Live From The Carnival Freedom: Crossing the Atlantic for a New Whale Tail

[exlondoner]

3 minutes ago, jam19872016 said:

I think its relative to what we are used to and in that regard, it would be more than accurate to call it a British line. Board Carnival Pride or Anthem from Dover or Southampton and you won't find English bacon on the menu. I have heard Anthem puts out the tea kettle when sailing from the UK though. Don't think Carnival does.

 

The only other line I recall seeing English bacon is Celebrity. They had an English section on their buffet everyday and while I avoided the bacon (that's not bacon in my mind) I did enjoy the fried bread. Never heard of that before and never found it again since that first time.

 

 

Rigatoni are larger and the ends are cut square to the tube walls instead of diagonally. . See, I studied for the test 🙂

 

I’m afraid fried bread is one of the most lethal substances known to man, and, strangely, particularly agreeable with marmalade.

[jam19872016]

48 minutes ago, exlondoner said:

 

If it’s not breadcrumbs, it’s batter. How much fish is there entombed?

Pasta looks nice.

It was actually a nice ratio. The batter could have been crispier, but the fish inside was a generous portion. 

 

28 minutes ago, NE John said:

The food looks much better as you’re crossing the Atlantic. I was getting worried about you with some of the food pictures in the beginning of the cruise. Some of that food in the beginning just didn’t look appealing. Except for those cakes, always look good. 

I think they took note of the presentation concerns. Somebody made sure the salt and pepper shakers were matching before I showed up knowing I would be on the lookout.

 

I think the word the kids use is "influencer".

[NE John]

58 minutes ago, exlondoner said:

Sorry, I’m an idiot, I’ve read the article properly now. 

It’s ok. I love talking about food! And eating too…

[jam19872016]

34 minutes ago, techteach said:

In summary:

Omelet - who forgot it in the pan? An American omelet may have a little browning on it, although I would never serve one that way, but that is completely overcooked.

 

Carvings - Amazing! Some really talented people put in many hours to produce those works of art. See, I CAN say something nice.

 

Cakes - I hope they taste as good as they look.

 

Have a wonderful day and thanks again for providing us with such entertaining reading. Comparatively the Cunard board has been pretty dull lately. 😞 

 

It was browned, but didn't taste burned in the least. Was quite tasty. I regret not trying one on Cunard, just to see how they compare.

 

Those carvings are amazing! I've seen some carvings before but that was some level of detail.

 

27 minutes ago, techteach said:

Oh Yum. With the exception of the gummy worm those look really good. I’m assuming that’s a cheesecake, but I wonder what they added to get the almost yellow color, unless they used really really good eggs. I’ve never seen cakes like this on Cunard. Do they exist? @exlondoner @NE John

It was a key lime cheesecake which was an odd flavor profile for the color. Played tricks with my mind. But it was very good. Nine out of ten taste as good as they look. Sometimes they are dried out. Almost always quite good though.

[NE John]

34 minutes ago, techteach said:

Oh Yum. With the exception of the gummy worm those look really good. I’m assuming that’s a cheesecake, but I wonder what they added to get the almost yellow color, unless they used really really good eggs. I’ve never seen cakes like this on Cunard. Do they exist? @exlondoner @NE John

Could be pumpkin cheesecake to give it that color.  
That gummy worm is essential for Halloween!  I really don’t go to the buffet on Cunard ships too much to see their cake offerings. The cakes and sweets in Cafe Corinthia are presented beautifully however. 

[jam19872016]

17 minutes ago, Blackjackboss said:

Wow those are really cute. I don’t remember so much stuff being Halloween themed on the last Halloween cruise. Makes me want to carve a pumpkin. It probably won’t come out like those though lol

They are super cute! And no I don't remember such elaborate carvings on Sunrise the last two years. The rest of the ship was better decorated though and felt more on theme. The culinary team has really gone above and beyond with their creations.

 

15 minutes ago, exlondoner said:

I’m afraid fried bread is one of the most lethal substances known to man, and, strangely, particularly agreeable with marmalade.

As what felt like fried butter squirted into my mouth, I could feel my arteries clogging. I still would love to see it on offer again. I would also like the opportunity to validate your marmalade claim.

 

[jam19872016]

11 minutes ago, NE John said:

It’s ok. I love talking about food! And eating too…

Me too! Although my knowledge is far less technical. 

 

2 minutes ago, NE John said:

Could be pumpkin cheesecake to give it that color.  
That gummy worm is essential for Halloween!  I really don’t go to the buffet on Cunard ships too much to see their cake offerings. The cakes and sweets in Cafe Corinthia are presented beautifully however. 

They looked lovely at Cafe Corinithia but sadly I never tried them. I had always just eaten, go figure.

[exlondoner]

5 minutes ago, jam19872016 said:

They are super cute! And no I don't remember such elaborate carvings on Sunrise the last two years. The rest of the ship was better decorated though and felt more on theme. The culinary team has really gone above and beyond with their creations.

 

As what felt like fried butter squirted into my mouth, I could feel my arteries clogging. I still would love to see it on offer again. I would also like the opportunity to validate your marmalade claim.

 

No, no, no, no. The only way to make fried bread is to fry it in bacon fat, while you are frying bacon. 
 

NB This post carries a government health warning. No responsibility can be taken. etc, etc.

[jam19872016]

The rigatoni was very good. A little heavy on the sauce, which is just how I like it. I also feel confident in declaring that it was actually rigatoni.

 

The fish was nice. It was obviously no Golden Lion but that was not where my expectations were. The fries tasted better than they looked and the cole slaw was a welcome change to mushy peas even if that dinged its authenticity points. 

 

My mom is not on a good roll today, her main was mostly inedible. She ordered the beef dish and it was full of veins. She ate the broccoli and rice but could not eat the beef.

 

The brownie was not a brownie. It had the consistency of a dried out walnut or banana bread but not the taste. I'm not sure what it was. Some sort of cake. A dry one. I heard the other dessert was also out of stock. That's why I ended up going to Lido for some dessert.

[Hogladyrider]

@jam19872016...Sunday brownie...today is Tuesday?

 

The cakes on Carnival always look appetizing, but taste is something else.  Glad you are enjoying all your dining choices.

[jam19872016]

5 minutes ago, exlondoner said:

No, no, no, no. The only way to make fried bread is to fry it in bacon fat, while you are frying bacon. 
 

NB This post carries a government health warning. No responsibility can be taken. etc, etc.

Maybe that's what it was. I have no clue, just that it was a heart attack inducing treat.

 

I hereby release you from any and all liability resulting from my future consumption of fried bread with or without marmalade.

[jam19872016]

1 minute ago, Hogladyrider said:

@jam19872016...Sunday brownie...today is Tuesday?

 

The cakes on Carnival always look appetizing, but taste is something else.  Glad you are enjoying all your dining choices.

Should have been Brownie Sundae. They couldn't get the ingredients right so I didn't bother getting the words right 😄

 

I hear people echo your sentiment about them not tasting as nice as they look but I've almost always been very happy with them. Sometimes they come out a little dry. Then there was the one called soya custard tart. That was awful. But overall, I've always found them to be very good.

[angelsfort]

21 hours ago, jam19872016 said:

Crab cake was going very good. Had a nice flavor and lots of crab. I love the apple slaw it came with, I don't remember that before.

 

But it had some tiny bones in it. That's a major texture issue for me. Instant appetite killer. Wish I'd gone for the mushrooms now.

 

wasn't likely "bones" - was probably shell, if it was made from real crab.  (still a definite texture issue - bones or shell is still a hit to the soft texture you're expecting from a crab cake!)

[jam19872016]

3 minutes ago, angelsfort said:

 

wasn't likely "bones" - was probably shell, if it was made from real crab.  (still a definite texture issue - bones or shell is still a hit to the soft texture you're expecting from a crab cake!)

That makes sense. 

[hapytobehr]

On 10/29/2023 at 3:49 PM, Jamman54 said:

We were invited on our Venezia Journeys cruise. It's casual but drinks are not included. It's a Diamond thing. We were asked at the Diamond Brunch. 😎

We were invited on our Alaskan Cruise.  We are not diamond yet.  It was really a nice dinner.

[pe4all]

3 hours ago, Hogladyrider said:

@jam19872016

 

The cakes on Carnival always look appetizing, but taste is something else. 

I have to agree with you.  The icing always tastes like Crisco shortening to me.  Saves me a lot of calories though!

[jam19872016]

Had a nice relaxing afternoon doing a bunch of nothing. It was glorious.

 

Checked in for dinner at 711 with under 10 minute wait. 

[chryso]

Do not order the texas chainsaw bbq.

[jam19872016]

Table ready at 713.

 

Different menu added for this long cruise.

 

 

 

 

It's really fun seeing people dressed up for Halloween. 

[Hogladyrider]

1 hour ago, pe4all said:

I have to agree with you.  The icing always tastes like Crisco shortening to me.  Saves me a lot of calories though!

100% correct!

[jam19872016]

They have special desserts for Halloween which is fine except I REALLY wanted that hazelnut and peanut cake. That seriously needs to be added to the regular menu rotation. 

[jam19872016]

Tex mex penne appetizer portion 739.

 

[jam19872016]

That was good but I did not think to check that it was penne. Oops. Was good either way.

 

For mains I ordered the smoked pork loin and baked polenta 753.

 

 

 

My mom got the blackened tilapia. 

 

[jam19872016]

Was trying something new with the polenta. It was actually really good.

 

The pork loin was fantastic. Very tender and moist and the sides all paired nicely together. 

 

Special Halloween desserts 814.

 

 

[NE John]

40 minutes ago, jam19872016 said:

Tex mex penne appetizer portion 739.

 

They mixed macaroni: some with ridges and some without. I kinda looks like penne but I’ll call it the Carnival hybrid pasta dish. Could use some more sauce too. 

Edited October 31, 2023 by NE John