Wining and dining on the oh so gorgeous Grandeur!

[boblerm]

6 hours ago, flossie009 said:

@boblerm

We have been comparing the pictures of Spring/Summer rolls in your posts #69 and #72. 

Some differences in presentation 😧 .................. but which tasted better? 😋 😉

 

Thanks to all for the reports from Grandeur

 

 

The one in #69 was way better since I made it with my own little hands! 😁

[boblerm]

Yesterday we were in Curaçao.

 

It was raining pretty good when we left for our excursion, Curaçao Highlights. 

 

We drove around for a bit, but it was difficult to see much through the rain drops on the windows. 

 

Our first stop was to be the Curaçao Maritime Museum. 

Our driver parked and we walked in the rain down a few alleyways, to find that the museum was closed. Our tour guide got on the phone for about 10 minutes trying to figure out what to do, then told us that we would come back later. 

One would think that the tour company would know the operating hours of the places that they take you to. 

Oh well. 

 

 

The rain stopped and it was beautiful for the rest of the day. 

 

I spied some iguanas amongst the 

bougainvillea 

 

 

 

 

We stopped at a scenic overlook where there was a handicraft market.

 

 

Next we went to a distillery where they make Curaçao liquor and had some samples.

 

 

We returned to the Maritime Museum which was thankfully open.  Our guide gave us a tour, and I learned much more about the Dutch and Spanish maritime history and industry than I ever wanted to know.

 

 

 

Then returned to the ship. 

 

 

 

 

 

I thought that this excursion is only ok. 

For me, he stops were not great, the best part was the scenery along the drive.

 

Walked around for a while in the afternoon. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

There was an outdoor barbecue on the pool deck followed by deck party. We chose to dine are Compass Rose. 

It was pretty much a fiasco. They were short staffed as servers needed to be pulled for the barbecue. After we were seated our assistant waiter promptly brought our bread basket and poured water, but 25 minutes later we had seen neither hide nor hair a waiter. We flagged down the assistant waiter, she went off to speak to someone, then returned to take our order. She serviced our table for the rest of the meal, which is not her job, and did an very well. 

 

 

The tuna tataki was great 

 

 

 

 

as were the mulligatawny soup and lobster bisque.

 

Jeannie's bronzino was excellent, moist and flavorful

 

 

But my thai barbecue pork rack was a disaster. It was dry, tough and very plain in taste.

 

 

St Honore cake 

 

 

After dinner we went up to the pool deck for the party, lots of fun. 

 

 

 

[kjbacon]

Ordinarily, I concentrate on dinners and don’t say much about breakfast and lunch but today was no ordinary lunch in La Veranda. We both felt that it was one of the best lunches that we have ever had on a ship. The theme was Asian for Chinese new year. Highlights included a gorgeous spread of sushi and a carved Chinese roast pork (a flavor profile like ribs) but the star of the show was the Vietnamese soup, similar in style to Pho (the actual name escapes me). Just call it more!

 

 

 

Farewell to beautiful Bonaire.

 

Next stop, Grenada and Super Bowl Sunday. Captain Aris says we are in for another bumpy night. Get ready to rock n roll!

[CardowMD]

Photos now showing.

[kjbacon]

The skies threatened as we sailed away from Bonaire.

 

We relaxed on our balcony and when the rain got too windswept, we went inside. We ordered dinner in from Sette Mari and had some great dishes. They brought us some assorted antipasto. The fried zucchini and Parmesan chunks might not look like much, but they were sooo good.

 

 

We got the gnocchi in basil cream sauce and it was so good that Jack ate some before I could snap a picture!

 

Main courses were chicken rolls stuffed with peppers and spinach on polenta that was delicious and an eggplant parm that was disappointing.

 

 

We did have some motion last night but not nearly as bad as we expected. Today is Grenada and a must nap day so that I can stay up to see the Super Bowl!

[boblerm]

Our tour in Bonaire was called "Bonaire Highlights and Cultural Explorer". The excursion that we were on bore no resemblance to what was described in the excursion listing.

Oh well. 

 

We visited a museum where there was a display of a Bonairian home from years past, and we sampled Cadushi liquour 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We stopped at the site of the slave huts. We had visited this site years ago, where our to guide gave us an explanation of the horrible conditions that enslaved people had to endure. Our guide only discussed it as a diving site. 

 

 

 

 

Of course, there was this

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In the afternoon there was a very interesting lecture by former NASA director Jim Kennedy on the past and future of space exploration. 

 

Seven Sea Society party before dinner, officers introduced and we were entertained by one of the lead singers, Erica, who has a fabulous voice. 

 

Dinner at Pacific Rim was pretty much perfection. 

 

Starters were tuna tartar

 

 

 

 

Peking duck and watermelon salad 

 

 

 

 

Soft shell crab tempura 

 

 

 

 

Vegetable pot stickers 

 

 

We paired our starters with cold sake very nice. 

 

Our mains were lobster tempura 

 

 

Chinese barbecue pork ribs 

 

 

Side dishes of noodles and vegetables 

 

 

 

 

Finished with Thai coconut and tapioca pudding 

 

 

 

We loved every dish. 

 

Speaking of perfection,   the Constellation featured a return performance of Patty Dess. All I can say is 

W O  W ! ! ! 

[kjbacon]

Grenada is not our favorite island and we find it more beautiful from the ship.

 

 

But the real excitement yesterday afternoon was when was of the the ship’s ropes snapped in the wind, and that is a sound that I will never forget (or the screams right after)! It made for a couple hours of very interesting watching!

 

We had a fabulous spread in our room for our Super Bowl party with friends. We had such a good time and had very delicious treats. Our many thanks to this fantastic kitchen staff and to Rajib, an absolute gentleman in the truest sense of the word.

 

 

 

 

Today is St Lucia and we are really looking forward to our tour this morning.

[boblerm]

 

We had a 1 PM arrival in Grenada yesterday. In the morning, attended lectures by Jim Kennedy of NASA and Jeana Rogers who discussed St. Barts.

 

Our afternoon excursion was a visit to Palm Tree Gardens. We boarded a van that was in dire need of new shock absorbers for a half hour drive to the gardens over a very bumby road.

 

Thouroughly rattled, we arrived at the gardens,where there are hundreds of varieties of plants including 40 palm varieties. We were given a tour by an extremely knowledgeable young man who gave us a great education about these beautiful plants. So I think I can say that I now have a vast knowledge of Carribean flora. Or would have, surely, if I were able to retain newly learned facts for more than 30 minutes or so.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We rattled our way back to the pier.  

 

We dined at Setti Mari. We enjoyed tthe bruschetta and appetizer bar, then we each had one of the 2 minestrone choices which were very nice.

 

Jeannie had the veal scaloppine marsala,

 

 

 

 

 and I the veal chop.

 

 

 

 

We each had a side of pasta to go with. 

 

Both were excellent. 

 

There was a sporting event shown in the Constellation, but as my team has not taken part in this event for the past 55 years, my interest was only moderate.

 

The live feed does not have super bowl commercials, so during time outs cruise director David came on stage for some fun super bowl trivia. 

 

[CJANDH]

5 hours ago, boblerm said:

The live feed does not have super bowl commercials,

You missed the best part! 😁

[-Lew-]

1 hour ago, CJANDH said:

You missed the best part! 😁

Most are available on YouTube...

[boblerm]

4 hours ago, CJANDH said:

You missed the best part! 😁

 

2 hours ago, -Lew- said:

Most are available on YouTube...

Good to know, because having missed the SB commercials, I will be totally out of the loop in terms of pop culture when I return home. 

 

But David offered some interesting and informative trivia questions. For example, I learned what Heisman trophy winner never played in a super bowl and kills people. 

 

 

Ok, not exactly how the question was worded🙄

Edited February 13 by boblerm

[wcsdkqh]

You didn’t miss much on the commercials. Nothing even approaching the memorable ads of years gone by. IMHO.

[kjbacon]

Yesterday was St. Lucia and our shorex was jeep safari and sail. The island is beautiful but the jeep ride really was terrifying with hairpin turns, steep hills, and some seriously crazy drivers!  It was definitely not for the faint of heart! 

 

We pulled over for a photo op and we were offered a taste of the island’s fruits. After we passed the plate and had a sample, we were informed that we owed them $1.00 per person.

 

We learned that St Lucia is the number one producer of bananas and we also learned first hand that a vine ripened banana is delicious.

 

 

We preferred the catamaran sail over the jeep safari and had a good time but overall,  I don’t think I’d recommend this tour.

 

We had one last dinner in Prime 7 and enjoyed the fine food, ambience, and service. Apps were the goat cheese tart (thank you @boblerm for the recommendation) and the beef tartar. Jack preferred the tartar at Chartreuse but the goat cheese tart was delicious.

 

 

We couldn’t resist ordering steaks again and yes, they are that good. We shared the ribeye steak and the roasted prime rib, comparing the same cut cooked two different ways.

 

 

But the surprising star of the show was the potato gratin side dish that might not look like much but is a must try.

Today, we are scheduled for St Barts and it will be my third or fourth try to get there. We are bouncing around enough that I’m starting to wonder if I’m about to miss it one more time. Fingers crossed to finally visit this elusive little French island.

Edited February 13 by kjbacon

[boblerm]

We had a very pleasant tour in St. Lucia yesterday called "Island Splendor"

 

We toured a mansion with a scenic overlook 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We went to an art gallery where they do amazing sculpture carvings from various types of wood

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We drove to the village of Anse La Raye, where there is a beach and a vendor stand. The vendors here engage in, shall we be say, vociferous marketing techniques.

 

 

 

 

 

Then to the lovely Marigot Bay

 

 

 

 

As a fan of a team that I am too embarrassed to name, I feel behooved to post this picture of a school that was built through money donated by by Leon Hess, the former owner of said team. It is green and white. 

Not the eagles. 

 

 

 

 

Our tour guide was informative, engaging and pleasant. 

 

There was a top tier Seven Seas Society (gold and above) event before dinner where cruise director David Nevens a did a vocal performance, this man can sing! Fabulous voice. 

 

Dinner at CR was very nice, but Mr and Mrs boblerm had some difference of opinions. 

 

I had the Duck terrine with Asian spices and loved it. Jeannie tasted it and found it chewey.

 

 

We both had the chicken and vegetable spring roll with Thai sweet chili sauce and both loved it

 

 

 

I had the pan fried dorade filet and really enjoyed the bold flavor, but Jeannie found it too strong a taste. Different strokes.

 

 

 

Jeannie ordered the lamb chops medium rare. Of the 2 chops, one was prepared properly, the other was more medium. But still very good. 

 

 

 

Profiteroles! 

 

 

The evening entertainment was a comedian, Phil Tag, really funny 

[GeorgiaPeach51]

Love seeing the wonderful photos!  

[Whinenowine]

5 hours ago, boblerm said:

As a fan of a team that I am too embarrassed to name, I feel behooved to post this picture of a school that was built through money donated by by Leon Hess, the former owner of said team. It is green and white. 

Not the eagles. 

 

As said team's stadium is only 10 miles from my house, I understand.  Though I married into a family who roots for their stadium-mates.  Your D is great...good luck on the QB next season.

 

And thanks for all these great posts and pics.

 

[boblerm]

2 hours ago, Whinenowine said:

Though I married into a family who roots for their stadium-mates.  Your D is great...good luck on the QB next season.

My daughter, who reminds me yearly that my greatest failure as a father was bringing her up a J*t fan, also married into that kind of family. 

Thanks, we will need all of the luck we can get! 

[kjbacon]

Finally! I’m happy to say that I have now been to Saint Barts! Yesterday was Mardi Gras so it was a very crowded and very charged day on this artsy little island.

 

 

 

It was very hard to find an available table for lunch but we got lucky. The servers were quite into the Carnival spirit.

 

 

 

The number one downside to St Barts is that it is the smoking capital of the universe. Everyone smokes and everyone smokes everywhere, inside, outside, in restaurants, with babies on their laps, next to you, in front of you, behind you, you get the idea!!

Last night’s dinner was such a treat. Several days ago, we asked if we could have an Indian themed dinner served in the room and what a delicious spread we had!

 

Today is our last port day in Road Town, Tortola, BVI.

 

Edited February 14 by kjbacon

[boblerm]

As @kjbaconhas mentioned, St. Barts is a very hit or miss port, hooray that yesterday was a hit! 

 

 

 

 

Our excursion was "Sailing the Leeward Coast, a simple catamaran ride to a pretty bay.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We had the option of swimming to the beach, (no one did), or we could take a" noodle"and swim around the boat

(not us) 

 

 

 

 

We were offered fruit, cheese and popcorn, water, soft drinks, rum punch  or

 

 

 

 

It was a pleasant, serene way of spending time at St. Barts  

 

There was a Carnivale parade in the afternoon.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We got back to the ship late, about 3pm, there was an Indian buffet on the pool deck. 

We also tried for the first time the lobster nachos. The lobster was very tender - what we could find of it. Searching for lobster chunks was kind of like being on a scavenger hunt.

 

 

We were pretty full at dinner time*, so had a more smallish dinner that usual - 2 courses rather than 3. Oh, the sacrifices!

 

I started with corn and coconut veloute, Jeannie the tuna carpaccio 

Scallops from the everyday side 

 

And chateaubriand

Perfect! 

Somehow we managed to finish. 

 

There was another new production show "Marauders Ball".. a pirate show. 

In general, I am not a fan of the shows that attempt stories, as I  can rarely if ever follow the plot. This one was no different. Something about pirates taking over a ship. 

 

But about 1/3 the way through, I decided to stop trying to figure out what in Sam Hill the story line is, and just focus on the amazing visuals; the glorious costumes the fabulous on stage props, the brilliant back drop scenery , the beautiful lighting. It was a feast for the eyes. 

 

Combine that with the magnificent voices and dancing, the intricate choreography that included sword play reminiscent of Inigo vs Westley.... 

Bravo! 

 

 

*This may be the first time I have uttered these words on a cruise ship. 

[motel kamzoil]

3 hours ago, boblerm said:

Combine that with the magnificent voices and dancing, the intricate choreography that included sword play reminiscent of Inigo vs Westley.... 

Bravo! 

 

I've been saving this for a special occasion. It behooves the board to share it now.

 

[Whinenowine]

2 hours ago, motel kamzoil said:

 

I've been saving this for a special occasion. It behooves the board to share it now.

 

That's awesome...one of the best lines of a great movie. Who knew back then that Mandy was so versatile.

[boblerm]

1 hour ago, Whinenowine said:

That's awesome...one of the best lines of a great movie. Who knew back then that Mandy was so versatile.

If anyone is not in the loop 

 

 

[kjbacon]

The British Virgin Islands archipelago has to be the most beautiful spot in the Caribbean for sail away. We always look forward to sailing out of Tortola.

 

 

 

 

We had the best dinner in Sette Mari last night and the ambience was just perfect. 

 

We started our meal with this delicious antipasto bar and our favorite Tuscan wine on board. One more time … the included wines are very good.

 

 

For our pasta course, Jack repeated the basil cream gnocchi and I had the bucatini amatriciana. Both were amazing.

 

 

Our main courses were also delicious. Jack had the grilled lamb chops with rosemary sauce and I had the veal Milanese. The only thing I can site as imperfect for this meal was that spring mix was subbed for the arugula but even still, it was delicious.

 

 

 

 

Today, is the first of two sea days before we disembark in Miami. 

[boblerm]

We had an absolutely glorious day in Tortola yesterday. 

 

Our  excursion was "Scenic Island Tour and Beach Break." 

 

We drove around in an open air vehicle for several scenic overlooks

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 We passed by a wall where there were many murals painted by local artists, our tour guide described several of them as we passed 

 

 

 

 

 

Then arrived at Cane Garden Beach, we stayed about an hour and 45 minutes 

 

 

 

 

 

This was a highly enjoyable excursion. 

 

Another winner at Compass Rose. 

 

The matzah ball soup was maybe not quite as good as Bubby used to make, but pretty darn good. 

 

Truffle meatballs

 

 

 

 

Roast turkey, asked for dark meat 

 

 

 

 

An amazing rosemary garlic roasted lamb rack 

 

 

 

Comedian Phil Tag did a return performance, we thought he was hilarious. 

 

 

 

 

[kjbacon]

If you ask for a perfect sea day, you will get yesterday. Calm seas, clear skies, warm, and sunny.

 

We relaxed by the pool all day and visited with friends, new and old. It really was as good as it gets.

 

Last night was our last dinner in Pacific Rim and I’m so glad that they are back on their game. Delicious! We shared beef tataki rolls, sashimi, and vegetarian potstickers for apps. The vegetarian potstickers were amazing!

 

 

 

And I have no idea why the sashimi is upside down lol!

 

Our favorite sommelier on board, Grace, found 2 outstanding bottles of Bordeaux for us. She is on track to follow in Georgiana’s footsteps.

 

 

We retried the Duck Confit and it was improved but still the dish needs some tweaking. Ribs were as great as ever.

 

 

Today is our last full day and we are at sea. Right now, we are just north of Cuba. Hard to believe but we have to do our packing today! Great trips do go quickly.