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suzyed

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    Ultimate Ship Tour **Review**

    in Princess Cruises

    Posted

    Great summary of the tour!

     

    One quick caveat for people reading this later, the locations may vary slightly from ship to ship and tour to tour. For example, we were not able to go up on the funnel when we did it due to crosswinds.

    We got to visit all the places mentioned above on the Ruby.

     

    I wish they had an option of doing the tour at a reduced price, with out all the goodies...I would love to tour again, but don't need any more of the ''stuff"

    "I wish I knew before..."

    in First Time Cruisers

    Posted

    Although we are fairly new on CruiseCritic.com, we have spent a lot of time on it since we booked our Panama Canal Cruise on the Island Princess about eight weeks ago. We investigated ports of call, excursions, specialty restaurants, etc.

     

     

    We had seen people doing the Chef's Table last year on the Golden Princess and it looked like a lot of fun. The more that we read or saw, the more that we were convinced that we should do it. People who had done it previously seemed virtually unanimous in their praise. Vickie and Bernie's review and video and a couple of others were particularly compelling.

     

     

    The Chef's Table became our primary goal for our October 6, San Francisco to Fort Lauderdale cruise. Since we would be joining this repositioning cruise two days after its origin in Vancouver (and we knew that we would not be arriving at the pier as early as some people), we were worried that we might not be high enough on the list to make the cut.

     

     

    Fortunately, we ended up in the first of evidently four Chef's Tables on this 15 day sailing – that is 40 successful passengers with 8 on a waiting list (and this was without any promotion or announcement in the Princess Patter, etc.). We were very happy to get our preliminary notification about participation and the Health and Safety Agreement. We turned in our agreement quickly, then received the formal invitation.

     

     

    On the appointed evening, we met Silvio Zampieri (Maitre D') and George Coteanu (Assistant Maitre D') in the atrium, donned our chef's coats and were escorted to the temporary tasting area in the galley. Here we were met by Executive Chef Klaus Baumgarten. Klaus is German born, but now lives in Florida. He is very focused and passionate about food.

     

     

    Neither our words or photographs will do justice to the experience, so we are sharing some general impressions rather than a detailed critique of each dish. We were served four appetizers with our Champagne in the galley. The Blue Crab Margarita with Avocado and Mango, and Braised Escargots in Vol-au-Vent were our favorites, but all were excellent. Klaus entertained the group with thoughtful and in depth answers to a diverse range of questions about his background, the restaurant business, staffing, Chain De Rotisseur, menu planning, etc. Silvio and George also remained with us in the galley – they added humorous jabs and ensured there were no empty Champagne flutes (Heidsieck & Co. Monopole Blue Top Brut).

     

     

    th_A004InGalleyKlaus2.jpg?t=1286990901th_A005InGalleyGroup.jpg?t=1286990901

     

    We then moved to the Bordeaux Dining Room and got to know the other four couples. Three from Florida and one from New York. Only one of the couples (from Boca Raton) had previously been on a Chef's Table. We talked about CruiseCritic and the Florida State vs LSU football game.

     

    A very nice Santa Margherita Pinot Grigio was served as the Risotto with Asparagus and Lobster Tail and Claws were plated nearby. The Risotto was fantastic!

     

    Every component of the Potted Stilton with Port Wine reduction, Walnuts and Rosemary Biscotti was great.

     

     

    th_A010KlausPyromaniac.jpg?t=1286990901th_A011TrioOfMeat.jpg?t=1286990901

     

    The famous Bloody Mary Sorbet was served as a palate cleanser. Doug regretted finishing his quickly so that could not rationalize accepting the offer of a Grey Goose top off when they came around again with the bottle.

     

    The meat course was a trio of beef, pork, and veal tenderloins flambe-d nearby. The accompanying sauces were great – we especially liked the Cafe de Paris Butter for the beef and the garlicky Salsa Verde for the pork and veal. A Ferrari-Carano Merlot was served.

     

    The desserts were beautiful in presentation and taste. The sugar sails were too pretty to eat and Peggy felt an emotional loss when they were crushed after our plates were bused. A late harvest Chilean Sauvignon Blanc was served.

     

    Silvio, Klaus, George and some of the senior waiters attended to our group during the whole three hours. They continued to answer questions and tell amusing stories throughout the evening. There was nothing to up-sell, cross-sell or promote other than having a great time and special meal.

     

    The only disappointment of the evening was the loss by Florida to LSU – the news of which arrived by text message. Fortunately only two members of the table had fits of uncontrollable sobbing (and we both have different recollections of this part of the evening, so there may have been more or no sobbing).

     

    The ladies received a rose. Each couple received two group photographs and a coffee table cookbook.

     

     

    th_A050FourPros.jpg?t=1286990901th_A99WholeGroup.jpg?t=1286990901

     

     

    The quality of food, personal attention, and uniqueness of the Chef's Table made this the most memorable event that we ever had on a cruise ship. We had very high expectations and they were exceeded.

     

    I guess from a self interest standpoint, we should try to keep the Chef's Table as secret as possible. However, it would be selfish not to share the experience.

    Summary:

    We would heartily recommend the Chef's Table for anybody except picky eaters or people with restricted diets. More than worth the price. Highly memorable!

    We had the same menu that you had at our first Chef's Table dinner on the Ruby! Unfortunately we got the same bad news during our sailing (FL lost)..but we still had a wonderful dinner and would highly recommend this lovely experience!

    NCL has new Luggage rules

    in Norwegian Cruise Line

    Posted

    I have to disagree with your conclusion. Just looking at only a few questions and answers, I saw one we know to be factually incorrect. Someone said that NCL still had a self service passenger laundry on a particular ship, although not on the one the person asked about.

     

    If NCL is editting for factual accuracy, they have missed at least the laundry room error, so you can't rely on the accuracy of the answer to the soda question either.

    I think they are editing for negative vs. positive....just as it appears they are doing on the excursion reviews on the website.

     

    I have left a few reviews that may have had a bit of negative(as well as mostly positive) aspects. They have not been published.

    NCL has new Luggage rules

    in Norwegian Cruise Line

    Posted

    Maybe they literally mean "hand carry"...as in carrying them in your bare hands, not a piece of luggage. :eek::D;)

    I doubt it! ;) LOL 'Cause how else am I getting my wine and champagne on? I don't think they would appreciate my carrying that on in my bare hands!! If I pack it, I will get called to the naughty room. :rolleyes: I'm using my rolling wine bag!

     

    I guess my point is, that everyone is assuming that the carry on rules are the same as the airlines, and nothing has really been said about it one way or another. :p

    NCL has new Luggage rules

    in Norwegian Cruise Line

    Posted

    The big problem with the cruise lines not allowing soda & water brought on board is the those of us who bring it on board usually bring something that they don't serve on board. I am diabetic, so I can only drink diet sodas, ice tea, coffee, tomato juice, V-8 or water. Add to that that I don't usually drink caffinated beverages and you are pretty much down to water. So I prefer to bring on diet orange soda, diet ginger ale, etc. Plus, I usually bring on those small tubes of Crystal Lite and mix part of a tube in my glass of water in the dining room. They wouldn't be making or loosing money on me unless the greatly increased their choice of diet beverages.

     

    If only they were like Sonic & had diet cherry limeade, I would buy the soda card!

     

    Trish

    Or diet Dr. Pepper!

    Hail Ceasar or Long Live Bloody Mary

    in Norwegian Cruise Line

    Posted

    One question of how much does NCL cater to Canadians - Do they serve Ceasar's in the bars or must I be content with a Bloody Mary?

    One funny thing about this.....when we were in Vancouver right before Christmas, the server in the restaurant recommended the Ceasar to us and said it was only done in Canada.

     

    I have been making my bloody mary's with Clamato for over 30 years, or however long it's been around!! We didn't call them Ceasars though.

     

    I guess I am just soooo cutting edge!!:rolleyes::D;)

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