Freedom B2B Trip Review 4/28/13 - 5/12/13 (picture heavy)!!!

[LBeeE]

AZA, what type of cordial is that you have on the plate with the tiramisu?

[AZAficionado]

Loving your review! You've got very good taste in wine.

Thanks. They have some great wines on board. Not all of them are always available. Granted, they don't have the 150 Central Park wine list, which is any wine drinker's bucket list of wines, some (most?) of which are entirely too expensive for me. Some were more than a few cruises in the owner's suite just for one normal bottle.

 

AZA, what type of cordial is that you have on the plate with the tiramisu?

Actually, the cordial is the Tiramisu. They deconstructed the entire thing. It is a layer of Amaretto, a coffee cream liquor and a layer of cream. The cream was too thick to drink without breaking through with a spoon.

[Jax129]

I had a Tiramisu liquor years ago in a restaurant and have never been able to find it since. I'll have to try this cordial it looks yummy.

[msjaxson]

That after dinner shot and the tiramisu in the chocolate bowl at portofinos were amazing.

[AF-1]

I have to say, anyone who takes a vacation; but finds the time to take lots of pictures and then takes more time to post them to strangers on cruisecritic is a person I like to call friend. So from Cincinnati Ohio by way of Guam(where I am currently on a business trip). Hello friend.

[njhoo]

Location-Location-Location we're in 9338 in February 2014. Always try for a hump cabin. Enjoying your review and pics.

[riclop]

You said this was your first review , man you are doing a fantastic job!!!

[cruiserdudebobby8]

amazing review! love it! Great pictures

[DisnyMik]

I have to say, anyone who takes a vacation; but finds the time to take lots of pictures and then takes more time to post them to strangers on cruisecritic is a person I like to call friend. So from Cincinnati Ohio by way of Guam(where I am currently on a business trip). Hello friend.

 

Hello there fellow Cincinnatian!! I agree, great review! We'll be boarding FOS in 8 days! :D

 

Thanks, AZA!

[AZAficionado]

Thank you, thank you, thank you everyone for the very kind words and support. I'm just happy people are reading and enjoying it.

 

I think at the end I'm going to go over everything I did to prepare and keep this review from dominating the vacation (which it did not). The only noticeable impact was my wife kinda got sick of me taking a picture every time she got her food. But it took 8 or 9 days to get to that point.

 

If I had just filled my phone with pictures and then tried to do this, it would have been a disaster.

[AZAficionado]

Day 5 - George Town, Grand Cayman

 

 

The official stuff...

 

 

We also received all the information for Consecutive Cruisers (Back to Back), but I'll share that on Day 8 when it actually happened.

 

My research for George Town turned up Seven Mile beach, which is about 2 miles from the docks, but nothing outstanding in the way of food, which is Ok. After some digging, I learned that Seven Mile beach is public, but nearly all of the access is through resorts which will charge a substantial "day fee" to let you use their facilities and access to the beach. However, there are a few public beach access paths. The plan was to walk (you could hire a taxi) to the public beach access near the Marriott, find a spot on the beach near or in a beach club (there are several), relax on the beach and then walk back to the docks.

 

For those who don't already know, there is no place to dock a cruise ship in Grand Cayman. You have to use tenders. Once again, we were not alone in port.

 

[AZAficionado]

 

Which made it a bit crowded...

 

The left portion of this photo is the start of Seven Mile Beach.

 

One of our tenders. She was a fine ship indeed. There was almost no waiting during the tendering process. The tenders were waiting for passengers, not the other way around.

 

The port area, filled with shops and people ready to take you on an excursion.

 

Outside, we spotted a few replacement crew members with additional supplies. Arrrgh!!!

[AZAficionado]

I suppose it is time for the chicken story. Grand Cayman has wild chickens roaming the island.

 

 

And we all know that chickens start out as chicks.

 

 

Of course, chicks come from eggs. But do you know how they make the eggs? Well, we got to see it, up close and personal, in all of its glory. This is a family review, so no pictures (actually, it happened so fast, there was no way I could get a picture). Ladies, be glad you're not a chicken. So, the rooster, after crowing, leaps onto this poor, unsuspecting chicken's back, holding her by the wings. Begin the sexual harassment lawsuit. Then came the beak to the back of the neck, just to make sure she didn't escape. Add assault and battery to the charges. Then came a single beautiful moment and the rooster hopped off. No goodbye kiss or C-note on the table. And that's how they make the eggs. Yikes. I guess they don't know about "No means No".

 

So, we continued walking towards the beach, horrified and yet cracking jokes and laughing. To get to Seven Mile Beach, you can either hire a taxi or just hang a left when you exit the port area. That road, which follows the coast will take you there. There is even a sidewalk for a good portion of the walk. If you do walk, just be really careful. They drive on the wrong side of the road, which means you have to be extra careful when crossing the street since you'll be looking in the wrong direction for traffic. Those of you from Europe, just pretend you are at home. After about 2 miles or so, you'll pass the Marriott on your left. Just beyond that, is the beach access sign.

 

Note the arrow is pointing the wrong way and the construction cone. You would never think to go down the path. We avoided the open construction hole and proceeded.

 

Trust me, honey. This is not trespassing and does lead to the beach...

 

And so it did. Paradise revealed.

 

A beautiful beach, that goes on and on, forever (or seven miles, whichever comes first).

[AZAficionado]

A few hundred yards up the beach is the Royal Palms Beach Club, where we grabbed a pair of lounge chairs ($6 each) and ordered some much needed refreshments.

 

Looking back from the beach club.

 

Yes, the bucket is Red Stripe. The beer is not. It was Cayman Islands Light Beer (good, beer is beer on the beach).

 

It was mostly cloudy, which saved me having to pay for an umbrella. However, we did get periods of sunshine and even a brief rain shower. The rain (more like a drizzle) cleared most of the beach for reasons I can't understand. Some of us took the opportunity to just go for a swim. The rain only lasted a few minutes and none of our stuff got any wetter than it would on a hot sunny day. Grand Cayman is another beach where aqua shoes are a good idea. There is a steep drop as soon as you get in the water that collects up shell fragments and stuff. Makes for some uncomfortable water entries and exits especially since the surf isn't helping. The water was perfect.

 

The beach club provided just about anything you could want. Jet Skis, Parasailing, snorkel gear (there is an artificial reef there), etc.

 

A restaurant and bar.

 

Pool with cabanas. I don't know about you, but I came for the beach. We have plenty of pools in AZ.

 

They also have bathrooms and showers. Unlike Haiti or even large parts of Jamaica, Grand Cayman is not a poor country. So, be prepared for some sticker shock. Also, beware of the currency change. The Cayman Island Dollar uses the same $ symbol as the US Dollar. So when you see $20, it will probably be $25 US, depending on the exchange rate. I think most of the touristy places list both prices for everything.

 

Having had our fill of the partly sun and mostly fun, we grabbed lunch right there.

 

Mojito (excellent, very smooth and refreshing) and House Sauvignon Blanc (very good, typical).

[Navigat8]

Thank you once again for this wonderful review. I was so nostalgic that I went and booked FOS Western Caribbean for next October:D

 

I will have to stop myself booking the Eastern for the b2b. DH will not be happy:rolleyes:

[AZAficionado]

Conch Fritters (excellent, crunchy outside, tender inside, very spicy, came with jerked mayonnaise).

 

BBQ Pork Sandwich (excellent, super tender pulled pork with a spicy BBQ sauce) and Roasted Chicken Wrap (excellent, tender, juicy, flavorful, spicy, nice blend of flavors - pepper jack cheese, avocado, cilantro, roasted red pepper, chipotle aioli)

 

To give you an idea, 3 glasses of wine, one mojito and the food ended up being around $90 US. Not too bad, but still a little pricey.

 

We got lazy and decided to take a cab back to the port. There are taxis waiting in the beach club parking lot. I think it was $5 or $7 each back to the port. We decided to do some shopping which leads to interesting story number 2: the Jerry Springer Cigar Shop Incident.

 

So, I walk into a cigar shop just outside the port area and right into a very heated argument. It seems, the owner of the shop has a dedicated parking space. Apparently, another woman didn't know it was a dedicated space and parked in it. When the owner arrived, she blocked the squatter's car in. Now the squatter has to go to her other job and the owner has customers in her shop and refuses to close down just to move her car. Cue shouting, threats to involve the police, threats or retribution if cars are damaged and general outrageous behavior all in front of obvious tourists. I wish there was popcorn. In my head, I could hear the chants of "Jerry, Jerry, Jerry". We stayed for the whole show (I had to get my cigars, after all). The even funnier part was later that night in the Cigar Lounge when I was relaying the story to the very nice gentleman who plays guitar in the Pub, a young woman sitting nearby says "yea, me and my boyfriend were walking out while you guys were walking in". We all had a great laugh.

 

I guess just after we arrived on board, tender service had to be suspended for about 30 minutes because the seas were getting rough. Hmmm. Mostly cloudy, light rain, rough seas. Was this an omen?

 

Formal night number 2 on RCCL ships is typically "Lobster Night". We usually tend to head for the specialty restaurants on formal night only because it just "seems to go together". But I decided that it would be good to see what all the fuss is about. We started it out right at the Champagne Bar.

 

I went for something different and extravagant, the Ultimat Martini which was very good but not that different from other vodkas and my wife stuck with a Belvedere Martini.

 

Of course with beer nuts, for snacking...

[AZAficionado]

Seafood Salad (very good, combo of crab, shrimp and crab salad, very fresh tasting) and Roasted Poblano Soup (very good, nice blend of Mexican flavors, just a touch spicy).

 

Get your flamethrowers out. I'm about to commit an act of heinous sacrilege. Sorry, but I have to call them as I see them.

 

Thai Chicken (very good, tender chicken had hints of Thai red chili, basil and coconut milk, very mild yet filled with Thai flavors) and Fisherman's Platter (not very good, lobster was bitter and rubbery, butter garlic sauce was too garlicky). I'm not surprised that the lobster tail wasn't that good. Everyone wants a Jurassic-sized lobster tail, which means using bigger (aka older) lobsters. For those who don't know, the tail is the lobster's means of locomotion. So, we all want to eat the equivalent of Arnold Schwarzenegger's bicep and then wonder why it is tough and not very flavorful like a baby cow that has been raised in a box (might as well have the vegans and animal folks flame me too). Bring it on!!! I'm wearing my asbestos undies!!!

 

Hopefully that will come across as humorous. If it doesn't, my apologies. My intention was to "make a funny".

 

The wine was the Caymus Conundrum (very nice and went well with both dishes). They kept the bottle on ice, so you get a picture of the glass instead.

[AZAficionado]

Baked Alaska (good, but not flaming (ruined my cruise!), used a bit too much water between ice cream and meringue layer which causes a noticeable layer of ice) and Gran Mariner Soufflé (very good, light and fluffy with a rich orange cream sauce)

 

We decided to entirely blow it out at the Cigar Lounge. It is formal night, after all.

 

Remy Martin XO, neat (yea, I tried to sneak a double espresso past you) and Gran Mariner, both of which were excellent.

 

After that, we headed to Twenty, which is a "Miami-style" nightclub-event-thingy in the Solarium. It was very good.

 

Lots of folks came out for it. Behind the woman in red is a dancer on a platform - they had one guy and one girl.

 

Our DJ, taking the choice spot on the bridge over the pool.

[AZAficionado]

 

The dancers got periodically replaced by "moving statues" which were really cool.

 

 

It got a little crazy and finally became a pool party. The DJ has only been begging for people to jump in the pool since the thing started.

 

At the end of the night, this guy was hanging around in our cabin. Tomorrow, Cozumel and we'll see if a storm really was brewing...

[AZAficionado]

Thank you once again for this wonderful review. I was so nostalgic that I went and booked FOS Western Caribbean for next October:D

 

I will have to stop myself booking the Eastern for the b2b. DH will not be happy:rolleyes:

Hmmm...Shouldn't I get some kind of finder's fee or cut from RCCL?:cool:

 

Trust me. Nobody is unhappy to hear their cruise is going to be a B2B. At least not until they get the bill.:eek:

[Ubiquitous Cruiser]

A cigar smoking carnivore on a cruise ship? Oh the horror of it all! ;)

[Sunshine-lady]

I have to say, anyone who takes a vacation; but finds the time to take lots of pictures and then takes more time to post them to strangers on cruisecritic is a person I like to call friend. So from Cincinnati Ohio by way of Guam(where I am currently on a business trip). Hello friend.

 

 

I agree! Thanks for taking the time to do this great review!!

[APDMOM]

:D:D:D I could put even more smileys to express how much I laughed about the description of the lobster!

[UATLB]

Loving the review. Only 99 days till we are on her!

[AZAficionado]

A cigar smoking carnivore on a cruise ship? Oh the horror of it all! ;)

I know. What is this world coming to?!? LOL

:D:D:D I could put even more smileys to express how much I laughed about the description of the lobster!

Yes, you can put exactly six smileys(assuming no pictures). Glad you liked the lobster description. I probably should have said that my wife's family is from Maine. Lobster is in their blood. RCCL hardly stood a chance. Personally, I'm a crab man and hence a family outcast (not really).

Edited May 19, 2013 by AZAficionado