You Only Live Once- By Way of Kellie

The Carnival Conquest Western Caribbean Cruise 2013

YOLO, Especially if You Eat LIKE THIS... 

If you are a follower of my blog, you know that Chris and I went into this cruise with HIGH expectations of not only food quality and service but QUANTITY as well. On our first cruise in 2006 we did not take FULL ADVANTAGE of all the food amenities the ship had to offer. We will NEVER make that mistake again. This time, Chris and I knew ahead of time how much and how often we would be eating as well as the food that would be offered during the duration of our 7 day cruise.

We loved the food selections and restaurants so much that we decided to EACH write our own post on what we ate during the duration of the cruise. This will be formatted by day and then a summary of our favorites at the end of the post. If you have never gone on a cruise and YOU LIKE TO EAT... You will more than likely have one booked by the end of this post!

BY WAY of KELLIE...

Sunday- Embarkation

Lunch

Cezzanne Restaurant/ Lido Buffet and Guy's Burger Joint

Tomato and Mozzarella Panini Sandwich

Mushroom Fritters and Mushroom Quiche (These were INCREDIBLE)

Cajun Style Shrimp Remoulade

"Plain Jane" Burger from Guy's Burger Joint

Dinner

Main Dining Room- Renoir Restaurant

Appetizers

Cream of Sun Ripened Tomatoes

Cured Salmon and Candied Tomato

(I learned through this dish that I only like BAKED Salmon)

Main Entrees

Sweet and Sour Shrimp

(Hands down the best SHRIMP Entrée of the cruise)

Linguini with Italian Sausage, bell peppers and mushrooms

( I asked for this one in the "Starter" size but after tasting wish I would have gotten the REAL size)

Desserts

Vanilla Crème Brule

(The BEST dessert I have EVER had)

Late Night Room Service

BLT with Chips
(Not as good as I remembered them from last time)

Monday- Sea Day #1

Brunch at George Lopez Punchliner Comedy Brunch

Bagel Breakfast with Salmon

(Again, I was reminded that I don't like poached Salmon)

Fat Stack Pancakes

(These were nothing to "Write Home About"... My FIL, Dan Davis, makes better pancakes)

Lunch

Cezzanne Resaturant/ Lido Buffet

Meat Pastry, Shrimp Roll and Mushroom Casserole were "mentionable"

Dinner

Appetizers

Baked Stuffed White Mushrooms
(AMAZING... I would swim back to the boat for some of these)

Spicy Alligator Fritters
(Same feelings as above... YUMMY!)

Chilled Strawberry Bisque
(They poured it right in front of me and this was delicious)

Main Entrées

Broiled Maine Lobster Tails and Black Tiger Shrimp
(I got 2 lobster tails... they were delicious)

Chili Rellenos
(I am a TEX-MEX girl ALL THE WAY but this was a let down... Chuy's is WAY better)

Desserts

Caramelized Apples on Puff Pastry

"Diet" Banana Gateau

(Hey, I had 2 Lobster tails... something had to be "Diet")

Late Night Room Service

Tomato and Mozzarella Panini with Pretzels
(I expected way too much)

 Tuesday- Sea Day #2

 Breakfast

Blue Iguana Cantina

Pork and Egg Tacos

Brunch

George Lopez's Punchliner Comedy Brunch

Caribbean Cesear Salad with Bacon(I really enjoyed this... just wish the bacon was crumbled and not whole,
Could I BE anymore Paula Deen?)

Pappardelle Mushroom Pasta
(This was good but it felt like I could order it at Olive Garden)

Bacon Mac' N Cheese
(This one SCREAMS Allison... It was Yumsters!)

Mexican Churros(These may be the best I have ever had!)  

Late Lunch

Guy's Burger Joint

"SMC" Super Melty Cheese
(This was like eating something straight from "Diners, Drive-ins and Dives")

Dinner

Appetizers

Smoked Chicken Quesadilla

(Again, I like Tex-Mex and this ain't it...)

Vegetable Spring Rolls
(These were yummy)

Main Entrée

Penne Mariscos
(This was absolutely amazing and you could tell it was FRESH... like they caught it while we were swimming on the beach)

Desserts

Warm Fig, Date and Cinnamon Cake

(I should have known by the title I would not like it but... I had to try!)

Carnival's World Renown Warm Melting Cake
(Disclaimer- I DON'T really like chocolate; It was not that good... Chris LOVED it)  

 Wednesday-
Mahogany Bay- Roatan, Honduras

Breakfast

Blue Iguana Cantina

Customized Breakfast Burrito

Lunch

Blue Iguana Cantina

"Chipotle" style customized Burritos

Dinner

Appetizers

Smoked Duck and Caramelized Oranges

(Hmmmm... Interesting to say the least. I like my duck inside a TUR-DUCK-EN!)

Chilled Creamy Peach Soup 

(It felt like I was in Georgia... Yummy!)

Shark and Langoustino Fire Cracker Roll
(A-MAZ-ING... Absolutely Amazing!)

Main Entrees

Assorted Seafood, Newburg Style
(I was not really sure what "Newburg" meant but it was pretty tasty)

Braised Lamb Shank in a Burgundy Sauce
(Chris and I shared this since I was pretty sure I wasn't going to like it... I was right, I didn't like it)

Desserts

Bitter and Blanc
(The best bread pudding I have ever had... Yummy)

Tiramisu
(Hands down the best I have ever had... So good in fact, I ordered a 2nd one! YOLO, right?)

Late Night Snack

Pizza Pirate

Margarita Pizza

(It was not very good... I should have stuck with Pepperoni

Thursday- Belize

Breakfast

Cezzane Restaurant/ Lido Buffet

Custom Made Omelet
(Just like last time, these are the best omelets I have ever had... yet they seem so simple to make)

Lunch

Cezzane Restaurant/ Lido Buffet
A Variety of "Comfort Food" and "Cajun Delights"

Dinner

Appetizers

Wild Mushroom Cream Soup

(Not as good as "The Pointe Steakhouse" Mushroom Cappuccino from Day #1 but it was still pretty good)

Lasagna Bolognese

(Not bad for having spinach in Lasagna, but I am glad it was an appetizer portion)

Oyster Rockefeller

(Delicious... I loved these!)

Main Entrées

Petite Filet Mignon and Braised Boneless Short-Rib

(The Filet Mignon was awesome but the ribs were lacking)

Cinnamon Pumpkin, Squash, Yam and Cheddar Cheese Pie
(This tasted like a mixture of Thanksgiving foods in a pot pie)

Desserts

Chocolate, Raspberry and Vanilla Crème Cake

(This was not my favorite)

Friday- Cozumel

Breakfast

Blue Iguana Cantina  

Breakfast Tacos and Burrito

Lunch

Fish and Chips

Calamari Fritters

Seafood Bouillabaisse  

Octopus Salad

Chilled Tuna and Watermelon Salad

(This was some of the best food I had on the cruise but we were so tired from running the AMAZING RACE that we forgot our phones in our stateroom...)

Dinner

Appetizers

Escargots
(OVERALL the best thing I had on the entire cruise)

Penne Siciliana

(This was good but seemed as if it could have come from a Main Stream
Restaurant like Olive Garden)

Corn Chowder Maryland
(This tasted more like it was from the SOUTH but it still was good)

Main Entrées

Spanakopita and Stuffed Bell Peppers

(This was a "vegetarian" entrée and the uniqueness of it definitely held up to the "Vegetarian" stereo-type)

Desserts

Baked Alaska
(This sounded wonderful and turned out to just be Neapolitan Ice Cream Sandwich)

 Sea Day #3

Breakfast

Cezzanne Restaurant/ Lido Deck
Customized Omelet

Brunch

George Lopez Punchliner Comedy Brunch

Vegetarian Omelet and Funny French Toast

(Im not sure what was FUNNY about the "Funny French Toast" but it was good)

Lunch

 
Chocolate Extravaganza Buffet

(I don't really like Chocolate but this was pretty good)

Dinner

By this time in the cruise I have eaten enough food to feed a small LARGE army and I am stuffed and bloated... I still wanted to try things but I barely ate anything at dinner. It was a little sad because I wanted to "Live it up" our last night on the ship and really eat and get my money's worth but I was just too full from the previous 6 nights!)

Appetizers

New England Crab Cake
(This was one of the best crab cakes I have ever had despite the large chunks of apple inside)

Grilled Portobello Mushroom and Handpicked Mesclun Lettuce

(Interesting...)

Frog Legs with Provençale Herb Butter
(Chris and I both REALLY liked these!)

Main Entrée

Panko Crusted Jumbo Shrimp
(Not impressed at all...)

Bacon Mac N Cheese
(Allison would have LOVED this... I LOVED it too!)

Dessert

Grand Mariner Soufflé
(YUMMY! Texture and Taste were SUPERB)  

Summary

This was the best food I have eaten in my whole life. The range and variation of the food was wonderful and the QUALITY was SUPERB! Some of the chefs on the boat had worked for presidents in The White House and even movie stars and you could tell by tasting their food. I really feel as if Chris and I not only got OUR money's worth (Just in food costs) but also about 4-6 other people's money's worth! If you are a "Foodie" and love food, you need to get on a cruise! It is the best way to taste and explore new things!

Chris and I decided to pick ONE item from each category as our favorite:

Appetizer: ESCARGOT

Main Entrée: LOBSTER TAIL

Dessert: VANILLA CREME BRULE

As mentioned in each of my blogs about this cruise, we are so lucky and blessed to have had this opportunity and I thank God for this. If it weren't for Him we would not have been able to do these things we have been sharing with you all! Thank You, Lord!

God is good... ALL the TIME!