POA1

Meanwhile, back at dessert... Michelle had the brownie cheesecake. I had the Brazo de Mercedes. The cheesecake is pretty self explanatory. Brazo de Mercedes is merengue and vanilla custard, rolled up. It was good and as a student of all things puddin', it was a nice change. After dinner drinks were cappuccino for DW and Remy Martin VSOP for me. (Flexing my Elite Beverage Package at $15.) We spend the day in search of a generous pour, and wouldn't you know it? It shows up in a snifter! Brownie cheesecake & cappuccino Remy Martin VSOP Brazo de Mercedes We only had a taste of each dessert because we're trying to pace ourselves. On the other hand, we powered through the beverages.

Because someone is bound to ask, and because it's definitely a science thing, here is the internet speed test from the Google machine Ookla is giving wildly higher numbers. Speeds have been fine on Starlink I haven't set up my laptop. I'll do that in an hour or so once the AM coffee comes from room service. Then, I can deploy PoohbyNet so all our computing machinery can connect. (It's a TPLink router.)

I did not see a chocolate rim on the description. Was it cocoa? Crushed chocolate candy? Cookie bits? I seriously hope that Christmas isn't ruined.

A closing note on Day 1: I read a lot about less than stellar first day dining experiences. We are almost always late, fixed dining people. As such, we don't typically run into the day one back ups. Any clogs or choke points are usually gone by the time the 8:00 pm fixed seating begins. We figured it would be best to "counter-program" our dining to avoid snafus. We had protein shakes for breakfast (at home), a light lunch on the ship, and then padded our schedule with scoobies in the Tamarind bar. Dinner was in the Club Orange dining room, but it was late. By the time we ate, the backlog had cleared. Pacing was tight and there were no gaps in service.

Sorry to your Club Orange dinner was sub par. We presented ourselves a little after 8 and things were running smoothly. I noticed a weird hand-off issue with the wifi. That should give us something fun to discuss at the meet & greet. 😉

Main course Peruvian Chicken Snapper

The Club Orange dining room was fairly deserted at 8:15 pm. We were seated promptly and service was quick, efficient and friendly thoughout. Our primary server was Tri and he did a great job. Michelle had the Caribbean shrimp cocktail and I had the corn chowder to start. Both were good, but not great. (No complaints.) The mains were phenomenal. Michelle had the Peruvian Chicken. I had the snapper. The snapper was delicious. However, the winner, winner was the chicken dinner. Brian X (no relation) was shocked as he never expected to see the chicken win. I'll try to provide a better write up in the morning. It's been a long day and I'm running on fumes. (Bourbon, most likely.) Some dinner pix: Appetizers:

I respect the concept of the cocktail intermezzo. Especially before lunch. 😁

The Minty Elf is very refreshing. We think it's better than the old Candy Cane Martini of yore.

Taking one for the team - Minty Elf courtesy of @Huskerchick

We followed that with the tempura lobster roll and the soft shell crab roll. Now we can have dinner late.

We started with the poke and the panko crusted asparagus. Both were excellent.

On the left, Shiso Sour. On the right is Wasabi Cocktail. The panel prefers the Wasabi.

Ever wonder what happens when you give the National Institute of Cheer five years to plan a cruise? Light up door decorations. That's what happens. We're in sort of an alcove, so the sparkly gift isn't really obvious unless you know where to look.

Ze plan is to go to the Tamarind bar around 5 PM for drinks and scooby snacks. We'll head to CO after 8 PM so as to avoid the first day rush. I'm hoping we get on the move before the rain comes The Retreat Area is pretty empty right now, but I heard it was sold out this week.

Hi, kids! Heading to the cabanas for sail away.

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Tonight's Club Orange dining room menu. Michelle's excited for the Peruvian Chicken.

We will start on the holiday cocktail list, but we usually drink our regular drinks at first. That's how we screen our bartenders. (This is the scientific method for determining who has a good pour.)

Our building has hotel luggage carts. Don't worry about offending Poohby Joe. He's just happy to be out traveling again.

We met our cabana guys and are having a light lunch at NY Pizza and Deli. Michelle is having the Motown salad and I am having the Tribeca pizza.

Not yet. It's Maker's Mark on the rocks for me and Ketel One & Soda with a lime for DW. Those are our "establishing drinks."

We have our room, our Pinnacle lunch reservation for tomorrow, and most importantly, the sweet, sweet Club Orange tote bag. (Pictured here with Poohby Joe in his Holland America throwback t-shirt.

We do not overpack. This is mostly laboratory equipment.

Well, then let me apologize in advance. However, feel free to ask any questions you may have.