Last evening began with pre-dinner drinks at the Avenue Saloon with dear friends Ashley and Kelly. We last were with them when at the conclusion of World Cruise 2015 we stayed on board for two other cruises including a Miami to Lisbon, Portugal crossing. On that first day we attended their wedding ceremony with many of their family members that was held on board Serenity. It was so nice to see them. Keith was hoping to play some paddle tennis with them but if the weather trend continues that might not be possible. Although we did not dine at the Crystal Dining Room we did post menus from last evening's dinner for those of you who enjoy looking at the dinner menus. We had dinner at Tastes for the first time of this voyage. We find dining at Tastes very special since it was makeover a few years ago. We love the ambience of the dining venue, the service and the cuisine. The food is served family style and the dishes are usually shared with another person although that is not necessary. The menu changes every couple of months with a few items added and a like number of items removed. Sometimes the new items have never been served at Tastes. Other times the items used to be served or have been modified. The cuisine represents different areas around the world. Since the items are similar to tapas we find ourselves trying items that we normally would not have if they were served in a traditional entree size. This makes all of this very special for us. Since we cruised in May, many new items were added to the menu. We tried some of them. This included the Steamed Alaskan Halibut, the Moroccan Baked Swordfish and the Sapphire's Salmon Sliders. There was a little more emphasis on fish taking into account Serenity being in Alaska followed by Northwest Passage. Last night's dinner also marked two first for us. It was the first time we dined at Tastes by ourselves and the first time we didn't have dessert. LOL, but so very true. This is the new menu. Below are photos that we took of some of most of the items we had last evening. We wanted to highlight the items. First photo item of the food shows the Moroccan Baked Swordfish. We thought that the Swordfish was cooked nicely but maybe could gain from more seasoning. The second photo of the food items is the Steamed Alaska Halibut in the Grape Leaf. The waiter cut it in half for us and then spooned the Fava Bean Herb Butter with Omani Lemon Powder on top of the Halibut. The taste of the butter and seasoning was divine. Third food photo is of the Over Roast Cauliflower. This is a new recipe of the one that used to be on the menu. It was tastier than the previous one and we think for those who don't like plain cauliflower they still might enjoy the way this dish is prepared. Next food photo is of the Gambas. This one has been around since day one and we always enjoy it. It is definitely very tasty. The next photo is the Sapphier's Salmon Sliders. It was quite good and tasty and a great choice for those who do not want beef. At home we eat red meat just a handful of times a year and infrequently on the ship. We actually enjoy the beef sliders more than these but these were certainly quite good in our opinion. Last food photo is of the Chimichurri Steak. We do order this one whenever we go to Tastes. We enjoy the tastes of not only the beef but the combination of the black beans and potato fries. We never had french fries at home nor fries on the ship except for these. They do not have any type of greasy taste to them and what you taste are the the sweet potatoes and the salt that is added to them. The final items we had was the Alsatian Tart. For us this is like a pizza but not a traditional one. Crust is very soft and the ingredients are not what you find on a typical pizza. We tried this one on our first visit to Tastes a few years ago at the recommendation of the Food & Beverage Manager and it was a wow for us as it still is. We order it each time we visit. The reason that we didn't get a photo is that we both enjoy it so much that we each had a piece before Keith realized he didn't take a photo of it. As we mentioned we didn't have dessert. Normally we would have tried all three items and just shared them. Keith rarely ever eats dessert other than at Tastes and Anne Marie often limited her desserts to something that is sugar free or low fat but we make an exception at Tastes. We will be sure to have the dessert on the next voyage. After dinner we stopped by the Avenue Saloon so we could see Perry Grant perform. We have not yet seen him since we boarded the ship. Before late dinner the pianists do not sing so we did get to see him play the piano and that was great. We do plan to see him perform later in the evening. We sat with dear friends, Bob, Glo and Marvin. We didn't go to the show. We slept very well as we sailed to our next port of cal in Skagway. Our morning began as all mornings do on Serenity. Keith was up first and worked out. He did an early laundry as the laundry on our floor was closed later in the morning. We then enjoyed a nice breakfast in our room. Many more guests were up and about earlier than usual as there were several early tours including the White Pass Railway. The dining room opened earlier to accommodate guests who wanted table service who were on tours and the Lido Cafe was open for an early breakfast. We then got ready to visit Skagway. As was the case in many other ports, we didn't have an excursion as we have been her numerous times. Skagway is yet another Alaskan port we have visited several times in the past. During the summer season tourists and those working here just for the season vastly outnumber the 1,000 or so residents who live here year-round. Today is an example of this with three cruise ships in port. The number of ships is fairly typical of the summer season when as many as four ships might be visiting this port in one single day. On our first couple of visits to Skagway in the 1990's there would often just be one ship in port. The difference is how popular cruising to Alaska has become including how many more ships sail Alaska today. Skagway is located at the northern terminus of the inside passage. The town was part of North America's gold rush. Its major attractions and historical sites are just a short walk from the cruise ship/ferry dock. The most popular attraction is the White Pass & Yukon Route Railroad offering beautiful views on clear days. Other places to visit in town include the Klondike Gold Rush National Historical Park Visitor Centre, Skagway Museum, and Gold Rush Cemetery & Reid Falls. Having done various excursions on past trips, we once again enjoyed walking the town. The temperature was a little above 60 degrees fahrenheit for our walk though it seemed much cooler due to the strong winds. It felt like an autumn October day on the East Coast of the United States. As we walked towards the direction of town we took a photo attempting to show all three cruise ships in port. Crystal Serenity and a Carnival ship were docked along the same pier and the NCL ship was docked a little closer to town. We enjoyed our walk. We skipped all of the shops to make stops at various locations and then walked past all of the shops to the residential area. On our return we did stop at some selected stores. We reminisced about our family trips to Alaska and the tours that we took with our children Jennifer and Eric. On our way back to the ship we saw a very happy squirrel who was busy eating a cookie. We enjoyed lunch at the Lido Cafe making those wonderful salad entrees that we enjoy.
Afterwards, Anne Marie worked out between a long oe hour walk and also tried the Elliptical Machine again and Keith worked out on the Elliptical Machine. Later in the day Keith met up with dear friend Bob. This evening we will dine at the Crystal Dining Room. We will be up later than usual to attend a function so we do plan to visit the Avenue Saloon to see Perry Grant perform. Tomorrow is Glacier Bay. Keith & Anne Marie Comments are closed.
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