Valiant Lady / Live / Feb 3 - 10 2024

[scubagal44]

We're back to see our guy Jesus at Antiguo 26 for a pre-dinner drink. We did the entire first page (yellow page) yesterday, so today we had to start the second page. I'm having the Monchito, hubby has the Arbusto. This Monchito may be the best cocktail I've ever had, anywhere. 

[Von & John]

Woo Hoo...
Thanks for the Live & the link on the Tribe 🙂 
Von Boyage Tomorrow & Cheers - Von

[scubagal44]

We did dinner at Marmalade, which was super great and we loved it. I'll happily go into the details if anyone is interested, but won't bog down the thread if nobody cares. 

 

[Not] Shockingly, we ended up back at Antiguo 26 to say a final goodbye to Jesus and get some after dinner drinks. No clue what either were as they were both off menu, but they were fantastic. 

[scubagal44]

Also because I know he's reading and today is our anniversary - happy anniversary, babe! Love you!! 😘

[MeganGC1983]

1 hour ago, scubagal44 said:

We did dinner at Marmalade, which was super great and we loved it. I'll happily go into the details if anyone is interested, but won't bog down the thread if nobody cares. 

 

[Not] Shockingly, we ended up back at Antiguo 26 to say a final goodbye to Jesus and get some after dinner drinks. No clue what either were as they were both off menu, but they were fantastic. 

I’d love to hear about Marmalade 

[scubagal44]

38 minutes ago, MeganGC1983 said:

I’d love to hear about Marmalade 

 

On it!

[scubagal44]

Ok, Marmalade! So the only option is a five course tasting menu for $135pp, but you do get your choice of dish in each course. Essentially you get to choose 4 of the 5 courses, and everyone is given the  the tiny bean soup as a second course to complete all five. 

 

There are also optional wine pairings for an additional $79pp, which of course we did. We are self admitted wine snobs (hard not to be coming from Northern California) and we enjoy trying the wine pairings when available. 

Overall the meal was great and we'd definitely eat here again and recommend it to others. We are huge foodies and have eaten at many 1-, 2-, and 3-star Michelin restaurants so we can be nitpicky and certainly point out more than a couple missteps that hold it back from true fine dining, but that did not diminish our enjoyment of it at all and again, we'd visit again in a heartbeat. 

 

Menu and our choices follow below. 

[scubagal44]

Each menu page is a course and you get one choice per page. As stated above, there are essentially two second courses, the first of which is always the tiny bean soup and the second is your choice. 

 

My choices are annotated with a red dot, hubby's in blue. 

 

My heirloom beets were great, being nitpicky here I would say that the dish was overdressed and I'd have preferred less of the almond vinaigrette. Otherwise the flavor combos were a home run, beets and goat cheese are always a favorite pairing and I love hearts of palm. Also, no, beets do not taste like dirt. 😝  

 

Hubby's popcorn shrimp was delightfully flavored and the ancho chile provided a lovely pop. 

 

Both wines complemented the dishes well, though mine was not what was listed on the menu. Still loved it, though!

[scubagal44]

The tiny white bean soup was our first intermediary course, and it was really good though super rich. I'm not a fan of truffle, I think I actually have a mild allergy to it because whenever I have it I end up with a stomachache, so I scooped the freshly shaved pieces off the top of the soup and dumped them in hubby's bowl. The pancetta dust added a nice component and overall the soup was enjoyable, but it could have used some acid to balance it out. 

 

My black garlic gnocchi (second intermediary course) was delicious, but again, overly sauced. Lovely flavors though and the shortrib was perfectly tender. I think "shortrib" should have been in the name of the dish though and not just in the description, because I found that the shortrib was actually the star of the dish while the gnocchi was a sporting player. Not that I'm complaining because I love love love shortrib, it just wasn't what I was expecting from a "gnocchi" dish. 

 

Hubby's lobster risotto was also very good in flavor. The portion was huge and unexpected, esp in a five course menu, but hey, it was good. 

[scubagal44]

For the main (fourth) course, I went with the beef tenderloin. If you were going to guess that it was also oversauced you'd be right, but I still really enjoyed it! The beef was cooked to a perfect medium rare, and it was tender and flavorful even without the sauce. The potato puree was super yummy, and I was surprised by how much I loved the mushrooms. They usually aren't my fav, but these were delicious. I left most of the kale on the plate only because I was getting full by then and had to prioritize what was going to end up in my belly, but it was also good. The dish could have used something with a different texture to add another element, but the flavors were on point. 

 

Hubby's Three Pigs was a bit misleading because there were only two preparations of pork on the plate, but they were both good. I think the pork cheek was the winner of the two but it was close. The smashed parsnips were, unsurprisingly, smashing. But, again, too much sauce. Have you noticed a theme here?

[scubagal44]

The final course, dessert! I went with the Choco-L8, which was decadent and rich but I'm a sucker for chocolate so whatever. If anything the serving was much too big, it could have been half the size and would have still been perfectly satisfying. And that didn't stop me from eating all of it. 

 

Hubby had the B3, which was a much different direction than he usually takes for dessert. Neither of us are really fans of fruit incorporated into dessert, but he enjoyed it. He said the bacon was weird because it was just plain bacon, not candied or dusted or coated or anything so it kind of felt like an afterthought, but otherwise the dish was good. 

 

The end. Some things here and there we'd have preferred to be different, but overall I'd say the restaurant is a solid and delicious option when in San Juan. 

[TheDarkestBlue]

Thanks for taking us along 🙂 Really appreciate your spending time doing this!

 

[scubagal44]

It's embarkation day!!!

[cgn411963]

We’ll also be onboard. Been here for 3 days 

[SteelCityCruiser10]

Happy Boarding Day!!

What time do you have for boarding?

[scubagal44]

22 minutes ago, cgn411963 said:

We’ll also be onboard. Been here for 3 days 

Awesom, see you on board!

[scubagal44]

9 minutes ago, SteelCityCruiser10 said:

Happy Boarding Day!!

What time do you have for boarding?

 

Thank you! We have SOR so hoping around 1:30ish, but if for some reason that doesn't work out we have a 1:45 boarding slot. 

[scubagal44]

Just dropped off luggage to get it done with, super easy and smooth. Now going to find a bite and chill for a little before heading back to the ship. 

[soccersharon]

12 hours ago, scubagal44 said:

Also because I know he's reading and today is our anniversary - happy anniversary, babe! Love you!! 😘

Our anniversary was yesterday too!  Happy anniversary!

[scubagal44]

Just now, soccersharon said:

Our anniversary was yesterday too!  Happy anniversary!

Omg how funny! Happy anniversary!!

[fsdorado]

@scubagal44 My DW is trying to figure out how to pack for the weather, specifically while at sea.  We know that the average high in the southern Caribbean is around 80 in March and the low is around 70 on the islands but she's worried about getting chilly at night on deck.  We know that on other cruises, they keep the inside temperature around 70.  Happy Anniversary!!  Have a great cruise!!  Bon Voyage!!

 

 

Frederick

[scubagal44]

3 minutes ago, fsdorado said:

@scubagal44 My DW is trying to figure out how to pack for the weather, specifically while at sea.  We know that the average high in the southern Caribbean is around 80 in March and the low is around 70 on the islands but she's worried about getting chilly at night on deck.  We know that on other cruises, they keep the inside temperature around 70.  Happy Anniversary!!  Have a great cruise!!  Bon Voyage!!

 

 

Frederick

 

On other lines I've gotten a little chilly indoors in the evening, but that has never been a problem on any of my VV sailings. I'll keep you posted about the weather this trip! 

 

I didn't even bring any sort of sweater/jacket other than the hoodie I wore on the plane because that's how much of a non-issue I think it will be (and I'm always cold), but I'll let you know if I come to regret that decision lol. 

[scubagal44]

Stepping out the front door of the hotel and she's right there. 

[scubagal44]

Got some food at Pilao cafe, I had a pistachio muffin and hubby got 2 eggs, ham, and "toasts." Good fuel to get ready for the shenanigans. 

Edited February 3 by scubagal44

[scubagal44]

Checked out of hotel. Peace out, Sheraton. ✌️