Tonight is Formal night, and even though we were not eating in the MDR, and the suggested attire for 150 CP is "Smart Casual", we opted for our formal wear.
Rewind<< At some point during Day 2, I found the cruise director's daily show on RCTV. It's called Babbling Brooks and it is entertaining. Allan Brooks wears a pink robe and broadcasts his show from his office. It is about 10 minutes long, and he has several daily segments, including:
- drink of the day (he takes a drink at 6am)
- review of the highlights of the daily Cruise Compass
- word of the day and/or Britto item of the day
- stunt of the day (he shows video of a stunt - not related to the ship or the cruise, but fun)
- trivia question of the day (he will answer tomorrow)
- reading and responding to Questions for the CD, which are placed in the box near Guest Services
- "hug-a-_____" day (each day he suggests you hug a different person (waiter, bartender, stateroom attendant, etc.)
His show is entertaining and gives good information. I may have never paid attention, because I have read that each cruise director does a morning show, but I have never seen them on previous cruises.
On Allure, Captain Johnny also does a daily show at noon, which is repeat broadcast throughout the day. He talks about our course, the weather, whether we are on time, and takes viewers on a tour of an area of the ship (bridge, engine room, etc.). He also gives some info about himself or the ship that may be interesting (like the fact that he has a parrot onboard).
Back to "real time". We got all dressed up and decided to go to the ship's photographers for some photos. We did some at a backdrop, and a few more at the grand staircase at the Royal Promenade. Unfortunately, my hair covered my eye in most shots, so we didn't feel it was worth it to buy the full-length shots. We did get this one.
We arrived for dinner at 150 CP just on time at 7:30pm. Tonight we missed the Captain's Welcome Aboard Address and Coctail Reception (free champagne). We were seated in Peanut Chairs at 150CP. I can't find any good photos, but they make you feel a little like Alice in Wonderland.
We were seated at at two-top, but close to another couple. We tried to be polite and leave them alone during dinner, but toward the end, somehow we started chatting. Very nice couple, and we had a good time talking to them near the end of their dinner. We would see them again later on the cruise.
150 CP has two menus each voyage. They change to the 2nd menu on Thursday (I believe). The Chef's Dining Package includes the dinner (normally $40 per person), but there is a wine pairing available for $75. We asked to split the wine pairing and were told yes, but warned that they would be 2-ounce portions (per person) for each course. We thought this would be plenty for each of us with 6 courses!
Before dinner, they serve bread with unsalted butter and their "salt flower" (that's what I'll call it). It was a dish with 6 compartments and a tiny spoon in each. Each compartment held a different variety of salt. I can't remember them all, but I do remember these:
- salt used in most dishes served on the ship
- hawaiian volcanic salt (pink, and supposedly tastes like roses - but I couldn't taste it)
- australian salt
- Indian salt
- black salt (I can't remember where this was from, but it was smoky and tasted like smoke. Very good and we could imagine it as a seasoning for a good steak)
- sulfuric salt (Again, I can't remember where it was from, but it tasted, oddly, like boiled eggs)
Hey, I guess I remembered them all!
Here is our menu:
150 Central Park Autumn Salad
fall-berry granola crusted duck confit, red-eye ailoi, bitter
green salad, duck prosciutto mocha swirl
brioche, huckleberry aigre-doux
Roasted Chestnut Veloute
gingerbread croutons, quince chutney, whipped
cider-mascarpone, shaved celery
"Clams Oreganata"
house-made wakame fusilli, steamed littleneck clams,
oregano breadcrumb "sand"salsify variations, sea
beans, American paddlefish caviar
Seared Scallop With Miso-
Braised Berkshire Pork Belly
kabocha squash puree, spicy-soy caramel, pickled plum
pudding, Swank Farms pac choi, bacon sabayon
Modern Shepherd's Pie
Guinness braised lamb shank pave, glazed thumbelina
carrots, pickled mustard seeds
caramelized cippolini onions, rosemary-hot potato espuna
-OR-
Harris Ranch Beef
Tenderloin "Reuben"
spice-rubbed pan-seared filet, rye bread puree, roasted
brussels sprouts, pickled tomato puree gruyere potato
dauphinoise, thousand island hollandaise
Toasted Pistachio Genoise
orange blossom-creme fraiche ice cream, honey poached
cranberries, sweet pistachio cream crispy orange
merengue, whipped cranberry soup
We were presented the menu and asked if everything seemed ok or if we needed substitutions. We were fine with it.
About the time that our first course was delivered, we also received customized souvenir menus with our names on them. A very nice touch.
We enjoyed our dinner, and it was plenty of fantastic food. We were enjoying the atmosphere so much that we decided to stay for an after-dinner drink. We chose a recommended port and they brought us a cheese tray that complemented it nicely.
Dinner took just over 2 hours at a leisurely pace. When we returned to our room, we were greeted by our first towel animal.
We received towel animals three nights during the cruise, and chocolates only the first formal night. We may have received chocolates other nights if we had eaten the ones we received the first night, but they stayed on our vanity all week.
After visiting the room, we stopped by the casino. We must have thought it would be a great idea to make a generous contribution to RCI so they can work on the new Project Sunshine ships. We played blackjack for awhile and had a good time. We ran into some people we had met at the flowrider earlier, and Captain Johnny stopped by to talk to many of the players.
We were having a great time and decided to forgo the Chicago show. We stopped by Blaze and had a few drinks, watching others dance. We didn't notice anyone really "dressed to impress" in Black & White (as the Compass had suggested).
After a great evening, we turned in.
So, to revisit the daily plan:
Today's Plans:
9:30am - Flowrider lessons Done.
Late morning/afternoon - Head ashore with two goals:
1. Take photos of the Ecstasy and Dream. Done.
2. People-watch at Senor Frogs Failed.
7:30pm - 150 Central Park Done.
10:30pm - Chicago (Broadway production) Failed.
Late - Black & White party at Blaze nightclub Done.
Tomorrow - our first Sea Day. Would we spend the entire day at the flowrider?
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