Thanksgiving on the Liberty with Chef’s Table: Long, Detailed Review with Photos

[antigualvr]

:DI love reviews with pictures! Keep it up!

[katcas]

Loving the review! We are sailing on Liberty in Nov for Thanksgiving. You are making me very excited, I wish it weren't over 7 months away! Can't wait to hear about Nachi Cocom, planning on going there ourselves.

[crusinpsychRN]

 

This review covers the Liberty ship. I do have a review on the Glory (see link in signature), however this review is on a sister ship to Glory, the Liberty!:) Maybe that's why nothing looks familiar!!:D

 

Oops! Don't know why I thought Glory...the font wasn't too small.:D Glad it's not my memory going!

[pcrum]

11/22/10, Cozumel

 

A glance at the Fun Times for today delivered last night indicated that breakfast was being served until 9:30 am in the MDR, so we set our wake up time accordingly. Both DH and I enjoyed a breakfast of eggs benedict and then went back to the room to collect our things to exit the ship. We loved our room location, as it was so close to the debarkation area. Just one floor down and we were off the ship.

 

I had first been to Cozumel over the summer during our girls only cruise when we went to Paradise Beach. I really love Cozumel and count it as one of my favorite ports. DH had not been there in several years. He had cruised to Cozumel back when the ships were docking in the downtown area by Senor Frogs so the Puerto Maya area, where we docked today, was new to him. It is a nice area, filled with many shops and bars. We took some photos on the way to the taxi stand. As you can see, some Christmas decorations were up already. A note about my photos....they never have the correct date on them, so please ignore the date. I find it a bit annoying that you have to reset the date on the camera every time you recharge the batteries and the accuracy of the date and time is entirely dependent upon whether or not I have my reading glasses on when the battery needs to be recharged, which is usually never the case!

 

The pier:

 

 

The shopping and restaurant area:

 

 

 

 

 

[pcrum]

The boards are being really slow tonight...I have the Cozumel part all written, but if it gets too tedious to post, I will have to try again tomorrow.

 

Back to the review:

 

 

The prices for the taxis are clearly marked.* For two persons, it was $15 to Nachi Cocum and the ride took approximately 10 minutes.* There seems to be one main road from the taxi stand that goes to the beaches and we passed Paradise Beach and Mr. Sanchos Beach Club along the way.

 

Taxi Prices (sorry about the flash):

 

 

Thanks to the wonderful photos and review posted by Foufie, I had booked Nachi Cocum online through Island Marketing before we left home at the price of $49 each. As I recall, they took a credit card deposit of 20% at the time of booking and we were to pay the rest upon arrival. They advertise that they limit the number of guests to 100 per day. That was certainly not a problem when we visited, as it seemed that only about 30 people were there.

 

As others have written, the entrance is a bit daunting, and looks run down. Upon arrival we were asked for our e-mail confirmation and then paid the remainder of our fee. Then, we were asked to pose for a photo. Despite my smile, I was very uneasy about wearing a hat that had been worn by countless other*tourists before me. If you have a child who has suffered through the dreaded head lice in elementary school, you will understand. I wanted that photo over as quickly as possible. After the first photo, they asked us to pose for a second, but I politely said we’d had enough photos.

 

 

Then, we were led to a palapa on the beach. As you can see from the photos, it was a bit overcast, but that was fine with us as it meant it wasn’t so hot. At one point a brief rain shower came down and we found out how well made those palapas are...we huddled under the palapa during the very brief shower and it was water tight!!

 

 

We ordered some margaritas. After our first round, it seemed the server was a bit slow in getting back to us. So, DH tipped him $20 saying, “I may be too drunk to remember this later.” After that, service improved dramatically, and I could not get up to use the rest room without encountering a server who asked if I wanted another drink! We did not find the drinks to be very strong, however. In the course of the day, I had several margaritas and pina coladas and did not feel tipsy at all. DH counted that he had 10 drinks, mostly margaritas and long island iced teas, as well as one tequila shot and he was fine afterwards. We were there for approximately 5 hours though and we also had some sodas and water to drink throughout the day as well as the three course included lunch.

 

We spent the morning lounging around in the chaises. DH is a trouper because he really doesn’t enjoy chaise lounge chairs at all, as he says they hurt his back. I went in and out of the water. Both of us read and just enjoyed the day.

 

The area was very uncrowded. There was one family with 3 small children who seemed to enjoy the beach and pool. Another couple was snorkeling and came back and seemed happy with what they had seen. There was one other large extended family group and that was it. Mondays must be a very slow day!!

 

I took some photos of the area:

 

Looking to the left facing the beach:

 

 

Looking to the right you can see part of Mr. Sanchos Beach Club:

 

 

Hammocks:

 

 

 

[pcrum]

Massage Area: Today it was not used.

 

 

Palapas on beach:

 

 

Pool area (the restaurant and bar are under the thatched roof):

 

 

Jacuzzi:

 

 

 

Restaurant area:

 

[pcrum]

Bar Area:

 

 

Rental Area:

 

 

View from our Palapa (not too shabby!!):

 

 

 

I did not photograph the restroom area (which I did at Bamboo Beach Club, in Ochos Rios), but the restrooms were immaculate! When we wanted lunch, the server brought over a menu and we ordered. We asked that we be served in the restaurant area at a table though, as we thought it would be hard to eat in the lounge chairs. The server said he’d call us when the lunch was ready and in about 20 minutes he called us over to eat. The all inclusive price includes all your beverages (alcoholic and non alcoholic) as well as a 3 course lunch. For our starters, I had the guacamole and chips and DH had fried cheese sticks. We were also given some salsa and chips. The salsa was very good, but oh so very hot! After one bite, I had DH go to the bar and get me a bottle of water pronto because it was so spicy!! And, that is the great thing about an all inclusive...anything you needed was included!! I had read on Cruise Critic about how good the guacamole was and it did not disappoint. It was outstanding. DH said the cheese sticks were like any other, nothing special, but still tasty. For our entrees, DH ordered the fajitas and I had the fried grouper, which was served with yellow rice. DH said the fajitas were just ok, and not as good as we get at the local Mexican restaurant at home. However, my fish was outstanding and very fresh tasting. I ate every bite and loved it. For dessert, I had read great things about the coconut ice cream, so we had to try some. As we were eating it, I said, “wouldn’t this taste good with a shot of kahlua on top?” So guess what? DH went to the bar and got us some kahlua to pour on top. It was wonderful and of course included in the all inclusive price!!

 

Fried Cheese sticks:

 

 

Salsa and Chips:

 

 

Guacamole and chips:

 

[pcrum]

Fajitas (sorry we had already started on our entrees and desserts when I took the photos):

 

 

Fried grouper and rice:

 

 

Coconut Ice Cream:

 

 

Better with kahlua:

 

 

Paradise:

 

 

[pcrum]

One last shot of Nachi Cocum:

 

 

A couple of margaritas from Nachi Cocum:

 

 

The other visitors cleared out early leaving just us and the other couple who had been snorkeling. DH moved to read at a table and chair by the pool and I alternated between the pool and hot tub. It was so quiet and peaceful and we felt like we were at our own private resort! We stayed until 5 pm ship’s time (which I believe was 4 pm in Cozumel) and then asked our server to call us a cab back to Puerto Maya. Nachi Cocum closes at 5 pm local time. The taxi back was also $15 and once back in Puerto Maya, we went in some stores. I wanted to buy some vanilla to bring home and we found a large store that seemed to have a bit of everything, including vanilla. We also found a t-shirt store that seemed to have pretty good quality t-shirts so we got some of those also. After our shopping, we made our way back to the ship.

 

We really enjoyed our day at Nachi Cocom and felt it well worth the price. However, if I was traveling with the kids (I have 16 year old boy/girl twins), I'd probably choose Paradise Beach for their water toys. Although the younger kids we saw seemed content to play in the ocean and the pool, I think my kids would be bored and would prefer the inflatable toys, such as the iceberg and inflatable see saw at Paradise Beach. Plus, at Paradise Beach, you order a la carte so you are not paying an all inclusive price for kids ($35 for ages 12-17 at Nachi) who aren't going to drink alcohol. As the use of the water toys at Paradise Beach is only $12 a person, with chair rental an additional $2, that still leaves $21 for lunch (which you'd be hard pressed to spend as I think the fajitas were between $13-$14), so I think Paradise Beach would be the better value for kids. Of course if you have kids who want to order a lot of virgin drinks, you'd reach the $21 very quickly, but our two were so content to play on the water toys that they barely stopped to eat, let alone drink a bunch of sugary drinks.

 

Fat Tuesdays, Puerto Maya:

 

 

The Liberty in Cozumel:

 

 

Once back onboard it was time for a shower and nap before dinner.

 

When we arrived in the MDR, we could see that it appeared our table had been moved. There were several tables for 2 along the railing looking down to the lower level. Last night our table had been the second one in from the maitre d’s podium. Tonight, the second table had a different number on it. We looked around and found our table number on the first table behind the maitre d’s podium. We didn’t think much of it other than it seemed they had removed a table and we took a seat. We thought maybe since we were in Cozumel until 10 pm the MDR was expecting a lighter dinner crowd, so they changed things around. My back was to the maitre d’s podium so I didn’t see what happened next, but DH said that the older couple who had been sitting behind us, closer to the MDR entrance, were at the maitre d’s podium gesturing and pointing to us. I told him to ignore it and they were soon seated. However the maitre d, Elvis, came up to us and seemed to be choosing his words very carefully so that he did not offend. Elvis was a tall man of either German or Austrian descent who reminded me a lot of Arnold Schwarzenegger. He said to us, “you look a lot like the couple who sit here for early seating.” “No,” we assured him that we did not have early seating. By this time we realized that the table numbers for our table and the table that the older couple had been sitting at had been switched. So, we explained to Elvis that since this table had our number on it, we sat at it, unsure of why the numbers had been changed. Elvis was very gracious about the entire incident and apparently spoke to our server, Flo, about the issue. Flo came over later and apologized saying that she had been late to the dining room that night and had just “thrown” the numbers on the tables and had made an error. Ok. It didn’t bother us nearly as much as it seemed to bother the other couple. Incidentally, we watched this couple for the entire week of the cruise drink from one large bottle of wine they had brought on. You know the larger bottles you can buy that are the size of two regular bottles...well they brought on a large bottle and each had one glass during dinner each night. Flo would take the bottle and re-cork it and store it for them after each dinner and then bring it out again the next night. They drank from this same bottle for 6 of the 7 nights of the cruise!

 

For dinner, we ordered a bottle of wine from our wine package. When you purchase the wine package, you receive 5 tickets which you use to redeem your bottles of wine. These can be redeemed anywhere on the ship, but we chose to use them in the MDR.

 

For dinner we both started with the cheese plate from the dessert menu. Then, we both had the onion soup, prompting Flo to ask, “you want the cheese with the soup?” No, we’d like it before, thank you very much. DH had the flat iron steak for his entree and I had the braised short ribs which are served atop fried eggplant. This dish is a favorite of mine and the short ribs are always so tender, like a beef stew almost. The eggplant was crisp and fresh. For dessert, we both had the cheesecake, which was very good. DH also had his double expresso.

 

During dinner, the Chef also visited our table. Oh, we were feeling important tonight...a visit from both the maitre d’ and the Chef! We had booked the Chef’s Table during our wine tasting yesterday. During the seminar, the sommelier mentioned the Chef’s Table, saying that it was limited to only 12 guests and that it was a true gourmet experience accompanied by wine. I had read about the Chef’s Table on cruise critic, but had not had a chance to mention it to DH. However, when he heard the sommelier talk about it, he was intrigued, so we booked right there in the steakhouse. The cost is $75 a person and the dinner was scheduled for Wednesday night. So tonight, the Chef stopped by our table to see if we had any food allergies. We told him that we did not. He said we should meet the other participants in the Lobby Bar at 6:30 pm on Wednesday night. We were really looking forward to this experience!!

 

There was no production show scheduled for tonight. Instead, they had an 80’s Flashback Party going on in the Casino Bar. Now the 80’s is our era, when DH and I were in college, but we were tired after our day at Nachi Cocum, so we just went to bed soon after dinner. The problem with having been young in the 80s is that in 2010, you get tired and need your rest!!

 

We were greeted by this little guy in the cabin:

 

 

Tomorrow, a sea day...

 

I hope to make a posting tomorrow night, but with the Royal Wedding, I make no promises. Our DVR is set for 4 am tomorrow morning, so once I get home, we will be watching every moment of the coverage!! Please bear with me. If I do not post on Friday, I will definitely try to get caught up over the weekend!!

 

 

 

 

[pcrum]

Love the review and large font,keep us informed

 

Thanks so much for reading and for posting!:)

 

:DI love reviews with pictures! Keep it up!

 

Thanks so much!:)

 

Loving the review! We are sailing on Liberty in Nov for Thanksgiving. You are making me very excited, I wish it weren't over 7 months away! Can't wait to hear about Nachi Cocom, planning on going there ourselves.

 

I hope you have a wonderful cruise. The Liberty is a beautiful ship and I think Thanksgiving week is the ideal time to sail, as it is not so hot in the islands!! Thanks for reading the review!

[katcas]

I am loving your review! I have a question about Nachi Cocum. I read on the site you can rent wave runners, parasail and they also have a banana boat. There will be 5 adults with us and 8 teenagers ages 12-17. Just wondering if you noticed anything there. Also, what other types of things are on the menu. We have some picky eaters in the group.

[pcrum]

I am loving your review! I have a question about Nachi Cocum. I read on the site you can rent wave runners, parasail and they also have a banana boat. There will be 5 adults with us and 8 teenagers ages 12-17. Just wondering if you noticed anything there. Also, what other types of things are on the menu. We have some picky eaters in the group.

 

http://cozumelcruiseexcursions.com/cozumelbeachbreak.htm

 

This is the link for the website where we booked Nachi Cocum. They do have a parasailing add on you can book. There was a rental center there, but other than a brief photograph, I really did not investigate all of the options. However, I can make out in the photo that the sign mentions wave runners and a banana ride as well as parasailing. It was a slow day when we were there and the only activity we saw people doing was snorkeling.

 

 

The menu was quite extensive and I would think anyone could find something to eat there, even picky eaters:). The items I recall other than the fajitas and grouper were tacos, some shrimp dishes and I think burgers, but I'm not 100% certain about the burgers.

 

I will be back tomorrow with the next sea day. We've been consumed with watching the royal wedding coverage today!

[pcrum]

11/23/10, Sea Day

 

Tuesday was another sea day. We woke up to spray crashing against the port hole. We really loved our port hole room and could see just fine out of the port holes, something I had been worried about before the cruise. I had been concerned that the view would be distorted, but that was not the case.

 

 

 

We slept late this morning, so missed breakfast in the MDR. Oh no, that means facing the crowds on the Lido Deck!! It actually was not too bad and we even made it through the omelet station line without too much hassle. You can get a made-to-order omelet on the Lido Deck which is actually very tasty. I had an omelet, grits, bacon and plain yogurt and of course, a cup of English breakfast tea. I liked how they had all of the specialty teas on the Lido Deck. Sometimes you did have to hunt for them though, but I could usually find them at the main beverage station inside the Emiles restaurant in a brown tea chest. DH also had an omelet and some sausage.

 

My breakfast:

 

 

Tea:

 

 

 

After breakfast, DH settled down with his book in the adult pool area of the Lido Deck and I walked around a bit. On some ships there is a jacuzzi in the spa area, so I went to the spa to check if the Liberty had one. The lady at the desk told me the jacuzzi had been taken out to make the exercise area larger. Such a pity. Sometimes if you catch it at the right time, the spa jacuzzi is not crowded. Who are these people who exercise on vacation and why do they need more space??? Geez, can’t they run around the jogging track on the sports deck?? Just kidding, but honestly, working out is the last thing we think about on vacation.

 

Anyway, I took some photos of the spa area:

 

Sauna:

 

 

Hot coals in sauna:

 

[pcrum]

Showers:

 

 

 

 

There were people changing in the locker room, so I didn’t get any photos of the locker area, but it is quite nice. They have extra towels for your use. To obtain a locker, you leave your sail and sign card at the spa desk and they then give you a locker key.

 

I then walked around the ship a bit, taking photos:

 

Pool area:

 

 

Slide:

 

 

Toddler Pool:

 

 

Ping Pong Tables:

 

[pcrum]

Rear of ship: I had never seen these white chairs before out on deck. They almost looked like the types of chairs used on the balconies, except that these reclined all the way back.

 

[

 

 

 

 

I laid out a bit on Deck 10, where I could usually find a chaise in the shade.

 

 

 

The Taste of the Nation at the Lido lunch buffet was french today, so I had some wonderful beef bourguignon, eggplant casserole and those wonderful scalloped potatoes the French make which are loaded with butter. The food was very good!!

 

At 4:15 pm, there was a Future Cruise presentation in The Stage lounge, that DH and I attended. The presentation was given by the gentleman from the Future Cruise Certificate desk and they explained how the FTCs work. You could fill out the form at the presentation to buy the certificates and they would be delivered to your cabin, so we bought one for our upcoming spring break cruise. The way the FTCs work is that you pay $100 for the certificate, which is used as payment for a future cruise booking. For a 7 night cruise, you also get $100 in on board credit. The amount of the on board credit goes down for shorter cruises. For a 5 night cruise, I think the OBC is $75. Carnival will tell you that you cannot use the FTC for a cruise already booked and that it must be applied to a new booking, but we have never had a problem using it for a cruise we have already booked and I applied this FTC to our spring break cruise (3/11 on the Glory) after we got home without an issue.

 

During the presentation they also gave some “hints” about booking rooms Of course, we were already taking advantage of one of the hints mentioned, that you could book a port hole cabin at the same price as an inside cabin. Other “hints” were that the category 6B rooms (ocean view) have two windows instead of just one and that on decks 6 and 7, you can book a category 8A and 8B, which has an extended balcony at the price of a regular balcony room. Apparently the differences with the 8A and 8B rooms is that they have no couch, as regular balcony rooms do, but the trade off is the larger balcony area. I think these last two ”hints” just apply to Conquest class ships, but I’m not 100% sure. There was also a bit of a sales pitch for the Carnival credit card.

 

After the presentation, we stopped for some martinis, since we had to walk right by the Paparazzi Wine Bar where our favorite bar tender, Tommy was working. DH had the Tommy’s Special and I had a tiramisu martini. Then, we went back to the cabin and I changed into a swimsuit and we went back up to the adult area of the Lido Deck. DH had some pizza and read and I used the hot tub. The area was very empty.

 

 

Pizza:

 

[pcrum]

Adult Pool Area:

 

 

Then, it was back to the room for a short nap before dinner. We made it to the correct table this time and had our cheese plates to start with. DH also had the potato soup and I had the spinach, bacon, and portabello mushroom salad, which a favorite of mine. DH had the beef stroganoff for his entree and this is the night where I was undecided about the duet of rack and leg of lamb or the seafood newberg, so Flo insisted on bringing both. Both were very good although I could only eat about half of both entrees. Tonight was the bitter n blanc dessert, which is one of my favorites. It is a real toss up for me whether I like this or the WCMC better. I think the bitter n blanc wins out due to it being a combination of white and dark chocolate bread pudding!! DH had a double expresso and tiramisu for dessert.

 

Spinach, Bacon and Portabello Mushroom Salad:

 

 

Duet of Rack and Leg of Lamb:

 

 

Beef Stroganoff:

 

 

Tiramisu:

 

 

Bitter n Blanc:

 

[pcrum]

The waiters did a dance after dinner:

 

 

 

The production show tonight was a rhythm and blues singer, Chris Roberts. Rhythm and blues is not really our thing and since there was no Punchliner Comedy Club going on tonight, we went to hear Blood Power, the rock and roll band. These guys were great, playing classical rock music. The guitarists were especially talented. They were playing in the Victoria Lounge and I cannot believe I did not take any photos of this beautiful lounge. The walls were lined with the most beautiful china tiles from the Victorian era. It was so pretty. The Liberty was definitely one of the most beautiful ships we had been on. In fact, in the cabin on one of the TV stations, there was a show about the building of the LIberty and how the theme of the cruise was artist’s craftsmanship. The sports bar celebrates leather making, as it has all kind of leather gloves. The Silver Olympian dining room celebrates silver making, with the silver inlays on the walls and ceiling. Iron work is used throughout the ship. They really did an excellent job on the decor!!

 

Anyway, back to Blood Power...we listened to two sets of their music and enjoyed them very much. If you like rock bands, do not miss these talented musicians.

 

Blood Power:

 

 

After two sets of Blood Power, we made our way to the Piano Bar, but the player (Brad)was on a break. We went back for more rock music and then back to the piano bar, but by then, Brad was on his last song of the night. This was surprising because it was only midnight and the Fun Times listed the piano bar as being open from “9:30-late”. I guess midnight was considered late. In fact, it seemed that at midnight the entire ship was pretty dead, so we made our way back to the cabin where we were greeted by this guy:

 

 

Next up...Grand Cayman and the Chef's Table:

[pbmsmile]

The waiters did a dance after dinner:

 

 

 

The production show tonight was a rhythm and blues singer, Chris Roberts. Rhythm and blues is not really our thing and since there was no Punchliner Comedy Club going on tonight, we went to hear Blood Power, the rock and roll band. These guys were great, playing classical rock music. The guitarists were especially talented. They were playing in the Victoria Lounge and I cannot believe I did not take any photos of this beautiful lounge. The walls were lined with the most beautiful china tiles from the Victorian era. It was so pretty. The Liberty was definitely one of the most beautiful ships we had been on. In fact, in the cabin on one of the TV stations, there was a show about the building of the LIberty and how the theme of the cruise was artist’s craftsmanship. The sports bar celebrates leather making, as it has all kind of leather gloves. The Silver Olympian dining room celebrates silver making, with the silver inlays on the walls and ceiling. Iron work is used throughout the ship. They really did an excellent job on the decor!!

 

Anyway, back to Blood Power...we listened to two sets of their music and enjoyed them very much. If you like rock bands, do not miss these talented musicians.

 

Blood Power:

 

 

After two sets of Blood Power, we made our way to the Piano Bar, but the player (Brad)was on a break. We went back for more rock music and then back to the piano bar, but by then, Brad was on his last song of the night. This was surprising because it was only midnight and the Fun Times listed the piano bar as being open from “9:30-late”. I guess midnight was considered late. In fact, it seemed that at midnight the entire ship was pretty dead, so we made our way back to the cabin where we were greeted by this guy:

 

 

Next up...Grand Cayman and the Chef's Table:

I am looking forward to your Chefs table pictures!!

[pcrum]

11/24/10, Grand Cayman

 

Today we had breakfast in the MDR. Eggs, benedict and a plain yogurt for me and waffles, eggs, and ham for DH.

 

We were docked in Grand Cayman today. We had done the stingray city tour over the summer as a family with nativeways.com and my daughter and I did the tour again on our girls only cruise in August, so today we were going to do something that we had never done before in Grand Cayman. We were going to visit the part of the island known as hell. We had seen the t-shirts and the post cards and knew the area got it’s name from the black rock formations in the area that apparently looked like the charred remains of hell to some people. We knew the area was kitschy and touristy, but still, it was something I wanted to see. DH was going just to humor me!

 

We took a tender over to the island and I snapped some photos:

 

Our ship:

 

 

On the tender:

 

 

Tender ship docking in Grand Cayman:

 

 

Our ship:

 

 

Thanks to cruise critic I knew that you could catch a city bus to the area for much less than the cost of a cab. Yes, I was dragging DH to a tourist trap, but at least we weren’t spending a lot to get there! As we exited from the pier we came across a map that showed the location of the bus station, which was a good thing because although I knew it was near the public library, I had left my directions at home. As we were looking at the map, we were approached for several people asking if we needed a cab. We told them we were going to hell and they quoted us a price of $6 a person each way. Now, the bus was $1.25 a person each way, so we declined their offer and made our way to the bus depot. The buses in Grand Cayman are actually mini-vans and are very clean inside. The drivers at the depot were very helpful and pointed us to the right bus for hell.

 

Map at entrance to shops:

 

 

The Bus Depot is located at the corner of Fort and Edward Streets, about a 5 minute walk from the tender area:

 

[pcrum]

 

Buses lined up at the depot:

 

 

The first stop was at 7 Mile Beach, so if you are going to the beach, it’s very easy to go by bus.

 

7 Mile Beach:

 

 

 

 

 

No one was getting off here, but our driver stopped to help a group of tourists who were gathered at the bus shelter looking for a bus back to the pier area. He told them they needed to cross the street and stand at the bus shelter across the street, as that’s where they would get a bus to go back to the pier. They might have been confused because in Grand Cayman, they drive on the left, as it is a British island. Our next stop was to a local restaurant where the driver picked up lunch from the drive thru window for a friend. He had already called ahead to pre-order so I only got a quick glance at the menu, but I did see oxtail and rice on the menu, which I think is a dish native to the islands. We drove to a residential area and a lady met him on the corner and he delivered her lunch. We picked up a few other people on the way and in about 20 minutes, we were in hell. The driver let us off and told us where to get the bus to go back to the main bus depot. He said buses would be coming by every 10 minutes.

 

Hell is located on a main road and there are three different gift shops and a post office. In one of the gift stores, the store clerk dresses as the devil. We found this one to be the most expensive of the three shops on the identical merchandise. Hey, the guy has to pay for his costume somehow!

 

There were lots of tour buses making stops here and they were given an allocated amount of time at hell and then had to be back on the bus. We took a much more leisurely approach. Once we got there, we realized we’d probably never come back so we wanted to make the most of our visit. We visited all 3 gift stores and I sent some postcards from the post office that would have the post mark from hell. We took lots of photos:

 

[pcrum]

 

 

Rock Formations:

 

 

 

 

I made a friend:

 

 

[pcrum]

 

 

When we were ready to leave, we walked out of the post office and a bus was approaching. No wait at all. It was about a 25 minute ride back to Georgetown and we got to see a lot of residential areas along the bus route as the bus stopped to pick up people. One lady boarded in a residential area and said she did not have money for the bus fare until she got to town. The driver let her on the bus and then she got off at her stop in town. I guess he knew she’d pay on her way back home.

 

We made it back to town and were back on the ship by 2 pm.

 

Taken from the tender...the water in Grand Cayman is so clear:

 

 

 

Knowing we had the Chef’s Table tonight and would be eating a lot, we purposely skipped lunch. We also had the Past Guest party at 4 pm and we knew they would offer finger food there, so we decided that would be our lunch. We rested a bit in the cabin and then went to the Past Guest party. It seemed there was a larger variety of drinks and food offered than usual. Among the drinks offered was a raspberry sour, wine, lime daiquiri and rum punch. The food choices included buffalo mozzarella cheese served with tomato and chicken salad served on toast. I know there were some other things offered too, but these were our favorites. The show band was playing and some people danced and then they showed the same video where you are meant to cheer if a ship you have been on appears.

 

After the party we returned to the cabin to shower and get changed for the Chef’s Table. We were to meet at 6:30 pm in the Lobby Bar. The chef came out and gathered our group and took us into the kitchen through the lower level of the Golden Olympian restaurant. We took a tour of the kitchen area and it was very interesting to see it in operation during the dinner rush. Waiters were coming in to pick up their orders and it all moves like a very finely oiled machine. Everything was immaculate also. We stopped at a large stainless steel table and had some champagne and hors d’ oeuvres: a duck pot sticker, a small taco and fresh bruschetta on toast. I liked the taco best of all, but everything was good. The chef answered questions and with the next day being Thanksgiving, one of the questions was how the purchasing agents knew how much turkey to order for a holiday dinner. The chef answered that they look at previous years records to see how many turkeys were used at Thanksgiving to give them an idea of how much to order. The chef also explained that they always travel with a couple of days worth of extra food, in case of emergency.

 

Next, the chef made the warm chocolate melting cake, which would be served with our dessert.

 

Then, we were led into a private dining room just off of the lower level of the Golden Olympian Restaurant. A long table was set up for us with place cards indicating where we should sit. I have read on cruise critic that on some sailings, they have the men on one side of the table and ladies on the other, however this was not the case during our sailing. Husbands and wives were seated next to one another and DH and I were seated together near the middle of the table. Each place setting had a personalized menu:

 

 

[pcrum]

Although the Chef’s Table is usually limited to 12 guests, we had 13, as a young man who wasn’t even old enough to drink the wine (I think he was 20) apparently booked at the last minute. He wanted to study to become a chef, so was very interested in the dinner. It’s nice that Carnival was able to accommodate him.

 

Both a red and white wine were served: Opus Shiraz (red) and a Pinot Grigio (white).

 

In the back of the room was another long table with several kitchen staff who prepared our plates. Each dish was beautifully presented with lots of decorative sauces on the plates. Waiters kept our wine glasses and water glasses filled throughout the meal. I didn’t take photos of the dishes however, because it just did not seem like the setting to do so. Sorry to disappoint...I have seen other photos online of the dishes served so there are photos out there.

 

First up was the salmon tartar. It was tasty and the caviar was good. Next, we were served the tomato chili bisque, which was a bit spicy and tasted a lot like the tomato soup we had been served in the steak house as a “chef’s surprise”. Rock shrimp and apple beignets were served next. They were good, not outstanding, but good. A salad course was next, with feta cheese on top. This was very good. Sea bass was served next. This was very tender and really melted in my mouth. Up next was the filet mignon, served with three sauces on the plate. The steak was also very tender and did not need any sauce at all. The dessert was a small petit four with a long white strip. I’m not sure what the strip was, as it did not appear to be white chocolate. A waiter came around a spooned a helping of WCMC on each of our plates from the ramekin that the chef had poured it into as we watched him make the dish. We were also offered coffee with our dessert. At the end of the meal, we were each presented with a photo, with the folder signed by the chef. Ladies were also give a cookbook.

 

Photograph folder autographed by chef:

 

 

Cookbook:

 

 

The entire experience lasted from 6:30 pm to 9:30 pm. The food was very good, but not the most delicious food we’ve ever eaten. I’m glad that we had the experience of the Chef’s Table, but it’s not something I’d rush to book again. At the time of the dinner, we were given the impression that while Carnival sets the MDR menus in advance and that each chef is required to prepare the MDR menu served throughout the fleet, that the Chef’s Table is where the chefs can use their expertise and prepare something that they have originally created. However, once we returned home and I read reviews of others who had attended the Chef’s Table on different ships, I saw that the menu was the same across the entire fleet. So, it would seem that Carnival is standardizing this experience also.

 

After our dinner, we went out to the Lido Deck to watch Blood Power, who were playing on the Lido Stage.

 

 

 

A deck party was scheduled to start until 11:30 pm, but we were tired, so after listening to Blood Power for a while, we went back to the room.

 

Can we go back now?

 

 

On the way back we encountered Elvis, who was getting coffee at the coffee bar. We stopped and chatted and he asked how we liked the Chef’s Table. We told him we had enjoyed it. He said that he felt that since the new CEO of Carnival was an accountant that customer service was going by the wayside with a lot of budget cuts. We got the idea that Elvis wasn’t very happy with the current situation. I hope he does not leave Carnival because we really enjoyed him as a maitre’ d.

 

Back in our cabin, this little guy greeted us:

 

 

Up next, Thanksgiving day in Ochos Rios and Bamboo Beach club...

[checker0074]

When and where did you register for the chef's table experience? Can't wait! Your stories and picture are wonderful. Thanks!

[NJsharon]

Thanks for the review so far. Interesting to hear your views on the Chef's Table. Think we will still book it for our upcoming cruise. Something you have to do once I think!