Alaskan Cruise - Day 2: At Sea ~ Photo-log

Our first full day on the ship! We started the day by having a luxurious breakfast at the Grand. Seriously! The waitstaff poured our drinks, came over to our tableside with trays of freshly baked bread and pastries, served our food with utmost politeness and then we left without paying a dime! Doesn't that feel like living like royalty??

Mini brioche from an assortment of viennoiserie

They even had my favourite brioche bread in a cute tiny sized loaf!

Fruit plate

We were all served a plate of fruit before our breakfast came out.

Waffles - with whipped cream and jam

I had a tough time deciding whether to have a sweet or savoury breakfast so I went with both!! LOL These did not look like the waffles we usually see. They weren't as fluffy as I'd like but they were definitely pretty to look at.

Scrambled eggs, roasted tomato, apple and pork sausage patty

My savoury breakfast consisted of a heap of scrambled eggs, a rather dry pork and apple sausage shaped as a patty, and my lone healthy item, a halved roasted tomato.

Eggs benedict, breakfast sausages, corned beef hash

W opted for the eggs benedict with additional sides of some breakfast sausage and corned beef hash.

Healthy plate selections at AquaSpa Cafe

In the afternoon I stopped by the AquaSpa Cafe to check out their offerings. All their dishes were chilled items like smoked salmon with greens, and various kinds of salads. I wasn't particular interested so lunch was just back at the Islands Cafe buffet.

Tonight's dinner was Formal Night at the Grand Restaurant.

Black Sesame Crusted Tuna Carpaccio - with Seaweed Salad, Pickled Mushrooms and Ginger Dressing

For my first starter, I chose the tuna carpaccio. With a little bit everything wrapped up in the paper thin tuna slices, all the components complemented each other quite well. Each bite was very yummy!

Scallop - with micro greens and avocado

W went for the raw scallop appy. The presentation was so pretty and colourful!!

Asian Consommé - with Chicken, Mushrooms and Ginger

W and I had soup for our second appy. I opted for the savoury consomme. It had a slight kick from the ginger infused in the broth.

Unfortunately I don't remember what soup W ordered!!

Pan seared tilapia - with pureed parsnips, roasted vegetables, topped with grapes and roasted pine nuts

I wanted something a little lighter as my entree so I decided on having the fish. Although looking kind of pale and bland, the fish was done quite well. I liked the pureed parsnips and the addition of grapes for some sweetness.

Milk-fed veal chop - with creamy parmesan polenta, green asparagus, roasted peppers and veal jus

W had the meaty veal chop. Not a fan of how they shredded the carrots but other than that, the veal was perfect for a meat n' potatoes lover.

Mediterranean Seafood Orzo - with scallops, shrimp, mussels, roasted eggplant and cherry tomatoes

My sis decided to go for the seafood entree which was the seafood orzo. Resembling a seafood paella, this had large pieces of shrimp, scallop and plump mussels along with eggplant and tomatoes. 

Warm chocolate lava cake - with coffee ice cream and caramelized banana

Dessert time! The chocolate lava cake was W's pick. Even though the menu said the bananas were caramelized, they were not browned at all when the plate arrived! Boo! *thumbs down* W said the coffee ice cream was really good though.

Crème brulee (top left), Vanilla ice cream (top right), and Panna Cotta Alla Romana served with raspberry coulis and fresh fruits (bottom)

My sis chose the creme brulee while I tried the panna cotta. I also ordered chocolate ice cream but they gave me vanilla by mistake instead. Boo again!

As the ship made its way northward, daylight stayed longer than down south. After we finished dinner, the sky cleared up and there was a beautiful sunset outside! A perfect scene to end day 1!

Alaskan Cruise - Day 1: Embarkation ~ Photo-log

Summer is the season to visit Alaska via cruise. With us being in the pacific northwest, it's so convenient for my whole family to board one of the major cruise ships in downtown Vancouver and sail northwards. We gathered up everyone and booked a vacation with Celebrity where we played, ate and slept on their Century cruise liner for a whole 7 days.

All aboard! We're leaving the downtown skyline and Canada Place now~

There weren't a lot of restaurants on the ship. Since we boarded late in the afternoon, our first meal on Century was actually a late lunch at their buffet. However, these were the places one could also dine at during the course of the cruise:

The Grand Restaurant - the main dining room
Murano - the high end restaurant with an additional $45 charge per person
Islands Cafe - the buffet featuring international cuisine
Pool Grill - served basic items like hamburgers and hot dogs
AquaSpa Cafe - fresh and healthy cold dishes, and made to order juices and smoothies
Cova Cafe - specialized in espresso drinks with various cakes and cookies

For dinner, we headed over to the Grand Restaurant. We learned that their menu had two sides. The left side had the Celebrity customers' all time favourites on it so those items were mainstays on the menu. The right side featured appetizers and entrees specially prepared for that night. That side of the menu changed every night. Luckily, we could mix and match from both sides!

Roasted beet and goat cheese salad

For starters, we got to select 2 items. My first one was the roasted beet and goat cheese salad on the "features" menu.

Creamy shrimp salad

The shrimp salad was W's choice.

Baked French Onion Soup - with herb croutons and melted gruyere cheese

For our second appetizer, both W and I went for the French onion soup off the "favourites" side. Loaded with gooey, salty cheese, the soup was full of umami flavours!

There were many others options but I've either forgetten their names or I haven't taken photos of them. I do remember the Escargots à la Bourguignonne with Shallots, Garlic, Parsley and Pernod Butter. My dad was the adventurous diner of the table so he ordered this appy. I forgot to take a picture though >_<

Prime Rib Roast - medium rare, with green beans and mashed potatoes

Our server highly recommended the prime rib off of the "favourites" menu so a majority of our table had this as the entree.

Warm Blueberry Crepe - with vanilla cream

For dessert, I picked the blueberry crepe. It sounded nice on the menu but it was kind of ordinary when it arrived.

New York Cheesecake

W had a slice of the cheesecake. Although plain, it was simple and good in its own way.

The next day was a full day at sea which meant lots and lots of time to stuff our faces LOL!