I woke up at 7:00 am, but hung out on the balcony and just generally tried to keep quiet so Bob could sleep. Finally at 8:00 I opened the drapes. No big Carnival ship blocking the sun today and the bright light woke him up immediately!
Breakfast was in the buffet. Bob had a bowl of oatmeal and I had french toast and THEN realized that there were breakfast specials! Today's was "cinnamon roll pancakes"...pancakes filled with cinnamon and sugar and topped with cream cheese frosting. And made to order crepes were available. Why did we not figure this out before now?? I guess we have something to look forward to on the next cruise now.
My copy of the When & Where daily newsletter was marked up with lots of yellow highlighter ink which meant there was plenty to keep us busy for the day. I started my morning at the Digital Workshop class on "Making Living Postcards with Movie Moments" while Bob attended a presentation in the main theater on "The Real Pirates of the Caribbean". I met up with him there and although Bob found it interesting, I was glad I hadn't been there from the beginning. The excursion host was showing slides and reading through Wikipedia information...not very stimulating.
We went directly from the theater to the Crow's Nest so we could get good seats for "Coffee with Island Magic." This Q & A session had been put together at the last minute, most likely due to the overwhelming response to their performance on Monday night. The leader, Julian Gibbs, told the story of how the band evolved from being pool-side calypso entertainment to being the featured act on cruise ships by switching from traditional steel drum music to Broadway and classical music. Bob was quite interested and spent a lot of time inspecting the steel drums and visiting with Dereck, the lead player.
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| Dereck...an amazing and talented steel drum player! |
We were seated at a table for 4 with two older gentlemen...brothers who were traveling together. At first it seemed like it was going to be awkward conversation, but it turned out OK and we had a nice time. And can you believe it...one of the men was named "Bob"! (Three times we shared tables with strangers and THREE times one of them was named BOB!) "My Bob" and I both ordered exactly the same thing. The food was good and we were each given a gift of Blue Delft tiles with a picture of the Nieuw Amsterdam.
The brunch menu...
APPETIZERS
Jerked Chicken and Macadamia Salad (M & B)
Scallions, lime, cilantro with mango yogurt, chili oil
Shrimp & Andouille Gumbo
Cornbread croutons, toasted pumpkin seeds
MAIN
Curried Petit Beef Clod
Mashed sweet yams, cinnamon scented root vegetables
Spice Crusted Fluke
Plantain chips, peas 'n' rice, lemon thyme butter sauce
Pumpkin and Sage Ravioli (M & B)
Parmesan and cassava, browned cinnamon and almond butter
DESSERT
Coconut Creme Brulee with Fresh Fruit (M & B)
Flavored with Captain Morgan's dark rum
Coffee, Tea, Petit Fours
I went straight from the dining room to the America's Test Kitchen presentation on "Italian Favorites." I can't remember the Test Kitchen host's name, but her presentations were excellent! She always encouraged people to come up afterwards and get a closer look at the food she had prepared and ask any questions. (No tasting was allowed since the food was not prepared in a certified kitchen.)
If any guests had missed earlier presentations, she would take names and stateroom numbers and the corresponding recipes and handouts would be delivered to your cabin. Bob and I had been looking at immersion blenders hoping to get one for our amateur chef son for Christmas so I took time to ask about different brands and if there was one particular brand she could recommend. She wasn't positive on which brand the Test Kitchen had ranked as number one but wrote down my name. The following night there was a knock on our cabin door and there she was! She took time to make a personal visit with the brand and specific model number all written out for us!
Leaving the test kitchen demonstration, I went directly to the theater for an O Magazine (Oprah) fashion show. The models were passengers showing off travel wardrobe pieces that could be interchanged to create multiple outfits.
I met Bob on my way back to the cabin but neither of us were there for long. He took off for the afternoon movie "Megan Leavey". I lost track of how many movies he watched during the week! It may not seem like an exciting way to spend a Caribbean cruise, but he loves movies and with his crazy work schedule it was a treat for him to have time to watch!
I changed into my swimsuit and went to the pool. It was so nice to feel the warm breeze and look out at the ocean. I tried to imagine what it must be like back in Minnesota...it was hard to believe it really was November!!
I got back to the cabin first and showered for dinner. I tried to begin the packing process while Bob was out of the way, but that is a hard job to do just part way...there were too many things that would be still needed.
It was formal night in the dining room. A request for a table for 2 at dinner landed us back in the corner again...but this time on the other side of the dining room. Still with a totally blocked view of anything...very private. 😉 On the positive side, service was very quick and we had finished our meal before others in the area who had arrived before us. Before we got our main meal (which once again was the same for both of us), the waiter brought an amuse-bouche...a small shot glass with mint green pea soup. Neither of us were a fan.
APPETIZERS
Papaya with a Rainbow of Fruit
banana liqueur, coconut shavings
Jumbo Shrimp Cocktail (M & B)
brandy cocktail sauce
Foie Gras with Apple Tarte Tatin
cassis reduction
SOUPS AND SALAD
Roasted Parsnip Soup
crispy kale, pumpkin seed oil
Chicken and Orzo
greens, root vegetables, lemon
Apple, Pear and Cucumber Salad (M & B)
frisee, dried cherries, bleu cheese crouton
ENTREES
Surf and Turf (M & B...but Bob got 2 lobster tails!)
filet mignon, lobster tail, herb-garlic butter, porcini basmati rice, sauteed vegetables
Double Pork Chop with Caribbean Hot Pickled Cabbage Relish
coconut rice, zucchini, lime-pepper glaze
Asian-Style Rotisserie Duck
sweet and sour sauce, sesame stir fried vegetables, fried egg noodles
Mushroom Ravioli
garlic cream sauce, forest mushrooms, tomato concasse
Cilantro-Hazelnut Crusted Sea Bass
mango sauce, smashed Malanga, collard greens, pineapple salsa
Pistachio and Cheese-Crusted Eggplant Piccata
fregola, garlic-tomato ragout
DESSERTS
Flourless Chocolate Cake
Molten chocolate center, whipped cream, assortment of berries
Almond and Orange Cake (B)
poppy seeds, cream cheese frosting
Passion Fruit Cheesecake
Oreo crust, citrus segments
Tiramisu (No Sugar Added) (M)
mascarpone cream, coffee and Kahlua-soaked sponge cake
Disembarkation information and luggage tags were waiting on us when we returned to the cabin. With our late afternoon flight, we were assigned to the last group leaving the ship at around 10:30 am. The notice said that we could stay in our cabin until it was time to leave...Nice! Nothing worse than ending a wonderful cruise by getting kicked out of the cabin and trying to find someplace to wait with the other thousands of folks doing the same.
The production show "1000 Steps" was the evening entertainment in the Showroom at Sea and featured Latin music and dancing. I didn't hate the show, but didn't find it near as fun to watch as the previous one that featured more well-known songs.
As we had the previous nights, we walked down Deck 2, stopping at BB Kings Blues Club. The same couch outside the entry was available so we sat down and listened to the music (at a lower volume level) and watched the other passengers going by. We decided that clothing on Gala Night was almost as interesting as the costumes on Halloween!
The "Chocolate Parade" commenced around 9:30 pm. The waiters rushed by so quickly it should have been called a race instead of a parade. We sampled a couple of the tiny treats, but really after our huge dinner it wasn't very tempting.
Only one more day left...stay tuned for our day (and my birthday!) at Half Moon Cay!
