DAY 85---AT SEA

NOW TO VIEW MY JANUARY AND FEBRUARY POSTS YOU WILL HAVE TO CLICK ON THAT MONTH SO THOSE POSTS WILL BE DISPLAYED.

TO VIEW PREVIOUS POSTINGS USE THE "BLOG ARCHIVE" UNDER OUR PHOTO ON THE RIGHT.  THEN CLICK ON THE DAY OR DAYS YOU MISSED.  ALSO CLICKING ON THE PHOTOS WILL ENLARGE THEM.  I RECOMMEND THAT. 

          This was on the tv this morning.  Yes, 38th anniversary today.  More about it later.

        Our position at noon today is in the Caribbean Sea heading for Puerto Limon, Costa Rica.  We will be docked there tomorrow by 7am.  It is mostly sunny with some clouds and a temperature of 82.  There are some swells so there is a little movement on the ship today.

LAST NIGHT:

        As I mentioned at the end of yesterday's post, the ship's officers, F&B Douglas, Executive Chef Ronald, Restaurant Manager Nino, and the crew organized a very special dinner for 91 of us world cruise guests.  It was held on one side of the La Veranda restaurant up on deck 11 and the restaurant was beautifully decorated with a world cruise theme as was the menu.  I must admit I was a little apprehensive as to how they were going to serve that many people in a timely manner but they certainly proved me wrong.  Wine and food service was perfect thanks to our incredible crew.  Only issue was the room got a little warm with that many people--guests plus the hard working wait staff.  I want to share some photos of the special event but you had to be there to fully appreciate the evening.

First person we saw as we entered was the man responsible for this event.  Douglas is our Food & Beverage Manager (F&B) whom we known for many years even before he was promoted to the F&B position.  He is responsible for all the food and bar services.  Great guy besides!

Massimo, the General Manager, and Paul, the Cruise Director at the head of the receiving line as we entered.

We really enjoyed our table mates:  Richard, Marcia, Harvey, Rebecca, and I.  The flag almost ate me!  Richard is a hoot.  Two retired doctors from NYC.

                                          Marcia hung some table favors on her glasses.

                              Nino being asked to take photos by Marcia.  Richard looking on.

                                                   

                                                        Paul getting the party started.

                                                 Nino surprised everyone by singing.

            You know I had to include some food photos.  I had the onion soup to start with.

                                        Next appetizer was a crab cake and breaded crab claw.

                  Rebecca had the Thai chicken, noodles, and vegetable stir-fry.  She liked it.

I chose the Japanese style filet crusted with spices.  Supposed to come with rice but I asked and received a baked potato.  I liked it.

                                          These five desserts served to all.  I tasted some of it.

        It was a fun time and and we were finished in plenty of time to get down to the theater for the show.  Richard & Harvey never go to the shows so retired to their Grand Suite.  Marcia went with us to the show and were joined there by Barbara and Wiley along with Jimbo & Mary Ann Todd.

The first half of the show was by Tim Abel, a really good pianist whom we really enjoyed.  Sorry I did not get a photo of him.  Thought I did.

Second half of the show was with the Brazilian singer, Camila Andrade.  She was not so good in our opinion and those sitting with us.  Both performers plus the others now on board will be leaving tomorrow in Limon, Costa Rica.  New ones will be boarding.

TODAY:

        We both hit the gym to do our hour on the treadmills.  There was a cooking demonstration at 11:15 this morning that I attended in the Horizon Lounge.  Marcia was there also. 

                                       Executive Chef, Ronald, and Executive Sous Chef Chris.

        Chef Ronald demonstrated how to prepare our favorite Regent entree, miso glazed sea bass, while Chef Chris prepared baked chicken & vegetable enchiladas.  It was a great presentation as they joked with each other quite a bit during it.  Chef Ronald also played a couple tunes on the piano which was behind the curtain.  He is a VERY accomplished concert pianist besides being a chef.

                                 Finished product of the miso glazed sea bass with sticky rice.

                                                 This is Chef Chris's chicken enchilada.

        This morning I took our bottle of special champagne down to Compass Rose so they could have it chilled for our dinner there tonight.  I also asked Nino if we could dine at a specific table just after you enter the restaurant.  He is arranging it. 

        So we will be donning our dressy duds and heading down to the theater at 6pm this evening for the Seven Seas Society Party.  Will have a cocktail there and meet up with Marcia, Barbara, and Wiley whom we have invited to join us for dinner tonight.  It makes our anniversary celebration more special to be joined by friends at dinner, having a dressy formal night, and having our favorite entree, miso glazed sea bass, on the menu.  To top it all off, we love it that the fantastic singer, Karl Loxley, will be the entertainer for tonight's show in the theater.  Pictures of our evening will be on tomorrow's post.

 At 4pm our doorbell rang and a room service guy delivered this:  cake & champagne.  The card was from Marcia.

   It was from the ship's officers, staff, and crew.  Note signed by Massimo, the General Manager.

        

DAY 84---UNPLANNED SEA DAY

NOW TO VIEW MY JANUARY AND FEBRUARY POSTS YOU WILL HAVE TO CLICK ON THAT MONTH SO THOSE POSTS WILL BE DISPLAYED.

TO VIEW PREVIOUS POSTINGS USE THE "BLOG ARCHIVE" UNDER OUR PHOTO ON THE RIGHT.  THEN CLICK ON THE DAY OR DAYS YOU MISSED.  ALSO CLICKING ON THE PHOTOS WILL ENLARGE THEM.  I RECOMMEND THAT.

At 7am this morning the Captain announced that the swells were to high for us to safely be tendered ashore at the island of Roatan off the coast of Honduras today.  So as the top photo shows we are departing the area and will have a day at sea.  There were two other cruise ships docked on Roatan.  We have been to Roatan back on February 22nd so I had not planned to go ashore anyway.  Looking out our balcony this morning we can see the coastline of Honduras in the distance.  It is 81 degrees this morning and the seas are pretty smooth.  So now we will be having two days at sea before our next port on April 1st at Limon, Costa Rica.

LAST NIGHT:

                                                              The sun setting over Belize

Our friends, Burt & Karen Schraga from Napa Valley, were at the Horizon Lounge bar last evening so we asked if they would join us for dinner up in Sette Mari.  Karen was a TWA/AAL flight attendant for 35 years.  Of course Rebecca had a 37 year career with AAL so they had a lot in common.  I love chatting with Burt.  We had a great time with them.

              Jayson and Daria were two of our servers last night.  Daria is from the Ukraine.

                                          This is my veal parmesan.  No, I could not eat it all.

Greg Rodman's show was again simply amazing.  He has to be the best acoustic guitarist in the world.  I'm not big on instrumentalist shows but he is captivating to watch and hear.

TODAY:

              Sailing along the coast of Honduras today as you can see it in the distance.

        I went back to the gym for my one hour on the treadmill today.  Have not been there since last Friday when I ran into the glass door.  I am finally feeling back at 100% now so it just took several days for the mild concussion symptoms to subside.  I went down to medical again this morning for a BP check.  It was 140/90 today so closer to my normal now.  Doubt I have it checked any more.

Our Captain, Staff Captain, and a First Officer waiting to wash their hands when coming into La Veranda for lunch.

 The boutique was having a sale on T-shirts today so I got a couple for $15 each.  We still have $500 in ship board credits to use.

        Normally on a World Cruise the ship's management has several special events for the WCers.  Up until last week when they had a special cocktail party for us, there were none.  They say it was because of the covid restrictions.  Now the restrictions are being lifted.  Tonight there is a special dinner up in La Veranda at 7pm for the WCers.  At noon Nino, the Restaurant Mgr, said there will be 91 in attendance.  Chartreuse and Sette Mari restaurants will be closed tonight so the wait staff can take care of the WC dinner party.  I managed to get a copy of the menu for tonight which has a world foods theme.  Nino asked how I got the menu as it was to be a surprise.  I also peeked at the side of La Veranda that they have decorated for tonight.  Chef Ronald and Nino were in there chatting and said it was to be a surprise.  I suggested they poke my eyes out then.

        Pretty sure you'll have to click on it to enlarge it if you want to read it.  Seating at the tables will be assigned with name cards at the tables.  A little birdie from Toronto told me we will be dining with Marcia Rector, Dr Harvey Masonson, and Dr Richard Skolnik.  You may recall seeing we dined with the three of them previously.  It is going to be a very fun table for sure. 

        Since today was an unplanned day at sea they had to redo the activities schedule for today.  There is a movie in the theater this afternoon, "Lunana-A Yak in the Classroom".  Supposed to be an Oscar nominated movie but I have never heard of it.  Foreign movie.  Not going.

        Tonight's show in the theater is featuring both Tim Able (pianist) and Camila Andrade (Brazilian singer) in a double billed show.  We missed both of their first shows so hope to see them tonight.  I hope this special dinner does not run into their show but probably will.

        Tomorrow is our 38th anniversary.  That evening is the Seven Seas Society party before dinner and also a formal optional dress so I will be wearing my tuxedo.  We have invited Marcia, Barbara, and Wily to dine with us in Compass Rose to help us celebrate.  I have been saving our bottle of Veuve Clicquot champagne for our anniversary toast.

        

 

 

DAY 83---HARVEST CAYE, BELIZE

NOW TO VIEW MY JANUARY AND FEBRUARY POSTS YOU WILL HAVE TO CLICK ON THAT MONTH SO THOSE POSTS WILL BE DISPLAYED.

TO VIEW PREVIOUS POSTINGS USE THE "BLOG ARCHIVE" UNDER OUR PHOTO ON THE RIGHT.  THEN CLICK ON THE DAY OR DAYS YOU MISSED.  ALSO CLICKING ON THE PHOTOS WILL ENLARGE THEM.  I RECOMMEND THAT. 

Our position today is anchored off the coast of Harvest Caye, a island off the coast of Belize.

HARVEST CAYE BACKGROUND INFO

        Harvest Caye is a private island owned by Norwegian Cruise Line.  NCL Holding also owns Regent and Oceania cruise lines as well as NCL.  The 75 acre island lies off southern Belize operations as a cruise destination began in November 2016.  The island has a beach, swimming pool, saltwater lagoon for water sports, dining venues, a lighthouse with two ziplines, and a pier so we can dock there.  NCL employs 400 Belizeans on the island.  There is a Jimmy Buffet’s Bar & Grill and a small shopping village also.

        The island is just a half mile or so off the coast of southern Belize and there are boats running back and forth.  Serveral of the ship’s tours will be on the mainland so it requires about a 40 minute boat ride to begin those tours.

LAST NIGHT:

        Here are some photos of last night's special wine dinner.  There ended up being 51 I believe.  It was held in the French restaurant, Chartreuse.  Conscience at our table was there were too many attending as it was very noisy.  This will probably be out last wine dinner.

                                                      Budi preparing pre-dinner drink.

                                                     Wines we will be having. 

                                         Legimun serving the drink we will be toasting with.

                                                                    Lots of glasses!

Also at our table were Charlie & Joan Davis.  Marcia Rector was also with us but I failed to get here photo except of her above taking a photo of Legimun.  Always a fun group.  We all will be on next year's world cruise.

Executive chef, Ronald, introducing the dinner menu and the Chartreuse chef (below) who actually prepared the food.

                   Head sommelier, Emiliano, introducing the wines we will be having. 

Cloudy Bay sauvignon blanc from New Zealand was paired with the appetizer below.

                   Wagyu beef nigari was the first course.  We did not care that much for it.

        Ken Forrester Gypsy Grenache, Syrah was paired with the second course, foie gras.

                                                                    Seared Foie Gras

                          Montes "Purple Angel" Carmenere, Colchagua Valley in Chile.

                     The Carmenere was paired with this Yuzu Miso marinated roasted cod.

This is braised short rib served on a potato cake with honey glazed vegetables, topped with crispy onions in a beef jus.  Not pictured is the wine paired with it.  It was an excellent Joseph Phelps Vineyards "Insignia" cabernet sauvignon from Napa Valley in California.

Paired with the dessert was this Inniskillin Ice Wine from Canada.  Very sweet dessert wine but very good.

                                                                           Ice Wine

                                               For dessert we had this Napolean pastry.

                                Budi and Legimun, two of the sommeliers serving our wines.

                                                           Shane was one of the servers.

        As I figured, the dinner lasted well into the show so we were unable to attend it.  We will certainly catch her next show later on in a few days.

TODAY:

We are anchored about a mile off the coast of the island today.  Those guests going ashore for tours or on their own will be using these tenders.  This was the first one to arrive this morning and had the island's officials who cleared the ship for letting folks go ashore.  Took this from our balcony and it was too rough for it on this side of the ship.

                  They used the other side as the ship was protecting it from the rougher waters.

           Not a very good day weather wise and showers all around.  Deck 12 was very wet.

                             There is apparently one pier and this NCL ship is using it today.

         As I mentioned, yesterday the doctor asked me to have my blood pressure taken for the next few days to see if it improves.  So after Rebecca went to the gym I called down to Medical to see if I could get my BP taken.  He said yes so I went down.  Well, turns out he came to the suite to take it.  When he returned I said I was there to get my BP taken and he said he was just at my suite.  So now he knows I will come down there.  Medical is on deck 4 aft.  I asked if I could resume my treadmill time.  The doctor came out and said I could do it but to take it slower for a few more days.  I will probably wait until tomorrow before I hit the treadmill again.  By the way, my BP was much better today.   147/87    At home I take it every few days and it is normally 140/84.

        We watched a movie, "National Champions", after lunch.  It was a yucky day at Harvest Caye as it was rainy all morning.  We departed there at 4pm for our next port at Roatan, an island off the coast of Honduras.  We'll be docking there by 7am.  Yes, we have been here also on February 22nd.

        Drinks at 6pm this evening in the Horizon Lounge with our favorite bartender, Peter.  Dinner tonight will be up in Sette Mari as I have requested the chef prepare another veal parmesan for me.

We certainly want to attend tonight's show as the Spanish guitarist, Greg Rodman, will be doing his second show.  Loved his first show!!!