JVPIII

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

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.
 

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.
 

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.

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.

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

Rick and Me

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. 

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.

We just woke up and said the same thing. Lol

We Made it to the hotel. Had plans to go to bayside and eat and then come back to the hotel. No one felt like it so we went across the street for pub subs. Now we are headed to bed. Here are few pics from the hotel
 

 
More tomorrow 

Also for those wondering that is all mine. Rick has one suit case and thinks I am ridiculous. 

Update 1 day to go:
I am officially packed. Thanks to @SweetPea I have triple checked to make sure I have underwear safely secured. 
 

I definitely overpacked but I like to have choices even when I’m probably going to be wearing only a handful of what I brought. We will see.
Rick wanted to get his vacation started early so instead of working today he worked overnight. I am currently letting him sleep. Parents are coming in about an hour to come pick us up and get this party started. 
 
So far this week I have secured the tickets for our 2 tours we are doing this cruise, I have been talking with Wendy to finalize arrival plans and instructions, and I got notification from Lyft to remind me of our 9:30 am pick up tomorrow to take us to the port.
I also checked us into the hotel last night for tonight’s stay. I didn’t even know this was a thing until Hilton emailed me yesterday. It was useful because I was able to pick our rooms. We will be on the 12th floor so great vantage point for the bay.
Did I mention I’m going on a cruise?

 
 

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

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

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

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

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 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! 😄

This is what happens when you don't eat much specialty dining... I had no idea there were signature drinks at those restaurants, lol. Gonna go check out the app menus now.
Oddly, the WJ doesn't have signature drinks. 🤣

They have a grill in the back where they can make everything they usually make on the Hibachi tables. I only know this because our last sailing on HM in March, we had the family with us. My nephew has a shellfish allergy and Marla made sure the whole restaurant knew about it. Anyway, we were having Hibachi there and he was just going to order something from the other side menu. The waiter told him to order what he wanted off Hibachi and they would make the entire thing separately in the back. And they did. He ate Hibachi with us that night, just nothing that touched the main grill that we were all eating from.

Japanese strawberry is my favorite drink on all of Royal. I normally get 2-3 when I do Izumi and the Yaki Udon is my go-to as I don't eat seafood or sushi.