“Suite!” Just Retired to be a pirate at sea with Sea Dog and Polly The Pirate Semi Live Explorer Nov. 7th

[bobmacliberty]

48 minutes ago, h20skibum said:

As someone once said….Every picture tells a story, don’t it. 

 

And said it over, and over, and over...

[bobmacliberty]

39 minutes ago, Sea Dog said:

I was really impressed with the big band that had about a hour and half rehearsal with him to learn all the charts.

 

This also impresses me.  Professional musicians (and also dancers) seem to pick up something new very quickly.  Show it to them once and they can typically repeat it.  I guess that's why they're called professionals.

[queeniemi]

Sailing on the  5th, really interested in the “bubble trips”. After doing the this itinerary for a dozen years I have my favorite sites. The 4 bubble offerings are all new to me. Curious to see what you and your fellow travelers thought of the excursions. Thanks for being our eyes and ears in our future plans.

[Ocean Boy]

1 hour ago, Sea Dog said:

New and Improved Giovanni’s 

 

Our first experience at Giovanni’s 

Was on Adventure 4 years ago . I was underwhelmed. It was good but did not have the wow factor.

 

This time Giovanni’s had the wow factor. We started out with 4 different appetizers.
 

 

 

 

The meat and cheese plank was still as good as it’s always been. We also had the Ahi Tuna Sashimi and pork belly along with mozzarella and heirloom tomatoes. But the wow factor came from the grilled octopus. Wow this was so tender and so full of flavor. Best octopus I’d ever eaten.

 

For the mains I had heard people say their filet was better than Chops so I had to see and taste for myself. This tasted just as good if not better. The key was the sauce that you could pour over the steak or dip. Now I’m normally a sauce guy for steak. Just some salt and pepper and let the meat speak for itself but this Broccolini Barolo Sauce was out of this world. It gave the steak a whole new flavor profile. I highly approved.

 

Jonathan had the Ossobuco and was really good and Linda had the same filet as I did. She loved it. I had a side of the Pasta Carbonara  with poached egg on top and lots of grated Parmesan on it.

 

We were so full that almost did not get dessert. We ordered Tiramisu to split but the waiter also brought  out a chocolate torte with chocolate ganache on top. Wow again. And the Tiramisu was a hit also.

 

Linda wanted to chill on the balcony and Jonathan went to on of pool deck to read. I went to headliner show to hear Paul Hughes a singer that sings the classics like Sinatra,Bobby Darin and Michael Buble. He was good. Not Sinatra but good. I was really impressed with the big band that had about a hour and half rehearsal with him to learn all the charts. They sounded great. I was very impressed.

 

After that back to schooner bar to drink with my new friends and had  my great bartender Norvo recreate the Baton Rouge Drink that used to be on Schooner menu but was taken off. It was Captain Morgan Spiced Rum with Hennessy Cognac and simple syrup. The original recipe called for rose syrup which he substituted another syrup for. Sorry my phone died and I did not get a photo. I will try again.

 

Lastly more Zoom woes. I stayed up past 1:30 trying to get my video of our excursion today to upload to you tube. No luck, stalked every time. Tried this morning at 6am again no luck. You will have wait till I get home. What a joke the surf and stream is on this ship. Very frustrating. I could complain but it would not help. I will mention it on my post survey. I have to wonder if it’s because Explorer was just supported in the app? Now you have all these people using the app might be clogging the pipeline. Just a thought.

It isn't the app. Not many people are using it at 6AM. Adventure was like this before the app was even invented.

[Ocean Boy]

1 hour ago, crewsweeper said:

Great tips on Giovanni's .   And hoping Norvo is on board in April , Baton Rouge would entice me back to the Schooner Bar for more than just a Vets group.

When I first read this I thought it said I hope Noro is in board in April.😯☺

[Sunshine3601]

11 minutes ago, Ocean Boy said:

When I first read this I thought it said I hope Noro is in board in April.😯☺

I did too😉

[davekathy]

1 hour ago, h20skibum said:

As someone once said….Every picture tells a story, don’t it. 

And Rod Stewart sang it as well. 

[Sea Dog]

Food porn from Giovanni’s. It really was incredible food.

 

 

 

sorry no spaces. Just trying to get this to work. Better now that I have wi-fi and cellular here at the Blue B#%^* Bar

Edited November 10, 2021 by Sea Dog

[Sea Dog]

 

Rainy and cloudy in St. Maarten. But hey who cares it’s wet in the water too. Going to be a great day at the Blue B#%$* Bar

 

Edited November 10, 2021 by Sea Dog

[crewsweeper]

43 minutes ago, Ocean Boy said:

When I first read this I thought it said I hope Noro is in board in April.😯☺

Heard rumors he booked a Grande Suite on deck 10 and bringing all his in-laws😁

[bobmacliberty]

11 minutes ago, Sea Dog said:

Better now that I have wi-fi and cellular here at the Blue B#%^* Bar

 

👍

[Sea Dog]

1 hour ago, queeniemi said:

Sailing on the  5th, really interested in the “bubble trips”. After doing the this itinerary for a dozen years I have my favorite sites. The 4 bubble offerings are all new to me. Curious to see what you and your fellow travelers thought of the excursions. Thanks for being our eyes and ears in our future plans.

So far this Great Bay Beach is the same one we booked two years ago on Harmony. We could have just left the ship and gone on straight to the beach. we had already purchased it before we knew what the protocols would be. No big deal to keep it. Love the BBB. We are on our own here and can return to the ship at our leisure.

[George C]

21 minutes ago, Sea Dog said:

Food porn from Giovanni’s. It really was incredible food.

 

 

 

sorry no spaces. Just trying to get this to work. Better now that I have wi-fi and cellular here at the Blue B#%^* Bar

I have been disappointed in Giovanni’s last few cruises will definitely try it again in a few weeks, great thread.

[Sea Dog]

10 minutes ago, George C said:

I have been disappointed in Giovanni’s last few cruises will definitely try it again in a few weeks, great thread.

I was really surprised how good it was. The octopus was the highlight. So tender with so much flavor. Octopus can taste like rubber but this was completely different. Highly recommend you getting it.

 

Edited November 10, 2021 by Sea Dog

[Jimbo]

12 minutes ago, Sea Dog said:

I was really surprised how good it was. The octopus was the highlight. So tender with so much flavor. Octopus can taste like rubber but this was completely different. Highly recommend you getting it.

 

Might need a blindfold to tackle that.

 

What are the round things to the right of the bottom tomato , are they pearl onions?

Edited November 10, 2021 by Jimbo

[John&LaLa]

15 minutes ago, Jimbo said:

Might need a blindfold to tackle that.

 

What are the round things to the right of the bottom tomato , are they pearl onions?

 

I'd guess garbonzo beans

[Ozark_Kid]

How does Giovanni’s compare to Jamie’s.  We really liked Jamie’s on Symphony but we have not tried Giovanni’s.

[Sea Dog]

4 minutes ago, John&LaLa said:

 

I'd guess garbonzo beans

 

menu says white beans. They were very good with the octopus.

 

 

3 minutes ago, Ozark_Kid said:

How does Giovanni’s compare to Jamie’s.  We really liked Jamie’s on Symphony but we have not tried Giovanni’s.

I think I like Jamie’s better but this new version of Giovanni’s is much improved.

[crewsweeper]

2 hours ago, Jimbo said:

Might need a blindfold to tackle that.

 

What are the round things to the right of the bottom tomato , are they pearl onions?

Could be fava beans or navy beans.  Look a bit too big to be cannellini and a little too flat to be garbanzos.  White beans is a good descriptor, allows the chef to grab what ever is in the pantry.

Edited November 10, 2021 by crewsweeper

[BecciBoo]

3 hours ago, Sea Dog said:

Food porn from Giovanni’s. It really was incredible food.

 

sorry no spaces. Just trying to get this to work. Better now that I have wi-fi and cellular here at the Blue B#%^* Bar

Appears no one is wanting that ahi tuna.  Same on our last cruise....so I had it all to myself...hehehehe!  It was delicioso.

[Sea Dog]

1 hour ago, BecciBoo said:

Appears no one is wanting that ahi tuna.  Same on our last cruise....so I had it all to myself...hehehehe!  It was delicioso.

 

Linda will not eat it but Jonathan and I ate the whole plate. Very light.

[BecciBoo]

4 hours ago, crewsweeper said:

Could be fava beans 

But where's the nice Chianti?      Couldn't help myself......

[Ozark_Kid]

I’m excited to hear how you liked the Chef’s Table.  I have not tried it yet but it sounds good.  Sounds like the perfect retirement celebration dinner.

[davekathy]

2 hours ago, BecciBoo said:

But where's the nice Chianti?      Couldn't help myself......

Dr. Hannibal Lecter came to mind when I read fava beans. I don't like liver or fava beans. But I would like Chianti. 🍷

[Sea Dog]

12 hours ago, BecciBoo said:

But where's the nice Chianti?      Couldn't help myself......

We did have a good Chianti I forgot to take a picture of it. It was their house Chianti.

 

12 hours ago, Ozark_Kid said:

I’m excited to hear how you liked the Chef’s Table.  I have not tried it yet but it sounds good.  Sounds like the perfect retirement celebration dinner.

I’m excited to tell you all about it. I got some great pictures. Unfortunately I can’t rely on the POS voom surf and stream internet package that I’m paying but can’t use. I’ve tried for an hour and half this morning trying to get it to work on my laptop or phone.

 

The only solution for us was to up our t-mobile plan to international. That’s what I’m using now to post this.