Welcome Aboard Dinner

click images to enlarge

Majestic Princess
Concerto Dining Room

After the mandatory safety drill it was time to get ready for dinner since we had early seating.  We had an assigned table in Concerto Dining Room, one of the main dining rooms on deck 6.   

We like meeting other people during dinner, so our requested seating arrangement was large table.  When we arrived at the dining room, we were escorted to our table by the window which was set for 8 people.  The first night there were only three of  us there but later on in the cruise there were six of us most nights.

Princess Menus

Some of you may not be familiar with Princess Cruise's menus, so we'll give you a run down before getting to the specifics of our welcome dinner.  Each night there is a theme for the meal.  On welcome night the theme was "Australia / New Zealand Cuisine".   The left hand side of the menu features information about the theme and the "Princess Favorites".  These are main dishes which can be selected any evening.   On the right hand side are the featured "Starters, Soups, and Salads" and the "Mains".   This is the variable portion of the menu.

You can select as many starters as you like and then a main dish.   Typically you select a starter along with a soup or salad, but you can have all three if you like.  Sometimes we ask for one of the main dishes in a small portion as a side.  This works great when you have a pasta you'd like to sample along with your main meal.

If you click on the menus to the right to enlarge them, you can get a good idea of the types of choices you have each night.

I've not forgotten the most important part of the meal - the Desserts.  That is a separate menu which is brought to you after the main course.

Dinner is Served

We both started off with the same two starters, something we rarely do. The first starter was "Chilled Apple and Cider Soup" with cinnamon and creamy yogurt.  If you've never had chilled soups before, we highly recommend you try them on your next cruise.  Princess does an excellent job with the chilled soups.  Close your eyes and imagine you are eating a freshly made apple pie.  That's exactly what this chilled delight tasted like.

Next we had "Fried Dim Sum Dumplings" with gingered soy sauce on the side.  Since our cruise was originally sailing to Southeast Asia, we were looking forward to getting many meals with oriental cuisine.   We savored every bite of these yummy dumplings.

My selection for the main dish was "Pad Thai - Southeast Asian Favorite" wok-fried rice noodles with tofu, eggs, vegetables, cilantro chili, lime, and peanuts.  My husband had the "Grilled Spring Lamb Chops" with roasted rosemary potatoes, grilled tomato, butter beans, and thyme jus.   Both of these dishes were excellent.

By now we were both full and dessert was yet to come.  The waiter tempted us with all sorts of cakes but we selected two scoops of ice cream.   I had plain chocolate and hubby had a sundae.

We sailed shortly after dinner started.  The next day would be a relaxing day at sea, which is typical of most voyages we've sailed. The night was still young, so onto some entertainment in our next post.

For more dining images from our cruise, see our Concerto Dining Room photo album.

For more images, see our Shutterfly Photo Page.
Hopefully, you've followed us live on our social media channels as well.  Don't worry if you didn't, as our anchor post will tie everything together for you.  Just click the image (left) to our diary post.
We have lots more coming - so come back again.

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Where have you explored? 

Gather your travel and food pics and join us every Wednesday night for the latest installment of #FoodTravelChat  

Each week we post images from our trips and participate in several travel chats on Twitter.

Take advantage of these resources to assist in you in planning your dream vacations.  Of course, we are always available to answer any questions you might have about travel and the industry.

Where is Chris - Museum Comes to Life Day

In our Where is Chris mini series, we've often written blog posts related to one of the day's themes as featured on checkiday.com.  We couldn't resit "Museums Come to Life Day" which occurs on June 24th each year.    The first thing that came to mind when seeing this day, was the "Night at the Museum" movies.   Wouldn't it be cool to be in your favorite museum when the "inhabitants" came to life?   Before reading the text, can you guess Where is Chris?

Click to enlarge - National Museum Album

We've visited many museums around the world, so we thought we'd feature some of them here and you can let your imagination bring them to life.

National Museum

Let's start our journey through museums of the world in one of our most recent visits. While on a Southeast Asia cruise we visited Kuala Lumpur, or commonly known as KL, Malaysia. Our first stop was at the Malaysia   National Museum, which was built in the style of a Malay palace. Can you just imagine if these pre-historic figures came to life during your visit?   Visit the virtual gallery where the museum comes to life.  (flash enabled)

Sabah Museum Album

Sabah Museum

Next stop on our journey today is the Sabah Museum in Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia. The first thing that greets you as you enter the museum are enormous skeletal remains. My first thought was dinosaur! It was only when I walked closer and read the information that it was a Bryde’s whale.

As you walk through the museum, you come across a Bajau horsemen in full regalia. These horsemen perform as outriders for ceremonial and state functions. Imagine he comes to life and takes you through the rest of the museum,  just like in "Night at the Museum". He'd probably lead you to the Galleri Busana Textile Gallery, where some of his friends were waiting to tag along.

Salesian Museum

Salesian Museum Album

Our final stop on this museum tour today is in South America.  After seeing penguins in their natural surroundings in Punta Arenas, Chile, we explored the city.

The tour took us to the Salesian Museum. One of the most visited rooms is the one devoted to Southern Patagonia, which displays a faithful recreation of the Cave of the Hands.

The objects and documents from the Salesian days, the handicrafts and tools made by the natives, along with the fossils and petrified animals from the area are also part of the displays in the museum.   Imagine if these cave men or the animals came to life.

These are just a few of our candidates for museums that could come to life.   If you've not found enough inspiration, explore many more museums in our Cruise Diaries posts.

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Thanksgiving Reflections 2018

Thankful for ... 
Experiencing New Destinations & Ships

See More Southeast Asia Pics (here)


See our diary from our cruise to Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, and Malaysia

The weather in Southeast Asia in January is gorgeous compared to the cold and snowy winter back home.   The Caribbean isn't the only place you can escape the weather.   We encourage you to expand your cruise vacation destination list to beyond the Caribbean.

HAPPY
THANKSGIVING

It's hard to believe that Thanksgiving is here already. Where did 2018 go? As has become my tradition, I'd like to share with you some of the things that I'm thankful for and highlight some of my adventures this year.

I hope that you, your family, and friends have plenty to be thankful for this holiday season. I know that I have plenty of things to be thankful for, including my health, family, and friends and the ability to share my love of cruising with all of you. I’m grateful that I’ve been able to explore new worlds with family and friends again this year.

The cruise industry is strong as ever with new ships and added capacity helping to keep prices reasonable for those that plan ahead.

The value of cruising has never been stronger. Even in these tough times, more and more families have taken to the seas.  Indications are that the record discounts offered the past two years will be coming to an end.  In the meantime those discounts have made cruising an even better value, and consequently we have seen a surge in first-time cruisers.

Thankful for ... 
Sailing on Brand New Ships

Q Smokehouse Norwegian Bliss

Cruises Inc., Cruise One, and Dream Vacations will hold the 2018 National Conference on Norwegian Bliss which just started its inaugural season.  We sailed out of Los Angeles for the Mexican Riviera, but were diverted to San Francisco, San Diego, and Ensenada due to Hurricane Willa.   We enjoyed experiencing this amazing new ship.  It was the largest ship to ever dock in San Diego, so there was quite a lot of excitement in the port area from locals.




We wonder what the Pilgrims, who came to the New World in Tall Ships, would think about the Norwegian Bliss.  Their ships measured 110 feet, held 150 passengers at most, and took months to cross the Atlantic.  The Bliss is about 10 times that length (1082 feet), holds 4990 passengers (double occupancy) and 1750 crew, and took just a couple weeks to cross the Atlantic.

We will be sailing a preview cruise on Celebrity Edge this weekend - this is the most anticipated new ship for 2018.  Be sure to follow us on our social media for live images.

Thank you for making our blog column a part of your lives in 2018.   I hope that the information we share helps you to dream about future cruises of your own. I'd be honored to help you plan those trips. I have the best job in the world - helping make dreams come true. For that, I'm truly thankful.

Happy Thanksgiving to All

Connect With Us On

        

Sign-up for Exclusive Email Offers


Where have you explored? 

Gather your travel and food pics and join us every Wednesday night for the latest installment of #FoodTravelChat

Museums Come to Life Day

Often we write blog posts related to one of the day's themes as featured on checkiday.com.  We couldn't resit "Museums Come to Life Day" which occurs on June 24th each year.    The first thing that came to mind when seeing this day, was the "Night at the Museum" movies.   Wouldn't it be cool to be in your favorite museum when the "inhabitants" came to life?

Click to enlarge - National Museum Album

We've visited many museums around the world, so we thought we'd feature some of them here and you can let your imagination bring them to life.

Malaysia National Museum

Let's start our journey through museums of the world in one of our most recent visits. While on a Southeast Asia cruise we visited Kuala Lumpur, or commonly known as KL, Malaysia. Our first stop was at the National Museum, which was built in the style of a Malay palace. Can you just imagine if these pre-historic figures came to life during your visit?

Sabah Museum Album

Sabah Museum

Next stop on our journey today is the Sabah Museum in Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia. The first thing that greets you as you enter the museum are enormous skeletal remains. My first thought was dinosaur! It was only when I walked closer and read the information that it was a Bryde’s whale.

As you walk through the museum, you come across a Bajau horsemen in full regalia. These horsemen perform as outriders for ceremonial and state functions. Imagine he comes to life and takes you through the rest of the museum,  just like in "Night at the Museum". He'd probably lead you to the Galleri Busana Textile Gallery, where some of his friends were waiting to tag along.

Salesian Museum

Salesian Museum Album

Our final stop on this museum tour today is in South America.  After seeing penguins in their natural surroundings in Punta Arenas, Chile, we explored the city.

The tour took us to the Salesian Museum. One of the most visited rooms is the one devoted to Southern Patagonia, which displays a faithful recreation of the Cave of the Hands.

The objects and documents from the Salesian days, the handicrafts and tools made by the natives, along with the fossils and petrified animals from the area are also part of the displays in the museum.   Imagine if these cave men or the animals came to life.

These are just a few of our candidates for museums that could come to life.   If you've not found enough inspiration, explore many more museums in our Cruise Diaries posts.

Follow Us On

        

Sign-up for Exclusive Email Offers