LIVE / NOS /Weekend Getaway/ Aug 4 – 7, 2023

[HBCcruiser]

My least favorite the lobster salad. Lobster needs to be freshly caught for me to like it. This has a slight fishy taste. 
 

[Jimbo]

On 8/4/2023 at 4:01 PM, HBCcruiser said:

The filet was perfectly done!

 

How did you get the Filet cooked?

[HBCcruiser]

So this dinner       Is     Taking.    Way.    Tooo.   Long. It’s 9:00 PM!! 
 

 

 

[Jetmama1]

Today’s lunch was at Jamie’s. Bread was amazing, arancini was so so. Tagliatelle was great. Salad added a nice bit of brightness to the otherwise heavy meal (but it was kind of sad looking). Dessert was fantastic with the ultimate brownie. 

[Jetmama1]

Dinner was at Hooked. I had the chowder, which was amazing. I didn’t care for the biscuit. It had a weird spicy finish and tasted really doughy. The baked oysters were fantastic. I am not usually an oyster fan…it’s the texture for me. These were great. I had the captain’s platter for my entree with grilled salmon. The salmon was the winner for me. The shrimp seemed over cooked. The veggies on the side were good, but the carrots were seriously under cooked. I loved the lemon tart to finish it all off. 

[HBCcruiser]

11 hours ago, Rusty_lock said:

Loving this, if you get a chance can take a picture of the drink menu board at cafe promenade. My grand kids will want to be frequenting there and they have a lot of food allergies…. Soy, gluten and dairy. They are hoping for refreshers like they get at Starbucks. 

I checked but no posted menu. Perhaps check your App.

[HBCcruiser]

We wound up leaving dinner before the dessert came because we wanted to see the 9:15 show. I have never had a Chefs Table dinner take so long. The show was good! After the show we went to the Red Party in Studio B. What a fun dance party!! 

 

 

 

 

[HBCcruiser]

14 hours ago, Jimbo said:

How did you get the Filet cooked?

Medium

[HBCcruiser]

On our way to wine country. We had to walk 20 minutes and cross the bridge to meet our driver. Keep that in mind if you do a private excursion. 

[HBCcruiser]

We hit some amazing wineries today! Our driver got lost going to the last one so our time was shortened there. Best refs were at La Cava. Such fun!

 

First place:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited August 7, 2023 by HBCcruiser

[HBCcruiser]

La Cava

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[HBCcruiser]

Valle Girl Winery. Strong drinks! They also have a distillery! Strong drinks!

 

 

 

 

 

 

[HBCcruiser]

[Jetmama1]

My Ensenada day was of the DIY variety. I took a stroll from the port to Bar Andaluz. It is one of the two that purport to be the home of the original Margarita drink. The 20ish minute walk made this one perfect for me. I got a couple of Cadillac Margaritas. Honestly, they were totally sneakers. Standing up to order the second one kicked me big time. Delicious on a beautiful day!! I finished my time ashore with a stroll along the bay front area. It probably has another name, but I was just walking. 

[Jetmama1]

On 8/5/2023 at 12:56 PM, Rusty_lock said:

Loving this, if you get a chance can take a picture of the drink menu board at cafe promenade. My grand kids will want to be frequenting there and they have a lot of food allergies…. Soy, gluten and dairy. They are hoping for refreshers like they get at Starbucks. 

This is what I’m seeing there. (Glare and all!) 

[HBCcruiser]

Last night we ate in the main dining room. I could not eat the chicken parm so got the lasagna instead. The wait staff were super apologetic but it was not their fault and I told them so. 
 

 

 

 

 

[HBCcruiser]

Then we saw this. The worst thing to see. 😩

 

 

[HBCcruiser]

They had a fun 80s party on deck 5 which was a hoot! After that I called it a night.

 

 

These were waiting for us back in our cabin! 😍😍

 

 

 

[HBCcruiser]

With the Key you get a really nice breakfast in the dining room on deck 3 on disembarkation day. It reminded me of the suite breakfast. The food was quite good!

 

 

[HBCcruiser]

We vacated our cabins at 8. Trying to get an elevator was a cluster so we took the stairs dragging our luggage behind us. It took us about 15 min to get off the ship and through customs. Love the facial recognition software they use to get through customs. Super fast! We were in our car and home by 9:15 AM. 
 

It was a fun short cruise. I really didn’t miss having a suite. Our balcony cabin was plenty big for the two of us, especially for this smaller cruise. The suite perks on this ship are rather “Meh” in my opinion. The Key was a great addition, was rather inexpensive and delivered some nice suite-like perks. On this short cruise it worked out great.
 

I think when we do this again we will get the dining package. The food in the main dining room was really hit or miss. I think we got spoiled with the dining package on previous cruises. I think I’d rate the MDR food a 6/10. I think the buffet had better selections and food on this cruise. 
 

The staff were amazing. They really worked hard to make sure we had a great experience. Kudos to them.

 

Now it’s time to unpack and fill out the survey. We always keep notes on who we feel went above and beyond so we can give them positive feedback on the survey. 

 

 

[nanseev]

We are frequent flyers on this cruise (usually about 1x per month) I’m pretty much 100% with much of what you said!  MDR has become hit or miss, and it has nothing to do with service, which is always amazing - it’s all food options and quality. I stopped ordering the chicken parm - I wish they would pound the chicken or slice to make the cutlet thinner - it would actually help with their food cost!  I actually get the steak on those nights 😕 .  Unfortunately, I’m finding worse in Windjammer - food quality and options are “meh.”  I haven’t tried the Chefs Table yet - one of these cruises I will.  I totally agree that the Ice Skating is a “don’t miss” and the best show!  I usually hit up the headliner and skip the Showgirls - but I’m not into broadway.  I take it all into account and don’t complain, but I think it’s important to be truthful to set the appropriate expectations going in.  We also stopped doing the key because of the lack of perks - I feel like I know the ship well enough that I don’t need it, but understand how it can help some.  We also tend to be early off and no time for Monday breakfast so we can get to work.  I invest that $ in the casino instead 🙂 . And Raj….what can we say?!?!?!  He’s the best!  Keep doing the quick 3-day ones…the staff remembers you and makes it that much more special. I also enjoy seeing the different “vibe” from cruise to cruise - each one has a different feel.  Great review!  We will be back in September - August is move-kid-to-college month for us, so no cruise.  

[HBCcruiser]

20 minutes ago, nanseev said:

We are frequent flyers on this cruise (usually about 1x per month) I’m pretty much 100% with much of what you said!  MDR has become hit or miss, and it has nothing to do with service, which is always amazing - it’s all food options and quality. I stopped ordering the chicken parm - I wish they would pound the chicken or slice to make the cutlet thinner - it would actually help with their food cost!  I actually get the steak on those nights 😕 .  Unfortunately, I’m finding worse in Windjammer - food quality and options are “meh.”  I haven’t tried the Chefs Table yet - one of these cruises I will.  I totally agree that the Ice Skating is a “don’t miss” and the best show!  I usually hit up the headliner and skip the Showgirls - but I’m not into broadway.  I take it all into account and don’t complain, but I think it’s important to be truthful to set the appropriate expectations going in.  We also stopped doing the key because of the lack of perks - I feel like I know the ship well enough that I don’t need it, but understand how it can help some.  We also tend to be early off and no time for Monday breakfast so we can get to work.  I invest that $ in the casino instead 🙂 . And Raj….what can we say?!?!?!  He’s the best!  Keep doing the quick 3-day ones…the staff remembers you and makes it that much more special. I also enjoy seeing the different “vibe” from cruise to cruise - each one has a different feel.  Great review!  We will be back in September - August is move-kid-to-college month for us, so no cruise.  

 

I like your idea- more cruises! And yes on pounding the chicken. It was like a hockey puck! I’ve never cut into chicken that hard before. The taste was odd too. I may have to take more of these three dayers too! We did the three then four day last February and really enjoyed it. Someone on FB reported that we were 10% OVER capacity on this cruise due to families. That makes sense and explains the long lines, no seating issues and long elevator wait times.

 

We really enjoyed the wine tasting in Ensenada! There are new boutique/hip wineries opening up there. I never thought I’d be excited to go to Ensenada, but now, why not?😃🥂

[njkruzer]

Just a word on Chef's Table.  It seldom runs less than 2.5 hrs.  NYE we ran close to 4!  It's always a fun experience but might not be for everyone. ⁰

[HBCcruiser]

10 minutes ago, njkruzer said:

Just a word on Chef's Table.  It seldom runs less than 2.5 hrs.  NYE we ran close to 4!  It's always a fun experience but might not be for everyone. ⁰

Interesting. I have done it 5 times and we are usually out in 2.5 at the most.