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

[POA1]

Just now, regnig said:

Well then I guess I'll have to settle for you and Michelle. 😉

 

You can meet the bear. It's just that he does not appear in public often. He's constantly hassled by poohparazzi.

[1ANGELCAT]

Sad to see this wonderful adventure coming to an end. 
I hope Santa brings Poohby Joe lots of honey for Christmas.

[Haljo1935]

Thanks for bringing us all along and providing thoughtful insights on the ship and her offerings.

I look forward to the next installment of Poohby Joe's Big Sea Adventures sponsored by the Institute of Cheer.

Safe travels!

[POA1]

Thanks to everyone for the scallop suggestion. They were quite tasty. I'll post the dinner photos later.

 

I have to cobble the guide to cabana living together. The weather threw a spanner in the works, but I think we have enough lab work in.

[POA1]

As for the Chocolate Espresso Martini - it's very good and quite chocolaty. The regular espresso was preferred, but we're glad for the suggestion.

I was kind of shocked that something could have too much chocolate, but here we are.

[POA1]

Just now, 1ANGELCAT said:

Sad to see this wonderful adventure coming to an end. 
I hope Santa brings Poohby Joe lots of honey for Christmas.

Thank you. I hope you will take comfort in the fact that the sequel has been green lit and will be coming to a browser near the you right around Easter 2024.

[POA1]

We had dinner in the CO dining room. We started with Le Cortage Rosé Champagne. It's $13 which is a little over the SBP limit. I have clients who feature their Brut and their Rosé as house Champagne. They get $14 or $15 for a split (187 ml) so the HAL price is pretty reasonable.

 

The Champagne gave us time to think about our dinner orders. I started with the Port to Table first course, Jerked Chicken Egg Roll
island slaw, chili mango. I came at this dish with low expectations. I chose it because it was the Port to Table appy.

 

I was pleasantly surprised. This was a really nice dish. It had a kick and a bit of heat. Crispy, creamy and an excellent bite.

 

 

The wine pairing was the SBP eligible Pinot Grigio by Danzante.

 

The lovely Mrs. POA1 had the Frisée Lettuce, Bacon , Red Skin Potato boiled egg, cherry tomato, cucumber salad, paired with the SBP eligible Sauvignon Blanc. Think of the salad as a Nicoise precursor and you won't far off the mark.

 

 

Edited December 17, 2023 by POA1

[POA1]

Just now, ottahand7 said:

I have loved all your wonderful stories and photos.  I love caviar but I am careful where I buy it from.  Can you recall the origin of your caviar.  I couldn't zoom in enough.  Have a nice last night aboard.  

I doubt that you'd be able to get zoomed in enough once the photo is downsized for the web.

 

Here is a close up crop of the lid. It's a 30 gram container. The link to the company's website is below. It's in Dutch though.

 

https://www.schmidtzeevis.nl/webwinkel/artikel/schotels/632/schmidt_elite_royal_caviar

[POA1]

Just now, POA1 said:

I doubt that you'd be able to get zoomed in enough once the photo is downsized for the web.

 

Here is a close up crop of the lid. It's a 30 gram container. The link to the company's website is below. It's in Dutch though.

 

https://www.schmidtzeevis.nl/webwinkel/artikel/schotels/632/schmidt_elite_royal_caviar

 

[POA1]

For our main course we both followed the wisdom of the crowd and had the scallops.

 

 

One of the everyday Club Orange entrée choicest is Beecher's Mac and Cheese. We split an order. I'm glad we waited until the last night. Otherwise we'd have been tempted to get it every day.

 

[POA1]

On a side note... As we approach 5 AM, we have some impressively rough seas. I'd hate to be in a spa verandah way up, forward on deck 10. It's probably like being a human pinball. I took Bonine before bed, both in case of motion as well as for its hangover prevention abilities.

 

As we approach Port Everglades we're going to have to slow below 8 knots and will lose the benefit of the stabilizers. Fun stuff!

[POA1]

Looks like we're fourth in line to enter the port. That's a little later than usual, based on my personal observations of when ships usually pass our place.

 

[POA1]

From the screen cap below you see little light blue dots surrounding the Celebrity Reflection as it passes into the mouth of the Stranahan River, the entrance to Port Everglades - and directly in front of the Institute of Cheer World Headquarters. The little blue dots are tug boats.

 

 

You don't often see the PEV tug fleet assisting cruise ships. It's going to be a busy day for the tugs.

 

We're also worried about the plants on our balcony. Poor things are probably traumatized.

 

Breakfast starts in a bit. I'm guessing there will be a fewer orders for kippered herring than usual. Toast, on the other hand, is likely to be a big mover.

 

Edited December 17, 2023 by POA1

[POA1]

Where was I? Oh, yeah - dessert.

 

Michelle had the Double Chocolate Tart and her usual cappuccino.

 

 

I had the Coquito Cheese Caho and in a first for the trip, no after dinner drink. (Don't cry for me. They came later.)

 

.

[Cruise Suzy]

Here you are

 

[POA1]

We decided dessert was a tie. Not to be magnanimous or anything, it really was a tie.

[POA1]

This luggage scale is in the hallway on Deck 7 (Poohbert Deck) by the midship elevators. It's handy if you are headed to the airport and need to weigh your luggage.

 

 

You can also hop on yourself and see if you ate your money's worth on the cruise.

[puppycanducruise]

Thanks for sharing your cruise with us.  Great photos and comments.

[Gail & Marty sailing away]

Thanks for sharing your trip ..

[newtocruiseinblue]

17 hours ago, Haljo1935 said:

Happy to hear the bread pudding met Institute standards; we quite enjoyed it via room service each morning w/pre breakfast coffee 🤭

The large chocolate croissant is what Grand Dutch Cafe serves; they also have a strawberry (red "ribbon") and 1 that remains a mystery to me (the "ribbon" is natural color so it blends w/the croissant - think it's maybe vanilla,  but didn't ask). The chocolate is indeed very different in those large ones, but they're pretty 😉 

I had the strawberry and it was delicious 

[POA1]

 

We're all unpacked and the first and only load of laundry is in the dryer.  We had a little difficulty in getting a cab. They prefer the airport runs where they can be back and forth pretty quickly.  One driver took us reluctantly, claiming that it would cost him money to "go way over the bridge."  It wouldn't, because it's not a toll bridge and we're really close - probably as easy a trip as to the airport.

 

I said, "Twenty bucks. Cash up front. OK?"  He said okay. 

 

When we got here, he apologized. "Sorry I was short with you, brother. A lotta people say it's close when it's not." 

 

I said, "No problem."

 

He wished me a Merry Christmas.  So all ended well.

 

[POA1]

I still have to scan the daily programs, the Art Guide to the Nieuw Statendam, and write up the 2023 Guide to Cabana Living.

 

So, like Rudi's Sel de Mer, this thread ain't dead yet. 😉

[ottahand7]

9 hours ago, POA1 said:

I doubt that you'd be able to get zoomed in enough once the photo is downsized for the web.

 

Here is a close up crop of the lid. It's a 30 gram container. The link to the company's website is below. It's in Dutch though.

 

https://www.schmidtzeevis.nl/webwinkel/artikel/schotels/632/schmidt_elite_royal_caviar

Thanks!  I was able to have Google translate but no origin information.  I will ask onboard.  

[cruisemom42]

5 hours ago, POA1 said:

As we approach 5 AM, we have some impressively rough seas. I'd hate to be in a spa verandah way up, forward on deck 10. It's probably like being a human pinball.

 

A friend and I ate dinner in Tamarind on a rough night on the trans-Atlantic. We were seated in the very front, port-side corner. I can confirm it was like being a pinball. The waiter insisted I take his arm walking to the table. We were worried that the giant blue-and-white porcelain Chinaman statue just outside the window would come loose from whatever holds it in place and come crashing through the window...

 

Fun times.

[hrhdhd]

31 minutes ago, POA1 said:

 

We're all unpacked and the first and only load of laundry is in the dryer.  We had a little difficulty in getting a cab. They prefer the airport runs where they can be back and forth pretty quickly.  One driver took us reluctantly, claiming that it would cost him money to "go way over the bridge."  It wouldn't, because it's not a toll bridge and we're really close - probably as easy a trip as to the airport.

 

I said, "Twenty bucks. Cash up front. OK?"  He said okay. 

 

When we got here, he apologized. "Sorry I was short with you, brother. A lotta people say it's close when it's not." 

 

I said, "No problem."

 

He wished me a Merry Christmas.  So all ended well.

Glad you got home safely. For comparison, my fare to the Brightline station was $15.75; I gave the guy $20.

 

Uber estimates were running $35. 😲