LONG Pearl Review - 2/15/09 - 2/22/09 - WOW! Grab a beverage and kick back.

[ruhnke28]

Hello again, I also wanted to add a few other things and clarifications to my first review …

 

The comedian we really enjoyed was Jeff Harms. The other comedian/juggler who we thought was okay (but did not get a good audience interaction at the 7:30 show) was Peter Sasso.

 

I also did not mention that we hung out at the Sky High Bar listening to Robert Thompson on guitar and thought he was really good. We were also up there on the night that Erin Kruse (from the stage shows) joined him to sing and that was excellent. We also spent a little time in Bar City listening to both of the piano bar guys, and we weren’t that thrilled with their selections, but maybe it was just geared to an older crowd.

 

The only really bad meal experienced by Mr and Mrs Schmoe was at the Blue Lagoon. I ordered the wings as an appetizer with Fish and Chips as the main meal. The wings are breaded and fried...sort of like they serve at Miami Subs. I got the definite impression that the wings came off a Sysco truck. Also the wing sauce was served on the side. As a UB graduate (and having subsisted on a chicken wing and pizza diet for many years before wings hit the main stream), Joseph S Schmoe can tell you that the Blue Lagoon version would not last 15 minutes in Buffalo. What is even more irksome is that there was no mention in the menu of the wings being breaded or that the sauce was served on the side. Gimme a break

 

The appetizer and the main dish were served at the same time. The server left the food on the table and disappeared. When I asked about the appetizer and the main meal appearing at the same time, the maitre d' told me that the restaurant serves whatever is available as it comes up from the kitchen.

 

After eating, we waited 15 minutes for a waiter to ask us about desert. It never happened. We wound up going down to the buffet for ice cream. .

 

I didn’t really go into our Blue Lagoon meals in much detail in my previous review but want to comment a little on Mr. Schmoe’s experience.

 

This is a perfect example of how different expectations can really affect the reviews here on CC. I completely agree with JoeSchmoe’s assessment of the wings (not even close to comparable to “good” buffalo wings), and of the slight annoyance of having all your apps and entrees delivered at the same time so one can get cold while you eat the other. Having said that, I stand by original assessment that Blue Lagoon is perfectly fine for what it is. Are they good wings? No. If you’re a few drinks into your day, and have a craving for some comfort food, will they do the trick? Absolutely. Though the mozzarella sticks were just plain old deep-fried goodness both times we went.

 

Also, we saw a family at the table next to us deal with the food-spacing issue by doing the following: order appetizers, keep the menu. order entrees when they bring your appetizers, keep the menu. order dessert when they bring the entrees.

 

 

I think that the Italian restaurant gets short shrift. Our experience there was positive. Mrs. Schmoe was quite satisfied with her veal marsala. I asked for veal parmigana and it was prepared in a satisfactory fashion...nor the best veal I have ever tasted..not even as good as you can find on Columbus Ave in SF but it was quite adequate. If you read the reviews, it seems that the biggest complaints about the Italian restaurant come from those that order pizza and the calzones. For the life of me, I can't understand why someone would dine at a premium Italian restaurant and order a Calzone..but what do I understand, I'm just a Schmoe who used to live in Buffalo.

 

Also wanted to clarify that I didn’t mean to imply that people should avoid La Cucina. Just that we are picky about our Italian food and it didn’t impress us. So, let me put it another way: If you are a person who enjoys the bigger chain Italian restaurants, you will be perfectly happy with La Cucina. If you grew up in NY/NJ eating at small family-owned Italian restaurants and are married to an Italian whose mom spoils you by making you homemade pasta and sauces all the time, you might as well skip La Cucina. Not to say that the food was bad. Our entrees just didn’t have a lot of flavor.

 

We got the Calamari which was average but too chewy for me. As I said before, we also hit up the Antipasto tray which they bring around with Italian meats, cheeses, olives, etc and it was excellent. I could have just eaten more of that with the good bread they give you and been a happy camper. I ordered the chicken parmigiana and it was perfectly fine. Like I said, nothing special but comparable to what you’d get at Olive Garden, etc.

 

My husband ordered two different “create your own pasta” combinations as he was going through major pasta withdrawal by this point in our trip (Friday). He got a basic spaghetti aglio e olio which is just garlic and oil. Now, it’s not fair that he ordered this because it’s an Abruzzo specialty (where he’s from) and I knew there was no chance it was going to live up to his standards. But, it really had no flavor at all (I tasted it too, and agreed and I’m not as nearly as picky!) I could go into why (believe me I had to hear about in detail from my husband) but I’ll leave it at, it had no flavor.

 

He also ordered the cheese tortellini with a bolognese sauce. The bolognese sauce was like chili. It was way too thick for a bolognese. The tortellini was also clearly frozen and not freshly made, which is okay, I just don’t want people to expect otherwise. All that being said, I didn’t think it was that bad. I just thought of it as a mild beanless chili dish.

 

I agree with Mr. Schmoe and say if you go, do not get the pizza or calzones. That is pointless. The pizza at La Cucina is probably very similar to the pizza they had in the buffet, so if you want pizza, save yourself the $15 cover and go to the Garden Café. I’m also going to go a step further and say that you should skip the pasta too and stick with the meat or seafood entrees.

[jennat]

I have a question about entertainment. Is there anything comperable to the pub on RCCL (or basically a guitarist singing "songs you know by heart" like Jimmy Buffet or James Taylor etc) that you can sing along to? How about a piano bar (the sing along kind, not the soothing music kind). What kinds of entertainment that is like this is there on board. We don't really do the shows much anymore.......

Thanks for this info

[fieldmom35215]

You'll only be charged the $20 surcharge for dinner at Cagneys and a $10 surcharge for a few specialty items like lobster, Alaskan King Crab Legs (which were SO SO yummy too!) but if you order three tails, they won't charge you three extra surcharges.

 

Here's what they did. They charged my husband and I each the standard $20 for dinner at Cagneys, and we each ordered 3 half-tails each

So, on top of the $40 standard charge, they charged $30 for a total of $70.

 

OK, so let me get this straight...$20 pp then $10 for EACH tail? I'm confused because you said they DON'T charge you for each additional tail; however, if you paid $70 looks like you were charged $20 pp then $10 for each additional tail you ordered. Yes, I'm confused. Would you clarify? I just want to be prepared because I plan to eat a LOT of tails.

[Leavethekidswithmom]

 

 

 

OK, so let me get this straight...$20 pp then $10 for EACH tail? I'm confused because you said they DON'T charge you for each additional tail; however, if you paid $70 looks like you were charged $20 pp then $10 for each additional tail you ordered. Yes, I'm confused. Would you clarify? I just want to be prepared because I plan to eat a LOT of tails.

 

 

The regular order for tails would be 2 half’s (they are decent size), we told them that we wanted 3 each and then had an order for the Alaskan crab legs, $10 more for the crab legs (close to 2 pounds).

 

So it is $20 pp $10 pp for the tails and $10 to split the crab legs, $70 total. We were gorged, lol :o. You can probably ask for 5 tails and they will oblige, for just the additional $10, but ask first.

 

Enjoy your cruise. :D