Joe33472

Had our BEST meal so far on this cruise!    My girlfriend didn't even want to go, so I had to really convince her that we should at least give Coastal Kitchen it a try.  She didn't see much on tonight's menu that she wanted, but I persisted.    I'm really glad I pushed. 

Our server Alan was excellent.  He asked if we had somewhere to go (which we did) and really expedited our service.   The food and service was truly excellent. 

Started with the onion soup and roasted beet salad.  Both were excellent.    Then onto grilled NY Strip and roasted pork loin, both of which were great.  And finished with Baked Alaska and Red Velvet Cake, which we both totally enjoyed and devoured. 

Overall, that was a great experience and we were in and out in 1 hour 20 minutes.   Thank goodness.  

Of course, I'm now being asked when we can go back and why we can't go there for breakfast, lunch, and dinner!  🤣

0\

If I've done my calculations correctly, we're 1,276 miles from Ponta Delgada. 

At an average of 20 knots, we'll be there in about 64 hours (9:30 a.m. on Sunday).  Yahoooo.  

We went on the galley tour and brunch and it was interesting to see the kitchen operations.  The kitchen we visited was super CLEAN!   That was reassuring.   We were very impressed with the scale and organization of the kitchen.   

Brunch was okay, not exactly what I anticipated.  Some prior videos I watched showed a small buffet type of set up, but this was more like a small menu.  The food was good with endless mimosas.   My girlfriend had this chicken dish and said it was very good.

We have dinner at Coastal Kitchen tonight since there was some availability at a time that worked with our reservation for the Book tonight.

Just realized that when I was testing the hotspot on my Pixel that I hadn't put the phone into Airplane mode 🙃And that I was on cellular at Sea. Hotspot still works when I put the phone into Airplane mode and turn on Wifi.  UGH

3 hours ago, Biker19 said:

As mentioned above, you can’t hotspot a WiFi connection on an iPhone. Only a few Android phones have that option. 

Thank you!   I totally forgot that iPhones have no option for creating a hotspot while you're on Wi-Fi.     I also totally forgot that because of this, I brought an old Android phone I had lying around (Pixel 6A) on the cruise.  And indeed, hotspot works on Android 14.  

4 hours ago, perfect match said:

 I really need to think about getting myself a USB to lightning cable before our September cruise. I have a very full schedule the next few days and even Amazon won’t get one here in time for our Allure sailing. I do plan to bring and try my Firestick. We’ll see how that goes.

 

I love your watch charging on the wall! 😂 

We're so loving having a Roku on this trip.  It's making a big difference.  We're watching our local morning news right now and will be watching the network news we like shortly.   The iPad set up worked really good too.  We have Xfinity at home and their streaming app worked great when I had that setup. 

I would say that I'm using my laptop as a hotspot and connecting the Roku to that network.  That is working out great and no issues.  I'm not sure about connecting the Roku directly to the onboard network.   I might try that at some point, just to see if that works.  

For some reason, the personal hotspot option on my iPhone is greyed out.  I'm not sure why.   So, it's really handy to be able to share from my laptop.  I'm sure a travel router would work the same way.   Just something to consider.  

We decided to have breakfast in our stateroom because we are doing the galley tour at 11 a.m. and I really messed up the order.   I didn't realize that things already came in multiples so we received so much food it was bananas.  🤣 You'd think we were having breakfast for 8 people.... My girlfriend wanted 2 blueberry pancakes so I put 2, and two orders came.   I wanted 8 creamers for the coffee thinking it was those little cups you get at a restaurant and I think we received two cups of creamer.   We wanted two hashbrowns and received so many I'm not sure what I did.  

We opted for a combination of continental breakfast items and some things from the American breakfast menu.  The food was warm and similar to what's in the Windjammer. 

I'm know that we're not supposed to put the trays out in the hall, but wonder if room service knows to come and retrieve all these trays or if I need to call.  Thanks in advance.

We went to Solarium Bistro for a light dinner.   We enjoyed the Mediterranean fare and the format of a buffet with table service.   We particularly enjoyed the baklava and the various dipping sauces.  I took the roasted chicken and chopped it up and put it in my salad and it was fantastic.   I even tried the lamb (definitely outside my norm) which was cooked perfectly and tasted great. 

Beautiful moon tonight, it almost looks like the sun.  

Would love to see the Oasis as we pass by, but we're just wiped.  We're going to need a vacation from our vacation 😁! 

When we were first planning this trip over a year ago (our first TA) we had no idea whether we'd be able to use our deck due to it being too cold at sea.  Today is a BEAUTIFUL day at sea, despite the waves and the boat rocking a bit, it's just gorgeous.   I wish there was a bit more sun on the deck, but that's okay too. 

1 minute ago, 3CatsInMA said:

Yep, you need to check them out. I think I was getting 6 or 7 at a time and returning them soaking wet an hour later. Lol

@3CatsInMA Thank you so much!  This is awesome.  I had no idea that you could check out that many towels.  We have some laundry hanging up now, but our next load we'll definitely get some towels.   Thanks again!

Looks like we're slowly catching up to the Oasis.  I'd love to see the Oasis at sea, would make some great photos.  The Oasis is traveling around 18 or 19 knots and we've been consistently traveling around 20 or 21 knots, so I think it's just a matter of time 😃

12 minutes ago, Billy Baltic said:

That explains it. I have an older iPad which doesn’t have USB-C.  

There are the same type of cable for lightening port to HDMI.   Like this one.  I bet you could pick one up at Ponta Delgada.  We'll still have a week remaining on the cruise, even at that point.

Amazon Lightening to HDMI

8 minutes ago, LooneyCruzer said:

We ate at Giovanis for lunch. The meatball was excellent, the pizza was not much better than Sorento’s, and the desserts were great. 
Very disappointed in the pizza, i expected it to be much better, but thought I would give it a try before we get to real pizza in Rome and Naples. 

I had the pizza last night, and agree with you, really thought that the pizza would be better than Sorrentos.  Maybe only marginally better.  Also agree that the desserts were great.  

5 minutes ago, 3CatsInMA said:

Hand washing works out pretty well. We brought some oversized zip lock bags to to laundry during our 26 night b2b.  It saved time being able to do more clothes at once.

 

Pro tip:  get a bunch of pool towels to roll the wet laundry in before hanging, to speed drying time.

@3CatsInMA Thanks for the tip.  How do we get a bunch of pool towels?  We haven't be up to the pool and thought it was a check out system.  Are you able to check out a bunch of towels?  Thanks again. 

We went to Chops Grille for lunch and it was really good.  We both had hamburgers and some sides.  I think we prefer the taste of the hamburger at Playmakers rather than the Chops hamburger.   The sides weren't overly hot, except for the potato bites which were warm and very tasty.    We really didn't order all this food ourselves, again some was unsolicited, so we didn't feel badly about not eating everything.   I had the warm chocolate cake was great.  I really enjoyed that.   The waiter, Mohamed, was great.  Very friendly and attentive to our needs. 

2 hours ago, RobInMN said:

That's why we pack a universal remote with our Firestick. Then you have access to a Source button.

Also, Odyssey has the newer interactive system (as you show). When we were on Odyssey, our experience was that we had to unplug the network cable and power cycle the TV before we could actually change the source. With the network cable plugged in, it force-launched the custom software as the top priority which usually (or used to?) prevent you from changing the source, effectively disabling all other inputs. I've had to do that in some hotels also.

but @GenSteve, my main suggestion would be to get an inexpensive universal remote and take that.

 

I also use a VPN. One other thing I've found is that my Firestick does not have a GPS, so that's all I need. However, if I try to watch some streaming services (like YTTV) from a device with a GPS, they will refuse to launch if the GPS is disabled, and if the GPS is enabled, it ignores the VPN for location and goes by the GPS location, allowing it to Geo-lock the content anyway 😞. I would suspect that a Roku also doesn't have a GPS.  

 

I was debating whether to buy a Firestick or another Roku prior to the cruise and ultimately decided on the Roku since that's what we use at home and I'm familiar with the interface.   Good to know about the universal remote.  I'm looking at the Roku remote (which I was able to get paired with the TV) and don't see a source button  

Received the laundry offer today when we came back from lunch.   I might be able to get past the 1 million degree Fahrenheit wash and dry, but not sure if I can get past the washing laundry in the same load as other peoples stuff.    We have a co-op in NYC and there is communal laundry, but not laundry at the same time as others.   But not throwing the offer away, because I might get desperate for laundered clothing at some point.  The bag is like I expected from watching videos online.  We're going to hand wash in the sink for now.  

13 minutes ago, GimmeOcean said:

USB-C to HDMI adapter will do that.

Exactly!  USB-C to HDMI, like this one.   Purchased this cable from Amazon, but they might have one in the Photoshop or in Ponta Delgada if we're able to port.

45 minutes ago, GenSteve said:

After having our 6/7 Serenade cruise cancelled, we'll be on Odyssey's 10/22 cruise. First cruise since COVID, and I have a few Odyssey-specific questions:

 

1) Are Ripcord and iFly ever available for free, or do you always book appointments and pay?

2) What's the lowest daily price you've seen for VOOM Internet and The Key?

3) Do the TV's have an HDMI port to simply "plug and play" from a laptop?

4) Does your VOOM location change, or is it static? (Question is related to needing to use/change VPN country.)

 

I welcome any feedback. Thanks for your time.

As far as #3, the HDMI slot has been working great for us.  There are actually several HDMI slots on the back of our TV.    On the "Live TV option" there is an option to input from HDMI.   My experience has been that the TV "knows" what device is sending a signal.  I haven't been exactly sure how to change HDMI slots on the remote as there is no input button.  Last night I was able to switch to HDMI 3, but not sure how I did it, and it was a pain to switch back.   I would recommend plugging and unplugging if you're using multiple devices.   We've been using a Roku for local/national news and other entertainment.  I've also attached my iPad to the TV and it projected automatically.  I'm sure my PC would do the same.   The ship's selections of TV are limited. 

The cheapest I saw the internet plan for 2-devices (on one plan) was $30.99 per day.   We've been streaming content with good success.  The Key didn't make much sense for this TA and it was never priced good IMHO.

Was thinking this morning that our room steward, Komang, has really been wonderful.   Very pleasant guy and so hard working.    Overall, I think that the crew has been really great and welcoming.   

Reflecting on our meals at the specialty restaurants so far, it's been a really slow dining process, but I think we just have to adjust our preferences to what happens at sea.    I see in the calendar that they've budgeted 2 hours for specialty dining reservations and it has been taking about 1 hour 45 minutes each visit.  So, they've been exceeding the expectation and getting us out "early", it's just a long time for us sitting in one place.  🤣

Captain just made an announcement that we're underway and if everything goes okay that we should still arrive in Ponta Delgada on time.  Fingers crossed. 

4 minutes ago, LooneyCruzer said:

Odyssey offloaded someone, the lifeboat just came from the island and got loaded back onboard, but we are still here. 

I was wondering why the lifeboat was hanging off the side of the ship.  Looks like we're moving now.  Hope all is good with the passenger. 

13 minutes ago, Jimbo said:

Lots of older people on these kind of cruises. It's bound to happen. Better to happen now then 4 or 5  days from now when you are half way.

 

Are you heading back to Bermuda?

At this point we're still headed ENE.   

18 minutes ago, LooneyCruzer said:

The intelligent thoughtful people that stand against the buttons repeatedly then laugh and say sorry i know not to do that. Rude people that cram the elevators so full you cannot help that someone pushes them all. Just pure stupidity that can be solved by putting in normal buttons. 

Starting tomorrow, standing against the buttons and selecting all the floors is no longer allowed, captain made an announcement tonight.  Just kidding.  Yes, it's annoying at this point.  Everyone should know to not stand or lean against the buttons.  The first couple of days, okay, but now.....  It's actually has been the conversation piece of many of our elevator "trips".   Most people annoyed that it's seemingly impossible to select your floor quickly.   I go right to the back of the elevator when I can so I avoid being the person selecting all the floors.

We went to Giovanni's tonight and had a very enjoyable meal.  For some reason, we both totally forgot to take pictures of our appetizers and meals, but remembered by dessert.    Overall, a very nice experience.  Our waiter, John, was great and didn't bring too many unsolicited menu items.   We started with the meat and cheese platter and Giovanni's pizza.   Both were really good.  For dinner, we both had the filet and split an order of spaghetti Carbonara.   I liked the filet okay, but think that the Carbonara was really good.   I think we liked the filet at Chops better.  

We left a LOT of uneaten food.  Not exactly sure how that we feel about that.    Part our fault for ordering the meat/cheese board and a pizza for appetizers, but the Carbonara and extra dessert were totally unsolicited.  

The tiramisu was GREAT and I have to admit that I've had a lot of tiramisu over the years.   So, I can say that is a really fabulous.  Didn't like the pistachio pannacotta very much.  It could also be that we were just too full by that point.  I've never liked lemoncello, so that's no fault of Giovanni's.    Overall, I think I liked it a bit more than my girlfriend, but I've always liked Italian food a little more than her.  

Went to Boleros and met a nice couple, had a few drinks, listened to music, and watched the dancing.    Overall, nice time.  

We have Chops booked for lunch tomorrow and are excited about that.  

1 minute ago, ticketsunlimited said:

Hope everybody is fine.  we have made two emergency stops at Bermuda, both on Anthem.  We stayed out at the entry of the channel and literally anchored one time. They will most likely come out to pick up the crew member.  Be sure to be on the top deck as it is an interesting process to watch play out.  Dan

My girlfriend said that she wanted to watch the transfer, but I'm generally don't like to see things like that, but now that you say it's interesting, I'll definitely accompany her up on the top deck.  I think that they said 7:00 p.m.