Rogueperson's **Live** Brilliance of the Seas 12/16/2021

[Rogueperson]

Izumi’s Sushi and Saki Lunch

 

Table

 

 

Menu

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Yellowtail Jalapeno Carpacio and pairing.  This is delicious.  This pairing is sneaky because this saki has 15% alcohol.

 

 

 

Crispy shrimp and Futomaki and pairing.  The pairing was ok.  BUT, this may have just won best drink on Royal for me.  And the best thing is they put the recipe on the menu!!!

 

 

 

Champagne Lobster and Creamy Lobster Tempura and pairing.  This pairing is on point.  Explosion of flavors here.

 

 

 

Teppan Beef fried rice and pairing.  Even more potent with the Kikusui Perfect Snow Sake.  At 21% alcohol, this knocked me out.  However, I kind of feel like the Fried Rice was only mediocre.  The pairing worked.  But to me, fried rice is used to revitalize leftovers.

 

 

 

And for Dessert.  Mochi Ice cream.  Green tea, strawberry and mango from left to right.  No pairing here, but flip me over, I’m done.

 

 

The price of this experience is 47 with tip.  In my opinion, it is a little expensive for what you get.  I feel Chef’s table is a better value

[mafig]

29 minutes ago, Rogueperson said:

Technically since it’s indoor, yes.  No if you’re swimming.  I have not seen it enforced, but at the same time, i do wear my mask indoors so i’m not a target for enforcement.

I guess it didn't bother you, but it would me....sitting poolside wearing a mask.  That's new, is it not? Or was the Solarium always a place where you had to wear your mask.

Anyway, I'm pretty sure (99%) that we'll be cancelling this cruise.  

[Biker19]

Just now, mafig said:

I guess it didn't bother you, but it would me....sitting poolside wearing a mask.  That's new, is it not? Or was the Solarium always a place where you had to wear your mask.

Anyway, I'm pretty sure (99%) that we'll be cancelling this cruise.  

What the policy says and what happens on the ship could be different. 
 

Biker, who feels bad for the staff who were told to double mask starting yesterday. 

[mafig]

1 minute ago, Biker19 said:

 

Biker, who feels bad for the staff who were told to double mask starting yesterday. 

I remember back in March when we were all told to double mask.  I did it.  Didn't last long.  

[Rogueperson]

3 hours ago, mafig said:

I guess it didn't bother you, but it would me....sitting poolside wearing a mask.  That's new, is it not? Or was the Solarium always a place where you had to wear your mask.

Anyway, I'm pretty sure (99%) that we'll be cancelling this cruise.  

I wasn’t thinking when i responded.  The written rule is indoor=mask unless you are actively eating/drinking.  There are certain vaccinated areas of the ship you can go unmasked.  That was not written, but understood.  Solarium is one of those places.  

 

However, i only read of the new protocol on Friday maybe.  They may not have updated or implemented for this cruise because its ongoing.  They could easily do so.  Its easier to start with a new cruise than try to change a rule midcruise.

 

They ARE strict about the vaccination band.  If you are not wearing it, you are considered unvaccinated.  I took mine off on day 2 in my room and didn’t put it back on when i left the room for lunch.  They denied me entry into the Vaccinated area of the MDR

Edited December 19, 2021 by Rogueperson

[mafig]

Rogueperson,

 It sounds like you are having a wonderful cruise.  I'm glad.😀

 

 

[Rogueperson]

Diamond Perk.  It is both a blessing and a curse.

 

If you are not aware, Diamond benefits changed from free drinks at happy hour in the

Diamond lounge or 3 free drinks off the happy hour menu to 4-6 free drinks depending on status (diamond, diamond plus or

pinnacle) all day 13 bucks or less value.

 

 There was nothing i liked on that menu and fighting through the crowd at the Diamond lounge to get a drink was not always fun.

 

Now, I can actually try drinks without having to pay.  At the diamond lounge, I had to know what i wanted.  I’m clueless.  So it was never a priority for me to get drinks there. The problem now is that i’m not wired to order alcoholic drinks.  It has never come natural to me.   And now i have 4/day.  On Mariner, i missed out a little because as i said, it does not come natural to me and i definitely left drinks on the table.  This time, i had prepared myself to order drinks.  I’ve been intoxicated

more times on this cruise than on any cruise before.  And this is just a 4 night.  What am i going to do on Enchantment in March when i have 12 nights and my wife who will be perfectly happy with her four drinks/day.  At least here, my friend can take some of the drinks.  She’s happy because she’s not Diamond but has me feeding her drinks so i don’t waste my vouchers and lose out

[smplybcause]

38 minutes ago, Rogueperson said:

She’s happy because she’s not Diamond but has me feeding her drinks so i don’t waste my vouchers and lose out

 

As your wife your c&a accounts should be linked so she should be diamond because you are. Then you'll have more vouchers too - don't forget they're good for non alcoholic drinks too. That should help with using them all. 

[Coralc]

1 hour ago, smplybcause said:

 

As your wife your c&a accounts should be linked so she should be diamond because you are. Then you'll have more vouchers too - don't forget they're good for non alcoholic drinks too. That should help with using them all. 

He is not sailing with his wife. LOL. 

[Rogueperson]

56 minutes ago, Coralc said:

He is not sailing with his wife. LOL. 

But my wife knows!  So I’m okay!  Maybe…. She’s a little salty about it, but in my defense, this was planned as a guys trip which turned into a mini college reunion.  We had 1 more but he couldn’t come and a big second, I gave her multiple opportunities to cruise this year and she turned me down.  She wasn’t ready.

[Coralc]

12 minutes ago, Rogueperson said:

But my wife knows!  So I’m okay!  Maybe…. She’s a little salty about it, but in my defense, this was planned as a guys trip which turned into a mini college reunion.  We had 1 more but he couldn’t come and a big second, I gave her multiple opportunities to cruise this year and she turned me down.  She wasn’t ready.

You don't have to explain. We understood from your previous posts.  Wonderful live review of your cruise Rogue! Thanks for taking us along.  Safe travels home!

Edited December 20, 2021 by Coralc

[Rogueperson]

Oh, i forgot to mention this.

 

So when I was in the Solarium, a lady approached me and asked me if i was the one who did Chef’s table last night.  I said yes and it’s wonderful.

 

She tells me that she read that she you could many times get a discount onboard.  I read that too but never saw it.  But she said she wanted to do it and they wanted to charge her $135.00/person for tonight.  I suspect onboard, they would also charge gratuities to it.  They actually did that with the Saki and Sushi pairing and that came out to 47 and change.  At 89.99 and it would come out to $106.18.  I technically paid something like that total as I always add tip to chef’s table, but only because they do almost always do a good job and they’ve noted before that gratuity is added so i give extra.  If they add gratuity, i rarely add more unless they totally wow me.

[Rogueperson]

So i lay in bed on my last night of this cruise.  Here are some thoughts.  I was able to detach completely on this trip.  Thats hard to do for me especially when this is only a 4 nighter.  I attribute that to the fact that we had two sea days and 1 port, but there’s more.  I didn’t feel that the last time i went on a 4 night which ironically was in 2012 on Carnival in a similar itinerary as this one from Tampa.

 

I want to say its because i didn’t feel the need to do everything.  I missed every single show in the theater.  I’ve never done that before.  Dinner was reminiscent of how cruising was before.  It was just an enjoyable time with my friends and it didn’t matter it took 2 hours some nights.

 

I think I also took a nap every day, but at least 1 of those naps today was alcohol related *cough* *saki*.  I feel rested.

 

This detached mode is great.  But too

much of it, it slips into wasting away mode.  That’s a bad feeling.  I usually hit that at 11

or 12 days.

 

My flight home isn’t until 7:45.  I had played with the idea of visiting Busch Gardens, but for almost a hundred bucks where i can only enjoy half a day before having to go to the airport, thats a bit much.

 

Haven’t decided what yet.  Its not quite over yet.

[b&wcruiser]

On 12/18/2021 at 5:40 PM, FionaMG said:

 

That "Rita's Cantina" was one of the very first specialty restaurants and they used it as an overflow for the Windjammer when I was on Brilliance back in 2009.

 

And at that time, where Izumi is now used to be the Seaview Café. It was a bit like the Park Café on the Oasis class ships. We had some great paninis and salads there at lunchtime.

I mis the Seaview Cafe, was a great place.

[sgmn]

2 hours ago, Rogueperson said:

So i lay in bed on my last night of this cruise.  Here are some thoughts.  I was able to detach completely on this trip.  Thats hard to do for me especially when this is only a 4 nighter.  I attribute that to the fact that we had two sea days and 1 port, but there’s more.  I didn’t feel that the last time i went on a 4 night which ironically was in 2012 on Carnival in a similar itinerary as this one from Tampa.

 

I want to say its because i didn’t feel the need to do everything.  I missed every single show in the theater.  I’ve never done that before.  Dinner was reminiscent of how cruising was before.  It was just an enjoyable time with my friends and it didn’t matter it took 2 hours some nights.

 

I think I also took a nap every day, but at least 1 of those naps today was alcohol related *cough* *saki*.  I feel rested.

 

This detached mode is great.  But too

much of it, it slips into wasting away mode.  That’s a bad feeling.  I usually hit that at 11

or 12 days.

 

My flight home isn’t until 7:45.  I had played with the idea of visiting Busch Gardens, but for almost a hundred bucks where i can only enjoy half a day before having to go to the airport, thats a bit much.

 

Haven’t decided what yet.  Its not quite over yet.

Thanks for a great review. It was very clear and well written and the pictures snd reviews of the meals were especially well done. 

 

Safe travels home. Have you thought of getting a day room at a hotel close  to the airport. Great for a relaxing last day by the pool with time to nap and freshen up before your flight home .

Travelling home eastbound transatlantic after a caribbean cruise, our flights are normally all late evening,  and we found this worked best for us.

Edited December 20, 2021 by sgmn

[Rogueperson]

Good Morning from Tampa.

 

Last night I totally flaked and took no pictures of dinner except the menu.

 

 

I have confirmed that the diamond vouchers are available on disembarkation day as well. 

 

There’s a chance we’re going to visit the Aquarium next door.  Other friend has 1/2 discount as a member.

 

Not done yet.

[Rogueperson]

I should note that this was the average speed of Surf and Stream.

 

 

Fortunately, other than just plain slow speeds, internet was consistent.  I had no issues with it this time around.  However, it has been known to be inconsistent across different cruises.  I cite my Princess cruise as proof of what happened the cruise before and my cruise.

 

Ookla’s speedtest does not work here either.  Not sure why.  It tries to measure the ping and then just gives me an error.

 

 

[smplybcause]

13 hours ago, Coralc said:

He is not sailing with his wife. LOL. 

 

I know. But he said she's not Diamond, but has mentioned she's sailed with him before and mentioned giving her his vouchers next time. My comment was for the future - she should be Diamond if he is just have to get their accounts linked. 

[Rogueperson]

1 hour ago, smplybcause said:

 

I know. But he said she's not Diamond, but has mentioned she's sailed with him before and mentioned giving her his vouchers next time. My comment was for the future - she should be Diamond if he is just have to get their accounts linked. 

My wife is linked.  That will be an issue.  She has her own four drinks.  She can do 4 drinks a day.  6 might be pushing.  Also, we have a 12 night so thats a lot of drinks.

[Rogueperson]

I am having such a huge problem with that bug again.  Chrome and Safari will not let me long onto cruise critic so therefore i cannot post.  I finally got logged in through the google app.

 

Ship to door is an impressive 

 

This is even more impressive because Port of Tampa does not have the facial recognition new hotness that Port Canaveral has.  The port agent said they will get it when Port Canaveral’s breaks down.

 

We ended up hanging at the Florida Aquarium

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Its a cute place to visit for a couple hours.  My flight is now delayed until 8.  One friend made it to the gate.  We’re not flying back together.  So i have a couple more hours to hang down here.

 

Edited December 20, 2021 by Rogueperson

[coaster]

On 12/17/2021 at 6:46 PM, Rogueperson said:

I

The Windjammer has a lot of outdoor seating. There used to be something called Rita’s Cantina.  There’s a sign for it but nothing really there

 

 

Love the outdoor seating that the Radiance class has behind Windjammer. We have cruised Serenade 13 nights since the end of October and never sat inside the WJ. Rita's bar was always a short walk away. Nice when having the drink package.

[Rogueperson]

So after we left the port, we dropped @death_star off at the airport as he had an earlier flight and just wandered around.  I should have done more research on what i wanted to do, but shoulda woulda coulda.  We drove by a Go-Kart place called Tampa Bay Grand Prix.  I didnt get pictures unfortunately.  We ran a race and it was fun.  

 

Then we stopped off at this place.

 

 

This is literally just a hole in the wall.  I found it by scanning google maps and going “oooh, this looks interesting” 

 

Menu

 

I got the Fried Swamp Platter

 

 

That’s a whole Catfish.  

 

Now we’re sitting on the beach.

 

 

Its decent day.  The weather here in Tampa is actually comfortable.

[Rogueperson]

I finally logged on with Chrome!

 

I am here at the airport, albeit a little early.  I’ve said it before, TSA precheck/global entry rocks.  No line, no real hassle getting through security.

 

But now I camp out waiting for my flight to come in from Austin.  At least its in the air.  It predicts it will arrive at 7:28.  My flight is now scheduled at 8:23.

[FionaMG]

42 minutes ago, Rogueperson said:

My flight is now scheduled at 8:23.

I can't believe your cruise is over already. It was way too short!

Save travels home.

[Rogueperson]

1 hour ago, FionaMG said:

I can't believe your cruise is over already. It was way too short!

Save travels home.

 

It was only a four night cruise.  Next one is a 12 night!