JVPIII

Sorry for the delay in posting the internet has been very spotty today as we get closer to Sint Maarten

5 hours ago, Lovetocruise2002 said:

I don't know for sure...but I highly suspect that Izumi gets their drinks from elsewhere. Like how all the Central Park restaurants get their drinks from Trellis Bar, I think Izumi also gets it from elsewhere, I just don't know where. On Oasis class ships, Izumi is near the casino, or the MDR on Deck 4. If you can find out where they get their drinks from, that location can probably make those drinks. Just like how you don't have to dine in Gio's, Chops, Jamie's, etc. to try their drinks, you just order from Trellis Bar.

But I could be totally wrong about that too, well not about the Trellis Bar (that I know for sure), but Izumi drinks. It's just something I have long suspected.

5 hours ago, OCSC Mike said:

I wish Izumi had a separate bar like Sabor, Mason Jar, Wonderland, etc. Would love to try those but highly unlikely we'll ever eat there.

5 hours ago, SweetPea said:

I wish this had come up when i was still in the app. I could've checked to see where the $0 charge came from for our drinks at Izumi.

Of course, @JVPIII can simply check his account on the app to not keep us in suspense!

I can confirm that Izumi drinks come from elsewhere as I saw a waiter with a tray of them walking past the elevator with them into the restaurant. I however can not say where as the on board account says Izumi so not sure

I will finish day 1 tomorrow as it is currently 11:30 and it is almost tomorrow anyway

For the main corses we ordered a few rolls to share.

Snow Crab California roll - We ordered 2

Truffled creamy lobster tempura roll

Izumi Ryu Futomaki roll

Crispy Philly roll

Knowing she would most likely not like the sushi mom also ordered Beef and Chicken Teriyaki ( normally comes one or the other).

Everything was delicious but our favorite one was the Crab California roll. Mom was not a fan but did like her teriyaki.

For dessert Mom and dad each had the lava cake and Rick and I shared a Mochi Ice cream. Unfortunately no pictures of dessert. Epic fail on my part I know.

Now for those following along this meal would have cost us $177 before gratuity with everything we ordered. If we were not in Star we would not have done it. Not because we could not afford it but because we could not justify the cost for something we were not sure we would like or not. To me the ability to try new things without the guilt of not eating or drinking is a really great perk of Star. You could also achieve this partially with a drink package and ultimate dining package but we went over our allotment for an a la cart menu that is given out with the ultimate dining package. 
 

Verdict on would we eat here again? All yes except my Mom but I am so glad she tried it.

8 minutes ago, Ampurp85 said:

Congrats on the win. I hope I have your luck in 13 days 

I love the burnt orange. 

Thank and good luck when you go. I think you will need to go to the casino for a break from the vintages on your trip.

Ok it has been a great day and I am completely stuffed food wise. Tomorrow is another day at sea and I don’t know if my poor stomach can expand enough for it.

lunch at Izumi sushi was an experiment to see if my parents (read my mom) would be willing to try it. I have to give her credit where credit is due, she did try almost everything we ordered. She probably will never do it again however.

For those who have never been or would like to reminisce about the menu here it is:

Izumi sushi is an a la carte menu and what we ordered for this meal would have cost an arm and a leg had we not been in Star class.

First drinks:

Short glass is She’s a Geisha and the other is the Japanese Strawberry. Both drinks are great with fruity taste. If you are a person who does not like to taste the liquor in your drink do not order either. Both are great but strong and you can taste the alcohol.

Next appetizers:
 

Tofu ginger salad minus the tofu

Mom and Rick ordered this and said it was good. I don't do ginger dressing so it was a no from me.

Pork Gyoza Dumplings

Absolutely amazing! Would order this on every visit. All of us really enjoyed.

Shrimp and Pork Wonton soup

Both Rick and dad said it was good.

Next up entrées and dessert.

6 hours ago, Gilley said:

Good decision to skip show and a very nice win.  Hopefully you did t lose much before that big win.

5 hours ago, SweetPea said:

First of all, nice win in the casino!

Second, i just submitted my survey, expressing my displeasure at their new luggage procedures, so maybe if they get enough complaints we'll reverse this stupid course. 

And third ... did you paint your toe nails orange? Love it!  

Thank you. Win was nice and I am up for the trip so far!

I did paint toe nails burnt orange for fall.

Backtracking a little we had breakfast at coastal kitchen this morning which was very good. Unfortunately I took no pictures because my stomach brain overrode my regular brain and ate it all up.

After breakfast we played Trivia and Rick won.

We have been relaxing on the balcony but we are about to go to lunch at Izumi. 

2 hours ago, SweetPea said:

It's definitely going on the comment card!

3 hours ago, MLH said:

Note this on your survery!!!!!!!  We never get our luggage since after covid.  From now on when sailing on Star, we will be carrying it on board and send a photo of us to corporate hauling our own luggage.   I  think it gets lumped in with all other luggage and put off to the side and the stewards don't recognize the tags.  For non star sailings,  I have found that when I print the tags with the colors verus the hand written ones at the port they get there a little sooner.

Already planned to go in survey. Cruise has been great once we got our luggage but it was a stressful start.

Sitting and looking at this view is taking the stress away however.

We decided to skip the show and went to the Casino after dinner tonight. It was a good decision.

Dinner was amazing. 
 

Menu

Crispy Pork Belly

Cured Salmon

French Onion Soup

Chilled Caesar Salad

 

Broiled Salmon

“The Sabrina” IYKYK

Dessert Menu

Chocolate Praline Tart

Cheese Cake with Chocolate sauce

Chocolate Cake

The only miss was the Cesar Salad. It tasted fine but I like my salads cold. The plate was freezing but the lettuce was room temperature. Everything else was so good.

I finally got everyone to sit for a picture as we sat down to dinner at Coastal Kitchen.

Mom and Dad

Rick and Me

17 minutes ago, WAAAYTOOO said:

The whole SC luggage thing is really unacceptable.  They need to fix it.

8 minutes ago, Jax said:

Agreed. I am curious to see what our experience is like on HM this December. 

Yeah, honestly the whole star class check in process this time was not great. We were at the curb from 10 am and did not make it to the suites lounge area til 10:30. We were not on the ship until 11:15 and did not get luggage til 3:30. Not a great start, but it has been good otherwise. Wendy has apologized. for a smooth process for the rest of the week

1 hour ago, Gilley said:

Can you order as much as you want at Sabor or is it one entree.  I’m booked on Liberty in 13 days.

In star class you can order as much as you want. If purchasing the meal as a 1 off you can order only one entree and dessert per the rules but ymmv as I have seen waiters bend this.

At 1 pm we still did not have our luggage so I text Wendy when she thought we should get it. Her response: Oh it should already be there let me follow up.

Two hours later we did not have luggage because It was hiding behind other luggage according to Wendy. Got luggage to the room at 3:30 pm. 

52 minutes ago, SweetPea said:

Red snapper is my fave fish. How was it?

Red snapper honestly the best dish we all had. Lots of flavor.

28 minutes ago, OCSC Mike said:

Looking forward to Sabor on Allure if we don't change plans.

Since the snapper question was taken... how was the steak?

Only ate there once (Harmony 2022) and it was the guac, apps, and desserts I loved... I need an entree.

We liked Savor but prefer playmakers if there is one available. The steak was ok is the best I can say. Coastal Kitchen tonight so the filet should be much better.

Lunch was delicious.

Guacamole and salsa.

Queso Fudito

Garlic Shrimp

Red Snapper

Steak of some kind

Shrimp Tacos

churro

Flan

Made it to the ship and it seems to be moving more smoothly now. I think the biggest issue I had was they had us waiting on the front sidewalk for 1/2 an hour before taking us to the lounge to wait for Wendy.

Ricks Birthday celebration surprise went well.

Me and mom were also able to get the first drink in hand.

We are going to lunch at Sabor.

So far checkin has been a disaster. Got to the port at 10am and still waiting to board. Others have boarded so I don’t know what the hold up is. They keep telling us to wait someone will be right with you

Here is a view of the port from our room. You can see Harmony and two other ships in port today.

Have safe travels home today! Thank you for bringing us along on your antics this week. It definitely helped the last week before our cruise go by much better

It is indeed cruise day after over 750 day wait we are back in Star class!!!

We have already been in contact with Wendy and I got notification that our Lyft driver will be on time to pick us up in 1 hour

Have a fun filled week on the Oasis! Love this ship!!

31 minutes ago, Jax said:

What! Is this new? I don’t like this either. We have never had to put our luggage out the night before. Pretty sure one of us would find ourselves with an underwear problem. LOL It will be interesting to see what happens on HM this December.  My memory about some cruise details isn’t the best but I think last year on HM a porter came with the genie; grabbed our luggage and we collected it in a star class area in the terminal.  Regardless it was definitely not the night before.  

I will let you know at the end of the week. Boarding Harmony in just a few hours and I can tell you I don’t like this change either

1 minute ago, SweetPea said:

It's after midnight, so let me be among the first to say, 

It's cruise day!

It's cruise day!

Bon voyage!!

We just woke up and said the same thing. Lol