Views of Grand Turk

Yesterday was a port day in Cockburn Grand Turk. We wouldn't be docking until 1PM. We had an early morning starting with breakfast in the main dining room, our first time on this cruise. Angie and I both had the Breakfast Bowl which was a mixed greens salad with tomatoes, feta, faroe and strawberries topped with fried eggs. Also had a short stack and some waffles. The salads were tasty but the eggs were a little too cooked so they didn't create enough sauce to bring it all together.  

We then tried out hand at Game Show Trivia. We almost won with a total of 16 out of 20. Missed a few including:

What game show has won the most Emmys?

What common puzzle category on Wheel of Fortune is also commonly used on Jeopardy?

What was the first pricing game played on the Price Is Right?    

Answers below.  

As with most of the United States, the Caribbean has also been very hot!! The past two days in Old San Juan and Charlotte Amalie were very hot and humid. Those days where you just sweat through your clothes. Our original plan was to get off the ship in Grand Turk and head to one of our favorite places called Jack's Shack. In Grand Turk the ship docks right at a beach. You can walk left or right and are immediately on the beach. And a bit further down each way are beach chairs for rent along with bars and restaurants - including Jack's which is about a 15 minute walk. They have some very good jerky chicken and conch fritters along with local beer. A good combination for the beach.  

We went out on the open deck and realized how warm it was. Did we really want to take a walk in the heat? Would we even feel like eating once we got there? Difficult decision. Ultimately we decided to stay cool and remain onboard. Sometimes you don't need to do all the things.  

We had a nice lunch onboard. I had the Pork Milanese sandwich from Tomodoro. Delicious fried tenderloin on a ciabatta roll. It had melted cheese, hot peppers and a savory pesto. Angie had a roast turkey sandwich on a pretzel roll from the Carnival Deli.  

We headed back to the cabin for a mandatory rest period. Dinner was in the main dining room. We both had steamed mussels which were pretty tasty.

 I had the lasagna which was tasty but needed a bit more sauce. Angie had the best dish of the night with the Involtini di Melanzane or perhaps better known as Eggplant Rolatini. 

 This is thinly sliced eggplant rolled up with ricotta and spinach and then baked with marinara. A simple dish but so tasty!!

After dinner we headed up to Deck 10 for the Fiesta Italiano - better known on Carnival as their Italian Street Party. 

 They had some family activities and crafts along with gelato eating contests!! I didn't enter. They also had music from Quora, the string trio and some other games. And at 9:30 they brought out several different samples of Italian dishes such as a meatball sandwich, arancini and eggplant tostini. All very tasty!! It was then time to head back to the cabin. 

Today is our third sea day as we make our way back to Manhattan. One more sea day on Tuesday, before we dock on Wednesday morning.  

Jeopardy

Before and After

Any Number

Charlotte Amalie, St Thomas

Yesterday we were in Charlotte Amalie!! Angie finished up some filming in the morning and then we met at Tomodoro for breakfast. For those familiar with sailing on Carnival Cruise Lines, Tomodoro is the Italian equivalent for the Blue Iguana quick service Mexican restaurant. The Tomodoro breakfast menu is identical to Blue Iguana where they have breakfast burritos, huevos rancheros and arepas. For lunch they have a combination of Mexican and Italian favorites. One of our favorite breakfast items on any cruise line is the huevos rancheros on Carnival. No other cruise line offers anything close to this. Delicious carnitas, refried beans and a fried egg on a flour tortilla!! 

 Along with a toppings bar of all different salsas and hot sauces. Make sure you're following Angie's FB page Trips with Angie since she'll have more info to share on that restaurant and the ship. 

About 11AM we headed ashore to have lunch and some local beer at Tap and Still. 

 They have a small menu of burgers, hot dogs and chicken sandwiches. And they are really good!! Delicious hand cut fries as well. All aboard was 2:30 so we headed back to the ship at 1:30. We spent some time on our patio, watching sailaway. That was slightly delayed since the ship had a short power outage of about a minute. But the engineers had to verify that everything was working before we left St Thomas. Then it was time for a mandatory rest period. We napped for about three hours. We got ready for dinner and headed to the dining room. Tonight was BLT salads, shrimp cocktail, buffalo cauliflower and roast turkey dinner. The buffalo cauliflower was the best appetizer!! 

 Well fried and crispy with a satisfying heat. And the roast turkey was moist and flavorful.  

After dinner we checked out the White Hot Party. The cruise director MarQ was really working hard to get everyone dancing. It was a very warm night. You could almost see the puddles of sweat on the deck. 

 After the party we were at Frizzante and had some fun with the bartenders Ivana and Darius. Ivana is a bartender that has opened all of the recent Carnival ships. She'll be going to the Jubilee in November since that ship has its first sailing in December.  

Later today we'll be in Grand Turk. We are supposed to dock at 1PM. If the weather holds, we'll likely take a walk to Jack's Shack for some jerky chicken and conch fritters. It's one of our favorite places.

San Juan, Puerto Rico

Yesterday we had a hybrid sea day/port day since we weren't going to dock in Old San Juan until 3:45 PM. We had our usual continental breakfast on the outdoor Carnevale deck. Before heading back to our patio to enjoy the shade and chaises we tried Food and Drink trivia. Some very tough questions as we only got eleven out of twenty correct. Some we missed (answers at the end):

What common breakfast food name is derived from the German word for stirrup?

What beverage did ET get drunk on?

Which beverage used to contain lithium?

The nutmeg seed produces nutmeg and what other spice?

It's unusual for Carnival to have lunch on a sea day. Normally they don't have breakfast or lunch in the main dining room on those days and instead have a sea day brunch from 9 - 12:30. I think because it wasn't a traditional sea day, they offered both breakfast and lunch in the dining room. Lunch had an interesting Mexican menu and it didn't disappoint. Started with a vet good chopped salad which had roasted corn, avocado, cucumbers, pickled onions and tomatoes along with a lime vinaigrette. For mains we had Carnitas and Chicken Mole. 

 Both were so tasty but the mole was definitely the standout. I had very low expectations. I anticipated dried out chicken in an inferior sauce. What arrived was beautifully roasted, crispy skin chicken in a rich mole gravy. I've had mole several times and once in a Rick Bayless restaurant. This was the best I have had. Such a complexity of flavors. Subtle notes of heat and the fruitiness of the peppers. So tasty! The sides were surprisingly mashed potatoes and green beans. Not the typical sides you'd expect with a mole. But very tasty. The carnitas were also so flavorful. Some of the pork has a "burnt ends" texture for extra flavor. Dessert was well fried churros that came with a dark chocolate dipping sauce and another that I can only say was like thickened Horchata. It also had a scoop of creamy pecan ice cream.  

We headed back to the Carnevale lounge but it was too warm. So back to our cabin to cool off and have a mandatory rest period. Soon we were docked at Old San Juan. While the masses headed to the gangway, we waited until about 4:30. Once we were off the ship, we headed to Ceveceria del Callejon, a local brewery we hadn't been to before. 

 We tried all six beers they had. 

Some really good versions of hazy IPA and a nice stout. We both picked the Rienda Suelta as our favorite. This was a double dry hopped hazy IPA but only 5.1 ABV. It's rare to find a hazy IPA that is sessionable. After that we headed to one of or favorite beer bars in the Caribbean, La Taberna Lupulo. They had over 45 beers on tap plus many more in bottles. 

 I tried a hibiscus sour and a Gose from Michigan. Both very good. 

It was starting to get dark so we made our way back to the ship. The last few times I've been here, the city was still recovering from hurricanes. But this time, it was so exciting to see so many shops, bars and restaurants open for business. Old San Juan was bustling!! As we approached the gangway, I could see how many other people were also headed back. 

 Our original plan was to grab something to eat at the buffet. I looked at Angie and said we should just head back to the cabin and order room service. She told me she was about to say the same thing!! Great to have a partner who's on the same page. So we ordered pizza, chicken tenders and a Cheesesteak. All very typical local Puerto Rican foods.  

It was great to avoid the chaos of the buffet. The food came in less than 20 minutes and was hot, fresh and delicious!! It's exactly what we wanted.  

Today we are on Charlotte Amalie St Thomas. Angie has a pedicure appointment at 8:30. I'll head to Carnevale for some tea. Then Angie has some more filming to do. We likely won't get off the ship. It's supposed to be very warm today and we also have an all aboard of 2:30. While most of the guests are ashore, the buffet area should be quieter so we can try some of the new items at Guy's Burger and the new venue Tomodoro (Mexican/Italian).  

Answers:

Bagel

Coors

7-UP

Mace

Carnival Venezia Sea Day 2

Yesterday was our second sea day on board the Carnival Venezia. Once again started at the outdoor area of the Carnevale lounge with some tea, fruit and granola. It was going to be another beautiful day at sea. Around 10 Shanu came around with more frozen fruit as we just enjoyed the cool breeze.

Our midday meal would be brunch at the Fahrenheit 555 steakhouse. This was a complimentary brunch for anyone staying in a Terazza cabin. We had to sign up on embarkation day. Lots of good choices on the menu. We started with the Avocado Toast Caprese and Mushroom Soup in Pastry. 

 Both very good however the mushroom soup was the clear winner. Some of the best I have had. Decadently creamy and just a little bit earthy - like any great mushroom soup. And the pastry was like a rich buttery croissant. The avocado toast was tasty but suffered a bit from bread that needed to be toasted.  

For mains we had the Shrimp Quiche and Cheesesteak. 

 The Cheesesteak had tender steak and flavorful white cheddar on a hoagie roll. Perhaps everything you'd want in this type of sandwich. The quiche was the real standout!! Such a great combination of flavors amongst the shrimp, swiss cheese, eggs and onions!!  

Dessert were a profiterole and an angel cake trifle. 

 The angel cake was very tasty but I wouldn't call it a trifle. It was essentially delicious tropical fruits with decadent whipped cream, and about three cubes of angel food cake. Although I definitely enjoyed it. The Haystack Profiterole was really the star. Profiteroles are really just slightly fancier cream puffs. And this one has a lot going on. Inside was a praline mousse. On top was a creamy caramel ice cream. Along with some chocolate drizzle. So tasty!!

After lunch we headed to the Piazza to listen to the string trio Quora. We had seen them on the Carnival Celebration in December 2022. This time they had a Beatles set playing many favorites including a striking arrangement of Eleanor Rigby and Norwegian Wood. We then headed to the Gondola Lounge to see the rock band. They had a Rat Pack tribute set playing all the staples from that era including Sammy Davis Jrs "I Gotta Be Me", Sinatra's "I've Got You Under My Skin" and our wedding song "Fly Me To The Moon". They alternated between singing the songs and just letting the band play!! 

 A really great horn and brass section. Probably the second best set of music I've heard on a ship. Only an impromptu jam session on the Celebrity Apex in September 2021 was better. And the most amazing thing was this was an afternoon show. Most people on the ship were out in Deck 10 by the pool, listening to a DJ. And here inside a lounge was this amazing 45 minutes of music!! Truly wonderful!!  

It was now time for a mandatory rest period. Back to the cabin to read and catch up on some podcasts. We got ready for dinner about 5:30 and headed to Frizzante for Tanqueray Ten martinis with blue cheese olives. Then it was time for dinner. For starters we had pulled pork slider, Caesar salad, antipasti and escargot. All pretty tasty although the salad was very overdressed and "wet". For mains we had a stuffed portobello mushroom and veal marsala. Both very tasty. The veal was surprisingly tender and moist. And came with a very tasty pan sauce.  

We then quickly made our way to the main theater for "Epic Rock". This was a very well choreographed show with all the "rock" favorites including "Bohemian Rhapsody", "Livin' On a Prayer" and "Don't Stop Believing". Definitely a "feel good" show. No story. Just substance.  

We then went to see a set of "all request" guitar music from Regie. She was the great guitarist that we had seen on the Carnival Celebration in December 2022. I requested one of Angie's favorites, "Mr Brightside" and Regie had a fabulous arrangement. Lots of crowd favorites were played. After the set it was time to head back to the cabin.  

Today we'll dock in Old San Juan, but not until 3:45. All aboard is 10:30 PM. So we have a hybrid seaday/port day. We plan to go into town and visit a brewery and maybe visit one of our favorite craft beer bars La Taberna Lupulo. The weather is supposed to be cooler so there should be good "walking around" temperatures.

Carnival Venezia Sea Day #1

By Glenn 

Yesterday was our first sea day!! Started off by sitting out in the Carnevale outdoor lounge which is a special area for guests who have Terrazza cabins.

 They had aaa r nice continental breakfast setup including fruit, yogurt, muffins, coffee and tea. Plus some delicious granola - really more nuts than granola. At 10 AM they came around with small bowls of frozen fruit. I just love frozen grapes!! They are like bite size popsicles and so refreshing on a hot day. I remember my grandmother being the first one to serve grapes like this back in the 1970's.   

We then headed back to our cabin to enjoy our patio balcony. We definitely saw more ocean yesterday than our entire Queen Mary 2 seven night crossing that has so much fog!! Just a beautiful day. We stayed out there until it started getting a bit too sunny about 1PM. But that was perfect timing for our next activity. Angie had made reservations for a Teppanyaki lunch. This restaurant is on many Carnival ships but we had never tried it. So why not?  

This is a speciality restaurant onboard the ship. At lunch it costs $35/person. It is a few dollars more for dinner but has the same menu for both meals. 

 We sat with two other couples so it wasn't as crowded as some "land" Teppanyaki experiences I've had. They started you with four starters. The first was "Spicy Tuna On The Rocks". Such tasty chunks of spicy tuna on a small leaf which was on tiny ice cubes. Along with a miso sauce. So tasty! Also had possibly the best pork belly I have ever had. 

 That was served on a seaweed salad. We also received a green salad with ginger/sesame dressing and a miso soup.  

For mains, I went with the filet and shrimp combo. Ange had the filet and lobate combo. And of course we had a talented Teppanyaki chef Rolando from.the Phillipines who started making our vegetable and rice side dishes. Along with being very entertaining. He loved to sing karaoke and he included a song any chance he could. All the food was so tasty. I ordered my filet rare and it was prepared perfectly. So tender and flavorful, especially with the garlic, soy and miso sauce he prepared while cooking it. The shrimp were also perfectly cooked and so well seasoned. 

For dessert they bring you out a Bento box of six desserts.

 Starting from the top left and going clockwise it has green tea ice cream, pistachio cake, a yuzo drink with peach, chocolate covered strawberry, chocolate fudge bite and a creme brulee with rose water. All were tasty. The creme brulee with rose water was my favorite. The rose cut just enough of the sweetness and richness of the sweet custard. And it was the perfect size.  

After this incredible lunch we watched a disco dance class and participated while we were seated. I wasn't quite ready to be "John Travolting" after that meal. It was nice that they encouraged everyone to join in. It was then time for a mandatory rest period. We headed back to the cabin and both took naps. If I had one travel tip to pass along that would be it. Make sure to rest and take naps as needed. I never used to like naps. But my dad was right. Sometimes you just need a little nap.   

We got ready for dinner and headed to the atrium where they had a special toast from the captain and all the senior officers. 

 Then it was on to Frizzante. I had a barrel-aged Negroni and Angie had a Campari Spritz. Both very good. We headed to dinner and both had stuffed mushrooms as a starter and fettuccine Alfredo for a main. The "Alfredo" was closer to a mushroom sauce. Not a whole lot of cheese or butter. But it was very tasty and the noodles were properly cooked. No dessert.   

After dinner we headed to see "Color My World" in the main theater. It was such a creative show. Imaginative special effects and design. 

 The theme of the show was that you create your own masterpiece. My favorite scene was when they rolled out a "canvas" (really a very large bedsheet) onto the stage. Each of the production cast had a different colored paint in a bucket and proceeded to add to the canvas with a brush, creating a unique "masterpiece". Had never seen anything like that before in a show.  

After the show we then headed to the Gondola Lounge to see the rock band. They were a seven member band including an amazing saxophone and trumpet player. They had an amazing Motown set including crowd favorites from Stevie Wonder, Barry White and Tina Turner. You really can't do justice to any Motown music without a good horn section. 

After their set we had wanted to see what was labeled in the program as a "Midnight Buffet". I was surprised to see that since those were removed by cruise lines many years ago because of food waste. The last one I was was probably back in 1998. They would have ice sculptures, all kinds of fruit carvings and massive. amounts of food. People would show up in droves. And they usually had a thirty minute "preview" period where it was "look don't touch" and you'd take pictures. I didn't want anything to eat but if it really was a midnight buffet with all the splendor of years gone by, I at least wanted some pictures. Sadly, it wasn't to be. The over the top buffet I expected was just an assortment of common snacks such as hot dogs, chicken nuggets, pizza and meatball sandwiches. I am sure it was very tasty. And very popular based on the 50+ people in line to sample. But not for us. We did get a soft serve "twist" in a cup before we headed back to the cabin. I am glad I took that nap, otherwise I wouldn't have made it to 11:30!

Today is another sea day. Probably will have our tea and breakfast again at Carnevale. At 11:30 there is a special sea day brunch in the Steakhouse for guests staying in Terazza cabins. We're excited to see what that is all about.

Boarding Carnival Venezia

By Glenn 

Today we left our Brooklyn apartment for Manhattan using a Lyft at 9:40. We arrived at the Manhattan Cruise Terminal at about 10:50. 

 Some heavy traffic in midtown and congestion at the port. Once we checked our luggage with the porter, we breezed through the check-in process and we were onboard the Carnival Venezia by 11:20. We were able to go to our cabin and drop our carry-on luggage.

Then we headed to the highest decks where Angie started her filming. This ship was previously in the Costa family, primarily an Italian cruise line that is part of Carnival Corporation, and was deployed in 2019. It's in the Vista class and was originally built for the Asia market. It wasn't too successful in that region and of course soon afterwards the pandemic came along. It was last year that Carnival Cruise Lines, also a company that is part of Carnival Corporation, took ownership of this ship. It got rebranded as a Carnival ship but still retains a lot of the Italian architecture from Costa. Carnival's marketing tagline for this ship is "FUN - Italian Style". If you're interested in the ship tour, make sure you're following Angie's FB page Trips with Angie 

When on a FUN Italian cruise ship, it seems appropriate to have your first dinner at the Italian specialty restaurant Il Viaggio. We started with some freshly baked bread: Pesto bread and a garlic roll. The pesto bread was very tasty. The garlic roll needed some more butter or garlic - or something.  

At this restaurant you pay a cover charge of $42/person and can order a starter, a soup or salad, one main and a dessert. A four course meal. Started with the Caesar salad and the Panzarotti. 

 The Caesar salad had crispy romaine and a decent dressing. I asked for and received anchovies. The Panzarotti were exactly as described. Crispy pillows of slightly sweet fried dough filled with sausage and pesto. The dough did remind me of the fried dough that you can get at a carnival - which may be ironic. 

Next course was orzo soup and octopus salad.

 The soup had such great flavor. The octopus was well cooked and came on top of some freshly sliced vegetables. It was missing a vinegary dressing to tie it altogether. There were some briney capers that added some contrast, but not enough. A good dish, that could have been great.  

The Main courses were two types of pasta: Ziti with short rib and Pappardelle with pork Ragu. Both had well cooked al dente pasta and such flavorful sauces.  

The standout desert was certainly the Mile High Gelato Pie!! Such creamy and flavorful mocha, vanilla and caramel gelato. 

We got one final send-off from the chef of some crostoli. These were slightly sweet and lemony, thin and crispy, dusted with powdered sugar. A perfect partner with a shot of Limoncello!! 

 Overall a very good meal.  

After dinner we listen to the Music and Magic duo. They played some crowd favorites including "Don't Go Chasing Waterfalls" and "Love Shack". After that, we decided to head to the cabin. Tomorrow is our first sea day.

Brooklyn, New York

July 22, 2024 

By: Glenn 

Today was our first full day in Brooklyn!! While Angie was working, I went out for some errands. Stopped at the bank, Walgreens and then got some lunch at Brooklyn Hero Shop. I had a tasty turkey hero with arugula, provolone and chili aioli. Angie had a turkey and avocado on a roll with provolone and garlic aioli. Delicious with their house-roasted turkey!!

Angie finished up work at about 3:30 and we went on a "date night". First stop was at Izzy Rose an eclectic cocktail bar. 

 Had a delicious mezcal negronis and Angie had an espresso martini made with oat milk. Both very tasty!!

You can't come to Brooklyn and not have pizza!! So dinner was at Speedy Romeo's. 

 We had the Broken Meatball Ragu and Mike's Broccolini pizza. The savory Ragu was on top of paccheri which are like large tubular ziti. Cooked perfectly al dente. 

 The pizza had such a great balance of flavors between the creamy bechamel, crispy broccolini and spicy sausage. 

 And the addition of hot honey knocked it out of the park!! I've seen a small trend with adding hot honey to pizza and I hope it stays. Adds such a great combination of sweet and spicy!! I made my own when we sailed on the Island Princess in the Baltics. 

July 23, 2024 

Today we had a late start to the day and had brunch at Martha's American Bistro. 

 Started with some delicious deviled eggs topped with pea tendrils and crunchy bacon. Followed by an avocado sandwich on whole wheat and an arugula and watermelon salad. There are so many good restaurants here in Brooklyn.  

We then continued walking down Grand Avenue towards our next destination, the Brooklyn Museum!! 

This is the second largest museum in NYC, second only to the MET. There were several special exhibits including a fascinating one on African Fashion. They even had a gift shop featuring works from many of the designers. There was also one on Picasso called "Pablo-Matic". It was curated by Australian comedian Hannah Gadsby. I know very little about Picasso the artist and even less about Picasso as a person - but this exhibit was making a statement about how his work objectified women, and how he (apparently) was a terrible person. It may be true but the exhibit didn't have examples of his work that showed this. In fact it showcased more art from others. A confusing exhibit.  

( I think it would have helped to show the problematic Picassos next to the art reacting to it. - Angie)

We also visited what is the largest collection of Egyptian artifacts I have ever seen. Second only to when I was able to see the King Tut exhibit when it came to the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston during the 1980's. So many sarcophagi!! I didn't feel comfortable taking many pictures. The collection (or you might label it a seizure) of these types of artifacts is quite controversial. The Brooklyn Museum started back at the end of the 19th century. They bought a lot from English museums. And then "hired" others to collect (or really traffic) more. That was until 1970 when UNESCO issued a governance amongst member states that ordered them to prevent the illicit import, export or ownership transfer of cultural property. But the museum says anything they collected before that time is perfectly fine. A murky, muddled history that makes you feel a bit "unclean" when you view it.  

One of the best parts of the museum was their storage area. Like most museums, there are many more items they have than what can be displayed in the galleries. So they let you go into the storage area where the items are arranged by type and catalogued. Truly fascinating how many things they have.  

(The best part to me was a an exhibit showcasing works about climate change. This one hit me in the gut. Angie )

If you've been following us along for awhile, you know that a visit to a museum is almost always followed by a trip to sample some local beer. No exception for this visit. We found two places close to the museum. The Gold Star Beer Counter looked exactly as it sounded. A narrow storefront with a long counter and many taps. 

Had a delicious sour from Hudson Valley Brewing calmed "Secret Life of Plants". We also went to Beer Street South which also had a large selection. Drink Local!!

It was then time for dinner. Last night was pizza and pasta. Tonight would be Mexican!! Ojala had some shaded patio seating out back which was perfect for this day. 

We had a very delicious carnitas burrito, shredded chicken taco with salsa Verde along with one of my favorites: Elote!! And of course a very refreshing horchata!!  

It was then time to head back to our apartment and catch up on some TV. Still haven't watched all the season finales for our regular shows. We have one more night in Brooklyn. Then tomorrow we'll board the Carnival Venezia on an eight night sailing to San Juan, St Thomas and Grand Turk!!

July 24th 

We took it easy. Angie caught up on work.