10 Day Carnival Liberty & Carnival Splendor Adventure

[jam19872016]

So it seems Photobucket no longer allows me to post my images here. Maybe I was never allowed and I should have read the TOS without just agreeing to it. Fair enough so perhaps I should purchase a plan that will allow me to post them here. They want $399 a year. :mad: Talk about highway robbery. I have not updated this in a bit hoping the pictures would come back but they have not. I have found another image hosting site which blows Photobucket away and is only $48 a year. Unlimited hosting and far easier to use than Photobucket, and at 1/8 the cost. I hope nobody will allow themselves to be extorted because that is what this is, extortion.

 

Anyway, the plan was to upload my other pictures and edit my posts to point to the new location but it does not seem like this is an option either. All I can find in the FAQ is that administrators can shut off editing after a certain length of time so I am not sure if I just can't figure it out, or it is disabled. Not sure what the purpose of disabling editing would be but to be honest, this is not the most user friendly site either. Its wealth of knowledge makes it hands down the best website on the subject though.

 

So hopefully you have already read up to this point. If not, I hope to at some point perhaps paste my review onto a blog (all of them since I used Photobucket for all my reviews except I think the first one) and then link to it so that you may read what you missed. A review this long is a hard read without pictures to go with it :)

 

I will be back later today to continue once I have uploaded my pictures to their new home

[jam19872016]

Day 7: Honduras

 

I was finally getting into my normal routine of sleeping in a bit. It was almost 11 before I awoke from my slumber this morning.

 

Today's morning view.

 

 

This was my second time in Honduras, and like the last two ports, I choose to stay on the ship today.

[jam19872016]

Some more pictures of Honduras from the ship.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[jam19872016]

So I am still learning how to format on this new site I am using, please forgive the smaller pictures in the previous posts.

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Also in port with us today was the Carnival Magic.

 

 

Since I was staying on the ship, I made another try at trivia. The first trivia held today was 90's trivia. Some of the questions were pretty obscure, and there seemed to be a lot of questions aimed for an Australian/New Zealand audience. But since I was the only person who showed up, naturally I won one of these:

 

 

Don't ask me why, but I don't feel like I have earned it if I write to John Heald and ask for one, but winning a trivia that nobody else came to feels like victory :D The host may or may not have given me her answer key after we were done. I promise to not cheat too hard by memorizing the answers. Just take a peek at them now and then. That is okay in my mind too.

 

The next trivia was 90's music trivia. I did very well on this one and was feeling pretty confident. I was not alone this time, the lady from yesterday with the Dr. Seuss phobia was back and we were also joined by an older couple. Basically everyone else in the room was, umm, too "mature" to appreciate 90's music. Wrong. The older couple knew their 90's music with an almost perfect score. Don't judge a book by it's cover.

 

Still a lot of fun and I enjoyed the small group setting and the chance to talk with the host. It was interesting hearing thoughts about working on a ship from the perspective of another American. She loves it, but I am not sold on the idea at all. Friends and family tell me all the time I should work on a ship because I love cruising so much, but nope I don't have any interest in working on one.

 

I did one more trivia later in the afternoon, host's choice which was not her choice at all. It was 70's trivia. Quite a bit before my time, but I knew a few answers and I will know even more for next time.

 

Overall another nice lazy afternoon. Trivia, a few trips to the buffet and just taking it easy.

[jam19872016]

Some more afternoon pictures of Honduras.

 

 

 

Tonight's sunset as we were sailing out of Honduras. I didn't do a great job of capturing it, but it was simply stunning in person.

 

 

 

 

[jam19872016]

Ship's wake.

 

 

Goodbye Honduras!

 

[jam19872016]

Tonight on the way to dinner I noticed that people were meeting in the lobby for the Chef's Table. I was told I would get a confirmation for the Chef's Table and I never did. They said it would be the day we were in Belize but now I was not sure. I was a little nervous about going to such an elegant event solo and was actually sort of hoping I did not get my confirmation and missed it. Man what a treat I would have missed out on.

 

Tonight's dinner menu.

 

 

 

 

 

[jam19872016]

For my starter I had the escargots and the chicken pastelitos from the port of call menu.

 

 

 

Both were very good especially the pastelitos! Very crispy and hot from the oven.

 

For my entree I had the penne mariscos and the salmon fillet.

 

 

 

I had intended to put the salmon on the penne mariscos not realizing it already came with salmon. It was a bit too much fish even for me. The salmon is one of my favorite items but it was pretty dried out this time. This was really the only dinner all week that missed the mark. Every other day was fantastic, can't be perfect all the time right?

 

 

Dessert menu.

 

 

I'm not usually the guy who eats the WCMC every single night. But I was this week.

 

 

Dinner service was quick, just over an hour and most items were good and the fish was not bad, just that I know they can do it better. I was seated in the same spot I was the day before as was the person next to me. My waiter was Junior, and he was fantastic. If you get ATD on Splendor, I would recommend asking for Junior, he really made an impression on me.

[jam19872016]

Tonight's main shows were Hasbro and Gender Showdown. I don't care for Hasbro so I skipped that and went to the room for a bit.

 

Towel animal waiting to greet me.

 

 

I spent a little bit of time in the casino but not much. To be honest, I was getting casino'ed out. It's not that I didn't enjoy it, but thankfully I am not addicted to gambling and after a while, enough is enough lol. I mainly played to pass some time this evening.

 

The second show in the main theater was the Gender Showdown. I saw this show on Liberty but it was even better on Splendor. It was hosted by the Cruise Director MarQ and his assistant Shawna (not sure if that is spelled correctly). They were hilarious together!

 

After the show I went up to Lido for the Mega Deck Party

 

 

What's going on here?

 

 

MEXICAN BUFFET!!!!

 

I have not seen this in several cruises now and did not think Carnival still did it. It was not advertised in the Fun Times either. I wanted so bad to eat something, but I was still mighty full from dinner. I had no idea when it closed since it was not advertised, I assumed midnight. I went back at 11:30 and they were closing up shop. Booooo. I will try to remember next trip, the night of the deck party Splendor still does the Mexican Buffet.

[jam19872016]

Some food and ice sculptures.

 

 

 

 

 

After the deck party, they had Serenety Nights. Basically the night club moved out onto Serenety. I went there for a little bit then headed back to the room to unwind with some TV and then called it a night with another fun filled day behind me.

[jam19872016]

Day 8:

 

Belize

 

Today we anchored off the shore of Belize. This was my second time here, sorta, since I did not get off the ship again. I did not hear any sounds this morning when anchoring and it was almost 11 before I woke up. Finally getting into the groove and sleeping in!

 

My view this morning.

 

 

 

 

 

I enjoyed another leisurely afternoon with some more trivia and a few trips to the buffet. I skipped Tandoor today because I wanted to try the BBQ at least once. It was pretty good, still not championship good but definitely cruise ship good. Trivia was 70's music, general knowledge, and movie quotes. There were a couple more that I did not attend because I knew I literally knew nothing about it (what the heck is a "Dr.Who") There was more competition today and I did not add any SOAS to my collection. It was still a fun time and a nice way to spend the afternoon.

 

While I was out today, the Casino sent me cookies.

 

 

I saved these for another time, I was saving room for the Chef's Table. I did call to confirm since I never got a confirmation and it was still on. I was still a little apprehensive about doing this by myself, but there was no going back.

 

I must have made my way back out right as the last few tenders were getting back. Everywhere was PACKED! Here is the line for burgers. It wraps all the around into the line for the pizza place.

 

[jam19872016]

They had events going on in the casino from 4:15-5:30 so I camped out there but didn't really do much playing. Still a bit casino'ed out plus I liked the thought of walking away with their money in my pocket!

 

Once the drawings were over, I went back to the room to get ready for tonight's main event: The Chef's Table.

 

 

We met in the atrium and as I walked into the lobby, I was greeted by name. Pretty impressive that she knew me already. I later saw she was holding a paper with each of our pictures and names on it, still a very nice touch :)

 

I was the first one there, I am always early for anything (you know except for boarding this cruise). It's just a habit I have. Soon I was joined by others. There was one couple that included a man who has run a marathon on all 7 continents. Two retired ladies that I need to name but both their names start with "D". Confusing. Let's call them De and Da. De had also been to Antarctica on a cruise and their stories about Antarctica were very fascinating. There was one more couple, for a total of 7 people at the Chef's Table. Talk about a personal dining experience!

 

Soon we were joined by Sous Chef Anthony. He greeted us and led us into the Galley. I was being nosy and looking at all the charts hanging up along the wall. The wait teams compete against each other for highest tips and highest bar sales. I'm not sure what they win, maybe just bragging rights but I loved the inside peak at the corporate side of the going ons.

 

We received a tour of the Galley in operation (very fascinating seeing it in action) and then we were served some wine followed by a brief description of our soon to come meal. We were then served some pre appetizers to get us started. There was no photography allowed inside the galley (or so it said in our invitation) but De pulled out her phone to photograph her food and nothing was said, so I took out my camera to do the same.

 

The first item we were served, was an egg yolk on a rosemary biscuit.

 

 

What do you do? Think about that one. You have just paid $75 for a fine dining experience when there is free food to be had all over. Do you trust that the chef knows what his guests will like and eat it, or do you say no way. If you say no way, this may not be for you. De and I didn't give it a second thought. Others were a bit hesitant. Da somehow ate the biscuit but the egg yolk "slipped". They got her a spoon. We were advised to eat it in one bite or it would be messy. It was delicious!

 

SPOILER ALERT! DON'T READ THE REST OF THIS POST IF YOU DON'T WANT THE SURPRISE RUINED.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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This was a trust exercise. It was not really an egg yolk, but rather a mango sphere. He explained to us the process that allolwed a mango to look like an egg yolk. He sure had us fooled. I am very adventrous when it comes to food and was game for eating the egg yolk in this controlled environment. Ordinarily, no not gonna do it.

--------------------------------------------

[jam19872016]

Next we were served Salmon Tartar Cornets. I was not able to get a picture of them. I don't remember why just that they were impossible to photograph, something about the way they were served. It's funny how the visual triggers my memory, without the visual I have no idea what this was, but everything I ate was good, so whatever this was I enjoyed it :P

 

Next was Beef Carpaccio on Air Pillow with Chocolate Bacon and Apple Ribbons.

 

 

I have had carpaccio one other time, and did not care for it at all. But of course I was here for the adventure so I did not hesitate to eat it. This was delicious. And chocolate bacon, who knew these two flavors went together? But YUM!

 

The next item was Double Cooked Lamb.

 

 

Another wonderfully delicious treat.

 

After the lamb, Chef Anthony ran down some stats about how many deserts they serve over the course of a 7 day cruise. Of course the most popular desert is hands down the Warm Chocolate Melting Cake. I wish I could remember the exact number, it was pretty staggering. More WCMC served in a day than cheese plates all week. Then he said we would be touring the area they make this and that one of us would get to help prepare it. He made eye contact with me - which I quickly looked away from. Too late. I was chosen to make the WCMC "because I looked away so quickly". That didn't work in school either when the teacher would look at me lol.

 

I am more a sit back and watch kinda guy than a get out and do so I was sorta mortified that I was chosen for this task. But in the end it was a lot of fun being pushed out of my comfort zone. De offered to take photos of me making it so I gave her my camera. Most I won't bother posting because my face looks like I just stepped out of a volcano - it did not seem hot in the kitchen but my face disagrees with me.

 

WCMC being prepared.

 

 

This concluded the galley tour and we were lead to the Pink Pearl (the same place I was mustered) for our meal. We lined up for a photo and later in the evening we were presented with a photo as a souvenir of our evening.

 

There were cards set out with each of our names on them indicating where we would be sitting.

 

 

That bread was fantastic. I believe this is the same bread served in the steakhouse. We were advised not to eat it all because there was a lot of food being served tonight. I somehow summoned up the willpower to only eat one. As a side note, when it is not fresh it is terrible - must be eaten right away.

 

Our setup in the Pink Pearl.

 

[jam19872016]

Their was a lady who came around and filled our wine glasses. The service was outstanding. No sooner had I taken a sip and she was there to replenish it. I'm not a big wine drinker and as the night progressed I stopped drinking it. She noticed and came by to offer water or soda. I asked for Ginger Ale which she also kept constantly replenished.

 

With each item laid out before us, Chef Anthony would explain what each item was in great depth. He would detail what each ingredient was as well as the process required to make the item. My memory is not great so I will be cheating and simply typing out the description on the personalized menu we were presented with.

 

Beet Blanket, Spiced Grape Tea

Asparagus, Cauliflower, Honey Carrot Tian, Mache, Lemon Streusel

 

 

Crab Stack

Corn Custard, Polenta Cracker, Tangerine, Passion Caviar

 

 

Duck Textures

Creamy Quinoa, Parmesan Churros, Olive Snow, Port Wine Jus

 

 

Bisque Our Way

Two Tomatoes, Three Basil, Crisped Brioche, Garlic Chip

 

 

 

Sea Bass

Chorizo Crust, Fried Pop Corn Pudding, Lemon Macaroon, Lobster Foam

 

[jam19872016]

Wagyu

Bone Marrow Souffle, Scallion & Garlic Pannisse, Gremolata Crisp

 

 

 

Pastry Chef

Sea Salt Praline Chocolate, Raspberry Mojito, Key Lime Cake, Apricot Vanilla Gel, Citrus Cream

 

 

Wow, just Wow! I cannot even begin to describe what a fantastic meal that this was. There was not one single dish or item in a dish that was not simply amazing. It was not just that they were good, but you could tell a lot of thought went into each item the way the different flavors interacted with one another in your mouth. Truly a culinary delight. If you enjoy food and trying different things, this is a must do. You simply have to try the chef's table!

 

There was a magician about 3/4 of the way through the evening. He was actually very entertaining, I was expecting it to be cheesy. The head chef came in and spoke to us and answered any questions we had. He gave some interesting insights into the behind the scenes aspect of the food operations. Chef Anthony also answered any questions we had and you could tell that he was very proud of his team, his meal, and his position with the company. He informed us he would be moving to the Miracle after this which at the time I was also booked on the Miracle in October. I told him I would definitely be booking this again and would see him then. Life happens and now I am no longer on that trip, but do hope to run into Chef Anthony again someday.

 

In total, dinner service including the galley tour ran just under three hours. It did not feel like it though and along the way I ended up being pushed way out of my comfort zone. I did not feel like I was dining alone and met some wonderful people along the way. I also helped make the WCMC. I hope they did not actually serve that to anyone though lol.

 

This was the highlight of my trip and probably the most memorable experience I have ever had on a cruise. I would love to do this again someday.

[jam19872016]

As we were leaving, the dining room was in the middle of showtime, when we sat to start dinner they were also in the middle of showtime for the early seating.

 

 

After dinner I made my way back to the room and this guy was waiting on me.

 

 

I also bought this for my mom as a cute little present because she enjoyed the towel animals so much on our cruise.

 

 

The steward stopped taking my towel animals. I guess because I didn't destroy them he thought I wanted to keep them. So I decided to start having some fun with them.

 

[jam19872016]

Tonight's show was Studio VIP. I thought this show was okay, but not as good as the previous two shows had been. The pre show was pretty entertaining though. MarQ would interview people who were "VIP" very similar to the pre show to Flick. Again, some people were caught completely off guard and some people were pros at coming up with witty responses on the spot.

 

After the show I spent a little time (and money) in the casino until midnight. The drawing tonight was Matilda the Cash Cow.

 

 

Basically they draw names out of the hopper and if your name is drawn you roll a giant dice. The number it lands on (1-6) is how many times you get to "milk" the cash chow. You pull out cutouts from the cow and win the $ amount shown on each cutout. They seemed to range from $50 to I think $200. Pretty easy.

 

Tonight they had a midnight showing of Bad Moms on the big screen. I did not make it through more than about half the movie. The movie was funny, but the weather was acting up and they closed the roof. The heat and humidity was unbearable. I could have probably tolerated it if there had been a bar open. For a drink I had to leave and go down to the casino. I did that once and by the time I got back I missed enough that I abandoned the movie.

 

I took a walk around the upper decks and that was when I realized why the roof was closed. There was a very light rain which truthfully I would have taken over the sweltering heat under that dome. I went back to the room and watched a little TV and ended my day with a still full and happy belly :)

[runningmoms2girls]

Can someone help me out? I want to see the pictures from the review but a box is there instead of pictures that says "Please update your account to enable 3rd party hosting". I've never seen that before on here. Thanks!

 

I just booked my first Carnival cruise - can't wait!

[runningmoms2girls]

Nevermind...I think I just read my reason!

[jam19872016]

Nevermind...I think I just read my reason!

 

Boo to photobucket! Sorry to say those photos are not gonna display. They are still there, but will not display :(. The last couple of days are the only part that will display as I have switched hosting sites.

 

I should be back tomorrow to finish the review. Thursday at the latest :)

[jam19872016]

Day 9:

 

Cozumel

 

Today we were in Cozumel and this is my third time here. It joins Grand Turk, Nassau, and Grand Cayman as my most visited cruise port. So far I have not gotten off the ship once, but today I had plans of going ashore. Nothing major, just get off and buy a few souvenirs for my mom and stop at some tourist trap for some drinks. But that is not what happened.

 

I got a pretty late start to the day, it was after noon before I got up. I was on my way to the Tandor for a quick bite to eat when I ran into De and Da. We ended up chatting for a while on Lido and it was the excuse I needed to be lazy and stay on the ship. They are very fascinating, and love to cruise all the time. Definitely my type of people. They are doing a 100+ day world cruise next year. Wow, I hope someday I am fortunate enough to be able to do something like that.

 

Other ships in port today included the Allure of the Seas.

 

 

 

 

On the other side of that, but not visible behind Allure, is Liberty of the Seas.

 

Carnival Dream.

 

 

 

[jam19872016]

A couple pictures of Cozumel from the ship.

 

 

 

If I can get up on my soapbox for a minute. This Cozumel Plus thing is nothing but a marketing ploy. How is leaving at 6 pm considered an extended stay? Now maybe there are more hours here total because we get here earlier than we normal would and I just miss out because I am sleeping that time of the morning. What good is two or three extra hours? I was under the impression there would be midnight and overnight stays in Cozumel. I don't mind the short times in port in general. I understand Carnival makes it's money by on board spending and that there are other cruise lines that offer longer port stays in exchange for a higher base price. I get that, I really do. But don't try to tell me you are giving me more time in port, and then tell me to be on board at 5:30.

 

Off my soap box now!

 

Since I ended up staying on the ship, I decided to use my $50 spa coupon my steward left me. I have been left this a couple times but never used it. Most of the things in the spa will run you way over $50, but all I needed was a simple hair cut. If you get a coupon I would recommend the hair cut, she did a fine job and I was happy with it. But full price was $35. :O I cannot imagine paying that much for a hair cut.

 

Today was Cinco de Mayo which is not really a Mexican holiday. The ship was celebrating and had some Cinco de Mayo celebrations planned and the Lido deck was decorated.

 

 

 

The casino was decorated as well.

 

[jam19872016]

I took some time this afternoon to enjoy the sunset and the sounds of the ocean. So peaceful out here.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[jam19872016]

CONT.

 

 

 

Something of the Seas following us.

 

[jam19872016]

So even with all the fussing about missing the MDR experience on the Liberty, tonight I skipped it and instead ate in Lido. I have been on a cruise now for 9 days, three of them with the Cheers! package, and not really enjoyed my liquid refreshments. So tonight I planned to eat light(lighter) and drink heavier.

 

I guess everyone else did too.

 

 

I didn't do a good job of capturing it all, but that was the line for the buffet. I ran into Chef Anthony and he said he had no idea why it was so busy. The demand caught him off guard. I almost feel bad posting this, as you could tell he took his job very seriously and this caught him by surprise but I have to remain objective. I do think this was out of the ordinary.

 

It took a while to get, but the food was good although still the normal complaints. Not a lot of variety and not the same atmosphere. It is easier to deal with those shortcomings when you choose to eat on Lido versus having to. I also saw the wine server from the night before. She came up and spoke and we chatted for a bit. I wish I was better with names so I could call her something besides "wine server".

 

Cinco de Mayo deck party.

 

 

Back in the room I had a towel animal waiting for me.

 

 

My towel animal family getting larger.

 

 

I also had some beach towels courtesy of the casino.