FREEDOM AT LAST!! Semi-live Report 5/26-6/2

[FirstAnthem]

Following! We will be on Freedom from San Juan in September, and my daughter has celiac! I remember you also asked some questions in a previous post about our excursion in St Kitts when we cruised in February—curious if you are going on the excursion on your cruise. It’s My Islands Tours by Javin. Looking forward to this review! 

[EeyoreRN]

5 hours ago, LBumb said:

Bon voyage

Thanks!

 

3 hours ago, FirstAnthem said:

Following! We will be on Freedom from San Juan in September, and my daughter has celiac! I remember you also asked some questions in a previous post about our excursion in St Kitts when we cruised in February—curious if you are going on the excursion on your cruise. It’s My Islands Tours by Javin. Looking forward to this review! 

Yes that is the tour we picked!

[EeyoreRN]

So after our naps we woke up to pouring rain.  No worries, just donned the ponchos and headed for Old San Juan on foot.

 

 

We had no specific plan, other than arrive at Marmalade by 6:45.  I think we started out at around 4:30.  We meandered our way westward.

 

 

 

Mickey Mouse always and forever

 

 

 

We came to Parque Louis Munoz Rivera and explored around there

 

 

 

 

We found a mango tree with a mango on the ground, yum that smell!

 

 

A black chicken! Gorgeous!

[lazydayz]

So glad to find this review.  We were planning to cruise with you but work got in the way. So have twice the fun for me. 

[EeyoreRN]

38 minutes ago, lazydayz said:

So glad to find this review.  We were planning to cruise with you but work got in the way. So have twice the fun for me. 

Oh, no!  I hope you can plan another soon. Good luck with work!

[EeyoreRN]

So I have an important correction to make.  Pirate Hank the Drunk is Peter's pirate name.  Joey's is Stinkin' Hannibal Napier.

 

So back to last night's adventure.  Past the park, continuing west...

Some pretty beach views

 

Loved this architecture

 

 

Several monuments along the way

 

I think this is the capitol building?

 

Statues of presidents particularly friendly for Puerto Rico

 

This is a gorgeous Holocaust monument

 

Now coming into OSJ

[EeyoreRN]

Then we came to:

 

Do you enjoy food porn?  Well I do, so buckle up!

 

The restaurant is gorgeous and modern chic, could be in any stylish city. It felt very much like an upscale Manhattan restaurant.

 

We chose the four course tasting menu for each of us and agreed to choose different items so we could taste many.  We were planning on doing wine parings, but the cocktail menu looked so inviting and exciting, we elected to order a few unique drinks instead.

 

 

 

Joey went with the pineapple mojito, Emma chose the passion fruit sangria, and I opted for the global warming.

 

Turned out Emma preferred Joey's and Joey preferred Emma's so they swapped.  The global warming was shaken and poured at the table.

 

[lazydayz]

47 minutes ago, EeyoreRN said:

Oh, no!  I hope you can plan another soon. Good luck with work!

 

No worries. Four more planned this year. One of the joys of living in Florida.

 

We love San Juan and are glad you and the “kids” are enjoying it.  Have a great cruise. 

[EeyoreRN]

I didn't take photos of the dinner menu but it is easily available on the restaurant's website.  

 

Our server, Bianca, was top notch and delightful to converse with. We planned to share all of our food so we  confirmed with her everything was gluten free. She said about 80% of the menu is gf anyway.

 

For our first course, we chose ceviche, paella and yellow tail poke. All were delicious to Emma and me. Joey was underwhelmed by the ceviche and the paella but loved the poke. Emma loved the tostones that came with the yummy citrusy ceviche.

 

Paella was formed to look like sushi rolls.  It had a smoky chorizo flavor and Joey is not a huge fan of smoke.

 

Lovely fresh yellow tail with sweet watermelon in there. Lots of cilantro, which I love.

 

For our second course we chose the famous tiny white bean soup (OMG a perfect serving of heaven!), spaghetti and "meatballs" and the lobster risotto.  This was definitely the best course of the meal.

 

 

Bianca knew we were sharing so she split the soup into small cups. We kicked those things dry. So rich and creamy! And Bianca gave us the recipe!

 

The spaghetti was squash and the meatballs were lentils.  This had delicious Indian herbs and spices.

 

Incredibly rich risotto with huge chunks of lobster.

[EeyoreRN]

For mains Emma and Joey both wanted the surf and turf and were afraid there wouldn't be enough to share, so they both got it and loved it. I chose the lamb, which was like a very rich stew and it was fabulous. Would highly recommend!!

 

Surf and turf was actually scallop and pork belly.

 

Lamb stewed with chick peas, almonds and pomegranate seeds. Again, flavors of India

 

Around the time the mains were coming out, Emma and Joey decided to try another cocktail.  Emma went with the pink is the new black and Joey chose the who wears the Pence.

 

Sorry the glass was full when served but a few sips are missing by the time I remembered to take the photo

 

I didn't get another cocktail, as I was still nursing my delicious global warming, which was getting spicier as the meal went on. Also I was afraid I'd be too full for dessert.

 

There were only 2 GF dessert options, so Emma ordered the mango crisp and I ordered the caramel creme brulee.  We all agreed that Joey should gluten up for dessert and he ordered the baked paradiso, their spin on baked Alaska.  Emma's and mine were scrumptious but Joey and I both agree that his was underwhelming. I have to confess I do not like chocolate mousse in any form and it was a main ingredient of that fish, but Joey usually likes it so that wasn't it's problem for him. 

 

The peanut butter ice cream on this really elevated the dish.

 

 

Finally, the sommelier? manager? came over to our table to congratulate Joey on his graduation and gift him a delicious glass of dessert wine

 

 

So overall this meal was stunning. Not every single dish was a home run for every one of us, but we tried a lot of things and all loved mostly everything. We also left pretty stuffed as the portions were much bigger than expected (except the surf and turf). I highly recommend Marmalade and even think it's a good value relative to similar places in other cities.

 

[EeyoreRN]

We made a perhaps ill-advised decision to walk home after dinner. By then it was around 9:15, and some of the neighborhoods on the way are a bit sketchy after dark. First we encountered the man who asks if you speak English and tells you he and his father were robbed and his dad needs an x-ray and he needs $6 for a cab.  I had read about this guy on the San Juan board here on CC and when I got back to the hotel I was trying to find the thread. Does anyone here know what I'm talking about?

 

A few blocks later we saw this car slow down as it passed us and stopped on the next block and just waited.  Then we stopped because I was suspicious about it, it just felt strange, and then it started backing up toward us. So we crossed the street and backtracked a block to go up a different street and it was very scary.  It was probably nothing, but it felt very unsafe. Anyway we made the decision to use an Uber if ever out in San Juan in the dark again.

[hapster85]

Oh yes, I remember that thread. So glad you mentioned it, as I'd totally forgotten about this character. Will have to keep him in mind when we're there. If I recall correctly, someone even posted a picture of him at some point?

[EeyoreRN]

3 minutes ago, hapster85 said:

Oh yes, I remember that thread. So glad you mentioned it, as I'd totally forgotten about this character. Will have to keep him in mind when we're there. If I recall correctly, someone even posted a picture of him at some point?

I don't recall the photo but I'm glad I'm not crazy. I spent about an hour looking for the thread when we got back but couldn't find it.

[hapster85]

Found one thread about him. There may be others.

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/1027392-scam-alert-watch-out-for-guy-who-will-ask-if-you-speak-english/

[EeyoreRN]

Good morning you beautiful old Freedom! She looks much smaller to my cell phone camera lens than she does to my naked eye.

 

This is more like what I really see

 

And this lovely city, still mostly sleeping in Sunday am

 

[EeyoreRN]

Backtracking trying to catch up...see, this is why I said semi-live.

 

So yesterday morning we set the alarm for 7:30 so we could sunscreen up, dress and grab a quick bite. We chose the convenient Starbucks right in the hotel lobby. Emma chose a big cup of fruit, Joey got a roasted tomato and mozzarella baguette, and I ordered the bacon and gruyere egg bites. And of course, caffeine.

 

 

We were all pleased with our choices and this breakfast really hit the spot.

 

I usually don't go into Starbucks at home, as I'm not a big fan of their coffee, but Emma and Joey agree that this one is one of the nicer ones they've seen.  It's really roomy with lots of comfy seating.

 

 

 

[mchin]

So excited for you to sail today! Enjoy Embarkation day and look forward to hearing all about Freedom!

[EeyoreRN]

Months ago I had arranged to take a tour with Ellis through his Facebook page. We wanted your #1, rainforest highlights and the pork highway. He had messaged me that he would meet us in our lobby at 9 am. He told us the make, model, and color of his car. When we walked out of Starbucks a few minutes before 9, there he was!

 

We loaded in, he let me bring my coffee, and off we went, toward El Yunque. He told us so much about the history and people of Puerto Rico, it was fabulous! Also, he made us feel like old friends. 

First stop was la coca falls

 

 

 

Yikes, Joey, where are you going?!

 

Nevermind that idea of bringing this guy to the Grand canyon, lol.  Naw, this actually looked really safe.

 

Apparently the rainforest has been more dry than usual this year and ordinarily this waterfall is much more full and powerful. I liked being able to see (and climb on) the rocks.

 

Next stop was yokahu tower. Of course we took the 96 steps to the top.

 

 

 

 

 

[EeyoreRN]

25 minutes ago, mchin said:

So excited for you to sail today! Enjoy Embarkation day and look forward to hearing all about Freedom!

Thanks so much!  Will report as much as I can!

[EeyoreRN]

Last stop at in the rainforest was a place called broken bridge, where we put on our water shoes and got in.  Ellis had fish food to allure the fish and they were all over us.

 

 

 

 

The place is called broken bridge because it's not unusual for the water to wash out this bridge with flash flooding. And usually when you swim here it's very deep.  We had the choice of submersing or wading and we all chose wading. I'm glad we had a choice.

 

Edited May 26, 2019 by EeyoreRN

[hapster85]

Not to interrupt, but how long was the walk into OSJ from the hotel? It doesn't look too far on the map, but that can be deceiving.

[EeyoreRN]

1 hour ago, hapster85 said:

Not to interrupt, but how long was the walk into OSJ from the hotel? It doesn't look too far on the map, but that can be deceiving.

About 45 minutes or so. We could have probably gone faster but we were walking at a pretty leisurely pace.  Most of the walk is beautiful and interesting. I recommend it during the day but not after dark.  Our Google map said it was about 4.7 km

[EeyoreRN]

We left the rainforest to head to lunch. We kept moving further and further toward the beach.  I asked Ellis about the pork highway and he'd said it was a mountain road.  I was confused but ok, maybe we would travel along the beach for a while and then head toward the mountains?  We were enjoying gorgeous coastal scenery. At one point he mentioned that where we would eat lunch we'd have an even better view of the ocean.  Wait a minute, Ellis, I thought we were going to the pork highway?  He said wait I thought you wanted tour #3? No, I'm pretty sure we said #1.  Well, it doesn't matter who's wrong and who's right I will take you to the pork highway right now if you want.  So sweet! No, we are fine, we are actually totally enjoying this road and all the views and are excited about having lunch at this place by the sea. Please continue on this beautiful path...

 

 

 

We could start to see San Juan.

 

Where we had lunch

 

 

We had pinchos, BBQ chicken on spits ($3 each) and frozen sangria ($5 each).  It was delicious!

 

Enjoying the ocean at the lunch spot...surprise bonus!!

 

 

On the way back to the hotel, Ellis stopped at a CVS so we could buy some sunscreen.  I had only packed some in travel bottles because we didn't want to check luggage.  Now we're all set for our week in the Caribbean!

 

Ellis was amazing!!! Knowledgeable and friendly and accommodating and I highly recommend touring with him. We saw and learned so much in the 5 hours we spent with him. When we are back in PR we will definitely book with him again...just make sure we confirm where we're goin beforehand! 😃

[cruisinfromtampa]

\Looking forward to following along!  Have a great cruise!

[EeyoreRN]

1 hour ago, cruisinfromtampa said:

\Looking forward to following along!  Have a great cruise!

Thank you so much!  I have followed and appreciated your reports, glad to return the service!