I didn’t have time to really write about our meals while on the cruise, and I know there’s some of you out there who enjoy seeing what’s on the menu, so here we go…

(By the way, thank you to my tablemates John and Eva and Gary and Jane for not looking at me too strangely and allowing me to photograph their food, too.)

Day 1

Once we boarded the ship we went to Parrot Cay, but it was going to be a 10-15 minute wait for a table to they sent us to Topsider instead. This was a buffet with salad bar, peel and eat shrimp, carving station, and lots of other things like a fish and chicken dish, potatoes, veggies, fruit, and a dessert bar, too.

Not the best food we had on board, but it was good.

Dinner that night was at Animator’s Palate. It was the Let the Magic Begin dinner, so the same menu was served in all three restaurants. Lee and I both started with the Chicken Bastela, which is shredded chicken in phyllo dough, sprinkled with cinnamon. This is my favorite appetizer at Restaurant Marrakesh at Epcot, so I wondered how it would be here. It was really good.

Some or our tablemates ordered the Smoked Salmon Carpacchio:

There was nothing in the second course that appealed to me so I ordered something from the first course instead – the Prosciutto, Mozzarella and Citrus Tapanade Bruschetta. It was pretty good

Lee had the Blue Crab and Seafood Chowder.

For a main course I ordered the Lentil and Leek Brown Rice Risotto. Sounds a little odd, but it was really good – had a very good flavor.

Lee ordered the Pan Seared Halibut which came with smashed peas on a potato cake. It was good, too.

Two of our tablemates ordered the Seafood Risotto – one of them was fine, but the risotto wasn’t cooked (it was actually crunchy!) in the other, and I guess it didn’t have much flavor, either. Poor Jane – she had bad luck with risotto for almost the entire cruise – I think there was only one time she ordered it that she actually liked it.

The other dish people a couple of people tried was the Roasted Pork Tenderloin, which they enjoyed.

Interestingly, our server recommended that we NOT order the steak, because the beef delivery they had received just wasn’t very good. John wanted to try it anyway, so ordered it as an additional entree – he said it was a bit tough.

For dessert I ordered the Chocolate Truffle Cake, which was actually one of the sugar-free desserts, but it was REALLY good – I’d put it in my top 3 for the entire cruise.

Lee ordered the Kahlua Chocolate Creme Brulee. I guess it was good – he didn’t offer me any of it! 🙂

Something new they’ve added since our last cruise is a dessert sampler each night called Sweet Temptations, which gives a small taste of three different desserts on that night’s dessert menu. I think that was Gary’s favorite – he ordered that most nights.

Day 2

This was an at sea day so we had the opportunity to eat three meals in the restaurants – though we didn’t actually do that.

We had brunch at Lumiere’s. One of their specialties was the Eggs Benedict, but we didn’t actually try that.

I had the French Toast, which was quite good.

Lee had the Denver Omelet. One thing we tend to forget about Lumiere’s is that the portions are not very large, so you really need to order multiple things (like a side of bacon or fruit or toast) to get enough to eat.

That night was Formal Night, with the Prince and Princess menu, which I believe is relatively new, and has replaced the Golden Mickeys menu. We were in Parrot Cay that night.

Here, Gary, John, and Eva take a look at the menu.

I had the Roasted Roma Tomatoes and Herb Flavored Goat Cheese. This really wasn’t what I was expecting from the description, but it was good.

A number of those at our table, Lee included, had the Double Baked Aged Reggiano Parmesan Cheese Souffle It was a big hit with everyone.

Belle’s Scallops Au Gratin was another popular choice. I think it was this night that John started ordering multiple appetizers – which got Jane and Eva doing it, too. Which of course is absolutely fine, and as the week went on it got to the point where Ignatius was anticipating which additional appetizers we were going to order, and actually had them plated and ready for us instead of having to go back to the kitchen for them! Too funny.

Second course for me was the Garden Consomme. Which was a fancy name for a tasty vegetable soup that several of us enjoyed.

The other popular choice was the Coranation of Mixed Leaves, which was a very nice salad with blue cheese and candied walnuts.

My main course was probably the one I enjoyed the most of all the ones I had – the Baked Fillet of Turbot. The fish was just wonderful, moist and flavorful.

Lee and several others had the Rack of New Zealand Lamb with a Dijon Mustard Crust. The lamb was falling off the bone, and everyone really liked it.

My dessert was the Prince Charming Chilled Chocolate Souffle. Again, not quite what I was expecting from the description but it was very good – it had a round of almond brittle on top. I’d call it more of a mousse than a souffle.

Lee had the Princess Jasmine Banana Bread Pudding. He liked it – not my thing, though.

Cinderella’s Lemon Cheesecake came with a chocolate Cinderella.

Day 3

We docked at Valletta fairly early, but since we didn’t have a tour, we decided to just go to Lumiere’s for breakfast. Remembering our experience here the other morning we ordered more food this time!

I started with the Mango Morning Hike, which I was expecting to be some chopped fruit and yogurt, but it was a smoothie. Tasted good – just not what I thought it would be.

I also got an omelet made to order – they make really good omelets on the ship.

The omelet came with hashed browns – which were not your typical hash browns, they were more like deep fried potato cakes with some onion as well as potatoes. They were really good, though, and since Lee had been “sharing” mine, we ordered an extra plate of them.

Lee had Lumiere’s Candle, which was a stack of French Toast, Belgian Waffle, and Pancake. The menu said it had cinnamon butter, but it had a fruit topping instead. He also had a side of bacon to go with it.

That night we were back in Lumiere’s with their regular French/Continental menu. As I recall this was one of my least favorites on our Caribbean cruise, but it was one of my favorites this time.

Gary and Jane had gone to Palo, so it was just the four of us. I started with the Chilled Jumbo Shrimp, which came with asparagus and micro greens. Very good.

Lee had the Applewood Smoked Bacon and Wild Mushroom Tart – I think Eva had this, too. (She and John also had the escargot – which which they offered to share…uh, no thanks. 🙂 )

I think we all had Mrs. Potts French Onion Soup. It was excellent! My favorite soup the whole week.

I had Lumiere’s Seared Sea Bass, though I requested steamed vegetables with it in place of the mushroom herb risotto. It was just ok – not nearly as good as the turbot the night before.

Lee and Eva had the Slowly Braised Lamb Shank, on a bed of polenta. It was very good.

John ordered the Crispy Roasted Duck Breast, and he enjoyed that.

He also ordered the Aged Angus Grilled Beef Tenderloin, which was a whole lot better than the beef the first night. He shared that with Lee and Eva (I got the bacon-wrapped green beans, which were very good!).

For dessert I actually tried the Sweet Temptations this time – it was small servings of chocolate mousse, creme brulee, and some kind of cookie/pastry. Pretty good.

I think Lee and Eva both had the Grand Marnier Souffle.

John had the no sugar added Chocolate Cheesecake. It certainly looked very good.

More food to come!

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