Calm Seas and Great Entertainment

Today is our first day at sea as Nieuw Statendam sails from Half Moon Cay to Grand Turk. You could not ask for a better day at sea. The ocean looks more like a calm lake than the Caribbean at the end of hurricane season.

This morning, I chose Grand Dutch Cafe as my morning coffee and blogging spot. Grand Dutch Cafe is located on Deck 3 midship, across from Guest Services.

Grand Dutch Cafe is sort of like Holland America’s version of Starbucks, or the International Cafe on Princess. Here you can get your specialty coffee drinks from the Barista. An Americano will set you back $3.45. I found a nice table for two next to a window.

Lunch at Pinnacle Grill

For lunch today, I had reservations at Pinnacle Grill, the specialty steakhouse on board Holland America ships. This is my first time to have lunch at a Pinnacle Grill, and it was well worth the $15 service charge. With so many places to have lunch on Nieuw Statendam included in the cruise fare, why pay $15 to dine at Pinnacle? The main reason is atmosphere. Not that many people dine here for lunch, so the dining room is less than half full, at least it was on my visit. That makes for a very quiet, peaceful environment in which to enjoy a great meal.

Don’t expect the full Pinnacle dinner menu at lunch, however. The menu is smaller and the offerings are more suited to lunch than dinner. I ordered the crab cake starter, the Pinnacle Burger as my main and for dessert (which I rarely eat), the Warm Fudge Brownie. To start, a nice basket with a variety of bread was placed on the table along with butter.

When my crab cakes arrived, I was surprised to see that there were two panko-crusted crab cakes garnished with a very good cucumber salad with micro-greens. The hot Chinese mustard and Thai Sweet Chili sauce was the perfect combination for dragging the crab cakes through before consumption. More please. These crab cakes are excellent!

When the burger arrived, I knew immediately that there was no way I was going to finish it and still have any room left to try the dessert. Nevertheless, I soldiered on. The burger was topped with melted cheese, bacon jam, garlic aioli, red onions, and tomato. The menu said avocado, but I think lettuce was substituted. The lettuce was immediately removed for fear of some potential health benefit.

The bun was excellent and the french fries were hot and appeared to have been dredged in flour or corn starch before being fried, giving them an extra level of crunchiness. They were hot and delicious. The bacon jam was a little too sweet for my taste. I would have them leave that off the next time I order. But, overall, the burger was very good.

After devouring about half of the burger and less than half of the fries, I was ready to try the grand finale: the Warm Fudge Brownie with Coffee Gelato and Caramel Popcorn.

While the brownie dessert may not be much to look at, it exceeds expectations in the taste department. First, I ate all of the caramel popcorn, thank you. The coffee gelato was the perfect accompaniment to the fudgey (not a word) chocolate brownie. Decadent does not even begin to describe this dessert. The only thing that would have made it better was if the brownie were actually warm, as the name promises. It was served at room temperature. Still, it was amazing.

An Evening of Entertainment

At 5pm, I stopped by the Lincoln Center Stage for the ALL AMERICAN performance by the classical musicians onboard. The quintet was playing popular arrangements from American composers.

At 7pm, it was time for the StepONE Dance Company to perform HUMANITY on the World Stage (Deck 2 & 3 forward). The World Stage is a theater “in-the-round” design like none other we have seen on a cruise ship.

Out of respect for the performers, I did not take any photos or video of the performance, but I can say that it was an excellent show. Holland America has really reached a new level in entertainment with this theater. The lighting, laser effects, and wrap-around screen give guests a visual experience like none other I have seen. And, the sound system is among the best I have heard on any cruise ship.

After HUMANITY, I stopped by Rolling Stone Rock Room where The Rock Room Band was tearing it up. It was standing-room-only for the blaring rock and roll music. I find myself wondering if Holland America is the new standard for cruise ship entertainment. After about 45 minutes of rock and roll, I was ready for a break, so I decided to forego stopping by B.B. King’s to get my jazz fix. Tomorrow, perhaps?

Speaking of tomorrow, we will be docked in Grand Turk-