Asleep at the helm or Live-ish from the Pride

[JaneBP]

>"ST would be proud of you."

 

How would you know??

[Nigella]

QUOTE: " that's been intentional. I've wanted to do ST style posts"

PLEASE NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

 

 

Agree! Baychilla,I would rather see your own style and personality in your posts.

 

It seems the board is divided on the menu thing. I saw enough SB menus on the earlier 'Live From' threads to last me until I finally board the Quest, but apparently others do want to see them. :( So I'll probably skip the thread until you're posting your 'more subjective string'.

 

Oh and by the way, same here as jagi on the subject of CD's. I wasn't referring to your comments either.

[Lefty Bob]

Baychilla, do they still have hosted tables?

 

Bob

[Emperor Norton]

Baychilla, do they still have hosted tables?

 

Bob

 

I'm sad to say it beats me. Night 1 as a single I had no invitation (perhaps single men are different?). Night 2 when I had R2 reservations I got a call about 5 asking if I wanted to join the captains table. Night 3 zilch.

 

I do declare that upon me throwing out my overall feelings/post-hoc/picture laden review I will be different. Hell Im already different from ST in that: I prefer the Restaurant to other venues, I don't care for the sky grill (uh hi! how about you get actual hotdog buns instead of freaking sub rolls!). I can (and have) dressed up! I just like the menus/schedules as prior to this cruise I really didnt know what to expect. Tastes are VERY subjective (oh hai regent cruisers who <3 old folks home/dennys!:p) but a menu and listing of activities isn't. Perhaps I'm misremembering, but I dont recall all the speakers/lectures in STs listings. I did find it hilarious (or sad after Silversea) that the captain came over the PA to remind the trivia people that "its just a game don't take it too seriously". On Silversea I had one octagenarian give a throat slitting motion to my team, *** over:confused:.

 

Again, Im trying to keep my personal/opinions to myself until such a time as I can add pictures or at least charge work for the hours online ;)

 

For those who are into Louis XIII - had a very not happy discussion with the F/B manager. Last shot = last shot and nothing more. Sadly mentioning "...but host Dan..." did zip for me. OTOH we came to a happy understanding, so that's golden. Really other than changing codes (eg: Louis XIII) my only issue is the filthy nasty passengers, even then I can count them on two fingers. Unless you drink Belvedere instead of Grey Goose - they do have Belvedere, just no room at the sky bar so ask and they'll deliver it from elsewhere.

[Nigella]

Now that last post amused me. Nice to seem some 'chilla' character.

 

I'm definitely interested to know about guest speakers and their talks.

 

As a "foreigner" I'm not sure that I understand the difference between hot dog rolls and sub rolls. Maybe SB is hoping all the guests are as ignorant as me!

 

On the subject of vodka. Our house is divided. One of us is a Grey Goose fan, the other Belvedere. It's probably obvious which is which - one of us French, the other is English :D So when we order from the bar on our Quest cruise, someone is going to be running back and forth to satisfy Mr and Mrs Nigella.

[kiawahdon]

>"ST would be proud of you."

 

How would you know??

 

Trust me, he is back. Goes from 0 to 5 posts in 15 minutes.

[JaneBP]

Trust me, he is back. Goes from 0 to 5 posts in 15 minutes.

 

At least, so far, no emote-cons.

[Emperor Norton]

Day 4, 30 July Ronne, Bornholm, Denmark

 

Restaurant – Resort Casual

First Course:

 

Citrus marinated smoked halibut, ruby red grapefruit and ginger crackling

 

Cured & roasted lamb loin (oh hey, they figured out that & and @ are not interchangeable, YAY!) mango coulis, thai chilies, spicy mint oil

 

Truffled corn & marscapone tortellini, sweet corn broth

 

Double beef consommé sweet garlic flan

 

New England clam chowdah, saffron essence

 

Mizuna salad leaves crisp shallots, balsamic dressing

 

Fingerling potato salad, horseradish, quail eggs, double smoked bacon

 

Main course:

 

Golden brioche crusted lemon sole, couscous cake and shrimp dumplings

 

Prosciutto wrapped shrimp, olive oil laced potato, warm tomato-fenel vinaigrette, fresh basil

 

Roasted venison sirloin, foie gras sauce and butternut mash

 

Grilled NY steak, gorgonzola croquettes, asparagus and wilted spinach

 

Vegetarian – cavatappi pasta wild mushrooms and goat cheese

 

R2 Asian Bistro (in the past could you get non R2 items in R2?)

Starters:

Rare seared sashimi tuna, soba noodles & seaweekd, cilantro puree, ponzu

Or

Vietnamese style shrimp spring roll, soy chili dip

 

Soup/Salad

Chinese hot & sour chicken soup, fish sauce, lime juice

Or

Ginger glazed Portobello, crisp onion rings, orange dressing

 

Mains

Pan roasted marinated cod fish, stir fried vegetable & egg noodles, miso

OR

Crisp oriental flavored duck, braised vegetables, fried rice, plum sauce

 

Deserts

Passion fruit crème brulee lime sorbet, sesame biscuits

Or

Sweet rice wine poached mango, coconut ice cream

 

As a special bonus on this trip all non-EU passengers are supposed to bring our passports ashore. In every port ><

 

0800 Arrival in Ronne, Bornholm, DK

0800 Fitness class – the club

0850 Shuttle service starts

1000 Crosswords @ puzzle pages (darn whoever did the schedule didn’t get the memo re: & and @) – library

1000 Board games – Constellation lounge

1015 Emergency crew drill – some services may be impacted

1100 Unhosted bridge – card room

1400 Unhosted Chess – Constellation lounge

1400 Unhosted bridge – card room

1600 Afternoon tea – Constellation lounge

1730 All aboard

1800 Departure from DK to Tallinn, Estonia

1830 Club cocktails – the club

2130 Romantic melodies – romantics – the club

2145 Dancing @ Desert under the stars – decks 7/8

2145 Popcorn movie “We bought a zoo’ – Magellan lounge

2230 Club Melodies – romantics – the club

2330 Dance melodies – seabreeze – the club till 0015

0015 romantics – club till 0030

 

Guest speaker has been Dr. Peter Crimes. While he has some interesting information (especially if you haven't researched a ports history) he can speak quickly at times and in my case bored me out of a lecture with a musical selection that while somewhat approrpiate seemed to bring the presentation to a halt while it played (as in lets stop the lecture and listen to music for a bit).

 

So far I've tried the "famous" fries (erm Ill stick to Bouchon fries - mine came out in a single solid mass), grandma cake (chiffon cake with some kind of swirl was it:confused:), the burger (hopefully the one I had in the Sky Grill was not the one everyone seems to rave about:eek:) and the onion rings (seemed to be tempura batter based, these were good but would have been nice with perhaps a soy-chili dipping sauce hrm...) I can't forget the breadsticks thankfully they haven't been quite as addictive as described otherwise there'd be no room for anything else.

[billichka]

For the record I am enjoying the menu posts :D

 

Nice work Baychilla!

[LN50]

Sounds like an import from Regent - a nice idea. You go out of your suite (maybe with a drink in your hand) at the appointed time, and meet the people in the suites near and opposite you. Probably the CD, even Captain and other officers may pass by and chat to everyone.

 

On another point - I liked both Rachel and Susan (very few toodle-oos when we were on board, and by the way it is toodle-oo not tootle-oo), and also endorse not putting all the menus on your reports, a big time taker. It would be good instead to know what you actually had and enjoyed (or not!) But do keep them coming; it is good to hear from someone other than you-know-who every day.;)

 

Many thanks for the info about the 'block party'.... (I assumed it was 'toodle oo' as well)

 

We are out your way, on the coast, this weekend and in 2 weeks, time so hope you are having good weather :) ;)

[lincslady]

Weather in Lincs. (though not too near the coast) pretty good at present.

 

Baychilla - I know ST seemed to like the sky grill on the little ships and the patio grill on the bigger ones, but you should know there is a huge difference between them. The patio grill is permanent, with a choice of sun and shade, far more tables and choice of food, and open for business (as a bar outside meal times) all day and in the evenings in reasonable weather. To me, a huge improvement on the occasional sky grills on the litle ships.

[Jassy]

We will be embarking on the Pride in four weeks, and so I am very happy to find this posting, Baychilla. Count me in on the side that likes your menu postings. I am already making a mental list of dishes to try. :D I hope you will have your more complete review online before we leave (we depart the US in three weeks, doing a little pre-cruise in England). Meanwhile I shall be checking back for more menus and any comments and observations you might provide between now and then. Smooth sailing!!

[TootyJane]

I love how you were "invited" to spend $75 for a wine tasting. This smacks of HAL. They never used to do this sort of thing on SB.

 

SB has been "inviting" me to their wine tastings for the last several years, all of which I have respectfully declined.

Lisa :)

[TootyJane]

. . . .Capt:Erik Saabye

CD: Rachel Vargo (sp?) tootle-ooo free so far

Bartender: Nelson Rojas(sp?). . . .

 

baychilla, thank you for taking the time to post menus as well as letting us all know which Captain, CD and Bartender are aboard.

 

Would you mind posting who the Hotel Manager is and would you happen to know if all of these people will be on the Pride come September 22nd? TIA

 

Lisa :)

[TootyJane]

. . . .I’m not sure if this is a change in policy but the evac drill is on deck and in the safety video and CD announcements they have been very, very, very clear that if you miss the drill (no amnesty for b2b passengers either) – you’re gone, don’t pass go, don’t collect $200. . . .

 

Personally, I don't mind having to do so but I figured that after the Costa incident that the days of bsb passengers not having to attend the muster drill were over.

Lisa :)

[purpleally]

Thank you for the daily postings. I love traveling vicariously, not much other choice right now. Enjoyed the block parties on regent, interesting Seabourn is copying. Were not doing that in May.

 

Post whatever you want, menus, activiies, excursions, weird pax, love hearing it!

[yesteryear]

Baychilla

I love the menus and whatever you choose to post--after all, this is your thread--paid for by you--post what you please and I love the menus..as you might guess I love to eat!

Hopefully, these will carry over to next cruise.

[Emperor Norton]

Day 5 31 July @ sea

 

I have my handy directory now so can give some more accurate information re: staff

Captain: Erik Saabye

Staff Capt: Kai Odegaard

Chief Engineer: David O’Hara

Hotel Manager: Karl Eckl

Dr: Socrates Grecia

Chief Purser: Andrew Thomson

Cruise Director: Rachel Vago

Chef de Cuisine: Jes Paskins

Maitre D’Hotel: Richard Maier

Executive Housekeeper: Linda Duvenhage

Travel Manager: Carol Frey

Cruise Consultat: Nicole Hammer

 

I’ll see if I can find out of these will be the same in September.

 

4x in 24 hours something went wrong with the toilet systems. Yay. The on for outside then off, then on for the inside then off for the inside then on for the outside Dance and Desert event did eventually happen last night. Today there’s going to be an ice cream social, I wonder if they’ll have all 32 flavors ;)

 

Restaurant – Elegantly casual

First:

Fennel seared salmon, shaved red onion, red radish and daikon salad, capers

 

Mousseline of chicken liver, sauterne jelly, grilled pears, toasted brioche

 

Seafood tempura, roasted mango and sesame dipping sauce

 

Rustic vegetable broth, three cheese tortellini, Tuscan croutons

 

Yellow bell pepper soup, crisp artichokes, chorizo, black olives

 

Young spinach & shaved fennel salad, herbed croutons, red wine vinaigrette

 

Haricots verts, cumin, toasted almonds, roasted pepper strips, curry oil

 

Main:

Seared seabass with Polonaise garnish, fingerling potatoes, thyme braised leeks

 

Crab spring rolls, papaya and coriander

 

Pink grilled lamb loin, cauliflower – zucchini semolina, lamb jus

 

Veal medallion, citrus pan sauce, haricots vert, fingerling potatoes

 

Vegetarian – Mushroom and eggplant lasagna, garlic cloves, roasted tomatoes

 

R2 “Baltic”

Starters:

Home marinated gravlax, herb salad, dill and yogurt dressing

Or

Siberian pelmeny, creamy chicken veloute

 

Soup/Salad

Slow roasted beets & goat cheese

Or

Smorgas Seafood Chowder, mussels, cod, salmon and coldwater shrimp

 

Mains:

Herb crusted salmon sautéed spinach, wild mushrooms, lemon caper buerre blanc

Or

Carved veal tenderloin, braised red cabbage, roast potatoes, lingonberry jus

 

Desserts:

Pahka: A Russian Imperial Desert

Or

Apple sharlotka

 

0800 Fitness class – the club

0900 Beginner’s bridge – card room

1000 Crossword/puzzle page – library

1000 Spa sales – the club

1000-1500 Russian lacquer event (Shop for epic loot!) – the club

1100 Seabourn speaker series Dr. Peter Crimes “Helsinki…” – Magellan lounge

1100 Intermediate bridge – card room

1215 Team trivia challenge – Constellation lounge

1400 Navigational bridge tour – reception sign up early

1400 Special lecture Robert Ochodnicky “Russian lacquer and fairy tails” Magellan

1400 Social bridge – card room

1500 Ice cream social – decks 7/8 entertainment via Seabreeze

1515 Texas hold’em tournament - $25 buy in 7 person min – casino

1600 Afternoon Chocoholic tea (FINALLY ;))

1630 Galley tour – sign up early – reception

1830 Pre-dinner showtime guitarist Sam Dunn – Magellan lounge

1830 Cocktails – the club

2130 Club melodies – Romantics – the club

2145 Magician Marc Oberon – Magellan lounge

2230 Dance melodies – Seabreeze – the club

2330 Romantic melodies – the club

[cruiserbunny]

You have a great hotel manager in Karl - the very best!:)

[Mr Luxury]

Yes,Karl is fantastic,I have known him from when he was a waiter.

 

I saw him on the Legend last year and got the impression that he would be leaving the company to give him more time with his wife and baby.

[Emperor Norton]

Yes,Karl is fantastic,I have known him from when he was a waiter.

 

I saw him on the Legend last year and got the impression that he would be leaving the company to give him more time with his wife and baby.

 

He pulled a nice rabbit out of a hat for me and turned something around. He also seems to actually work rather than hide in an office:D

 

It looks like my dinner with the CD/FCC will happen, just far earlier than expected (boo!). The last I heard re:Oct '13 cancellation/charter was that those dates weren't even finalized yet so Im in the clouds or asking those who are.

 

At this point I want to hunt down the cook responsible for the chicken veloute for the Plemeny (sp?)in R2 and pry the recipe from him.

[TootyJane]

Day 5 31 July @ sea

 

I have my handy directory now so can give some more accurate information re: staff

Captain: Erik Saabye

Staff Capt: Kai Odegaard

Chief Engineer: David O’Hara

Hotel Manager: Karl Eckl

Dr: Socrates Grecia

Chief Purser: Andrew Thomson

Cruise Director: Rachel Vago

Chef de Cuisine: Jes Paskins

Maitre D’Hotel: Richard Maier

Executive Housekeeper: Linda Duvenhage

Travel Manager: Carol Frey

Cruise Consultat: Nicole Hammer

 

I’ll see if I can find out of these will be the same in September.

 

. . . .

 

 

Thank you baychilla. I truly appreciate you providing this information.

 

Lisa :)

[TootyJane]

. . . .

 

At this point I want to hunt down the cook responsible for the chicken veloute for the Plemeny (sp?)in R2 and pry the recipe from him.

 

baychilla, there have been many times I wanted a recipe after eating a fantastic meal! Talk to or write a note to the Maître 'D and tell him you would like a particular recipe. He most likely will just ask for your suite number and the recipe(s) will be delivered to your. My experience has been that I received my requested recipes the day before disembarking. HTH

Lisa :)

[JaneBP]

The tour manager, Carol Frey is fabulous!! I have missed cruising with her. Such an interesting woman.

[Emperor Norton]

Well this is certainly interesting. The SB blog for yesterday claims we were in St. Petersburg w/the Sojourn. Protip: Set your actual dates correctly (We aka the Pride were @ Sea). We haven't hit St. Petersburg: Yet. Frustration: The blog didn't specify a rollout date for the hot chocolate on a stick, so I dont have any :mad: Protip2: dont make posts that make passengers on the other 1/2+ of your vessels feel like they're being shortchanged. Were talking chocolate on a stick. Shouldn't have been hard to provision on other ships, SB Square or no.

 

 

Day 6 1 August Tallinn Estonia

Seems that the offer I had for dinner from the CD/FCC for St. Petes has been moved up to today. Grrr… wanted more evaluation time.

 

Shopping with the chef will be the tour of today. That in and of itself presented problems. I’d booked the tour even before hopping into the Magellan lounge for embarkation and was told Helsinki. Time to Tallinn grows closer I book a tour for that. 8 hours later “sorry the shopping with the chef has been changed to Tallinn as the market in Helsinki will be closed.” Way to watch that calendar ;)… So I take my ticket to the tour desk and explain what happened. Refund…even though past the deadline, they said no problem. Simple exchange for a similar tour in Helsinki, no problem. What people do all the time in their jobs should be predictable. It’s when something goes pear shaped that you glean more insight. There was no arguing about cancellation deadlines, no muss, no fuss, just “what do you want”. So I should be on the chefs shopping trip today and have a tour in Helsinki.

 

Thanks to those who mentioned that there is a gratis Sauternes available!

 

Restaurant – Elegantly casual

First:

Sashimi of seared hamachi, fresh and pickled celery salad, capicolla, black lava salt

 

Chilled vegetable lasagna grilled, roasted nicoise olive vinaigrette

 

Butternut squash broth, sage dumplings

 

Hot pea soup, smoked ham and goat cheese tortellini, tarragon foam

 

Mesclun with “mimosa” style dressing, garden fresh herbs

 

Avocado, artichoke orange, bitter greens, tangerine vinaigrette

 

Main:

Pan seared orange roughy with lobster spaetzle, shellfish emulsion, and sautéed spinach

 

Calamari stuffed with shrimp, roasted peppers, wilted arugula, pasta pearls

 

Roasted chicken in curry Dijon sauce, aromatic basmatic rice and crisp caper berries

 

Chateaubriand, roast filet of beef tenderloin, glazed vegetables, bordelaise potatoes (aaah French or New Orleans styel Bordelaise inquiring and picky minds NEED to know!), sauce béarnaise

 

Vegetarian – Whole roasted vegetable ratatouille, goat cheese fondue

 

0800 Arrival – we arrive – also have people to change money into DK currency even tho were done with that country IIRC o.O

 

0830 Local hospitality desk (till 1030) lobby

0830 Shuttle bus – ship and town leaves every 30min last @ 1400

0900 Shopping w/the Chef (sign up space limited!) lobby

1000 Crossword and puzzle - library

1000 Board games – constellation lounge

1400 Unhosted bridge – card room

1430 All board (or njy ur stay in Lithuania comrade!)

1500 Departure (watch the pier runners, or is that only something I’ve learned from carnival/rcci boards?)

1600 Tour talk Carol Frey Stockholm – Magellan

1600 Fitness class – the club

1600 Afternoon tea – Constellation lounge

1830 Club Cocktails – the club

2130 Club melodies – romantics – the club

2145 Showtime violist chris watkina – Magellan lounge

2145 Guitar melodies – Constellation lounge

2230 Romantic melodies – Seabreeze –club

2315 Dance melodies – Seabreeze till 0015 then Romantics till ????) the club

 

Dinner with the CD/FCC moved back to a later date:) Looks like weather might for the first time rain on my fun:mad: