afcj1 Posted January 21, 2012 #26 Share Posted January 21, 2012 Loving your review. Thanks for sharing:) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
txstarla Posted January 22, 2012 Author #27 Share Posted January 22, 2012 Day 3: Freeport Today’s Theme: Classy We did not go ashore in Freeport. Spa day, relaxing, eating, and more relaxing. You get the idea. More importantly, now is the time in the program we can talk about one of the highlights of the cruise – the Chef’s Table. I would recommend this over any excursion, destination or event. Well worth the $75 each and very informative. If you are interested in amazing pictures of a similar Chefs Table, I recommend Alicia’s (ItalianFemmy) thread: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1538638 She is a professional photographer and was allowed to take pics of her Chef’s Table event on the Dream. Ours was very similar. And my iPhone pics could never compare to hers! Our dishes were different, but her pics will give you the feel of what it is all about… Hint: ladies, you really should wear flat closed toe shoes that are not slippery. You will be in a working kitchen and heels are not safe or appropriate. We started out in the Piano Bar for champagne and hor dourves/amuse bouche (yeah I watch Top Chef!). Classy. The little yummies were: Olives with Parmesan Chorizo & Dates with Piquillo Sofrito Focaccia, Mascarpone Cream & Prosciutto Crudo Langoustine & Sundried Tomato Jam Fritters All of it was fantastic. We then went to the Galley, which was very busy with dinner service. The Chef explained several of the stations and led us to a long table with place cards and personalized menus rolled up with a star anise ribbon tie. Classy. Rhymes with sassy. :) We had modified service – one waiter assigned to two diners. One waiter would bring out two plates and serve two people. Again – classy. Before each dish, the Chef would describe and talk about what went into each course. Menu: Tomatoes Our Way! Aerated Tomato Juice, Cocoa Butter Coated Tomato and Chardonnay Poached Tomato Tuna Banh Mi Lemon Bread, Sesame Crisp, Miso Cream Avocado Gel (This was my favorite – Tuna Tartar with fresh avocado on a skinny lemon bread with crisps on the side – a very creative and tasty Banh Mi!) Cornish Hen Caramelized, Butternut Squash, Sofrito (very tender and juicy chicken!) Bavarois Spinach, Green Peas, Warm Turnip and Apple Juice (like a soup) Salmon Herb Pesto, Cuted Tomatoes, Carrots, Fava, Mushroom Earth, Condensed Beets (Salmon was very tasty!) Wagyu Slow Stewed Short Ribs, Potato Pebbles, Pumpkin Fudge, Tomato Dust (Amazing, tender meat!) Dessert Chef in a Candy Shop (very hard to describe – several different crisps with many different mousse/flavors to dip in – very good!) We also had yummy bread baked in a little flowerpot with a clove of garlic on top. You guessed it - classy! About halfway through, we stopped eating (rest period, thank goodness) and toured the pastry chef’s area and watch the chef make Warm Melting Chocolate Cake. Found out you can get it three ways – super soft and jiggly, just soft in the middle and well done. You can order it from your waiter in the MDR any of these ways! Also found out all desserts are made start to finish in the galley – no previously prepared desserts. During the meal we were continuously served Pinot Grigio and either Merlot or Shiraz (I forgot, FOOD COMA). To say the least after several hours I was very full of both wine and food. Not to mention great company and lots of info and discussion with the Chef. We also received pictures of everyone at the table with the Chef (he also autographed). We were also supposed to receive some recipes, but I think there must have been some miscommunication – he told us to ask our Maître d’ the next night, but he did not have them… I have his business card, so I will email him this weekend. Ok, I said it once, and I am going to say it again DO THIS. Sign up through John Heald’s Blog. Stop reading my review and go there now. Remember, it’s classy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
txstarla Posted January 22, 2012 Author #28 Share Posted January 22, 2012 Will have the scans of the Fun Times for our cruise posted tomorrow... :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luv2cruise14 Posted January 22, 2012 #29 Share Posted January 22, 2012 Loving the review :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
txstarla Posted January 22, 2012 Author #30 Share Posted January 22, 2012 Finishing up Nassau and the two at sea days... Are there any other questions I can answer? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KYGIRL Posted January 22, 2012 #31 Share Posted January 22, 2012 Great review! Thank you! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Riley's Mom Posted January 22, 2012 #32 Share Posted January 22, 2012 LOVE your review and can't wait to see more pictures.... Your doing an amazing job of telling your vacation story!! Love it! Thank you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
txstarla Posted January 22, 2012 Author #33 Share Posted January 22, 2012 Thank you for the nice feedback. Off to a client event and then will post more! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gelo7 Posted January 22, 2012 #34 Share Posted January 22, 2012 Great review, so far.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cruisecrzy3 Posted January 22, 2012 #35 Share Posted January 22, 2012 [quoteLook to the left with all the lights, that is where the street fair/big group was who cheered us out... This is a nightly occurrence in Mallory Square. Everyone comes to watch the sunset and booths/carts have been set up by street vendors selling a little of everything. When we were there (Hurricane Irene sent us to Key West instead of Nassau) we joined that crowd, it was fun. We even got to see this one performer....we'll call him the cat man since his cats (house cats) are trained to perform and they were awesome. The man seemed a little out there tho...lol. Can't wait to read more of your review! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TrqoisWtrs Posted January 22, 2012 #36 Share Posted January 22, 2012 Great review. Love your cake topper. We even got to see this one performer....we'll call him the cat man since his cats (house cats) are trained to perform and they were awesome. The man seemed a little out there tho...lol. That is a really fun gathering to attend. I remember we saw one guy balance a full size stove on his chin. It was gutted, but still! :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lrcruising Posted January 22, 2012 #37 Share Posted January 22, 2012 We are departing on the Magic in 76 days with this same itinereary. Can't wait to see your scanned Fun Times. I have been requesting them for weeks on cruisecritic. Thanks in advance for posting them. 1. Did you do either specialty restaurant? Did you like them? We have the steakhouse booked and want to eat at the Italian also. 2. Did they have a said away party? 3. How were the shows? 4. Was there a pizza or hamburger station by the pools? 5. Did they have a drink of the day daily by the pools? 6. What did you do in Nassau? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
txstarla Posted January 23, 2012 Author #38 Share Posted January 23, 2012 Sorry, client emergency has gotten in the way. Will update review later today. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adamsfly Posted January 23, 2012 #39 Share Posted January 23, 2012 Looking forward to hearing more as I'm on this itinerary in July on the Conquest. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
txstarla Posted January 24, 2012 Author #40 Share Posted January 24, 2012 Sorry, super busy with work... need to scan the Fun Times, but where is the best place to host them? I know I just post photos here, but is there a better option for PDFs? Tell me what you guys think... I don't have a personal website, I guess I could put them on Facebook. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
txstarla Posted January 24, 2012 Author #41 Share Posted January 24, 2012 Day 4: Nassau After waking up from the food coma, we had room service breakfast supplemented with omelettes from the Lido deck. I do so miss breakfast and room service now that we are home. I took a quick steam and we went ashore. The spa facilities are also great for getting ready when you have a stateroom with small bathroom - much larger showers and facilities. Nassau is pretty cool, and the view coming off the ship is nice. We were there with the Pride and the Enchantment of the Seas. Very short walk through the required overpriced port shops and into town. We walked around, checked out the shops (some luxury shops, but nothing that impressive – since I don’t have the need to park million in an offshore account in Nassau, my need to buy luxury items there is pretty small). Off to Arawak Cay for lunch. Note: this is not a short walk and you might want to take a cab. It was fine for us, but we needed to walk off the previous night’s dinner. We dined at Twin Brother’s – outstanding. I had lightly fried whole red snapper with plantains and conch salad (like cervice) and my husband had a huge grilled lobster tail (put the small ones on the ship to shame – but you can never have too much lobster!) Don’t forget to try the Mac & Cheese. Made like a casserole and a little spicy. Yum. I had a half Strawberry Daiquiri/half Pina Colada. Super Yum. Their daiquiris are really, really good. We walked back to town, past the fort and the cannons, and strolled around. Visited the Pirate Museum, which has TWO awesome features. Air Conditioning (not as big of an issue in January, but I could see how this would be a prime feature in the summer). Good bathrooms too. Cool indoor pirate ship with lots of pirate facts you probably did not know.You thought you knew pirates – this museum will teach you some stuff. One thing that was not as cool as it should have been was the gift shop. I guess the management/marketing consultant in me saw the amazing opportunities for great branded pirate stuff. Instead it was a combination of things you get at the cheap Halloween store and some shirts and hats. A real missed business opportunity. They do have a courtyard with a bar, but it was not open during our visit - probably well used during the summer. Back to the ship. FYI, Nassau also has taxis, hair braiders, tour guides, basket weavers and scooter rentals (some available for seemingly the same person in one vehical!) all available in one convenient place if that is your desire. It was clear that multi-function service providers were the name of the game. Now for the pics: The Magic and The Pride at the dock All three ships View from the beach Twin Brothers, for seafood and a daiquiri or two A little bit of gov't and Queen Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
txstarla Posted January 24, 2012 Author #42 Share Posted January 24, 2012 lrcruising: We are departing on the Magic in 76 days with this same itinereary. Can't wait to see your scanned Fun Times. I have been requesting them for weeks on cruisecritic. Thanks in advance for posting them. 1. Did you do either specialty restaurant? Did you like them? We have the steakhouse booked and want to eat at the Italian also. We did not personally do either, but my sister and her husband have and say they are excellent. You can also eat at the Italian restaurant free for lunch. 2. Did they have a said away party? We were busy with the wedding and reception and the ship sailed very late, so I have no idea. 3. How were the shows? I caught part of one of the Adult comedy shows and it was funny. The other shows really did not interest me - this was really a vacation to "turn off" and relax and we did not do shows. 4. Was there a pizza or hamburger station by the pools? Yes, both. Pizza is 24/7. I would suggest having them pop your pizza back in the oven to crisp it up, I thought the crust was a bit thick and could get soggy. I like a thin crust - personal preference. Hotdogs/hamburger grill was opposite and open during meal times. I did not care for the hamburgers, the dogs were fine. Hint: Look for the homemade salsa/pico de gallo here. WIth the fried flour tortilla chips YUM! 5. Did they have a drink of the day daily by the pools? Yes. I only had one - a rum punch. 6. What did you do in Nassau?See day 4 above. We did not do any excursions, but Nassau would have been great to do Atlantis if that is your speed since we stayed until 8pm (stayed later than usual to make up for late Key West arrival) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
txstarla Posted January 24, 2012 Author #43 Share Posted January 24, 2012 More Nassau Pics: Pirate Museum, home of excellent Air Conditioning! Indoor Pirate Ship... ARGH! Additional pink building. Pink is pretty! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cruisinsly Posted January 24, 2012 #44 Share Posted January 24, 2012 Great pictures. Thanks for sharing them and your review. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
txstarla Posted January 24, 2012 Author #45 Share Posted January 24, 2012 So I am scanning the fun times. What is the best option for posting? Facebook and then link? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cruisebarbie Posted January 24, 2012 #46 Share Posted January 24, 2012 I have all of the Fun Times from the cruise, if people want me to, I can scan and post the PDFs. Please advise... That would be great! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KajunKruiser Posted January 24, 2012 #47 Share Posted January 24, 2012 Could you please share the copies if the Fun Times with me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Freem06 Posted January 24, 2012 #48 Share Posted January 24, 2012 I have booked a spa room (interior) for my cruise in Sept. Was there any noise problems from the spa or gym. Look forward to reading more of your trip. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
txstarla Posted January 24, 2012 Author #49 Share Posted January 24, 2012 We were on 11, no noise issues, very quiet. I will post the fun times as soon as I get advice on where to host. Started another thread on the topic... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lrcruising Posted January 25, 2012 #50 Share Posted January 25, 2012 Can't wait to see the fun times. Could you email them to me if I posted my email address? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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