CSI: NA Reloaded (Nieuw Amsterdam 11/30 to 12/14/14)

[superoma]

POA - Since you live so close to the port would it just be possible to cruise every week? Just to keep the rest of us entertained! Great fun reading your posts and glad you are having such a good time. Pics are great, too. Quoted from mollyanne.

 

Maybe we could start a crowd funding campaign so POA and Huskerchick can just keep cruising and writing entertaining threads for us.

 

Sorry the quote didn't come out correctly but posting from my iPad to CC continues to be a learning experience.

 

 

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Edited December 3, 2014 by superoma

[POA1]

I hope it's better in Cayman than it was last time. Hopefully this is the last time you'll need to get tickets because soon you'll have that extra star. Sadly, no pony. Looking forward to the next installment and more prune news.

Looks much, much smoother.

[POA1]

POA:

We always enjoy your posts and especially your detailed notes on the wines you bring.

 

Have you enjoyed this one before?

Belle Glos, Clark & Telephone Vineyard - 2012 - $44.00 - Pinot Noir - South Coast, California - 92 points, Wine Spectator - A rich, gutsy, extracted style, with a compelling mix of power and finesse, offering explosive dark berry, floral, spice and espresso notes that are full-bodied and persistent. Drink now through 2022. 4,757 cases made.

 

We learned of this wine on our summer cruise on Royal Caribbean's Allure - this wine (as almost all of the massive list) could be had as a part of the Premium Beverage Package because it allows for any wines up to $12 a glass and includes 2 oz pours in the Vintages Wine Bar. (The regular glass price was over the limit but the 2 ounce pour was covered.)

 

Will be curious to see what food/meal you enjoy with the Belle Glos.

 

Thanks for all of the detailed reporting; it's terrific to hear the wang-wang is alive and kicking.

Yes, we usually have about a half case of Belle Glos each year. I think the first time we had it was at Disney World, of all places. (Narcoosee's at the Grand Floridian.)

 

Pinot Noir is so versatile, that it's a good choice to go with almost anything. When I'm not sure what the rest of our party is going to eat, I get a Pinot Noir and a Sauvignon Blanc and call it a day.

Edited December 3, 2014 by POA1

[POA1]

On *this Day in History - December 3rd - Astronomer Anders Celsius takes measurements that confirm Newton's theory that the earth was an ellipsoid rather than the previously accepted sphere (1736.) To honor this achievement, Canadians begin to use a temperature scale that confuses people from the United States. The fact that zero is the freezing point of water makes sense though, as does a boiling point of 100 degrees. Beyond that, it's baffling.

 

I'm posting this from the tender. We're on our way to snorkel at Stingray City and we're on the way from ship to shore.

[POA1]

Tendering was vastly smoother than two weeks ago. We sat next to a lovely gentleman who will apparently die if he stops speaking for more than 10 seconds. :) Our snorkel trip is with Captain Marvin. My brother, who vacations on Cayman often, recommended them. We count three ships in the anchorage with us today, the Celebrity Equinox, and either the Radiance or the Brilliance of the Seas. My money's on Brilliance, unless there is no such ship, on which case it's definitely Radiance.

[POA1]

While we wait for our shuttle to the excursion boat, let's talk about formal night. Our portions were definitely a bit larger, so there might be something to the inexpensive cruise, less protein thing. (Not that we went hungry two weeks ago.) This crowd was pretty formal as well. While suits ruled the evening, the tuxedo percentage was in the 15% to 20% range. Not only that, there were some very natty European models. The ladies wore dresses mainly, with a handful of long gowns. Most people stayed dressed throughout the evening. All in all, a fine looking crowd. (Not as good looking as the Cruise Critic meet and greet group, which was compromised completely of super models.)

 

The Piano Bar was overflowing out of the room last night. DFIL found a seat, but the room was too warm for tuxedoed me, so Huskerchick and I went to BB King. (We probably would have done that anyway.)

 

It's a gorgeous day in Georgetown, and DW is taking some pix, while her slug husband posts this message. We'll try to get them posted tomorrow from Cozumel. Intrepid cub reporter, Huskerchick has learned that there are 6 or 7 ships in port today. I'm very glad we booked our excursion in advance.

Edited December 3, 2014 by POA1

[Cruzin Terri]

Tendering was vastly smoother than two weeks ago. We sat next to a lovely gentleman who will apparently die if he stops speaking for more than 10 seconds. :) Our snorkel trip is with Captain Marvin. My brother, who vacations on Cayman often, recommended them. We count three ships in the anchorage with us today, the Celebrity Equinox, and either the Radiance or the Brilliance of the Seas. My money's on Brilliance, unless there is no such ship, on which case it's definitely Radiance.

 

You will have a great day with Captain Marvin. Good choice. We have a timeshare in Grand Cayman and often go out with him.

Enjoy the day.

Terri

[POA1]

You will have a great day with Captain Marvin. Good choice. We have a timeshare in Grand Cayman and often go out with him.

Enjoy the day.

Terri

You are correct! We're on the Cayman Jewel. Great crew. We did the stingrays and one snorkel stop. We're in transit to the second snorkel stop now. If you're counting, this is the third boat post. We had the Nieuw Amsterdam, the tender, and now the snorkel excursion boat.

 

It's a little choppy for snorkeling - and for typing - today. We're still pretty early in the season. If you are coming in February through April, it should be much flatter.

[cruz chic]

While we wait for our shuttle to the excursion boat, let's talk about formal night. Our portions were definitely a bit larger, so there might be something to the inexpensive cruise, less protein thing. (Not that we went hungry two weeks ago.) This crowd was pretty formal as well. While suits ruled the evening, the tuxedo percentage was in the 15% to 20% range. Not only that, there were some very natty European models. The ladies wore dresses mainly, with a handful of long gowns. Most people stayed dressed throughout the evening. All in all, a fine looking crowd. (Not as good looking as the Cruise Critic meet and greet group, which was compromised completely of super models.)

 

The Piano Bar was overflowing out of the room last night. DFIL found a seat, but the room was too warm for tuxedoed me, so Huskerchick and I went to BB King. (We probably would have done that anyway.)

 

It's a gorgeous day in Georgetown, and DW is taking some pix, while her slug husband posts this message. We'll try to get them posted tomorrow from Cozumel. Intrepid cub reporter, Huskerchick has learned that there are 6 or 7 ships in port today. I'm very glad we booked our excursion in advance.

 

Glad think are more calm this week.

 

Interesting about the portion sizes. I commented on another thread about them. When I said they only serve a mouthful of veggies I was told by one poster I have a very large mouth and it wasn't the portion size. It's amazing what people think is an acceptable reply to people. I guess they were away the day they taught manners in school.

 

Enjoy the rest of your day!

[POA1]

Glad think are more calm this week.

 

Interesting about the portion sizes. I commented on another thread about them. When I said they only serve a mouthful of veggies I was told by one poster I have a very large mouth and it wasn't the portion size. It's amazing what people think is an acceptable reply to people. I guess they were away the day they taught manners in school.

 

Enjoy the rest of your day!

I think you'd still want some extra vegetables. The veggies and starches seem to be about the same. It's the proteins that are a little larger. For example, the jumbo shrimp cocktail was 4 shrimp last night, and 3 two weeks ago. (If I wasn't so lazy and remembered to take food pix, I'd have a better record.)

 

We're sailing back from our snorkel trip now. I'll try to get the On Locations to sync while I still have fast cellular data.

[POA1]

POA - Since you live so close to the port would it just be possible to cruise every week? Just to keep the rest of us entertained! Great fun reading your posts and glad you are having such a good time. Pics are great, too. Quoted from mollyanne.

 

Maybe we could start a crowd funding campaign so POA and Huskerchick can just keep cruising and writing entertaining threads for us.

 

Sorry the quote didn't come out correctly but posting from my iPad to CC continues to be a learning experience.

 

 

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Huskerchick would be all over that! :)

[POA1]

Here are the On Locations for the Half Moon Cay Day as originally scheduled, and then the revamped from when we had to give the port a miss.

 

If you've ever wondered what happens when they have to cancel a scheduled stop, here's your chance to read, compare, and find it.

 

Riveting stuff!

 

Original Half Moon Cay "On Location" from 12/1/2014

 

https://www.evernote.com/shard/s88/nl/9962023/7bb3f367-2e5c-478a-8704-d53302f18144

 

Revised Half Moon Cay "On Location" from 12/1/2014 after we skipped the stop:

 

https://www.evernote.com/shard/s88/nl/9962023/5f42cb24-bc9c-4b66-9624-a3f00114a1c0

[superoma]

POA, do I need to create an account to read your Evernote postings? The link sends me to a sign in page asking for username and password.

 

 

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[pamelabrown53]

Oh Noes, POA1, but the links only send me to a log-in which I don't know how to do. Does this make me as mentally challenged as the directionally challenged folks?:eek::eek:

[SilvertoGold]

POA, do I need to create an account to read your Evernote postings? The link sends me to a sign in page asking for username and password.

 

 

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Same for me. Would love to see the photos!

[POA1]

POA, do I need to create an account to read your Evernote postings? The link sends me to a sign in page asking for username and password.

 

 

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Let me fix that as soon as I am done with lunch. Very sorry about that!

Oh Noes, POA1, but the links only send me to a log-in which I don't know how to do. Does this make me as mentally challenged as the directionally challenged folks?:eek::eek:

[POA1]

Here are the links again, public (I hope.)

 

Original -

 

https://www.evernote.com/shard/s88/sh/7bb3f367-2e5c-478a-8704-d53302f18144/51bb2145432394df23bcc837551510ed

 

Revised after cancelation of Half Moon Cay -

https://www.evernote.com/shard/s88/sh/5f42cb24-bc9c-4b66-9624-a3f00114a1c0/9e85dc27a87fcb37b6079ceac57370ac

 

Again, please accept my apologies. The quality control here is appalling! ;)

[sue1898]

Again, please accept my apologies. The quality control here is appalling! ;)

 

Perhaps your Quality Control Manager needs some liquid encouragement to do his job more efficiently!

As always, I'm enjoying your reports!

[POA1]

Perhaps your Quality Control Manager needs some liquid encouragement to do his job more efficiently!

As always, I'm enjoying your reports!

 

Funny you should mention that.... We just had Dive-In Dogs for lunch. DW had the Dive-In Dog, and I had the one with sauerkraut & mustard. Huskerchick went full-blown picnic mode and had a couple cold beers. I had Bacardu & Coke Zero. I'm sure that all the links will be fine from here on out! :D

[POA1]

Here is the On Location for our Sea Day yesterday. (If the links work, you can credit the two glasses of "tech juice" I had with lunch.)

 

http://www.evernote.com/l/AFjvyahzLghAHKIbjzYsTPPKpAxB_J5tA9Q/

[cruz chic]

Funny you should mention that.... We just had Dive-In Dogs for lunch. DW had the Dive-In Dog, and I had the one with sauerkraut & mustard. Huskerchick went full-blown picnic mode and had a couple cold beers. I had Bacardu & Coke Zero. I'm sure that all the links will be fine from here on out! :D

 

I liked the one with sauerkraut. I had the one with the cheese sauce and jalapenos another day and that was not good. I'm still struggling to understand why the dive in has such a following. I thought my tuna melt from room service was better than anything I've had at the dive in. That said, I know everyone has different tastes.

 

Keep up the great work. Love the thread!

[cruz chic]

Here is the On Location for our Sea Day yesterday. (If the links work, you can credit the two glasses of "tech juice" I had with lunch.)

 

http://www.evernote.com/l/AFjvyahzLghAHKIbjzYsTPPKpAxB_J5tA9Q/

 

The tech juice worked:D.

[POA1]

The tech juice worked:D.

 

Thanks for confirming. It usually does.

[pamelabrown53]

I liked the one with sauerkraut. I had the one with the cheese sauce and jalapenos another day and that was not good. I'm still struggling to understand why the dive in has such a following.:)

 

Keep up the great work. Love the thread!

 

Please, cruzchic, don't burst my bubble. Then, I'd rather eat a burger than a tuna melt anywhere. Dive-In is a venue where I can grab a burger and enjoy the parade. Does that make sense?

 

I hope you're recovering from your ear infection and adapting to life back at work.

 

God Bless.

[POA1]

Here's the formal night menu from last night. It was very good. They did manage to give me prunes on my cheese plate. Also, my cheese plate was wrong, with double pepper jack, and no gorgonzola. DW's cheeses were correct. I'm pretty sure it's personal between the cheese guys and me.

 

https://www.evernote.com/shard/s88/sh/eb58f3ef-a097-4950-ad6c-938e8f220e44/b37d09d9e8f64a3a614f4cdcc2cca7ea