when we cruised Alaska on the Solstice. Imagine our delight and surprise to see him on this ship! Three out of three - maybe we should try our luck on the slots machine.

I had grand plans to take a bosu class this afternoon but that was scuppered due to baby sitting duties. I had been encouraging DH to play ping pong since the first day and he finally went today...and played for two hours LOL. So I took a nap with DD instead. Not a bad way to spend the afternoon.

We still haven't managed to get down to Michael's Club for the afternoon tea...it's really a hassle and bottom of our priorities. Our butler brought us a tray of sandwiches and pastries in the afternoon anyway so we wouldn't go hungry (like we would on a cruise!).

Tonight was the second Evening Chic night. Attire on this cruise has largely remained traditional. There was a sizeable number of men in bow ties and ladies in long dresses which was lovely to see. We were on RCL in December and saw people in gym shorts in the MDR on formal night which was a little surprising. Menus for tonight follow.

Blu

Luminae

MDR

Food tonight was delicious, especially the wonderful desserts. They left us truly stuffed. From left to right, chicken liver (amuse bouche), lobster, chateaubriand, Black Forest biscuit and Milk chocolate ice cream with Baileys. The best desserts on the cruise thus far.

Tonight's guest entertainer is a lady from the Philippines. Like many Filipinas, she's small with a huge voice, effortlessly belting out pop standards. The crowd warmed up to her and gave her an enthusiastic sending off after her final piece.

It's a long day tomorrow in Manila so I am signing off now. Many of the crew are so excited as they have family visiting them and it makes me happy to see them so happy. The crew has been wonderful and every one of them is an asset to Celebrity, serving with their heart and being such great ambassadors of the company.

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I tasted the escargots (MDR), sea scallops, veal chop and chocolate soufflé. The veal chop came highly recommended but we thought the sea scallops were much better. Some of the food we had:

The show this evening was a production show titled the Land of Make Believe. It was very entertaining with high production values. It was a wonderful way to end a beautiful day. We retired to bed immediately after the show as we were all worn out by the day's activities.

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We then rushed to Causeway Bay to pick up some Chinese sausages from a famous store, tuck into a quick meal of tofu and soy bean curd, and grab my favourite mango drink from Hui Lau Shan, a mango dessert chain in Hong Kong:

Another mad rush using Uber to get to a mall that's near but not that near to the cruise terminal to pick up, of all things, dog kibble. The local distributor refuses to import the lean version of the product so we took the chance to get a couple of bags from HK. The uber driver was wonderful in agreeing to wait for us and then send us direct back to the ship. All aboard was 630pm and we arrived back at 6pm - the closest we have cut it thus far. It was a long walk back to the ship and I couldn't help snapping this picture of the setting sun along the way:

We had been invited to witness the set sail from the helipad and it was very pretty. The pearl of the orient looks so beautiful in the evening when the lights dot the city landscape. Set sail was delayed due to four missing passengers and my DD2 was getting cranky so we left before it actually happened. It was still a lovely experience; the crew handed out thick blankets and cups of wine and there were photographers around to capture the moments.

After a quick shower to refresh ourselves, it was time for dinner. Menus follow.

Blu

Luminae

MDR

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Day 7: Hong Kong

After two dreary overcast days, the ship pulled into port with the sun shining on us. It was unexpectedly chilly but we would take that over rain and blustery winds any time!

After a morning indoor cycling class, we prepared to get off the ship.

First thing that everyone noticed was the Connie's sister:

As we are frequent visitors to Hong Kong, we had something different planned for today. While the inlaws went shopping, DH, DD and I caught a taxi all the way to the other side of the city to the Asia World Expo. Coincidentally, the Longines Masters Showjumping competition was taking place and as keen equestrians, we got ourselves tickets for the day session.

We thoroughly enjoyed watching world class showjumpers in action and also liked the show by Santi Serra the Spanish "horse whisperer" who worked with his horses and dogs without tack or bits. Some pictures follow. Apologies if this is not mainstream touring!

Prize presentation - winner was the current world no 1 combination so it was really a treat:

Santi Serra's show:

They had great (horse-related) shopping and also good activities for the kids, such as scavenger hunts, face painting etc. We liked how they managed to turn this rather eclectic event into a family friendly outing.

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Dessert menu:

Food tonight was very good. From left to right of each row, prosciutto with melon, salmon sashimi done fusion style, amuse bouche, fennel soup, palate cleanser, barramundi and chocolate caramel custard.

The shows today were very good. There was a matinee featuring the previous night's guest artist (a violinist named Katerina Rossa) who performed a separate set. DH and DD enjoyed it tremendously. The evening shows featured the aerialists Jocka and Maria who enthralled the crowd with their blend of artistry, grace and athleticism. The crowd was equally generous with their applause and we left the theatre on a high. The next day was a stop in Hong Kong, which was eagerly anticipated by all.

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I forgot to add that we attended the adult-only version of Family Feud that night (so we didn't sleep quite as early as I thought). DH and I both thought Royal Caribbean ran its equivalent better but we enjoyed it nonetheless.

Day 6: Sea day

Very relaxing day today, just generally a day to chill. Did some time on the treadmill before dragging a very reluctant DH to a tango class. He grudgingly admitted that he had fun.

Here are the breakfast and lunch menus for Luminae and the lunch menu for the MDR:

I enjoyed a Zumba class in the afternoon before dinner. They are having this package where you sign up and pay for 5 classes and get the sixth free. Good motivation to keep fit (since you've prepaid the money anyway)!

Dinner menus follow.

Blu

Luminae

MDR

To be continued...

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We were nicely surprised upon returning to our cabin - our butler had very thoughtfully left behind a tray of goodies.

We were in Ocean Liners but here are the three menus as usual:

The service in OL was superlative, although the food was a mixed bag. We found the lobster bisque far too salty (and did give feedback on it) and the accompanying cognac cream did little to change the taste. The diver's scallops were OK. The lobster was very good, as were the desserts. On the whole, I much preferred the food in Murano on the Solstice in 2014. The service however could not be faulted. We were also told that the front part of the restaurant would be converted to extra staterooms (!) with Qsine occupying the back half of the restaurant. Below is a picture of what we had:

We were all tired from the long day and skipped the shows, going to bed very shortly after dinner and very much looking forward to the sea day which awaited.

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