CGTNORMANDIE

2 hours ago, Lois R said:

I also love mushrooms and sausage too😀....CGT, you can have the onions though. 

There are so many "modern ingredients" people put on their pies.......I am old school.......so many things they put on pizza now......just give me a good pie, good crust,  with good mushrooms and sausage and I am happy. 

So true, that being said I will indulge in a slice of pepperoni once in a while.  Most of the time, however, I like to make my own pizza.  This I will load up with the mushrooms, Italian fennel sausage, onion, and small slices of Genoa Salami.  I also use 3 cheeses.

2 hours ago, Lois R said:

Hi CGT, you and my brother in law would be drinking partners.......that is favorite libation!

Hi Lois,

A well crafted Manhattan is an art form.  I like mine just a bit on the sweet side with red vermouth and good bourbon.  I have a number of the usual favorites…Woodford Reserve, Knob Creek, Makers Mark, etc.  Surprisingly JW Dickel is among that list.   

10 hours ago, BklynBoy8 said:

 

I haven't seen one since we were on HAL after we switches from the QE2.

 

When we started with the QM2, never remembered seeing one.

Gala and specialty buffets are a thing of the past from the golden age of luxury cruising.  The Ocean View Cafe has taken over as a substitute as the ships grew larger.  Buffets on deck used to be hit or miss…temporary food offerings set up on deck if the weather was right.  They were for lunch only.  Now you see a huge dedicated upper deck space inside and outside serving breakfast, lunch, dinner and late night snacks.  Quite a change from years ago.

On 5/2/2023 at 11:24 AM, shavdog said:

We are looking at a fall repositioning from maybe Rome to the US......my one question is about the weather....the last 5-6 days would be at sea and I am wondering if the daily high temps and the seas would be more on the mild or milder side going to Florida vs New York.....maybe someone that has done this could chime in on how big a difference this is....thanks.....I have been following a couple of crossings over to England and the storms they encounter are probably more than I or the Mrs would want to deal with...thanks

You are talking about two different routes…the North Atlantic and the Southern Atlantic.  Transatlantics between New York and Europe are mostly on the Great Circle route in the North Atlantic.  The weather in October can be rough and cold and it can be quite calm and pleasant with temps in the 50’s and 60’s.  I believe there is an MSC crossing from Rome that stops in New York.and then goes to Florida.  This of course would be a mixture of North and South.  
 

The route that you propose from Rome to Florida is the Southern Atlantic route.  This is a far cry from the North Atlantic.  As described above the temps continually climb as you near Florida.  The seas are usually calm although this isn’t always the case.  Those of us who are born sailors relish the many sea days on a Southern Atlantic crossing.  Have no fear.  You will enjoy your southern crossing from Rome.  

I recall a chocolate buffet onboard the SS Norway way back when.  It was great for chocoholics.  It featured more than 100 feet of chocolate treats.  
 

Over the past 50 plus years we have seen many superb gala buffets.  A few of them stand out as really memorable.  The greatest was on the TS Bremen…truly stupendous.  So many wonderful food memories back in the days when cruising was a luxury.  

On 4/30/2023 at 1:41 PM, BklynBoy8 said:

Easy to make at home..... 

 

Except have to master Cherries Jubilee 

Use brown sugar!  Brown sugar, cinnamon and orange juice with cornstarch to thicken.  Cook and thicken then add the cherries and cook with a touch of red vermouth or cherry brandy then flame with brandy and serve with ice cream.  

On 5/2/2023 at 11:51 AM, shipgeeks said:

Ketsup being hard to come by is a really serious issue??  Somebody needs to go back to RoyalNorwegianCarnival.

On Divina…I actually overheard a man say his cruise was ruined.  He didn’t like the oatmeal they served at breakfast!  YIKES!

Great pictures!  Thanks so much for posting your review Steff!

CGT

Coulibiac Of Salmon.  This was offered onboard Celebrity back in the days when they had the Grand Buffet once per cruise.  It is basically a Salmon Wellington.  A whole side of King Salmon sautéed with herbs and spices covered in a fish stock cream sauce and wrapped in puff pastry with egg wash and baked…out of this world.  It is an intricate dish to prepare as you have to get the salmon sautéed rare so it does not overcook during the baking process.  If done to perfection it is an excellent entree.  

I might be “in dry dock” but I am well aware of the MSC pratfalls.  Building a giant fleet of ships is no easy thing.  Most of the problems at MSC seem to come from customer service.  The above list of grievances is a good indicator of what to watch out for when booking.

On 4/21/2023 at 10:13 AM, nancy1031 said:

chilled mango soup

 

am of russian/ slovak background- not many of us on the ship!!!

Yes…but I’ve seen Borscht, Chicken Kiev and Kulibec of Salmon onboard ship and those are Russian-Slovak!

7 hours ago, Seamus6 said:

I like Arby's a lot but don't go there that often.  I end up at the golden arches far more often due to convenience.

 

I also like Quickway Japanese Hibachi

I’ll never understand the fascination with MacD’s burgers…fast food or not.  To me they are uniformly horrible.  I can get a far superior burger at one of our local pubs.  Even Wendy’s and Burger King are better than MacD’s.  

3 hours ago, norboy76 said:

I forgot to mention that the bottle of schnapps for the Bremen is from between 1929-1939. That makes this small Norddeutscher bottle between 84-94 years old now as of 2023. 

 

Hello Norboy,  I still say you should get an offer on German EBay.  I’ll bet those bottles are worth a lot!

On 4/22/2023 at 7:21 PM, RICHARD@SEA said:

back in 1969 my Auntie Mame and a friend of hers from work took a cruise out of NYC to the Carib on the Bremen.  Onboard they met 2 men that were best friends.  3 years later my Aunt married one man & her friend married the other man.  They honeymooned for a few months in Europe after sailing TA on the FRANCE!!!

 

She preferred the FRENCH & Italian Lines of that era but she said her most memorable the BEMEN.

 

My Aunt treated me like her son & took me on my first cruise.

Great story Richard.  It just shows how romantic an era that was.  All those ships oozed romance.  My DW and I honeymooned on the Bremen and we’ll be married 52 years in October!  We also crossed on the SS France and sailed to the Caribbean on the Leonardo DaVinci.  Your aunt was right…she must have had really excellent taste.  All those ships were so special…a totally different experience from today’s mega ships.

12 hours ago, travelbug11 said:

I love Viking- no formal nights, only smart casual 

Just about every line is smart casual now except Cunard.  With Cunard we would need to take along a third suitcase!  

If you go at 2:30 PM you will miss lunch.  11:00 AM is always a good time…just in case there is a holdup Coast Guard inspection, etc.  There are always those who get there early and clog up the line waiting so let them go first.  The point is that you have paid for a premium service so you should be allowed to enjoy it from the moment you step into the YC tent.  And that includes a flute of Prosecco and munching on a macaroon before you board the ship…LOL.  

“We have read horrid reviews on the Seaside.”  
Thousands of happy pax cruise every week on Seaside and, as usual, a handful of bad reviews come to the forefront to scare new pax like yourselves.  Pay them no attention and go and enjoy.

Hi Bea,  I want to thank you for a highly informative and entertaining review.  It means a lot to this sailor who is still stuck in dry dock for the past 5 years.  Hopefully we’ll be out there before he year ends.  Anyway…thanks Bea…you are one of a kind.

CGT

Good old Coca Cola on ice…real Coke…not the diet or flavored stuff.  A close second place would be a Raspberry Lime Ricky or a chocolate ice cream soda.  The chocolate ice cream soda has about a third of the calories and cholesterol as a chocolate malted frappe.  

6 hours ago, lenquixote66 said:

I never ate sausage and I hate mushrooms

Your loss…my gain.

5 hours ago, lenquixote66 said:

Even grilled cheese ?

Yes…even cheese goes with chutney.  One of my favorites is chutney with cream cheese on a cracker.  Makes a great snack or even an hors d’ouvre.  

On 4/10/2023 at 9:08 PM, Kenhel said:

Will be on a Princess 23 day westbound TA next year. Would appreciate feedback on typical dress codes, especially on the very long cruises compared with shorter cruises, on "chic" nights.  Due to luggage weight restrictions are these typically less formal? 

Times have changed.  Dress code on. Princess is basically country club casual.  You can dress in your formals but luggage restrictions on TAs make it difficult for men.  Women can always get away with the cocktail dress or silk pants and fancy top.  Some people do and some don’t and nobody seems to notice.  Do not overpack!

Italian fennel sausage, mushrooms and onion…

Homemade chutney with lime pickle, yellow and dark raisins, chopped sweetened  orange and lemon peel, etc.  Goes on anything!

On 4/1/2023 at 10:44 AM, shipgeeks said:

Ok, what is an egg cream?  I see it on menus in NYC coffee shops.  Have asked what it is, never got a clear answer.  So have never ordered one.

An egg cream is a couple ounces of syrup with a shot of cream topped off with seltzer water.  The ratio is about 1/3 syrup and cream and 2/3 seltzer.