'Twas the Cruise Over Easter - 9 Day Southern Caribbean - March 29 - April 7, 2024

[Huskerchick]

4 minutes ago, Vict0riann said:

We have the Morimoto dinner booked on NS, and, providing we get to Fort Lauderdale (there are storms in Alberta, we may get stuck in Calgary like we did last year) I know exactly what I'm going to order.  Thanks for the food porn!

Fingers crossed the weather cooperates for you.

[wdw1972]

Loving your report/review, as usual.  Can you provide any more details/thoughts on your sunset cruise in Aruba? I've got that booked for next cruise, and curious where I should set my expectation level.

 

Sue/WDW1972

[POA1]

1 minute ago, wdw1972 said:

Loving your report/review, as usual.  Can you provide any more details/thoughts on your sunset cruise in Aruba? I've got that booked for next cruise, and curious where I should set my expectation level.

 

Sue/WDW1972

There were two boats, a large one and a smaller one. We were on the larger of the two. They were freely pouring from the open bar. The first mate was hilarious.

 

From people we spoke to who were on the smaller boat, they had more tour narration than we did.

 

We only had one drink each. We wanted to make it to dinner, and needed to shower and dress once we got back. Many of our our fellow passengers were hitting the bar more aggressively. No one was out of hand, but there were some wobbly people.

 

The only real piece of advice is to sit on the port side. It's better for sunset pix.

 

It's a fine excursion for what it was. A nice, leisurely sail with some drinks and snacks.

[BetsyS.]

Brian - What day is your birthday? I love it when the waiters sing in the dining room at dinner on someone's birthday! I hope HAL gives you a chocolate cake! 🎂😊🥂

           Michelle - Your shrimp dinner and chocolate dessert look delicious! 😊

 

[wdw1972]

3 minutes ago, POA1 said:

There were two boats, a large one and a smaller one. We were on the larger of the two. They were freely pouring from the open bar. The first mate was hilarious.

 

From people we spoke to who were on the smaller boat, they had more tour narration than we did.

 

We only had one drink each. We wanted to make it to dinner, and needed to shower and dress once we got back. Many of our our fellow passengers were hitting the bar more aggressively. No one was out of hand, but there were some wobbly people.

 

The only real piece of advice is to sit on the port side. It's better for sunset pix.

 

It's a fine excursion for what it was. A nice, leisurely sail with some drinks and snacks.

Thanks so much! I remember your comment about sitting on the port side - now I know why, and we'll be sure to do that. Sounds like it'll be a pleasant little outing.

 

Sue/WDW1972

[BetsyS.]

Poohby Joe - You look very handsome! I love your shirt! 😊

[Huskerchick]

It's Cake me Away time. We totally missed this in December on the NS and even tho I didn't want cake I wanted the pictures 😋

 

 

 

Edited April 4 by Huskerchick

[POA1]

3 minutes ago, BetsyS. said:

Brian - What day is your birthday? I love it when the waiters sing in the dining room at dinner on someone's birthday! I hope HAL gives you a chocolate cake! 🎂😊🥂

           Michelle - Your shrimp dinner and chocolate dessert look delicious! 😊

 

My birthday is shortly after the cruise. We're doing caviar in the Pinnacle Grill tonight at 5:00 PM. That's my present. No need to wrap it, or blow out any candles. (Candles won't stand up in the blinis.) We will have normal dressy night dinner in CO around 7:30 or so.

[POA1]

I am pretty sure that some people have never had cake before. The level of impatience is off the charts.

 

We're just here for the entertainment value. We have Pinnacle Grill lunch today and don't want to ruin our appetites.

 

[Huskerchick]

This is the line just before they started serving and might I add some of our fellow passengers are acting as if they have not seen food in days 😁

Edited April 4 by Huskerchick

[POA1]

I managed to get some behind the scenes photos when they were setting up for "On Deck For A Cake" event (sponsored by Metformin.)

 

 

 

 

 

If any of you remember the Tasmanian Devil from the Bugs Bunny / Looney Toons cartoon shorts... That's the current situation.

[POA1]

We got our formal nights messed up. I was almost certain that it would be today. Apparently it's now on Grand Turk day. Fortunately, we have dressy clothes for every day.

 

The only thing that it throws off is that we have PG dinner scheduled for tomorrow. That's okay, because other than the escargot, DW's favorite, there's nothing we really "need" on the second dressy night. I suppose we could pop in to CO for snails as an early bird special.

[seagarsmoker]

40 minutes ago, Huskerchick said:

This is the line just before they started serving and might I add some of our fellow passengers are acting as if they have not seen food in days 😁

On our NS Christmas cruise, they had no line. We walked up, I took a few photos, and we each were handed our selected piece of cake.  

[Vict0riann]

I bet, if you asked them nicely, the PG gang would bring your DW some escargot!

[POA1]

1 hour ago, seagarsmoker said:

On our NS Christmas cruise, they had no line. We walked up, I took a few photos, and we each were handed our selected piece of cake.  

Perhaps the folks on your cruise were worried about getting on Santa's naughty list. There were no such fears today

 

The average number of cake slices per person was 3. We looked out of place at our table with only glasses of water. (We were headed to the PG and a slab o' cake would have ruined our appetites.)

 

A woman seated next to us had 3 slices of cake and a bowl of bread pudding. Not to worry though. She has a small salad, too.

[BetsyS.]

I always thought that dressy nights were on a sea day and not on a port day.

[cruisemom42]

14 hours ago, POA1 said:

The Tamarind bar has a full barrista set up. Conseauently, they make excellent coffee drinks.

 

I don't think I ever knew this. Thanks for that tidbit. I like a good espresso drink (though I stubbornly refuse to call it a martini....). And I like Tamarind bar.

 

[POA1]

30 minutes ago, BetsyS. said:

I always thought that dressy nights were on a sea day and not on a port day.

We've had formal nights on days with short port times in the past. I did not expect it this time because the Navigator app originally showed tonight as dressy. Our first dressy night bopped around as well. It was the first sea day initially. Then it moved Easter, which was sea day #2. Eventually, it moved back to the first sea day.

[Haljo1935]

6 hours ago, POA1 said:

For our appetizers, we ordered the Pork Gyoza Dumplings...

The pork dumplings were fantastic. They come out sizzling. These stay on the list for next time, and there's a possibility that we each get an order.

 

 

@HuskerchickThrilled hear you liked the Pork Dumplings. I do not eat seafood, so I would not ever consider Morimoto. But the Dumplings caught my attention on the menu you posted and got me thinking I could try them. So so so happy you liked them - could I pair w/a salad to have a full meal?

[*Miss G*]

6 minutes ago, cruisemom42 said:

 

I don't think I ever knew this. Thanks for that tidbit. I like a good espresso drink (though I stubbornly refuse to call it a martini....). And I like Tamarind bar.

 

 

I never knew that either!

 

@POA1, do you happen to know what time the Tamarind Bar opens?  For the life of me, I can’t find that information.  Thank you!

[Haljo1935]

3 hours ago, Huskerchick said:

This is the line just before they started serving and might I add some of our fellow passengers are acting as if they have not seen food in days 😁

Yep - that's how it was Jan on K'dam. The cruise director took pictures of the cakes before they were cut then showed them to people standing in the line. It was nuts!

[POA1]

I swear, no one proofreads or tests anymore.

 

We have the Surf Wi-Fi package as Part of Have It All. We should be able to upgrade to Premium (~$5/day) or Stream (~$10/day.)

 

What options does the app give me? Let's look, shall we?

 

 

That's right. Premium for $5/day. So far, so good. Or, for a mere $10/day, I can upgrade to the plan I already have.

Edited April 4 by POA1

[POA1]

7 minutes ago, *Miss G* said:

 

I never knew that either!

 

@POA1, do you happen to know what time the Tamarind Bar opens?  For the life of me, I can’t find that information.  Thank you!

5:00 PM.

[POA1]

Pinnacle Grill Lunch:

 

Maker's Mark Old-Fashioned and the PG Yuzu Margarita (Michelle would like to say thank you for the suggestion.)

 

Bread Basket with Garlic Butter

 

Michelle ordered the Crab Cakes. Now she knows why they're my go-to Pinnacle lunch appy.

 

I chose the Prawn Bruschetta. A nice choice.

 

Michelle had the Lobster Roll with Coleslaw and Fries. (Deemed good, and should hold her until the lobster supplement at dinner.)

 

All the good things people said about the Pinnacle Grill Burger are true. I can't believe I waited this long to try it.

 

Michelle went off-menu for the Key Lime Pie. This was something done in December by @LAFFNVEGAS

 

I ordered the Strawberry Pavlova. This is the very pretty airhead of the dessert menu. Looks stunning, but you know it's not going to be a long term relationship.

 

[superoma]

I’m pretty sure I have put on at least 5 pounds just from your food porn and drinks so far this cruise. But I am enjoying your reporting, as always.