Mariner of the Seas 1/4/2009 Around the Horn -- Part 2

[woody73]

Originally Posted by woody73

One buffet that has been mentioned multiple times is the Carnival World buffet at the Rio. . .

I hit the send button before saying:

• This is YOUR vacation, and I am only offering this as an option
• I welcome your input.

Woody

[RSS from SF]

Originally Posted by woody73

A burger? At the Venetian?

Well, there's a Johnny Rockets at the Venetian's Grand Canal Shoppes food court. But the view is not nearly as nice as the one on the Mariner.

Woody

And there's also a newer Johnny Rockets at the Flamingo, which would be just as close if not closer to most.

If JR's is an option, I'm not sure which one (Venetian or Flamingo) is better for our purposes. My guess is that Flamingo's location might usually be less crowded than Venetian, but I could be wrong.

--------------------------------------------------------
MENU for those of you haven't seen one off a ship:
http://www.johnnyrockets.com/themenu/themenu.pdf


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Johnny Rockets at the Venetian:
Venetian Hotel
3355 South Las Vegas Blvd.
Las Vegas, NV 89109
702-699-5387

Reviews on Yelp -- 9 reviews, 2 1/2 stars out of 5:
http://www.yelp.com/biz/johnny-rockets-las-vegas-3

Other mentions:
http://www.lasvegassun.com/places/jo...-at-the-venet/
http://www.getoninvegas.com/Johnny-Rockets.html

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Johnny Rockets at the Flamingo:
Flamingo Hotel
3555 Las Vegas Blvd South
Las Vegas, NV 89109
702-369-4011

Reviews on Yelp: None

"Third Johnny Rockets Rolls Onto the Las Vegas Strip"
http://www.johnnyrockets.com/aboutus/press.php?id=230
Dec. 16, 2010
"The 600-square-foot restaurant employs 40 team members, and features a fast casual-concept with walk-up registers for fast, friendly ordering, along with counter and food court seating."
"Located near the Flamingo's main showroom, the food court has five eateries, including Johnny Rockets, all managed by Fifth Avenue Restaurant Group. The Nevada-based multi-unit franchise company also owns Johnny Rockets in the Venetian Hotel & Casino, Fashion Show Mall and Meadows Mall."

Article w Photos: "Holly Madison, Claire Sinclair and Bettie Page Models Host Ribbon Cutting for Johnny Rockets"
http://www.vegasnews.com/36932/holly...y-rockets.html
December 11, 2010

Other mentions:
http://www.lasvegassun.com/places/jo...kets-flamingo/

.

[RSS from SF]

Originally Posted by Coralc

The casino book arrived today. My goodness, it is a large book. Lots of coupons though. I think I will saw it half to just bring the Las Vegas section. I don't think we will be visiting those other states.

~Patti & Bill

Patti,
That's what I've done when I've had the book! I separated out the book for the Nevada coupons.

[woody73]

Originally Posted by RSS from SF

And there's also a newer Johnny Rockets at the Flamingo, which would be just as close if not closer to most.

If JR's is an option, I'm not sure which one (Venetian or Flamingo) is better for our purposes. My guess is that Flamingo's location might usually be less crowded than Venetian . . .

Either Johnny Rockets is fine with us. If we go th JR at the Flamingo, one of the things we have yet to see is the Wildlife Habitat at the Flamingo. From the website:

Appropriately enough, the Flamingo resort is home to a flock of live Chilean Flamingos! These birds, as well as a collection of other feathered friends, fascinate our guests and populate our Wildlife Habitat.

In addition to our namesake, you'll find swans, ducks, koi, and turtles populating these grounds. All of our animals are carefully tended by experts and live on islands and streams surrounded by sparkling waterfalls and lush foliage.

They used to have feeding times. I'm not sure if they still do.

The Flamingo is also close to Bellagio, which would make for a nice visit to the conservatory/botanical gardens.

Woody

[RSS from SF]

Originally Posted by woody73

Either Johnny Rockets is fine with us. If we go th JR at the Flamingo, one of the things we have yet to see is the Wildlife Habitat at the Flamingo. From the website:

Appropriately enough, the Flamingo resort is home to a flock of live Chilean Flamingos! These birds, as well as a collection of other feathered friends, fascinate our guests and populate our Wildlife Habitat.

In addition to our namesake, you'll find swans, ducks, koi, and turtles populating these grounds. All of our animals are carefully tended by experts and live on islands and streams surrounded by sparkling waterfalls and lush foliage.

Agreed, Flamingo's grounds are definitely a place to visit, especially for people who haven't been there before. Also for those of you who haven't checked out the pool area and landscaping there -- that's really good to see.
(LOL I've never been in Vegas during summer before, but I suppose much more of the grounds around the pools is restricted -- as well as chock full of people; prior to this visit, our visits to Vegas have always been in winter!)

I always enjoy seeing Flamingo's flamingos and the other fauna, but I also miss seeing their penguins.

Originally Posted by woody73

The Flamingo is also close to Bellagio, which would make for a nice visit to the conservatory/botanical gardens.

Woody

Agreed. Whenever we're in Vegas and on the strip, even if we're there for work, visiting Bellagio's conservatory is the one must-do for us.
[Correction: A visit there could be applicable to work also, because caterers visit the conservatory to get additional ideas for displays and arrangements, albeit mostly on a smaller scale.]

[RSS from SF]

Originally Posted by woody73

As an afternoon or per-dinner activity, we could to to the Rio to see the free "Masquerade Show in the Sky" pageant. As for after dinner, I recall someone (Letty?) saying there is a nice bar on the top floor of the Rio with terrific views.

.

Show in the Sky:

Does anyone know if more of the floats are back in the parade? At the end of 2009 I took Ivan there for the first time and the Rio scaled back to one Balloon float and one big mask; it was quite a sad sight! (LOL a far cry from the extravaganza I recall before Harrah's took Rio over.) Or did they just scale down for the off season?

==> HEY! I don't ever remember seeing lingerie shows during the parade's stage show before -- do any of you?!?!.

==> LINK: http://www.riolasvegas.com/casinos/r...ky-detail.html

==> Do you suppose Rio thinks we won't notice the lack of floats in the sky because we're all supposed to be oogling the posing and/or gyrating lingerie models down below?!?

-- Never mind, I actually read the description from Rio's website and here's what Rio says:

"The best free show in Las Vegas is back and better than ever!

The excitement is hotter than ever at Rio's Masquerade Village with the Show in the Sky! All-new sets. All-new costumes. All-new choreography. Even if you've seen it before, Rio's all-new Show in the Sky is a must-see again.

It's a unique performance every time, with three different shows featuring stunning dancers in eye-popping costume fashions from the likes of DKNY and Victoria's Secret. Your jaw will drop as these talented performers perform all-new routines to edgy music as fantasy floats glide above the crowd, creating an energetic and dynamic musical celebration.

The all-new Show in the Sky is performed hourly from 6 pm until 11pm every Thursday through Saturday."

==> So the answer is: "Yes!" (But it also sounds like more of the floats are back, too! )
.


VooDoo Lounge:

Agreed, the VooDoo Lounge is a must-do if you're at the Rio, if the lounge is open -- just to go out on the terrace, out to the railing (LOL unless you're scared of heights) to check out the view and take photos.

If you want to visit there, it's best to get there after the restaurant (5pm) and maybe even before the lounge (7pm) opens, before they start charging a cover. I think I recall needing to be there before 8:00pm to avoid the cover, but I might be wrong. And times/rules might be different now, anyway.

VooDoo Steak & Lounge:
http://www.riolasvegas.com/casinos/r...ak-detail.html

VooDoo Rooftop Lounge:
http://www.harrahs.com/EventsDetail....ooDoo%20Lounge

.

[RSS from SF]

.
From the "Hornblowers of the Americas Mariner ATH 2009" group on Facebook:


From Letty (6 hours ago):

Zefferino's at the Venetian is a bit pricey for a brunch.

How about Grand Lux cafe. They have a pretty extensive menu and are owned by the Cheesecake Factory. I know it's a coffee shop type restaurant but you can get everything from breakfast to steaks, salads, sandwiches etc.

Just wondering..what's the price of the Wicked Spoon Buffet.

.
From Letty (6 hours ago):

Oh and Sunday brunch, when Len and I went was a buffet (with lobster, crab, etc. However, that was several years ago and I think at that time the price was $39.95/person.

.
From Roger (5 hours ago):

Letty, I agree that Zeffirino is pricey. Let's nix it.

By the end of 2009 Zeffirino was not offering Sunday brunch as a buffet except for some holidays. Of course, this might have changed again.

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...Grand Lux Cafe & Johnny Rocket's at Venetian:

I saw Woody's note about Johnny Rocket's at the Venetian food court (after Woody saw my post about the Venetian, and Don's about being happy with having burgers) -- and it strikes me that Johnny Rocket's would be more of a fit because of JR's presence on Mariner -- rather than the Grand Lux cafe.

-------
"Just wondering..what's the price of the Wicked Spoon Buffet."

http://www.cosmopolitanlasvegas.com/taste/restaurant-collection/wicked-spoon.aspx
Open 7 days

Daily Brunch. Mon-Fri 8:00am to 2:00pm -- $22 (includes a glass of champagne, mimosa, or a bloody mary).

Daily Dinner. Sun-Thur 5:00pm to 9:00pm -- $35.

Weekend Dinner. Fri-Sat 5:00pm to 10:00pm -- $35.

Weekend Brunch. Sat-Sun 8:00am to 3:00pm -- $29; $36 for bottomless champagne, mimosas, or bloody marys.

.
From Carol (3 hours ago):

Wicked Spoon prices don't look bad....

.

[dimeboxdtm]

Originally Posted by woody73

Our largest group for dinner will be on Monday 8/1. Patrick and Daryl will arrive that day. If they arrive in time for dinner, we will have 17 people.

It appears that a buffet will work best for this many people -- we can talk at the table and in the buffet line; it's easier to move about the table to visit; and we can hopefully linger as long as we like.

One buffet that has been mentioned multiple times is the Carnival World buffet at the Rio. In emails and on the old Hornblowers thread, Don & Marguerite, Letty & Len, and Anne and I have given it a thumbs up. It regularly gets high marks in the reviews. (It's not a high end buffet, but of the mid-range buffets it is an excellent value.) The Carnival World buffet offers 300 dishes from 12 cuisines prepared fresh daily. Gayot's restaurant reviews rates it the #3 Las Vegas buffet (right after #1 Bellagio, and #2 Wynn).

The Carnival World dinner buffet is $24.98 plus tax. Those with a Harrah's "Total Rewards" players club card might be able to get a comp or a discount. There's even a coupon ($5 off for up to four people) in the "American Casino Guide" I mentioned. If we decide to go there, they require reservations for groups of 14 or more.

As an afternoon or per-dinner activity, we could to to the Rio to see the free "Masquerade Show in the Sky" pageant. As for after dinner, I recall someone (Letty?) saying there is a nice bar on the top floor of the Rio with terrific views.

Note that the Rio is off the strip. One would need to drive (by car, it is three minutes off the strip) or take the free shuttle (free shuttle from Harrah's and Ballys every 30 minutes).

American Casino Guide: The guide contains $5 off per person coupons at Harrah's "Flavors" buffet, and the Rio's "Carnival World" buffet. A couple using just these two coupons would save $20 -- more that the cost of the book. Then there's the coupon for $25 free slot play at the Venetian.

Buffet of Buffets: This is for those who really want the cruise ship experience: pay up front, then eat whenever you want. It's a 24-hour pass to 7 buffets for $49.00 ($44.99 for Harrah's Total Rewards members; membership is free). Good for a 24-hour period at any of these Harrah's group buffets: Caesars, Flamingo, Harrah's, Imperial Palace, Paris Las Vegas, Planet Hollywood, and the Rio. Tip: I've read that people can squeeze two dinners out of this 24-hour pass by having dinner on day 1 at, say, 7:00 pm, then dinner on day 2 at 6:00 pm. If anyone wants to do this, let me know and we can adjust the reunion schedule so we can cheer you on, like on "Man vs. Food."

Woody

Woody,

The Rio is certainly a great option. I've never had a bad experience at the buffet there. And the free show is worth seeing as well. I try to see it at least once every time I hit Las Vegas. I believe we have a great group assembling and I'm sure we will have a wonderful time. It is certainly conducive to a large group just like Harrahs.

Roger,
A very good plan for group photos. And I loved the one you stitched together of the strip.

Don

[dimeboxdtm]

Originally Posted by woody73

Either Johnny Rockets is fine with us. If we go th JR at the Flamingo, one of the things we have yet to see is the Wildlife Habitat at the Flamingo. From the website:

Appropriately enough, the Flamingo resort is home to a flock of live Chilean Flamingos! These birds, as well as a collection of other feathered friends, fascinate our guests and populate our Wildlife Habitat.

In addition to our namesake, you'll find swans, ducks, koi, and turtles populating these grounds. All of our animals are carefully tended by experts and live on islands and streams surrounded by sparkling waterfalls and lush foliage.

They used to have feeding times. I'm not sure if they still do.

The Flamingo is also close to Bellagio, which would make for a nice visit to the conservatory/botanical gardens.

Woody

We enjoy the Flamingo and the location is much more central to us all.

Don

[RSS from SF]

Originally Posted by woody73

Roger, I think this would work well. We would just need to schedule the meeting time in advance of the meal time. 10 or 15 minutes ought to do it.

Woody

Okay, sure -- 15 minutes if we're meeting at the restaurants for photos right there.
-- We might need to allow a few minutes to find suitable spots in the vicinity to take the photos.

If we've made meal reservations and any Hornblowers are delayed in arriving and miss the pre-meal shoot(s), perhaps we can take additional photos at the restaurants or after departing the restaurants.

---

PHOTOGRAPHER LOGISTICS:

-- Are any Hornblowers planning to bring any friends/family to either of the group meals?
-- If so, would any of them be able to snap the photos?

If not, I'd like to assume that we should NOT rely on getting passersby nor restaurant staff to take more than a couple of photos of us.

( Although I wouldn't bet on this, because some of us might have enough
--chutzpah/huevos[/alcohol]
--to convince total strangers to take 10 photos of us at a time, in various poses, without a big tip! )

==> Perhaps some of us who are driving could pack CAMERA TRIPODS in the trunk, just in case -- for us or others to use if we need to take photos using the camera self-timers?

.
Comments, anyone?

.
Thanks! -Roger-

[Coralc]

If you trust our abilities...Bill and I can take photos for you. I'm sure your fellow Hornblowers wish to see current photos of the people THEY know, not Bill & me.

~Patti

[Coralc]

And regarding Rio...we love Rio. We have, ever since it first opened. I'm sorry to see that they have shortened the days of the Sky Show yet again. It used to be daily, and then Th-Sun and now I guess it's Th-Sat. We won't be able to see it then. Darn. Last time we visited we rode on the floats in the sky show. And yes Roger, they had all 3 of sky floats and the mask going along with the lingerie dancers.

Here's me with the Chippendales:


And both of us with the dancers. The girl on the left is a former RCI performer and her husband is still a dancer with the cruise line:

(one of the floats is in the background)

The Voodoo Lounge view that you see of the strip from 26 stories up is fabulous. It is the opening shot on CSI. Yes there is an evening cover charge, but there are also, usually people from the casino handing out free passes to go up...especially on weeknights. So we are thinking about going over there too.

We always take the free shuttle from Harrah's. Depending on the line and time, we usually cab back.

We haven't tried the buffet there yet. It features seafood and gets rave reviews. We would certainly look forward to a buffet evening over there....it is a fun resort with a Mardi Gras theme.

~Patti

[RSS from SF]

Originally Posted by Coralc

If you trust our abilities...Bill and I can take photos for you. I'm sure your fellow Hornblowers wish to see current photos of the people THEY know, not Bill & me.

~Patti

Patti, thanks very much!

Before you had posted, I had already received email from a couple of people who won't be in any of the group shots and offered to help take these photos, so we're probably set for most of the photo taking. Still, imho, the more photo-takers of the group shots, the better.

If it's okay with you, I think it would be great to include you and Bill in most of the group photos. (After all, you're long-time great Hornblower friends of some of us, as well as active Hornblower roll call thread members!)

==> AND, we ALSO can do a few shots with Hornblowers who were able to do the ATH... For those shots, if you'd like, sure, we'd love your help with the photo-taking also!

:-) Roger

[RSS from SF]

.
Show in the Sky:

Originally Posted by Coralc

And regarding Rio...we love Rio. We have, ever since it first opened. I'm sorry to see that they have shortened the days of the Sky Show yet again. It used to be daily, and then Th-Sun and now I guess it's Th-Sat. We won't be able to see it then. Darn. Last time we visited we rode on the floats in the sky show. And yes Roger, they had all 3 of sky floats and the mask going along with the lingerie dancers.

Yes the last time we'd gone it was Th-Sun; too bad they took away another day. Well, at least, the trip from the Bay Area to Vegas is relatively a piece of cake, so you and we too will eventually see the shows. (We're likely to be in town Saturday night, but likely we might not have the time/energy to stop by the Rio in the evening to catch one of the shows.)

You GO Patti!... Hangin' out with the Chippendales!

And that's a great photo with you and Bill with the gals, too!

.
VooDoo Lounge:

Originally Posted by Coralc

The Voodoo Lounge view that you see of the strip from 26 stories up is fabulous. It is the opening shot on CSI. Yes there is an evening cover charge, but there are also, usually people from the casino handing out free passes to go up...especially on weeknights. So we are thinking about going over there too.

For the free passes, I remember we also used to be able to download them from riolasvegas.com, and perhaps from another website -- but if any of the coupons are still available free anywhere online now, I couldn't find them.


VIDEO I took at VOODOO LOUNGE:

While we were at the VooDoo Lounge on the terrace, Christmas Eve 2009, I took a low-res video (compact digital camera) of the view, while I turned around a couple of times.
(Sorry for the shakiness, picture quality, and in-and-out focus!)

==> P1080303.MOV, RioVDL Christmas Eve 12/24/2009 9:11pm -- 149,209KB, 2:12 minutes

• YouTube Link:- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9IzP2RP9GnE
  .
  FYI -- The full-sized file below looks much better than the youtube version, but can take a little while to download.
  .
• Link to Download the full-sized file:- http://www.badongo.com/vid/1904370

Roger

[RSS from SF]

.

Originally Posted by woody73

It appears that a buffet will work best for this many people -- we can talk at the table and in the buffet line; it's easier to move about the table to visit; and we can hopefully linger as long as we like.

One buffet that has been mentioned multiple times is the Carnival World buffet at the Rio. In emails and on the old Hornblowers thread, Don & Marguerite, Letty & Len, and Anne and I have given it a thumbs up. It regularly gets high marks in the reviews. (It's not a high end buffet, but of the mid-range buffets it is an excellent value.) The Carnival World buffet offers 300 dishes from 12 cuisines prepared fresh daily. Gayot's restaurant reviews rates it the #3 Las Vegas buffet (right after #1 Bellagio, and #2 Wynn).

Hi Woody & Everyone!

Speaking of buffets and rankings, etc., at the end of Nov 2009, I came up with a matrix of what I thought might be the better Vegas buffets.

This was for Iv's work on our Dec 2009 visit: to investigate major banquet/buffet setups, get additional menu ideas, see the different display styles, taste the best dishes we could find in these settings for menu ideas, and so on.

I thought I'd dig the document up and show it to you for your AMUSEMENT.


-------
NOTE:
This document has NOT been edited AT ALL since Nov 2009, so it definitely does NOT denote what we ranked the restaurants after the visits.


PAGE 1:

• The first page is the list of what we thought might be the better buffets, cross-referenced with rankings from 23 different websites.
• The "RSS" column is the number I assigned as the priority of what we needed to visit, and not necessarily in the order of best to worse.
• I came up with 18 restaurants I felt were worthy of being ranked; those not ranked were not to be visited for analysis.

(LOL and fyi -- I was a systems analyst in a former life. )


PAGE 2:
The second page includes our restaurant schedule and 2 alternates. We visited 11 of these restaurants in 12 days.

(LOL and fyi #2 -- Later, I was also a systems project manager in a former life. )


PAGES 3-9:
You can probably ignore Pages 3-9, which are miscellaneous notes/links that I used for tie-breakers in what to assign priorities to, but these notes don't include all my considerations.


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FILE: "Buffets - Top - Matrix of multiple sites - as of 2009-11-28 - v2 vertical.doc" -- 11/28/2009 5:19am -- 275KB

• DIRECT LINK to Word doc on Skydrive: http://is.gd/FHLGsr
  .
• LINK to download from Badongo: http://www.badongo.com/file/25594230

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FYI:

Restaurants we actually visited in Dec 2009:

1.-- Bally's - Sterling Brunch at Bally's
2.-- Venetian - Brunch at Zeffirino [buffet now only on some holidays]
3.-- Wynn Las Vegas - The Buffet
4.-- Bellagio - The Buffet
5.-- Paris Las Vegas - Le Village Buffet
6.-- Planet Hollywood - Spice Market Buffet
7.-- M Resort - Studio B Show Kitchen Buffet
8.-- Aria - The Buffet
10.- Mirage - Cravings
12.- Red Rock - Feast Buffet
13.- Green Valley Ranch - Feast A.T.W.

Restaurants we didn't visit in Dec 2009:
----NOTE -- We haven't yet been to Main St Station, Harrah's Flavors, NOR Carnival World Buffet, so it's great we may have a chance to finally visit them!

9.-- Rio - The Village Seafood Buffet
11.- Main Street Station - Garden Court Buffet
14.- Silverton Casino Lodge - Seasons Buffet
15.- Santa Fe Station
16.- Sunset Station - Feast Buffet
17.- Harrah's - Flavors
18.- Rio - Carnival World Buffet

.
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FYI for Restaurant Recommendations -- CHOWHOUND is number one in my book:

My top Go-To for reading restaurant recommendations has been and still is www.chowhound.com.

==> LINK to Chowhound's VEGAS board: http://chowhound.chow.com/boards/68.

(I'd like to deny I use yelp.com to get ideas about restaurants to consider, but sometimes it's hard to find information elsewhere. So I go there, even though sometimes that means wading through a bunch of reviews written by ignorant kids.)

.
Roger

[RSS from SF]

Have a great rest of the weekend everyone! Be back Monday.
-Roger-

[cruzr4vr]

Hey, the lingerie models, er...I mean Carnival World Buffet, at the Rio has my vote. We've been there, its very good. The barmaid staff in the casino at the Rio dress very nice also, if I remember right. Len

[cruzr4vr]

Letty and I are driving to Las Vegas (as are some others). So, for those flying into town, and not renting a car (no real need to), we plan on picking up and dropping off when we can to help out getting to places. This time of year, its too hot to walk any distance. [I've installed a taxi meter]

Len

[dimeboxdtm]

Originally Posted by cruzr4vr

Letty and I are driving to Las Vegas (as are some others). So, for those flying into town, and not renting a car (no real need to), we plan on picking up and dropping off when we can to help out getting to places. This time of year, its too hot to walk any distance. [I've installed a taxi meter]

Len

We also have wheels and hope to be in Vegas by early afternoon on July 24.

Don

[Herbytoy]

Here's my stitched panoramic from Voodoo Lounge when we were in Vegas in 2005

http://www.herbytoys.com/Vaca_Images/LV2005_VLPano2.jpg