Live From the Ruby: 11/29/2014 B2B2B

[AE_Collector]

Was Nassau planned or a substitution due to weather?

 

Mike:)

 

Not certain of the proper etiquette for answering questions on another persons "Live" so let me know if I shouldn't be.

 

Nassau IS the proper itinerary for this 7 day/14 day cruise.

 

Terry

[casavaha]

We arrive on the Ruby this coming Sat. and stay until the 3 of January. We get into

FLL late on Friday, midnight. So I am bringing alot of wine from the west coast.

It will last me until the 20th when I can head to Total Wine and stock up for another

week.

 

I will probably spend more time on this ship when in port than I every have. Other than

Cozumel and Grand Caymen, the other stops are worthless to me. However, I am sure

looking forward to some good weather, and lots of dancing.

 

Greg

[ccrain]

Not certain of the proper etiquette for answering questions on another persons "Live" so let me know if I shouldn't be.

 

Nassau IS the proper itinerary for this 7 day/14 day cruise.

 

Terry

 

Its ok with me. For me, live form's are to provide real time information - and to make everyone else jealous - and impressions so people planning an upcoming cruise on the same itin or ship get a feel or flavor for the cruise.

 

Its not "my" thread, so I really appreciate it when someone steps in with more information or a different answer or a confirmation...

 

And yes Nassau was planned on this particular itinerary from the get go. After the disappointment with Margaritaville, it would have been nice to try the other place up the beach...

[ccrain]

The good news, another packing day without packing, the bad news, we will be packing next week. Oh well. There are 600+ in-transits. So many they have 8 in-transit groups they will call starting at 1000. I wonder if they will do immigration on the ship or make us get off. They even organized several in-transit excursions – shopping, boat rides – stuff like that.

 

Sea state is just about right. Almost no movement, swells are coming in broadside so the stabilizers are taking care of any roll, hardly any wind, but still overcast. It’s still warm though, although getting chillier as we get further north. It made for a really good night’s sleep and we got that pesky hour back last night as well.

 

Last night was a fun night dancing – until one of my dance sneakers decided to catastrophically fail during a waltz. And of course, this cruise, I only brought one pair. So we will see if the ‘Kragle’ from the first aid kit fixes it. If not, I get to try out these sneaker socks I got. They slip over a pair of exercise sneakers and give you some slip on the balls of your feet. I already used them successfully up on deck, but not on the wooden dance floors. They are made of nylon and one already has a small hole in it from the deck dancing. If they hold up, its time to buy a couple more sets.

 

Yesterday, as we were walking past Café Caribe, we saw that they were prepping a Mexican buffet. I wish they would standardize patter formats and advertise specialty buffets and HC dinner themes along with the opening times. Some ships do that and in fact, during the first week of this cruise, there was a note on the HC evening theme, but not in the last couple of days. So we had to hit the buffet for lunch. It was actually pretty good with fresh guac, fresh diced jalapenos, chicken and beef fajitas, along with some Italian pastas, salad bar and nacho bar.

 

We did get to listen to Danny’s version of Knights in White Satin. I don’t usually like it when a performer changes a classic to fit their style, but this one was pretty good, different but recognizable and danceable. Dianne was in the pop choir so we had to go see and listen. James was in charge of pop choir. He’s a lot of fun and does a perfect imitation of a ballerina – enough to fool all of us during Who’s the Cuckoo’. Ali, from Brazil, is the Zumba instructor. Her and James’ Passenger Feud was hilarious. She couldn’t keep herself from hitting the laptop keys and getting the screens all out of sequence and wacked up.

 

Anyway, we starting dancing to Atomic’s Club Fusion set and then the wardrobe malfunction ended that. (Out came the Kragle and some clamps. I really doubt it will work. Really need some epoxy, which we don’t bring with us.) We did go to the marriage match game. Another Charles and Judy couple we met “won”. Dave and Angela were hosting. Apparently Dave and Angela are ‘married’. They are a couple, we’re just not sure they’re officially married. They’ve been together 10 years, so depending on maritime or British law, they might be officially married whether they want to or not! It was fun with some different questions and of course, very different answers.

 

The Piazza was packed for the ‘New Year’s Party’. Atomic was playing and there was almost no dancing room on the floor.

 

Today we arrive at Nassau at noon and all aboard is 1830. We do have Zumba this morning to kickstart the body. We don’t have any excursions planned. Not sure what we will do. We’ll see what happens as we go. Tonight is a pretty light last night. Jim Colliton, the comedian, is on for two shows in the theater. MUTS is The Maze Runner. Late night trivia, majority rules gameshow, The Giver in the theater for a late night movie, Danny is in the wheelhouse, Atomic is playing at various venues and doing a rat pack hour, and the orchestra is doing two ballroom sets in Explorer’.

 

So off to Zumba!

[pablo222]

Thanks for the info; We do turnarounds on Sat. They could do the Total Wine Excursion in 2 sections, a morning and an afternoon! On this trip, I would sign up and pay in advance!

 

They should send the videographer, and include the it in the

reflections dvd.

 

Here's 'bob' in the wine aisle. Here's 'bob' at trying some samples, etc.

 

As long as you are at berth 2, it is about a 15 minute walk from

the ship to total wine. If you are at 19/21 or especially 29, you

will really have to take a cab, as it's very busy with no sidewalks.

 

In the same plaza as total wine, there is a publix supermarket.

There are also several places to eat. Including, if you want

10000 calories in one meal, '5 Guys'.

[ccrain]

They should send the videographer, and include the it in the

reflections dvd.

 

Here's 'bob' in the wine aisle. Here's 'bob' at trying some samples, etc.

 

As long as you are at berth 2, it is about a 15 minute walk from

the ship to total wine. If you are at 19/21 or especially 29, you

will really have to take a cab, as it's very busy with no sidewalks.

 

In the same plaza as total wine, there is a publix supermarket.

There are also several places to eat. Including, if you want

10000 calories in one meal, '5 Guys'.

 

They are selling the various compilations but not reflections.

 

But I can see a Discovery or Bravo Channel reality series, similar to Moonshiners, on cruise ship passengers getting liquor on board without getting caught - called Smugglers!

[ccrain]

It’s in the 60’s this morning. All the Floridians are freezing. This is good weather! (Its 12 at home…) The parade of ships into the harbor has begun. We’re docked and its 0625.

 

There were 4 ships in Nassau, one of them the Norwegian Getaway that’s been traveling with us most of the ports. It’s a rather impressive ship from the outside. Very colorful. There was a real party going on the docks while people were coming back on-board. There was a ton of people in a long line getting off the dock through security and getting back on, so we just opted to stay on board. Filled out the little blue cards and deposited them. Double checked the bill – the new electronic access is very nice when it works.

 

The Kragle held up on the dance shoe for several dances last night. Nothing very energetic like a cha-cha or a line dance, but at least it didn’t fall apart right away.

 

We had to say goodbye to Zaritza (Zoe) last night as her contract is over and she is headed home. She is coming back to the ruby next year, but we have nothing scheduled on the ruby through 2016. Seeing her again was an unexpected treat. We got Danny to play ‘you are my sunshine’ again and all three of us danced to it.

 

Speaking of Danny, he says that he and Haley, from Atomic, are going to do a duet this next cruise. That’s GREAT! Haley’s voice has improved tremendously since last year and Danny’s impromptu back tracking along with his Bruce Springsteen/Bob Dylan style voice should make for a really good show. The will probably do a Piazza duet and we have to tape this one. Danny has tunes on Itunes, so we will have to look him up and download some when we get home…

 

We went to see Jim Colliton, the comedian, last night. His full show. Good solid comedian. A few pretty good sequences, but nothing fell flat. We had a good time and everyone else seemed to enjoy it as well.

 

Michelle just came by. Michelle is basically the first Captain’s Circle hostess we’ve had a lot of interaction with ever – and we only made it to the first leg most traveled party – but we seem to run into each other a lot and she’s always got a smile, always takes time to talk to us – just a very friendly and fun person to be around.

 

We also got to see Acrobatrix’s last show in the Piazza last night as well. They are an acrobatic/gymnastic couple. Its ok. There have been better acrobats in the Piazza, but they are still young and very enthusiastic and energetic. I especially like their sequence where his two feet rotates her through various moves above him while he is flat on his back.

 

So that was it for that cruise. Not very exciting, but very relaxing, very entertaining and fun. So now on to the next cruise…

 

According to JJ there are 1300 in-transits, not 600. Sounds like 600 might be the number of cabins, not the number of people. Who knows. There are 8 in-transit groups. We have an in-transit patter – a rare beast which signifies that there a lot of in-transits.

 

The itin for this cruise is Western Caribbean with At Sea (Formal), Grand Cayman, Roatan, Cozumel, At Sea (Formal), Princess Cays, FLL. Stardust is replacing Broadway Ballroom, Colors of the World is staying, as is Once Upon a Dream. Phil Tag, the comedian, is back, Almost Elton is gone, Michael Wilson and Ric Steele are new. No country western night, just 70’s and Rock and Roll. Pretty standard fare for a 7 day cruise. Still no sign of a chef’s table or an ultimate balcony dinner. Crab shack is advertised. Looks like its Crown Grill for this cruise.

 

Tonight looks like a dance night to really stress the Kragle fix on the shoes. Look’s like the sailaway party, Danny and Atomic for dancing tonight.

 

Now for some more coffee….

[caribill]

Pretty standard fare for a 7 day cruise. Still no sign of a chef’s table or an ultimate balcony dinner.

 

With a series of short cruises, they probably just copy and forget to paste in the Patter when there is a 7-day cruise in the schedule.

 

I think it is rare that the ultimate balcony dinner is ever mentioned in the Patter.

[cruiselovers20]

btw, who is the captain on your sailing? Is it Commodore Romano?

[pablo222]

Thank you for info re MD Nicola. Expect he's looking after everything in his usual fine style! Season's Greetings. Cheers! Mario & Rose

 

I just got an update today, as Ruby is in Ft. Lauderdale.

 

Nicola is going home early, leaving in February.

 

To answer one of the earlier questions, yes -- Commodore Romano is driving.

 

Also, I noticed that berth 4 was now in use.

 

Unfortunately, Celebrity Constellation was there.

 

Ruby Princess was at 2, and

Carribbean Princess was at 21

 

I had been hoping that when berth 4 re-opened, princess would used 2+4

Edited December 13, 2014 by pablo222

[AE_Collector]

Also, I noticed that berth 4 was now in use.

 

Unfortunately, Celebrity Constellation was there.

 

I had been hoping that when berth 4 re-opened, princess would used 2+4

 

Why was 4 closed? We were kind of excited to see Constellation nose to nose with us there this morning. We got off of Constellation right there one year and 4 days ago after 27 days onboard. It was a great trip from Istanbul to Ft. L.

 

However this is our 7th and 8th consecutive Princess cruise since that Celebrity cruise in part because Celebrity annoyed us so much by cutting the "earn rate" going towards Elite to about half of what it had been before. All fair enough unless you announce and implement the reduction instantly with no regard for passengers who are already onboard so that they discover after disembarking that they didn't get anywhere near the credit that they thought they would for the cruise. When a Loyalty program annoys more than it rewards, something is wrong! End of Rant.

 

We decided to stick with the cruise line that consistently rewards us better than the others.

 

Terry

Edited December 13, 2014 by AE_Collector

[caribill]

Why was 4 closed?

 

Construction.

[pablo222]

Why was 4 closed?

 

Renovation. Supposedly the inside of the terminal has been updated.

On the outside, the drive-up entrance has been moved from the east

side to the west side of the building.

 

This means that the vehicles for berth 2 are in a different area

than the vehicles for berth 4. Should be a nice improvement.

[ccrain]

Forgot to take Ibuprofen before going to bed last night. Oh, does it hurt this morning. But this morning’s Zumba class will help work out the kinks.

 

It’s still dark, so I have no clue about the weather, but there was hardly any wind or waves last night. Perfect outside temperature.

 

Turn around was pretty good yesterday. 1300 in-transits. She’s not sailing full either with about 1500 new on board and several empty cabins and suites. They put us in the two main central dining rooms, sealed the room, zeroed the ship and then sent us back out through an immigrations officer. No getting off and walking around the terminal. A good example of how efficient the system can be when Princess and ICE works together – something they don’t always do in all ports…

 

For some reason we decided to make yesterday a work out day. So after immigration we ventured to the gym for a workout, then to the spa pool for a swim. The pool was chilly, but not a lot of chlorine, the hot tubs, not too hot and the current machine in the pool is not working. After that it was definitely time for lunch – turn around day chicken sandwich and pizza. The pizza was good, as usual, the pepperoni just barely crispy on the edges. Never liked the Romana pizza before we started cruising. Never wanted a fishy pizza before, but love it now. And Judy even likes the canned tuna pizza, which should be totally disgusting, but is not.

 

Anyway, after workout and lunch we fired up the hotspot and performed the 1378 updates for all the electronics. Geez, and I thought windows updates were a pain. Every time you turn around, Android apps need to update, Apples apps need to update, games need to update, and on top of that, Windows wanted to update. And of course several of Judy’s games would not operate once they found out an update was available. That sucks…

 

Traded in the mini-bar for a couple of coffee cards, which should keep us in coffee over the Australian cruise in February. Although I will have to increase the bar bill budget. Two sets of drinks yesterday = $40 bar bill. A drink each for lunch and for dinner. Been spoiled over the years with the cheaper drink prices on the ships. No longer…

 

Called to see if they are having a chef’s table. They are not sure. (Huh?) So we ‘signed’ up as interested and will see what happens. We even decided to book an excursion Cozumel. This was supposed to be a no-excursion DIY cruise, but the tequila experience by Jose Cuervo just looked like too much fun, and it was cheaper thru the ship than on our own, included transportation, lunch (taco bar) and drinks. Hey, sounds like a winner….

 

Internet minutes rolled just fine, but then the option to purchase the new set of minutes for $0 was not available. So we had to get the 150 free minutes added to both of our accounts manually via the very nice IT girl. She’s very fast and very good.

 

After muster we went to the sailaway party and started dancing. Continued through Danny’s opening set in the wheelhouse, and his second set, hit Atomic’s opening set, then went to the sailaway show to see Phil Tag’s opening act. Not bad. New material despite the fact he was only on a week ago. I like that. Some really funny stuff as well. His full show is tonight.

 

So what’s up for this day at Sea you ask? Well, let’s take a look at the Patter….

 

Besides Zumba this morning there is the shopping show with Irma, a Princess Cruise presentation by Michelle, whom by the way is one of the nicest CC ladies we have ever had the pleasure of sailing with, fruit and vegetable carving, various spa seminars, bingo, pub lunch, salsa beginners class, line dancing, art auction, pool games, pop choir – pretty much all the standard sea day stuff.

 

Tonight is the first formal night. Stardust is the new production show, Phil Tag is on in Explorers, Champagne Waterfall, Yes/No Gameshow, Liars Club, dancing – just a whole bunch of stuff going on.

 

Now I must admit, we both had trepidations over sailing with JJ again. Our last cruise with him, in 2008, was the first and only cruise on which we were bored – primarily because we are not trivia players – but I must say he has done an excellent job in scheduling venues and activities. He’s maximized the use of Fusion for dancing and game shows that are appropriate to the multi-screen format. He’s put acts in Explorer’s that are appropriate to that venue. He’s scheduled events and entertainers for 3 shows rather than 2 when appropriate and he’s varied the times enough that there is plenty of time to move from event to event or from venue to venue.

 

The mark of a good cruise is that there is not enough time to see or do it all, and this has been the case more than once on this cruise, although sometimes his scheduling is such that we can actually see and do several different things in one night.

 

And his style is very different from other cruise directors. He’s more of an organizer like Rich Joseph, but still takes the time to lead the deck party dances like Tim Donovan. His morning shows provide straight forward information, no crazy interplay like Kelvin’s (he leaves that to Angela and her ‘wine’ segments).

 

All in all, we’re very pleased with the scheduling, the entertainment and the variety of activities. Can’t really ask for any more than that.

 

Oh and speaking of trivia – the staff will have their hands full on this cruise. There are some really serious trivia players. James found that out last night as we wandered through Explorer’s.

 

Well, that’s it for this morning. Judy is still sleeping, so she probably won’t make it to Zumba, so I’ll have to do double duty…

 

See ya’

[caribill]

Thanks for the Live.

 

Really enjoy reading your reports.

[ccrain]

Hope I’m hungry this week. Tonight is Crown Grill and tomorrow night is Chef’s Table. Good news is that the deck party is tonight, so that will help work off some of that food before pigging out tomorrow night.

 

Still dark this morning. Judy is still sleeping. Ship is not moving that much, but there is a nice breeze, so not sure what the plan is until I have a chance to look over the tender situation. The plan is to simply wander around Grand Cayman this morning doing a little shopping and poking around with Rich and Dianne. They told of a wonderful sounding waverunner excursion they took the last time they were here, but with Judy’s motion sickness, a waverunner is probably not the best idea.

 

Yesterday was a relaxing sea day. (Judy did make it to Zumba.) We planned to see Phil Tag, Stardust, the Yes/No gameshow and Liar’s Club – and actually succeeded. Phil Tag was in Explorer’s and his material, to his credit, was sprinkled with different stuff than two weeks ago. And he improv’ed material on the fly. There has been a few comedians on Princess that have the same script, cruise to cruise and even year to year. So that was fun, as was Stardust. Good music, good dancing, good choreography. Dave lost Yes/No again to Angela. Angela had no winners and her fastest time was 13 seconds. She was on a roll last night. Even rematches from the last cruise stood no chance to her. Dave surrendered to the last guy at about 2 minutes 30 seconds into the match – he won on the last cruise as well and just would not crack under Dave’s questioning. Liar’s Club had Cass moderating, James, Ash and Ali as the Liar’s. We got a perfect score, but were overruled on one answer by the majority, so the team lost. Liar’s Club is always fun.

 

Also found out something that I just noticed in the restaurant opening times in the patter a few days/weeks ago and decided to finally check it out. A ‘Smokehouse BBQ Grill’ is advertised at the Trident Grill from 1800 to 2300 so we had to see what this meant. Basically, they serve BBQ items at night, plus hamburgers and hotdogs. Last night was pulled pork and BBQ chicken, and tonight would be ribs and brisket. It is something new that is being introduced fleetwide to diversify dinner options. We won’t try it out tonight or tomorrow night, but we will try it out before we leave.

 

We arrive at 0700 and all aboard is 1530. Not sure how many ships will be in port. We have no excursions scheduled, but will play this one by ear. Crown Grill is tonight with the Deck Party at 2130. That’s going to take up the whole evening. Good thing tomorrow is Roatan. We can sleep late. There is a cabaret show tonight with Vocalist Ric Steele, Monday night football on MUTS, Passenger Feud and Karaoke.

 

So that’s it from the Ruby. Later….

[ccrain]

Thanks for the Live.

 

Really enjoy reading your reports.

 

Writing them keeps me out of trouble...

[Chuck1j]

Thanks for your Reports I have been on Vacation vicariously thru you. Wish we could have met up. Will have to be happy with a wave as we pass us embarking and you disembarking.

 

Do you know which Port you will be docked at in Roatan?

[willtravel8090]

This has been a blast! Can't wait to read more:)

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[Woobstr112G]

Hope I’m hungry this week. Tonight is Crown Grill and tomorrow night is Chef’s Table. Good news is that the deck party is tonight, so that will help work off some of that food before pigging out tomorrow night.

 

Still dark this morning. Judy is still sleeping. Ship is not moving that much, but there is a nice breeze, so not sure what the plan is until I have a chance to look over the tender situation. The plan is to simply wander around Grand Cayman this morning doing a little shopping and poking around with Rich and Dianne. They told of a wonderful sounding waverunner excursion they took the last time they were here, but with Judy’s motion sickness, a waverunner is probably not the best idea.

 

Yesterday was a relaxing sea day. (Judy did make it to Zumba.) We planned to see Phil Tag, Stardust, the Yes/No gameshow and Liar’s Club – and actually succeeded. Phil Tag was in Explorer’s and his material, to his credit, was sprinkled with different stuff than two weeks ago. And he improv’ed material on the fly. There has been a few comedians on Princess that have the same script, cruise to cruise and even year to year. So that was fun, as was Stardust. Good music, good dancing, good choreography. Dave lost Yes/No again to Angela. Angela had no winners and her fastest time was 13 seconds. She was on a roll last night. Even rematches from the last cruise stood no chance to her. Dave surrendered to the last guy at about 2 minutes 30 seconds into the match – he won on the last cruise as well and just would not crack under Dave’s questioning. Liar’s Club had Cass moderating, James, Ash and Ali as the Liar’s. We got a perfect score, but were overruled on one answer by the majority, so the team lost. Liar’s Club is always fun.

 

Also found out something that I just noticed in the restaurant opening times in the patter a few days/weeks ago and decided to finally check it out. A ‘Smokehouse BBQ Grill’ is advertised at the Trident Grill from 1800 to 2300 so we had to see what this meant. Basically, they serve BBQ items at night, plus hamburgers and hotdogs. Last night was pulled pork and BBQ chicken, and tonight would be ribs and brisket. It is something new that is being introduced fleetwide to diversify dinner options. We won’t try it out tonight or tomorrow night, but we will try it out before we leave.

 

We arrive at 0700 and all aboard is 1530. Not sure how many ships will be in port. We have no excursions scheduled, but will play this one by ear. Crown Grill is tonight with the Deck Party at 2130. That’s going to take up the whole evening. Good thing tomorrow is Roatan. We can sleep late. There is a cabaret show tonight with Vocalist Ric Steele, Monday night football on MUTS, Passenger Feud and Karaoke.

 

So that’s it from the Ruby. Later….

 

Thanks for your reports. They are a great way to virtually cruise with someone who is onboard.....:):):)

 

Bob

[ccrain]

Back to cloudy this morning. Temperature is still warm, sea state is still slight, hardly any wind or movement. We flopped the clock back last night, which was nice considering the late deck party. Poor Ana is so busy this morning. The 0700 shift has not yet arrived and she and the barrister is it. And the passengers are up early looking for their coffee. The line is about a constant 3 people deep and the sitting are is full. Judy is still sleeping, so I’m back in the IC awaiting my latte, which has now arrived and is delicious.

Yesterday was actually much cooler than what we’ve experienced in the past at Grand Cayman. But it was blue sky and beautiful clear water. The water clarity has been surprisingly clear, blue and inviting back and forth on the tenders. Also surprising, we were the only ship at Grand Cayman yesterday, so we had the primary position, close to and with no crowding on the new tender docks, which are quite nice, no real crowds along the streets and a cool breeze to keep the temperature down. It was very nice compared to the last time we were here with 5 ships, crowds, tender wars, heat, no breeze…you know the drill.

 

The last time we were here was right after a major hurricane. At least the trees have grown back. The island was stripped bare then, but is now back to normal. We were given two challenges. Petar, the Mermaids bartender, wanted something “useful” and David, one of the ACDs, wanted something shiny! I think we did well, but the shiny was a real challenge. (A ‘Candum’ for the bartender and color changing nail polish for Dave – it’s a long story….)

 

We also picked up a few baubles for the kids and found another hat for Alli. Because we had Crown Grill last night, we did not stop to find lunch, but we did hit the candy store. It was all standard candy. We are looking for Tequila candies, maybe some scorpion or worm lollipops. I’m hoping we find those in Cozumel along with the Vanilla for friends and family.

 

Last night was the trip to Crown Grill and the deck party. Crown Grill was actually disappointing for me. The lamb was just not as tasty, not to mention how small the chops now are, as I remember. Now I must admit that since the last visit to Crown Grill I’ve been to Elways in Denver a couple of times and had their Rocky Mountain lamb and it is now my all time favorite lamb. Judy’s steak was tasty, the French onion soup really good as usual and the dessert death by chocolate, but for me, the lamb was just so-so. Just slightly above Outback lamb. Service was very good as well. No issues there.

 

The best part of Crown Grill was having dinner with Rich and Dianne. (We met Rich and Dianne on the first part of the Diamond Asian cruise in 2012 from Singapore to Beijing. They live in HI.) Crown Grill gives us the chance to actually hear each other and have a normal dinner conversation rather than the increasing din in the main dining rooms. Rich has OCPD like me. He also is into saving money on travel with all the tips and tricks you can come up with, so it was an opportunity to trade tips and insights into travel credit cards, cruise shopping, maximizing on-board credits, finding the best deals, hotels, flights, etc. Both Rich and I are semi-obsessed with maximizing value for FF miles, HH points, and getting the best point deal on credit cards. I’ll have to share my credit card comparison spreadsheet with him.

 

The deck party was smaller, less participation, than last week. Which was surprising to us. The demographics of this cruise is much, much younger than we’ve seen in the past several cruises, including the Coastal, HI and Mexico cruises last March, so we expected a lot more participation. There were more younger couples on the floor, but not as many as we expected. The dancers showed up to lead us through several line dances and then the ubiquitous conga line took off. Atomic was smoking hot again. Tommy and Haley were just killing it. Loud music, cool breezes, dancing…just right.

 

So today is Roatan. I’m sure we’ve been here before, but I just can’t remember when. Tonight is Chef’s table. The good news is that there is minimal stuff going on tonight, so our visit to Chef’s table is not conflicted. We typically collapse after Chef’s table. Roatan port times are 1000 to 1630 today. We’re meeting Rich and Dianne in the IC at 1030 to get off for a while. Not sure what to see or do, but we’ll figure it out.

 

Tonight is the first night of Hanukkah, so there will be a ceremony at 1700 tonight. Tonight is Rock and Roll night, which we probably won’t make, as most chef’s tables are 3+ hours. The MUTS movie is Get On Up. Once upon a Dream is tonight, which is good, as that means we can probably make Colors of the World one last time before we leave. Danny and the orchestra are doing the Beatles tribute in Explorers. We caught that on the first trip, and will miss that as well. Majority rules is the gameshow tonight, with a music trivia prior to Rock and Roll night. Tomorrow will be a busy day, so we won’t be staying up late tonight.

 

That’s it from the International Café on the Ruby. Sun is now shining, sea state is barely a ripple and the coffee is good and strong.

 

E’ya all later…

[ccrain]

Thanks for your Reports I have been on Vacation vicariously thru you. Wish we could have met up. Will have to be happy with a wave as we pass us embarking and you disembarking.

 

Do you know which Port you will be docked at in Roatan?

 

Hopefully, Mahogany Bay, but it can always change.

[caribill]

I’m hoping we find those in Cozumel along with the Vanilla for friends and family.

 

Plenty of Vanilla at Cozumel, but be sure you get the right stuff.

 

The big shop you are forced to walk through at the end of the pier does not have the right stuff as what they carry is not pure Vanilla.

 

We found Totonac's brand Pure Vanilla (ingredients: vanilla beans extractives in water and alcohol (and nothing else)) in one of the other shops in that shopping plaza.

[ccrain]

Plenty of Vanilla at Cozumel, but be sure you get the right stuff.

 

The big shop you are forced to walk through at the end of the pier does not have the right stuff as what they carry is not pure Vanilla.

 

We found Totonac's brand Pure Vanilla (ingredients: vanilla beans extractives in water and alcohol (and nothing else)) in one of the other shops in that shopping plaza.

 

yep, we need the real stuff.

 

Does anyone know if there is any problems with brining vacuum packed vanilla back through Customs in FLL?

[ccrain]

A little windier last night at times. Sky is partly cloudy and we’re on approach to Cozumel. Already a ship at the main town docks. Looks like NCL, but not sure which ship. A little breezy this morning, but light chop in the water. Docking is 0700, all aboard is 1630.

 

Jeez we are still stuffed. That was one of the better chef’s table. Good food, dinner conversation, wine, lots of fun, but we had to waddle down to coffee this morning. Plain coffee this morning, no latte’s, no chocolate, just something to wake you up – and certainly no sandwich or sweets for sure!

 

I swear we’d been to Roatan before, but certainly not Mahogany Bay. This was a really neat stop. Very nice, clean, everything close by, secure and with a host of activities. A lot of snorklers, water was warmer than Princess Cays, with a bit more variety of underwater terrain (not a lot of fish though), a zip-line, kayak and water toy rentals. Did not expect that or we would have probably brought the snorkeling gear and done a lot more DIY snorkeling on this trip. Oh well, live and learn. Being a docking port the beach was much more convenient to the ship. Think Princess Cays with no tender, more restaurants, more shops, and a larger variety of drinks – and of course, more expensive. But still a really nice stop. Much better than Grand Turk IMHO.

 

So besides wandering around Roatan, we did Chef’s table last night. It was one of the better ones for sure. Nicola recognized us before we even introduced ourselves, and we’d met Paulo, the head chef, just a few days ago and warned him we were coming. There were 12 people at the table, so conversation from one end to the other, in the main dining room, was a challenge at times. We started at 1900 and closed the place down around 2230. It was pretty standard chef’s table menu. This one was the veal shanks and beef tenderloin. Ceviche (with octopus and lobster), tuna tartar, goat cheese tartet and potato with caviar were the in-kitchen appetizers with champagne. Mushroom risotto was the starter followed by the lemoncello sorbet with the grey goose vodka – this one without the herbs like rosemary – and it was probably the best we’ve ever had, veal shanks and beef tenderloin with a wonderful au’paue pepper sauce and roasted potatoes shaped as mushrooms with sautéed asparagus, broccoli, cauliflower, carrots and squash. That sauce was worth the price of entry. I’m typically not a big fan of sauces, but that one was fantastic. Just bring the gravy boat over and let me drink it down! The cheese course was pretty much the standard camembert with a port wine reduction, a fig/date cookie and walnut bread. Dessert was death by chocolate with one of their new signature chocolate desserts that looked like a little basket and had white chocolate, dark chocolate, chocolate mousse, chocolate ganache, and a couple of other types of chocolate preparations.

 

Needless to say, we did not make it to the petit fors, gourmands or whatever you call those sweet little treats to have with your coffee.

 

As an added bonus the Commodore stopped by to say hello. So we all got a chance to get pictures with the commodore as well. Best of all there were no wine experts, no food critiques and no ‘we’ve been on 10,000 cruises and such and such and so and so are so much better than this’ people at the table. That made it a very enjoyable experience.

 

The wines were very good. Different from previous chef’s table, and very good, but my favorite remains the dessert wine – a sauvignon blanc – which was sweet. Surprisingly enough, wine was free flowing during dinner, something different from our previous experiences. You did not have to ask for a refill, it just appeared which was nice and appreciated.

 

And, believe it or not, that was it for the evening. Winding your way through 12 courses of food was enough for both of us!

 

So today is Cozumel. Vanilla shopping, lollipop shopping, maybe another hat for Ally, and the tequila tour. A full day for sure. Tonight is a light snack for dinner for sure. Tonight is also the rum tasting event. Just what we need after a day of tequila tasting. Tonight is also 70’s night with the required trivia before. We definitely have to make it to that to work off some of this food. The headliners tonight are Michael Wilson, a vocal impressionist, in the theater, while the orchestra is doing the Dixieland set in Explorer’s. Guardians of the Galaxy is on at MUTS. Bingo is back in Fusion. The Jeopardized Game Show is also tonight as well.

 

We are going to try the ‘smokehouse BBQ’ tonight at the Grill. Haven’t tried it and want to try it to see how it is.

 

So that’s it for now. Off to shopping and Tequila!