Winter Break. January 2022. Day 8. White Night.
Today was St Maarten day. We had to be off the ship by 9:45am, which wasn’t easy for us.
We decided to order room service for breakfast to speed up the process, but they forgot some things and Tzvi changed his mind about what he wanted to eat so he went to the buffet and brought back a couple of plates.
We made it off the ship and then ended up waiting until 10 to actually start moving. We had to walk through the dock (again, herded) until we got to the water taxi that was taking us to the beach. I think the water taxi was owned by Diamonds International (the diamond shops they have in every Caribbean port, which apparently is owned by a Jewish family from Great Neck), because the whole ten-minute ride was basically just a pitch to go buy things. They also gave us a coupon for a free bracelet. Great.
We got to the beach and got our chairs and umbrella, which were included in the excursion. There was a DJ playing music that was so loud. I don’t understand why it had to be so loud. We were right next to the Blue Bitch Bar. Do you think that’s like where mean depressed ladies go to drink away their sorrows? At least there was a regular bathroom.
We all had fun on the beach. Robyn helped Hallie become a mermaid and they collected a lot of shells together and filled up two big Ziploc bags of shells. Around 12:30 Madeleine said she was tired and wanted a nap, which kind of messed up the nap plans, but I couldn’t say no, so I walked her around.
We had to meet the water Taxi at 1:15, but not before stopping at Diamonds International for our free bracelet and charm (it’s actually a bracelet that has a “DI” charm on it and the world’s smallest diamond). On my way in I hear “there’s a familiar face!” and who do I see but Molly Lilker. Small world. She has a time share on the island and says she’s right near the Chabad. They get around 60 families.
The water taxi back was pretty much the same as the way there. They were blasting music, but somehow it didn’t wake Madeleine up, and she didn’t wake up until just before we got on the ship. Sadly as we went through security, they told us that you weren’t allowed to take the shells off the island and confiscated Hallie’s bag of shells. They said it was for “environmental reasons.” She was pretty sad and spent all day asking why. However, her spirits were lifted when she realized they didn’t confiscate the shells that were under the stroller. Tight security. Perhaps we brought back disease, who knows. The security officer was an Israeli named Eyal. He said that a lot of the Chief Security Officers on Celebrity ships are Israeli, and a bunch of the security officers are also. I think that’s the first time I’ve seen an Israeli working on a cruise ship. Once again Robyn had no interest in disclosing her nationality, as she avoids Israelis at all costs. I guess that’s like us and the religious Jews.
Back on board we ate lunch at the buffet. It was Mexican day and they had lots of different types of churros that came with different creams. There is an older Jewish couple that we’ve seen frequently around the ship. They’re clearly Borough Park chasidim – he has a beard and peyos tucked behind his ears, and at night we’ve seen her with tights and a sheitel. Except, during the day she’s also at the pool in a two piece bathing suit and a baseball cap. Anyway, today we saw them at the buffet eating mashed potatoes and carrying around two glasses of red wine, which is interesting because the sommeliers at the restaurant told us they only have kosher white wine on this ship. No judgement, obviously. [Tzvi: I think it’s interesting because who drinks red wine at 2 in the afternoon when it’s 80 degrees out?]
We spent the afternoon at the pool. Madeleine and I went to movie soundtrack trivia, but we were late so we didn’t get to actually play. Madeleine just jumped on all the furniture. Hallie went to camp where she made a hot air balloon.
For dinner Tzvi and I were scheduled to eat late in one of the specialty restaurants, so Tzvi went with Robyn and the girls to the Normandie dining room so the girls could eat, and I went to see the show. Tonight was a performance by the Barricade Boys, a group of three guys who all met in the theater and all of them had been in some iteration of Les Mis. One in London, one in New York, and one in the movie. Of course, when I saw them later and asked who he has in the movie, he was just a guy standing in the rain. Anyway, they did a bunch of random Broadway songs but it was a very good show.
On my way to the show a woman in an elevator asked me if I was the singer from the house band. The singer from the house band is Chilean and probably in her early twenties. I don’t know if that’s a compliment to me or an insult to her.
We sent Hallie to camp and Robyn walked around the ship with Madeleine, while Tzvi and I went to dinner at Eden. I’ll write about dinner in a minute, but first let me talk about Hallie’s camp experience. Tonight was spooky night. We didn’t really think about it before hand, but it probably wasn’t the best idea to send her. Apparently they were telling scary stories and Hallie got really scared and started crying and they tried to call our room but no one was there. Around 9pm, when Tzvi left our dinner (as planned) to pick her up and take her back to the room, she was a mess. He tried to tell her that the stories weren’t real and there are no monsters eating families who are camping in the mountains, but she just wouldn’t hear it and kept saying that the woman at the kids club told her it was real. Not great. Jen Bernstein also sent me photos of their family camping to show Hallie that camping isn’t scary. I also told Hallie that never will the Kaplan family actually go camping. Tzvi came back to dinner and then I had to go to Hallie and I think the waiter was getting annoyed because they didn’t know when to bring our food. Oy.
Anyway, dinner was very nice. Eden is the area at the very back of the ship and it’s kind of like an indoor garden with a bar, restaurant and performance space where there’s always acoustic music. The meal is a five course pre-fixe menu, but they have a vegetarian option. We started with cocktails. When you arrive, they give you a signature drink which was delicious, but then we ordered our own drinks. Eden is supposed to have the most “craft” cocktails on the ship. They were certainly the most creative. I had a “Garden,” which was basically a whiskey sour with honey syrup but was served sort of like watering a garden where the sommelier poured it from a watering can into a class with tons of herbs. Tzvi had a “Veldt,” which was served inside of a treasure chest. It was mezcal and something called Verdita, which they apparently brew on board out of pineapple juice, jalapeno and cilantro. He said it was good, but a little spicy.
For the actual meal we started with an amuse bouche that was some kind of strawberry that came in a dish of ice and was stuffed with something jellied that we didn’t eat because it probably had gelatin. Now I’ll just list out the dishes we had. They were all so odd I can’t really describe them, so I’ll just tell you what the menu said and you can see the photos.
· Soleil –tomato tartar with capers, fingerling potato and tomato water (Tzvi had this)
· Garden – season veggies, green asparagus, fondant potatoes, tarragon oil (Steph had this)
· Namaste – creamy cauliflower, garam masala, cashew nuts, cilantro and roasted baby carrots
· Tidal Pool – halibut with green apple, grapes, crystalized fennel and a yuzu butter sauce
· Forage – celery root pappardelle pasta, white truffle oil, seasonal mushrooms, buttermilk, dry aged Parmesan
Again, this was one of those meals where I could appreciate that everything was good, I just didn’t like any of it. [Tzvi: As a person with a sophisticated pallet, I would say this was a pretty good meal. The tomato tartar kind was actually reminiscent of beef tartar, and the pasta made out of celery root was actually delicious.]
For dessert I had the “Looking Glass,” which was actually delicious. It also looked like a garden in a cup. It was pieces of pistachio cake and chocolate mouse and raspberry and chocolates and lemon and I don’t know what else. Both options on the menu had nuts, so Tzvi got a crème Brule instead, which was actually very good. They also brought us a dessert (which everyone gets) that was a white chocolate orb that they pour hot chocolate over and it cracks open like a flower. Inside was more chocolate. I was almost licking the plate by the end.
After dinner we went up to the pool deck for the White Party. Woo woo. Actually, it was one of the better white parties I can remember (every cruise has one). This one was actually fairly well attended considering how few people are on the ship, and was actually fun. They gave out flashing light sticks and the house band was playing. Also, having been through all of our usual drinks we decided to try one of the frozen cocktails from the pool bar, and it turns that they are delicious. We got a drink called a French Caribbean that had rum, raspberry liquor and passionfruit puree. Thank you Jen for the recommendation. It was basically a smoothie and Tzvi drank most of it despite having been too snobby to drink frozen cocktails all week. [Tzvi: Yes, I am a snob, but yes I am sad that it took me this long to discover how wonderful the blended cocktails are.]
While we were at the white party another woman came up to me and asked me if I was the singer from the house band! She must have been pretty drunk though, because the singer was literally singing right behind her at the party. I’ve also decided that it’s a compliment. Anyway, remember the Christian couple from last night? Well, at some point in the party one of the guys jumped in the pool (fully dressed), and it was NOT super warm out. Praise the Lord.
my doppelgänger
if you look closely you can see the guy in the pool
Once the band finished the DJ came on and it was time to call it a night, so we went back down to the Grand Plaza for our nightly cake and Kahlua. Good day.