Rogueperson

Ramen!!! On a cruise!!! Verdict. Not the worst Ramen I’ve had and totally passable. Still, its on a cruise and that makes it incredible.

I have two gripes so far and its mostly ship design. 1. I have a love/hate feeling for the Manor. 70s party and club venue. This place is awesome!!! so much room!!! This reminds me of how the Freedom Class ships on Royal Caribbean had their nightclub on 4. It was the Raven on Indy and I loved that. It was similar to this. But they tore it down for more revenue space 🤨. As a venue for performances. Hate. So much wasted space as there are only limited views in most of the area and even less seats. 2. Major flaw in my opinion. Unless you have access to Richard’s rooftop, there are no public spaces that look out over the front of the ship. As I’m up this early on a cruise for the first time ever, I thought i could actually catch a sunrise. Nope. No access. Okay, I lied, i caught a sunrise in Panama in 2015.

Are you kidding me?!?!?! I had this entire thing posted and it disappeared!!!! Here I go again. Can I say I LOVE LOVE LOVE Test Kitchen. This is easily equivalent to Chef’s Table on Royal Caribbean without the wine pairing. I have to say the wine pairing at Chef’s table is far superior as they give a presentation of the wines and the pairing and the pairings actually does work. Here, the wine pairing is an additional 40 and was not memorable. I probably will not do the wine pairing at my next visit. Menu. Simple as can be. Mushroom. This was like a mousse or pate. Decadent. The little mushrooms you can barely see were marinated. with bread. Egg This should have been label peas, not Egg. It was still good but I felt the peas had way more of an impact than the egg. Scallops. This was amazing. Buttery and delicious, melt in your mouth. Venison. This was yummy too. It normally comes medium, but i got it medium rare. Potato side Heres where they made a serious error. My wife is gluten free. See the sauce on top? Thats thicken with flour. She took one bite and noticed it. They missed it. Fortunately she was able to mitigate the effect. Not good. Blue Cheese. I thought this was dessert but it is not. Excellent dish. Chocolate. This is the only wine pairing that had an impact on the meal. The rest were forgettable but this pairing hit hard. This was my wife’s dessert as she’s gluten free. It was an orange sherbet or cream. It was yummy too. When i made this reservation, it was the only one i made before 6. All my other reservations were after 8 or closer to 9. The rep said that Test Kitchen maybe light and I would be hungry later quicker and this timing would allow me to get additional food before most of the Galley closed. I also did not know that the diner is open 24/7 and the burger place opened late. After the third course, I was still hungry but the remaining courses filled me up sufficiently. That and the wine pairing knocked me out for the night. I’m a lightweight so this was way more than enough to take me out.

Good Morning from We are about 170 miles South south east of Bermuda. I have no idea how fast we are moving. Day 3 was probably the first day I am finally getting my bearings. I have no idea how people do their first cruise at less than 5 nights. Even on day 3, I was still fumbling as you can see. So what happened today. It was a pretty full day. After Lunch there was a cabin crawl meeting supposedly but our meeting place was crowded with some event so i missed it. So instead we ended up doing the Spill the Beans coffee cupping class. This is essentially like a wine tasting class except with coffee. I’m lost with wine but do it for my wife. Coffee on the other hand, I love and thought this would be awesome. For 30/person, my impression is that it was not worth it *for me* or my wife. I can’t speak for everyone here and can’t say the class by itself is not worth it. I didn’t get a photo of the whole table and I should have. Anyways. There four coffees that were brewed. The three you see here is all the same and there were four sets. So the first step was to smell the dry beans. The barista tried to impart the nuances of the scent of each coffee, but all i got was…yup, you guessed it, coffee. Only one of the four I was able to deduce a floral scent. Next step was to smell the brewed coffee. Yup, you guessed it. Still smelled coffee. Next was tasting it. Yup, coffee. Can I tell they were different. Absolutely. Can I describe how they were different. Nope. The only thing I got here was’. Yep, I like it. Or nope, No likey. (quoting wife here). And that was pretty much it. Not real worth 30 bucks. But we each got a a 12 oz bag of coffee each and they were worth 16 bucks/pop so it mitigated the cost. Intellegensia coffee retails at around this price i saw, maybe a dollar less. Still more expensive than my local roasters Mayorga which i love. Afterwards, I went to a comedy show in the Manor. This is Jack Gleadow. He was humorous but okay. Nothing really special unfortunately. I’m going to post dinner in another thread to try and not make 1 giant post and break it up.

i didnt get the sauce thingie i think.

Okay. I thought i was going to hate this as I do not like wearing tags like this. But for those of you who have not been on Virgin and are reviewing through this, this is your sea pass card. Everything is done through this. Its not that hard to release and take off for when you are sleeping or showering but you don’t have to. Its waterproof. This is growing on me and it doesn’t bother me. Also important if you have a list of allergies, the staff can just scan and get it easily as oppose to you listing it out over and over.

No. We’re nowhere close to Pride. I looked for her because the Carnival Pride is where my wife and got married on so she has a special place in our heart.

Oh look! The Virgin app has a texting function. I got a text from Sailor Services. My wife IS eligible and she gets DBE. Woot!!!

Hmmm. Slight hiccup. Apparently because I didn’t know that i had to do it for wife too, She did not get the Deep Blue Extras. Just Blue Extras. Not a big deal but annoyed because it’s not intuitive. They told me the premium wifi charge will drop off and when it didn’t, had I taken it on faith, i may have been on the hook for it. Thats my one issue is that things aren’t intuitive and can make things a little leas smooth. The ship design doesn’t flow intuitively and I end up in a dead end more often than not. I’m told that Virgin is good at doing things like they said but its hard for me to take things on faith and they seem to operate seemingly well on that faith. Just a personal issue here and my observations. At least i get to keep this status while my wife has to cruise a couple more times to get the Deep Blue Extras status. Thats a win i guess.

Well, I found the most impressive bathroom on any cruise ship so far.

Alejandro hosted the 70s show. It was on fire!!!

There’s brunch place across the street we were looking for but it was slammed. Good thing too as we were running behind and found this place.

So, in my head, I have these cruise superlatives. There’s no such thing as “best cruise line” because it depends on what you want. One of my categories is “Best cruise Burger”. Technically Royal caribbean wins on this but I say technical because the best burger I’ve had is at Chops at Lunch. The reason its technical because A: You pay for it as a speciality which is not a disqualifier. However, Chops lunch is priced so if you do pay for lunch at Chops, you don’t order a burger as its a waste of money to eat a burger when you can get the far superior Filet for the same price. The only reason i tried it was because I had the *unlimited* dining plan. (Royal cruisers will know why i put that in quotes). I have not tried Playmakers which i heard maybe a contender. So across a fair competition, As of now, Princess’ Salty dog pub is the winner. This is the french toast burger. It is huge and interesting. Its not cooked to order but cooked medium rare. Its pretty good but does not reach best burger.

Good Morning from Google Earth says about 385 miles from Bermuda. @laurieal. My guess for you at last tag two hours ago says we’re neck and neck. GO TEAM SCARLET LADY. The events on board here seem a little more scattered than i’m used to. Other cruise lines including royal schedule a “n early show and a late show. I don’t see this pattern here so i feel like missing stuff because of dinner. Nonetheless, I caught this act. Michael John. Stage Magician. This was a decent show. This was held at the Manor. I did not see this place until now. The entrance is SOOOOOOOOL COOOOOOOL!!!!! I have found the Matrix!!!! Dinner tonight was at Pink Agave. Menu Corn. This was like street corn. Guacamole. This is probably the best cruise ship guacamole I’ve ever had. They added pomegranate seeds, but i don’t think it added anything to it. Aguachile. Its like a ceviche. I was a little meh about the flavor profile but still decent. enchilada de pollo aka chicken enchiladas. Not bad. Its an enchilada and the chicken wasn’t dry. This seared shrimp dish slammed. Not sure what they did to it. Roasted duck. My experience with duck on a cruise is either it is horribly dry or delicious. I’m glad to report this is on the awesome side. Grilled Stripped Bass. Wife got this and she didn’t like it. I tasted it and there was something off about it. An after taste that was unpleasant Dessert Menu Chocolate Tamale. I don’t think this needs to be a dish. I’m positive this is how its supposed to taste, but it didn’t feel right. Good attempt. Chocolate Tacos. Much better dessert here. Tasty. After Dinner is the 70s Party. @laurieal. Yeah, sorry, I love the 70s Party on Royal, but Virgin just killed it. This is a REAL 70s party, not a show like on Royal. I was really scared because i got the the preshow at 10:30 and the line was across the deck and around the corner and I was like, are we going to fit everyone in? And they did!!! It wasn’t as tight as I expected but there were that many seats. Fun Day 2

So Brunch was in the Wake today. Menu This was the clam chowder. They put the soup in. Poached Shrimp Soft Shell crab benedict. I chanced it because crab is usually iffy on a ship. Fortunately as most of Virgin’s food. It was quite good and impressive. Brioche French Toast. I’m being a pig at this point. Wife got steak and eggs. Egg came later. I missed my crepe cake.

So a downside. I gave Virgin a shot in the dark and hoped they would come through. Brewed Coffee is horrible. I should have expected it. It’s the same across all my cruise brands. I usually bring my own coffee and aeropress. BUT… Virgin or at least Scarlet Lady does is actually sell beans on board. And its the same price as land!!!! I’m talking to the Barrista about a jury rig filter for a pour over as he has the grinder and he just looked at me and said “ya know, I can just make a pour over for you”

It was aaaaaamazing!!!! My primary experience is Royal Caribbean. The closest thing it has is the 70s party but thats more of an interactive show than a party. This was a party and the crew here knew how to stir it up. I haven’t been to something like this since my NYE cruise on Grandeur in 2014/2015. That stands as my best cruise and this one is already being a contender to knock it off..and its only the first day. I’m told that the energy will persist throughout the entire cruise. Its a different demographics on here. People are just a bit more open and welcoming. We shall see what the trip brings. More to come.

Oh, yesterday’s guide.

Good Morning from… Here. I guess I will say that for the next 8 days Alright. First 18 hours aboard the Scarlet Lady and here my first impressions. There are a of a difference. More pronounced than other cruise lines like Princess and Celebrity where the differences were minor. One small thing i don’t like is the lack of maps. They tell you whats on each floor, but then thats it. The food so far. IS AMAZING!!!! Last night I went to Razzle Dazzle. Appetizer I had tuna taretare and pork belly. I could just eat several of those by itself. Wife got King Trumpet Carpacio. This too was interesting As a meal. Fried Chicken. I’m picky about my fried chicken, but i can probably say this is the best cruise ship fried chicken. It was solid. Wife got something that wasn’t on the menu. Some fish thing. Dessert Menu I asked for the Rum Apple Cake but instead got the Brown sugar baked pears i think. and smores. I missed the untitled dance thingie because of dinner but i expected to. However, the PJ party was last night and it was totally on fire. These guys popped out. Who let the dogs out!!! And this just pushed it over the edge. I have not been to a cruise party like this that has been this energetic is over 10 years!!! My cruise experience is that the longer the cruise, the more sedate and older the general population is. If this is the energy level for this cruise, the. i’m going to need a vacation to recup from this vacation.

So your captain decided to veer north and we kept going east. So, GO TEAM SCARLET LADY!!! My handwriting generally stinks and trying to write with my finger is difficult so sorry for the chicken scratch.

Thats right, she wanted fur babies. Dobby Punk

Oh, one more note. There is no more shuttle from the Car rental center at Miami International to the Port any more. The webpage is wrong. I wish i knew that. Point is moot now. We made it.

Hmmm…. its not intuitive here. So I have DBE. But it did not give me the option to get the DBE premium and I did not want to buy it. Went to Sailor Services and she said it takes the system a little bit to “catch up”. So I bought it and it will be refunded to me. The cost without DBE is $350. Here is premium speed. Notice Starlink is used for premium but not the free one. Interesting. Also on a similar vein, i’m supposed to get two coffee drinks per day on DBE. It charged me. Again, she said it takes a bit to catch up. I have 700 bar tab so 5 bucks is not a big deal. I’m so confused. Every thing feels so different. This cruise has more differences than any other cruise line i’ve been on. If this had been a short 3 or 4 night one, i would not figure this out and be able to enjoy it. On an another note. I usually post my door to ship timer. Not bad for no priority boarding. If there was DBE boarding, I totally missed it.

Unfortunately, this won’t keep track once we’re of range of land. So if i don’t see you in the distance, I think our first stop together is Malaga, so see you there!!!

I’m being silly here.