Alaskan Cruise Day Six: At Sea with a 4th of July Bash

On the sixth day we were at sea on the way to Victoria, Canada.  It was also the 4th of July and Celebrity Cruises went all out for ship entertainment.  After a leisurely and relaxing morning, Kristina and I attended Chef John Suley's class at noon about cooking with marinades and rubs, a timely class for summertime grilling ideas.

All kinds of marinades and rubs

And lots of meat!

The table for finished plates looked beautiful

Chef Suley had great grilling tips and took questions from the group.

Immediately after the class, we hurried into the large dining room to see the most incredible display of food I have ever seen.  Not only was the room decorated with festive red, white, and blue, but there was table after table of anything you could ever want to eat!

The main staircase in the dining room

The master watermelon-carving chef was back with his "Welcome to Brunch" and "Celebrity Infinity" displays.  They were breath-taking - and huge!

In front of the massive ship windows at the front were huge ice sculptures of whale tails!

There was special table of All-American specialties such as barbecued ribs, fried chicken, and corn-on-the-cob.

Melon carvings of bald eagles

The sweets table!

Every 4th of July table needs a flag cake!

The cupcakes were a very popular choice, and it looks like the red ones were the favorite.

You could make your own sandwiches

Sweet breads of every kind

Every table looked beautiful!

Cheese carvings!

There was every kind of meat...

And every kind of seafood- but we were partial to the Alaskan King Crab Legs!

We finally had to pull ourselves away from this endless feast, and prepare for what else-  another gourmet experience!  Kristina and I returned our room and relaxed until the evening.

Once again, our dinner was going to be held in the specialty dining room, "Qsine."  We were greeted by the smiling face of sommelier Chanelle Duarte, who talked to us about the evening fare of food paired with beer.  I don't know much about beer except I like to cook with it.  Chanelle handed us a glass of what I thought was champagne, but it was beer!  I never would have guessed.

We were led to a beautiful table and met our fellow diners who were from the South. We had a wonderful evening with the group, chatting and talking about the food with each course.  As we were talking, one of the servers came by the table to offer sushi pops.  They were addictive!

First up with a beer pairing was a melange of imam biyaildi, goat cheese cigars, and falafel, pared with Woodchuck Pear perry cider from Vermont.  The goat cheese cigars were completely addictive.

"Disco Shrimp" with cucumber and cocktail sauce was served with Franzishaner, a German beer.  What you can't see in the photo is why the dish was called disco - there was a blue flashing light in the ice, going off and on like a disco ceiling ball.

"Lava Crab" was served with a golden ale from Belgium called Duvel.

The Black Angus Tacos with Jalapeno Guacamole were a big hit at our table, served with another Belgium beer, Chimay Premiere Rouge.

It was meatball madness, along with...

Truffle Mac and Cheese!

Both were served with Fuller's London Pride.

Just when you think you will never be able to take another bite, dessert is served.  This chocolate mousse "tombstone" was delectable.

Containers were set on the table with moist cupcakes, homemade frosting, and a choice of toppings, for a make-it-yourself dessert.

Not done yet......

Instead of sushi pops, it's "Strawberry Fields" Pops!

With egg custards...

And not to forget the Lindeman's Framroise.

Okay, someone carry us back to the room.

After the meal, Kristina and I had a lovely conversation with Chef Suley, and the sommelier Chanelle, who also happens to be his wife.  The chef proudly showed us a photo of their darling little boy who has the middle name, Vegas, because they met and fell in love in Vegas. 

Kristina and I returned to the room and thought we would fall asleep immediately, but we stayed up, read books, made more plans for the coming year, and of course opened our balcony door to hear the waves.  We could sleep in as long as we wanted to the next morning because we would not be docking in Victoria, Canada until dinnertime.  The next day was also my husband's birthday.  I fell asleep wishing him a happy birthday, but knowing he would be fine because he had plans with friends.

  Oh, Canada!  We are on our way!