Back by popular demand…

Back by popular demand…Dick and Frank’s Hits and Misses!

Hi Frank!

Hey Dick!

Are you ready to ruminate on the highlights and low lights of our cruise through the Mediterranean?

Yeah dude, go for it.

Food

Hits

Best Meal on the Ship

Dick – I think our best meal was at Cagney’s Steakhouse.  The steak was perfectly cooked, and the setting was cool and masculine.

Frank – I have to give honorable mention to the Jasmine Gardens.  Not for the food so much, but for the creepy but cool concubines in 1920’s Shanghai aesthetic (read red lighting and attractive Asian servers in tight satin outfits.)

Best Meal on Land

Dick – Lunch in Dubrovnik.  Lovely seafood risotto in an open-air patio overlooking the Adriatic and the walls of the old town.  So lovely….

Frank – That was awesome, but I also enjoyed the Argentinean steakhouse in Barcelona (Patagonia.)  The steak was cremated on the outside, but the meat still had a pulse on the inside.  Wicked awesome.  Plus a really good Malbec that we paid next to nothing for to accompany our meal.

Misses

Worst Meal on the Ship

Dick – The most disappointing meal was at the Moderno Churrascarria.   More food than needed, a combination of ten different meats on large skewers.  All were lacking in distinct flavors and way too much food.

Frank – Ditto.  My colon has yet to recover.

Worst Meal on Land

Both – All the meals we had on land were good.  Even the Italian restaurant at the Courtyard by Marriott in Venice.  Go figure!

Attractions

Best

Dick – Dubrovnik. (the City.)  The old city is eminently walk able, and a jewel to boot.  Plus, we had that dynamite lunch overlooking the Adriatic.

Frank – I have to agree, Dubrovnik and the whole Croatian coast was dreamy.  I will say also that it was really great to see Barcelona again.  Despite Spain’s economic woes, the city was beautiful, alive and pulsing with an energy and stylish verve that makes that city so unique.

Dick – I too loved Barcelona.  It’s one of the great cities of Europe, and I would love to go back again.

Worst

Dick – The boat ride from the port to Dubrovnik.  It was part of an excursion with NCL on a replica 16^th century Croatian sailing vessel.  The seas were very rough, the boat shook, and it turned the whole thing into a vomit comet.  We were both happy when the trip was over.

Frank – My favorite moment of that whole wretched trek was looking up at the captain giggling at the wheel as the all the tourists on the boat moaned in despair with each passing wave.  What a sadist!

General

Dick – The service on board the Jade was exemplary.  Everyone was smiling, helpful, and scrupulously committed to cleanliness (Happy Happy, Washy Washy!) 

Also, the three hotels we stayed in were great.  The Spanish chain hotels (H10 and the NH Master) were business class hotels with clean rooms and efficient service at a very reasonable price.  Highly recommended.  The Courtyard at Venice was a real treat for those with early flights out of Venice.  Plus the bus stop into to town was right across the street.

Frank -  I don’t know if it was the fact that it was one of the first Mediterranean NCL cruises of the season, but for one, the ship was only about 2/3 full, and secondly, in terms of demographics, it was sort of like a floating nursing home.   Which was awesome in terms of the fact everyone was in bed by 9 PM (we had the ship to ourselves!) and not much noise.  On the other hand, not much hottie action at the pool, gotta tell ya!

Dick – There were more canes on this ship (mine included) than kids.  Which made for a quieter and more relaxed environment.

Ok, pictures to come and a final post as well.  Stay tuned…..