hawkfish

Just want to second what everyone has said - I have really enjoyed your reviews. I also want to say that I appreciate how even-handed you have been. (Most) everyone understands that things can't be perfect all the time. But you've done a great job of detailing what you loved, and why, and offering suggestions/alternatives for what you didn't enjoy as much.

Those are pretty rare occurrences, so thank you for that!

Just want to second what everyone has said - I have really enjoyed your reviews. I also want to say that I appreciate how even-handed you have been. (Most) everyone understands that things can't be perfect all the time. But you've done a great job of detailing what you loved, and why, and offering suggestions/alternatives for what you didn't enjoy as much.

Those are pretty rare occurrences, so thank you for that!

One of the amazing performers at Splish! Splash!

And now I'm dying to know - how did this guy even get into this position?!??! Amazing!

One of the amazing performers at Splish! Splash!

And now I'm dying to know - how did this guy even get into this position?!??! Amazing!

Part 6: Chef's Table

 

The Smoked Duck Salad was served with orange confit, baby lettuce, green asparagus, and zesty Cointreau dressing and accompanied with Mer Soleil Chardonnay. The Chef described the confit with amazing detail. He described how he baked it and what kind of salt he used on it and how he sprinkled it in specific places for the taste and texture. He described why he used green asparagus versus white asparagus and told us that white is underground while green is over ground. He was VERY detailed. The duck was delicious and the confit did add the taste and texture the Chef was looking for. The Chardonnay was fine, if not slightly disappointing. I found the taste to be a little dull. There was nothing wrong with it, just not as lively as I had hoped it would be.

 

I enjoyed the dessert, but not everyone did. Passion Fruit Crème Brulee with crisp caramelized sugar tuille and strawberry ice-win jus. The caramelized sugar was thick, very thick. It was hard to break it was so thick. I ate it all anyway. J The custard underneath was very tasty. It didn’t have a strong flavor of the passion fruit, but it was very nice. It was served with Errazuriz, Late Harvest Sauvignon Blanc. Most at the table agreed that the wine did not pair will with the dessert. I think the problem is that I think there are only two bottles of dessert wine on the ship and this is the better one. I had this bottle at Giovanni’s and enjoyed it very much. I agree that it did not pair all that well, but drinking the wine on its own was just fine and a perfect ending to a fantastic meal.

It's interesting that asparagus would be such a focal point of a wine tasting dinner, since asparagus is one of the most difficult foods to pair with wine. Along with artichokes, most chefs consider this an almost impossible pairing, and consequently only use them sparingly when part of a tasting.

And the issue with the Errazuriz probably stems from that being a dessert wine, which you typically don't drink with dessert, but rather on its own. A dessert wine with a sugary dessert results in something that's usually too cloying. Probably would have been better off with a regular sauv blanc.

Thanks for the detailed review - everything sounds so wonderful!! Can't wait for our trip in January on the Allure!

Part 6: Chef's Table

 

The Smoked Duck Salad was served with orange confit, baby lettuce, green asparagus, and zesty Cointreau dressing and accompanied with Mer Soleil Chardonnay. The Chef described the confit with amazing detail. He described how he baked it and what kind of salt he used on it and how he sprinkled it in specific places for the taste and texture. He described why he used green asparagus versus white asparagus and told us that white is underground while green is over ground. He was VERY detailed. The duck was delicious and the confit did add the taste and texture the Chef was looking for. The Chardonnay was fine, if not slightly disappointing. I found the taste to be a little dull. There was nothing wrong with it, just not as lively as I had hoped it would be.

 

I enjoyed the dessert, but not everyone did. Passion Fruit Crème Brulee with crisp caramelized sugar tuille and strawberry ice-win jus. The caramelized sugar was thick, very thick. It was hard to break it was so thick. I ate it all anyway. J The custard underneath was very tasty. It didn’t have a strong flavor of the passion fruit, but it was very nice. It was served with Errazuriz, Late Harvest Sauvignon Blanc. Most at the table agreed that the wine did not pair will with the dessert. I think the problem is that I think there are only two bottles of dessert wine on the ship and this is the better one. I had this bottle at Giovanni’s and enjoyed it very much. I agree that it did not pair all that well, but drinking the wine on its own was just fine and a perfect ending to a fantastic meal.

It's interesting that asparagus would be such a focal point of a wine tasting dinner, since asparagus is one of the most difficult foods to pair with wine. Along with artichokes, most chefs consider this an almost impossible pairing, and consequently only use them sparingly when part of a tasting.

And the issue with the Errazuriz probably stems from that being a dessert wine, which you typically don't drink with dessert, but rather on its own. A dessert wine with a sugary dessert results in something that's usually too cloying. Probably would have been better off with a regular sauv blanc.

Thanks for the detailed review - everything sounds so wonderful!! Can't wait for our trip in January on the Allure!

Question, does anyone know how much the private or semi private time on the flow rider is?

 

And how early can you get off her in Labadee?

 

And are there any secrets to getting off in Labadee early because of the tenders?

Private time on the flowrider is $300, I believe.

We had massages on Labadee at 9am, and there were people who had gone ahead of us, so you must be able to get off pretty early. Actually getting off in a timely fashion isn't an issue at that hour - at 8:30, we practically had the place to ourselves.

You will be in the Caribbean. It's warm all year round.

Not completely true. It can definitely be cool enough in the Caribbean to be in the pool in the fall. IMO, that's what the hot tub is for! You just have to play it by ear - I guess prepare them that it might happen, but that there are certainly enough other things to do to have fun!

FWIW - here are my photos from out LOS sail last November. Includes a lot of photos of menus and drink lists:

http://family.webshots.com/album/561398369GIkiGp?vhost=family