TheGrandSnackoneer

I was already on the fence about eating the NCL air cancellation fee and booking out of Billy Bishop. I think I'll lose 50% but given the prices at YTZ aren't too insane and I can (hopefully) avoid my luggage getting lost and rebuying everything it's a trade-off I'm willing to take.

The banding in some photos might be caused by the fluorescent lights. They flicker at a slower speed than your camera shutter. I don't know if it's a feature that you can change on your phone but try turning off HDR+.

3 hours ago, KmomChicago said:

I know this sounds ridiculous but I barely could tell. I have long hair and I’m telling you it was blowing everywhere, in my face, I could hardly see. We saw a lady putting ranch dressing on her salad from a few inches up and I swear drops of it were blowing across the deck as she poured. My husband had a glass of Mountain Dew and that was blowing out of the daggone glass. I got some pumpkin seeds in mine and yes there was craisins and a yellow cheese plus shrimp, ham, bacon, I think chicken. It was really just a standard modern small salad bar. My husband said the ranch dressing wasn’t very good. I got balsamic and it was fine.

 

We were there only maybe a minute or two just trying to keep it from blowing away before we dashed off. It was ludicrous, we and the salad crew guy were just laughing hysterically.

Is this because it's on a high deck? I was on the Panorama and had the exact same issue in regards to wind. Gave a new, new meaning to tossing salad I'll tell you that.

Ting Mojito. Ting is a delicious Jamaican grapefruit pop. As long as you're cool with mint you'll love it. No opinion on the Alchemy menu because I always just asked for something weird with gin. Don't overlook the coffee selections at the Havana bar. Cafecito or a cortadito in an empty bar is always nice. I think most people don't realize it's open in the morning because it was only ever me and the bartender while Java Blue was slammed.

I'm with you on the dry gin martini. Everyone I know who drinks them seems to be trying to out-dry each other. At this rate just put a straw in a bottle of Botanist and call it a day....

27 minutes ago, cruisin*tigger said:

Don't get me started on how I've paid double for years as a solo and Carnival gives zero appreciation to us that do that.  And yes, I'm doing it willingly, but barely.  lol  At least I'm finally Diamond on the 31st.  🙂

How have I never noticed this before. I'm guessing they also twist the knife by not giving double OBC? I'm bummed Mardi Gras doesn't have 1A rooms anymore...

3 hours ago, trulytracy said:

We aren't big drinkers but the best thing about the drink package is feeling free to experiment. Always wondered what a Pink Lady looked and tasted like? Order one! An Old-fashioned? Try it! It's a great way to discover what drinks you like and don't like.

I initially read Pink Lady as Pink [insert word whose euphemism is kitty cat] and reflexively wanted to warn you against it. A bartender made one and poured a tiny portion for a couple of us at the bar. It's Bailey's and Campari. It's also horrifying. Been awhile since I've seen someone laugh that hard. 

3 minutes ago, asalligo said:

Not true, NCL and MSC are almost always cheaper. Especially if you add the often free drinks at NCL. 

I have to look where you're looking because NCL has always been more expensive for me. The only reason I'm willing to go on Carnival solo is that it still comes reasonably close to NCL even after making peace with the 200% fare.

Elderflower liqueur is pretty sweet. The flavour is sort of if you mixed pear and a very light floral smell? It's definitely not potpourri or rose water level. There used to be a great pear and elderflower cider from Sweden that I loved but they stopped selling it in Canada. Hopefully someone can drop in with a better description?

Our tastes must be similar because I had the bone marrow appetizer too. That's a hard melted cheese on top. The shallots and parsley are dressed in a light vinaigrette to help cut through some serious richness. It was a very heavy feeling dish especially because the crisp bread on the side didn't do much of anything but the Polaris number-I-have-no-clue really helped out here. The little squares on the tartare are hollow little crispy puffs. No clue what the black dust underneath was. These two aren't a pairing I'm used to seeing but it was good.

10 hours ago, KmomChicago said:

 

Okay what is a Polaris cocktail?

St. Germain elderflower liqueur, lemon juice, and sparkling wine. Nice and light. Perfect to get the night started. Only improvement might have been a tiny splash of ginger liqueur.

17 hours ago, Tom-n-Cheryl said:

It looks pretty tasty here - wonder if I should try it again !!

It really does and you absolutely should. Reminds me of too many Polaris cocktails and eating leftover cheesecake in my bathrobe. Great meal.

On 7/11/2021 at 7:04 PM, KmomChicago said:

 

One advantage of the filet, for me, is actually the mignon part, i.e. the small size.  Steak is incredibly delicious and I love rib-eye, and Tom recommended it, and I am sure it's divine.  But it's going to be too much food. There is no rib-eye mignon. And I cannot mentally waste beef - sorry, folks, I just personally can't. If my husband says he'll eat my extra then I'll get it. 

 

If it helps, when I had the Australian Wagyu it wasn't a large piece of meat at all. Slightly larger than a filet mignon and smaller than a ribeye. Eyeing the ribeyes at other tables mine was maybe half the size? Personally, I liked it a lot and would order it again. Just for context I don't like filet mignon and I really enjoy rib cap. I don't mind chewing for flavour.

I'm in the same boat as @Tom-n-Cheryl and still can't figure out what cut is was. The waiter described it as, "sirloin that tastes like flat iron" but the piece of meat itself was pretty flat wide rectangle. The grain was also running a little more horizontally almost like a flat iron. Maybe it's a really trimmed coulotte, top sirloin or weird piece reserved for the solo diner?

1 hour ago, bucfan2 said:

Can one wear a sorta fuchsia/tangerine/lemon-lime colored polo/non-polo combo shirt w/ shortened shirt-sleeves, having a partial collar and button holes (missing some buttons, but by design), provided they 'feel' it's indeed chic?  

Only if you pair them with harem capris. Entice 'em with an ankle but keep the kneecaps for yourself 😉. Really embrace the sea breeze.

1 hour ago, mom says said:

What you are describing is a polo neck, similar to a turtle neck, and refers to sweaters, not shirts.

 

As for the photo- only if you manscape and have a waist  <30". 🤑

Never knew they were called a polo neck, learned something new! I'm describing a different shirt entirely though but I think it's a golf shirt type thing. I've only rarely seen them as a fashion/non-sport shirt. This is what I mean (please ignore the model's face I have no clue what he's squinting at).

All body types have their charms but this brings up a missed opportunity for the cruise spa to sell some manscaping services. "Get Your Deck Waxed" has a certain marketability to it.

On 7/7/2021 at 10:02 PM, kwokpot said:

Absolutely no one is going to call a T-shirt made by Polo Ralph Lauren a Polo shirt. 

This thought has never entered my mind but now that it's here you can't stop me.

Aren't "collarless" polos the ones with the low-cut stand up collars that taper down towards the throat? Like a mandarin collar but half the height with a slope.

Also, I tend to really eat a lot on vacation and want to be prepared. Sooooooooo thoughts?

28 minutes ago, crzndeb said:

I quit thinking solo supplement a long time ago. I look at daily price and what I’m willing to pay. 100% of the time it’s cheaper than what I would pay for a decent hotel room nightly, plus the cruise includes food and entertainment.

 

I agree with Firefly. I had a 1A with portholes on the Splendor to Singapore in 2019 (also did Mexico sailing prior). I love those cabins. I also like that is forward, so you don’t get a lot of foot traffic.

Excellent way to look at it 😀. I get too hung up on the % sometimes. I usually try and tell myself the same thing if my airfare drops after I've booked. 

I might have just been really lucky but for me the 1A worked out to about 150% of an interior instead of 200% on the Panorama. Bed was a single but with only one person who wasn't entertaining any other passengers I found it more spacious than a normal interior just because of the weird layout. There's an enormous amount of empty space between the bed and the bathroom door. 

@bitemyfly is correct that OP was looking at the Razzle Dazzle menu because it seems like that's the one that's most prevalent in the promos right now. It's specifically branded as the "veggie-forward" dining option. Virgin website lists their other food offerings and nothing seems super unusual. Steak, seafood, Italian, Mexican, and Mediterranean. The food hall replacing the buffet looks like your normal downtown food hall. Taco bar, noodles, bento, burgers, pizza, steak, toasted sandwiches, etc. I miss the days when you could just call it a fancy food court. 

I'm interested in trying the line at least once. There's no point in them entering the market if they're just going to do what the other big lines have been doing for longer. I don't mind the Scandinavian/futuristic key party aesthetic. Might be a week of indelicately getting on and off chairs and stools though.

Greg I don't know if you were joking or not but I am so hopped up on cough syrup right now so here goes:

11:10 - In the Heights from In the Heights

19:30 - She Used to Be Mine from Waitress 

22:40 - It's Too Darn Hot from Kiss Me, Kate (I think? I don't know why I get it confused with South Pacific) Never thought I'd hear a rock version of it but I was pretty drunk at the time and thought it was hilarious

31:00 - My Strongest Suit from Aida

36:15 - On My Own from Les Mis

38:15 - You Will Be Found from Dear Evan Hansen

43:05 - You Can't Stop the Beat from Hairspray

There's also a bonus at 25:00. It's technically Gwen Stefani's Rich Girl but that song is a version of If I Were A Rich Man from Fiddler on the Roof. Again, I had come straight from Alchemy so I was thrilled.

It seems like I had the opposite experience as everyone else at LAX for Uber. Hopped onto the bus no problem. I was even able to put my luggage by my feet and didn't have to stack it by the door. The bus had us in the pickup lot in a few minutes; however, I came from Toronto so I got on at an earlier terminal (maybe Terminal 4?) with a nearly empty bus. The higher numbered terminals closer to the lot had no chance but there were also plenty of buses waiting to go behind us. Personally, if you don't have mobility issues or too much luggage I would try walking to the lot if you're getting full buses. For the most part it's pretty well marked as long as you can get to Terminal 1 (I think there's a covered walkway between 7 and 1? Someone please help me out).

At the actual lot it only looks insane. You get dropped off, go forward a bit, cross left for Lyft, right for Uber. You don't drop a pin. Instead Uber/Lyft knows you're at the LAXit lot and has a different menu. It's also why you will only get a range as the fare estimate. Not sure about Lyft but for Uber I plugged in my destination, it gave me my estimate and a 6-digit pin. There are two crossings for Uber. First was for people with no pin code (no clue what was going on there because I was waved through to the next curb really quickly) and the second is the people with pins. You join another very fast moving line where you get ushered to the first available car. Say hello, show the driver your pin, confirm where you're going and you're off. It was pretty fast to leave the lot and according to my driver they spend far less time idling this way than before. I was in and out of that lot in 10 minutes and 5 of those minutes were spent fiddling with my phone trying to get my roaming to work and comparing prices. Be warned this was on a friday at 5pm-ish so I think I just lucked out with it being a slower time.

Does anyone know if there is lactose free milk at the JavaBlue cafe? 

It's a fun show that doesn't take itself seriously at all. The music is styled as a variety of girl-band, Top 40 type songs (you could put them beside a lot of Little Mix, Girls Aloud, Leona Lewis, etc. and it would fit right in). As for diction they're pretty clear because there's a lot of comedy in the lyrics as opposed to the jukebox musicals where everyone already knows the songs. If you're like me and totally at sea on history they'll give a semi fast summary. I can see why they'd want to use it on a cruise ship as the finale is VERY geared towards getting people to leave the theatre excited and amped up. It did very well on the West End and is super popular with the younger demographic.

For me I'll get it if I'm solo only because I drink significantly more alcohol alone. Truth be told over the span of a week I'm probably very close to the break even point but I'm more adventurous on the package than off. Oddly the big decider is that I can use the package for bottled water, juice, coffee, etc. If I ordered a drink I'd get a bottle of water at the same time. Never been so hydrated in my life. Only time this backfired was towards closing time at the Windjammer when I went for a coffee. The gentleman with the drink cart saw I had the beverage sticker and was very generous. Cut to me outside my cabin holding a latte in one of my tiny baby bird hands, cradling 4 super cold bottles of water, and trying to open my cabin door with the RFID Seapass that was oh so conveniently in my butt pocket. Could I have just put down the water? Yes but I also wanted to know if posterior dexterity was a thing. It's not.

Also I don't know if this applies to any of the other Quantum class ships but there is another fresh OJ machine in Sorrentos tucked in the corner.

When I went alone the waiter specifically told me he'd ask the kitchen to choose the smallest cut of short rib they could find. That being said he still brought out 6 appetizers, the main I ordered, another fish main he thought I'd like (he was right, the fish with coconut rice was ridiculous) and then he insisted on dessert. Was I dying? Yes but it was my Everest and I'd still go again because it was delicious.