Just the fax ma'am

A port I loved during our first New England/Canada cruise was Halifax. We took what ended up being an ill fated harbor duck tour excursion through the ship before spending the afternoon exploring the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic on our own. I say ill fated because after an easy ride with fun narration on city roads, our boat easily went down the ramp for the water portion of the tour. The trouble came when the boat tried to drive back up another ramp to return to street level. Something wasn't catching that would enable the boat to get traction on the gravel ramp. The solution was to radio ahead and have someone move the large cartoon looking boat used for children's field trips away from its normal dock so we could pull up alongside. We all had to climb up to stand on the seat cushions of our boat and then step over the side railings to set foot on the dock. Then we all got to walk up the steep nearly straight incline of a ramp to get back on street level. The duck boat company rep who met us at street level offered to get a van to take anyone back to the ship who couldn't walk the couple blocks. We opted to head on foot in the other direction and visit the museum a little earlier than expected. I highly recommend visiting the Maritime Museum if you get the pleasure of stopping in Halifax. Especially if you are interested in the Titanic story like I am.

This time around visiting Halifax, I wanted to focus on the Canadian food I'd missed out on spending my time in tours on the first visit. Dad opted to stay on board so I headed off on foot. We still had a little bit of a chill in the air and lots of puddles and wet outdoor seating from rains that came through shortly before our arrival. It was nice for the break from the rain and fog as I soon learned that I'd have quite the hike waiting for me.

There was a small marketplace with many small stands of local merchandise as you stepped off the gangway. I picked up a map from the information booth and made a mental note to check out the shops upon my return. There was a bit of construction going on in the area so I ended up having to walk the long way around places and at times even stop and retrace my steps when I encountered a dead end. I felt completely safe as an adult female walking around on my own. It can also be a great way to randomly stumble upon cool sites that you might never have noticed speeding by in a tour bus. Plus I burned off plenty of the calories from all these food experiences Princess was treating us to. 

I saw several statue displays including one dedicated to the founder of Cunard that I remembered from my first visit to Halifax. 

Newer statues included a tribute to The Volunteers and The Emigrant:

After getting a bit turned around, I decided to stick close to the waterfront where most of the crowds were. Amazing how we have become so used to technology like Apple CarPlay when faced with old school technology of a paper map. And yes, I'm old enough to have grown up when paper maps were the only option. As I walked past the crowds, I got tipped off by fellow passengers to the long walk required to find the shopping and food stands I got off the ship to find. On the way, I found an old fashioned candy shop and took a break to browse. A little further in the walk, I found a painted pattern on the walkway encouraging various forms of activity at each section.

After what felt like over a mile's walk, I finally came across the rows of small stands featuring local merchandise, souvenirs, and of course local delicacies. I browsed a couple shops before focusing in on the three main Canadian treats I wanted to find - poutine, beavertails, and any unique snacks and candy I could bring back to try. 

I decided to go for savory before sweet and stopped at Smoke's Poutine stand. I ordered the traditional option which came as fries topped with cheese curds and hot gravy. It definitely would have been plenty to share. After sharing photos on social media, the main response was to point out how I'd been given the wrong type of cheese curds. Personally, I'm all for topped fries, especially with gravy or cheese but the combination of the hot gooey fries and then having to stop and chew the thick cheese curds took away from the experience. I'm hoping whatever the "right" type of cheese curds were that they were more easier to eat and melted with the gravy and hot fries.

I resisted the temptation to make up for missing a lobster roll in Bar Harbor by grabbing one from a seafood stand. Time for dessert and a visit to the famous Beavertails stand.

I wish I had thought to ask for a to go bag because my order of a single Cookies & Cream flavored Beavertail was definitely big enough to share. Unlike the hot paper carton of poutine, this would have been easier to bring back in a closed bag. It was also very gooey and starting to melt as I worked to eat it. I think Canada should invest in providing wet towelettes with all of their treats because they are as messy as they are tasty. The bulk of the Beavertails menu features the use of hazelnut spread so I went with one of the few nut free options. I was pleasantly surprised to discover that while the dough base is fried, it's not hard and crusty like a funnel cake. The pieces of Oreo cookie were well crushed to spread out onto the vanilla icing so you could enjoy all the flavors without having to stop and chew a huge chunk of cookie. It stood up well to the toppings but I was thankful in this moment that it wasn't 20 degrees warmer outside. I did have a few bee friends who thought I was treating them to lunch. 

On the walk back to the ship with belly full of all the yummy Canadian calories, I reached the pier in time to watch a Silversea ship pull in and dock perpendicular to our Enchanted Princess.

I took the time once back inside the terminal to browse the shops. It was delightful chatting with the shop owners including a lengthy discussion with one about the benefits of Canadian chocolate candy over American chocolate candy. She was extremely helpful in guiding me to which treats I had to try. Between two shops, I was able to amass a supply of ketchup chips (all dressed chips were nowhere to be found), a chocolate bar with maple syrup, Canada's version of a Kit Kat, Crunchie bar, Aero bar, and the hard shell chocolate filled candies they call Smarties. Much different than the roll of chalky discs that us Americans know as Smarties. I was also told I should have picked up Canada's version of Cheetos. I'm kicking myself because I saw a bag of them on the way out to start my walk and didn't think to go back upon my return. I did see the Coffee Crisp bars everyone raves about but I decided to pass since neither Dad nor I like coffee. I also picked up a Titanic themed magnet in the same shop as the Maple Crunch bar. It now sits on my fridge next to my Enchanted Princess magnet I bought in the shops and Dad's medallion from the cruise.

Dad likes caramel popcorn so I picked that up for him. I'm the kind of person who loves finding that one chip with all the flavoring in a bag so I'd describe the ketchup chips as finding that chip in every chip of the bag. A whiff of the bag upon first open smelled somewhat overwhelmingly exactly like ketchup. The Maple Crunch bar was surprisingly better than I expected since the maple was more of a subtle flavor and the crispy texture of the maple easily melted as the chocolate melted in your mouth. I did notice a difference in the chocolate flavor and consistency in the Aero and Kit Kat bars. I think of all that I tried from this prepackaged group, the Aero ended up being both our favorites. The Crunchie bar was perhaps my least favorite since it was so much like the consistency of toffee. 

What other treats should I have tried? Do you agree or disagree with my likes and dislikes of what I did try? I'd love to hear more from my readers. I also volunteer my taste buds for the tough job of trying any other delightful indulgences our nice neighbors to the north would like to send me for review. ;)

On the way back to the port security checkpoint, I stopped to deposit my leftover Canadian money into a donation box for seafarers. One of the classiest and most appreciated little touches that Princess offers is tables like this set up for those returning to the ship to get a warm/cold drink. In warmer ports, you also might find a cool washcloth and shaded seating offered as well so you can cool off while waiting for the line of people reboarding to wind down.

I needed a good rest back in the cabin after such a long walk and treating my inner foodie. I'm glad I took the time for a break because I would be spending my evening with another new foodie experience thanks to Princess.

The worst dinner experience we've ever had at Sabatini

Since the sale we booked under offered its own included night of specialty dining, we chose to devote this opportunity to dining at Sabatini's, Princess' Italian Trattoria restaurant onboard. Sabatini costs the least (not counting Salty Dog GastroPub) at $25 per person. We've dined at Sabatini often enough over the years to have seen three incarnations of the menu. The first was when you got one big plate and the waiter just kept bringing you a couple bites of everything piled on this one plate. We miss that option, especially since some of those menu choices don't exist at all anymore. Only downside was that it also meant stronger smelling items or items with a lot of sauce/juice had their components blend into nearby items. 

The second menu was more traditional with having you choose one dish from each course to be served on its own plate in typical restaurant dining fashion. The Tris d' Aragosta - lobster tail, lobster orzotto, and lobster bisque sauce - was a favorite of mine that didn't make the cut to menu #3. I've heard some Princess ships still use this second menu.

This third menu which was the option on our sailing, seems to be more focused on having the most variety. For example, instead of a few seafood options, almost every main course is a different protein entirely. The menu states to choose one from each course with a notation at the bottom that any extra pasta or main will cost $10 extra. 

On a side note: One of the wonderful perks of having a Suite Experience Manager like April is that when she surprises you in such a way that your already made plans have to change with a day or two notice, she took care of that as well. We had originally planned to spend our Halifax night dining in Sabatini but we learned a few days into the cruise that we would be spending that night elsewhere. Especially if we'd been sailing at full capacity, I'm not sure it would have been so easy to switch our reservation to tonight without this adorable soul taking care of it. Certainly not without phone calls or standing in line at Guest Services. 

Upon arrival for our reservation at Sabatini, it was evident that the restaurant was the popular choice for passengers. We had a small line to wait in before checking in but it was made to feel even longer with how long it took to get each group checked in. Part of the issue was that a different hostess was at the podium than we'd gotten to know at breakfast and this crew member was having a hard time keeping up. Once we were finally at the head of the line, the hostess walked away from the podium without a word. She started visiting tables and chatting with passengers all while the line of passengers behind us waiting to check in continued to grow. There were plenty of tables available and the longer she ignored the line, the more I was tempted to seat myself. Silvio, Director of Restaurant Operations, happened to walk in when my patience had started growing thin. When he stopped to ask how things are going, I couldn't help but speak up. Silvio immediately rushed to get a hostess to check us in who turned out to be Alice that we'd gotten to know during breakfast. As he and Alice were rushing back to the podium, the first hostess came rushing back suddenly ready to seat all of us, now so large a crowd that a bottleneck had formed in the entrance. Disappointed that it took the first hostess seeing Silvio to get her to come back to the podium.

Those first moments should have been a sign of how our dining experience was going to go. Once seated, we were ignored by any wait staff for a while. Gave me the impression that no one had told a waiter that they had another table assigned. We placed an order for soda and water and just that took another 20 minutes. Once we were on someone's radar, we got individual plates delivered of the Stuzzichino Della Casa - Appetizer of the House described as warm rustic whole-wheat loaf tuscan zonzelle filled with roasted tomato and bell pepper passata, prosciutto crudo, extra virgin olive oil and balsamic vinegar. This is the little dish they added to Dad's portion of the Ultimate Balcony Dinner.

 

When we finally got to order food, I asked if I could order more than one appetizer and the waiter said it was okay. Our appetizer delivery also took a while. By this point, we were rethinking our evening plans because there was no way we'd be done with dinner within an hour or two. We both ordered the Grilled Lamb Skewers - marinated with oregano and extra virgin olive oil, served with artichoke and black olive relish atop arugula leaves. This was my choice of a new food to try as I'd never had lamb before. 

However, as I worked to cut up the pieces, I realized that about 2/3rds of the skewer was undercooked. I think it was simply either a rush to get the food out too quickly or having to cook so many at once issue because Dad's skewer was barely pink. Mine, pictured below, varied from light pink to a very bright vivid pinkish red. I mentioned the issue when our waiter returned and he unfortunately did not seem to care. He did offer to get me another appetizer but I declined. I had also ordered the calamari so that I could have something in case I hated the taste of the lamb. Just would have been nice to get offered an apology versus giving off the impression like we were bothering him or ruining his day by "making him" offer another appetizer. 

The calamari was great!

Our slow service pace continued as we moved on to the pasta course. Dad went with his go to of Spaghetti Pomodoro - with meatballs. It's nice to see that the menu lists them as house-made beef and pork meatballs. I remember a past cruise when I ordered spaghetti and meatballs in the MDR and was surprised to find that the meatball was pink inside. That waiter was highly concerned and rushed to check with the chef. The chef came out to our table and explained that the meatballs were made of a meat mixture and that's why it looked so pink inside. I shared my concern with the lack of information on the menu explaining that not knowing it wasn't all beef  could be either a religious or allergy issue. The chef agreed and the waiter kindly offered to grab me a new dish without meatballs. Good to see this small change was made for future cruisers.

After having watched several videos of other cruisers enjoying the new menu at Sabatini's, I had already decided to forgo my usual carbonara (Gasp! I know, I know) in order to try the Trattoria Oven-Baked Trio - traditional lasagne bolognese, chicken parmesan, and 3 cheese ziti (ricotta, mozzarella, & pecorino romano.) It looked so good and many cruisers remarked that the large bowls taking up the entirety of the platter could have served as the entree. This is why I was quite surprised when my order arrived and the three bowls were more like the size of little tea cups. The folded over white napkin to make it seem like the bowls didn't look like they were drowning in the size of the platter was a clever addition. 

I tried all three and the 3 cheese ziti (far left) was the only one I cared to have more than two bites worth. It was at this point that we finally flagged down our waiter to ask for drink refills. Unfortunately, the niceties of having someone routinely refilling or even checking routinely on our table wasn't in the cards for us tonight. Just as I was beginning to think that our waiter had gone all the way back to Canada to retrieve the water and soda, he breezes by our table dropping a single glass at the end of the table without a word and rushes off. Dad and I may look alike but I'm pretty sure that we're two separate people that both asked for a drink refill. 

At this point, the bubbly host we'd gotten to know at breakfast, Alice, stopped by our table to ask why I didn't like the lamb. I'd really be surprised if our waiter had bothered to report the issue. I explained how it was undercooked and Alice was super apologetic and too offered to get me another dish. I declined so she asked how I was enjoying the pasta. I told her that I tried them all but only liked the ziti. She offered to get me another bowl of ziti but I declined that as well. This is the kind of service I normally appreciate from Princess. We chatted a little bit more and I politely and calmly shared how frustrating our experience had been thus far. You don't need to rant and rave to anyone when something isn't going right. Not everything is going to be wine and roses all the time but you're much more likely to reach an amicable resolution if you keep your cool. Yes, it's evident that the crew is short staffed and having to work extra hard but a little understanding can go a long way. Alice was very apologetic and pronounced that she would immediately be taking over our table service for the rest of the meal. Alice sent someone off to retrieve the rest of our drinks. She and I talked extensively about the homemade pasta made on board fresh every day and she insisted on bringing me a bowl of carbonara. This was the same carbonara provided during our Ultimate Balcony Dinner and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

For the main entree, we both went with the Prosciutto Wrapped Pork Tenderloin - stuffed with parmesan and fresh sage, served with crispy roasted rosemary potatoes. This was definitely a different presentation than I was expecting. I pictured a whole tenderloin that had been stuffed, wrapped, cooked, and then sliced. These were three little 2 inch columns arranged in the middle of the plate. That tan looking macaroon in the front was supposed to be the crispy roasted rosemary potatoes. I would have liked more sauce so that the potatoes got some flavor too but it looked like the tenderloin pieces were draped in sauce and then added to the plate. Admittedly, this was more of a "well I got to pick something" choice so after eating a couple bites of each part, I didn't want anymore. Wish that having a full sized serving of some of the pasta choices was a main entree option as well.

For dessert, April highly recommended the Chocolate Journeys Rocher - A blend of chocolate, praline, and hazelnut ice cream, sealed in milk chocolate, surrounded with crushed candied hazelnuts. This was Dad's choice and he loved it. It was great to get a whole backstory on Princess Cruises' working relationship with Norman Love and how they'd bought the recipes from him so he can't make these dishes for anyone else. 

I chose to try everything and ordered the Chef's Specialty - a platter with small versions of all of the dessert choices. From left to right - Chocolate Journey's Rocher, Tiramisu, Zabaglione Marsala, and the Vanilla Panna Cotta. I'd say the Zabaglione Marsala was my favorite of the group. 

A huge thank you to Alice for saving our dinner and turning our service from the Mad Hatter to an experience in Wonderland. We thanked her for saving the night then and again monetarily before we left on the last night. I shared my praise in our end of cruise survey as well. It is important to recognize those who need improvement and those who excel in any job.

Our 6:30pm reservation had us finished just before the 9PM Liars Club game show. Definitely a moment where we wished our Sky Suite reserved seating included in the lounges as well. A kind gentleman sitting in the back row called us over to sit with him. Even though there was a couple words routinely reused from previous sailings (I will forever know what Erecterine and Chubble mean), the stories, jokes, and the personalities each cruise staff bring to the game have us laughing through the whole game. 

You went to Australia? Nope, that other Sydney in Nova Scotia

Excursions for our new port of Sydney, Nova Scotia were finally posted late afternoon the day before we arrived. Either people were checking nonstop or there wasn't much available in the first place because half of the choices were already sold out according to the medallion app. I probably could have played "the suite card" and asked April or guest services to give us excursion priority but I was perfectly fine with our original plan on keeping things easy and low key on this trip. 

With no rush to get off the ship, especially since it was just still just as wet and dreary as Boston only now colder, we decided to skip Sabatini breakfast and went down to the International Cafe to try the new breakfast items like tortillas, smoothies, and monkey bread. The Piazza was pretty packed with people waiting for their excursions so it was a bit of a wait to get our food. We found a small table on the edge of Good Spirits Bar and used the medallion app to order orange juice. A waiter brought out the orange juice within minutes even though the progress bar on my app never moved past received. Also grateful for our first tall glass of non pulp orange juice! :) I was impressed with the tortilla wraps as they were fresh, stayed contained, but weren't dried out. The monkey bread was a nice treat. I had to get a Princess egg sandwich as it is a favorite option for quick breakfast. 

We took our time after breakfast wandering around waiting for morning trivia and came across a cool activity to watch in Princess Live. What new cruisers may not realize is that when a ship is in port, the crew will often practice their safety drills. Everything is done motion wise as if a real emergency was taking place and it's a fascinating and free way to see what behind the scenes with the crew is like. It can be concerning since announcements are made over the intercom system and alarms are sounded just like a real emergency. When it's for practice, the Captain will come over the intercom first to announce that they are about to do these drills and no action is required from passengers. For experienced cruisers, sometimes hearing "For Exercise Only! For Exercise Only!" is as much of a smile inducer as hearing the Love Boat Horn. We grabbed some seats out of the way of where Niki was leading the group of crew assigned to the Princess Live muster station and watched the action. It was cool to not only see Niki stepping up as a new leader but also to hear her talk about officer feedback and changes they are working to make to improve on their actions during drills. Despite my many cruisers, I can always learn something new. Today, I learned that each muster station has a box of supplies and that each box includes a bottle of seasickness pills! Makes total sense to have that but I never would have thought of it myself.

After trivia, we bundled up and headed out in port. We walked through the warehouse of craft stands and browsed the offerings for sale. It was nice of Sydney to offer thrones for all of Princess' size ships to fit.

Then Dad stayed under cover while I waited my turn to get a clear picture of "The Big Fiddle." Everyone was kindly offering to take pictures for each other. A sweet toddler was having the time of his life dancing to the music being played from the sculpture. He protested every time his mom tried to drag him out of the way so someone could get their photo. 

I think I've perfected the "Did you take the picture yet?" face when posing for pictures. 

We were soon ready to get back inside for some warmth and opted to visit the Concierge Lounge. The place was a little busier than it used to be during the day but not as crowded as during cocktail hour. I know with the stricter COVID protocols, the regular drinks and snacks were handed to you so that only one person touched the food. Now, you can help yourself but a crew member was on hand to assist if needed. For the most part, they spent their time cleaning up and offering to get more to drink as the bulk of the passengers helped themselves. 

We had a great chat with the current gentleman on duty about what it was like in port. His excitement was like a little kid waiting for the school bell to ring for summer vacation waiting for his colleague to come relieve him so he could get some time on his break to go see the fiddle from the open deck. He was fascinated by our report of its size and loved seeing my pictures.

Next up - dinner at Sabatini and the story of a magical Alice who saved our experience!

Ultimate Dining in Bar Harbor? Change of Plans

While at trivia the night before, Commodore Nick Nash made an announcement that due to an approaching storm, we would have to skip our final tender port of Bar Harbor and the following day's port of St. John, New Brunswick in order to get ahead of the storm. Attempts were made to stay in Boston overnight which did not work out. The bridge crew worked to find alternatives and the decision was made that after a sea day today, we'd instead stop in Sydney, Nova Scotia instead of New Brunswick. Sydney was a port on one of our other cancelled Canada cruises so I was intrigued to have the chance to visit after all. 

I commend the crew for having to think on the fly making up a new Patter and having to find extra activities to entertain passengers on this unexpected sea day. It was like a personal throwback cruise because events I hadn't seen offered in the past few years were dragged out of the vault. There was so much offered that it was tough to keep up with all that we wished we could attend. Many things were scheduled so that they overlapped or were completely at the same time. I can understand the methodology given that we were on a large ship and everyone was stuck inside for the most part with poor weather as we rocked and rolled to outrun the storm. The plan was to offer as many activities as possible so that passengers had lots of options and no one activity had hundreds of people attending.

After our usual breakfast at Sabatini, we spent the morning at trivia, Goofy Golf, and Lyrical Poetry where participants picked a popular song and had to recite the lyrics in the style of performing in a Shakespeare play. Let's just say, there probably should have been a PG-13 rating on some of those performances. 

As with any sea day, the dining room is open for lunch. One of the blast from the past activities offered was the British Pub Lunch, an extra that had gone away since the pandemic and was only sparingly returning to ships recently. Between the popularity of that offering and the captive midday audience, the main dining room was the happening spot come lunchtime. We had a small line to get through for the Club Class entrance. They were letting the other side of the double door be where you lined up for non Club Class so it was a bit of effort to get around the long line to reach the Club Class podium. They had several servers lined up along the wall and each passenger group would be asked if they were there for regular dining or Pub Lunch. Then one of the servers would be directed to escort the groups let in by party size and table availability. 

I loved the use of Club Class dining on previous cruises so much that I was tempted to skip Sabatini's breakfast to dine there instead. However, this time, it made me glad we didn't have more reason to use the main dining room. Yes, nearly every table in Club Class was full and being short staffed is a struggle all ships are experiencing but this was a frustrating lunch service. We experienced long waits for everything from getting our order taken, to getting drinks, to getting food delivered, to getting drink refills, etc. The patience tends to run out when you start noticing other tables getting further along in their meals or ones getting their meals before you who came in after you. I did not want to eat a lot so I skipped the bread, salad, and appetizer options. I ordered the rigatoni carbonara and the waitress asked if I wanted the appetizer or meal portion. I asked for the meal portion and honestly, if this was the meal portion, the appetizer portion must come with a warning of "Don't blink or you'll miss it." I love carbonara and this in size and taste really missed the mark.

I was so disappointed and frustrated that I was ready to leave. Dad did not want to miss getting the gelato from the dessert menu and insisted we stay. That meant we continued to sit and wait and be ignored. Finally, a head waiter wandered past and we caught his attention. Once we informed him about our long wait, he directed a server to go retrieve the gelato and refilled our drinks. 

But of course, one of the things you'll never be at a loss for on cruises is food. We didn't have to wait long to have a much more redeeming meal experience. We had mentioned to Thor pre-cruise that Dad would be celebrating his birthday on this sailing. April then decreed that our pre-scheduled Ultimate Balcony Dinner evening was to be Dad's official birthday celebration. She asked that we stay out of our cabin in the short while before dinnertime so that they could surprise us. 

When we arrived at our cabin, we discovered that Dad's bedroom had been redecorated with a Happy Birthday sign, hanging decorations, balloons, and a cake sculpture made out of towels, toilet paper rolls, and mini bar sized liquor bottles. For the record, we later made our new trivia friends very happy with a gift of the liquor bottles.

Given the dreary weather outside, it wasn't practical to have our dinner actually on the balcony so our cabin's dining table was set up beautifully again with flowers and a white tablecloth. 

Thankfully before I had a chance to spill anything on myself, the professional photographer came in to take the included pictures. I was confused when these photos showed up for purchase on our app but had not been given to us in print by the last full day of the cruise. I asked April if that was still included with the dinner and she had the photos brought to our suite by the time we were back from dinner.

Given the modifications we made to avoid seafood on Dad's dishes, we were given two different canape plates. Above was my plate with tuna, salmon, caviar, and shrimp bites. Below is Dad's plate that is more meat and cheese based. Didn't quite understand the sushi roll in the middle though. 

They also brought Dad the amuse bouche plate from Sabatini and the melon slices he asked for in place of the crab cake appetizer. Dad had to make himself stop eating the melon in order to have room for the rest of the meal but said it was the best he's ever had. 

My appetizer: Pacific Blue Crab Cake Baked in a Puff Pastry Crown - thyme infused tomato chutney and whole-grain mustard cream. 

Dad's appetizer: Baked brie on crusty bread with breaded zucchini fries. He loved it all until I made the mistake of asking how he liked the zucchini. Once he found out that he was eating a hidden vegetable his brain screamed "Retreat!"

We both had the Marinated Chevre and Mesclun Field Greens - pear, walnuts, and aged balsamic vinaigrette. Except that Dad asked for blue cheese dressing and I think I ended up with ranch. I did make a special request of no walnuts on mine but both salads had them when served. I mentioned it and my plate was quickly whisked back into the hallway where they removed all the walnuts.  

Dad had the Grilled Filet of Beef Tenderloin Diane - chateau potatoes, vegetable bouquet, and mushroom demi-glace. I had the Surf and Turf option of Broiled Tail of Cold Water Lobster and Grilled Filet of Beef Tenderloin - served with rissole potatoes, vegetable bouquet, and a duo of sauces.

I had mentioned enjoying carbonara in a conversation with April so she surprised me with a plate of Sabatini's carbonara in addition to my entree. 

We both had the same dessert. Princess's Extraordinary Chocolate Quartet - delicate quenelles of dark, swiss, milk, and white chocolate mousseline. I was surprised when I went back to look at the menu because while tasting, I was convinced there was coffee and/or peanut butter flavors on the bottom.

A Princess formal night staple - listed on the menu as Friandises. Basically some assortment of small sweet bites for the table to share. Also sometimes listed as Gourmandises or Petit Fours on menus. 

Moments after our desserts arrived, we were given our second surprise of the night - a whole chocolate cake personalized with Happy Birthday, Allan! April, along with our waiters for this evening, came back into the cabin to give a wonderful speech to celebrate Dad before singing Happy Birthday to him. Then they gifted him with an Enchanted Princess themed shirt and a normal sized Stanley Bear from the shop. It was an endearing moment and nice to see Dad get all the fuss for a change. Stanley now has a place of honor on my TV stand. 

By the next evening, our steward thoughtfully put a room service dish cover over our cake leftovers to keep them fresh. Lots of cake late night snacks and tons of sugar high jokes about how much the message changed as more of the cake was eaten.