Our Last Sea Day - Tomorrow Kona, Hawaii

DAY SIX – Oct 5: Latte and small pastry by the Sea View Pool this morning. The weather is lovely. We are having quite a few swells today. The pool has come over the sides a we times. We hung out there and played Rummikub until lunch time in the Lido Market. We don’t want to eat too much since we have the special Konigstafel Dinner tonight. Konigstafel means “Kings Table” in German, so it should be very special. After lunch it was a little housekeeping for me and a nice hot shower! It was water color class at 4:30p where we attempted to paint a jellyfish. This was not terribly successful.

Oh my, the dinner tonight was absolutely amazing. Certainly, this was the most outstanding meal experience we have had on a cruise ship. This was an eight-course event. I’ve listed the associated beverage serving after the dish. 

First, we were asked to join in the Ocean Bar. We were served 2 appetizers (crab for one and some goat cheese mixture for the other). The cocktail served to us was a very fancy Cosmopolitan, with a crown stenciled on top. We were surprised there were only 12 of us. After a few introductions we were taken for a tour of the galley. We didn’t know this would be part of the evening. After that we were escorted to the Kings Room, near the dining room, for the event.  We have the head Maitre d’, Celler Master Ron and Sommelier Temmy served the wines. There were six waiters to serve the 12 of us. It was quite formal with them all coming in with a specific course, they standing behind the guests, then serving us all at once. This type of dining is called synchronized service, also known as hand service or sweep service. This is an extremely formal and elegant method of food service often used for special events or in fine dining establishments. It was outstanding. The Executive Chef made an appearance more than once to see if we were pleased! One can certainly see why this event is limited to 12!

Here is our menu with every wine or spirit listed after the course.

Sesame Challah Poppy seed braid with 4 kinds of butter.

Asian Wagyu Steak Tartare - Smoked Champagne Cocktail

Butter Poached Lobster Tail, Lemon Grass Foam - Taittinger Brut Prestige Rosé, France

Spinach Ricotta Malfatti - Cloudy Bay Sauvignon Blanc, New Zealand

Sour Cherry Granita

Cannon of Smoked Lamb, Pistachio Crust - Figgins Figlia Merlot/Petit Verdot, Walla Walla, WA

Artisan Cheese/fruit relish - Selection of Port and Amari

Honey Cremieux, Lemon Curd

Perfect ending for our last day at sea before reaching Kailua-Kona, the Big Island of Hawaii.