Fizzlewicket's First Cruise on Royal Caribbean's Liberty of the Seas 6/4 – 6/13/2015

[Fizzlewicket]

 

 

 

[Fizzlewicket]

 

 

 

[maggie416]

This has been by far the greatest review ever!!!! You are quite clever!! Thank you!! We sailed on The Liberty May 6th. Fond memories!

Marg

[Ocean View]

Omg!! What a wonderful review[emoji4] I can't say enough. Being this is your first cruise your honesty and excitement shows. This is so much work but greatly appreciated. You have found a new talent. You should send a copy to RCCl corporate advertising dept! We sail LOS in 28 days and I can't wait. I feel like we were walking the decks with you. Again thanks for all your trouble[emoji267]

[Fizzlewicket]

 

 

 

[Fizzlewicket]

Omg!! What a wonderful review[emoji4] I can't say enough. Being this is your first cruise your honesty and excitement shows. This is so much work but greatly appreciated. You have found a new talent. You should send a copy to RCCl corporate advertising dept! We sail LOS in 28 days and I can't wait. I feel like we were walking the decks with you. Again thanks for all your trouble[emoji267]

 

This has been by far the greatest review ever!!!! You are quite clever!! Thank you!! We sailed on The Liberty May 6th. Fond memories!

Marg

 

Thanks you, thank you. And there is still more to come. I still have not covered the upper decks nor the ports. :D

 

But there has been such a request for these Cruise Compasses that I had to get them loaded ....

[Ocean View]

I hope you had some found free time!! Hope you rested and just enjoyed. You certainly took it all in. It's just wonderful to hear someone on CC be happy and show true enjoyment of their cruise. I'm sure there were thing you thought were no so great or found faults with but from what I have read so far you looked for and enjoyed the positive. Just perfect[emoji267]

[Fizzlewicket]

 

 

 

[Fizzlewicket]

 

 

 

[Fizzlewicket]

 

 

 

[Fizzlewicket]

Well, we are at the Windjammer, but they are cleaning it right now. So, how about we talk about the specialty restaurants a bit? We tried both Portofino and Chops.

Portofino first.

I have been on this earth for 45 years and if this is fine dining, then this is the first time I have experienced it. The service in the Main Dining Room was very good. But you noticed they served a lot of people and were very busy. But the service in Portofino and Chops was like you were the only one there and you were royalty. I almost felt intimidated by how great we were treated. They offered several different choices of water; a sparkling water and an expensive bottled kind. But we both just had regular water. The waiter welcomed us and offered his recommendations after explaining many things. Tanya chose the Caesar Salad for an appetizer and the Filet for main course.

She enjoyed both very much.

I, on the other hand, had the RISOTTO AI GAMBERETTI which was the tiger shrimp on a bed of saffron risotto. I need another word for delicious because that just is not strong enough. They could have strapped a bucket of that risotto to my face and I would have been happy.

 

 

For the main course, I ordered SPIEDINO DI FRUTTI DI MARE ALLA TOSCANA which is the seafood skewer. This was recommended to me by a couple that I had lunch with in the Main Dining Room. I had to get a picture before they took it off the skewer and on to my plate.

Was it good? Do you really need to ask that? Can words describe that photo? Maybe they can’t which is why I just added a bunch of questions before this sentence. I loved it! I can remember each piece and strangely enough, I remember most the potatoes with a wonderful light tomato sauce on them that were simply heaven.

The waiter also brought us a complimentary dish of fettuccine (?) in a delightful mushroom sauce.

Then we come to dessert. I actually do not think Tanya ordered a dessert because she was full. But I certainly did and it was the Tiramisu. We recently had tiramisu at an Italian restaurant in NJ called Maggiano’s Little Italy and I had this dessert for the first time. It was more of a light cake with a coffee type flavor and Tanya and I found it to be very good.

But this Tiramisu … well first, I just looked at it. It was too beautiful to touch or maybe it’s that I just needed extra time to figure out how to eat it. So I poured the coffee syrup into the chocolate egg bowl and dig in to the creamy center. Hold on, hold on, just a sec … I need a minute. No, these aren't tears ... I ... just have something in my eye …This brings back so many memories … Anyway … yeah, it was really good.

[vjt0001]

I'm very new to cruising, I'm reading and learning all that I can before our first cruise. You review has me ready to pull the trigger and book it!!!

Please share more!

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[Fizzlewicket]

This now brings us to Chops. Again, they offered the same impeccable service, feeling like this was a $5000 a plate restaurant. Maybe I see this differently, because I had never been treated so well in any other restaurant I have been (besides Portofino). But yeah yeah, I hear you … what about the food? I had read reviews about the pretzel bread and the garlic butter, but to taste it? So good. We had two servings of that bread and the leftover garlic butter, Tanya had used to drizzle over her 6 oz. filet. I bet if I had tried to take that butter from her, I would have lost an arm.

Again, she has the Caesar Salad which she thought was better than Portofino and she, again, had the 6oz filet for the appetizer. I asked her how her steak compared to Portofino. She responded that she didn’t remember that she had a steak at Portofino, but this steak was extremely enjoyable especially with the garlic butter drizzle.

So what did I have? Well I was torn between the Dungeness Crab and Shrimp Cake and the Scallops and I asked what the waiter would recommend. Would you like them both, he replied. Oh, yes please.

 

 

 

Maybe fine dining was new to me, but I found the food to have great flavor. Nothing in the dishes overpowered another. The flavors were balanced and well thought out. I ate each bite slowly and savored each one.

For my main course, I wanted to go outside my comfort zone and try something different, so I ordered the braised short rib. I found my experience with the short rib with the Beef Duo in the Main Dining Room to be wonderful, so I though Chops could also offer that experience.

Yes, it looks like the creature from the movie, The Blob, but it tastes comparable to beef bourguignon. I didn’t expect this and I found myself regretting that I didn’t get the filet. Did it taste bad? No, but it just wasn’t for me.

Now for the main event! Dessert. Something I had read out repeatedly in Chops reviews and came highly recommended.

The Red Velvet Cake.

See that first bite? I was so eager to try it that I had forgotten to take the beginning picture. Tanya and I both took a bite at the same time and knew we had to eat this slow, but as I came down for a second bite, I saw her eyes go wide and I knew what she was trying to say. I forgot to take a picture! Quick! Before it’s all gone! Wow, that was a great save. That was the second best dessert on the ship. Rum Baba will always have my heart.

Edited June 19, 2015 by Fizzlewicket

[Fizzlewicket]

More coming tomorrow. :D

[rakuroda]

Aloha Fizzlewicket :D,

 

We are taking the 9/10-9/19 NE & Canada cruise. We've been wondering what the RCI cruise would be like and your review is filling in a lot of our questions. Keep up the good work and I'll be back to see your additional info.

 

I liked the pictures you took of the dishes from the MDR. By any chance, did you get pictures of the MDR menus or the room service menus like your pictures of the Cruise Compass?

 

Aloha :D

[sauvichick]

Fizzlewicket or anyone who's been on the 5 nighter to Bermuda,

Are the first 5 days of the 9 days Cruise Compass the same as what's offered on the cruise to Bermuda?

Edited June 19, 2015 by sauvichick

[CDLTEL]

Do you know the cost and what they serve?

 

Thanks

[Clarea]

Do you know the cost and what they serve?

 

Thanks

They offer the same exact menu that the Main Dining Room is serving that night. They choose wine pairings appropriate to your menu choice. Sorry, forgot the cost.

[Fizzlewicket]

Do you know the cost and what they serve?

 

 

 

Thanks

 

 

Are you referring to the speciality restaurants?

[sauvichick]

This now brings us to Chops. Again, they offered the same impeccable service, feeling like this was a $5000 a plate restaurant. Maybe I see this differently, because I had never been treated so well in any other restaurant I have been (besides Portofino). But yeah yeah, I hear you … what about the food? I had read reviews about the pretzel bread and the garlic butter, but to taste it? So good. We had two servings of that bread and the leftover garlic butter, Tanya had used to drizzle over her 6 oz. filet. I bet if I had tried to take that butter from her, I would have lost an arm.

Again, she has the Caesar Salad which she thought was better than Portofino and she, again, had the 6oz filet for the appetizer. I asked her how her steak compared to Portofino. She responded that she didn’t remember that she had a steak at Portofino, but this steak was extremely enjoyable especially with the garlic butter drizzle.

So what did I have? Well I was torn between the Dungeness Crab and Shrimp Cake and the Scallops and I asked what the waiter would recommend. Would you like them both, he replied. Oh, yes please.

 

 

 

Maybe fine dining was new to me, but I found the food to have great flavor. Nothing in the dishes overpowered another. The flavors were balanced and well thought out. I ate each bite slowly and savored each one.

For my main course, I wanted to go outside my comfort zone and try something different, so I ordered the braised short rib. I found my experience with the short rib with the Beef Duo in the Main Dining Room to be wonderful, so I though Chops could also offer that experience.

Yes, it looks like the creature from the movie, The Blob, but it tastes comparable to beef bourguignon. I didn’t expect this and I found myself regretting that I didn’t get the filet. Did it taste bad? No, but it just wasn’t for me.

Now for the main event! Dessert. Something I had read out repeatedly in Chops reviews and came highly recommended.

The Red Velvet Cake.

See that first bite? I was so eager to try it that I had forgotten to take the beginning picture. Tanya and I both took a bite at the same time and knew we had to eat this slow, but as I came down for a second bite, I saw her eyes go wide and I knew what she was trying to say. I forgot to take a picture! Quick! Before it’s all gone! Wow, that was a great save. That was the second best dessert on the ship. Rum Baba will always have my heart.

 

I am so glad you are posting the pictures from both Chops and Portofino! I have wanted to order the short rib in Chops after having it on the Allure. Before I even read the description I tried to play "Name that Dish" and I failed miserably. It is safe to say that I will not be ordering the short rib, but everything else looks great! That seafood skewer and shrimp risotto are definitely "must haves!"

[Paul65]

Sorry that I cannot comment on the beer, wine and all that, but I do not partake in alcoholic drinks.

 

I hope that this is not based on some deeply held moral belief, because....well....that "coffee syrup" that was served along side the tiramisu at Portofino....that was not syrup. :eek::D

[RBAlbany]

I see on the Compasses that there is a buy 6 beers get the bag offer. Once you have the bag is there a dsicount on a refill? I understand you do not drink. Did you see or hear of it. Thanks.

[bkrickles1]

I've been reading this since you started and I'm loving it.

I'm sailing the same itinerary on Liberty in 13 days.

My group of 28 is soooooo excited and we all appreciate you scanning the compasses.

I've been asking for these in so many different threads that I was probably annoying.

I just made copies for everyone in my group and will be handing them out on Fathers Day.

It's so refreshing having someone describe their experience in such a positive way and having their enjoyment jump off the page.

I'm really looking forward to continuing your journey while I count down the final days before my sailing.

Thanks again for the compasses, the great pics and videos, and your continued exuberance.

[fdthird]

The great review continues, and I can't wait to see where you go next!

 

Our son signs on the Liberty a week from tomorrow for 5 and a half months and we join him on September 19th for a five day to Bermuda and will definitely use the info you've passed along and know where we are by studying your pictures! Love it.....

[lah66]

What a riveting review! You have become one of the greats here on CC in my mind! Have you read any of SailorJacks reviews? You will have to check him out! He has a great sense of humor too, which makes his reviews absolutely delightful! I am so enjoying your writing style! I love how it is an interactive story, not just a review!

 

I have to ask, do you write/entertain in your daily job?

 

Loving it!

Lauri