Gunbae Korean BBQ

Korean barbecue, or Korean BBQ, is the experience of cooking marinated meat over a hot grill found in the center of the table.  If this sounds like something you'd like to try, reserve Gunbae restaurant for one of your evening dinners on Virgin Voyages Scarlet Lady. 

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We made a reservation for our group of five on the first sea day. The menu consists of several small plates and then the main course which consists of several kinds of meat. At Gunbae there are several drinking games that can also participate in, but we took a pass on those. 

As you can see in the pictures, we shared all the small plates as well as the main course. If you don't have enough to eat, it's your own fault because there is plenty of food. 

It was quite an enjoyable evening sharing food with our friends. As with all the restaurants on Scarlet Lady, there isn't an extra charge, unlike dining on other cruise lines which would consider this a specialty restaurant.  For more pictures, including current menu, see our Gunbae Photo Album.

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Montevideo Pier and Markets

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 Crown Princess

Montevideo, Uruguay

Montevideo was one of the few ports where our ship was docked.  At the conclusion of our excursion, the motor coach let us off near the ship.  Instead of getting back onboard, we opted to check out the market and search for some local cuisine for lunch.

It was a short walk to the market area.  On the way there, we had a vantage point of our ship that was framed by several nautical items which made for a great photo opportunity.

Montevideo BBQ Lunch

One of the things on our bucket list for this trip was to have some authentic South American BBQ.   We figured that we wouldn't have time to have it in Buenos Aires, so we decided to enjoy a leisurely lunch in Montevideo.

We had been told to look for the main building which contained the meat market.  Finding the building was quite easy - we just had to follow the smell of open fire BBQ pits.  Imagine your backyard BBQ on steroids - that's the best way to describe the sense of smell both inside and outside the market.

Once inside we saw vendor after vendor preparing meats on their open flame pits.  We started walking aimlessly from row to row until we cam across some fellow passengers who were just completing their lunch.   We stopped to check out the menu and they told us about their meal and encouraged us to eat there.  They told us the waitress would take great care of us and that the food was fabulous.   That made our decision easy - what's better than a recommendation from someone who has just eaten at the restaurant.

We ordered steaks and fries.  We had a side of bread and a sauce which really brought out the flavor of the meat.  We highly recommend Don Garcia Restaurant for the food and great service.

After our lunch we shopped at the local vendors selecting some hand-made items as gifts.  We then returned to the ship, taking a few more pictures in the harbor area, mainly of our ship.

 
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Montevideo City Tour
Montevideo Harbor
Montevideo Market

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Celebrity Solstice - Oceanview Café

While on our pre-inaugural cruise on Celebrity Solstice, one of the first experiences we had was dining in the Oceanview Café.

We were immediately struck by the eye appeal of both the dining area and the serving area. Especially appealing was the serving area which was very spacious. The color scheme included beiges, and other light colors, yellow, gold, and blue lighting. Signs overhead clearly marked each serving station.

Passengers collected a plate from one of the many serving islands and filled their plates as they made their way easily from station to station. There were duplicates of some stations so that if the line was long at one of them, you could simply go to another one and not have any wait.

The stations included a beverage station, salad bar, fromagerie (cheese selections), pasta kitchen, pizzeria, BBQ, chefs corner, the carvery, the bakery, and desserts. At each station, the food was arranged meticulously - nothing was out of place.

We've seen many buffets on ships and this was the most efficient and elegant setting that we've ever seen. It goes without saying that the quality of food was very good also. Celebrity has definitely raised the bar on fast food.

We enjoyed all of our breakfasts in Oceanview as well as our lunches. If you didn't want to eat inside, you could go out on deck and enjoy the ocean views in an open setting. Don't miss this treasure while onboard a Celebrity Solstice class ship.

NCL Dawn Bermuda - Sail Away from NY

When we awoke the sky was a bit threatening, but the sun came out and burned the clouds away leaving a beautiful blue sky with billowy, puffy white clouds. The New York City skyline is magnificent especially when it is framed by clouds.

The railings along the pool-side decks were lined with passengers as we sailed past the NYC skyline on the port side and New Jersey on the starboard side. Off in the distance, on the starboard side stood the Statue of Liberty, torch reaching into the blue sky. The highlight of the sail-away was sailing close to the statue as we headed out to open sea.

We have had several opportunities to sail past the Statue of Liberty, the first being upon return from a Trans-Atlantic many years

ago. That time, the sun was just rising and the torch really glowed in the morning light. Perhaps a more striking image was that on that past cruise, the World Trade Center buildings were still standing and they too were glistening in the morning light.

On that day in September, 2001, the New York skyline was changed forever, but through it all, the Statue of Liberty still stood fast in the harbor with her torch lighting the way to freedom for so many people that have come before us, and those that will follow. How fitting that we had visited Ground Zero on this trip so that we were now reminded about what the Statue of Liberty reall means to all of us.

After passing the Statue, the crowded thinned out and the party kicked into full gear. The band played on the stage by the pool and the BBQ was ready to be served. The menu consisted of hamburgers, hot dogs, and chicken along with all the trimmings. Since we hadn't had any food when we first got onboard, we were starting to get hungry, so we decided to partake in the BBQ. There's nothing like good old outdoor cooking - and to think it wasn't in our backyard, but on a cruise ship. We'd actually have BBQ lunches several times throughout the cruise, since we spent some of our free-time poolside.

The cruise was officially started; we looked back in the distance and saw the New York City skyline fade away. In my next post, I'll take you inside the El Dorado Spa for a closer look.