Sleepy's and Luv's Eeyore-ish Christmas Cruise on the Dream, 23-27 Dec 2019; Updated PALO BRUNCH pics! 9 FEB

Our 5k Path in November on the Fantasy didn't do the bike trail 2x. We ran behind the Cabanas on Serenity Beach, turned around and then straight down the runway back to the start!
Wow! I've not heard of that route before. You think it might have been due to the damage caused by the hurricane season? Seems like that would be more torturous of a path. Straight line runs were never my thing. Give me variety, mental challenges. When I ran the CC 5K "competitively," I would use all the twists and turns in the bike loop to speed up briefly to either pull away from runners behind me or sneakily try to catch those in front. I'm not sure I'd like your route.
 
Wow! I've not heard of that route before. You think it might have been due to the damage caused by the hurricane season? Seems like that would be more torturous of a path. Straight line runs were never my thing. Give me variety, mental challenges. When I ran the CC 5K "competitively," I would use all the twists and turns in the bike loop to speed up briefly to either pull away from runners behind me or sneakily try to catch those in front. I'm not sure I'd like your route.
I think this route is the official 5k route used for the CC5k Challange as part of the Run Disney weekend. I will say that it is much more shaded than the death march of a bike loop. Glad you got 3rd and 4th Place. You did let Luv get 3rd?
 
I think this route is the official 5k route used for the CC5k Challange as part of the Run Disney weekend. I will say that it is much more shaded than the death march of a bike loop. Glad you got 3rd and 4th Place. You did let Luv get 3rd?
Oh, PLUEEEZE! :rolleyes1
 
I think this route is the official 5k route used for the CC5k Challange as part of the Run Disney weekend. I will say that it is much more shaded than the death march of a bike loop. Glad you got 3rd and 4th Place. You did let Luv get 3rd?
Duh. I didn't get to be leventy-seven years old by being stupid. . .
 


REMY
We love Remy. We've done Remy every cruise, and we've always loved it. Tonight? We. . .liked it a lot. Yeah, not love. Funny how money and weather can impact your sensibilities. . .

As usual, Remy was the first thing we reserved when our booking window opened, and given this was a Christmas cruise, we wanted that night to be our special meal. The first photo of the entire trip shows us outside Remy, so I'll skip posting it again.

The complimentary pre-dinner drink
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This has a bit of Grand Marnier, a bit of Grey Goose, and some candied pineapple in a few ounces of Tattinger Brut. Intensely aromatic, explodes on the taste buds, and a fitting opening to a memorable meal.

The pre-amuse-bouche. . .honestly, I can't think of another way to describe it.
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The darker tarts are foie gras with some sort of gratin while the lighter ones are a cauliflower mousse with lime zest with a hint of truffle powder, I believe. Both were lovely and delicious. Luv isn't a fan of foie gras, so I ate hers, but the mousse was light, airy, and herbaceous.

Amuse-bouche: parsnip puree with a lime finishing crema underneath
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There was a slight crisp to it, and the lime underneath, though understated, added a punch to the puree.

Bread service
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It was some sort of whole grain bread with three butters: unknown, simple, unknown. ;) I want to say paprika and parsley were the two on the ends, but don't quote me. Either way, they were very mild and almost undistinguishable from the plain butter in the middle.

At this point, because my notes are lacking, I'm just going to provide pictures of the food we had with perhaps an occasional note. It was all good, but there were a couple of dishes that seemed unbalanced somehow. Further, while our server was very good, he was almost too attentive. He bordered on the line between being timely and being pesky. Rather than let the food speak for itself with small explanations, he often launched into a full breakdown of how exceptional the sourced foods were--sometimes to the detriment of letting us just get on with the meal. Again, it's not a real complaint as he was gracious and thorough. Still, we prefer the more laid back approach, assuming that we know some about the food we were eating. Am I being picky? A little, admittedly.

Heirloom tomatoes and balsamic vinegar
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Lobster
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Okay, that's enough for now. Don't want to overload the system. As you can see, hopefully, the food is beautifully presented, almost works of art. And the culinary journey continues later. . .
 
Remy, Part Deux

Again, rather than attempt to expertly identify each dish, simply feast your eyes on the beauty of the dishes. We had everything from lamb to lobster, various savory mousses, and perfectly cooked Wagyu (two different cuts at the bottom--the filet in the next to last picture was superior to the strip in the last). Despite the constant rolling of the ship, we still enjoyed a fine meal.
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Remy, The Sweets

As if consuming so many rich dishes and foods wasn't enough, Remy tops off the evening with more works of art--their desserts. Generally, we don't have room to consume all these, and this night was no exception, though I must say we managed (read: I managed) to mostly finish them. We did NOT have room to eat the chocolates they still bring to your table after the main meal and sweets. All the desserts were good, but the small cake with the chocolate arch was superb.

Chocolate bark with cranberry gels
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Some sort of mousse/lava cake with vanilla creme
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Pistachio and chocolate tart with fruit "rollups"
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Chocolates to take with you. . .which we did. . .which were also excellent
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To sum up the Remy part of our trip, I would give the following advice. If you enjoy fine dining, artfully created food, near perfectly prepared dishes, service second to none, and particularly want to spend a romantic 2.5 - 3 hour meal with your partner, then Remy is a gem that ranks up there with Victoria & Albert's at about half the cost. You are treated royally which, alone, is nearly worth the price of admission. For example, we both wore darker holiday colors, so the white napkins were immediately changed out for black. Moreover, they provide you with a small stool to hold a purse. And when Luv excused herself to visit the ladies' room, they effortlessly took her napkin and then replaced it when she returned. If you've not been, I urge you to try it. You won't be disappointed.

HOWEVER, I will now add a counterargument to dining at Remy. We first dined at Remy several years ago when the cost was $75. It was a fabulous experience and such a steal at that price. A couple of years after that, the price had risen to $85 which was still an exceptional price. Two years later, the price jumped to $95, and we dined alone all evening. Literally, there were no other patrons the entire night, thus we had the entire staff waiting on us, and Chef Patrick came out to speak with us for a time. Still, the experience justified the cost. Now, the price has jumped to $125, and I'd be surprised if there's not another hike in the coming months. So, the cost for two (without wine) jumped from $150 to $250.

Is that still a reasonable cost for such a fantastic meal? I'd give it a qualified "yes." The food is still remarkable, and the service is unmatched. Yet, we found a few small missteps that will make us think long and hard about attempting another Remy meal. While the food was, indeed, better than most other fine dining restaurants we've had over the years, a couple lacked finesse and seemed uninspired. For example, though my Wagyu strip was very good, it was a bit tougher than it should have been and wasn't presented with any real wow factor as you can tell in the picture from the previous post. The gnocchi/ravioli dish was also a bit listless, though it looked gorgeous. Our service was also very good; however, our main server lingered too much over the descriptions of each dish--every one was lovingly detailed, too much to be frank. And while we know the best ingredients were used in making these dishes, you don't have to remind us every single time you present the next course. Am I being picky? Yes, a bit, and I no way mean to diminish his efforts other than he was simply overly zealous at times.

Those few small items then begs the question: "Is this meal still worth $125 per person?" If I'm bluntly honest, it was not for us this trip. While a great meal, it was a bit of a slog for us this time around. Perhaps we were jaded by the fact this was our 4th time in Remy; perhaps we were put off by the whole rocking and rolling ship thing by this time. Whatever the reasons, we left having enjoyed ourselves but not believing it was quite worth the cost anymore for us. So, while I do still recommend Remy overall, especially for those who have not tried it, I think we'll give it pass on our next cruise. . .then again, by the time that next cruise comes around, we may change our minds. pirate:

Coming next: At sea day!
 


At Sea Day
I might mention before launching into the next segment, that during this trip, we hit Senses Spa at least once a day (I might've had made it more than once a couple of days) just to relax in the hot tub, doze on the heated beds, and hit the showers/saunas. I gotta say, that was money well spent for us, "that" being the couples package. Beyond that, I did a few extra things on my own while Luv was napping or sleeping at night. In particular, I was awake late at night after our Remy meal, so opted to go see the latest Star Wars movie as it was showing in 3D around midnight. There is always something to do around the ship, it seems. And, so that's how I started off my at see day--sitting in a theater watching a movie. :thumbsup2

We also opted to play the always amusing Mickey's Detective Agency hunt for clues. You think you know the ship well until you start trying to track down all the clues. And, though we didn't do it, if you were to trot or walk quickly to all the areas, you'd put in a good workout. Before we started that task, however, we had to hit one of our top spots on the ship--Cove Cafe. While the coffees and lattes aren't the best quality, they're still a notch above average fare. Heck, it's worth going there just to eat the pastries that come as part of the cruise package.

Santa with a plate of goodies: cranberry bliss bar, cinnamon roll, and chocolate croissant--and Mickey!
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We had done the Palo Brunch on our last cruise, and before this one began, we considered not doing it. In fact, there was no opening for it for a time, so we were okay with skipping it. We kept checking back when one weekend morning a spot opened. We jumped on it and are happy we did. It was a superb meal, as usual, in some ways surpassing Remy the night before. The options are legion, the service topnotch, and food/drink delectable. Here are a few pics of the food lineup.

Fruit and pastries, right side
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Fruit and pastries, left side
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Breads
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Seafood, part one
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Various canapés, mousses, prosciutto and melon
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Seafood, part deux
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Cheeses and meats
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The dessert stage
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Yep, it's quite a spread. . .and this includes nothing off the a la carte menu, pictures of which will be forthcoming in a bit. Suffice to say, you have so many ways to ensure it's $40 well spent. . .which for each of us it was.
 

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