“Live From” the Grandeur or Z and TB Live the High Life in the Caribbean!

[Zqueeze1]

8 hours ago, Zjr. said:

 

What kind of Filipino food, and how was it? Now you have me reliving my trip to Manila last year and craving adobo and lumpias! Love you guys, bring back a doggy bag of leftovers.

We had vegetable fried rice which was good. But, the star of the show was pork adobo. It was spicy, juicy, and succulent.  All it needed was some cheese limpias and a San Miguel beer. 
 

Z and TB

[2SailingNomads]

On 3/27/2024 at 7:13 AM, GMIAC said:

 

Everything looks delicious! 

 

My Doctor: Don’t eat anything fatty.

Me: You mean like burgers, bacon, fries, etc?

My Doctor: No fatty, don’t eat anything.

 

Playin' here all week, folks! 

I love that line, it was followed by "Remember to tip your bartenders and servers.... "

[hockeyken]

On 3/27/2024 at 8:22 AM, Zqueeze1 said:

Good Morning!   

 

To quote GMIAC, “You can't drink all day if you don't start in the morning!”   Our Roll Call group met at 1000 by the pool bar.  After four rums and making new friends, The Boss hit the gym and I hung out at the pool bar. 

I failed my loyal pool bar subjects and opted for time with Morpheus.  I took a three hour nap prior to dinner. 

We missed the Captain’s Welcome and decided to head to the Meridian lounge. During our cocktail hour I fell in love with a rum old fashioned with chocolate bitters.   This is a must try drink if you are a rum drinker. I felt like a pig with pearls on waddling in mud.  It was an awesome drink.  

Dinner was again spent seated with Alvin at Compass Rose.  Pam had the Maine lobster

And I had the salmon.  

Both were excellent dishes.  Dessert was a Tanzanian chocolate cake with ice cream.  

After dinner we headed to the Grandeur bar and listened to the duo playing music. TB had two cosmos and declared to be the best she’s had since having had Olga’s. 

Today, day two of our sea days. 

Z and TB

 

[hockeyken]

To quote W.C. Fields " The man who doesn't drink, wakes up in the morning feeling as good as he is going to feel all day".

 

K

[GMIAC]

59 minutes ago, hockeyken said:

To quote W.C. Fields " The man who doesn't drink, wakes up in the morning feeling as good as he is going to feel all day".

 

K

After reading about the dangers of drinking, I decided to give up reading.  🥸

[Zqueeze1]

Good Morning.  After five days onboard, I have to say that this ship is magnificent. It is shiny and clean and just perfect.  The decor is light and very elegant.  We love the artwork displayed throughout the ship.   

In regards to the recent chair hog thread, I have to admit the we are not seeing much of it at all. Passages has a statement regarding prohibiting reserving chairs for extended periods of time. We had a sea and snorkel excursion scheduled in Aruba, but we decided to cancel and went on the Sea and See excursion.  It included a ride on a semi submersible which I thought was ok due to the lack of sea life.  We were not aware of the sub portion, and Pam was terrified at the thought since she had a bad experience in one in St Barts.  

Our excursion continued with the highlights of Aruba to include the lighthouse 

And the natural bridge.  

This bridge is not the original one which collapsed in 2000s. 

 

Upon return, we went to the Grill for a late lunch which was a mistake. As soon as we hit deck eleven, it seemed as if the entire ship was getting lunch.  The mass of humanity was overwhelming and seemed more like being in a mass market ship. There wasn’t a seat to be found.  We finally found is a spot on the sofas and ordered a burger that never came.  The staff was inundated and ran out of forks.  

At 1500, we met at the pool bar with our fellow Cruise Critic Roll Call members, but only four showed up so we spent time with an Aussie couple who remembered me from last year’s Scandinavian cruise. 
 

More later,  I need to wake up The Boss. 
 

Z and TB

[Zqueeze1]

We met three couples for dinner last night and had some cocktails and a few laughs prior to heading out to Compass Rose. 

I am running out of adjectives to describe dinner. Being a party of eight, everything went smoothly and the meal was excellent. For appetizers we had one of my favorite, the panko fried shrimp. Pam had Chicken Kiev 

And I had Szechuan beef

Followed by Grand Marnier soufflé

After dinner we went to the show!   This is a rarity for us and rarer still since we stayed for the whole thing.  The show consisted of a classic guitar player who was very good.  

Today is Bonaire and Speedo time. 

Z and TB

[Mudhen]

Poor roses! I think they probably had too much dinner!

Have been thoroughly enjoying all of your posts and we're living virtually thru your comments!

We enjoyed the Grandeur in Feb. and it's fun to cruise again with you two!

We loved the Meridian as well, and had fun with their specialty cocktails. Pool bar was a fav with us as well!

Carry on and keep us posted!

L&J

[CruiserFromMaine]

Well, we missed the CC gathering yesterday—there another one April 4, I believe.

 

We’re having a wonderful time as well. Treating Aruba and Bonaire as in-port sea days. Up early and hang out on the pool deck. 
 

We had dinner in La Veranda last night and thought it was very good. So far, we’ve dined in Pacific Rim, Compass Rose, Prime 7 and La Veranda.  All have been excellent, although service was a little slow in Prime 7 (>2 hours). We met a wonderful couple, Ed and Judy, and had dinner with them twice already. 
 

I had a very good pre-dinner cocktail in the Observation Lounge yesterday—the Not Old Fashioned. Delicious! 🥃

 

Sorry, no food porn…but here is drink porn with the Not Old Fashioned. 

Edited March 29 by CruiserFromMaine

[Zqueeze1]

Good Morning!  Bonaire is a beautiful and lovely island. We spent the morning exploring the streets and alleys and did a little shopping.   TB likes to collect Christmas ornaments from our travels and was very pleased to find the perfect one. 

Here is a list of the tours:

The weather is just perfect with a great, refreshing breeze.  

 

We had dinner at Prime 7 which is decorated in an old style rich wood and white walls and columns in a contrast that complement each other.   I wish I could appreciate dinner better than the ambiance. The apps were very good, but TB’s whole Maine lobster was overcooked and my filet mignon was so thin that I picked it up and looked through it.  My lobster tail was also overdone.  Definitely a miss.  Real shame.  
The Boss looking madder than a wet cat:

Crab cakes 

Iceberg wedge

Caesar salad

Maine lobster

Surf and turf

Today:  Grenada

 

Z and TB

[Mudhen]

ut oh.....so sorry that dinner in P7 left A LOT to be desired. It's usually one of my favorites.

Here's hoping it's a "one of" and doesn't happen again.

Please keep up the food and drink porn....loving it....

Carry on......

L&J

[GeorgiaPeach51]

What a great trip blog!   Really enjoying your adventures.  Thanks for taking the time so the rest of us can live vicariously through your reports!

 

Joanie

[Stefken]

4 hours ago, Zqueeze1 said:

Good Morning!  Bonaire is a beautiful and lovely island. We spent the morning exploring the streets and alleys and did a little shopping.   TB likes to collect Christmas ornaments from our travels and was very pleased to find the perfect one. 

Here is a list of the tours:

The weather is just perfect with a great, refreshing breeze.  

 

We had dinner at Prime 7 which is decorated in an old style rich wood and white walls and columns in a contrast that complement each other.   I wish I could appreciate dinner better than the ambiance. The apps were very good, but TB’s whole Maine lobster was overcooked and my filet mignon was so thin that I picked it up and looked through it.  My lobster tail was also overdone.  Definitely a miss.  Real shame.  
The Boss looking madder than a wet cat:

Crab cakes 

Iceberg wedge

Caesar salad

Maine lobster

Surf and turf

Today:  Grenada

 

Z and TB

Hope Prime 7 improves by the time we get on Grandeur May 20th. If not luckily there is Pacific Rim to fall back too. It’s been our favourite on our last two cruises, Explorer and Splendor 2023. I see we may cross paths on Splendor January 5th Capetown to Rio, small world it seems.

 

🛳🛳🛳🛳🛳

 

i

[pingpong1]

Seems to be many more than "just a few" recent reports (from Regent's well-experienced cruisers like "Z & TB") of less than stellar fillet and lobster dinners in Regent's restaurants.  Could this be a "sourcing/supplier" problem rather than a simple "cooking mistake"...i.e., in the corporate pursuit of "reducing food costs"?  Just wondering?

Edited March 30 by pingpong1

[Gpilon]

1 hour ago, pingpong1 said:

Seems to be many more than "just a few" recent reports (from Regent's well-experienced cruisers like "Z & TB") of less than stellar fillet and lobster dinners in Regent's restaurants.  Could this be a "sourcing/supplier" problem rather than a simple "cooking mistake"...i.e., in the corporate pursuit of "reducing food costs"?  Just wondering?

I have a suspicion you may be right about “reducing food costs” we are on Grandeur in July in a GS, and for the price we (and everyone else on board) are paying we would expect top notch food. Should it not be we will most likely switch to land vacations in the future, much like Our Ireland golf trip in September. 

Edited March 30 by Gpilon

[cAPS lOCK oN]

3 hours ago, Gpilon said:

I have a suspicion you may be right about “reducing food costs” we are on Grandeur in July in a GS, and for the price we (and everyone else on board) are paying we would expect top notch food. Should it not be we will most likely switch to land vacations in the future, much like Our Ireland golf trip in September. 

All I can say is the rib-eye I had in Prime 7 last March on Splendor was about the best steak I've ever had. This was on a cruise that began in Miami, so most likely the same supplier they are using now.

 

It was massive, and I could only finish half of it. When I gave out the other three people in our group were on it like wolves. We're on Grandeur next March with the same group and I expect everybody to order rib-eyes in P7.

Edited March 30 by cAPS lOCK oN

[cAPS lOCK oN]

And also, if 100 people posted complaints about their meal I'd be worried. If someone posts 100 times about s single incident I'm willing to consider it might be a one-off.

[GMIAC]

We’re not huge “steak people,” and don’t eat it often, so when we do we look for the best we can find. The ribeye that we split at Prime 7 on Grandeur in December was top quality, cooked to the perfect medium rare, as ordered. I find filet flavorless and avoid them, but those who had them had good things to say about them. I take most meal criticisms with a grain of salt, not because I don’t believe them, but because I don’t believe that most restaurants stay relevant by serving a consistently bad product. 

[Zqueeze1]

We will try to get another P7 reservation and try the ribeye. I am not a complainer, but when a filet is about half an inch thick and overcooked there is something wrong. 

Z and TB

[RELS]

3 hours ago, cAPS lOCK oN said:

All I can say is the rib-eye I had in Prime 7 last March on Splendor was about the best steak I've ever had. This was on a cruise that began in Miami, so most likely the same supplier they are using now.

 

It was massive, and I could only finish half of it. When I gave out the other three people in our group were on it like wolves. We're on Grandeur next March with the same group and I expect everybody to order rib-eyes in P7.

I love a good bone-in rib steak, but the one they serve in P7 is way too big. So I ate what I could and had them wrap up the remainder. Overnight in the room fridge, and I had steak for breakfast! This plan lets me save room for the popcorn sundae, too. 

[papaflamingo]

19 hours ago, pingpong1 said:

Seems to be many more than "just a few" recent reports (from Regent's well-experienced cruisers like "Z & TB") of less than stellar fillet and lobster dinners in Regent's restaurants.  Could this be a "sourcing/supplier" problem rather than a simple "cooking mistake"...i.e., in the corporate pursuit of "reducing food costs"?  Just wondering?

We were on Grandeur in Jan. and the food was excellent.  Some of the new dishes were great, others... total miss, but I simply read the descriptions and if it didn't sound good I didn't order it.  But Prime 7 was great.  No problems at all.  But I don't usually order lobster on a ship as I know they're frozen and just not a fan. Having said that, the Tempura Lobster in Pacific Rim is great!  Anyway, that was my experience.  

[Zqueeze1]

Good Morning and Happy Easter!  

 

Lorraine, our Cruise Director

We had a quiet at sea while in port day. Armed with a full dose of stupidity, I scheduled several snorkeling excursions.  TB is not a fan of them and we have either switched excursions or cancelled. However, we opted to stay onboard yesterday in Grenada after having heard some negative comments.  

 

Mini rant:  we have two excursions in which we only received an excursion ticket for myself and not for TB. 

I actually took two naps yesterday with several trips to the pool bar to rehydrate and people watch. 

 

TB did a double workout by swimming and power walking.  

We met two other couples at the Meridian lounge and ended up having dinner with one of them.  While at the lounge I donated a bottle of Dos Maderas rum so I can have it for my cocktails. 

Dinner was very good and a redemption from our Prime 7. We had:

Caesar salad

 

Lobster tail

 

Strip steak

 

And a Grand Marnier soufflé which is fast becoming my favorite. 

 

After dinner we went to the show which featured a comedian who was very funny and who picked on the audience. 

Today:  St Lucia and a walk around town. 

 

Z and TB

[Zqueeze1]

Good Morning and Happy Easter!  

 

Lorraine, our Cruise Director

 

We had a quiet at sea while in port day.  Armed with a full dose of stupidity, I scheduled several snorkeling excursions.  TB is not a fan of them and we have either switched excursions or cancelled. However, we opted to stay onboard yesterday in Grenada after having heard some negative comments.  

Mini rant:  we have two excursions in which we only received an excursion ticket for myself and not for TB. 

I actually took two naps yesterday with several trips to the pool bar to rehydrate and people watch. 

 

TB did a double workout by swimming and power walking.  

We met two other couples at the Meridian lounge and ended up having dinner with one of them.  While at the lounge I donated a bottle of Dos Maderas rum so I can have it for my cocktails. 

Dinner was very good and a redemption from our Prime 7. We had:

Caesar salad

 

Lobster tail

 

Strip steak

 

And a Grand Marnier soufflé which is fast becoming my favorite. 

 

After dinner we went to the show which featured a comedian who was very funny and who picked on the audience. 

Today:  St Lucia and a walk around town. 

 

Z and TB

[Zqueeze1]

I don’t understand why there is a double posting.  Anywhooo, we are already back from our St Lucia walkabout.  Most stores are closed because of it being Easter Sunday. However, armed with a fistful of bucks, The Boss is declaring it a successful operation since she was able to find a Christmas ornament for her collection.  We have been here before, but focused on tours instead of shopping.  

 

 

 

 

 

Z and TB

[1teach53]

1 hour ago, Zqueeze1 said:

Director

Sorry we just missed Lorraine’s return! She is our favorite! ( we were on in February) We have been very lucky to share dinners with her !💕 What a lovely lady! Please say high to her for us!  
Regarding P7, we have thought for the last couple years it was the weakest of the 3 specialty restaurants. In February we had issues with the filet. 
You two crazy kids have a blast!👍 wish we were there! 
😸💕😻💗💓