Evening – June 2nd

We wanted to eat at Sterling Steakhouse tonight but getting a reservation was not easy.  When we boarded in Whittier the dine line was closed and I tried going up to the Sterling Steakhouse but it was not open tonight.  I was told to call the number first thing today, which I did.  I made a reservation for 6 pm for us and was informed that there is a $20 cover charge and that it is formal night.

So we head up to Skywalkers for a drink and to watch out at the view.  The place is busy, lots of people here but many are not platinum or elite and just here to check out the view and with no one checking names there isn’t much they can do.  We don’t stay long as we have the 6 pm reservations.

When we show up at the Sterling Steakhouse they don’t have our reservation.  Gee I just made it this morning!  But they have room and they sit us right by the window at a lovely table.  Peter joins us for dinner so we can celebrate his birthday with a special meal.

We bring a bottle of wine that we brought on board with us from British Columbia and we were charged the corkage.  No problem in fact as soon as we put the bottle down we handed them our cruise card and said “for the corkage”.

I ordered the shrimp cocktail, Bernie and Peter ordered the papaya quesadilla.  I didn’t like my shrimp cocktail at all, in fact it tasted odd, but thankfully Peter shared his quesadilla.  I then had a Caesar salad and it was exactly like the one we get in the dining room.  Again a big disappointment.  For my entrée I had the Sirloin Strip served with Bernaisse sauce, baked potato.  Peter had a fillet mignon and Bernie had the halibut.  We all really loved our entrees.  Oh and we also got the chicken to share and that was to die for, very moist and flavourful.  Then for the dessert I had this peach tart type thing, gee I wish I could remember exactly what it was called but just remember the peach dessert. 

In all we enjoyed the Sterling Steakhouse, but it is not as good as the Crown Grill.  It is good and definitely try  it plus the views from there are so nice.  Service was good and efficient.  The head waiter was very apologetic about the reservation having gone missing.  He later reported that for some reason the reservation was made for the Savoy dining room – odd I thought since she specifically mentioned the cover charge.  No big deal but it would have been a disappointment if we could not have gotten in.

In all this ship needs to update and put in a Crown Grill, the Sterling Steakhouse is missing the atmosphere of the Crown Grill, and the menu selection.  It is not easy to understand it for first time cruisers as it is not a set location during the day and only appears at night.  Service is good and I have to say I much prefer the views from here than the Crown Grill where we watch people run by on the Promenade.

After dinner we headed to the Wheelhouse Bar and it was very busy.  The band Retrospect was playing and we really enjoyed them and obviously others do too as it was hard to get a seat.  We later attended the 10 pm Production Show of Do You Wanna Dance and I would estimate the show was about a third full.  We sat up front so the dancers/singers can see us.  We love seeing Brent and Andrew and all the dancers too.  They put so much into it and we appreciate it. 

Jasper enjoying the production show

But after the show we are beat and a little drunk and bed is calling.  I crash and am fast asleep.