First Ever TR, Anniversary and F&WF, October 2010

[dgbg100106]

Tuscan Grille –

The chef brought out the Antipasti platter for the table; it was a selection of cured meats, parmesan cheese, roasted peppers, roasted eggplant, cantaloupe and Kalamata olives.

We ordered for the table the Degustazione di Crostini Per Due, which was Assorted Crostini, Tomato and basil, olive Tapenade, red peppers pesto, sun dried tomato, arugula, mozzarella and prosciutto stick.

David ordered the Bistecca Tartare (Steak Tartare), with classic Dijion mustard, capers, parsley, onion, parmesan cheese, black pepper vinaigrette with crisp potato.

I ordered the Pomodoro e Mozzarella di Bufala (Buffala Mozarella and Tomato) with Extra virgin olive oil, aged balsamic and garlic focaccia.

Then we both ordered the Calamari Fritto Misto, Golden fried calamari with marinara sauce and lemon garlic aioli. Almost everyone at the tabled ordered the calamari and it was by far the best I have ever had, and everyone agreed, so tender and fried crisp.

That was just the appetizer course.


For the soup course I ordered the Zuppa di Cipolle (onion Soup), Creamy caramelized Onion-Leek soup with garlic crouton and mozzarella gratinata.

David had a Salad, César salad with anchovies of course! They made it table side for him.

For the main course David ordered the Filetto Mignon Rustico which is a grilled Filet Mignon with Horseradish mashed potatoes, porcini mushrooms, arugula and Barolo sauce,

I ordered the Costoletta di Vitello (Grilled Milk-Fed Veal Chop) with creamy parmesan polenta, spinach and Marsala sauce.

The chef brought out for the table one of each of the pasta dished for us to share so we also had the Spaghetti Bolognese, slow braised ground beef veal, tomato, garlic, basil and Parmesan cheese.

Next was the Linguini Alfredo, white wine, garlic cream sauce, crispy pancetta and Italian parsley,

and last but not least was the Pappardelle alla Toscana, Kobe meatballs baked in a herb tomato ragout and mozzarella cheese.

Needless to say we were all so stuffed we could hardly move, but we had to have dessert….we had Dark Chocolate Fondue, with brownie, marshmallows, strawberries, and pineapple,

we also had the Tuscan Grille Crème Brulee,

Tiramisu

and Coppa di Gelato con Cialda Dolce (assorted gelato served in a waffle tuille).

After dinner everyone had to go walk around until they go to bed, we so full almost miserable, but the food was so good we could not stop eating .

 

[3Leafs]

If my husband gets his week off this summer that we requested I know who to go to for cruise advice.. Its been years since i've been on one.. I am so jealous. Your pics look amazing..

 

[dgbg100106]

If my husband gets his week off this summer that we requested I know who to go to for cruise advice.. Its been years since i've been on one.. I am so jealous. Your pics look amazing..

no problem, I will always help if I can....
We have been on 8 cruises together and David was on 6 before me and I was on 1 before him... So we have a little experience.

We are going to the Bahamas in February and going to the Baltics in August of 2011.

It is by far my favorite type if vacation for relaxing.

 

[dgbg100106]

Day Ten of vacation October 21 - Thursday

We woke up late as we arrived in Phillipsburg, St. Maarten, we headed for breakfast in the main dining room, I wanted Eggs Benedict with Smoked Salmon instead for Canadian bacon, and it is one of my favorites for breakfast.

After breakfast we meet up with Pat and Ken again and headed for the port…

More shopping and walking is in order for the day, we walked from the ship to the shopping area and it is about a 15 minute walk, not tough but it was very hot, I hate to sweat.

Anyway the beaches were looking wonderful as we walked past them, after days of looking I found the rum that we had been searching for, Brinley’s Gold Lime flavored rum, it is made on St Kitts but this one tiny liquor store had the prize that we had been in search of.
Also my Aunt finally found a watch that she wanted and my Uncle was holding on to the CC tightly in this picture… Ha-Ha….

After that we found some perfume that is no longer sold in the states so it was nice to find it. We ate lunch on the beach and had a bucket of beer and cooled off under a fan before making our way back around to the ship.

We relaxed and enjoyed the ship and got ready for dinner.

 

[dgbg100106]

For the first course I had the Shellfish and Saffron Risotto with Jumbo shrimp, scallops and tomato-fennel sauce,

David had the Oyster Rockefeller.

For the second course I had the Strawberry Soup topped with Lemon Zest

and David had the Baked Potato Cream Soup with Potato Garlic Cream and Sautéed Frog Legs.

The third course David and I both had the Cajun Blackened Ribeye Steak with Dirty Rice, Pineapple- Mango Salsa, Steamed Broccoli, and tobacco onion and tarragon citrus béarnaise.

For dessert I had the Chocolate Marquise, Toasted Pistachio sauce a rich texture of dense dark chocolate flavored with rum

and David ordered the Lemon Raspberry sorbet, and the Panna Cotta alla Romana cooked cream with a hint of Orange and Lemon served with a Raspberry Coulis and Fresh Fruits.

 

[dgbg100106]

Day Eleven of vacation October 22 - Friday

We woke up and worked out again this morning since we had not port of call to walk around in. We ate breakfast outside the gym in the Solarium. The yogurt parfaits were the best!

We walked around the ship and went into some of the clubs to check out all the different rooms. The dance floor and DJ booth reminds me of something futuristic. There was a Ping Pong tourney going on in the main lobby outside the club.

This is a picture looking up the bank of elevators and the tree that is hanging in the middle.

This picture is from the main lobby looking up the grand staircase and the grand staircase in a closer look.

This is looking into the fortunes casino.

This is Cellar Masters wine bar

From here we went to the MDR and had lunch, I had the chicken satay with the most amazing peanut sauce, it was so good

and David had a nice little salad.

For dessert it was a fried something with Dark Chocolate Sauce and butter cream frosting on the side.

more walking around and hanging out on the ship...After this we went to the Captain’s Club Celebration up in the Elite lounge (Sky Lounge), they had the Captain, the senior officers and lots of food! I had wanted one of the crepes and David found them and covered it is fruit and ice cream! He spoils me and I love it!

After the party it was time for the slot pull at the casino, David and I did not play but fun was had by all.

 

[dgbg100106]

After the slot pull David and I headed back to the cabin to relax and get ready for the second formal, tonight is the blue dress….

We head up to the elite lounge for a drink or two before dinner.

For dinner David had the Shrimp Cocktail

and I had the lobster bisque,

then for the second course David had the Steak Tartare

and I had the mozzarella and tomato salad,

for main course David had the lobster

and I had the encrusted pork chop, everyone at the table said the lobster was not good and most everyone ended up changing to the pork chop which was cooked perfectly, juicy.

For dessert David had Carmel pecan ice cream

and I had some white chocolate mousse with macadamia nut crust.

 

[dgbg100106]

After dinner we changed clothes meet up with Pat and Ken and went down to the Martini Bar to have one of those 20th anniversary martinis. They were really good, we enjoyed it very much! The ice bar was really cool, too.

 

[3Leafs]

Great now i'm hungry... I keep showing my husband the pictures I wanna go soooooo bad..

 

[dgbg100106]

Great now i'm hungry... I keep showing my husband the pictures I wanna go soooooo bad..

Hopefully he will get the week off you want and you guys will be able to take a cruise!

I love it, we have 2 months and 2 weeks till we are gone again!

 

[John's Mom]

Great pictures! All the food looks so delicious! If I were on that cruise, my DH would have to roll me off the ship.

 

[dgbg100106]

Great pictures! All the food looks so delicious! If I were on that cruise, my DH would have to roll me off the ship.

I feel the same way and I must confess that most of weight gain over the years has been from cruising.

I really need to get back to exercising.

 

[dgbg100106]

Day Twelve of vacation October 23 - Saturday

This morning was a lazy morning, we did not get in a rush to do anything and we skipped working out, uh oh….

Well we were invited to go up to the bridge at 9:00 am so we had to get dressed and ready for that and bring our passports up to the meeting place.
The view from the bridge is amazing and we have been up several times but every time there is something different.

This time we had an American on the bridge, which is almost unheard of; he gave a great overview and explained the building of the ship. We had fun up there.


It was raining and kind of yucky outside we went to the AquaSpa Café for lunch, we both had the broiled Tuna Steak, it was really very good and after all of the heavy meals lately it was nice to have something a little lighter. For dessert we had citrus Gelee, Carrot and ginger and rhubarb. They were interesting to say the least. Next cruise I will be spending more time out here in the café. David and I really enjoyed the breadsticks they had.

 

[dgbg100106]

Joel and Colleen had everyone over to their cabin, they got the sky suite and so we all packed in there on the balcony and living room. It was lot of fun. We stayed there quite awhile and drank way too much but hey, that is what vacation is for right!

After the cruise critic party we headed for the cabin to get ready for dinner, our last night on the ship!


For appetizer course I had the Chicken Spring Rolls with sweet Thai chili sauce,

David had the Shrimp Cocktail with Celebrity sauce.

For the Soup and Salad course I had the Chilled Black Cherry soup

and David had the Crème of Broccoli and the French onion.

For the Main course David had the braised beef short ribs

and I had the Seafood Fettuccini.

We had a chocolate cake sent over for my uncle’s birthday and everyone sang to him but it sounded like Happy Booty to you with the heavy accents in the room.

For dessert we had a surprise, earlier in the week when I had meet the Food and Beverage Manager I had told him that I loved the Baklava that was made on the ship, but I had been unable to find any so far on this cruise, he had it made for me and delivered to our table.

I had the Chocolate and Blueberry Chambord cake served with Pinot Noir sauce

and David had the Lychee and Ginger Sorbet.

 

[AKL LOVER]

I know I'm late subbing, but I want to be able to find your TR later this weekend when I have time to read all about your CL stay...not to mention see all your pics. Can't wait to catch up

 

[dgbg100106]

I know I'm late subbing, but I want to be able to find your TR later this weekend when I have time to read all about your CL stay...not to mention see all your pics. Can't wait to catch up

no problem, we had a wonderful time and love AKL and club level. Hope you enjoy and ask any questions...

 

[dgbg100106]

OK I have started a new trip report for my May trip to WDW....

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2632351