We had such a smooth boarding process onto the ship. We arrived at the Port of Los Angeles at 1:45 and were in our cabin by 2:05. All our luggage arrived by 2:30. Since we had eaten our lunch at Downtown Disney, we didn't need to deal with the zombie waves of passengers on the Lido deck, all fighting for a plate of food. We stayed in our cabin until the mandatory safety drill at 3:30. That was over by 3:45 and we were back to our cabin to finish unpacking. Our dinner time is 7:30 on this ship so we had about three hours before then. My wife qualified for Elite status on this sailing so we were able to go to a special happy hour lounge they have open for Elite passengers. They offer special drink prices and have a small buffet of cheese, crudite and one item that changes each night. This night it was guacamole and chips. The guac wasn't the best I had had but they had some delicious cheeses especially a smoked provolone.
Princess's dinner menu is set up like most other mass market lines. They will have one side that is called Classics. These are items that will be available every night of the cruise. I refer to it as a backup menu. If nothing from that evening's featured items strikes your fancy, you have a good backup. The other side of the menu will be items that are only available that night. This side will often have items that you may never have tried. It is a low risk chance to be adventurous. I never had escargot until I cruised and now I can't imagine not being able to eat those tasty morsels.
For tonight's dinner I ordered caesar salad, fettuccine alfredo with chicken and texas beef chili. The salad and fettuccine were both from the classic menu. I like caesar salads but only if you can get anchovies. On the last Princes cruise I took, they didn't have anchovies so it was disappointing. Fearing they would run out this cruise, I ordered it the first night. Many people fear anchovies feeling they will be too "fishy". If they have been prepared properly, anchovies are never fishy. They should be looked like as a condiment. They can add a lot of depth to a dish. I recommend trying them when you order your next caesar. Ask for them om the side if you have any concerns
It was a very nice standard caesar with crunchy romaine and a well balanced dressing. The salty, somewhat nutty anchovies added just the right punch.
Princess' heritage for dining has a lot of Italian influence. I have found that their pizza is usually the nest of any line. It also is not a surprise that they promote their fettuccine as a signature dish. It was quite good. A very smooth and silky white sauce, perfect for latching onto the thick noodles. The sauce by itself it a bit bland so you either need to add some freshly ground pepper or do as I did and ask for them to add roasted chicken, The chicken breast had just enough seasoning to carry through the rest of the dish. And it was still moist which is rare for chicken breast served this way.
My entree was the Texas Beef Chili. I feel this dish was not named properly, otherwise more people would have ordered it. While the dish had some great classic flavors from cumin and chili powder. it was the large chunks of beef that set this apart. The beef had the texture of a slowly braised short rib. It simply melted in your mouth. Most meat chilis I have had have ground meat. Even when I make it at home I used ground beef and sometimes pork. Believe me, if you want to add something new to your homemade chili, try using pork. It will give it a new depth of flavor. The meat in this dish was so succulent, I considered having the waiter save me some for leftovers. The dish also had just enough rice to sop up any remaining liquid. A great chili and it will make me think about adding a twist to my own.
