Live From Crystal Serenity - The Adventure Continues - LA to NYC

[ryndam]

10 minutes ago, oakridger said:

Maybe I'm just paying closer attention to the afternoon snacks, but they seem to be much more inventive than what I saw posted even a year ago!  Almost all of them we have seen in the last couple of weeks look very tasty to me!

 

Thanks for sharing the pictures. 

 

~Nancy

And the portions are appropriately one-bite sized, just right. Haven’t indulged in the mini-pastries, but they do balance the tray. 😁

[ryndam]

Today’s Reflections. Menus not posted yet.

 

 

BA583DFF-D8FF-455E-AFFA-72C2A007C279.pdf

[ryndam]

Todays Waterside dinner menu.

 

 

98068D45-6A0E-4BC3-AA47-59D827679ACB.pdf

[ryndam]

Observations Tastes dinner. 
 

We dined at Tastes last evening. We shared some familiar favorites and some new items. We asked our server to pace out the meal and we enjoyed these dishes across three separate courses. Food preferences are subjective, but here are ours.

 

First course:

1. Tuna poke. OMG! Better than any sashimi in Umi Uma. Better than our favorite sushi restaurant back home. And it’s spicy. We were forewarned by the server.

 

2. Hamachi crudo. Again, better than any sashimi in Umi Uma and our favorite hometown restaurant.

 

Second course:

3. Half portion of California street tacos. Lovely presentation, but we deconstructed it, the taco shell was tasty, but didn’t hold its shape. 
 

4. The cold salmon. This was a new one for us. It is not smoked in a traditional smoker. It is marinated for days in whiskey to give its flavor. Yummy!!

 

Third course:

5. We ordered 4 lamb chops. If you like lamb, in our opinion these are the best lamb chops served onboard. They are a bit larger than the chops we last had here, but they are still tender, perfectly cooked and remain one of our favorites.

 

Dessert course:

6. Our server recommended the chocolate crème brûlée. And his suggestion was spot-on.

 

With our leisurely pacing we were there from 7p-9p with time to freshen up and grab a to-go beverage for the 9:30p Galaxy show.

 

Enjoy Tastes while you can. It’s Beefbar successor concept is coming, just no announced ETA yet.

 

Rob

[nancygp]

8 minutes ago, ryndam said:

Better than our favorite sushi restaurant back home.

What is your fav sushi place at Home?

 

N

[ryndam]

25 minutes ago, nancygp said:

What is your fav sushi place at Home?

 

N

Blue Fish on Washington Avenue.

🍣🍱🍶

[ryndam]

Crystal offered a complimentary shuttle from the port to Puntarenas. Very nice A/C in the coach. Now back to the ship and straight to the pool!!
 

Rob
 

 

[ryndam]

Todays snack. A salmon mousse with bagel chips. Eggplant dip. Melon and the obligatory mini-sweets for balance. Also a special ordered selection of shrimp and crab claws. 🦞 

 

Rob

 

 

[KenzSailing]

Nice to see a +1 for the recently beleaguered and not long for this world(in current incarnation) Tastes.   

[ryndam]

Reflections attached.

 

31CA4A05-4D1D-4CE8-9786-501B055A6641.pdf

[ryndam]

Todays menus just posted.

 

EA45D8D5-847E-40B0-BA9B-29578E9F6ED9.pdf 740E363C-47B8-4365-B85D-5E5525ACA867.pdf

[loriva]

13 hours ago, ryndam said:

Todays snack. A salmon mousse with bagel chips. Eggplant dip. Melon and the obligatory mini-sweets for balance. Also a special ordered selection of shrimp and crab claws. 🦞 

 

Rob

 

 

 

Okay, as a Crystal Ocean newbie, what category of cabins on Crystal receives these goodies?

[Texas Tillie]

46 minutes ago, loriva said:

 

Okay, as a Crystal Ocean newbie, what category of cabins on Crystal receives these goodies?

 

Aquamarine and above. If you are in oceanview single, oceanview double or double with veranda, go down to the Bistro and fill up a plate with all the goodies there and take the plate back to your cabin.😁

 

Patty

[BWIVince]

Patty's plan is the best, but I would also add that even in lower category rooms that don't get the afternoon snack tray, your butler is still happy to keep your room stocked with dry snacks like chips and nuts, or deliver anything "snacky" off the room service menu or pantry stock, like a fruit plate or a cheese plate.  All you have to do is ask.

 

The Bistro run is still the best plan though...  I love the afternoon selection.

 

Vince

[CabinBoy2020]

Another idea for the hoi polloi:  onion rings or French fries from the Trident Grill (open till 5) and a cocktail from the Cove - Happy Hour to go!

 

Bill

[BWIVince]

47 minutes ago, CabinBoy2020 said:

Another idea for the hoi polloi:  onion rings or French fries from the Trident Grill (open till 5) and a cocktail from the Cove - Happy Hour to go!

 

Bill

 

Your pic has me drooling, Bill!  My version of that late one afternoon was a bao from Tastes, and a cup of gelato from Scoops...  😋  If it hadn't have been for the gout, I would probably have also stopped off at the Tastes Bar for a to-go cocktail too.  😁 

 

Vince

[goldengatecruisers]

Why have I never thought of onion rings/French fries and a martini?!?!  What a clever idea.  I learn new things all the time on Cruise Critic.  We usually decline the afternoon canapé tray but occasionally we will order something specific when we fancy a nosh. But I know what we will be ordering on our next cruise.   

[USCAdventurer]

Me tool!  what a great idea for an afternoon snack and cocktail.  thanks for the photo too.

[ryndam]

Todays snack. A pumpkin-ish mousse. The sesame cracker/disc things from Umi Uma. Shrimp. Berries. And a mini lemon tartlet with a meringue hat.

 

Rob

 

[ryndam]

Onion ring observations. They are uniform throughout the ship, no matter where served. Used to be real onion rings at the grille, with real, sliced battered onions. Now they’re these processed, frozen, pre-battered, onion purée, fast-food quality. Some things have improved, some are just different. We can get these onion rings at Costco. 😔😞😢

 

Rob

[BEAV]

5 hours ago, goldengatecruisers said:

Why have I never thought of onion rings/French fries and a martini?!?!  What a clever idea.  I learn new things all the time on Cruise Critic.  We usually decline the afternoon canapé tray but occasionally we will order something specific when we fancy a nosh. But I know what we will be ordering on our next cruise.   

I see French Fries and champagne/martini posts on Instagram a lot these days. A new fad, or are our heads still stuck in the sand grieving Prego? 🤔. Hoping our in-house Chef @KenzSailing can weigh in… 

 

And if we can get @Keith1010 to start ordering fries and martinis on his upcoming Symphony voyage, I predict the practice will go viral onboard Crystal ships. After all, life isn’t all spin class at 3:00am…

 

 

 

 

[KenzSailing]

 

Why, oh why, aren't there more clients like @BEAV?  If there were the Chez would have more establishments than Nobu.

 

Anyway, here's the Chez's take on chips and dip for the TikTok/Instagram crowd:

 

Forget the fries(so yesterday) Start with one perfect onion ring(lightly coated, not greasy), served lying flat on the serving dish.  Fill the center with Ossetra caviar.  Serve with chips infused with Knorr's onion soup mix(for that classy/trashy juxtaposition that sells so well.)  Splash out with a bottle of Bollinger RD.

 

Dang, I literally just came up with that.  Guarantee someone in the online crowd gets there eventually.

 

You make it east Bryan, that's on the house.  Gotta pay for the Bollinger though.

 

PS: caviar bumps are soooo yesterday.  The Ring is the Thing.

 

 

 

 

[Roland4]

46 minutes ago, KenzSailing said:

 

Why, oh why, aren't there more clients like @BEAV?  If there were the Chez would have more establishments than Nobu.

 

Anyway, here's the Chez's take on chips and dip for the TikTok/Instagram crowd:

 

Forget the fries(so yesterday) Start with one perfect onion ring(lightly coated, not greasy), served lying flat on the serving dish.  Fill the center with Ossetra caviar.  Serve with chips infused with Knorr's onion soup mix(for that classy/trashy juxtaposition that sells so well.)  Splash out with a bottle of Bollinger RD.

 

Dang, I literally just came up with that.  Guarantee someone in the online crowd gets there eventually.

 

You make it east Bryan, that's on the house.  Gotta pay for the Bollinger though.

 

PS: caviar bumps are soooo yesterday.  The Ring is the Thing.

 

 

 

 

Oh, I don't know. The other night, we had Cavendish Farms (a Canadian company), genuine whole onion rings in a tempura-like batter, with BBQ'd chicken breasts on a bun, and they were pretty tasty!

[ryndam]

Reflections attached. Check out the anticipated transit times on page 2. 🤪🤪🤪

 

This is not our first canal transit. We will enjoy the Gatun locks at a civilized time in the afternoon.

 

Rob

 

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[Keith1010]

Interesting suggestion @BEAV about French Fries and a Martini(s). If I do that then I won't be spinning in the Fitness Center at 3;00 AM but likely in bed at that hour with the ceiling spinning. LOL.

 

I have to admit I haven't had a French Fry on Crystal since that 2010 french fry event.  I did however have them a few times on land during travel. 😀

 

My first Martini ever was the James Bond one which I had either on first Harmony cruise in 2002 or first Symphony cruise in 2003 as I remember we sat with the family in the Cove.  I think by the time I finished it my head was indeed spinning or maybe just the ceiling.  In 2018 on Symphony I did start to try a different gin drink each night at the Avenue and continued this practice on WC 2019 although now just wine.  

 

We don't have the daily afternoon canapés as our afternoon snack is fruit. With that said we did have them twice on the last Serenity cruise and once last year and once in 2018 on Serenity. They are very impressive for sure and I believe you will see further enhancements to them.

 

On a related note, we did try the Pigs N' Blankets and I am not sure when they changed them but they were superb on this past cruise. Seemed to have a larger Pig and an enhanced Blanket.  🤣

 

Keith