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

[hrhdhd]

1 hour ago, POA1 said:

No. We're not really in the witness protection program. Standard order is Maker's Mark on the rocks and Ketel One & soda with lime.

Cool. I have thoughts I won't share. They might be following. 🤭

[POA1]

Just now, hrhdhd said:

Cool. I have thoughts I won't share. They might be following. 🤭

My email address is in my signature. You can also find us in the Retreat area most days. Cabana #3. Tell them Poohby Joe sent you. (Tip: Compliment the bear on his bow tie. Poohby Joe respects the dress code.)

 

Seriously, though - email me.

[POA1]

Our starters were paired with Chateau Ste. Michelle Chardonnay for the shrimp and Château du Trignon Côtes du Rhone for my duck. Both main courses were paired with Sokol Blosser Pinot Noir.

 

 

Tenderloin & shrimp. Not the best photo.

 

Rack of lamb, mid-rare

Edited December 12, 2023 by POA1

[POA1]

Dessert was flourless chocolate cake for the boss and Dutch apply pie for me.

 

I should pretty much give up, because I am not winning dessert. Cappuccino for Michelle and Remy for Brian.

 

 

Edited December 12, 2023 by POA1

[POA1]

Tomorrow we're in Grand Turk. We plan to to eat breakfast, get off and stretch our legs and then get back on the ship.

 

If you have any questions, please ask them now. I'll do my darnedest to answer them. Remember - there are no stupid questions, only stupid people. 😉

[POA1]

Just now, POA1 said:

Dutch apply pie for me.

 

I really need to watch my spell check.

[oakridger]

2 minutes ago, POA1 said:

I really need to watch my spell check.

 

Yes, you do!  I am appalled at your Dutch apply pie mistake!  Just awful!  I want a refund!!

 

 

~Nancy 😉

[BruhnSisters]

POA1, your whimsical writing style is so refreshing for our spirits!  

 

I'm happy that you and your bride are cruising again . . . and that you take the time to give us a glimpse of your adventure too!  

[cruiseaholic78]

On 12/11/2023 at 12:26 AM, POA1 said:

We followed that with the tempura lobster roll and the soft shell crab roll. Now we can have dinner late.

 

That looks amazing but I can’t work out where you had this, it looks totally Tamarind (scoofy? I have no idea please enlighten me) but you had dinner in C.O. Love review and looking forward to try some of your ideas and cocktails, luckily we will have two weeks for this! 
 

[POA1]

Just now, cruiseaholic78 said:

That looks amazing but I can’t work out where you had this, it looks totally Tamarind (scoofy? I have no idea please enlighten me) but you had dinner in C.O. Love review and looking forward to try some of your ideas and cocktails, luckily we will have two weeks for this! 
 

I hope it read "Scooby snacks" or Scoobies. That's a call back to the 1969-1971 CBS cartoon series, "Scooby Doo, Where are you?"

 

In any case, the scoobies were from the Tamarind Bar. The food is from the Nami Sushi menu. It's a la carte and we spent around $20 on the food, exclusive of drinks, which were covered by the beverage package.

[cruiseaholic78]

3 hours ago, POA1 said:

I hope it read "Scooby snacks" or Scoobies. That's a call back to the 1969-1971 CBS cartoon series, "Scooby Doo, Where are you?"

 

In any case, the scoobies were from the Tamarind Bar. The food is from the Nami Sushi menu. It's a la carte and we spent around $20 on the food, exclusive of drinks, which were covered by the beverage package.

Great thanks, yeah I remember that now live in The Netherlands but grew up in the UK, thought it could be Nami Sushi but to be honest never went there or looked at it. Judging by your fotos will definitely give it a try.

[POA1]

Just now, cruiseaholic78 said:

Great thanks, yeah I remember that now live in The Netherlands but grew up in the UK, thought it could be Nami Sushi but to be honest never went there or looked at it. Judging by your fotos will definitely give it a try.

We highly recommend having a cocktail or two and snacks at the Tamarind bar. It helped us avoid the dinner crowds on the first night.

 

You'll find Nami Sushi on the three Pinnacle Class ships and the two Signature Class ships. That's the Koningsdam, Nieuw Statendam and Rotterdam, as well as the Eurodam and Nieuw Amsterdam.

[POA1]

I know I'm supposed to be answering questions, but I have to ask one. What do you tune the TV to so you can listen to the PA announcements? Other than watching the safety video, we have not had the television on.

[*Miss G*]

3 minutes ago, POA1 said:

I know I'm supposed to be answering questions, but I have to ask one. What do you tune the TV to so you can listen to the PA announcements? Other than watching the safety video, we have not had the television on.

 

Bow cam.

[POA1]

Just now, *Miss G* said:

 

Bow cam.

Thanks!

[POA1]

"Bottled water" is in cans this trip. Or at least the beverage package water is. They're the tall, skinny cans that remind you of the ones Red Bull comes in.

 

We're docked in Grand Turk, having arrived before 7:00 AM. I was up a little early to get some reading done. We loaded our Kindles with books from the library. I'm reading Richard Osman's "Last Devil to Die." It's book 4 in The Thursday Murder Club series. The series is an excellent read. We're pretty avid readers. If we read every day of the cruise, we'll be at 400 days in a row when we get back to Fort Lauderdale.

 

[Haljo1935]

26 minutes ago, POA1 said:

I know I'm supposed to be answering questions, but I have to ask one. What do you tune the TV to so you can listen to the PA announcements? Other than watching the safety video, we have not had the television on.

Bow Cam with volume up fairly loudly - unless they fixed it since last week, it's hard to hear. We did let them know, so hopefully it has an appropriate level now. Captain reported one day he had been given a new mic.

[Haljo1935]

5 minutes ago, POA1 said:

"Bottled water" is in cans this trip. Or at least the beverage package water is. They're the tall, skinny cans that remind you of the ones Red Bull comes in...

These?

[POA1]

Yes. Those are the ones. I prefer the old plastic liter bottles, for volume if nothing else.

 

For the record, we brought along some plastic bendy straws. I'm not a fan of the paper straws. And don't worry, we won't throw them away. We will pack them and take them home with us. (We have sea turtles on Fort Lauderdale Beach. They love plastic straws! 😉 Just kidding. We will dispose of them properly.) We drink our water from Yeti cups with reusable straws. We probably use fewer than a dozen plastic straws a year.

[hrhdhd]

17 minutes ago, POA1 said:

"Bottled water" is in cans this trip. Or at least the beverage package water is. They're the tall, skinny cans that remind you of the ones Red Bull comes in.

 

We're docked in Grand Turk, having arrived before 7:00 AM. I was up a little early to get some reading done. We loaded our Kindles with books from the library. I'm reading Richard Osman's "Last Devil to Die." It's book 4 in The Thursday Murder Club series. The series is an excellent read. We're pretty avid readers. If we read every day of the cruise, we'll be at 400 days in a row when we get back to Fort Lauderdale.

 

Great series. I'm waiting for this one to come out in paperback because I have the other three in that version. It's hard waiting!!

 

Re: announcements. I could swear the first daily said no announcements before 8 a.m., but I've heard three so far this morning.

[POA1]

After the wine tasting in the MDR, I can see why people say that Club Orange has less than comfortable chairs. They're not terrible, but you can sort of tell that this was originally America's Test Kitchen.

[POA1]

Forgot to post Poohby Joe's dressy night photo. Deepest apologies. First typos, now this!

 

 

Edited December 12, 2023 by POA1

[BetsyS.]

Great picture! 😊

[POA1]

 

We did the obligatory stroll through the Grand Turk cruise port.  It's expanded since we were last here, which was either 2016 or 2018.  (I should probably look at my Live Froms to find out.)  Tip for anyone coming here:  When you enter the cruise port and exit the duty free shop, hang a right and walk down a bit. You'll find a nice, secluded set of free  or beach chairs with some palm tree shade.  With both the Nieuw Statendam and the Carnival Freedom in port, this area was still largely unoccupied.  There's a little restaurant shack nearby if you want a snack or drinks.

 

Our whirlwind Grand Turk speed-walking, picture-taking tour, we're headed up to the Retreat Cabana.  I'll work on my photos and post them shortly.

 

 

[POA1]

Some Grand Turk pix. They are doing an abandon ship drill at the moment.

The Grand Turk sign. Hooray for Pixel's wide angle lens.

Carnival Freedom on the left, is on pretty much the same hull as the HAL Vista class. (Somebody fact check me on this.)

The two ships from the beach I wrote about earlier.

The "town square" Christmas tree.