First Evening - Sabatini Dinner

First stop is Explorer's Lounge to the Platinum Elite Lounge to try a Cosmo.  Maribel is there to quickly take our order – two Cosmos please.  Bernie rates them right up there with some of the bests.  That says a lot.

Yes we are able to order any drink that is part of the special loungers menu for $5. 

A card was delivered to the cabin with the itinerary and what is featured each day.

We sit with two couples from Edmonton and a short while later Monika joins us for a drink. 

Oh did I tell you Monika is the Most Travelled this voyage.  We are in the top 40 but don’t know where we fall. If I can get to see the Captain Circle Host I will find out. (I later find out we are number 5 & 6).   

In lieu of a most travelled luncheon or cocktail party we have been given dinner for two at any of the specialty restaurants.  We will be dining at the Bayou Cafe with Monika on the last night.

Bernie wants to check out the stores as he saw a great Tommy Bahama shirt and t shirt he wanted.  So we get those items and I found a great shirt that I will have to get too.  I will post a picture of it below.  

Jackie from South Africa serves us and we discuss a mutual friend Delmarie who recently got off the Island and is also from South Africa. 

Back to the cabin to shower and dress for dinner.  Our amazing steward Cyrus has done up our cabin already and our few requests have been done already.  We find out later he is getting promoted, and we understand why, he is good.

Once ready we set out to find Qi, a cabin stewards we had last year, or was it the year prior, who is back on board.  Big hugs and a little pampering gift for her.  She has just started here third contract.  Wow does time every fly by.

Tonight dinner is at Sabatinis.  Antonio is hosting a table with us, his cousin Jorge and wife Nice, along with Diane (who we find out is from Alaska and is on my Facebook fan page and also the Princess Cruiseline Lovers page).

Dinner was probably the best meal we have ever had at Sabatinis.  Food was outstanding, our server Ryerson was very attentive and I especially was impressed how other servers helped out when needed.

Bernie's soup

My meal started with a salad which was good but I found a little over dressed, but I think most would find perfect I just prefer little less salad dressing.

My pasta course was the cannelloni which was outstanding and could of had that as my entrée.

The entree was the stuffed chicken which I had numerous times and can be hit or miss but tonight it was the best I have ever had.  The asparagus served with it were crispy and not overcooked and seasoned just right.

Dessert was the tiramisu.  I had not had the tiramisu since they changed it to the Norman Love version and again it was outstanding. 

And of course we had to finish off the meal with my favorite drink from Sabatinis a Sicilian Kiss.  Which is Amaretto, vodka and Baileys served over ice with a bit of milk.

The meal is very large so I never finished any of my dishes.  But there is no way I could. I highly recommend Sabatinis to anyone getting on the Island.

Maitre D’Hotel Neville came by and spent some time with us. It was lovely getting to know him better.

We spent the evening chatting, raising our glass in a toast, sharing our travel adventures and by the end we were all family.

One thing I like to remind people of, this is not a dinner at the Olive Garden.  The meal here is an event that takes time.  It really is like being in Italy where the evening is based around a table with good friends, great food, and even better wine. 

After dinner we walked around and ended up at Explorers watching the Quest Game Show which was an Adult Scavenger Hunt and quite funny. 

Cruise Director Mike Witte was there and we caught up with him and what he has been up to.  He is looking great and his team seems well put together and happy. 

While chatting with Mike, Mark Harris came by.  Mark is the Naturalist on board and he is getting off in San Francisco.  But he did mention he will be getting on the Grand then Star to do the Hawaii cruises as the Naturalist so watch out for him if you are doing one of those.

Observations tonight:

Because of the lower age demographics for those on the repo portion Explorers lounge is busy with the Quest Game show.  And there is a lot more drinking and gambling going on.  Now not excessive drinking but more people out enjoying themselves.

The Wake Show is on and they are even doing a question of the day for the short cruise which I think is great.

For those staying on to do the Panama cruise the Shorex has in transit tours for San Francisco.