Live from Koningsdam, Southern Caribbean Wayfarer, Nov 23-Dec 4

[sppunk]

Day 6, Barbados: Happy Independence Week!

 

Wow.

 

Wow. Wow. Wow.

 

Last night we are at Sel de Mer. It is astonishingly amazing. I believe it replaces Tamarind is my mind.

 

Sel de Mer is a new venue, priced a la carte, that specializes in fresh seafood. I went in with an open mind not really knowing what to expect.

 

My wife and I after dinner made two more reservations for this week.

 

Upon being seated you are served a fresh, warm French baguette along with a tray of pesto and other toppings.

 

We started with baked escargot. It was served in-shell and you are giving the tools to remove the snails. The chef can remove this if you prefer.

 

 

These were fresh, fragrant and delicious. You must like escargot - these are the real deal.

 

For our mains my wife ordered the salt-encrusted branzino. She really enjoyed it. They bring the fish out pre-salt to show the size, then post-salt before it's baked to see what it looks like. It's brought back finally deboned.

 

 

I had the Sunday specially, the rack of lamb. I say without any hesitation this was the best lamb dish I have ever eaten in my life. Lamb is my favorite meat and this was just amazing.

 

 

We ordered as sides two orders of haricots verts and a side of pomme frites. Both were good.

 

 

For dessert we split the crepes Suzette which were very good.

 

During dinner there was a bit of excitement. The all-purpose alarm sounded and a few minutes later the officer of the watch came over the PA saying their was a fire at the Dive In. Captain Darin and a few officers were in the Pinnacle's back room and all came running through Sel de Mer to get to the bridge. (The two restaurants share a back wall).

 

A few minutes later Captain Darin came on the PA and said the fire was out but crews would be onsite all night and everyone must avoid the Lido pool area for the night.

 

After dinner we went to the always-great Marriage Show. A couple celebrating their 70th!!!! wedding anniversary won. I can't imagine living 70 years, much less being married to someone that long before she kills me ...

 

After the show we ran into the newlyweds (married 8 days ago) and hit it off and ended up downing a bottle of champagne with them, closing down the Ocean Bar.

 

Today we were in Barbados.

 

We ordered room service for the first time this trip and my hand-written request for chocolate croissants and hard boiled eggs was honored without issue.

 

We did a tour with Carson Moore, visiting Harrison's Cave, the Animal Flower cave and a general island tour

 

The tour was OK. Barbados students were doing some handhold unity thing all around the island that blocked roads so we sat in a van far too much than what I enjoy. Not Carson's fault, it is what it is.

 

One of our views:

 

 

Barbados' 50th anniversary of independence is Wednesday so they are gearing up for concerts, parades, etc. Decorations are everywhere.

 

Joining us in port was the Celebrity Summit and Paul Allen's superyacht Tatoosh. We had the prestige docking location next to the terminal, at a 90 degree angle from the yacht. The Summit required a shuttle ride because it was docked over on an industrial spillway.

 

I stared hard at Tatoosh all during our sailaway wishing I could own something like that.

 

We got back to the good ship Koningsdam around 4 and the Lido had everything closed so we split a Bronx pizza since we didn't have any lunch on the tour. It was delicious. I ate it too quickly to take a picture. My bad.

 

We plan on meeting our new friends for a pre-dinner drink and then we are back in the dining room.

 

Tomorrow we are in Martinique. We have no plans in Martinique itself but tomorrow is the behind-the-scenes Koningsdam tour so I'm so very excited for it.

 

More then.

[sppunk]

I have gotten the fortune cookie in Tamarind many times. I love it.

Where did you dock in St Lucia?

 

Directly next to a shop/terminal.

[maraena]

Those lamb chops look amazing. My DH would love them. Are they a regular special or just for that day? Not sure if you could tell but thought I'd ask.

 

Hopefully the Dive-in wasn't too severely effected. Surprising that they'd have a fire this early on but I suppose there could be a grease build-up. It doesn't sound like it was open when you boarded from your excursion.

[cbr663]

I have gotten the fortune cookie in Tamarind many times. I love it.

Where did you dock in St Lucia?

 

It's great to see that the fortune cookie has gotten smaller. The first time I had it it was huge and filled a large dinner plate. I haven't ordered it since, but after seeing the pic, I may have to try it again.

[Florida_gal_50]

It's great to see that the fortune cookie has gotten smaller. The first time I had it it was huge and filled a large dinner plate. I haven't ordered it since, but after seeing the pic, I may have to try it again.

 

I agree. It used to be so huge. This looks more like a normal size.

 

Thank you op for describing your sel de mer dinner. It doesn't seem like much is written about it here. The lamb looks great but the fish looks pretty ordinary. What made it special? I find hal does a pretty great job of fish in the dining room. I'm not sure I'd want to pay the $20 plus for the fish. Thank you.

Edited November 29, 2016 by Florida_gal_50

[kazu]

Very NICE description of your Sel de Mer evening and appetizing pics indeed :)

 

Thanks for the full blown info and the food porn.

 

EXCELLENT that you could write in on your breakfast room service menu. Very good news indeed.

 

Thank you so much for another fabulous report.

 

Hope there is no hang over from the champagne ;)

[luvcruisn']

So one can say the Royal Dutch and Indonesian Tea times are not directly removed, but replaced by new "high tea " events? Could you please describe a little what the high tea events were like?

Did they also have something like a large decorated buffet on the middle?

 

On my transatlantic Konigsdam cruise the high teas consisted of a small 3-tiered tray put in the middle of the table. The bottom level had small sandwiches on it, the middle tier had scones with jam in them, and the top tier had different kinds of small pastries on them. There were no buffets at all for the teas. For the regular teas, the servers came around with platters of small sandwiches, platters of scones - both raisin, and plain, and platters of pastries.

[Cruising-along]

Great news that you were successful in writing in (and getting) your choices on the breakfast room service menu. Thank you!

[HALcruiser2]

Thank you so much for your updates. We are on the December 4th cruise and I can't wait! Do you by chance know what movie will be playing on the large outdoor screen?

[WeRockChalkKU]

Are you planning on getting to the Culinary Arts Center for either of their 2 menus? If so, I'll be very interested in hearing (and seeing) your thoughts and experiences.

[sppunk]

Are you planning on getting to the Culinary Arts Center for either of their 2 menus? If so, I'll be very interested in hearing (and seeing) your thoughts and experiences.

 

We aren't but we have talked to people who absolutely loved it. It's not too busy so you can make reservations onboard once you see the menu schedule.

[sppunk]

Thank you so much for your updates. We are on the December 4th cruise and I can't wait! Do you by chance know what movie will be playing on the large outdoor screen?

 

Sorry I don't, tonight was Ben Hur, last night was Secret Life of Pets.

[sppunk]

Those lamb chops look amazing. My DH would love them. Are they a regular special or just for that day? Not sure if you could tell but thought I'd ask.

 

Hopefully the Dive-in wasn't too severely effected. Surprising that they'd have a fire this early on but I suppose there could be a grease build-up. It doesn't sound like it was open when you boarded from your excursion.

 

Every Sunday special.

[sppunk]

Tonight I was introduced to the crew-only special Wang Wang Plus. I'm um a bit tipsy, details tomorrow.

[Lizzie68]

Tonight I was introduced to the crew-only special Wang Wang Plus. I'm um a bit tipsy, details tomorrow.

 

Will you remember???:D

 

Great reports, sppunk, and love the food porn.

[shipfriend_max]

On my transatlantic Konigsdam cruise the high teas consisted of a small 3-tiered tray put in the middle of the table. The bottom level had small sandwiches on it' date=' the middle tier had scones with jam in them, and the top tier had different kinds of small pastries on them. There were no buffets at all for the teas. For the regular teas, the servers came around with platters of small sandwiches, platters of scones - both raisin, and plain, and platters of pastries.[/quote']

 

 

That actually sounds kinda great!!

 

For me it is important having a special culinary event beyond the regular meals, and that's the case with Tea time, and how you describe it, it sounds good.

Was it a kinda "special" event and feeling? [emoji5]

 

 

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[ellie1145]

Thank you for doing this very balanced and informative (as well as humerous!) review. She sounds like a beautiful ship and its nice to hear from someone who doesn't moan about everything!

 

We have never sailed on Holland America, as, to be honest, the smoking policy was a big no-no for us. But now it is becoming more and more tempting, especially when we read such a positive review as yours.

 

Can't wait to see more photos of the inside of the ship.

[kazu]

Tonight I was introduced to the crew-only special Wang Wang Plus. I'm um a bit tipsy, details tomorrow.

 

Now this will be very interesting:p;) . Waiting with bated breath :)

[dot73]

Tonight I was introduced to the crew-only special Wang Wang Plus. I'm um a bit tipsy, details tomorrow.

 

Which bar were you served at? What's great about cruising is that you don't have to worry about driving home and eventually you find your cabin.:D

[WeRockChalkKU]

Tonight I was introduced to the crew-only special Wang Wang Plus. I'm um a bit tipsy, details tomorrow.

 

 

OMG - I just looked up the recipe for a regular Wang Wang - what in the world could they possibly have added to make it a PLUS? I doubt I would ever be brave enough to try one - can you describe the taste?

 

Cheers!

[RuthC]

That actually sounds kinda great!!

 

For me it is important having a special culinary event beyond the regular meals, and that's the case with Tea time, and how you describe it, it sounds good.

Was it a kinda "special" event and feeling?

It's tea. It's afternoon (low) tea, most every day. Every once in a while there's a Royal Dutch Tea and/or an Indonesian Tea. Even less often there's a Tea Dansant. All of the last three truly are special, but otherwise, it's tea.

[shipfriend_max]

It's tea. It's afternoon (low) tea, most every day. Every once in a while there's a Royal Dutch Tea and/or an Indonesian Tea. Even less often there's a Tea Dansant. All of the last three truly are special, but otherwise, it's tea.

 

 

Okay thanks, is it still offered also on Koningsdam? I am just looking forward to try it out. [emoji5]

 

Below the bridge, there are some forward facing decks. Are they open to access for passengers?

 

 

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[RuthC]

Okay thanks, is it still offered also on Koningsdam? I am just looking forward to try it out.

As you've been told, there will be some sort of tea offered every day except embarkation day.

Which form it will take on any given day will just have to be a surprise.

[WeRockChalkKU]

[quote

 

Below the bridge, there are some forward facing decks. Are they open to access for passengers?

 

 

If you are referring to the areas on each side cabin D7004 and D7003 on the Konigsdam - we walked by to see if there was an access door to the forward deck - we saw doors (different style than a passenger cabin door) that I think were marked R001 and R002 - we took them to possibly be for storage. We didn't check to see if they were locked and did not seek out a cabin steward to ask what those areas were.

[penny49]

I love your posts ....We are booked in September 2017 for 31 days in an aft suite on deck 7 I believe....can you post cabin pics when you get a chance would love to see what an aft balcony looks like. Thanks in advance and once again so thankful for your daily reviews and comments, have a great rest of your cruise!