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Freedom with 54 Surprise Guests, $6513, and Justin Bieber :)

myfamilyluvs2cruise
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cyntil8ing

cyntil8ing

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We were on this cruise too. We spent the following week in Ft. Myers so I haven't been able to go through our photos yet to start my photo review. I'll get it started in the next few days. Better late than never!

 

We saw your group t-shirts all around the ship on day 1. I also saw your morning workout group on the running track. At first, I thought it was a ship-run fitness class because there were so many people, but then I realized it was a private group.

 

Here's our family photo. DH became a mini-celebrity around the ship because of his funnel hat and his entry in the Master Mixologist contest. Unfortunately, he didn't win. We were also recognized as Cruise Critic people by someone who read my Bermuda review from last year. That was very cool!

 

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myfamilyluvs2cruise

myfamilyluvs2cruise

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We were on this cruise too. We spent the following week in Ft. Myers so I haven't been able to go through our photos yet to start my photo review. I'll get it started in the next few days. Better late than never!

 

We saw your group t-shirts all around the ship on day 1. I also saw your morning workout group on the running track. At first, I thought it was a ship-run fitness class because there were so many people, but then I realized it was a private group.

 

Here's our family photo. DH became a mini-celebrity around the ship because of his funnel hat and his entry in the Master Mixologist contest. Unfortunately, he didn't win. We were also recognized as Cruise Critic people by someone who read my Bermuda review from last year. That was very cool!

 

IMG.jpg

 

 

SO cool! I remember seeing you guys! LOVE the hat!!!! I think you came upstairs on the deck one day for a scavenger hunt item?

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cyntil8ing

cyntil8ing

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I think you came upstairs on the deck one day for a scavenger hunt item?

 

Yep, that was us. It was a Camp Carnival photo scavenger hunt. Were you the group we got the tattoo photo from? We ended up finding everything except a pair of twins.

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myfamilyluvs2cruise

myfamilyluvs2cruise

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Chef’s Table

 

After Secret Harbor (WHICH ROCKED), we went back to the ship and cleaned up for dinner. Twelve of us had signed up for the Chef’s Table experience. I had sent an email to our group last fall asking who wanted to participate. I took the first twelve people that responded, and had several couples who wanted to attend, but were unable to participate as we had hit our limit. But, as it turns out, they actually seat sixteen people, not twelve- and we would have loved to fill those spots. So, it is something good to know if you are booking a group, because the Freedom seats a bigger table than other ships. Be that as it may, we had two very nice couples who were seated with us.

 

We met down in the lobby and got a very thorough overview of the food operations. The chef was very detailed in his initial explanation and it was fascinating. The only issue is that he was very difficult to hear, it is loud in the lobby, and he has a soft spoken tone. We then walked into the kitchen, and stopped just inside the swinging doors. He told us a few of the safety rules, and a few more facts about the galley. We were standing next to the employee bulletin board, and I was reading everything on the board very carefully. They posted and email on the board that said there had been a rise in complaints about food not being warm and someone had written in bright red ink “THIS NEEDS TO BE FIXED IMMEDIATELY!” They also had the serving rules posted, and one of them was “No fraternizing with patrons”. I thought this was interesting, as I have read here on CC that waiters do not have time to be as chatty. Well, there is a reason for that. Everything I saw on the board was a reference to the staff of the Freedom delivering EXCELLENT SERVICE. It was an interesting cultural artifact to be able to read.

 

We were then lead into a food preparation area where they began pouring champagne- very freely! We enjoyed four appetizers- a parmesan stuffed olive, a chorizo stuffed date, focaccia topped with prosciutto, and a langoustine fritter. All were pretty good. I think we all loved the olive and the date the most. They filled our champagne again, and then took us to watch a chocolate melting cake be prepared. I wanted to stick my face in the chocolate bowl . . .but restrained myself.

 

We then got a thorough tour of the kitchen operation. It was fascinating to see a giant vat where the chef was preparing a veal stock for a meal the following night. The kitchen was sparkling clean, and everyone was incredibly friendly to us as we walked around.

 

I think the most fascinating piece of information I learned was that they use very little pre-processed food. He told us that, for example, they buy whole fresh carrots that they peel and chop, rather than use frozen carrots. I am amazed that they can prepare food for thousands of people without resorting to short cuts. At home, our family is eats very little processed, and mostly organic- and I guess I always assumed that we were eating pretty poorly on the ship. But it was evident the pride that the Chef took in his operation, and that pretty much everything (eggs aside) is made on board and from scratch. Also, he said that his job is to make sure there are no leftovers, and to that end he said everything we eat was made fresh within four hours of serving it. He said they are set up to make more of anything if they need more, but that they don’t make food and let it sit. He also told us that certain types of food get put through a process and then becomes basically fish food and is released into the ocean. Fascinating!

 

We were then led into a private room off the Chic Dining room. It was very large- and there were probably 10 chefs in the room preparing and plating our food. They began pouring red and white wine- and the Chef began by explaining our second course- Tomatoes Our Way. It was very interesting. I loved trying the unique preparations- including a white chocolate dipped tomato. Would I want to eat this every day? Definitely not- but the presentation and preparation were unsurpassed.

 

We then were served the Tuna Bahn Mi. I am not a huge fish eater- but this by far was my favorite course. It was a beautiful course, with excellent flavor. Then we moved on to the Cornish Hen. It was small deboned piece of white meat- and had complicated/complex flavors. It was good- very rich. We then had the Bavarois- which is a cold soup. The bowl is beautiful, and then they pour a soup over the vegetables which are artfully placed. It was more beautiful than delicious to me- but was something fun to try.

 

The salmon was not my favorite. It has a super complicated preparation, but appeared to be farm raised, not wild. It was very light in color, and had a stronger fish taste than I care for. I gave mine to my husband, and he loved it! I am not a salmon eater, however, so not a great judge on this. And then we moved to the final entrée course- and we were served the wagyu short ribs. It was a beautiful presentation, with pumpkin fudge (savory) and potato pebbles. The flavor was incredible- but it was almost too much. My piece was a little fatty, as were a bunch of ours. But it was again, something that was definitely worth trying. How often would you ever get to sample something prepared so specially?

 

Lastly ,we had our Chef in a Candy Shop dessert. You will see the pictures of it- and WOW- it was amazing from a presentation standpoint. I was so full from the dinner, and I am really more of simple dessert person- so I didn’t unfortunately eat much of it. There were probably 5 different sauces/crèmes, several kinds of brittle, two kids of fancy dust sprinkled all over it. I loved the deep cocoa cookie the most. I would have been fine with just a couple of those! But, the dish highlighted techniques that were quite amazing.

 

Our chef was so interesting to speak with more informally during dinner. He had an incredible diverse background, and was very proud of his operation. That pride was not misplaced, as we really enjoyed all aspects of the food on the Freedom. I will say that he told us he tasted EVERYTHING on the ship EVERY DAY! He was pretty svelte (as you can see from the picture with Justin Bieber)- but it was hard to imagine trying all the thousands of items on that ship every day! WOW!

One other interesting thing we heard was that he refuses shipments of food not up to snuff at the pier each and every sailing. Those vendors will then airlift the replacement to a stop on the itinerary. He had just rejected thousands of pounds of ice cream on our sailing when we left Ft Lauderdale, and the vendor met us in St Thomas with the replacement provisions. I thought that was cool!

 

One other interesting fact was that the chef was very aware our group, as he asked us about our dinner in the Sun King. We looked at each other as if to say “How did he know we were there?” He then expressed that he had been concerned prior to our dinner about whether or not they could have executed a dinner for 54 perfectly. He told us that he had to pull extra staff in to make sure all 54 of us got our foot hot and perfectly prepared. I found it interesting that he was aware of all details of every food operation on the ship, including feeding us in the Sun King. But they did a perfect job- of course- and I think his attitude and concern (neither of which we would have ever been aware of unless we did the Chef’s table) really made it a fabulous dinner. Kudos to the staff in the Sun King one more time!

Overall a great experience- the magician came in and entertained us. We had a group of chefs serving us- and I was stunned by how many people they had working to take care of our group. The wine was excellent. We were given a souvenir picture of our table. We learned so much about the food operations- and were very impressed.

 

The food was very interesting, and the beauty and presentation were unsurpassed. I was really hoping for the former menu- and I know I would have enjoyed that menu much more as it was more in line with my tastes. However, if you want an incredible culinary experience and try items you may never try otherwise, I would definitely say the Chef’s Table is worth it! Am I craving another white chocolate covered tomato? Definitely not, but it was delicious. The attention, service, and interesting food make this entire experience a bargain at $75!!!

 

I took a poll of our 12 guests at the table, and they all agreed. It was definitely worth doing- but the food is a little too foo-foo to enjoy as you would any other meal. It is the service, the education, the tour, the burst of flavors, and the beauty of the plating that really makes this dinner worthwhile. If you are looking for a simple but well prepared big juicy steak, go to the Sun King instead. J

It was a full four hour experience. After we said our goodbyes, we were all full and tired from such a busy day, and we went straight to bed. We all LOVED day 3 of our trip!

 

Edited by myfamilyluvs2cruise
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myfamilyluvs2cruise

myfamilyluvs2cruise

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Yep, that was us. It was a Camp Carnival photo scavenger hunt. Were you the group we got the tattoo photo from? We ended up finding everything except a pair of twins.

 

 

I think so. When you asked we realized we had one tattoo in our whole group . . . and you found it! :)

 

Did you win?

Edited by myfamilyluvs2cruise
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