May 25 - at sea day

Even though Sam was out late, he woke up before I did. He took off to work out at the gym. I put my bathing suit on and headed up to the Sanctuary where I alternately read my Kindle and dozed. At around lunch time, Sam came and joined me and we had hot dogs and hamburgers together.

At 1 p.m., we attended a Cruise Critic meet & greet, where everyone brought bottles of wine from their home states. (I was unable to find a drinkable wine from Memphis, Tennessee.) That was an enjoyable gathering of people. We met a few new people who had not attended the first CC meeting.

At 3:30 p.m., we attended the Maitre’ D’s wine tasting. On each table were several plates with assorted hors d’oeuvres to pair with each wine. The wines included:

1. Veuve Clicquot, Brut. “A full-bodied robust sparkler.”
2. Pouilly-Fuisse’, “Medium-bodied, dry with fruity flavor.”
3. Chardonnay, Cuvaison, Carneros. “Aromatic with aroma of white peach, spice and apple with complex tropical notes.”
4. Murrieta’s Well Meritage. “With aromatic flavors of plums, black cherries and hints of herbs. This Meritage is subtle and sophisticated. It’s a medium to full bodied wine consisting of 78% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Pinot Verdot, 7% Cabernet Franc and 5% Merlot.”
5. Silverado Cabernet Sauvignon. “Aromas of berry, vanilla, spice and dried herbs. A medium to full bodied wine that has juicy mouth filling flavors of sweet fruit and oak on a long, lingering finish.”
6. Opus 1, Mondavi-Rothschild. “A much sought-after California wine, Opus One is made in the best of French traditions through a joint venture started between Robert Mondavi and Baron Phillipe de Rothschild – and its fame speaks for itself.”

The two that I loved were the Pouilly-Fuisse’ and the Opus One. The Opus One was smoooooooooth. We were joined at the table by two couples, one Sam’s age and one my age. There was also a guy there by himself, but I don’t think he spoke English because he never said a word. At one point the conversation turned to the show from the previous night. The young guy said, “Was anyone else as offended by that as I was?” I replied, “Thank you!!!” I felt so much better knowing that I wasn’t the only one.

That evening, Sam and I had a reservation at the Crown Grill. It was formal night, so we dressed up a bit. Sam wore his nice shirt and jacket with his jeans. He looked nice. I wore a black dress with a feather-light jacket patterned with beautiful abstract designs in red, orange and black. We had a wonderful dinner. We had tiger prawns for an appetizer. Then Sam had a salad and I had the Black & Blue Onion Soup, which is a French onion soup made with blue cheese. Why did I think I would like that? I don’t like blue cheese. For the main dish, I ordered the Maine lobster. Sam ordered the Brazilian lobster AND a porterhouse steak. Our side dishes were asparagus and a wonderfully tasty au gratin potato dish. For desert, Sam chose a S’More themed dessert and I asked for the sampler, which was a tiny portion of every dessert on the menu. Yummy!

After we left the restaurant, we happened to pass by a photographer, so we paused to have some spontaneous photos taken. We still haven’t gone to see them!

Sam went out with his friends again, although I noticed he did not stay out as late as he had the previous night. He told me the next morning that the club was dead. It was just as well since the next day was our stop in Jamaica!!!