ColdCruise

After dinner entertainment - very good singing across a broad range of styles the headliner the duet the officers & crew also take a bow

Dinner tonight at Palomar bread service (olive oil with fresh snipped herbs) Grilled shrimp appetizer (not jumbo prawns advertised, maybe sized 21-25) Mushroom tartare with fingerling chips grilled filet (truly MR, warm center, meet still moist) looked a bit lonely on the large plate! lamb chops Shareable sides: whipped potatoes, grilled fat asparagus, honey roasted carrots (too much cumin - very spicy!) French apple tart with vanilla bean ice cream Galaktoboureko - orange custard pie with greek yoghurt sorbet (tied with OMG cheesecake for best dessert on board) and the best (strong!) coffee on the ship (caveat: haven’t tried the french press)

Thanks! They are really close to each other (Taino Bay & Amber Cove)

IMG_5023.mov Video of Viva pivoting to sea and a couple folks going down the drop (i have a bird’s eye view)

Yes - we had yet to go through immigration 😆

The ad-libs were good- made the show more intimate. Saw it 2 nights ago and the comments were fun. i am not great with faces, DH was pointing out the “familiar” cast members.

Yes it was Taino Bay. We were the only ship docked (that I saw). First time in Taino Bay & first time in DR. there is another cruise ship 1 bay over from Taino towards the wind mills. Not familiar with this. Any ideas? (iPhone on max zoom)

Entering the harbor @0810 drone overhead, maybe check YouTube later for video?

Just occurred to me - the butler snd room steward might be prepping to push us out the door 🚪 or off the ship 🛳️. in addition to removing the fruit basket, which we’d been eating a piece at a time, our butler came by last night to deliver disembarkation instructions, luggage tags, … and information about tipping vs daily service charge. and good news on TV as a few (13) of the Hamas/kidnapped hostages were released

Yesterday’s afternoon snack although they took away our fruit basket that we were eating through the cruise - the pear & apple were just reaching peak consumption. DH had a pear yesterday and found it perfectly softened and juicy (granny smith type) and the bananas were nicely ripened with a few brown spots versus firm and barely yellow ( banana ripeness is very personal)

Freestyle Daily, 25 Nov, Day 10 promotions:

Morning sunrise as we approach Hispaniola in the near distance

I like watching how they’ve integrated into living in an urban development plus the color variations are interesting esp when they kook very near to “purebred” types saw one beautiful rooster looked like a micro sized Welsumner we kept. don’t know about their tenderness or eatability but wouldn’t be surprised if they were only useable for stewing do to lifestyle . Ours had/have a fairly plush life - endless food, yummy treats, room over their heads and protection from cold (sorry, no AC in the chicken coop), and (usuat) protection from predation once i gave up the idea of free-range eggs. Plus they live mostly long lives till nature takes it’s course.

Wow, that would have made for a LONG day for a lot of the crew. several crew members did mention that St Thomas would be/was a long day as they were reassigned to different stations when they would have been on break. All due to CBP processing and CG drills. Tough day for them!

And a “normal “ dinner - the special pizza from Onda I think I’ve reached my limit of rickh, heavy meals for this trip. oops Palamar reservations tomorrow

A couple photos of StThomas harbor today What I like to call “ the 3 sisters” shot the looming V!va and the local chickens We have kept chickens for around 15 years so I find these feral chickens interesting

I’ve suspected those hormones to be complicit in a lot of things for a while. My biggest linkages are hormones & other food chemicals and the number of extremely tall people, as well as all the food allergies and food - related diseases. hadn't thought of early puberty. Although it seems historically women married and bore kids at a far younger age than what I’d consider “normal “

Us Customs had 3 processing groups - US citz, non-US citz and crew The US citizens lined up outside Commodore. As a suite guest, we were escorted through Cagney’s and inserted into the line just inside Commodore’s door. Took us just under 5 minutes from that point. There were 3 tables with 2 agents each, plus a man standing. All digital, I spoke with an Irish couple who said their experience was very different - 3 hours in the Observation Lounge. the crew had their processing interrupted by a Coast Guard mandated drill, so didn’t finish till just before noon according to the asst. Maitre D’ All aboard was 1330, at 1400 there was an announcement calling for 3-4 names. At 2:30 we’re still docked.

Freestyle Daily for 24 Nov, Day 9: and the promotions

Don't read too much into my posting @graphicguy i stated i might go back tonight to go stand by 😉 And I’m not surprised @cruiseny4life but think there are some kids out there …. I have friends & a cousin who work in the public & catholic school systems. Lets just say adult-student interactions have changed over the years. back to regular programming…

And this morning, 24 Nov , Day 9, brings this view off our balcony

And this morning, 24 Nov , Day 9, brings this view off our balcony

We made port last night with little fanfare. I think we were watching Beetlejuice at the time. great energy and good cast. Really enjoyed it but i think it probably should be pg-13 - lots of innuendo as well as not subtle at all comments. However Id also like to think those bits would be over the heads of the 12 and under crowd (hard to say these days ) might try to get a standby seat tonight to see it again. Beetlejuice will be the signature show for V!va for several years (3-5 i think i heard in the backstage tour).

Agreed, but the steak was not moist. Chef said they rested the steaks when pulled from the oven for 30sec-1 min. And for med-rare there will still be some juice. The 2nd breakfast steak was on point for doneness and moistness. The 16 oz ribeye was pretty (although i’d have preferred a bit less cooked) but dry. Unfortunately

Sounds reasonable to me. Steak was thin enough to just sear and serve. so I guess next time I go to Cagney’s for dinner, I say to the waiter “please bring me 3 of those tiny 6oz breakfast strips cooked MR instead of that 16 oz ribeye” 🤣