Cruise life and eating

What can I say about cruising to the Caribbean onboard Royal Caribbean's Grandeur of the Seas? First, there's the food, lots and lots of it. Had breakfast and lunch mostly in the Windjammer Buffet which had a varied menu. Eating there was fast but crowded. Among the more memorable dishes I liked were the Indian curries and lentil, the jerk chicken and of course the desserts. CJ, our Singles International concierge, had reserved tables for dinner at the Great Gatsby main dining room where the menu changed daily except for some permanent classic dishes. I ditched my diet and ordered multiple appetizers, or 2 main courses or 2 desserts. The food was pretty good. My favorites were the escargots, steak, and lamb shanks; for desserts I liked the souffle and everything chocolate. The Maryland crab cake appetizer did not come close to the real thing and I should know!

Buttery and garlicky escargots (without shells), sopped up with sliced bread. Yum! I ordered this appertizer 3 times, not often you can get escargots although Lidl sometimes has them frozen in their shells.

Way too big slices of prime rib done the way S. and I liked it!

I kept forgetting to take photos of the dishes I tried, I was so eager to taste them. Below was garlic tiger shrimp with rice and chocolate souffle (really good).

The best part of the dining experience was eating with the STI group, it was a lot of fun, especially sitting at the small table with the three ladies (you know who you are)! There was also specialty dinning in three different restaurants: Giovanni's Table (Italian), Izumi (Japanese) and Chop Grill (American). I signed up for Italian food was somewhat disappointed since I have slightly different expectations, having lived in Italy for 5 years.

Lots of activities to keep busy. I joined fellow cruise mates in the morning stretching and Zumba classes, line and Latin dance classes, silent disco, shuffle board, name that tune trivia during happy hours (closest was about 50% right), got into the solarium pool, etc.

A highlight was the balloon drop when the clock struck midnight on New Year's Eve. It was rather crowded at the Centrum, so a number of us watched it from the balconies on the upper floors, toasting the new year with champagne offered by the ship's crew. A great way to greet the new year. I went to bed shortly after since I had a shore excusion at our first stop in Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic.