Food on NCL Crown and November Weather in the Atlantic

I knew I had seen the parameters of the cabin somewhere, and I just
found it - A Superior Inside Stateroom has two lower beds that can be
converted into a queen-size bed, bathroom with shower, spacious closet
with mirror, television for in-house movies and CNN, hair dryer,
individual air-conditioning, direct-dial phone, music console, and
personal safe. Average size 154 sq. ft. On Riviera Deck. We were
upgraded from a Deluxe Inside Stateroom which was about the same
amount of square feet.

I did not hear anything from anyone in any nearby staterooms. The
room was VERY well sound-proofed. Not like in a motel where you can
hear when the people in the next room to you flush the toilet. I
should also mention that I was really happy not to have to pump the
toilet to flush like you do with a normal marine head. (joke). Of
course the air handling system did put out a considerable amount of
'white noise', and in some places in the ship it sounded like there
was a full gale outside.

I found that there was much more vibration from the engines than I
expected (all over the ship-not just in the cabin). But, I was
impressed to see them maneuver the ship with the thrusters which
appeared to be both on the bow and stern. No tugs were used, going
into or out of port although they stood by in case they were needed.

My BIL tells me that this ship has no stabilizers. The water got a
bit rougher when we went out into the Atlantic - not surprising to me
since I know up close and personal (so to speak) what the waves are
like when there's as much wind as we were having. But I was surprised
that there were no stabilizers.

I did not consider that it was rough as I define rough. Rough to me
is green water over the bow. Bob has taken movies of the seas
breaking over the carrier deck of the USS Essex (60 feet up) in the
North Atlantic which broke the keel of the ship in 3 places and
resulted in it going to the scrap yard. That's rough!!

And I've been on a ferry crossing the English channel where waves were
up to the bow level. But here it just looked like there were some
rollers, and maybe cross waves of 5-8 feet with tiny white caps every
so often which I would not have said was rough. Even so, when I would
take the GPS out on deck, it would show that we were doing 19+ knots
so the rough weather did not slow us down.

I found the motion of the ship quite unpleasant. It also made me walk
like a drunk - I was tacking from side to side if I didn't have
something to hold onto. They shut down the forward elevators due to
the weather, and in some cases we were not to open the doors to the
deck because of wind. Someone broke off one of the grab rails in one
of the elevators, but that was fixed eventually.

Neither of us are prone to seasickness, although if I tried to read or
write for any length of time, I would get a headache, so I spend a lot
of time sleeping. But we did NOT miss any meals.

On the way back, the sea was almost as smooth as glass and there was
very little motion. One would almost not have known that we were on a
ship. Bob was jealous because he says the sea is never that calm when
we are out there.

I LOVED the Freestyle dining, and all of the servers that I observed
really hustled and did a very good job.

I did not attempt to eat in any specialty restaurants except twice in
the Cafe Italia (buffet) because I didn't know far enough in advance
whether I would want Chinese (Chopstiks) or Italian (Pasta Cafe) in
order to make a reservation. I never saw any reason to try the extra
price restaurant Le Bistro.

We ate all our breakfasts on the ship in the Yacht Club. I really
liked the decor here - there were brilliant blue paintings of
sailboats - very saturated color - at the forward end. The buffet
was decorated with melons and other food carved into shapes and there
were up-to-date labels which explained what the food was if you
couldn't quite identify it. There were also sort of comic statues - a
chef, a unicorn, a man at the wheel of a ship etc.

In addition to the rolls, pastries, toast, bagels, English muffins,
pancakes, hot cereal, cold cereal, bacon, sausage, corned beef hash,
fries, salmon, herring, two kinds of scrambled eggs, cold cuts, baked
beans and yogurt, there were omelets and waffles done to order,
various kinds of fruit including figs, cheese blintzes, and cream
cheese rosettes on cucumber slices. And probably some other stuff
that I've forgotten. We could chose from about 6 different juices,
hot tea, ice water, coffee and decafe to drink.

Except for twice when we ate lunch ashore and once when we ate at the
Seven Seas, we also ate most of our lunches, and one dinner (the
Mexican buffet) at the Yacht Club also. I like being able to get a
tiny amount of all the various dishes so I can taste to see whether I
like them without getting a full serving.

The buffet items were kept stocked. Once when I was attempting to
walk with a tray with hot tea on it, I did let one of the ladies carry
my tray for me. Trays and dishes were removed from the tables quite
promptly - sometimes even when you went to get another helping before
you were quite finished.

We ate lunch one time and dinner five times at the Seven Seas
restaurant. I liked the decor of this restaurant too. The ceiling
was mirrors and chrome and stained glass, and there were mirrors and
chrome around most of the walls. I thought it looked very elegant.
We never had to wait very long to be seated except the last night when
there was a bit of a line (The seas were calm and no one was having
room service in their cabin) But even then, I don't think we waited
more than about five minutes in spite of the fact that we were there
around 6 pm.

I thought the food was very good and innovative. The only problem
(other than eating too much and giving myself a tummy ache like I did
on the first night) was that sometimes the menu was written in such an
obscure way that I couldn't tell quite what I would be getting. Some
of the servers were better about explaining what the menu items were
than others were but I think this was mostly a function of how good
their English was.

I was very unhappy to discover that I was limited to one dining coupon
to dine ashore. I had assumed that I could have as many as I wanted.
Not so. Originally I had intended to eat dinner Tuesday at the
Carriage House in St. George, lunch Weds in Hamilton, dinner Weds at
the Hog Penny, and lunch Thursday at the Frog and Onion at King's
Wharf. The changed schedule made mincemeat of that idea.

Since the dinner coupons were supposed to be a value of $50, I thought
that I should really get our money's worth out of them. There's no
point paying $10 for a $50 coupon and then buying a $20 dinner with
it.

The most expensive option would have been Tom Moore's Tavern, which
NCL has mistakenly located in Hamilton. It is NOT in Hamilton in
Pembroke Parish. It is in Hamilton PARISH which is a different
location altogether. The problem with Tom Moore's would be that we
would have to get a cab as the buses stop running out there at 6, and
they don't open until 6:30. So that would not be economical.

We'd stayed at the Hamilton Princess on a previous visit and I figured
that would be the best use of the coupon, and I was right. I had a 16
oz. prime rib which was delicious (but I couldn't eat it all and I
couldn't take it back to my room and keep it for lunch the next day),
which was listed on the menu at $29.50. I also had a Waldorf salad
which was delicious and a chocolate mousse with ice cream which listed
for $8.50. Bob a shrimp pasta dish ($29.00) and fish chowder. I
can't remember what he had for dessert but it would have been $8.00.
We drank tea, and everything including the tips were included.

We also had lunch twice on our own at Freddie's in St. George (good),
and North Rock (more expensive), and we had dinner at the Hog Penny
which had a special for Oct and Nov called Upper Crust Supper of a
three course dinner and tea for $20 per person (plus tips). I had
onion soup and Bob had a salad and then I had Beef Wellington and Bob
has salmon phyllo, and the dessert with this menu was apple pie and
ice cream..



..






grandma Rosalie

S/V RosalieAnn, Leonardtown, MD
CSY 44 WO #156
http://home.mindspring.com/~gmbeasley/id2.html

On Mon, 22 Nov 2004 02:35:43 GMT, Rosalie B. wrote:

I did not hear anything from anyone in any nearby staterooms.

Take a glass, put the open end against the wall......

I swear Chrissey... your responses (barbed as they may sometimes be)
and timing never cease to amaze me.

Best regards...

Bill

(Back from two months aboard the container ship M/V Polynesia
trashing around in the South Pacific...)

P.S. For that matter... also enjoyed the original posters report.

On 22 Nov 2004 15:59:47 -0800, Bill Warnock wrote:

I swear Chrissey... your responses (barbed as they may sometimes be)
and timing never cease to amaze me.

Best regards...

Bill

Welcome and thank you.

(Back from two months aboard the container ship M/V Polynesia
trashing around in the South Pacific...)

Two months in FP? I wish I knew you so I could hate you up close but
instead I feel a poem coming along.

To Karens SegboerCupcakedWhatever

Look who else has been to FP,
It's not you and it's not me.
Will we ever be
Among the free
Humping under a tree
In Tahiti?

Aaaaaaaaaaaaghhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

On 22 Nov 2004 15:59:47 -0800, Bill Warnock wrote:

(Back from two months aboard the container ship M/V Polynesia
trashing around in the South Pacific...)

How was that? Work/play? What?

On 22 Nov 2004 15:59:47 -0800, Bill Warnock wrote:

(Back from two months aboard the container ship M/V Polynesia
trashing around in the South Pacific...)

How was that? Work/play? What?

On Monday, Nov 22, 2004, 3:59 p m
Bill Warnock wrote:

"Back from two months aboard the container ship MV Polynesia
trashing around in the South Pacific............."

So, Mr. Warnock, I take it to mean that "trashing" around on the MV
Polynesia is freighter cruising? That is something we never read about
on this board. It would be interesting to have your comments, even if
brief, on how freighter cruising compared to your previous voyages on
the more conventional cruise ships.......whether you would do it
again........if it was what you expected.

Many thanks........Angelica

On Monday, Nov 22, 2004, 3:59 p m
Bill Warnock wrote:

"Back from two months aboard the container ship MV Polynesia
trashing around in the South Pacific............."

So, Mr. Warnock, I take it to mean that "trashing" around on the MV
Polynesia is freighter cruising? That is something we never read about
on this board. It would be interesting to have your comments, even if
brief, on how freighter cruising compared to your previous voyages on
the more conventional cruise ships.......whether you would do it
again........if it was what you expected.

Many thanks........Angelica

On Wed, 24 Nov 2004 20:58:37 GMT, Karen Segboer wrote:

Review...Review..Review...Review...Review

Bill, can you hear the masses chanting???

Karen, chanting ....

Surely he cannot deny two semi-beautiful women, eh?

Karens, show him your perkies!

On Wed, 24 Nov 2004 20:58:37 GMT, Karen Segboer wrote:

Review...Review..Review...Review...Review

Bill, can you hear the masses chanting???

Karen, chanting ....

Surely he cannot deny two semi-beautiful women, eh?

Karens, show him your perkies!