🐾 🐾 Sea Dog gets Wet, a "Soggy Adventure LIVE" 10-21-23

[laurieal]

It was an absolute delight seeing your pictures/videos and reading about your day. Your enthusiasm and excitement really shines through.

[Sea Dog]

30 minutes ago, BonTexasNY said:

Greg, two words:  Total Perfection!

 

Thanks Bonnie. It sure was.

 

 

29 minutes ago, travelchica915 said:

Glad you enjoyed Jost and soggy dollar as much as we did!! Those painkillers will never be as good anywhere else but on that beach 😎

 

 

We’re you the couple we talked to that came via ferry and taxi? If so how was that whole experience? I noticed you had to leave quite a bit earlier? If that was not you who I talked to I -man sorry my mistake.

 

 

10 minutes ago, laurieal said:

It was an absolute delight seeing your pictures/videos and reading about your day. Your enthusiasm and excitement really shines through.

 

Thank you that means a lot to me.

[Sea Dog]

Interesting conversation with Royal employee meaning the Excursion Desk. I asked if he happened to know why the vendor cancelled the “Escape to Jost Van Dyke” excursion. He said that Royal is no longer offering that excursion which made it sound like it was Royal Caribbean’s decision. Either way that is a huge disappointment to anyone who would like to visit. I will return and charter a boat with Chillout Charters. They were amazing and a trio of a lifetime.

[travelchica915]

1 hour ago, Sea Dog said:

 

Thanks Bonnie. It sure was.

 

 

 

 

We’re you the couple we talked to that came via ferry and taxi? If so how was that whole experience? I noticed you had to leave quite a bit earlier? If that was not you who I talked to I -man sorry my mistake.

 

 

 

Thank you that means a lot to me.

No, unfortunately I was not there yesterday. Although I really wish I was! I’ve been there previously on another cruise and we chartered a private boat similar to the one you were on with several other couples. Best day ever! 

[harryfat1]

5 hours ago, h20skibum said:

You don’t want them spending more than $16.91 per person, per day on food do you?  Me, borrowing that number from CC’s #1 bean counter, @harryfat1 in his recent report on Navigator.   

Haha, Thanks for the shoutout, Mark.

 

I’m nowhere near the top bean counter on these forums as there are many people who are smarter than me but I was just anal enough to dig into the cost info from their SEC reporting.

 

Impressive that you remembered the cost to the penny. How high is your anal scale score?

Will be interested to see what the food cost is on an annual basis when they file their 10K in February of next year.  By then they will have had the new 2023 menu for almost the entire year so we will see how much their average daily food cost is on a yearly basis.

 

Speaking of food cost, the parent company RCCL just released earnings yesterday for Q3 2023, and to no one’s surprise, they beat Wall Street expectations with higher revenue and profits.  We all know the higher revenue part whenever we try to book future cruises and see the sticker shock.

 

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/royal-caribbean-rcl-tops-q3-124600149.html

 

The strong trend continues with a 110% load factor (100% is double occupancy being filled) and higher passenger deposits for future cruises of $5B versus $4.2 from the prior year.  That tells us don’t expect cruise prices to go down anytime soon with very strong demand heading into 2024.

 

In the meantime, get up and get yourself a couple of donuts before they become just donut holes next year as their cost accounting team realized they can save more by just offering donut holes instead of the whole thing…🤪

[MJSailors]

@Sea Dog Greg-Very glad for you that you could do that excursion yesterday, shared with CC friends.

That Caribbean beach is gorgeous!

Re:the Painkillers

That was our Summer drink of choice before my DH gave up drinking alcohol for health reasons.

We always served it at gatherings at our house and friends and family totally enjoyed them.

We were introduced to Pusser’s Painkillers by a friend who chartered a boat for a family vacation, sailing the British Virgin Islands for a week.

He brought us a bottle of Pusser’s rum and the recipe.

We also used Coco Lopez cream of coconut, Dole pineapple juice and Tropicana OJ.

Wishing you and Linda continued enjoyable vacation days!

MJ🙋🏻‍♀️

[Sea Dog]

A Chef’s Table For Sushi

 

 

I’ve eaten at Izumi a number of times. Now while I can eat at some amazing Sushi restaurants in my hometown in the middle of the US with fresh fresh fish flown in every day, Most people don’t realize Royal gets their fresh fish frozen. I will say I like Izumi’s rolls and menu. They were thoughtfully and creatively inspired. So, when I saw a Sushi and Sake pairing lunch I thought I need to do this.

 

 

Promptly at noon, 20 people or so got seated to begin a 5 course sushi, sake and cocktail tasting. I was comforted in knowing that at least I had a designated driver in Captain Jaret. 

 

First Course:

Yellowtail Jalapeño Carpaccio with 

Thinly sliced yellowtail with sea salt, truffle oil,  truffle oil, Yuzu Citrus, and house ponzu with jalapeño sliced on top. It was light and refreshing. Tasted great on my palate.

 

 

The Sake paired with it was Soto Junmai Black 14% ABV

 

 

 

It had a white gold color. Aromas of strawberries, cream, and apples in yogurt with a supple, crisp, dry-yet-fruity light body and a sleek, interesting, buoyant white grape, lime, hints of pecan, and green tea finish. A supple, creamy Junmai Sake for delicate dishes

 

 

It was interesting after I drank my little tea cup of Sake our host came by and poured me another cup. Each cup holds about 1.5oz of liquor. This could get interesting was my first thought.

 

Second Course:

 

 

Was a roll of 3 pieces, the Crispy Shrimp and Futomaki. It consisted of spicy shrimp with spicy aioli and avocado topped with Tenkusu bites, and sushi sauce along with futomaki, wakame salad and cream cheese that is flash fried and topped with aïoli sauces and ginger dressing with chili thread.

 

 

Oh how I loved the taste of this.

 

 

Served with a “She’s a Geisha” Cocktail made of mulled blueberries, sake, pomegranate and rose syrup. This is one of my all time favorites of any cocktail Royal makes. Here is the Sake they use.

 

 

I was also served another Sake.

 

 

This time a Soto White.  Between the sips of the cocktail I was being served more shots of the Soto Black Sake I was getting more fills up of fuel than my dad’s old 1974  Pontiac 457, 4 barrel Grand AM.

 

 

Third Course: 

Champagne Lobster & Lobster Creamy Tempura

 

 

A wonderful combination of Champagne lobster (blanched cold lobster), avocado and daikon sprouts wrapped with soy paper and a creamy lobster tempura roll-salmon and kanpachi asparagus, topped with lobster tempura in truffle oil and spicy aïoli.

 
 

 

 

 

We were told that the Soto Black and White helps balance your eyesight but does it do anything for fuzziness? It tasted smooth and crisp. 

 

Fourth Course:

Teppan Beef Fried Rice. Vegetables and eggs fried rice with garlic-butter-soy Filet Mignon. 
 

 

Paired with a Kikusui Funaguchi Nama Genshu poured in a little can. It felt like drinking an oil can because after drinking the 19%abv, I was fully lubed. Boy this was good stuff.

 

 

At one point our host kept pouring more sake. I told him I was having a hard time between the three as to which ones I liked the best. So he poured more. My table mate next to me Marlo from Dallas summed it  up best,

“ Soto Black was more sweet with a hint of tart

Soto White was tart with a mild sweetness .” Well said Marlo, she nailed it.

 

Fifth Course: Dessert

We were served an assortment of Mochi Ice Cream.

 

 

Cool flavors of Chocolate, Strawberry and Green Tea refreshed the palette.
 

 

 

 

I the the texture of the firmer outer shell. No  sake paired with it just more refills.

 

It was an amazing spirited experience. Such great food and even better Sake. It was the first time I’ve ever been bombed by the Japanese. As I staggered up to my room I did not know how much was the Sake or how much was the rolling sea. Talk to you later I need a nap.

 

Editor note: So sorry for the bad joke, the Sake is speaking and I mean no disrespect, but “ I’m feeling good!” as James Brown would say.

Edited October 26, 2023 by Sea Dog

[HxFx]

7 minutes ago, Sea Dog said:

So, when I saw a Sushi and Sake pairing dinner I thought I need to do this.

Thanks! I'm doing this on Allure next month. It's our only sea day and I have an ambitious schedule, I may have to sip my sake very slowly!

[laurieal]

I am convinced! The Sushi and Sake lunch sounds really good/fun and I booked it for my next cruise. Keeping my fingers crossed that the price will drop on Black Friday. 

 

Thanks for taking us along!

[Jimbo]

Black out after Sake Lunch?

[dbancroft]

@Sea Dogyou must be psychic your title explains what was going to happen at Jost Van Dyke. Was that dip in the water before drinks? 

[Sea Dog]

1 minute ago, dbancroft said:

@Sea Dogyou must be psychic your title explains what was going to happen at Jost Van Dyke. Was that dip in the water before drinks? 

Yep lost my footing carrying two beach bags and a go pro. There was a sand shelf that was a little steep. I put my weight on my bad knee and my leg sunk into the sand as my momentum was going forward. My knee and it gave out. As they say “down goes the champ.”

[DeerJod]

On 10/24/2023 at 9:00 PM, Sea Dog said:

@DeerJod Here you go.

 

They have the Jack Daniels Single Malt for a price of $100.99. I said laughing,”Really….Does Jack Daniels really need that extra 99 cents?”

Thank you for looking this up for me! We sail in a few weeks and I'm excited to get one!

[taznremmy]

@Sea Dog  My mouth was watering looking at your photos and reading your detailed description of your Sushi lunch. Well done!

[Seville2Cabo]

5 hours ago, Sea Dog said:

Now while I can eat at some amazing Sushi restaurants in my hometown in the middle of the US with fresh fresh fish flown in every day, Most people don’t realize Royal gets their fresh fish frozen.

Most sushi in the US is frozen for health reasons 

[BonTexasNY]

11 hours ago, Sea Dog said:

 

IMG_3363.mov 37.93 MB · 11 downloads  

 

Going through some rain showers. Glad our balcony is slightly enclosed.

 

I have never been in one, but your balcony looks like the pictures of an infinite balcony on, I think, some Celebrity ships.  My sister and BIL stayed in one and loved it.  Made the cabin seem bigger.  Do you prefer your Adventure balcony or the more open ones?

[Ocean Boy]

5 minutes ago, BonTexasNY said:

I have never been in one, but your balcony looks like the pictures of an infinite balcony on, I think, some Celebrity ships.  My sister and BIL stayed in one and loved it.  Made the cabin seem bigger.  Do you prefer your Adventure balcony or the more open ones?

I prefer the open ones. You have much more of a view when sitting down as the front panel is transparent.

[Sea Dog]

1 hour ago, BonTexasNY said:

I have never been in one, but your balcony looks like the pictures of an infinite balcony on, I think, some Celebrity ships.  My sister and BIL stayed in one and loved it.  Made the cabin seem bigger.  Do you prefer your Adventure balcony or the more open ones?

 

I like a traditional balcony instead of the infinity. This balcony was nice as in protected as it was on the hump but there was not a lot of space for like a lounge chair.

 

 

57 minutes ago, Ocean Boy said:

I prefer the open ones. You have much more of a view when sitting down as the front panel is transparent.

 

Yes I agree.

[Sea Dog]

Lobster Night in the MDR. Does Size Matter??? 
 

Our last night in the MDR as we will go back to Giovanni’s tomorrow night. Of course the draw for tonight was the Maine Lobster but I also wanted to hand out tips to the dining room manager Royal, who helped get us a good table.  Also tips for a great staff Julie and Gabriel. They worked hard, talked to us a lot and were so friendly. 
 

 

My go to Escargot.

 

 

The Maine Lobster. Slightly bigger than Caribbean Lobster with some more meat but not by much.

 

 

Hand comparison. It’s small. I could have eaten 2 more easily. Melted butter was lukewarm not good.

 

 

Cheese Tortellini was very good. Great cheese flavor. This helped fill me up after the small lobster.

 

I had their warm chocolate cake with vanilla ice cream and it was good as I dug in before realizing I did not take a picture.

 

All in all the food in the Main Dining Room was fairly good but unimpressive. The portion sizes were small, hit or miss on how hot the food was. Flavors were good for the most part and service was fantastic after the second. night.

 

Now onto the show.

Edited October 27, 2023 by Sea Dog

[Sea Dog]

Can’t Stop The Rock

 

Can’t Stop the Rock" takes the audience on a musical journey through rock and roll movie soundtracks. Covering everything from Chubby Checker and Connie Francis to Whitney Houston and Prince, listen to over 40 years of the greatest music in film history.

 

 

 

 

 

It wasn’t a bad show but it wasn’t in the caliber of the Broadway type shows on Oasis Class ships and above. While the singing was good for the most part.Seeing a bunch of white kids trying to do a Prince song just isn’t right. No soul whatsoever. Even the girl who did the Whitney Houston song “I will always love you” gave it a valiant effort but fell short. I only want to hear Whitney sing that song. The band was good but I hate electronic drums on a show like this. No dynamics. The music felt flat and lifeless.

 

The Caribbean and Latin bands upstairs were killing it. I could listen to them all night.

 

We did stop in the pub. The singer guitar was good but too loud.

 

Enough for today. Tomorrow is our last day and we will be at a windy Cococay.

Edited October 27, 2023 by Sea Dog

[perfect match]

15 hours ago, Sea Dog said:

For you @perfect match

Thank you very much, Sea Dog! Absolutely perfect! Looks like a few others enjoyed it as well. 
 

Hope you’re able to find a spot on Coco Cay that’s not too windy. It’s going to be hard to top the other two beach days that you’ve had on this cruise, at least based on my idea of what makes a perfect beach day. Mermaid Beach and the one I’m having a senior moment and can’t remember the name of at the moment are exactly what I picture a perfect beach day to be. Coco Cay, while it is a nice beach day is not my perfect beach day. Yes, I go out there and yes, DH has to drag me out of the ocean and back to the ship at the end of the day. It’s still a very nice place to spend the day

[Ocean Boy]

5 hours ago, Sea Dog said:

Lobster Night in the MDR. Does Size Matter??? 
 

Our last night in the MDR as we will go back to Giovanni’s tomorrow night. Of course the draw for tonight was the Maine Lobster but I also wanted to hand out tips to the dining room manager Royal, who helped get us a good table.  Also tips for a great staff Julie and Gabriel. They worked hard, talked to us a lot and were so friendly. 
 

 

My go to Escargot.

 

 

The Maine Lobster. Slightly bigger than Caribbean Lobster with some more meat but not by much.

 

 

Hand comparison. It’s small. I could have eaten 2 more easily. Melted butter was lukewarm not good.

 

 

Cheese Tortellini was very good. Great cheese flavor. This helped fill me up after the small lobster.

 

I had their warm chocolate cake with vanilla ice cream and it was good as I dug in before realizing I did not take a picture.

 

All in all the food in the Main Dining Room was fairly good but unimpressive. The portion sizes were small, hit or miss on how hot the food was. Flavors were good for the most part and service was fantastic after the second. night.

 

Now onto the show.

I wonder what they do with all the claws from those ridiculously small lobsters? That looked barely legal size to be taken from the water.

[Ocean Boy]

5 hours ago, Sea Dog said:

Can’t Stop The Rock

 

Can’t Stop the Rock" takes the audience on a musical journey through rock and roll movie soundtracks. Covering everything from Chubby Checker and Connie Francis to Whitney Houston and Prince, listen to over 40 years of the greatest music in film history.

 

 

 

 

 

It wasn’t a bad show but it wasn’t in the caliber of the Broadway type shows on Oasis Class ships and above. While the singing was good for the most part.Seeing a bunch of white kids trying to do a Prince song just isn’t right. No soul whatsoever. Even the girl who did the Whitney Houston song “I will always love you” gave it a valiant effort but fell short. I only want to hear Whitney sing that song. The band was good but I hate electronic drums on a show like this. No dynamics. The music felt flat and lifeless.

 

The Caribbean and Latin bands upstairs were killing it. I could listen to them all night.

 

We did stop in the pub. The singer guitar was good but too loud.

 

Enough for today. Tomorrow is our last day and we will be at a windy Cococay.

Adventure is over 20 years old and I think that show has been aboard from the beginning. I usually go just to hear The Sound of Silence... my favorite song. Was Invitation to Dance also aboard this week? It takes a few Cosmos to get me to sit through that disaster of a show.

[Sea Dog]

4 hours ago, perfect match said:

Thank you very much, Sea Dog! Absolutely perfect! Looks like a few others enjoyed it as well. 
 

Hope you’re able to find a spot on Coco Cay that’s not too windy. It’s going to be hard to top the other two beach days that you’ve had on this cruise, at least based on my idea of what makes a perfect beach day. Mermaid Beach and the one I’m having a senior moment and can’t remember the name of at the moment are exactly what I picture a perfect beach day to be. Coco Cay, while it is a nice beach day is not my perfect beach day. Yes, I go out there and yes, DH has to drag me out of the ocean and back to the ship at the end of the day. It’s still a very nice place to spend the day

 

We will be at the Beach Club with the rest of the gang hanging around the infinity pool. It’s a great spot and hopefully not as windy today but I did see a forecast of up to 25 knots.

 

 

29 minutes ago, Ocean Boy said:

I wonder what they do with all the claws from those ridiculously small lobsters? That looked barely legal size to be taken from the water.

 

 

That’s exactly what I thought. I know when I watch Deadliest Catch, they measure the crab to see if they are big enough to keep the rest are thrown back. My guess at the processing plant the tails are just cut off and that is what is shipped to Royal. They probably use the claw meet for something else. I am only guessing at this. I should have had Jennifer ask that question in the Galley Tour she did yesterday.

 

 

23 minutes ago, Ocean Boy said:

Adventure is over 20 years old and I think that show has been aboard from the beginning. I usually go just to hear The Sound of Silence... my favorite song. Was Invitation to Dance also aboard this week? It takes a few Cosmos to get me to sit through that disaster of a show.

Yes I missed it as I was cocktail dancing in the Schooner Bar. I did see one of the ballroom acts perform for the Top Tier event. They were very good.

[Sea Dog]

So last night after I finished my post about dinner and the show, Linda wanted a Diet Coke from the Freestyle machine on Deck 5 in the Promenade. As I was filling her cup I could smell something, what was that small? Could it be cheese???? So I investigated it and sure enough I saw it. The dreaded cheese pizza in the Promenade Cafe. Should I ? Or not? I decided to go in. Would I regret it? I know there are fans and detractors. I wasn’t a fan, especially after a Alfredo Sea Food Pizza at Buccaneer Beach.

 

I got two slices of cheese. They were skinny slivers of limp dough. The tip fell over as I picked it up. Surely it could not be by the weight of the cheese? There was barely any cheese on it, just sauce. I ate it. It was bad but then something good happened about it. I just had over 7 cocktails that evening. The pizza seemed to make that chemical imbalance in my stomach even again. I was now all right with the world. It’s looks bad, doesn’t taste great but it does the trick when you need it. It’s nice to have options. Now back to bed.