Carnival Triumph Day 5 (April 18, 2012)

Our cruise closed with a fun day at sea. This was fantastic, as the last cruise ended after a port day and you didn't really get "closure" on the cruise.  Or something like that... anyhow- I liked the way this cruise was laid out. I was worried about a 5-day cruise, but I won't hesitate to take one again.  It was fantastic.

We slept in a little later this morning (still not late...) we woke up around 8:00.  The blackout curtains in the balcony cabins work very well- if you don't want light coming in it won't.  Today, we chose to eat in the main dining room for breakfast.

Unfortunately, this wasn't as good as it has been in the past.  I really enjoyed my pineapple juice and danish, but the entree was a little disappointing.  Kevin loves eggs benedict, but ended up picking his apart.  It was clear that the egg was fried, not poached.  I think he ate about half the egg, and then moved it off the english muffin and just ate the rest of it.   I had waffles with strawberries and turkey bacon.  The turkey bacon wasn't crisp enough, so I only ate a few bites (we make turkey bacon at home- you really have to cook the heck out of it to make it crisp. Microwave is best. This was probably on a grill top.)  The waffles were good though, and I liked the strawberry sauce.

After breakfast you'll be shocked to hear we went to Trivia.  Up first, at 10:00, was "Ultimate Mind Games" which is usually of the type of "a rooster lays an egg on the top of a steeple roof. Which way does it roll" brain teasers, but instead this was just the regular mixed trivia we'd done all week.  We did fine, but that was kind of a bummer.

We skipped Towel Folding and went back to the room to have a nap.  This is my favorite cruise activity.  Kevin sat out on the balcony and said there were tons of flying fish.

Then, at 1:00 was movie quotes trivia.  Kevin played and I spent some more on my sign and sail.  This time I splurged and got the plate of 5 chocolate covered strawberries :)  I'm a big spender on cruises - haha.

I don't know why people spend so much on their bar bills.  This is cruise ship goodness.

I had wanted to do the Groove for St. Jude at 1:30, but it was the same time as Guess that Song trivia.  We had always really liked that in the past, but this was all obscure 80s songs, and Kevin actually gave up!  It was awful.  Should have gone and grooved!

Hanging out at song trivia.

At this point we did go back up to the Lido (second time this cruise?) and grabbed some ice cream, pizza, and fabulous lemonade.

At 2:15 was "The Game of Love" (Newlywed Game) and it was tamer than our last cruise, but always funny.  The cruise director filled in "the best answers" he had heard- which were all hysterical.  I always wonder if those are the best answers or if the entertainment staff sat around and said "you know what would be so funny?  If someone said..."

At 3:00 we went to Tea Time.  This was wonderful, although no one at the table really talked to anyone they weren't with.  I love the strawberries and cream.  I also had a cucumber sandwich.  Kevin had smoked salmon, and I think a macaroon with dark chocolate.

Afterwards we went to sports trivia and on to the main event: progressive trivia final!  After placing second by only 3 points on the Freedom (having missed the first day of progressive trivia) our strategy was simple: show up everyday.  One other team had the same strategy, but we got the win by, I think, 6 points.  We had so much fun with our trivia team the entire cruise, and we were rewarded with a bundle of ships on a stick, and a bottle of champagne.

Ship on a stick for all! (This is the only trivia event the entire team gets a trophy.)

Team LA-AR-IA

We then grabbed some sushi and all went over the the Fun Farewell party (Cheryl ran to the room to chill the champagne), which is not a well kept secret on the Triumph. It was clearly in the Fun Times as being free drinks, and the place was packed. There was singing and dancing, and drinks were flowing. Unlike the past guest party there are no hors d'euvres. We had a lot of fun dancing, posing for pictures, and just goofing off.

Kevin drank whiskey sours (YUCK! Even the cherry was gross), Cheryl prefered to have beer.

Someone mentioned they didn't get to see the dinner show the previous night. It was essentially "shimmy-clap-clap-clap" so I recapped it for them.



 

The previous night I had a lesson in posing to look skinny, so we gave it a try.  The secret is chin OUT no, UP.

Errett started it...

Just being silly now.

Months behind the trend, we decided to go for the full Tebow.

At dinner there wasn't anything I wanted to eat, and as much as I really wanted the Indian dinner again, I didn't want to eat that much.  One of my favorite appetizers was on the menu, so I asked for it, and then it again for dinner. 

I had hoped to order off the kids menu, and just get a spaghetti or something, but they told me the kids menu pasta is the same as the adult pasta- just a smaller portion.  Well, it was a sea food pasta.  :(  I'm kind of surprised they do that, because I don't think most kids would like that.  Kevin had a study in sushi as his appetizer, and he had the seafood pasta, which he really liked. 

For dessert I did get the kids banana split, and I think I'll stick with warm chocolate melting cake.  The sauce wasn't so good- I think just hershey's syrup.  I've never had a banana split before though.

What? No cherry on top?

After dinner we skipped the Big Easy show and went to the family friendly comedy at 7:30, where we met up with LA ARIA and had our champagne.

Glasses for six?

Pretending to pour into a tower. 

The guy behind us who took a picture for us scored glasses for him and his wife, because 3 of our group were non drinkers.  (I didn't have any of it, so I can't tell you if their free champagne is any good.  Kevin says it was 'alright'.  But the main adjective to describe it was 'free'.) 

 The comedian was fantastic. Kevin thought we had seen him on comedy central before- J.R. McCollom, I think. He did a really good show, and apparently did a different show every time he performed. I imagine his notes for the show are an outline of jokes he thinks he might do, and then he just throws it away, because he spent most of the time picking on the audience. It was fantastic (and I did get picked on.) There were 4 unrelated kids in the front row. All who said they were at the show alone because their parents were taking "a nap." Poor J.R. he said "so many jokes, but this is family comedy time!".


We hung out for awhile until the next comedian at 8:30. I don't remember his name, but he said it would be the same show he did the previous family comedy time, he only has different adult shows. That seemed lazy. His show wasn't so good. There was a small portion set aside to pick on the audience, but he kept trying to make pre-concieved jokes work, rather than working with what he got. He needed someone with a tattoo, for example, but not many people in the room cheered when he asked if anyone had one. So then he kind of tried to force to make the show work. He also did too many bodily function jokes. Not my thing.

At 9:00, we chose not to go to The Big Easy, and just headed to bed. Kevin's duty free purchases had been delivered, and they tape up the box to make it really hard to verify things are correct (they were). We did not put our bags off, as we were going to do self-debarkation.

 

Triumph Cruise Day 4 (April 17, 2012)

We planned a slightly lazy morning getting up for Cozumel- we’d just get up when we did.  We ended up waking up around 7:15/7:30 and were pulling into port as we did.  We could see the Legend and the Glory were already there (as well as Mariner of the Seas).  We maneuvered into place, and we found ourself face to face with the Glory’s bridge. It was kind of ackward to be on the balcony in a robe, because the officers were standing right there. …

So we go showered and cleaned up, and headed out for the day.  We were still so full from the night before we SPLIT a banana for breakfast.  Seriously.  For breakfast we SHARED a banana.  (Which was an excellent banana.  Mexico has spoiled me on them. The ones at home don't taste good at all.)  We didn't eat again until almost noon.

I’ll note that again we heard NO announcements saying we could disembark, but it was around 8:00 which was our arrival time. The pier duty free shop that you MUST walk through is insanely long and feels like extortion. You shouldn’t have to go through such a ridiculous shop (the salespeople pushing at you is even worse when you come back.) Puerto Maya also has a TON of shops as you walk through the taxi, and while you need to ignore the sales pitch, at least you don’t have to go in (and thus try to walk around people who are looking.)

We found the taxi’s and I want to note that Money Bar is listed on the taxi-fare thing as Dzul-Ha. The fare is $8 for up to 4 people. We asked for Dzul-Ha, the taxi lady said “you know, no beach, only snorkeling” which is just what we wanted, she got us into a taxi, and sped (not kidding- this is the guy you want on the amazing race) away. The man driving the taxi never told us his name or anything. As we left, we handed him $9 (he didn’t ever tell us a fare at all), but he didn’t count it in front of us, so I only assume he saw us looking at the sign and knew we knew the rate.

Money Bar doesn't have a good beach, but they do have sand, beach chairs, and tables with umbrellas.  You get into the water by stairs (two different entrances) or a ladder at the end of the pier.  We always got in through the stairs, but sometimes it was easier to get out on the ladder. The currents and waves were somewhat strong.

We were at Money Bar by 8:15 (maybe slightly earlier). We walked up to the bar and asked if we needed to rent a chair (I knew they were free, but it just seems weird…so I wanted to verify) and they said no, so we made ourselves at home. We didn’t have any valuables in our bag, so we just left it on the chairs, there were no problems at all- though they did have lockers. I heard at least 75% of the people on the beach mention cruisecritic at some point in time- so that is clearly the way to learn about this spot! There were quite a few Carnival cruisers there, but I didn’t hear anyone else say they were on the Triumph, some may have been.

So early morning, Kevin and I hop in to go snorkeling and well, I still suck at it.  I freak out, as I cannot breathe.  I have panic attacks, and end up putting my mask on the chair and  coming back and just swimming along with him, as I don’t want him in the ocean alone.  We do this for about an hour, and he says there are a good number of fish.   Then it is back on the beach for our first drinks (we stayed non-alcoholic)- a Mango Tango for me and a Limeade for him.  Both were nice and frosty, he said his was a bit too minty.  I don't really drink, and he doesn't drink alcohol while swimming (good policy) or if he is in the sun too much (most people on Mexican beaches disagree...)

After this I decided I would try again.  This time, I did much better, but still not very well.  And the fish were amazing- I had never seen so many! And so many varieties.  What was interesting though is the current had changed directions.  This time, when I got out (after 30 minutes) my legs were  SO exhausted.  Because again I didn't swim the whole time in my mask, I had a quick conversation with another woman and her husband was out there by himself, we decided when he came back, if they were to go out again, we'd send our husbands together!

 

 So Kevin went back into the water with this wife's man, and he said that the fish were amazing.  They went quite far out, so he said it was even better than what I had seen.  I can't imagine how great that must have been- because what I saw was incredible (of course, the underwater camera only ever seemed to capture one fish at a time, and he only took it out with him the first time he went out.)  While he swam, I just chatted on the beach with the woman.  They were on the Glory, and enjoying their cruise.  She agreed with me that the water had been rougher than most cruises, so it wasn't due to the Triumph being an old ship, just the seas being rough.

 So Kevin came back and we decided it was time to eat again.  We had a giant plate of Nachos, I had a "Pretty in Pink" smoothie and he had a "Beachcomber".  No idea what was in those, but they were both fantastic!   All four drinks and the nacho plate cost us $24.   Really reasonable, especially since we had free use of their chairs (and restroom).

 A little after eating we went out snorking again, and this was my best time out.  I decided we should stay where I can stand and I had no problems at all.  If I freaked out, I just stood up, caught my breathe and then started again.  This resulted in me being able to snorkel for much longer periods between freak outs.  Yay!  We'll need to take one more cruise to practice before heading to the Galapagos.

As we were getting out of the water, we decided we would likely pack up, and the skies agreed with us- a short rainstorm came by!  Money Bar has a good covering, so everyone gathered under it, and we found a taxi just outside who would take us back.  This time, the other couple split the taxi with us, so goodness! What a deal!

We did some quick shopping in the port.  We bought a $1 maraca for our SIL who was on the last cruise with us, but home with a newborn now, a shot glass for my Dad's collection and t-shirts for both me and Kevin.  We are terrible hagglers and they were problably the most expensive t-shirts in Cozumel, 2 for $25.

 Heading back to the port, it was a bit crowded and we had a few hours before all on board.  I was surprised so many people were coming back.  The pedi-cab guys will give you a free ride, you only need to tip.

My normal post-port routine is a BLT and a Chicken Fajita wrap from room service, but I couldn't get them to answer the phone.  What a disappointment!  I never got it the whole trip.  I later found out that the phones are a trick.  They have a room service button, but it doesn't work.  You have to dial the number listed in the Fun Times.  Boo.  Hiss.   Here I am before my shower, all yucky from a day at the beach.  Bet the Glory Bridge thinks I'm beautiful!

So I took a shower and Kevin went to do TV Theme Song trivia while I slept.  Then, we went out to the balcony to watch pier runners.  What a disappointment!  This picture was taken 10 minutes after all on-board time!!!!  That is the port building, and if you haven't been to Cozumel before, to get an idea, if you see the picture above of me with the ship in the background, the port curve around toward the ship.  This is a TON of people.  There was no sense of urgency at all to get back on board by most people (or they would have been there 30 minutes earlier...)  The line was still this long at sail away time, and so we left to go play trivia.)

 

This is me on the balcony.  No fun runners to watch.  I made this dress (and my formal night dress)!  So excited to get to wear it.

 See that LONG line?  This is right before sail away time.

 We gave up on the pier runners (we had to- it was time for progressive trivia) and I got some chocolate covered strawberries. I have to buy SOMETHING with my sign and sail card.  This (and 5 more the next day) were the only things on my card. (Since tips and Chef's table all went on Kevin's.)

We did well with progressive trivia, but instead of sports trivia we went and tasted rum cake.  The original and coconut were good, but the chocolate and pineapple tasted way too much like rum.  I think many people find that to be a selling point, but YUCK. 

At this point we headed back to the spot by the World's bar and picked up some sushi.  I believe Kevin had 4 plates.  I had one plate and it was fantastic!

 At this point the whole trivia team went to the piano bar and played Monopoly cards and Quiddler.  Courtesy of the camera timer, we got a fun picture.

 Then two of the couples went to dinner (the third couldn't because unfortunately they don't have Anytime Dining- a downside of Carnival's system.  I wish you could bring in a guest!)  Kevin said he felt badly that he was dressed so casually, but shorts and t-shirt seemed to be a norm.  Because we went with friends, straight from what we were doing, we didn't go up to change.  Anytime does make it a lot easier to be casual.  With late dinner we used to have so much time to kill, he'd always dress nicely.

 After dinner we went to the magic show and got seats in the balcony towards the front. As a result we could see some of how the tricks ("illusions!") worked.  Of course, we couldn't figure all of them out.  The magician was kind of odd.  Anders was quiet and soft spoken, but his show was all sorts of flash and motorcycles and rock and roll.  The Carnival dancers participated in the shows, and it was pretty much the skimpiest costumes I've seen.  They were gorgeously done though.

After the show we went to the piano bar, but it was taken over by a group of people quite a bit older than us who were kind of monopolizing the music suggestions.  We moved over to Karoeke where we met Todd and Ashley from Chef's table, and I sang again.  This time, having learned the rules of Karoeke (sing about alcohol or sex to get a free pass) I sang "Jose Cuervo", which is a song I love.  The low voice of the singer means I can sing almost all of it, sort of well.  She only really holds one note long.  This may become my go to song.

The table we were sitting with were really partying, the waiter kept bringing over more drinks (we never saw anyone ask for them!) and more chits to sign.  They told us they had been drinking since noon (and it was about 10:00) There was no way they had any idea what they were spending.  I said to Ashley, "You'll have a surprise bill tomorrow" and she responded "We'll just have to go home and make more money!"  LOL!  So that explains how people do this! 

At one point in the night two tequila shots appeared (we assumed from someone who was drinking beers on Todd's tab as a "thank you") but no one would drink them.  I told Kevin I was thinking I might (tequila was my drink of choice in college) and told Ashley I would if she would.  She said no way!   Later a few people started telling me I should drink them, and one of the ladies at the table (very drunk... she kept inadvertently flashing people. I think she forgot she was wearing a mini skirt. Thank goodness for undies!) said "no, no don't pressure her!"  Which I thought was sweet.  Once I explained I don't drink just because I don't care to, and I wasn't alcoholic.  She joined in the "drink" refrain.  Then Todd said "there is no way she could even do it."  I turned to Kevin and said "it's like on margarita right?"  And at that time another man came over, saw an unclaimed shot and said - is this for me?  He drank it, so I decided to claim the other one.  I looked at Todd and said "You don't think I could drink a shot? Just one?" and downed it.  Ashley chimed in with "OMG! I could have never done that. Wow"  Which cracked me up, because she was probably on drink 15 or so, and I had done a single shot...   I don't know what kind of tequilla it was, but it wasn't cheap.  I barely tasted it until I was done drinking it, and with just a little lime it wasn't too much of an after taste.   Since it had been quite some time since I had a drink, I went to the bar and and got a glass of water for myself (and one for Kevin) and I felt fine the whole night.  Apparently the lightweight I am I don't get drunk on one shot, and really never felt it at all.  Yay.
The antics of our friends kept us awake until the midnight Burlesque show.  I'm not sure what I was expecting, but it wasn't really worth staying awake for.  The girls were dressed about the same as for the shows (except their thongs were never covered by skirts, as they sometimes, but not always, are in the shows).  Maybe it was just that they were much closer to the crowd?  The magician was the MC and did a trick or too and told some dirty jokes.  Otherwise, meh.  Two men sort of got a lap dance, so maybe that makes it R-rated?  That part was kind of cute. The girls dresses unwrapped to tie the men to the chair.

After this, it was definetly time for bed!

Carnival Triumph Chef's Table

This event was so special it deserves its own post. Kevin and I are pretty budget minded cruisers.  We don't gamble or run up bar tabs, we are frugal with our excursion choices.  But for once, we decided to splurge.  I've always resisted the temptation of the Carnival Steakhouse (the main dining room has good food- why pay $30 more?) but there was finally an offering that I thought was worth the upcharge: The Chef's Table.   Kevin is a bit of a foodie, and I thought this was an experience he would really enjoy.  But I was worried about me: I'm pretty darn picky.  Thanks to cruise critic I saw the menu ahead of time and learned that they will make accomodations, so I decided to try it.  The cost of the evening is $75 per person, which includes wine.  I don't drink wine.  Yet another trepidation: would it be worth it?  And would our night be ruined by people trying to "drink their money's worth?"  I'm happy to report the answers were: Yes.  and No.  We actually ended up tipping an extra $20, and although everyone "enjoyed themselves", no one was sloppy drunk. Everyone was clearly there for the food.

We reserved the Chef's Table by emailing the Maitre'D before the cruise.  It took him a very long time (3 weeks?) to respond, most people online reported responses within 2 days...

The very first thing that shows there is great attention to detail is the night before the Chef's Table.  While eating in the main dining room --anytime dining- so they must have had us flagged on the computer. Not sure what they do if you go to the Lido that night- maybe a phone call? Or maybe you are SOL :) -- a representative of the Chef came and asked us if we had any allergies or food preferences.  Kevin said no and I said I do not drink wine.  I told them my preference was Diet Coke to drink.  It helped I had seen the menu ahead of time.  I knew there was no maple (Kevin's most hated food product) and the onions were limited (Kevin isn't a huge fan.)  I also knew there was no pork or baby animals (lamb/veal)- as those are the things I do not eat.  I also knew there was a lot of seafood, but was determined to be adventurous and try it.  We were told to meet up for the Chef's Table the next night at 6:15, that men could not wear T-shirts (they didn't say ladies, maybe they just assume ladies tend to dress up?) and asked that I wear close toed shoes (didn't say men... another assumption...) and no heels.

Which brings us to the day of the Chef's Table.  We skipped sushi (so sad!) because we didn't want to eat anything ahead of time.  At 6:00 we headed down to the lobby to meet up at 6:15.  I have to say- this was kind of stressful.  We were not told who we were meeting, no exact spot, and the lobby was crowded.  Finally I saw an officer in whites and went over to her and she did have the list for the Chef's table.  She checked our name off, and told us the Chef would be out shortly.   Well that part was easy, he was wearing a big Chef's hat! The Chef shook Kevin's hand and introduced himself and said "Your name?" to which Kevin did not respond!! I was shocked, so he shook my hand, I introduced myself as Jessica, and he did the same to everyone else.  No one else seemed to introduce themselves.  I can only assume his thick accent and the loud lobby made it so that no one else heard him ask for their names?

After the introductions the Chef said "Jessica. That I will remember, you will be the Chef of the night!"  Since no one else had introduced themselves, I felt kind of embarassed and thought he was picking on me. Especially since he kept refering to me as we walked through to the galley!  (In good fun, but I was embarassed to have done something different from everyone else.)

We went into galley during the dinner service and got a tour.  The very first thing we learned is that a lot of waiters will try to go 'out' the 'in' door, and the Chef does NOT like this.  He scolded a few, and then you could see them warning other waiters to not go that way.  The Chef tells us they do this to serve tables faster, but it causes accidents and dropped trays.  We got to see all the food stations set up, and it was very orderly, and very busy.

We stopped at a large table set up for us.  There was champagne flutes, and a Diet Coke, and a Ginger Ale.  Turns out the other non-drinker was the Chef :)  Everyone got champagne, I got my Diet Coke, and then another woman asked for one.  She said it hadn't occured to her to tell them she doesn't drink alcohol, and thought she would have water...  We all toasted to the evening, and out came the appetizers.  (I may have the order wrong...)

-Oh, no photos were allowed in the galley, so I don't have those here...-  The Chef described each course, but the noise in the galley made it a little difficult to hear. 

Up first was an Ahi Tuna Tartar on a cracker.  I think the cracker had wasabi backed into it.  The size was HUGE.  My first thought was there was no way I could eat that much Ahi Tuna, but it was SO good I dug into it.  Wow!

Next was a mini-beef taco, with a sour cream drizzle and sweet avacado.  I've never had sweet avacado (it wasn't really guacamole) but it was amazing. Just thinking about it I want a bowl full. This had too much beef in it for me, so I handed it over to Kevin to finish after an initial bite.  The man next to me (from San Antonio) pronounced it the best taco he'd ever had.  I think at this point all the champagne glasses (and my coke) were refilled!

Then we had a duck potsticker with a barbeque sauce. This was really good, but the sauce made it difficult to eat.  It was really something you wanted to pick up to eat, but the sauce made it messy (unlike the taco which you could pick up). It couldn't really be split with a fork.  I finally just picked it up, and wiped off my fingers, but many tried to use the fork.

Last, we had Avocado Cheesecake, wrapped in phillo dough.  It was designed to look like a present.  This was a perfect little bite.  The Ahi Tuna was my favorite though...  Everyone finished up their second glass of champagne and we moved on. 

We walked through more of the galley and saw gigantic vats they use to cook the sauces! Wow. Then we moved by cooling racks FILLED with Warm Chocolate Melting Cake.  They said about half the desserts served each night are WMC.

And it turns out I wasn't being teased when I was made Chef of the night.  At this point I got a hat (that I got to keep) and an apron and got to make the WMC we would eat that night!  The Chef gave Kevin permission to take a picture, so here I am serving up the WMC I stirred (well, I had the Chef stir the flour in- it was really hard!)  They say never trust a skinny Chef, but later he told us a Chef never needs to eat.  It is important to taste things all day long, so you never have to have a meal.  Interesting!

 After making the dessert, we were off to the library where a table for 12 was made up.  Along the side of the room were lots of plates with various things on them, getting ready to be plated.  Food was brought up from the kitchen all night, but all the plating took place to the side of us.  (We didn't really watch it though- just glanced as other things were going on.)  There is a lot of attention to detail.  In addition to the Chef, there were 3 sous Chefs, and a bar waitress.  One server for every two people.   We were seated across the table from our dining companion (everyone happened to be in pairs, though there were a few pairs who were not couples).  I was originally worried about this- not being able to easily talk to Kevin, but it was no problem, and we really enjoyed talking with our tablemates too.

We took a picture, which we were told was available for $10.99 in the gallery (what? Everyone on cruise critic says it is included. Well later, he says because we were such a great group, he'd throw it in for us!) and then sat down to eat.  The bar waitress offered a red and white wine, and everyone took both (seperate glasses were already set out) and the non-drinkers got our cokes.  A full selection of cokes was set up to the side table, so anything could be requested by anyone, not just by those who had said they wouldn't have wine.  I did have to ask once for my Diet Coke to be refilled, but most of the night it just happened.  I don't think a wine glass ever got to be more than 1/3 full.  The bar waitress said something to the Chef about levels being fine when he said to pour for someone- so she clearly had a point she was watching for.  I think Kevin estimated he drank a bottle of wine (!!)...but it would be impossible to know, because the glass never got to be empty.  He is a bit of a wine snob and said the wines were very nice for house wines, but they weren't wine pairings or anything.  Carnival did not go bottem of the barrel though. What they were was mentioned, but I don't remember the details.

We started with assorted breads- I remember there was a foccacia and a multi-grain, as well as something like a stick?  Different than the MDR.  We all tried a blended butter and were asked to guess the ingredient.  No one got it right (without a lot of prompting) and I won't tell you here, because you should try it.

Then of first course came out.
This is Beef Carpaccio.  I can't remember what is on top of each one, but everything tasted amazing.  They were hard to get off the plate, because they are sliced so thin.  Kevin knew raw meet was a stretch for me (I rarely eat meat) so he said he looked over to see if I was trying it, and my plate was already clear!

 Next out was a plate with a charred Lemon and Lime, some aoili and tamarind slices.

 The sous Chef's came around and gave everyone a generous serving of Fried Calamari.  There was one woman at the table who did not eat seafood and she got cheese balls.  (Oh, for the Ahi Tuna, she got Chicken Salad on a cracker.)  This was fantastic.  I've never had Calamari without marinara, and I've been missing out.  Both the lemon and lime added great flavor (no favorite here) and the aoli was amazing.  I liked the tamarind too.

 Next, Grilled corn and a cilantro drizzle on tomato.  At this point, everything has been so good, I think a few people picked up forks and were ready to eat.  Not quite!

 A Poblano Chili Bisque was poured into the bowl.  OMG. This was to die for.  I could eat a gallon.  I wish I could describe the taste.  It wasn't hot or spicy, just perfect.  There were anchovies in it, and I think I could taste them, but not like Carnival's Caesar salads that are fishy. They just added a bite.

 Next up was the Chopped Medeterranean Salad.  This is the only thing I didn't care for.  It tasted too much like black olives (yuck).  I don't know if there were any in there (couldn't find any, but there were small black chops of something). I forgot to tell them I don't eat olives...  I will next time!  Just in case.  I didn't finish mine.  The cracker on the top was pumpkin, and SO good.

 Then out came a plate with a Chilean Sea Bass fillet.  It had a lobster foam, and a wine sauce.  With amazing attention to detail, mine was done with a vinegarette instead of wine.  I never expected telling them I don't drink alcohol would mean they wouldn't cook with it.  Incredible attention to detail.  (The non-seafood eater got a piece of chicken. I think it had the bone in, I'm not really sure...) 

 But that wasn't all.  The sous chef's came by and added a pea rissoto to the plate.  The risotto was delicious and the sea bass was melt in your mouth.  Wow.  I want to say it was buttery?  I don't like fish, and while this wasn't fishy, it still had a fish texture.  That said, I think I had 4 bites.  The Chef gently teased me about not finishing (he had told us we had to eat everything or not get a special treat at the end, although he didn't say anything to the other lady who didn't eat quite a bit of the food, likely due to a smaller appetite, at least just as likely as not enjoying.  Maybe it was because I was "Chef of the Night", so we were pals by now...) Kevin laughed at him and said "that's the most fish she has ever eaten!"  And he is probably right.  Honestly, if I hadn't know what was coming next I may have eaten the whole thing!

 This was where we had a bit of a wait.  Before the sea bass we were asked how we would like our steak cooked.  (I chose medium.  I tend to go medium well, but I know that is a travesty to the cow, or something like that, and since this was fine dining I went with a little less cooked.  One man at the table was happy to find out that they would cook it rare.)  During the fish course I excused myself to go the restroom (I was the only one who ever did- how did people manage? I felt like I was going to burst having had so much to eat and drink.) I had started feeling a bit sick feeling so stuffed up (or really full of liquids) and would not have enjoyed the final courses at all if I had not left.  Unfortunately there is no restroom very near the library.  The best plan I could come with was to go down one floor and all the way to the front of the boat.   I guess I was the only one who did, but it seems like odd placement of a meal.

Anyhow, while we were waiting a magician came to entertain us.  I believe this is the same waiter who sang "That's Amore" in the dining room, in which case he is very talented indeed!  His tricks were very good, and I think everyone at the table enjoyed them.  Some online have said that a magician is out of place in a fine dining experience like this, but I thought it was perfect.

So then, out comes our final course.  A Filet Mignon topped with leaks and a pepper stoplight.   This was the best steak I have ever had in my life.  I've eaten a lot of Filet Mignon and Tenderloin (it's really the only steak I eat...) and this hands down is the winner.  Wow.  If this is what Filet Mignon tastes like on Carnival, our next cruise I am paying the steakhouse upcharge!

 Side dishes of brocolli and baked potato were served.  I turned down the brocolli (this is Kevin's plate) being pretty stuffed, but had the potatoes. They were buttery and yummy.

 For dessert we were presented a dish that was not named, but called "Chef in a Candy Store" on cruise critic.  I really loved this.  Each of the crackers was made with a weird ingredient- like black olive (surprinsgly I liked it...) or carrot. But they were all sweet and delicious.  All the dots were different flavors, some just sweet bases, others more like fruity jellies.  So good!  We were also offered coffee, espresso drinks, or hot chocolate.

 And then, out came our mini-warm chocolate melting cakes and a scoop of ice cream.  So good!  As "Chef of the Night" I was asked to pass out a recipe card to everyone for WMC (I wore the hat...) and the Chef handed us all a photo of the evening.  Our "special surprise" for eating everything (I got to have it anyway) was a menu from the evening.

The event was VERY long.  Multiple times we saw our friends walk by and they waved, or pointed at their watches.  I think they were surprised it was still going on.  That said, it never dragged, and we had such good company at the table (including Todd the guy who rang my buzzer in game show mania! Small ship...) that we had an amazing evening.

I left feeling very full, but not uncomfortable.

We did get out in time to go to the talent show, but just barely.  The guests in the show were good.  We had a few singers (one wrote their song, the other did "I Will Always Love You"), a beat boxer (he was great- too young to get a bottle of champagne so the CD said he'd give him something even more expensive: a bottle of water), a drum soloist who was excellent, and maybe something I'm forgetting.  The CD also did a magic trick before the show started, he gave a kid a magic coin which, if she put under her pillow at night would turn into a ten dollar bill!  As she left the stage wide eyed, he said "Mom and Dad, you know how the magic works right?"  Kevin said he also said "If it doesn't work, Mom and Dad don't love you." But I didn't hear it.  (He gave the girl a build a bear box "just in case it doesn't work.")  Tex is a pretty funny cruise director.

And then, time to go to bed! Cozumel is up next!