Jim_Iain - B2B Sydney - Honolulu - Vancouver

[Jim_Iain]

Photographers may be back---

Noticed that on Chic night they had roaming photographers back on Solstice.   They even were back roaming around Luminae offering to take pictures.

 

Wonder if this is being seen on other ships?

[NMTraveller]

@Jim_Iain we just heard that you were on the Edge sailing too close to the Edge (pun intended). 😁

[Jim_Iain]

6 minutes ago, NMTraveller said:

@Jim_Iain we just heard that you were on the Edge sailing too close to the Edge (pun intended). 😁

 

 

Nahhh...we didn't even get close to the Edge.... or for that matter Kawaii.     Been reading in the press about the foo -- Paw  

[Jim_Iain]

Today has been a lazy day...   I drained some money off our OBC.    This afternoon before lunch the had the Captain's Toast and CC celebration.   Jody is top cruiser with 12,000+ points.  

 

Last cruise they broke it up into two celebrations due to the number of CC members but this time they had one party and it was PACKED.     Ginger was hosting for the first time and she smashed it by going around the room and introducing all of the Zeniths' by name without cue cards or written list.   How she does this is amazing. 

[Gracie115]

2 hours ago, Jim_Iain said:

After the large Zenith Lunch, we decided to take a break and had a Pizza and TV night in our cabin.   Just let out Butler know and he went upstairs to OVC and had them make a Pizza to our specifications.  

 

It was nice to just kick back and relas.

 

It's wonderful to be on the ship for an extended period and have time to do just this....... enjoy!!

[Jim_Iain]

Temperatures have turned noticeably colder. There is an arctic storm coming in and SF Bay Area is suppose to get up to an inch of rain.   
 

The captain cranked it up to 25 knots trying to miss the brunt of the winds. 
 

Got out the cashmere sweatshirt  for tomorrow. 

[Jim_Iain]

1 hour ago, Gracie115 said:

 

It's wonderful to be on the ship for an extended period and have time to do just this....... enjoy!!

On longer cruises the dynamics change.   We kinda get tired of eating.   What I would give for a plate of Iain’s Mince and Tatty  
 

 

[darsura]

3 hours ago, Jim_Iain said:

Photographers may be back---

Noticed that on Chic night they had roaming photographers back on Solstice.   They even were back roaming around Luminae offering to take pictures.

 

Wonder if this is being seen on other ships?

They were roaming around on the Summit last month.  We were traveling with family and happy to get a group photo.

[kwokpot]

28 minutes ago, darsura said:

They were roaming around on the Summit last month.  We were traveling with family and happy to get a group photo.

Must be a new push. We were on the Ascent in January and there were no roaming photographers anywhere and even the photo setups near Cafe Al Bacio had limited timeframes and there wasn't a photographer available when we wanted one. My husband's casino status gives us a free digital photo package but we actually didn't take any photos because they weren't around when we wanted photos taken.

[catgirl411]

9 hours ago, Jim_Iain said:

Photographers may be back---

Noticed that on Chic night they had roaming photographers back on Solstice.   They even were back roaming around Luminae offering to take pictures.

 

Wonder if this is being seen on other ships?

Currently on Regal Princess and they are back here as well. Not in big numbers and not aggressive but still around. It’s formal night tonight so we will see if they are roaming the dining room.

[hcat]

5 hours ago, kwokpot said:

Must be a new push. We were on the Ascent in January and there were no roaming photographers anywhere and even the photo setups near Cafe Al Bacio had limited timeframes and there wasn't a photographer available when we wanted one. My husband's casino status gives us a free digital photo package but we actually didn't take any photos because they weren't around when we wanted photos taken.

We got some great photos on Ascent.  But  we had to go to the few available set up locations in the evening.

 

  We were able to put together a nice album. of prints and they gave us the digital prints as well.

 

The photo staff members were very helpful  and gave us good advice.  

[chemmo]

9 hours ago, Jim_Iain said:

On longer cruises the dynamics change.   We kinda get tired of eating.   What I would give for a plate of Iain’s Mince and Tatty  
 

 

Yes, the law of diminishing appetite applies…

 

By the end of a longer cruise all I ever want for breakfast is a black coffee and two rounds of toast compared to me pre cruise soooo looking forward to Bellinis and full English! 

 

Lunch ceases to exist and dinner becomes smaller in quality and simpler in ingredients…

 

Towards the end of cruise is often when we will ask for something not on the menu in Luminae or the speciality restaurants…I fondly remember last Equinox cruise Tuscan being kind enough to offer to make me a simple mushroom ravioli dish next visit when I was looking at the entrees and asking for recommendations of something ‘lighter’…

[Jim_Iain]

A reader who wanted to remain anonymous forwarded a picture of last nights Lambs Ball appetizer.  Interesting plating. 
 

 

 

 

 

Edited May 4 by Jim_Iain

[Jim_Iain]

6 hours ago, hcat said:

We got some great photos on Ascent.  But  we had to go to the few available set up locations in the evening.

 

  We were able to put together a nice album. of prints and they gave us the digital prints as well.

 

The photo staff members were very helpful  and gave us good advice.  

Nice to hear.  We once bought an unlimited photo package and had fun doing crazy poses. 

[Jim_Iain]

3 hours ago, chemmo said:

Yes, the law of diminishing appetite applies…

 

By the end of a longer cruise all I ever want for breakfast is a black coffee and two rounds of toast compared to me pre cruise soooo looking forward to Bellinis and full English! 

 

Lunch ceases to exist and dinner becomes smaller in quality and simpler in ingredients…

 

Towards the end of cruise is often when we will ask for something not on the menu in Luminae or the speciality restaurants…I fondly remember last Equinox cruise Tuscan being kind enough to offer to make me a simple mushroom ravioli dish next visit when I was looking at the entrees and asking for recommendations of something ‘lighter’…

agree. 
 

last night I went for Children’s menu

 

 

grilled Cheese (not really that good) and tomato soup 

 

 

Iain had the chicken

 

 

For the desert I had frozen Vanilla and Cherry frozen yogurt. 

 

 

[Jim_Iain]

We turned our clocks forward for a final Tim last night.  We decided to do in in a he afternoon and went to bed earlier. 
 

Tonight will be the final Chic night. 

[Ex-Airbalancer]

1 hour ago, Jim_Iain said:

A reader who wanted to remain anonymous forwarded a picture of last nights Lambs Ball appetizer.  Interesting plating. 
 

 

 

 

 

Did they make that for the upside down pineapple 🍍 group ?🤔🤣

[kwokpot]

5 hours ago, Jim_Iain said:

agree. 
 

last night I went for Children’s menu

 

 

grilled Cheese (not really that good) and tomato soup 

 

 

Iain had the chicken

 

 

For the desert I had frozen Vanilla and Cherry frozen yogurt. 

 

 

We are on the Ovation of the Seas following you to Vancouver albeit 3 days later. We are in a junior suite here which allows us only dinner (if space available) in the suites only restaurant, Coastal Kitchen. This is our first time dining in Coastal Kitchen and we are having a good experience here (although embarkation dinner was a disaster) with starters and entrees being a bit more straight forward than either Blu or Luminae. The filet mignon was outstanding, ribeye good but not great. Fish dishs good but not great ( fish is always hard to get perfect,but I think Celebrity does it better than some other cruiselines). Last night my husband ordered from the kids menu. Chicken noodle soup and spaghetti bolognese. Both were elevated preparations,large pieces of shredded chicken vs small, machine cut cubes and the bolognese sauce was made for adult palettes without a hint of jar sauce tastes.

Having said all that Blu and Luminae are far superior than our Coastal Kitchen experience on Royal Caribbean.

Edited May 4 by kwokpot

[rinshin]

17 hours ago, Jim_Iain said:

On longer cruises the dynamics change.   We kinda get tired of eating.   What I would give for a plate of Iain’s Mince and Tatty  
 

 

Hahaha, I know what you mean.  They all start looking, smelling, and tasting the same.  

[JackE]

1 hour ago, kwokpot said:

We are on the Ovation of the Seas following you to Vancouver albeit 3 days later. We are in a junior suite here which allows us only dinner (if space available) in the suites only restaurant, Coastal Kitchen. This is our first time dining in Coastal Kitchen and we are having a good experience here (although embarkation dinner was a disaster) with starters and entrees being a bit more straight forward than either Blu or Luminae. The filet mignon was outstanding, ribeye good but not great. Fish dishs good but not great ( fish is always hard to get perfect,but I think Celebrity does it better than some other cruiselines). Last night my husband ordered from the kids menu. Chicken noodle soup and spaghetti bolognese. Both were elevated preparations,large pieces of shredded chicken vs small, machine cut cubes and the bolognese sauce was made for adult palettes without a hint of jar sauce tastes.

Having said all that Blu and Luminae are far superior than our Coastal Kitchen experience on Royal Caribbean.

Somewhat off topic admittedly, but how do you guys like the casino on the Ovation OTS? 

[kwokpot]

1 hour ago, JackE said:

Somewhat off topic admittedly, but how do you guys like the casino on the Ovation OTS? 

I'll let you know in a few days. Being in Hawaiian waters the casino wasn't open on any day until last night after departing Kona. We didn't go since we have 5 sea days until Vancouver. But we have $1,500 Freeplay to play through, so we do have some work to do to keep as much if it and hopefully exceed that amount!

[JackE]

32 minutes ago, kwokpot said:

I'll let you know in a few days. Being in Hawaiian waters the casino wasn't open on any day until last night after departing Kona. We didn't go since we have 5 sea days until Vancouver. But we have $1,500 Freeplay to play through, so we do have some work to do to keep as much if it and hopefully exceed that amount!

Good luck! 👍

[larry_s_taco]

On 4/27/2024 at 9:53 PM, Alberta Quilter said:

The article made a reference to the “Crow's Nest Cafe”.  Did the Explorations Cafe get a new name?

 

20 hours ago, Jim_Iain said:

On longer cruises the dynamics change.   We kinda get tired of eating.   What I would give for a plate of Iain’s Mince and Tatty  
 

 

Does Iian have any "secret" ingredients that he uses for his mince?

[Jim_Iain]

3 hours ago, kwokpot said:

We are on the Ovation of the Seas following you to Vancouver albeit 3 days later. We are in a junior suite here which allows us only dinner (if space available) in the suites only restaurant, Coastal Kitchen. This is our first time dining in Coastal Kitchen and we are having a good experience here (although embarkation dinner was a disaster) with starters and entrees being a bit more straight forward than either Blu or Luminae. The filet mignon was outstanding, ribeye good but not great. Fish dishs good but not great ( fish is always hard to get perfect,but I think Celebrity does it better than some other cruiselines). Last night my husband ordered from the kids menu. Chicken noodle soup and spaghetti bolognese. Both were elevated preparations,large pieces of shredded chicken vs small, machine cut cubes and the bolognese sauce was made for adult palettes without a hint of jar sauce tastes.

Having said all that Blu and Luminae are far superior than our Coastal Kitchen experience on Royal Caribbean.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Looks like they do a nice job of plating.   Hope you enjoy the cruise.

 

 

[Jim_Iain]

9 minutes ago, larry_s_taco said:

 

Does Iian have any "secret" ingredients that he uses for his mince?

 

Over the years we have modified from traditional Lamb and/or Beef and now use a combination ground Chicken/Turkey ---- Besides that it is pretty basic -    Onions, Carrots sometimes Celery Chicken/Turkey -   and Bisto to thicken.    Just good old comfort food.   

 

He serves it with Bachalor's Marrow Fat Peas. 

 

Stock Photo of what we are talking about -