TABLE FOR 7… TAKE II

So, the day started a bit over cast and got progressively worse as it wore on.

Illy and Lydia had a nice workout and not knowing that Chucky had ordered Continental breakfast, SHE brought him some Starbucks.

Altogether… Awwww, such a thoughtful wife.

Then SHE told him that the T2’s wanted to meet for breakfast so after a brief chat, they agreed on the Solarium Bistro.

Located on the top deck forward, it offered a nice looking buffet with a much more limited variety than the Windjammer, with no omelets to order. 

Some of the cold offerings were fine but practically every hot item was Ice Cold.  But the coffee was good.

During the whole fiasco, the sky’s opened up and any plans to stroll a bit of Nassau was nixed and they decide to stroll the ship to see what they could see.

Since it drizzled off and on they all decided to head back to their cabins to relax a bit more until the pre-arranged rendezvous of the entire entourage [hereafter referred to as TE7 as in Tempelshif Entourage 7] at the Park Place Café [small snacks, soup, sandwiches, pastry] for lunch.

The mediocrity was becoming a theme Cold Tough Strip Loin carved to order, tasteless pre-packaged sandwiches, etc., etc., etc.

Oh wellll, it seemed that unless you picked a “premium dining venue” such as Jamie Oliver’s Italian joint - $30 for lunch $54 Dinner, or Johnny Rockets, $6.95 for a Burger and so on, you were doomed to deal with mediocre to poor fare.

Let’s see what dinner will bring and if Redo had remedied some of the issues, although he had little control over the kitchen issues.

TE4, elected to sit out at the solarium deck while the T2’s decided to stroll Nassau since the sun was peeking.

It became a very leisurely day of chatting and Frosty Fruity Beverages.

And then it was time for TE4 to head to the cabins to relax for dinner with a stop at the Maître d’ desk to discuss changing the dining arrangements for the evening.

Just then Lydia called to advise that the fresh Conch Salad they were bringing back for Happy Hour was being held up at shipboard security. 

It seems that you can’t bring any food items aboard the ship for health safety reasons.  Since this was T2’s first cruise they were unaware of this rule and had called Chucky to bring everyone off the ship to eat it but since it was 20 minutes to “All Aboard” time, that wasn’t possible and the Bahamian Security Lady thanked them for their contribution to her family’s evening appetizer.

Happy hour in the schooner [minus Fresh Conch Salad] was smoother without the frenetic Trivia host. 
Donna brought Costco snacks as RCCL has the worst, if any, bar snacks of any of the cruise lines, and then it was time to head into the dining room to see what delights, or not were in store for them.

We would like to report that if Day 1 dinner was mediocre at best, tonight was much better as promised by Rado. 

We would like to report that but… Uh No.  Actually… Hell NO!

The table and team had been changed to Jhon and Henry, two cheerful lads that did their best to make it a lovely evening.  But great personalities could not make up for a dinner that started with just ok appetizers, to cold, tough Pork loin draped over the same ice cold balls of mashed potatoes and raw carrots.  Lenny’s Pork Loin came 15 minutes after the other entrees as he ordered his sauce on the side and this apparently threw the kitchen into chaos. 

Chucky ordered the Ravioli that was supposed to come with some mixed sauce but asked for it to be with Bolognaise sauce instead.  Which also appeared to cause chaos in the kitchen as what he got was luke warm ravioli with a green and white sauce and a plate of cold linguini. Possibly a failure of communications or translation from the front of the house to the kitchen, but still…

5 out of 7 dishes were returned to the kitchen.  Chucky did get warmer Ravioli with Bolognaise on take 2, but the Pork Loin for the others was exactly the same, tough, cold with the same cold ball of mashed potatoes and cold sauce.

Rado popped up expecting to hear compliments on his perceived turn around.  What he got was a serious blast from Lenny and Donna, a forkful of cold mashed potatoes to sample and an earful from Chucky on just about everything.

Then came dessert, ordered when the main order was taken as it included a Soufflé which we presumed took time to prepare.  What came out was a gloppy center of vanilla custard under the usual crusted top over what appeared to be pound cake.

Chucky’s apple pie ala mode was a delightful apple concoction in a lovely folded over frosted tart shell and a ramekin of ice cream rather than the expected slice of pie with ice cream. Actually very nice, except for the usual ice chip filled vanilla ice cream. 

Could they at least get Ice Cream Right? PLEASE!

Once again Rado appeared and immediately regretted it.

After suffering the barrage from practically everyone at the table, his frustration was evident.  He then marched the Sous Chef of My Time dining to the table to get a taste of what he was getting, which to be honest was an empty gesture as it was also evident that nothing had or would be changed at this time or in the near future.  This was more a corporate procedural and training issue. And as we all know, corporations the size of RCCL are very slow to turn their boat, no pun intended, yet very apropos.

Not wanting to miss the Scheduled Aqua show TE7 departed with mixed feelings about considering this venue for future dinners.

We would love to report as lovely a Show as the evening before, however we can’t.  The motion of the ocean caused enough chaos in the deep dive pool as to affect the safety of the performers and it was postponed until day 3.

Altogether… Awwwwww. 

Which was mostly what TE7 heard as they exited to return to their cabins and Nonny-Nonny Land, tomorrow was another day.

Time tomorrow for Chucky to reach out to the Hotel Director, to discuss several issues, the dining room being the focal point of the discussion.

Seriously Dear Hearts and innocent bystanders, He is not really a complainer, it’s really very simple:

Hot food Hot

Cold food Cold

Proper Execution
Lots of Smiles 
No Excuses

Easy No?
At least they mostly get the smile part right.

A warm snifter of Remy Martin V.S.O.P. awaited HIS sampling as he composed this latest episode and then Nonny Land awaited.

Ciao 4 Now

Uncle Chuck & The tired of sending food back, 

Dragon Lady