Chefs Making Waves ~ Culinary Cruise ~March 2024

#TheGoodVibeTribe

 

Chefs Making Waves, A Food, Wine & Spirts Festival at Sea.

"Your vacation just got more delicious!"

"Your Tastiest Vacation Ever."

We planned this trip so-last-year.  My friend Ann sent a text in the middle of the night (probably 10 pm but that's the middle of the night for me!). She linked the ad and said who wants to go with me?  Vanessa said "me" and I said "me too".  In the  morning when I got up I figured I'd better check out the info to see what cruise line, destination, and oh ya, the price!

The culinary talent are "A list" chefs from the Food Network. Aaron Sanchez, Andrew Zimmern, Anne Burrell, Buddy Valastro, Maneet Chauhan, Marc Murphy, Marcus Samuelsson, Michael Symon, Robert Irvine, Scott Conant.  ARE YOU KIDDING ME?! Plus about a half a dozen that they since added that I'm not familiar with. The chefs will be curating ALL of our meals.  I'm so looking forward to trying everything! 

What is it? It's a four day cruise, Monday through Friday. We will be at at sea the first day, Great Stirrup Cay the next day (NCL's private island). Nassau the next. Last day at sea.  There is a travel advisory for the Bahamas due to crime so we may or may not leave the ship in Nassau.  If we do, we will not venture out of the immediate area.  Some people are taking public transportation to other areas on the island.  That's a hard no for us.  

Added bonus, my have re-connected with my long lost bestie from Jr. High, High School, and into our early 20's because of this trip. Sixthman (trip organizer/facilitator) has a FB page for the trip.  I saw her name in one of the comments and thought "it can't be, or can it?"  Yep! It's her. What are the odds that 45-ish years later we'd end up on the same cruise! Check back mid-April for a TravelBlog entry of the Reseda Girls Weekend Getaway! Four of us long lost besties all ended up scattered around AZ and recently reconnected.   

We're leaving Sunday at 0'Dark:30.  We'll arrive in Miami late afternoon.  Ann and Vanessa will arrive the day before.  Vanessa got a hotel room for the four of us so we'll make our way there. Ann has already made dinner reservations.  In the  morning we'll venture our way to the port where our floating chariot awaits.    

I was not going to be updating my TravelBlog until we return because I was not getting NCL's ridiculously overpriced internet package. Negative checkmark for NCL in that department.  Viking always includes free WiFi, just sayin'. Jay bought Diane the two device package so she'll have her phone and I'll have my iPad connected.  

That's the plan...

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Sunday March 24, 2024

The morning brought a little drama at home first thing with a busted water heater. The hubs is home dealing with that.  

Checked in and essentials lines up. 

All aboard!  Up Up and Away. 

We lucked out with a smooth travel day.  Our flight left about seven minutes late and we arrived in Miami about 30 minutes early. There was a text from Ann with change of plans. She said the first hotel room was too small so they checked out and she booked us two rooms at a different hotel. We had to wait a while for our bags to come down but when they did both of our bags came down quickly. We hopped in a taxi and headed to the hotel.  We hung out in Ann and Vanessa‘s room until it’s time to go to dinner. 

#TheGoodVibeTribe waiting for Uber to dinner

Reservations at Talavera Cucina Mexicana. Ann specifically made reservations there because they had Birria tacos on the menu. Unfortunately, no Birria today. Seriously!?!? We ordered drinks and a couple of appetizers while reviewing the menu for a backup plan. Then we ordered our meals. A staff member came over to ask who ordered chili relleno. I think our server was afraid so she sent someone else! It was Ann’s order. He said they were out of chili relleno! What the heck!?!?  He told her to pick something else and it would be on them. We decided to just pay for our drinks and appetizers and go somewhere else. They comped the entire check even though Vanessa told him we'd pay for what we had. We left a tip and walked thru Miracle Mile. It’s like restaurant row and we couldn’t find anyplace that sounded good. We decided to go to a burger place. The guy told us they were only serving beverages, no food! What the heck AGAIN?!?! Three is the charm because we ended up at Coyo Taco and the tacos were excellent.  

Back to the hotel and waiting for the sandman.

Monday March 25, 2024

We packed up and Uber’s to the port. Checked in and my long lost bestie found us right away. Big hugs and so great to see her after all these decades!!  We waited about an hour till we could board to ship. Then we headed to the buffet because it was already early afternoon and we hadn’t eaten all day. We decided to sit outside on the aft deck. 

Lunch on the deck

 The buffet was average. Nothing that knocked our socks off. One of the dishes was meatballs, but they were out of them at the moment, so I went to the other buffet line midship, who was also out of them at the moment. However, discovered that that the buffet in the main area was substantially larger with probably triple the options. We will know next time to get our food there and then head outside.  By then our rooms were ready, although our luggage had not been delivered yet. We dropped off our carry-ons and took a pic of the view from our balcony.

Diane and I headed out to the pool and listen to the band for a little while. We went back when our bags were delivered because they leave them out in the hallway.  We relaxed for a little while, and then Diane, Vanessa, and I went back to the pool and listened to the band for awhile. They were amazing. Weather was perfect with a slight breeze until the slight breeze turned into chilling wind so we ended up going inside.  Before dinner we went to the first raffle which was an art display where they said they were auctioning off a chance to win $1,000. However, when we got there they were broken into $100 gift certificates which probably would not even be enough for one corner of any of the art. Such a gimmick. We did receive an 8 1/2 x 11 print. Then we went to the jewelry drawing where are we each got a gold chain and a charm. We didn’t win anything from the drawing, but the pieces were diamond earrings, a pendant, I don’t remember what the third one was, but it was something worthwhile. Off to dinner, which was a big crowd waiting to get into the restaurant. They have two dinner seatings and each one has three staggered designated times. Once they let us into the dining room, it was fairly organized. All six of us were underwhelmed with the dinner. Cliffhanger. I need to go SF&P (shower, fluff, and puff) because it is already 8 AM and I am on the late train.  I’ll be back later with a recap of our dinner, followed by disco dancing, followed by disco bites, which was Buddy’s dessert offerings. And later I will try to add pictures because right now they are not syncing to my iPad.

Later ~ back to our underwhelming dinner. The first was the ahi tuna appetizer which was very fishy. Debra’s son Ben was the only one who enjoyed that. Next was the salad. The best thing on the plate (IMO) was a little peeled, grape tomato, just one, completely delicious.  Nobody ate the crabcakes. They were super dry and looked like hockey pucks with no garnish for presentation. They made mine without the coconut, which they did add garnish to, I assumed to differentiate the rest. I could not even manage one bite. Everyone said they were super dry. The short ribs were okay if you dipped the meat in the delicious sauce however if you just ate the meat it had no taste. They were also very fatty. Usually a lot of the fat will render out when they are cooked but that was not the case.  The desert was pretty good.  They get points for presentation, except everyone else's crabcakes, but the flavor profiles were just not for us. Also the table they sat us at had a staging cart right behind Diane so they kept bumping into her and clanking dishes behind her. When she mentioned it, she was told we should ask for another table next time. Shortly there after they moved that cart out of the way. When we finished dinner Robert and Manet came into the dining room, which is very entertaining.  See pic of Robert Irvine standing on the table!

 

"Oh, what a feeling
When we're dancing on the ceiling"
(Robert table top, because he can)

Shortly after Diane, Vanessa, and I changed into our sparkly disco outfits and went to disco dance party. That was fun.  Lady Luck (Ann) went to the casino.    

Disco Divas

After we left disco night, we went to check out Disco Bites to see what they had to offer. Meh. It wasn’t worth the wait in the very long line.  We got back to our cabin and Sixthman Tyler had chocolate covered strawberries and a bottle of champagne to our room with a nice note!

ETA were not sure why we were randomly chosen because Ann and Vanessa nor Debra and Ben received this nice little surprise.  We ended up taking the champagne down to dinner on our last night and sharing it.

So needless to say we were a little disappointed in the food on Day 1 but have high hope for Day 2.

Tuesday 3-26-2024

I’ll start off saying Anne Burrell knocked it out of the park today with our dinner entrée so hopefully we are back on track for the “Tastiest Vacation Ever”.

First stop, round one of the Slot Tournament.  Ann had already secured her spot on the leader board.  Vanessa's turn to tap,tap,tap. 

Vanessa at Round 1 of the Slot Challenge

After breakfast we went to Bloody Mary Bingo hosted by Anne Burrell. She’s one of my favorites and she was a hoot.  Very entertaining. But wait, first Mud Slides! 

Mud Slides

  

Bloody Mary Anne sounded like everyone's
favorite Auntie in a storybook! 

Then to the pool for Global Grub with Andrew Zimmern and Marcus Samuelson. They demoed two different rice dishes while telling stories about cultural differences. 

Marcus and Andrew

Pool Side Babe (V)

After that we went to the lunch buffet and sat out on the aft deck again. I wasn’t hungry but I enjoyed the beautiful ocean breeze while they ate.

Ran into Debra and Ben along the way. 

Then back to the pool for Pastabilities with Scott Conant and Georgio Rapicavio. They demoed two handmade pasta dishes and talked about their grandmother’s influence.  

Scott and Georgio

Off to the pub for snacks since it was 4 and dinner wasn’t until 8.  

Back to the room to relax. Ann was going to skip dinner and get a massage. Vanessa was napping.  Diane and I got ready for dinner and went down to Dueling Pianos.  We hung out there for a little while and then found the Martini Bar because someone had mentioned NCL has the best Chocolate Martinis.  They did not exaggerate. 

Then off to dinner with Debra and Ben which was SO MUCH BETTER than the first night. I didn’t love the salad but I don’t like wilted lettuce ever. The pears were good.  Next was the Shrimp and Grits. Again, not a grits girl but the shrimp was very good. They did have an Aaron Sanchez kick to them. The short ribs were everything short ribs should be. They were super tender, super flavorful, and the fat was perfectly rendered out. Anne Burrell won the battle of the short ribs hands down in my book. Sorry Robert Irvine. Mashed potatoes were creamy and delicious.  The lava cake didn’t “flow” but it was still really good. 

Anne and Aaron came into the dining venue and thanked everyone for being there. Anne did most of the talking because it was apparent Aaron had been enjoying the premium drink package.  Hey, this ain't Vegas. What happens on the cruise today goes in the blog tomorrow!  At both dinners and at the demos they all said if it wasn’t for us they wouldn’t be there.  

By the time we were done Ann was done with her massage and Vanessa was ready to eat so they went to the buffet and we sat with them for a while before turning in. 

Wednesday March 27, 2024

Todays agenda is Great Stirrup Cay, NCLs private island where there will be a beach BBQ.  

View of GSC from our balcony

Ann and Vanessa are going to Swim with the Pigs. Debra and Ben rented jet skis and then they are going zip lining.  Diane and I are going to just hang out on the beach.  I want the option of being able to go back to the ship if it’s too hot for me in the sun after a few hours. 

On the tinder to GSC

We could not have asked for better weather.  Ann wasn’t feeling well so she rested while we took the tender to the island.  We walked around checking out the area.

The Big Kahuna

I thought there would be beach vendors selling merchandise but we didn’t see any. We went to the Beach BBQ, which was curated by Andrew Zimmern and Marcus Samuelsson. The food was good and the shrimp was amazing.  

Then we went and enjoyed the perfect beach weather on our loungers.

  

Don't get your knees sunburnt!

Diane and Vanessa went for a dip in the ocean. Diane went to find the ladies room and found Ann who had been walking around for an hour able to find us since we had no cell service. During her hunt for us she had discovered the area where the vendors were selling their wares. Vanessa and Ann went off to swim with the pigs. 

They were transported on a speedboat so we were not allowed to go with them. Went back to the vendor area and bought a few things. You have to support the locals! Then we headed back to the tinder for a quick ride back to the ship.

We rested for a while until we got ready for dinner couple hours early. We walked around the ship for a while and there was Anne in the elevator lobby! 

She said she thought we went
to the same hairdresser!

Then we went to the Martini Bar for a chocolate martini because they are irresistible! I really miss the lounge areas on the Viking River Cruise ships. There is no place on this ship to sit and relax if you’re not in your room. They have some seating ledges up against the windows in the common areas but that’s it.  We met Debra and Ben in line for dinner. Ann decided she was not going to join us because there was nothing on the menu of that she would eat. Vanessa came down shortly after we were seated. Dinner was really good and dessert was fantastic. It was the best thing we’ve eaten since we got here. And, get this, short ribs again!! We have now renamed this from Chefs Making Waves to Chefs Making Short Ribs cruise. Another cliffhanger! Time to head out for breakfast.  I will update later about our meal and add photos as soon as the sync from my phone to my iPad.

Thursday March 28, 2024

Today’s agenda, we are in Nassau.

View from our balcony as we pulled into port

Diane, Vanessa, and I went into Nassau with no worries about the travel advisory.

Bert, our chauffer from Ship to Shopping

We stayed in the port/touristy area and there was a lot of police presence.  We walked thru the she shed type stores, so cute,

and went to the straw market.

It reminded me of a large and crowded indoor swap meet. Vendors with clothing, T-shirts, straw baskets, jewelry, etc. and they are all about bargaining. “That was $50, but I will sell it to you for $45”. No thank you. How about 40? Thanks just looking.  Okay I sell to you for $35 or a sell to somebody else. No thanks!  We left the straw market down through the main street stores, and then some alleyway shops.  We went into a jewelry store that had beautiful crystal evening bags in the window.  We both ended up with bracelets and evening bags!

If you've ever read my TravelBlog you
know I always have to hop on a scooter! 

We wondered around and then went back to the ship to find Ann.  We had lunch and then Diane and I went back and she got some souvenirs for the fam.  

Theme night was Cubana Cabana so we got ready early since we had to pack and have our bags out by 11 pm.  Then we all went down to the Martini Bar. Yes, as you figured out by now it was my favorite spot on the ship.

We watched Ann in round 3 of the slot tournament.  

Sadly, he got knocked out.

We saw Michael Symon and Marc Murphy.  So backing up a minute, MS has just joined the ship in Nassau. Someone posted a picture with him and I hardly recognized him.  He has a bearded. I told Vanessa if I see him I’m going to tell him to shave that shit off. Fast forward, we followed them out of the café and I said “excuse me, I normally wouldn’t hunt you down for a pic but I’ve had too many chocolate martinis!”  😝  

After Marc took the selfie the martinis took over and I rubbed Michaels beard and said “you should shave that off”. He said no and I said “but you have such a nice face!”  They laughed and off they went. 

We went to dinner and finally got a pic of the six of us.

  

I had the pork

Salmon was the other option

My best salad yet. Then handmade pasta (meh) followed buy roasted pork (or salmon).  Then the dynamic duo came in. 

 

Michael and Marc (we’re on a first name basis now).  They made a joke about short ribs and thanked everyone for being there and boosting them up.  As they were making the rounds he told me “my mom, my wife, and my granddaughter like the beard so it stays”.  I said “You remembered.”  He said “of course I did, I’m very sensitive”.  I said "I’m sorry, I just think you have a very nice face!”  He gave me a hug. All was forgiven!  

Then, dessert.  Also very good.  

Diane and I went to Cubana Cabana, meh.  I thought the Disco Dance Party was better. Plus more people dressed on theme for the disco than the Cubana.  Off to bed as ship made its way back to Miami.  

Today is a long travel day, mostly because we’ll be off the ship around 9 and our flight isn’t until 4.  Vanessa and Ann changed their flights and are flying home with us instead of staying until tomorrow.  

Luckily our flight was on time and I'd say the wait for our bags was about average.  

Door signs and ducks!!  This was not a thing on my first ocean cruise 21 years ago and it was not a thing on the river cruises I’ve been on. Early on in the Facebook page for the group people were talking about the ducks. It’s apparently a thing that people take ducks and hide them around the ship and people who find them either keep them or they re-hide them for someone else. Who knew? There were all kinds of ducks.  Chefs, sports teams, patriotic, sparkly, glow in the dark, etc. Someone even crocheted some. Ann and Vanessa had bought a bunch of ducks and filled out the little tags. They also bought the signs that were on our doors. Every day we put up a different question. I didn’t get a picture of theirs every day. These are just mine.

Click on the pic to see the sign

I found my first duck!! And he’s a chef,
which is the one I was hoping to find 

This mini guy was left on my door sign

This chef was also left on my door sign. 
I re-hid him

Debra gave me the pirate 🏴‍☠️

It was a lot of fun. I may need to take some ducks on my next river cruise across the pond! Since we will be in Europe, I am thinking ducks with American flags. 

I hopped on the scale this morning and brought back 1.2 pounds.  Not bad since I ate ALL the things and drank ALL the Chocolate Martinis! Honorable mention to the Mud Slides too.  

RECAP

Accommodations: 

Room: Typical cruise ship cabin.  They are small but efficient. We don't usually spend much time in the cabin on a cruise or in a hotel on a regular vacation for that matter.  We probably spent a little more time in the cabin this trip since there was no comfy seating area to lounge in.  

Ship in general: It was nice but as previously mentioned, there was no place to lounge.

Staff: 

• NCL staff was nice and helpful except the one lady in the dining room on the first night. When Diane mentioned the cart behind her seat she initially said we should ask for a different table next time.  Then Diane saw her talking to another staff member and shortly after they moved the cart over.  Not sure why she just didn't do that in the first place. 
• Bartenders were all great. There were long lines to order at the Martini Bar but I think that's because it was the only bar to get martinis.
• Starbucks staff was typical SB staff.  Not friendly and actually make you feel like they are doing you a favor preparing your beverage.  Too bad it was the only option for getting coffee in the morning except at the buffet.  
• Sixthman staff was amazing. They were all very nice, amazingly patient and helpful, and had a huge presence around the ship and in port.  

Entertainment: 

Obviously the big attraction were the chefs.  They were all amazing except one who (to me) seemed to look annoyed with his adoring fans every time I saw him and I probably saw him more than the others.  All the rest were super gracious and patient talking to fans and taking pictures.  Especially those underlined:

Aaron Sanchez, Andrew Zimmern, Anne Burrell, Buddy Valastro, Maneet Chauhan, Marc Murphy, Marcus Samuelsson, Michael Symon, Robert Irvine, Scott Conant. I only saw Buddy a couple of times walking by so no shade for him, I just didn't see his interactions. Ann got a picture with him in the Casino one night and several others posted pictures in the FB group page and he always had a big smile on his face.  They were all out and about around the ship and each night the two chefs who curated the meals went to each dining venue for a thank you speech and photo ops.  

Bloody Mary Bingo and the two cooking demos we watched were all great. These chefs not only have superior culinary skills but most of them were very funny.

Theme Nights were fun, although as mentioned Diane and I both thought the Disco Night was better than the Cubana Cabana Night.  More people dressed on theme, I thought the music selections were better, more people were dancing. 

The band, no filter, was really good.  We ran into the drummer and one other member in the elevator a couple of times.  They were very nice and super friendly. 

Dueling Pianos was nice.  

There were other things going on that we didn't participate in. We missed the Chefs Karaoke and we missed Culinary Chaos. CC was late but they streamed it on the TVs in our cabins. We watched a little of it and it was pretty hilarious.  I will say I thought it was lacking in anything to do on the days the ships were in port. I get it, they don't want to organizing things if people are off ship, however not everyone goes into port and those who do may not stay all day.  When we got back from both ports there was nothing going on and no cozy conversation pits to hang out at like I'm used to on other cruises so we went to our cabin.  

FOOD:

Last but not least. I'm sorry to say it wasn't as amazing as I expected.  They marketed it as "your tastiest vacation every" and did not hold up to that end of the bargain. Overall I'd say it was probably slightly above average.  Here are my favs of the curated meals:

Best Salad - Little Gem Shrimp Wedge, Marc Murphy.

Best Appetizer - Brown Butter Lobster, Marcus Samuelson.

Best Entree - Big Brown Braised Short Ribs, Anne Burrell.

Best Dessert - Salted Caramel Budino, Scott Conant.

At the buffet my favs were tacos we had late one afternoon.  They were build your own and had chicken fajitas, grilled veggies, or ground beef called chili con carne (no beans).  I had the beef and it was delicious. The first day we had a little tart that looked like it was s'mores but it was actually a blueberry filling and meringue on top. So good. Sadly we never saw it again.  

Weather:   

We were blessed with fantastic weather.  Mid 70's most days.  A little hot for me in the sun when we were watching the food demos but there were some seats in the shade.  Perfectly perfect when we lounging on the beach at Great Stirrup Cay.  

Final cruising throughs:

I'm most definitely Team River Cruise. 180 to 195 passengers vs 2,500 on this ship, thousands and thousands on others. Not only is a river cruise less crowded, but the staff gets to know you by Day 2 so it's more personal. When I went on the first one our Viking agent told me "the difference is an ocean cruise is like a floating city with the casino, spa, shopping, nightly entertainment such as Vegas style shows. A river cruise is like a floating five star hotel. They do provide after dinner entertainment but its more low key like game night, karaoke, local talent."  To be honest, on the river cruises, by the time were back from being out and about all day, after dinner we were typically ready for bed.  

Next stop:

A weekend get away with my long-lost Jr High and High School besties next month.  

Paul and I don't have any vacation plans coming up because were are moving in about six weeks and have a bazillion things to do at the new (old) house. 

December 2025 the Spice Girls Travel Club has planned a Danube Christmas Market Cruise, this time on Tauck instead of Viking.  We love Viking but they have changed their policy to where you have to pay in full 18 months in advance. It was previously six months prior to departure date so that was a deal breaker.  I've heard great things about Tauck plus we were all able to get individual cabins with no single supplement upcharge. Not that we mind sharing rooms, but if we can, why wouldn't we get our one for the same price? We were going to go this December but they were mostly sold out so we decided to wait and get what we want instead of what was left over. I might have to get some red, white, and blue patriotic ducks since passengers will be from all over the world.  I'll check with Tauck to make sure they are not discouraged.  I asked in their FB page to see if it's a thing on river cruises since I hadn't seen them in the past.  Someone said she thought maybe not since there are no kids.  I actually think the adults were having more fun with them than the kiddos.  

Feel free to leave comments anonymously but please tell me who you are. Apparently my crystal ball is not blogger friendly.  😆😜😝