Day 04 - San Juan, PR
December 1, 2018 - As Silver Spirit sails towards San Juan, Puerto Rico, the Captain informs us that they will be performing a series of sea trials required prior to entering a USA port. So, if the ship slows down, or makes a few turns, not to be concerned.
After attending another excellent lecture by Dr. William Crowley on St. Kitts, Dominca and Antigua (three of the islands we will be visiting on this itinerary), we decided to enjoy an al fresco lunch at The Grill. Since The Grill does not open until noon, we had time to stop by The Arts Cafe and noticed they had a variety of light snacks available. In fact, after Rickee tried one of the tomato, cucumber and cheese finger sandwiches, she decided to make that her lunch and had two more!
There are small jars filled with a variety of salads (see above) so, I tried a Chicken with Curry Mango and it was really good. Everything we have tried at The Arts Cafe has been delicious. But, for me, this was just an appetizer. My lunch awaits poolside at The Grill. Before placing my order, I noticed Executive Chef Chilcott overseeing a stirfry station at The Grill.
The daily special stirfry looked very tempting, but I decided to try the cheeseburger, which is served with french fries and onion rings. My cheeseburger was cooked to my liking, medium, and the fries were hot and crispy. The bun is also a very important component of a good burger, and this one is one of the best you will find. Silversea has really improved their burgers.
Back "in the day", a Pool Grill would typically offer a burger, fries and maybe a chicken sandwich, but Silversea's Pool Grill menu is quite extensive. In fact, it is two pages long!
After lunch, we spent much of the afternoon enjoying the peace and quiet of our expansive private balcony. The Silver Suite has a comfortable lounger, two chairs with footrests and a large table with two additional chairs.
We enjoyed our balcony as Silver Spirit was sailing into San Juan, Puerto Rico, this afternoon.
San Juan, Puerto Rico
Tonight, we have dinner reservations for La Terrazza, Silversea's Italian Bistro restaurant. We stop at Panorama Lounge for a pre-dinner drink and instantly notice the beautiful changes made to the lounge during last summer's lengthening of Silver Spirit.
All of the furnishings, carpet and other surfaces have been modernized with top-quality marble, fabrics and leather. Silversea's bar service remains the best in the industry, with generous pours. My Crown Royal would have been considered a "double" on most cruise lines, and the same for Rickee's scotch on the rocks.
A line was already forming at La Terrazza when we arrived at 7:00pm for our reservation. We were escorted to a table for two. In the evening, La Terrazza is transformed from a buffet restaurant into a romantic Italian bistro with an extensive menu. After a welcome glass of Spumanti sparkling wine, we were offered a choice of white or red Italian wines. I requested the Bogle Merlot that we had enjoyed at Atlantide and the Sommelier promptly brought a bottle to our table and poured a glass. A large platter of antipasti was brought to the table along with a basket of breads.
My Insalata Caprese (above) was a delicious chunk of fresh Mozzarella atop three fresh slices of tomato and drizzled with a pesto sauce. It was excellent. Rickee's Carpaccio di Manzo was paper-thin sliced beef tenderloin topped with Arugula, Cherry Tomatoes, Celery and aged Parmesan cheese. For my pasta course, I tried the Bigoli al Cacio 'Podolico' e Pepe which is a homemade Bigoli pasta in a rustic buttery black pepper sauce.
The Bigoli was cooked perfectly al dente and it was one of the best pasta dishes I think I have ever had. I will be ordering this again, maybe as a main course! Rickee had the Pappa al Pomodoro as her second course, a rich bowl of chunky tomato soup that she devoured. She decided to have her pasta as her main course. She chose the Spaghetti Aglio, Olio, Peperoncino, which I also got to try. It was very garlicky and quite spicy, which I love. For my main course, I had the Costoletta di Vitello farcita al Taleggio (Veal Shank), which was way too large, but I somehow managed.
Costoletta di Vitello farcita al Taleggio
Needless to say, we were so full after the first three or four courses (I lost count), that dessert was not even an option. I finished my glass of Merlot while Rickee had a glass of chilled Limoncello (an Italian lemon-flavored liqueur). Our dinner at La Terrazza was memorable and I think we should visit here at least one more time on this journey.
We overnight here and tomorrow, we will explore San Juan, Puerto Rico.
