Freedom of the Seas 3/18/17 LIVE

[skohrs]

Dinner at Giovanni's was next. This meal was amazing. The food and the service was far superior to the food and service at Chops. For starters, the food was all hot as you would expect in an expensive restaurant and the presentation was visually pleasing. The service I realize was related more to the servers we had than to the restaurants themselves, but my experience at a restaurant has a lot to do with how I feel about the restaurant as a whole. That being said, Leonardo was so attentive without being "hovering" and he was so nice and pleasant.

 

On to the food. The appetizers are served "family style" so we were encouraged to order a few different ones for the table. We ordered the scallop appetizer and expected there to be 3 scallops to share among the 4 of us (why do restaurants do that?), so we were shocked when they arrived and there were 8 full-sized scallops (not bay scallops). They were absolutely delicious. Cooked just right so they weren't tough and just melted in your mouth.

 

 

We also ordered the prosciutto and mozzarella with honey mustard on a flatbread or crostini (I can't remember which). What I do remember is these were also very tasty. There were 8 of these as well.

 

 

The Caprese Salad was also very good, but pretty standard fare at Italian restaurants and at my house.

 

 

When we were done with the appetizers we were already getting full, and we still had the pasta and entree courses to come ... and let's not forget about dessert. My wife and daughter both got the chicken dish and they loved it. I don't remember exactly what it was, but I am sure there are menus floating around here on Cruise Critic somewhere.

 

 

My daughter's best friend ordered the lamb. She said it was really good. I am really not a lamb fan (unless it is ground up into a paste with other meat and formed into a Gyro), but she eats lamb and said this was as good as any she has had. It looked pretty.

 

[skohrs]

I ordered the filet mignon. I was a little hesitant after the the filet I had the night before at Chops, but I am so glad I ordered this. It was maybe the best filet I have ever eaten. So tender and tasty. Cooked perfectly mid-rare.

 

 

 

Finally was dessert. The choices were tiramisu, cannoli (2 types filled with a chocolate creme and a vanilla creme), and ... well, who cares what else. They had TIRAMISU and CANNOLI!!!!!! We have eaten a lot of tiramisu over the years, and the tiramisu at Giovanni's is by the far the best EVER! It was light and fluffy, and tasted so good.

 

 

We asked Leonardo if we could get a small amount of the tiramisu to take back to the cabin (I needed my sister who was also on this cruise with her family) to taste it. Leonardo said that was no problem and filled up a HUGE bowl with the tiramisu for us. I think my sister put it in her refrigerator in the cabin and ate it for two nights. What a terrific experience. Definitely worth the $15 per person it ended up costing us with the BOGO deal.

 

The venue is also very pretty.

 

 

[skohrs]

We headed back to the cabin to retire for the night after giving the casino a little bit of our money. I took this photo on the way back and like it, so I thought I would post it.

 

 

When got got into our cabin, we found our first towel animal, an elephant.

 

 

Our cabin attendant, Arnold for the Philippines, is wonderful at towel animals and is the nicest and most attentive attendant we have ever had on any cruise. He even got some extra padding for our bed when he heard my wife talking about how hard the bed was. He gets an A+ and will be getting an additional tip at the end of the cruise. Day 3 coming up.

[skohrs]

Day 3 - Labadee, Haiti

 

It was raining in the morning when we arrived at Labadee at 8am, but the Captain said it would pass within an hour and it would clear up for the rest of the day. It finally stopped raining at about 10am and cleared up nicely by 11am. Here are a couple photos from deck 11 before anyone got off the ship.

 

 

 

On our way down to get off the ship, by wife took these photos of me sitting in "MORGAN" until we were told that we couldn't sit in the car.

 

 

 

The next day, this was on the car.

 

 

[skohrs]

Labadee was really nice. The only real complaint is the overly aggressive vendors. It makes you not even want to walk through to the last beach because you have to "walk the gauntlet", and there is no polite way to tell these people you are not interested. I know this is a very common complaint people have had for years, so I am not sure why Royal allows it. I mean, I would understand if they were trying to sell us specialty dining or drink packages, but they are selling chachkies. Other than that, it is a beautiful island. The food leaves something to be desired though. Friends of ours were in the private beach for suite guests, and they had shrimp skewers, ribs, and chicken breast. I really nice spread. The same food that Disney provides to all guests on Castaway Cay when you cruise with them. The food provided by Royal for those of us in steerage was not that great, so I just waited to get back on the ship to pick something up at Windjammer. I don't really like eating at the beach anyway. Here are some random photos from the island.

 

My daughter and her best friend in a postcard type photo.

 

 

My wife's toes. (I paid a lot of money for these, so they are going to be posted).

 

The obligatory feet and ocean shot.

 

Dragon's Breath Alpine Coaster

 

Video of the Dragon's Breath if anyone is interested in seeing it.

[skohrs]

A few more photos from Labadee

 

 

 

When I got back on the ship, I got showered and changed quickly to make it to the Crown and Anchor upper tier reception with Captain Toni. Super Mario was there and he was earning his 18th free cruise. He spoke for about 5 minutes about being "loyal to Royal" since 2000. How in the world does someone rack up 6,668 sea days in 17 years? If you are at sea every day for 10 years, that would only be 3,650 sea days (plus a couple for leap years). I guess double points for suites? Do you get quadruple points for a solo suite?

 

 

Dinner tonight is a quick windjammer dinner. No pictures or stories there, other than to say that the crepes were scrumptious. We then caught the early show. The Headliners were a singing group called "These Guys". I was not impressed. I thought they were not very good or entertaining (remember, I was a music major in college, so I am a bit judgmental). I wouldn't recommend seeing them to anyone else. While I am on the subject of subpar musical entertainment, the guy at the piano bar (I won't mention his name) is absolutely horrible. Not a good piano player, but compared to his singing, he is a piano virtuoso. The first time I heard him, I thought that there was karaoke going on. I couldn't believe it when I saw it was a paid performer. I really hope he doesn't read this, because I don't want to hurt his feelings, but doesn't anyone at RCCL audition these performers before they hire them? I know there are a lot of ships in the fleet to fill with entertainment, but it seems like they are reserving the better entertainment for the newer bigger ships. All of the music on Allure was top notch, and friends of mine who have cruised on the Oasis class ships have had nothing but good things to say about the music.

 

Bed time. Tonight was bunny night.

 

 

[luv2cruiserccl]

Thanks so much for the Cruise Compass! We will be on the next Eastern Caribbean cruise leaving April 1st. They have really helped with our planning. Have you had any problems with the mosquitos yet?

Should be a great time

 

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Edited March 22, 2017 by luv2cruiserccl

[scubarn1]

I thought the same thing about the piano player too, He was in schooner last night and I thought he was just a guest who jumped on the piano to sing to his family.

[Pia1913]

Hopefully said piano player will disappear by the time we get there. Most likely, since our B2B is not until January.

 

Comment about Cats: YUK! First time we were on Oasis we went, and with more than half the audience left and didn't return during the intermission. Next time on Oasis never bothered going. Will be on Oasis for a B2B in August and of course won't even consider it. What's interesting is we saw CATS many years ago in London and loved it.

 

Just as an aside, Mama Mia on Allure is just OK. Hard to understand since the entire cast is either UK or Australian.

[DISFANS3]

Looks like a fun trip, save me some beer, We be on the Freedom in Jan 2018..

[judeniece]

No problem.

 

 

 

Hi we are sailing in 102 days and i am loving your review tk u very much for taking the time to keep us all updated. Ben and Jerrys is this extra or is this included in your cruise price. First time on RCI - And the flow riders how much is it per child and do you need to book before you go for the flow rider or can you book on board.

[MrsKC08]

Enjoying this review. I do not have any cruises scheduled for Freedom, but I've been on her twice and she is my favorite ship (even after sailing on Harmony).

[tsconley19]

Ben and Jerry's is extra, the prices are posted in the photos. There should be free ice cream self serve somewhere on or near the pool deck.

Flow Rider is free. No reservation required. Waiver of liability will need to be signed (flow rider, rock climbing, skating). You should be able to sign all waivers online prior to your cruise, or can do once on the ship.

Tom

Edited March 22, 2017 by tsconley19

[CruisingGAL82]

Enjoying the review! We are on board April 1! Can't wait!!

[sea shepherd]

That's the Coral Princess. She's probably on her way to Aruba and then on to the Panama Canal. :)

 

 

Yes it is, got a photo of it as we left port Everglades.

 

 

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[grand isle joe]

Shared some great laughs with "Super" Mario and Elaine and Alan in the CL a couple weeks ago. Funny jokes and really nice people. Makes any cruise great. Cheers!

[judeniece]

Ben and Jerry's is extra, the prices are posted in the photos. There should be free ice cream self serve somewhere on or near the pool deck.

Flow Rider is free. No reservation required. Waiver of liability will need to be signed (flow rider, rock climbing, skating). You should be able to sign all waivers online prior to your cruise, or can do once on the ship.

Tom

Thank you for your reply, very excited about our cruise and trying to figure out what is included and what is not:confused::confused:. thanks.

[E23NK1]

Following, we board on 4/15, so excited!

 

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We are there on the 15th too...can't wait

[sea shepherd]

I had to laugh at all the people taking photos of the nude sunbathing people on the ship next to us as we sailed away from St Kitts. And this was not playboy more like national geography.

 

 

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[grand isle joe]

I had to laugh at all the people taking photos of the nude sunbathing people on the ship next to us as we sailed away from St Kitts. And this was not playboy more like national geography.

 

 

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...............and like some seen on the nude beach in St. Maarten characters from "Star Wars:.....:eek:

[sea shepherd]

Day 6 compass.[/img]

 

 

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[sea shepherd]

 

 

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[sea shepherd]

Day 7 Compass.

 

 

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[sea shepherd]

Rain day 7

 

 

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Edited March 24, 2017 by sea shepherd

[skohrs]

I will finish this report when I get home. Too many issues with uploading photos on the Wi-Fi here. I get no Wi-Fi reception in my promenade cabin. I fail to see how one could "stream" using this service.

 

 

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