Menus and food onboard the American Pioneer (Part 4)

 

Cinnamon and Vanilla French Toast served with maple syrup and pork sausage:

I regret not trying that Lobster Hash & Eggs option. It was a really nice surprise to see so much lobster included on several menus in so many different ways.

Plain Buttermilk Pancakes with pork sausage

Sausage omelet with bacon and breakfast potatoes

Italian Wedding Soup

Braised Patuxent Farms Short Ribs of Beef topped with a cabernet braising jus. Served with roasted garlic mashed potatoes, and sauteed cauliflower and broccoli florets.

Caribbean Spiny Lobster Tail Pasta - Spiny Lobster Tail with bow tie pasta, blistered heirloom tomatoes, basil & shaved parmesan caviar in a creamy butter sauce.

Amaretto Chocolate Mousse

Our final dinner onboard:

After taking a napkin folding class the crew put together to fill time when our schedule changed, I noticed and appreciated the tablescape greeting us as we sat down to dinner this final night. I learned that this pictured example is known as "the envelope fold."

Creamy Burrata Salad - Heirloom tomatoes, basil pine nut pesto, pecorino romano cheese and aged balsamic reduction over mixed greens.

Creamy Lobster Bisque

Tonight's entrees featured an option to have surf and turf or just turf.

Farm Raised Seared Beef Tenderloin - Seared with brandy peppercorn sauce, roasted fingerling potatoes, and lemon zest dusted asparagus.

The Surf & Turf - Beef Tenderloin with Shrimp and Crab Stuffed Lobster Tail. Served with brandy peppercorn sauce, baked potato, lemon zest dusted asparagus, and drawn butter. Looks like by choosing the surf with my turf, I got less turf than Dad did choosing the turf only option. When I asked the waiter about why I didn't receive the mentioned baked potato, he revealed that they had run out. Plenty of lobster, shrimp, and crab to go around but apparently there was a run on baked potatoes.

White Chocolate Kahlua Creme Brulee

After completing a cruise around the Florida Keys that had to be altered due to high winds and rough seas, we thought it only fitting that our flight home to Georgia ended up being cancelled due to snow! Delta helped us rebook for a later afternoon flight. By then all of the dusting of snow had melted but was such a shock for this area in the moment that they weren't allowing flights into Atlanta. Thanks to modern technology, being still in the US, and ACL's good included internet, we sat onboard the ship and booked a day room at a Hilton hotel in Tampa through ResortPass.com. We used ACL's transfer to take us back to the airport and then got the hotel shuttle to pick us up from there. The only drawback was that our hotel room air conditioning seemed to be stuck on the Antarctica setting and it was uncharacteristically wet and freezing outside already. It was worth it to have a comfortable space to relax, a TV to pass the time, and a private bathroom. We made a brunch out of hotel convenience store snacks then took the hotel shuttle back to the airport a few hours later. Overall a great first experience using ResortPass.com for the first time. Use my link provided to get $20 off your first day room booking as well! After we used them, I completed their emailed survey about the stay and got a code for a future discount. 

Plus while we shivered, we got to warm up with laughter at how my name was misspelled on the TV when we made it into the room. 

I'd like to take a moment at the conclusion of our last food photo post from this cruise to share how proud I am of my Dad. He has been working with a trainer here not only to improve his balance, strength, and flexibility but her guidance has inspired him to try many foods he wouldn't ever try before. He has now tried several new to him fruits, vegetables, and seafood. He tried shrimp cocktail, a cruise menu standard, and told me he's kicking himself for not having tried it sooner. 

Stay tuned for the next cruise post series featuring said shrimp cocktail and many other dishes from our first Oceania cruise! They even let me do some of the cooking! Did the suite life (with a butler) and the food live up to the hype or sink like a stone in the Ocean (ia)?