Rogueperson

7 hours ago, FionaMG said:

 

Excellent choice. You get the cable car, the baskets (toboggans) and more besides. You are in for a fabulous day. Enjoy!

This is a great endorsement from you.  This is kinda local like Bahamas is for me, right?  I can’t remember if you lived in Portugal or Spain.

8 hours ago, FionaMG said:

Hope you manage to be up and about for the sail-in to Funchal. It's really pretty. But if you don't make it, sailaway is just as nice.

 

If you have nothing specifically planned for the day, you can walk into town in about 20-30 minutes. It's lovely. Be sure to pop into the farmers' Market.

 

If you’d prefer something a bit more exciting, once you're in the centre, ride the cable car up to Monte and then take a wicker basket ride back down. It's great fun.

 

https://visitmadeira.com/en/what-to-do/experiencing-the-city-of-funchal/touring-the-city/monte-sledges/

This is what we’re doing.

Dinner last night was in Extra Virgin.  I think that is my favorite.  I don’t count test Kitchen because the experience

doesn’t really change unless the menu does.  If food quality by itself were the quantifier, then Test Kitchen would win.

The missing Beef Carpaccio.  I actually prefer Royals.  The beef there is raw.  This one is slightly cooked.

Fried Calamari.  Simple, but delicious.

Oxtail pasta.  Surprisingly yummy.

Pork Cheek.  Also amazing

My wife’s eggplant Parmigiana.  She didn’t like it.  It *normally* comes with vegan mozzarella.  She got real because vegan cheese is made with nut milk 🤢.

Dessert.  We have Ricotta Bombolini.

and Chocolate Olive Oil cake.

Both delicious, but i was so full.  FYI, I’m not repeating food photos so there was more food eaten than just in photos.

The waitress also conned me into affogato.  Espresso over ice cream or gelato.  Yeah.  I was rolled out of dinner.

Good Morning from Funchal.  First land sighting in 8 days!!  
 

9 hours ago, laurieal said:

 

 

I had the carpaccio for my appetizer. It was my first time trying it and I liked it a lot. It’s not too heavy, so a perfect way to start the meal. 
 

 

 

 

 

I think Royal’s Beef Carpaccio is better than what I had tonight.

they kinda cooked mine.

@vanman

On the Rocks Menu.

The sea days are starting to wear on me.  I’m actually surprised that i made it this far and not felt more detached and floundering.

I’m glad tomorrow is our first port of call. 

Anyways, after breakfast, I fell asleep again.  Then I just hung out at the arcade.

I found something interesting.

They keep track of games with missing pieces!!!  I saw one of the staff with a handful of unopened games.  This is incredible to me that they keep an eye on this detail.

Today, we made it to Dual Reality.  

The Red Room was totally reconfigured.  As a result there are now two sides with seats with the arena in the middle.  This show was amazing.  Not only were they phenomenal acrobats, they could sing too!!

Just wow.

4 hours ago, Tralfaz1138 said:

On our cruise I booked Test Kitchen twice, once during the first week and once during the 2nd since I wasn't sure when they changed over.  After the first time there I asked them when they switch to the other menu and found my 2nd booking was the same menu, so they rebooked us for a night when they were switched over.  That said, I believe they change it something like every 4 days so I'll plan to factor that in when scheduling things for the TA I have booked next year.

Last night’s Test Kitchen was not exactly planned.  My wife was not a fan of the Wake so I cancelled the rest of my Wake reservations and added this one.  I confirmed at the first Test Kitchen that my second one on Thursday, I think is a different menu but this one I wasn’t sure.

Passions Apply.

Cider, Berry Sorbet, Orange Cream and pearls.

So as a result of the detour, our arrival time in Funchal is 12:30 instead of 9.  We leave at 8pm instead of 6pm.

Also, we arrive in Malaga at 11am instead of 9am and leave at 10pm as scheduled.

So I had breakfast at the Wake with no reservation.  No problem.

I haven’t found a proper donut on board yet.  This is a cruller.

Pork Belly benedict

Finally got the Crepe cake

And the Panna Cotta as well.

So this is why they call this restaurant The Wake.

Another thing that impresses me on this ship is the amount of comfortable hangouts.

For some reason, this Live thread i’ve posted more pictures of bathrooms.  

Ok, a better term is that the bathrooms on this ship either surprise me or just caught my attention.

Imagine walking into a bathroom and seeing a stark room.

So a couple of bathrooms here enter into a stark room.  You wave your hand in front of that green light and the door opens.  On the other side is the actual bathroom and you so the same to lock it.

I wonder what happens if you lock it and then leave.  I almost did that because the door can be physically open before it shuts but the red light stays on.

I didn’t mark my position by saying Good Morning from.

Also got today’s Glance.

It appears we were only stopped for about 30 minutes before starting up again.  Pretty quick work for the Portuguese Coast Guard. 

Because of Test Kitchen, or more accurately, the wine pairing again, i’m up at 5am.

Can I say I LOVE the 24 hour food availability on this ship.  Or lat least better availability of fresh food.  I got an fully loaded Omelet just now but i ate it before taking a picture.  I think i took one earlier when i was up this early last week.

We are actually stopped now as the helicopter approaches.  The outer decks are closed.

9 hours ago, laurieal said:

It’s late. I’m so tired. 
 

I need some time to process The Quest 😂 

 

I’ll get caught up on my dinner tomorrow morning. See you soon!

SHHHHHH!!!

Did you forget the rule?  What happens in the Quest stays in the Quest!!

Medical evacuations are becoming more and more common.  

We have been diverted to Ponta Delgada to effect a helicopter evacuation.  Hopefully it won’t affect our itinerary too much but they said they will let us know how it will affect us.

Oasis and Odyssey both also had medical emergencies and had to divert as well.  My last two or three cruises had them as well.

So I ended up going to this show last night.

Totally different vibe than the first show.  I still enjoyed it.  

I went down after this show because today was rough.

Dinner was back at Test Kitchen.  As i expected, they haven’t changed the menu over to the 2nd menu.  My wife tried to get the Vegan menu but unfortunately her allergies prevented her from getting most of the options.  I feel bad for those who have glutten or nut allergies and go vegan.

Gazpacho is the only thing different.

8 hours ago, cantgetin said:

They scan your bracelet.  THen they don't charge for the first 2 (if only one in the cabin has DBE) or 4 if both of you have DBE. That's why it doesn't come off your bar tab.  It will come off if you go over the limit any given day.

 I have found that they only allow you 2 per person and not 4 per cabin.    Yesterday, they charged me for my extra coffee but i had gotten them not my wife.  My wife did not get coffee.

Someone else onboard had an issue that only one of them had DBE but since the non DBE was scanning the bracelet, they were charged.

4 hours ago, cantgetin said:

If you have Deep Blue Extras (loyalty), you get 2 specialty coffees per person per day at no charge.

I do.  The pour overs actually have a charge as i scan my thingie but not sure how much it actually costs as I don’t see it on my wallet.  Thats why the shocked face as my coffee problem is pretty much solved.  I actually prefer good brewed coffee vs espresso drinks.

4 hours ago, jon81uk said:

As it’s a standing show if you are a little late it’s fine, but test kitchen should be possible in 90 minutes.

 

Last Test Kitchen was over 2 hours and I had to be dragged back to the cabin because of the wine pairing 🤣

4 hours ago, jon81uk said:

It’s on again Thursday. I highly recommend it. The first few minutes might seem weird, but it’s a fun show that can make me laugh, party and cry then laugh again. It is floor standing only, but grab a drink and join in.

Oh thats THIS Thursday!!  I have Test Kitchen at 8:15.  hmmmmm

4 hours ago, Rogueperson said:

I missed the Untitled thing the first day but haven’t seen it since

Dang it.  I totally missed this.  Its at 10 both showings and i had dinner both times 🤬

Trying the espresso martini.  This is smooth.  It could mess me up.