Traveling with the Jones — Sharing Travel Discoveries

Views from the Pinnacle Grill on Holland America Line’s Veendam

by Janis on August 22, 2012

We recently completed a 7-day Bermuda cruise sailing round trip from New York on Holland America Line’s ms Veendam. Some of our favorite experiences while on board this cruise were dining in the Pinnacle Grill alternative restaurant. Many cruisers question the idea of having to pay extra for dining on a cruise. Here’s a look at what we enjoyed about the Pinnacle Grill on the Veendam.

Dining in the Pinnacle Grill begins with strikingly beautiful blue Bvlgari china and an amuse–bouche — a bite from the chef that’s different daily.

Wine is served in elegant Riedel stemware and decanted upon request, even when you bring your own bottle. Holland America Line is one of the few cruise lines that allow you to bring your own wine on board — for consumption in your stateroom, or at one of the restaurants for an $18.00 corkage fee and gratuity. We brought two special bottles along with us, and enjoyed both during dinners at the Pinnacle Grill.

Sal, the Pinnacle Grill manager was a charming host. Sal left the ship for vacation after our cruise; however, most of the Pinnacle Grill managers that we’ve met on Holland America Line do a terrific job in making certain that your meal is a special event.

The menu, while fixed, is varied enough for multiple visits on a cruise. This portion of the menu focuses on the appetizers. You can order multiple appetizers as it’s difficult to narrow a decision to only one.

The Spicy Chicken Coconut Soup is one of our favorites. This soup is spicy; not ‘toned-down’ to accommodate moderate tastes.

The French Onion Soup King Louis XV is traditional. And delicious.

The Dungeness Crab Cakes are a popular signature dish. They are mainly crab meat, held together with a thin coating of panko.

There’s a Jumbo Shrimp Cocktail for steak house traditionalists. The shrimp are large and tasty, but not as unique as the other appetizers such as the Pinnacle Ocean Platter with an assortment of smoked fish, or the Baby Arugula Salad, or the traditional Caesar Salad tossed table side with the dressing made as you watch to your specifications.

Moving on to the main course, the Pinnacle Grill menu focuses on beef and seafood. It’s difficult to choose, and you must choose only one.

We think the aged Sterling Silver Beef is the star of this menu. The filet mignon comes in two sizes — the smaller petite cut or the larger Pinnacle cut. The smaller size steak is large enough even for hungry-as-a-bear, six foot, six-inch-tall Mr. Jones. The horseradish-mustard sauce is a favorite, as well as the hollandaise. If you need a little seafood to go with your steak, try the “Land and Sea” entree wear jumbo prawns accompany your filet.

Filet Steak Diane, our favorite entree, is flambéed with Cognac table side. It’s beautiful, and delicious.

For dessert, the New York-style Cheesecake looks nothing like typical New York cheesecake, but it is creamy and delightful.

If you decide you can’t resist the chocolates that are served with coffee, Mr. Jones recommends the crunchy ones — either in dark or white chocolate.

Yes, dining in the Pinnacle Grill costs extra. The regular cost for adults is US$25.00 per person or lunch for US$10.00. Children under 12 dine free of charge. A rate of 50% applies for children between 13 years and under 18 years of age. As four-star Mariners we get a 50 percent discount, so it only costs us $25 for dinner for two or $10 for lunch for both of us. Three star Mariners receive a 25 percent discount. We used our $100 Carnival Stockholder benefit shipboard credit to fund our three visits for dinner plus two lunch visits. Where else can you get five fine-dining experiences for less than $100?

Don’t be disappointed. Make your Pinnacle Grill dinner reservations before you sail, either online or by calling Ship Services at 1-800-541-1576. If you cannot book ahead, visit the Pinnacle Grill manager on the first day on board to arrange a reservation. Many folks wait until mid-cruise and the Pinnacle is sold out.

What’s your favorite item on the Pinnacle Grill menu?

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Views from Georgia’s Lake Lanier Islands Resort

by Janis on August 21, 2012

I’m attending a corporate meeting/event at the Lake Lanier Islands Resort, located about an hour north of Atlanta, Georgia. It’s a gorgeous destination for weddings and corporate events.

Views from Lake Lanier Islands Resort

Lake Lanier encompasses 38,000 acres in northern Georgia and was created by the US Army Corps of Engineers in 1956. Named after poet Sidney Lanier, the reservoir was created by the completion of Buford Dam on the Chattahoochee River. The lake was created to provide water supply for Atlanta.

Legacy Lodge & Conference Center is the centerpiece of the Lake Lanier Islands Resort, which encompasses 15,000 acres.

The Lodge includes 87 guest rooms and 16 suites, and houses two restaurants. Impressively, all of the rooms and public areas have easy-to-access Wi-Fi service.

The Lodge overlooks an outdoor swimming pool, hot tub and fire pit.

Other accommodations include the Legacy Villas — 4,500 square feet condo-style villas with six separate bedrooms in each, all featuring views of the lake.

The resort features an 18-hole golf course designed by Billy Fuller. Legacy on Lanier Golf Club offers stunning views of Lake Lanier, with twelve scenic holes on the water.

Golf carts are also handy a handy form of transportation around the resort.

It’s easy to picture a wedding with this backdrop near the Legacy Lodge.

Have you been to Lake Lanier Islands Resort? What did you enjoy about the destination?

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A Peek Inside the Hilton Atlanta Airport Hotel

by Janis on August 20, 2012

When we are choosing a hotel, we consider the brand, location, price, and reviews by other guests who’ve had a recent stay. One things that we find most insightful is photos shot by guests rather than those on the hotel website. To that end, we offer a look inside some hotel rooms during our recent stays.

A Peek Inside Room 901 at the Hilton Atlanta Airport Hotel

We recently spent two weekend nights in the Hilton Atlanta Airport hotel in room 901. Located just five minutes from Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport with a free airport shuttle every 15 minutes, we found the location and the special weekend rate very attractive.

Here are some photos from room 901, which is considered a junior suite.

Room 901 offers a large amount of floor space with windows lining two walls for plenty of natural light.

Heavy drapes allow you to easily shut out the light if you need to sleep. Although this room offers a good view of planes taking off and landing, it is fairly well sound-proofed.

The king bed is spacious with illuminating lighting on both bedside nightstands.

Contemporary art brightened the room. Notice the electrical plugs below, which were appreciated since the plugs near the nightstand were already in use.

The desk provides adequate work space, with a sleek, comfortable chair and lamp that we wouldn’t mind having in our home offices.

The long and narrow bathroom features a well-lit mirror.

There’s a large shower but no tub.

The Peter Michael Roth toiletries were standard, but our favorite mouthwash was not included in the selection.

The toilet — somewhat annoyingly — seemed to continue running water.

We found the compact Executive Lounge to be overwhelmed with children on Sunday morning, but it offered a more business-like environment early Monday morning.

Dining choices at the Hilton appeared limited, although the Finish Line Sports Bar offers cold beer, hot wings and other pub fare along with a plethora of televisions geared to sporting events.

Dining options within walking distance of the Atlanta Airport Hilton are limited. We had a late lunch at Spondivits, where the menu is heavy on fried seafood.

The bottom line: this hotel is good for an airport or brief business stay. We would not, however, want to redeem hard-earned HHonors points here.

What’s your favorite hotel near the Atlanta airport?

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Touring Two Iconic Atlanta Brands: Coca-Cola and CNN

by Janis on August 19, 2012

We couldn’t visit Atlanta without visiting two of its most famous and iconic brands.

Coca-Cola

CNN

Both CNN and Coca-Cola offer Atlanta visitor experiences that can be purchased in advance with one ticket, the Atlanta Brands Combo Pass.

Although we purchased a reserved time for the CNN tour in advance, the CNN ticket booth was our first stop. Here we showed our online confirmation for CNN timed admittance tickets, as well as the tickets for the World of Coca-Cola.

Inside CNN Studio tours run seven days a week between 8 am and 5 pm. Sunday morning is a relatively quiet time in the new room.

After going through security screening, you head up the tallest free-standing escalator in the world to start the back-stage look at CNN.

The white beam heading into the globe is a famous escalator.

Once your hour-long tour is of CNN is complete, it is a 10-minute walk through Centennial Olympic Park to reach the World of Coca-Cola.

The Coca-Cola tour starts in the “Loft”, a space filled with memorabilia from 126 years of Coke. A tour guide points our highlights.

Next up, tour participants enter the Happiness Factory Theater to view a short animated movie. Obviously, we were not the target audience; we found animated film bizare.

After the movie, visitors are able to self-guide themselves through the world of Coca-Cola. Highlights include a visit to the vault where the secret formula is kept secure, and a walk along a real-time bottling line.

Our favorite highlight was getting our picture taken with the Coca-Cola polar bear.

Finally, upstairs in the Coca-Cola complex, the Taste It room is where you can sample 61 different beverages made by Coca-Cola around the world.

Self-serve fountains are divided by regions of the world.

Before leaving, you receive a free commemorative bottle of Coca-Cola produced at the site. Notice the keyhole artwork that makes this bottle unique.

As you depart the Coca-Cola World, there is a gift shop offering a vast array of all things Coca-Cola, as well as those photos with the Polar Bear.

Have you toured Atlanta’s iconic brands? What was your favorite? Please share in comments below.

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