OGCFreddie

2 days!!!

[quote name='Johnny Thunder']Just off the 8/26 cruise as well and our table of 6 vegetarians were very disappointed, very few veggie offerings unless you think pasta passes as a vegetarian option EVERY night. That is what RCI seems to think. We were very fortunate to know our Head Waiter from previous cruises and he hooked us up with the Indian specials that were being offered to the 400 Indian folks traveling with us. Otherwise we would have been in the Jammer every evening (went twice as it was). Not impressed with the new menu.[/quote]
Just crious. Did everyone let the dining room know that they were vegetarans ahead of time? I know that, in the past, the staff has gone out of their way to accomodate.

[quote name='crusinpeg']I'm sorry I never got to try the famous Vidalia Onion Tart...but maybe they'll bring it back?[/quote]

From the RCI cookbook:

[SIZE=3][COLOR=black]Pie Crust (purchased)

3 T Xtra virgin Olive Oil
1 Cup julienned Vidala Onion (3 lg onions)
1 T chopped Thyme
salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/2 C Shredded Gruyere cheese

Filling:
3 eggs
1/3 C heavy cream
1 T chopped parsley
1 T chopped chives
1/2 t ground nutmeg
salt and freshly ground pepper

Red Pepper Coulis:
4 red bell peppers
1 T Xtra Virgin Olive Oil
Salt and freshly ground pepper

Garnish:
1 medium [B]Vidalia[/B] Onion
1/3 C vegetable oil
Fresh chervil


Preheat oven to 350.

Blind bake pie crust for about 7 mins, remove and let cool.

warm olive oil in small sauce pan over medium heat and saute onions unti translucent, about 4 mins. Add thyme and season with salt and pepper.

Spread onion evenly in pie crust. Sprinkle with cheese.

In medium bowl, beat eggs lightly, add cream, fresh herbs and seasonings. Beat until well mixed.

Pour mixture over onions and cheese. Bake 40 mins.

For Coulis, blanch peppers in boiling water for 5 mins. Cool over ice and remove skins.

In blender, puree the peppers and olive oil until smooth. Season with salt and pepper.

For garnish, in a small skillet over high heat, warm oil and deep fry onion until golden brown.

[/COLOR][/SIZE]

OGCFreddie

 

Tried to sign up for the roll call and it said the page was no longer available. Am I doing something wrong? Did you see the that the menu is switched for Thur and Fri due to formal nights being different.

 

Very strange. As long as you are logged in, there shouldn't be any problem. Want to try again? http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1458342

 

I saw that the formal night meals were switched. Good to know! Helps to plan out the week. I sure hope you can get on the thread. It's a great thread with a great group of cruisers!

We are going on the Freedom on the Seas September 23rd and would like to know if anyone who has sailed the eastern route with the new menus knows if the menus as posted are the same or is Thur and Fri switched due to the second formal night?

 

Since I will be on that same sailing (the 23rd), I would be interested in knowing as well.

 

Hey vacationwiz, why don't you come on over to our roll call. We have a GREAT group of people who are talking and we already have 133 signed up for the official Meet & Mingle party being thrown by Royal. Have you signed up yet?

 

Come on over and be a part of the fun. The thread is located at http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1458342

 

Talk to you soon!!!

Sailing these ships....any other Floridians considering these cruises?

NCL Breakaway April 30, 2013 (7 day crossing from UK to NYC):D

Royal Princess Nov 3, 2013 (7 day eastern caribbean):p

Coral Princess Feb 10, 2014 (11 day partial canal transit) :cool:

Now to figure out how to seek my pooch onboard.....my separation anxiety is worst than hers.:o

 

Sadly, no. Living in Orlando I always tend to look towards cruises out of Port Canaveral or Tampa. I'll be doing the Freedom Eastern on 09/23/2012. Still plenty of room aboard if anyone cares to join us!

being born in the south, I was taught to accept any gift graciously and thank the giver, no matter what. A gift is just that, a gift. If I receive any gift I cannot use, I give it away, donate to silent auctions, etc. I would never complain about it nor do anything to hurt the feelings of the giver.

 

In RCCL's case, they just cannot win in a case like this. Can't please everyone. I'm sure there are those making decisions that would like to do away it all together for this very reason! :eek:

I agree with you, Bingo, and I was also raised in that manner. I thought the gift was a very nice gesture on RCL's part. On my last cruise, I sailed with my nephew who had never been on a cruise before and he was thrilled when I gave him my basket. I know the OP said they don't want to appear ungrateful (they did) but even if you don't want it, to throw it in the trash is both wasteful and, in my opinion, rude. Makes me wonder if someone gave them a birthday gift they didn't care for would they say they don't want it and throw it away in front of them.

 

Give the gift to a first time cruiser or if you see a child ask his or her parents if you can give it to the. I'm sure that both the child and the parents would appreciate te gesture.

Way too many! I need to book another one...... :D

I agree with you, Larry. WAY too many!!!!!!!

Any tips other than the filling only 75-85% full, bleeding the air and shoving in shoes or wrapping in towels in our carry ons?

 

Make sure that if they are in your checked luggage that they are not with anything else that might be checked. For instance, I always bring cans of tomato juice and soda which they have always checked and passed through. However, if the rum runners are with these items in the same bag, chances are that they will be discovered when checking on the sodas. I even had a friend who lost hers because they were in the same piece of baggage with her snorkeling vest. They opened it due to the CO2 inflation cylinder and discovered the rum runners.

I wanted to take advantage of the Diamonds in December event for RCI but didn't really have a lot of time off from work for a vacation. So, I went ahead and booked Monarch out of Port Canaveral for 12/09/2011 with a fried of mine from Canada. It's only a 3 nighter, but ANY cruise is a good time! That's one advantage to living in Orlando...you are so close to Port Canaveral and Tampa. Maybe some other Florida cruiser will be onboard.

I was thinking more along the lines of wine, which I like cold

 

Although I have always has success with the rum runners (be sure not to pack them with cans of soda or anything that would give security a reason for opening the kuggage), my friend always gets one of those boxes of wine and then removes the bladder with the wine in it and packs that. She has never has a problem (although I have to admit, it does look like some kind of catheter bag - lol)

[quote name='cruisebunnies']The smuggling of booze is best summed up by the fact that the people who do smuggle are just TOO DAMN CHEAP!You can justify it all you want but that is the bottom line![/quote]

So someone with the following quote considers smuggling cheap? How's that glass house you live in, hmmm???

[SIZE=3][COLOR=red][I]"I,m with you.I have not bought sandals,sunglasses,beach towels or books since I started cruising there are so many left laying around ,free for the taking..I,m on a cruise this fall ,you,ve been warned!"[/I][/COLOR][/SIZE]

I just got back from the 02/12/2011 Sailing of Serenade. Yes...there is a duty-free shop after you pass through the scanners and before you board. They sell sodas, water, snacks and hard alcohol. They also had a few kinds of wine. They sell regular sized bottles as well as a large quantity of "airplane" bottles.

 

After we left the shop, as we boarded the ship, the hand luggage and bags (including the ones from the duty-free store) had to go through another scanner. Here, they were removing any alchohol purchased and holding it until the end of the cruise. However, you were not, personally, subjected to another scan so if something was in your pockets it would probably not have been noticed. Perhaps this is why so much booze was being sold in the smaller bottles.

 

I had purchased an 8 pack of soda from the store and there was no problem with getting that on. It went through the scanner as well but they just verified that it was soda and not beer.

 

Hope this helps someone!

I know there is a drink that is not available in the States and, from what I have heard, you can only get it in San Juan. It is called Gasolina and it comes in small packets like capri sun or other juice packages. Does anyone know if they sell this in the San Juan Pier duty free shop?

 

My choice would have to be Durmus Okan who was on the Freedom. He's from Turkey and was an excellant and entertaining addition to the wait staff. Always smiling...always friendly. Now he's on the Oasis.

12 days until our 7 night cruise aboard the Radiance of the Seas! I can't wait!!!

Like others have said, we always decorate our doors. Generally, I travel with a group and it's really fun to see how creative people can be. I've never had any probems with scotch tape as it peels right off and I just use a little bit. It's also much easier to find your cabin.

 

 

Happy holidays to all. I'll be leaving Saturday to visit my family a few days in the actic tundra of Illinois. Okay, that may not be arctic to some, but for someone who has been in FL over 22 yrs now, it's arctic! LOL

 

Safe travels! Be sure to wear your woolies. Ya don't want to take a chance on anything getting frostbite! ;)

Remember to jingle your bells for Christmas!:D

 

And let's not forget to get the stockings stuffed :eek:

Wishing everyone a Merry Christmas!

 

Thanks. And a very Happy Holiday to you and all the other posters. Here's to a fabulous 2010!!!!

Question....

Is there a gay restaurant in Orlando that might lend itself to a lunch, brunch (on a sunday) or dinner gathering (on a Fri or Sat). It might be fun to get cruise critic people together for a meal...discuss ships, trips, future plans.

There is always Hamburger Mary's on Church Street in Downtown Orlando. They have a special brunch menu on Saturdays and Sundays between 11:00am and 3:00pm. It's always a fun place!

 

http://www.hamburgermarys-orlando.com/

Love this post. It's just making us looking forward to our trip even more. Keep up the good work.:D

 

Judi

I know how you feel, Judi! See you in 47 days!!!

Of course I know where Winter Haven is. We often go and stay at a family cabin in Frostproof.

 

I'll be sailing on the Freedom 09/20/09. Looking forward to it departing from Port Canaveral. I'm also interested in the Carnival Dream for November of 2010. Never sailed Carnival before, but the Dream has caught my interest.

Gay man in Orlando here and new to the boards... Great to see so many of us out there!

Welcome to Cruise Critic, neighbor! It's a great resource and you can meet a lot of fantastic people.