POA1

Most congee is going to be a bowl of rice porridge with the other ingredients on the top. If you aren't wild about rice, you may want to steer clear. I'll have better advice in a few days. There is always kippered herring with scrambled eggs. 😉

Funny you should mention that. Congee is in the batting order for Thursday. We're off early tomorrow in Bonaire, so it's room service for us. You can always try the Full English Breakfast. DW suggests asking for a good sear on the banger.

They served the Caribbean Brunch in the MDR today. We didn't go, but I did want to post the menu in case anyone's interested. PDF and PNG images posted as part of our pledge to quality. caribbean_brunch_2023_food_only_(1).pdf

I sit bolt upright 80% of the time, so the whole lounging concept is mostly lost on me. I'm happy sitting at a table, dispensing my wisdom and sage advice. I'm also terribly worried about losing the muscle memory needed to sit at my desk all day long.

At 11:30 AM, Lido pool loungers pretty packed. Aft pool has a smattering of them. The Panorama Deck (10) had decent availability of the big, lounge beds and some chairs. Deck 14,the Sky Deck has chairs galore. Because I care, I took a photo to show you just how many chairs are empty up there. This photo is of the starboard side, but the port side was equally empty.

I'm almost positive that they do. Today is the Caribbean Brunch, so I cannot see the standard breakfast menu. I'll check tomorrow or Thursday.

Michelle started with a Bloody Mary. (There's a rare Brian sighting in the background.) Bloody Mary, "full garden style" Deconstructed Mimosa (Okay, it's a glass of Chateau Ste. Michelle Brut with a side of fresh squeezed orange juice. I don't generally like to add things to my champagne. Well, except for more champagne.) Michelle had the Vegetable Frittata. I had the Aloo Masala and Egg Bhurji. Our waiter gave me a little clap for ordering this. He said he's been on for long time and no one has ordered it before. I'm pretty sure there was a staff betting pool on when this would be ordered. I thought it was excellent. Michelle will probably order it before the end of the cruise. One note: This dish will be scratch-made, so allow some extra time. (I'm sure you're shocked to learn there aren't steamer trays of this sitting around, ready to go.)

Club Orange breakfast menu: club_orange_breakfast_menu_2024_en_1_(2).pdf

Relatively tight around the Lido pool. Somewhat better at the aft pool. If you don't mind not being poolside, head up to Deck 14, where you will likely find a treasure trove of available lounge chairs. Use the port side forward elevators or take any forward elevator to Deck 12 / Observation and walk up the outside stairs. It's only one set of stairs as there's no Deck 13.

Good morning, Cruise Critic Chums! We're breakfasting in da Club before our day of cabana living. Today is my day for randomly roaming around and snapping shots of things that I find interesting. So... If you have any requests, fire away and I'll do my best. Already planning to get the art tour packet, @Haljo1935

Good morning from definitely not Curaçao! When we booked this cruise, we were going to visit the ABC Islands of Aruba, Bonaire, and Curaçao. Bonaire and Curaçao recently started limiting the number of cruise ships that could call, which caused a lot of itineraries to be changed. We now have a sea day in place of Curaçao. We'll be meandering all day to cover the short distance between Aruba and Bonaire. Here's the 6:00 AM fix and past course.

Rolling Stone was off tonight. Rachel is a short term fill in before she leaves for a stateside project. We'll see if we can learn more when the band is back in the rotation.

Dessert is normally bloodsport here in house of Morgan. We fought to a draw on this one. I felt that she had the better dessert, and she liked mine best. Chocolate Caramel Tart - Warre's Warrior port was the wine. (The leading tip of the tart does appear depressed.) The Chocolate bread pudding evokes shoo-fly pie or Pennsylvania Dutch funny cake. Served with Couvoisssr Napoleon Cognac

Moving on to the main course, the lady ordered the Braised Beef Short Ribs. We paired it with the Sokol Blosser Evolution Pinot Noir out of Oregon. The short rib dish. It must e been outstanding, because we had a really, really quiet table for a while. I opted for the Turkey Roast and Cranberry. This dish had sweet potatoes, stuffing, Brussels sprouts, gravy - the works. (If they're taking suggestions, green bean casserole would knock this entrée out of the park.) Thanksgiving - another Pinot Noir pairing opportunity. Walking into CO fairly late during dinner service, I was drawing a complete blank on what to order. This "National Holiday on a Plate" seemed perfect for the occasion.

When Michelle ordered her duck, Ris (our first draft pick) told her that it was an excellent choice. I had intended to order a different second, but I said, "If the quinoa is going to make me sad, I'd take the duck as my second course." I received the duck, making a photo redundant. Michelle had the Arugula and Pumpkin Salad. There is no photo of it. Either she tucked into it before we grabbed a picture, or the salad was shy. (I'm going with the latter.)

Chronology be damned, we're skipping over today's excursions and jumping right into dinner. Michelle started with the Seared Black Pepper Duck Breast. The pairing was the Crios by Susana Balbo Malbec. I had the Port to Table appetizer, the Corn and Salt Fish Fritter. Its wine buddy was the Chateau Ste. Michelle Chardonnay. Of the two dishes, the duck was more successful.

What part of Maine do you hail from? We were in Kennebunk for about 15 years.

Back from the Sunset Sail. A nice excursion, but make sure you sit on the port side of the catamaran. We got back at 7:30 PM, grabbed a quick shower and dressed for dinner. More to follow. Feel free to chat amongst yourselves while we eat.

Also the WINES you like. Zero booze involved today.

Tonight's Club Orange dinner menu: co_mdr_dinner_day_5(3).pdf

A shout out to the Rotterdam's laundry. I have a tan cotton dress shirt that is possessed by demons. I ironed it - both inside and out - before we left home. I even used Magic Sizing (for crispness without stiffness!) and the shirt managed to adopt that "just slept in an alleyway" look during the trip from our condo to the ship. As many of you know, this is a short trip. I sent the devil-shirt out for laundry, pressing, and exorcism last night. It was back this afternoon, looking perfectly pressed. Michelle had some Peruvian Chicken liquid (chickquid?) drip on a pair of white dress slacks. We sent them out for dry cleaning. For a mere five of the American dollars, the dry cleaners got the stain out. It would have cost twice that at home. I'm not saying that having Poohby Joe send them a big bag of M&Ms on Saturday had any bearing on things, but I'm not ruling it out either.

We're back from our first Aruba HAL tour of the cruise. The guide, Benjamin, really knows his stuff. His narration was "I'd pay extra for those on a private tour" quality. Natural Wonders of Aruba is a full size, coach bus tour. The vehicle was a new Volvo Marcopolo, with good A/C, a comfortable ride and clear, easy to understand sound. I'd call this tour a nice overview of the island, probably better than others we've had in other ports. We normally book private tours, but I have no complaints about this one. We'll have to compile our photos and get them into some semblance of order. That'll be project for the not-Curaçao sea day tomorrow.

We read 95%+ of our books electronically. I have a Kindle Paperwhite which is a nice, e-ink reader that's good in any light. The battery lasts a good week. I don't think I've taken a physical book with me in years. Your wine list might be a hybrid depending on what the Volendam has left in stock. Hope they have winds you like!

Big fan of both Hiaasen and the hilariously dark Serge Storms books.

Ooh... We're going literary! Not familiar with Arch McNally, so thanks for the tip. I have read all the Travis McGee novels, set mere blocks from where we live.