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Ken ordered the Branzino in Crispy Bread, a great main course. I opted for the Nova Scotia Lobster Casserole, which was everything I imagined it would be.

Aww, thank you! ❤️ It was a great one!

We saved Eden for our next to last night aboard. We knew it would be a great dinner, when we were seated at the wake of the ship. 🙂 We love a wake view! Our waiter was very entertaining, and asked us about our likes/dislikes. I mentioned that I’m a Cajun girl, so enjoy food filled with flavor. Cajun food is not necessarily spicy, though it can be. We just love to flavor our food, using all the spices at our disposal. 🙂 We both ordered the Jumbo Lump Crab Cake appetizer, and it was excellent. I did take a small bite before remembering to take a pic, so excuse the smeared sauce at the top. And that glass apple you see at the top right is the Forbidden drink, which tastes like apple pie. The shrimp you can barely see (which I forgot to take a pic of) is the Pan Roasted Carabinero Shrimp that the waiter brought us because I mentioned I’m Cajun. It was outstanding as well.

We ate in the Oceanview Cafe several times. Ken does not like buffets, and we usually pass on the Windjammer on RCI, because there is nothing that stands out enough for him to eat the buffet. Celebrity is definitely a step up with their buffet, and we grabbed several quick meals at Oceanview, including the pizza in the restaurant that is directly behind Oceanview, aft on the ship. This was the best pizza we have had at sea. And the pizza restaurant is open when the buffet restaurant is not. One day, I grabbed a cake dessert that was infused with some kind of liquor, maybe rum? Anywho, this cake tasted like pure rum, so strong that I could not eat it. It was dripping with rum. 😂 I told Ken that whoever made it must have forgotten they had already poured rum over the cake, and poured more. Ken liked it though, and finished it for me. 🤭 That was the only food item I tried onboard and couldn’t eat it. Another day, there were some wonderful cakes out for lunch dessert. We both enjoyed the carrot cake.

We had dinner at Le Petit Chef for my birthday. I completely forgot to take any photos. However, we had the menu that included Tartlet of Slow-Roasted Heirloom Tomatoes (over feta) and this tomato tart was over-the-top! I don’t eat tomatoes often, and this was SO bursting with flavor that I ate it all. Ken could tell you I normally would never eat that much of a dish with tomatoes as the main ingredient. We then had Poached Shrimp and Persian Cucumber Salad, followed Braised Short Rib of Beef, finishing up with Strawberry Chantilly Napoleon. All were excellent. I thought that Le Petit Chef would be a one-and-done for me. Cute and fun, but for some reason I thought this meal wouldn’t compare to the other meals. The manager of the dinner came around to thank each of us for attending, and she was touched when I told her this meal rivaled Luminae. Which it did. We will attend Le Petit Chef again.

We both finished with the Ricotta Cheesecake. So pretty and tasty!

For our mains, Ken again went with the recommendation of our waiter, and he chose the Peppered Tuna with potato purée, spinach and pinot noir sauce. He normally doesn’t choose tuna, but this was amazing! I chose Citrus and Chili Braised Short Ribs with pickled chilis and steamed rice buns. After seeing a serving of this go by, I asked the waiter to please give me only one piece of short rib, since the plate normally comes with two. So, when you look at the picture, imagine twice as much meat. I still had enough to share a bit with Ken.

One other night, I remembered to take photos of an entire meal at Luminae. So, I guess that was two afternoons we didn’t spend time at the Martini Bar. 😂 For appetizers, Ken chose Grilled Mediterranean Octopus with crispy prosciutto, potatoes and smoked paprika. Because I am not that adventurous, I chose Chicken Liver Custard with pickled turnips and sourdough toast. We had to get extra toast for Ken to enjoy some of my tasty app, and surprisingly, I tasted his and it was excellent!

We loved the art around the ship. The ship itself was art. Wish I had taken more photos, but here’s a sampling. 🙂

It was! I loved having asparagus with breakfast, and I must confess I ordered this same plate three different mornings. 😁

The filet was available for us. We were offered a filet, NY strip, sirloin, salmon, and at least one other fish I can’t remember. Those were available each night.

A sampling of breakfast in the Retreat. Ken enjoyed the pancakes in the background each day with his meal. I also tried an omelette one day. It was very good too.

For those sailing in the Retreat, following are some ‘welcome aboard’ documents left in the cabin.

The morning we arrived in St Kitts, we were greeted with a rainbow. I hope you can see it.

How could I forget to mention this? Every night in Luminae, there is an Amuse-Bouche. This is a bite-sized appetizer to begin the meal. It is usually chef-chosen, and has always been a fun treat to me. To have one every night in Luminae was a really nice touch by Celebrity. This is the only time I took a pic of one, a seafood treat.

And we finished with a Hazelnut Cake for Ken (Dulce de leche, Fernet-Branca, and mint gelato) and the Daniel Boulud signature dessert for me, the Raspberry Pistachio Vacherin. Both were lovely.

Obviously, this was not an afternoon spent at the Martini Bar, because I was remembered to take pics of each course. 😂 Our mains were Cod Basquaise (with potatoes, clams and piperade) and the most divine Veal Cannelloni (with chestnuts, pecorino and Madeira). You can see my Bourbon and Peaches near the pasta. 😁

Monday night, we were back in Luminae, for an excellent meal. Appetizers we chose were Turkey Escarole Soup and Braised Short Ribs. And yes, that is pomegranate with the short ribs, which made the flavor pop.

I am going to post all the daily planners at the very end. 🙂 I saved them all. Have a fun cruise!

I mentioned that we had lunch at the Grand Bistro. There is an upcharge for this, and we had shipboard credit to burn, so we tried and really enjoyed the lunch. We will eat there again. We dined there on Sunday, and I had the short rib. Let me mention that I had short rib three times during the week. I never eat it at home, so it isa real treat onboard. Each time it was outstanding! Didn’t get a pic of the meal, until dessert. Ken had the Profiteroles, and I had the Floating Island (Creme anglaise, caramel sauce). The Floating Island was SO good. And light after the heavy lunch. Even Ken enjoyed it with me. He was surprised at how good it tasted.

I really liked the reminder cards in the cubby hole outside our cabin for reservations that day. Reminders of scheduled specialty dining and wine tastings. An example below:

The second area we gravitated to was the solarium. Ken would swim laps in the outdoor pool in the AM, while I read a book in the air-conditioned solarium. We would swim in that pool for a while when he finished. Love that towels don’t have to be checked out, they are on all loungers for you to use. Beautiful area, and a small, healthy buffet available in one corner of the solarium.

Besides the Martini Bar, Eden, the suite lounge, and Cafe al Bacio, we gravitated to two other areas on the ship. We loved the Rooftop Garden (and Grill). We had dinner at the Grill, but since it was the 5 martini afternoon, I forgot to take pics of the meal until dessert, which is the amazing cookie baked to order. We both had the filet, which was outstanding. We would recommend this specialty dining. You do have to walk across the open deck a bit to get there, so if windy, keep that in mind.

We had breakfast at Eden a couple of days. Intended to return, but there is a great breakfast at Luminae as well, plus we had the Elite breakfast at the Grand Bistro too. We really needed a second week to try everything we wanted to. The breakfast at Eden is great. I had a wonderful breakfast sandwich, Ken had steel cut oats one day, and the breakfast sandwich the second time. We shared a fruit plate with that.

I think it would be hard to budge Ken from the Retreat. 😂 I would personally be fine with a balcony cabin, just to be onboard, but he is spoiled now. We do have a southern Caribbean booked on Beyond next Thanksgiving that he is already excited about. I can def see why it is your favorite line. It certainly ranks right there with RCI for us now, both lines for different reasons. Hope your cruise is wonderful!