'Twas Two Weeks Before Christmas - Live from the Nieuw Statendam, Dec. 10 - 17, 2023

[POA1]

Just now, hrhdhd said:

I saw a lot of art today when they took the elevators out of service to test the backup generators. Who knew there were that many stairs between deck 1 and deck 9?

Ouch. We were up in the Retreat Cabana area and did the only sensible thing. We just drank champagne until they were done testing the backup generators.

[POA1]

Laundry service has been great as usual. Turnaround has been less than 24 hours. I send it out daily.

 

Laundry and pressing are my favorite part of four starishness

[Haljo1935]

1 hour ago, POA1 said:

Laundry service has been great as usual. Turnaround has been less than 24 hours. I send it out daily.

 

Laundry and pressing are my favorite part of four starishness

Oh, I so have DDIY (Don't-Do-It-Yourself) Laundry envy... Consolation is I will be finding hard, pokey little colored tags for a while as I sent EVERYTHING out before they kicked me off the ship.

Enjoy!!

[POA1]

I believe that the only holiday drink that we, and by "we", I mean Michelle, hasn't tried is Rudolph themed margarita. We're a little bit bummed that the coffee ones in the Dutch Café and Explorations Café / Crow's Nest haven't shown up yet.

 

We took the holiday martini class a few years ago and were really looking forward to learning how to make craft cocktails that we will never make again. Ever.

 

The holiday margarita will to wait until tomorrow. Sel de Mer has a very French menu, so we'll likely start with Champagne and try to pair all the courses with French wines. I'm a little stuck on the pairing for the foie gras device. I suppose I can toss it to the sommelier, Robert, but this kind of thing should be in my wheelhouse. I'm a little constrained because of the "by the glass" selections, even with the Elite Beverage Package.

[POA1]

Just now, Haljo1935 said:

Oh, I so have DDIY (Don't-Do-It-Yourself) Laundry envy... Consolation is I will be finding hard, pokey little colored tags for a while as I sent EVERYTHING out before they kicked me off the ship.

Enjoy!!

I consider those tags to be residual souvenirs. It's kind of embarrassing to find one from six years in the past, but we don't dress up as much for work as we used to.

[POA1]

While I am prattling on to kill time before dinner, I'd like to have a moment of silence in respectful memory of the room coffee tables that had a little pneumatic lift. I think we first encountered them on the Ryndam. Those tables were the best. You could leave them low for use as a coffee table or raise them up for a passible dining surface.

[cruisemom42]

24 minutes ago, POA1 said:

I'm a little stuck on the pairing for the foie gras device. I suppose I can toss it to the sommelier, Robert, but this kind of thing should be in my wheelhouse. I'm a little constrained because of the "by the glass" selections, even with the Elite Beverage Package.

 

No Sauternes?

 

I admit that I have always like champagne best with foie gras....

 

[albingirl]

31 minutes ago, POA1 said:

I consider those tags to be residual souvenirs. It's kind of embarrassing to find one from six years in the past, but we don't dress up as much for work as we used to.

And they itch like crazy. I  find them for years on my clothes. Badge of honor some would say.

[highscar]

@POA1o yeah. Stench your thirst. 

[POA1]

Just now, cruisemom42 said:

 

No Sauternes?

 

I admit that I have always like champagne best with foie gras....

 

I've never seen it by the glass on a ship.

Edited December 14, 2023 by POA1

[POA1]

I forgot to post this with the Skyride images. It's the safety signage on all the landings on the Skyride stairs.

 

 

Apparently if you fall, you are supposed to deploy razzle dazzle jazz hands.

[freestyling]

Probably too late but I find a nice pinot Grigio with a bit of spice works well with foie gras

[POA1]

Just now, freestyling said:

Probably too late but I find a nice pinot Grigio with a bit of spice works well with foie gras

Too late, but I was trying to find a Pinot Gris from Alsace. A gewürtztraminer would have been great. (Did you ever try to type an umlauted I on a phone?)

 

Anywho... Photos first. Description to follow.

[POA1]

The charger plates. No idea how these are controversial, but they seem to be.

 

 

 

These photograph more 3D than they look in real life.

[POA1]

The Department for Good Parenting would like to remind you that you must be able to see across the bar in order to use your beverage package.

 

 

 

 

Edited December 15, 2023 by POA1

[POA1]

Having grown up in an era where children were sent to the corner store to buy cigarettes, I forgot to obscure the tot's face. (She was ordering Double Canadian Club, Hi-C back, in a sippy cup.

 

[POA1]

Back to dinner. We were seated promptly at 7:30, our scheduled reservation time.

 

A little inside baseball info: The restaurant seats 46. If they could do 3 turns, starting at 5:00 PM, they would have a capacity of around 120 guests per night. However, not every guest shows up on time, orders 3 course, doesn't take a bathroom break, etc. Also, despite the best efforts, the kitchen sometimes has a bottleneck.

 

Everything's prepared a la minute which both results in better food but also presents logistical challenges.

 

So, for practical purposes, Rudi's probably does 80-90 covers per night.

 

If you are not in the biz, let's pick up with dinner.

[POA1]

..We started with a glass of Le Grande Cortage Rosé Champagne. It's EBP eligible but is a touch over SBP

 

While we were enjoying "sipping time," we ordered.

 

Sel de Mer is a HAL rarity in that there is an amuse bouche. (Welcome taste from the chef, amuseé, something to tickle the palate.)

 

Ours was salmon two ways, presented with a wink toward goldfish crackers. (At least that's this guy's interpretation.)

 

 

[POA1]

My first course was the Crab Bisque. The lovely Michelle ordered the Escargot. (Michelle + Escargot is as safe a bet as Treasury Bonds or Brisn + Bourbon. Strictly blue chip stuff.)

 

 

The crab bisque was full of flavor, with a decent amount of crab. I'd guess blue crab or peekytoe.

 

The presentation of the snails was superb. Look at the tools on the right side of the plate. There are escargot tongs and a snail fork. That's some next level utensilry. We should have snapped a close up, but we will need to make do with a crop and zoom.

 

Edited December 15, 2023 by POA1

[POA1]

Prior to the soup & snails, bread was delivered. It was an extra crusty baguette accompanied by a series of accoutrements.

 

There was goat cheese, roasted red pepper, black olive tapenade, anchovies, green olives, and classic tapenade.

 

There's a pesto in the center. I'm pretty sure that Michelle knows what it is. I'm also pretty sure she would not appreciate having me wake her at 12:30 AM to ask, "Honey? That pesto...

What was in it? "

 

 

 

[POA1]

For our second course, we both had the foie gras. As has been mentioned frequently and argued about often, it's a terrible and not a piece of goose liver. It was very good.

 

 

I would not expect a whole piecc of foie gras at this price point. I do think that the description could be clearer though.

[POA1]

For our main courses, Michelle had the rack of lamb. I had the Tournadoes Rossini which is one of Rudi's signature items. We both had our proteins cooked medium rare. Both entrées were cooked perfectly and both were delicious.

 

Shelly had a rack of lamb, rack of lamb, rack of lamb...

 

Shelly had a rack of lamb...

 

And Brian had Tournadoes.

 

 

Edited December 15, 2023 by POA1

[POA1]

If you are playing the home version of our game, you might realize that this was my second night of filet mignon. We must all make sacrifices in the name of science.

[POA1]

For dessert, Michelle had the apple tarte tatin. I had the crepes Suzette. They were preceded by a chocolate covered strawberry tree.

 

The Chocolate Covered Strawberry Tree. While an interesting concept, it won't knock the Pinnacle Grill's Chocolate Truffles out of the top spot.

 

Michelle's Apple Tarte Tatin. This was great, and there is fruit, so you know it's a health food.

My Crepes Suzette. With all due respect to Suzette, I should have got the Profiteroles or negotiated to split the Salzberger Nockerl.

 

Again, Michelle wins dessert.

 

Our after dinner drinks were Grand Marnier for the lady. The gentleman had Hardys VSOP. You can get Grand Marnier on the SBP. You'll need the EBP for the cognac as it's $15.

[POA1]

A lovely couple we met from Hawaii ordered the Salzberger Nockerl. The enormous souffle looked wonderful. I should have invoked the 'Always order the souffle" rule we have at House of Morgan, but I'd have picked the apple tart myself.

 

As a general principle, I always order the dessert Michelle would have picked next if Michelle didn't pick the dessert she picked. (Put that on your secrets to 30+ years of wedded bliss boys.)