Tag: Ritz-Carlton

Winging Home in Style

Hey, you guys! Originally, this entry was going to be a wrap-up of the vacation that’s just ending, and I’ll get to that shortly.

However, we had a little surprise on the way home today, and I just have to share it with you, if you don’t mind. So we’re flying back on jetBlue and, somehow, our boarding passes got all screwed up and our seat assignments changed before we arrived at the airport. And you know how we are – we like to sit together and all that.

It turns out that there was a last minute equipment change and the replacement equipment is the A321 that normally flies transcontinental and also has what is called “Mint” service, which is their version of business class. It includes flat-bed seats and all that stuff. So, just for fun, I approached the check-in desk at the gate to see if it was possible to exchange our seats for something “up-front”, as they say. Without blinking an eye, the gate agent assigned us 2 seats in the 1st row of Mint. (We later learned that their Mosaic passengers were upgraded automatically.) AAC says we got the switch because I was “properly attired”, something that he hitherto had always admonished me for. HAH!

And here’s our very own AAC CPA getting settled in for the flight home:

AAC Mint

jetBlue Flight 1902; AAC CPA in seat 1A

TRAVEL TIP: jetBlue Mint

So, a few random thoughts about our lovely 10-day vacation:

Fort Lauderdale is not a place that I’d often want to visit, but the Ritz Carlton took amazing care of us. We told them, when we checked out to embark Celebrity Silhouette, that we’d be back early the following Sunday morning. Sure enough, our suite was waiting for us when we arrived back at the hotel at 8:45 AM. It had a large balcony and a lovely ocean view, which I’ve already shared with you.

We had two excellent dinners on our return visit:

Mario’s Catalina Restaurant: Mario, originally from Honduras, is apparently a legend in Fort Lauderdale. His Cuban-Spanish restaurant has been a staple of local dining for eons. They make amazing Mojitos and Sangria, both of which are potent. The portions are HUGE, so we shared the Pork Tamale as an appetizer and the Catalina Combination (Roast Pork, Chicken Chunk, & Mario’s Beef) as the main. Each bite was a sensation; all of the meats are marinated for a very long time and so, so tender and tasty. And the bartender kept coming over and refreshing our Sangria. Mario himself appeared to make sure we were having a good time. 

DINING TIP: Mario’s Catalina Restaurant

On Monday night, we tried another place, Coco Asian Bistro & Bar, another fun place. It features amusing cocktails, small and large plates. We tried their Margaritas (yes, Margaritas at an Asian restaurant!) and shared several appetizers: Thai Beef Salad, Tuna Tataki (seared tuna with a spicy Ponzu sauce), and Chicken Lettuce Wrap and, for the main, la specialtie de maison: Whole red snapper (cubed filet, deep fried tossed with sweet-chilli sauce, reassembled in fish bone and head). It sounds disgusting (AAC CPA almost fainted when it was presented), but it was really delicious. Here are a couple of pix for your delectation:

Coco Apps

Appys at Coco

Coco Snapper

Too scary?

DINING TIP: Coco Asian Bistro & Bar

Because it was raining on Monday, we also had time to see the new film, Spotlight, which recounts the true story of the child abuse coverup by the Catholic Church in Boston and how the story was eventually uncovered by the Boston Globe. An excellent cast, headed by Mark Ruffalo, Liev Schrieber, Bryan d’Arcy James, Michael Keaton and the great Len Cariou as Cardinal Law. A very engrossing and thoughtful, if upsetting, film. It is expected to be a favorite for Oscar consideration.

CULTURE TIP: Spotlight

Oh, and have I shared with that we are now totally onboard with Uber? They saved our bacon more than once while we in Fort Lauderdale. No kidding. It turns out that Uber is less than half the price than local cabs and easier to find. We have friends who have been swearing by the service for a long time, and we’ve finally come to the party. Try it out!!

TRAVEL TIP: Uber

Now for a few final thoughts on our cruise aboard Celebrity Silhouette. We thoroughly enjoyed the experience, the ship is gorgeous, our accommodation was lovely, the food some of the best at sea. But, in the final analysis, we thought it was just not for us. The cruise was a bit frenetic, the ship quite crowded, particularly around the pool areas, the wait for elevators was always too long. I think we prefer a smaller or mid-sized ship experience. It’s interesting, though, because we had a lovely crossing aboard Queen Mary 2 in September and that ship is easily as large as Silhouette, tho’ with a couple hundred fewer passengers. Even though Silhouette is perhaps a better designed ship than QM2, we preferred the latter. Go figure.

I’m actually considering a post that will compare the 3 lines upon which we sailed this year: Celebrity, Crystal, and Cunard. I already have a working title for it: “Sailing the 3 ‘C’s”- get it?

Anyway, our winged chariot will be landing soon at JFK in, so I’ll end here. I’m slightly aghast at having to step on a scale tomorrow morning and assessing the damage that I’ve done to myself. And, wouldn’t you know, I’m scheduled to have my annual physical this coming Friday morning, just as I’ve put on about 30 pounds (well maybe not THAT MUCH.)

I’ll leave you with just a few more images from our trip and I’ll be back in touch with you all real soon.

FTL ChipmunkAAC CPA’s Monday breakfast: doesn’t it look like Alvin the Chipmunk?

AAC Beach View
One last view of the beach this morning

AAC Sad

AAC CPA looking wistful and sad as the end of the vacation approaches

Next stop: London in 19 days!!

Sunday: Back in Fort Lauderdale . . . . .

Greetings, gentle readers.

AAC CPA and I are back on terra firma and again ensconced  at the Ritz-Carlton in Fort Lauderdale where we began this adventure 8 days ago. We disembarked Celebrity Silhouette early this morning (around 8:00 AM) and were in checked-in at the hotel and unpacked by 9:15. How’s that for good travel karma?

(We heard from a fellow passenger – who wasn’t able to disembark as early as we – that disembarkation had a bit of an immigration kerfuffle and everything stopped mid-morning, and he and his party were delayed from getting off the ship for quite some time. No fun, that.)

Since I haven’t posted for a couple of days, I should tell you that the remainder of our cruise was quite lovely. Today’s post will be, mostly, about all the food we consumed. For Friday lunch, we ate at Murano, arguably the best table on the high seas and certainly the best restaurant on the ship. I wasn’t hungry (of course), so I had 2 appetizers: a crab salad, followed by a risotto, both of which were deeeelicious.

Murano Lunch 2
Crab Salad with Avocado

Murano lunch 3
Porcini and Morel Risotto peaking through a truffle foam

Then we may have made a tactical error: we were invited to (and attended) a special Champagne Tea on Friday afternoon. Did we really need all those tea sandwiches, scones and pastries? Not really, but we cut back to save ourselves and our waistlines – we cut the tea.

On Friday night, we began our evening with cocktails back at the Molecular Bar, followed by dinner at Tuscan Grille, both of which were delightful although, for some unexplained reason, we had lost our appetites (which didn’t stop us from over-ordering, as usual). We had an amazing window table at the very back of the ship. 

Molecular Bar
Wacky and wonderful cocktails at Molecular Bar

Tuscan Grill
Our window table at Tuscan Grille (in the rear)

Tuscan Grille specializes in pastas and steaks and it didn’t disappoint. After sharing a Caprese and a “Chop Chop Italian Salad”, we split 2 pastas as a middle course: a fabulous Spaghetti alla Bolognese and Pappardella Alfredo con Aragosta (that’s lobster), which was dreamy. For the main, we split a grilled filet mignon and seafood skewers with Tuscan fries and Mediterranean vegetables as sides. No need for desserts.

Oh, and the holidays were getting closer and closer as every day something new appeared somewhere on the ship:

Celebrity Noel

Saturday was the last day at sea and the last day of the cruise. The passengers seemed to move into high gear so as not to miss out on anything. It was very high voltage.

The “highlight” of the last day – if one can call it that – was the “Egg Drop Competition”, in which various teams built protective devices into which 2 raw eggs were placed. Said device was then dropped from the 7th floor of the ship’s atrium down to the 3rd floor. Their devices had to land within the target range (“x” marks the spot), at which point a designated team member had to extract the eggs which were, hopefully, intact (ie., no “egg casualties”). Then the assembled onlookers would rate each team on a scale of 1 – 5. Some of the voting was brutal and mean (schadenfreude, anyone?). Some of the devices were very clever, as were some of the team names: “Eggstacy”, “Great Eggspectations” “Eggsasperation” and so on. I have no pictures to post, as they would not do justice to the event.

After all that excitement, it was time to start packing. Yes, all good things must end. We had made arrangements to have a farewell gala dinner with our group at Murano. Because there were 8 of us, we were given the private “wine cellar” for our last supper. It was definitely the finest meal of the cruise and there was quite a bit of hilarity around the table as well. Some of what we had:

Murano Scallop
How about Diver Scallop Wellington Style to start the meal?

Murano Rack
Followed by a sensational herb crusted lamb rack

Oh, and followed by a cheese course, just ’cause (no pix, unfortunately, but we all know what it looks like).

Murano Dessert
Six shots for dessert for 2

After all that, it was time for “au revoirs” and “toodle-loos”. We’ll meet again, don’t know when, don’t know where, but it was just one of those things.

Oh, and btw, remember that I was telling you about the over the moon pastries that were offered with breakfast every morning? Take a look:

Celebrity Pastry

Here’s your Rorschach question for today: What do you see when you look into the pastry?

Next time, I’ll regale you with tales of our final 2 days in Fort Lauderdale before winging it back to lil’ ol’ New York City.