Tuesday Evening

The Most Traveled Cocktail Party is this evening in Skywalkers at 7:30.  We arrive just after and there is quite a line up at the bottom of the walking sidewalk.  Someone is checking names from a master list and also calling out names.  This is quite odd, not sure why they don’t just take our invite and cross off the names one at a time then send us up the ramp to meet the Captain.  I know they need to make sure there is no bottle neck at the top but they could always wait before sending up the next couple.

I am not sure what number were are on the list but I know we are not near the top.  The third highest is around 900 days with the top being around 1300 days.  We are just over 300 days but we are definetly the youngest in the crowd.  Many people have been on for the last Baltic cruise then did the crossing and are doing the first Canada New England.  The couple we sit with from Adelaide Australia did exactly this.  A very nice couple to sit with and we enjoyed our time with them.

We did get a picture with the Captain.  It was nice to see Captain Pomata again, and he is now sporting a beard.  He looks very good with this beard.  

I like the cocktail parties personally.  We can order any type of drink we wish and we do and the wait staff come around with lovely tapas and there is a food station set up as well with other items.  But we didn’t indulge too much because we are dining at the Crown Grill tonight.  We meet Adam Gorst the Hotel General Manager and we are so wowed as he comes around serving crepes for everyone and I must say they are great too and a nice treat.  He even wanted to clear our plates but I wouldn’t let him.  He is much too high an officer to do that.  I actually told him I wasn’t finished and then when a bar staff came by I gave the plate to them.

We finally got to meet Michael Glass the Food and Beverage Manager who Douw had been telling us about and invited him to join us for a drink in the Crown Grill later.  We also met Dana I the Customer Services Director and we really like her.  Her smile and her caring manner really shine thru.  She knows Johan and we giggle about our experiences with him.

Overall the party was very nice and the views spectacular something we have never experienced at other parties.  The officers get a chance to wander around and chat with many different people instead of sitting with just one officer at a luncheon.  The food is good too and I like the drinks more than just wine.  But a luncheon is nice too but my preference is the cocktail party.

We meet up in the Crown Grill for dinner at 9 and we are sat in a very nice booth at the end and enjoy a lovely bottle of Jack London, and after that a lovely bottle of wine that we got in port from South Africa. 

I ordered the Black and Blue Onion soup and it was good, not as hot as we are use to and not as flavourful as we are use to but still good.  In fact I didn’t even finish it because of this and to save room for the steak.  I ordered the filet mignon medium and it arrived perfectly cooked and so wonderfully seasoned on the outside.  I was able to also get a side of Bernaisse sauce too.  For our sides we got a variety of items, garlic fries, mashed potatoes, asparagus, spinach and also mushrooms.  They no longer offer scalloped potatoes or creamed corn.  The entrée was fabulous and I managed to eat most of my steak.  But had to save room for dessert.

Of course many of you already know me well enough to know I got the molten chocolate cake and we sprinkled some pink salt on it to bring out the flavours of the chocolate.  Yummy.  I am writing this a few days later and my mouth is watering just thinking of it.

Dining in the Crown Grill is an experience, a nice treat, great way to celebrate and trust me you don’t need a special occasion to dine here, just being on vacation is a good enough reason.