Does Not Disappoint…

Allan lecturing on wine

After SOBE 2026 wrapped up, it was time to board a 10 day Western Caribbean cruise on Holland America’s Koningsdam ship. Wasn’t too hard to convince the web gal since we were there, it made a whole bunch of sense to take a cruise since so many ships leave from Miami/Ft Lauderdale ports. While the web gal was a little hard to convince to take that first cruise, she has since taken to cruising like a duck to water and why not? No cooking, no cleaning, no dishes, finely prepared breakfasts, lunches and dinners every night, with an excellent array of choices, fine entertainment in the main theatre and lounges, friendly staff who will do anything they can for you, smart, well-cultured fellow guests, literally had a brain surgeon at our dining table one night.  A new stop at a Caribbean beach port every other day, gorgeous, turquois blue water views from our balcony and on the decks. A never ending array of snacks, the Cake Me Away Day, the specialty restaurants, the spa, it all adds up to a lot of fun, that would be nigh impossible on dry land without blowing a hole thru your wallet. Enjoyed every day at sea, felt like I was having too much fun, but here are my personal cruise highlights:

Morimoto dinner at Tamarind

An at sea day lunch was in the main dining room. Being an early riser, left the night owl, web gal snoozing for breaky and got our friendly waiter Eric to help take her a breaky back to our cabin. All this to say, she was still stuffed when I suggested having lunch in the main dining room.  She reluctantly agreed, but was soon happy she did as she loved the fresh pasta she ordered, while I was in heaven with a perfectly cooked beef dip sandwich and fries. Kind of sad that  I was so  happy over something so simple, but man, it’s so hard to find a good sandwich nowadays. When you get one, it’s time to revel in it with a nice IPA beer and watch the blue ocean slide by.

David & Hotel General Manager Iulian Grumeza

Our entertainment. Really enjoyed two shows we caught in the main theatre. Wendy Law, an amazing cellist, with a bright, effervescent personality, managed to play classical, rock and pop in her show made it all work because she loves playing.  Likewise, the Fosse/Verdon show was fantastic, a pastiche of all their incredible dance and music they created, which was vastly entertaining. And finally, we had a really nice hour in the music lounge when a 3 piece classical ensemble played, while we sipped a couple of cocktails and unwound while the ocean waved by.

Fosse show

Our specialty dinner at Tamarind, where there was a special Morimoto dinner that knocked our socks off. Just so good. Such clean, precise, Asian flavors, combined with the exact same precise excellent service and wine. Kind of surprised that our steak dinner at Pinnacle Grill didn’t measure up to previous ones. Our rib eyes were cut too thin and had way too much gristle and fat on them. Maybe they figure people aren’t going to notice, but the web gal and I sure did.  That’s not how a rib eye steak should be served.

Wendy Law & David

The web gal really enjoyed the art auction on board and purchased some great prints. The next challenge is manipulating wall space to co-habitat with existing art.

Morimoto dinner at Tamarind

Last stop in Cozumel, Mexico. Had a Jimmy Buffett restaurant at our port stop and it was perfect. Huge margaritas and a really good plate of nachos, piled high with cheese, veggies and meat. Remember when you could get a good plate of nachos at almost any decent bar? Well, like a good sandwich, it’s pretty damn hard to find now, so it was nice to stretch out at Jimmy’s and enjoy the food, booze and view.

Pinnacle Steak