Sea days are lazy and this is no exception. A late start is followed, slowly, by an even later breakfast. One could even argue if this were a Sunday it should be more like…Brunch. But that’s a hard argument to make. Every day could be Sunday insomuch as any given day onboard a cruise ship is a day to really do whatever you want.
Or nothing at all. 🙂
So after…Brunch…a trip to the hot tub seemed in order. An extraordinarily relaxing time there is spent but the bubbles, being on a timer, just quit. Hmmm…I could reach over and simply push the button to restart them….but…don’t I hear my eReader and a Margarita calling my name? Why…yes I do! I believe I shall join them on that comfortable lounge chair that waits patiently for my arrival.
Oh oh…time seems to have slipped by somehow. It’s almost 2 P.M which is when my attendance is required at today’s Wine Tasting in the Tuscan Dining Lounge. Back to the room to make myself a little more respectable in appearance and off I go. My dear wife didn’t wish to join me today but was going to go on a ‘cabin-crawl’ with other Cruise Critic members. This is essentially taking a quick peek into other cabin types throughout the ship. It would have been an interesting view into other, more upscale suites but as it turns out, it never materialized for some reason. Truly unfortunate.
The wine tasting, however, proceeded as planned. I think I’m really becoming too much of a self-proclaimed snob. We are met at the entrance to the Tuscan by a pleasant waiter presenting us each with a glass of Champagne Perrier Jouet Grand Brut. This Champagne is a blend of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. It’s very pale yellow, semi-dry with a very light taste and a short finish. The effervescence is a little less than ginger ale.
I’m not going to bore you with all the details, but the Reader’s Digest version is 4 white and 4 red, France, Italy, Usa (1 of each) a German White and a South African Red to round out the rest. To me the most enjoyable white was the German Riesling. Most disappointing was the Italian Red. The surprise of the afternoon (to me, at least) was the South African Red. Lomond Conebush Vineyard Syrah, vintage 2009 from Cape Agulhas, South Africa. First, I’m not a big fan of Syrah, second I haven’t truly come to grips with good wine and South Africa being synonymous terms. Cherry on the nose, spice on the palette, medium red in color and a very nice finish. I would be willing to say one could take a couple of these, lay them down in the cellar, revisit them in another 5-7 years and be well-rewarded for patience taken.
All in all, I was less than overly impressed yet there were none that were distasteful and I did get a nice surprise. But I’m not a trained sommelier either.
Dinner tonight is in the Silk Harvest dining lounge which is a fusion of Asian culture. Spicy Rock Shrimp and Shrimp and Lobster Dumplings were joined with Vegetable Tempura. Together they created a splendid trio. This dinner was a package deal that basically included anything on the food menu but only one selection from the Sake choices. We decided to try it which ultimately was not the best choice. Although it was Junmai Sake in name, we found out later it was also produced and bottled in the USA. Again, the snob in me considers that to be tantamount to saying that because something is made from grapes and tastes like vinegar, it must be balsamic. Rice wine it may have been…Sake it was not.
Our chosen mains were Crispy Fried Boneless Barramundi, Pad Thai and Roasted Half Asian duck (don’t know the other nationality 😉 ). The Pad Thai was…ok, the duck was quite good and the crispy fish was a little dry. Great ambience, but the food was less than great. Another Asian restaurant, Sushi on Five, has a much better TRUE Sake collection and Fabulous Japanese cuisine.
A short sit-down in a little satellite lounge before retiring for the night. Tomorrow is Cozumel…and heat.