cruisingdeb1050

I usually never use a TA except for cruises because they can get you extra OBC or sailor loot.  I am not sure but I think you only have 30 days to transfer to a TA.

Thursday, December 9 - I was able to get reservations at the Wake again. Tried the third benedict which was a soft shell crab on a slice of polenta with spinach and a spicy hollandaise sauce and another avocado/asparagus benedict and requested extra hollandaise sauce. There was very little crab meat but the polenta and hollandaise was tasty. Tried the poached shrimp - was not impressed. My sister tried the crepe cake.  Which were crepes stacked on each other with a filling between layers. Had very little taste.

We headed to Bimini late morning.  It was crowded and no chairs in the shade.  Went down to water and got feet wet. Went to the pool for a short cool off. Not much of a beach person. Stayed a short while longer and headed back to ship.

Headed to The Dock for drinks and late lunch. Unfortunately they didn't start serving for another 1/2 hour.  So had pre-made Caesar salad and the insides of smoked turkey sandwich. Was quite tasty. When they started serving had some of their watermelon feta salad and shrimp skewers.

Went to the Passing Ships Performance. It was edgy and the cast was diverse in every way which was great to see.  Unfortunately there were technical difficulties 2/3 the way through and the rest of the show was cancelled.

Had late dinner at Extra Virgin. My sister started her meal with the Beef Carpaccio which was tasty.  I had the smoked chicken liver pate which was one of the best things I had eaten on the ship. The shrimp and mussel pasta with chili urchin sauce was spicy and a little too salty. I had the grilled young chicken in piccatta. The sauce was wonderful. The chicken had only about 2 oz if that of breast meat. It was smaller than a cornish hen. My sister had sea bass which she enjoyed. The desserts - chocolate cake and bomboloni  were good but nothing to rave about.

(Cont) The food was set up in the middle for intentional sharing. Our medium and large plates came together. We shared seared shrimp, smoked pork and roasted duck. All three were tasty and full of different and delicious flavors. Finished off our dinner with the yummy chocolate taco.

We headed to the Scarlet night activities which were raucous and fun. Made more for those younger than I but enjoyed watching.

Forgot to mention that earlier in the day we saw the Dual Reality performance which was impressive. The acrobatic skills of the performers was amazing.

Wednesday Dec 8 Ate breakfast in the galley. Our server went out of her way to get us what we wanted which took a little ingenuity. I wanted an egg and bagel sandwich. They don't serve eggs where the  bagels are,  ordered separately and created my own. Tried the buttermilk blueberry pancakes. They reminded me more of buckwheat. They were grainy and heavy. Tasted OK but not what I was expecting. My sister had the oatmeal which when loaded includes fresh blueberries and rum raisin butter. She said it was quite good. 

Played some bingo which was reasonably priced and had good jackpots.

Had to go back to the Dock for some more delicious grilled shrimp and to try some of the other things from the cart. The watermelon with feta was great. Refreshing with a slight kick of heat. I added some of the shrimp to their quick pickup Caesar salad which was a wonderful combo.

After 5pm you started to see a lot of red dressed people on the ship. Reminds you of formal nights on other ships with everyone in scarlet. It ranged from casual to formal to funky. The activities started at 9pm. Missed the beginning due to late dinner.

Had dinner at Pink Agave. Great margaritas. The small dishes were all flavorful 

58 minutes ago, Wendy The Wanderer said:

 How does the ship feel to you?  How is your stateroom?  The service? Does it feel crowded?

I like the ship. My biggest complaint is the lack of and/or consistent signage for restrooms and direction to bars, restaurants and such.

The statetoom is comfortable in size. Bathroom is small but the shower is awesome.  Bed configuration is strange for non couples. It is L-shaped. So you are either head to head or head to feet.  I believe the originsl concept was a sitting area when not sleeping,  but is set up as beds only.

Generslly the service is excellent. 

The first sea day didn't feel crowded but after having a near empty ship while in Cozumel it felt crowded the next sea day but it didn't impact services.

Had an easy lunch prior to getting off the ship at Cozumel. I had cheeseburger and fries. Was tasty and well cooked. Planning to do a tequila tasting and buy some tequila with some leftover pesos from a trip to Chiapas. Never found the tequila tasting shop but found the tequila I had looked for previously that I had bought when I was in Chiapas. It was twice as expensive but I got rid of my pesos. 

I keep forgetting I don't like Cozumel. You have to go by it seems a hundred shops to get to the street and back to the ship where you are harrassed by the shopkeepers.  We walked off the pier but took advantage of the biketaxi on the way back.

When we returned to the ship we needed a drink and of course something to eat since it had been more than 2 hours since the last time we ate and dinner wasn't until 8:30.

We discovered the Dock. 1. It has a blender and makes awsome pina colada with fresh ingredients. 

2. The food is soooo flavorful. Had the grilled shrimp which was awesome and the falafel which were tasty as well as the sauce. Unfortunately I remembered pictures after I had eaten every bite.

Had dinner at Gunbae. They sit 6 at a table. The 6 different vegetable pre appetizers were delish. There is then a drinking game with korean alcohol which was fun. Got too involved in talking and having fun to take pictures. I had the seafood pancake which was very tasty. There was a variety of items to grill. The meal ended with soft serve ice cream of 2 unusual flavor which were good. I liked the black sesame best.

Tuesday Dec 7 - Started the morning with my much awaited Eggs Benedict.  Since I wasn't sure I would be able to come back I ordered 2 Benedicts  1/2 servings- had the Avocado/Aspargus and Crispy pork belly. The avocado was great just needed a little more hollandaise sauce. The crispy porkbelly was breaded and had no flavor and was tough. Had to have another bowl of the clam chowder because it was so good. My sister had the French Toast. 

Enjoyed the game time. Relaxing playing cards and drinking margarita.  Went to check out the casino. Like to play non-digital slots. None to be found. Found slot I could understand and proceded to lose my money in record time. There is live entertainment throughout the ship. We managed to just miss or hear the end of the set.

Our dinner was at The Test Kitchen. The setting was unique and made conversations with others easy. Most enjoyable meal so far. Started with mushroom pate. Followed by the most unusual. Smoked egg yolk surrounded by fresh peas and caviar that came in a clear dome filled with smoke (no picture). Delicious grilled scallop with prosciutto and seaweed with broth.

Main course filet with chocolate and yummy sauce and side if unique styled potato. Palate cleanser was frozen blue cheese concoction with pear and candied pecans.  Finale was death by chocolate. 

Monday December 6 - The morning did not start out great. Went to the Wake for breakfast looking forward  to Eggs Benedict, my favorite. Told we needed reservations which was different from what I read and we can only make brunch reservations once. We have reservations fir tomorrow morning. Decided to go to Galley for breakfast. Sat outside on the rear patio. Service and food were hit or miss. Tried brioche french toast which was tasty and was served with real maple syrup  which came out quickly. Our egg dishes took considerably longer. I had a make your own vegetable and cheese omelet with hash browns and bacon. Sister had scrambled eggs with sausage. My omelet was OK. The cheese had no flavor. The hashbrowns were like those from McDonald's but round and thicker. Bacon was smoked not sure if I liked it. We also ordered a fruit Bento box. It finally came after 2 requests and we were finished eating and they brought the wrong fruit Bento.

We are surprised there is no seasonal decorations. We continue to explore. There are bars everywhere.  You really notice them after 6pm when they are all open. 

Lunch was had at Razzle Dazzle.  For appetizers we had the mushroom tartare and the avocado toast. The tarttare was tasty the avocado toast again was bland suppose to have spiced cucumber and radish. No cucumber and radish had little flavor. Luckily I love avocado. We both had the chicken sandwich. I also found it bland and was thigh meat. I prefer breast. The fries were double fried which my sister liked me not so much.

Sunday, December 5 - Arrived at port at 1230. Went to the "Arrived Too Early " Rep came out to area to have us scan Covid-19 testing sign up. I had no problem, but my sister had difficulty signing up. There were long lines everywhere, but they moved pretty quickly. We went through both registrations, Covid testing, and were in the room for boarding by 1:45. We were in group 11 for boarding. They started group 1 at 2pm. Were on board by 2:30.

Our luggage was waiting for us outside our door. Changed and headed for something to eat.

Didn't realize we just needed to sit down and someone would serve us. Got a quick bite Caesar salad and some Bento sushi boxes. Wanted to eat lightly since we had 7:15 reservations at the Wake(steak house)

Caesar salad was good. Lettuce nice and crisp. Dressing was a little bland.

Sushi rolls were slightly disappointing. The rice was too dry. If you tried to pick up with chopsticks, they fell apart. Taste was just OK.

Wandered the ship. There are hundreds of quaint nooks to sit. 

Headed to Deck 16 where they have frozen drinks.  My sister wanted s pina colada. I had the margarita. It was tasty but took 20 minutes to get. They had to find lime juice.

The safery drill was painless and the safety video was entertaining and different. 

Dinner at the Wake was uneven. Our appetizers were fantastic. I had the clam chowder. I don't like clams this was amazing. My sister had the roasted bone marrow which was also good. They were serving the main course before they cleared the appetizers.  We both had the filet. Mine was barely warm and not a great cut. My sister's was hot and a much better cut. We ordered the bearnaise sauce which was bland. The sides of asparagus and mushrooms were both tasty. The desserts were lovely and tasty. The baked Alaska was small, unique,  and the perfect size after a large meal. The lemon cheesecake was again unique and tasty. Will try to take pictures next time.

14 hours ago, rotoal said:

Any bar,  Cafe Al Bacio, MDR

Thanks rotoal.

Deb

12 hours ago, Luvcrusn said:

Any restaurant or bar, pool or theater. You can't drink the bottle of premium water left in your room on embarkation day without being charged however.

Thanks Luvcrusn.

Deb

I have upgraded to premium beverage package.  Where on the ship can you get a bottle of premium water?