‘But Who’s Running Canada?!’ - Freedom of the Seas March 13 2016 Review

[beccawes7471]

Loving your review, your humor, your style! My daughter ( 6.5- as she tells everyone)) and I just got off the Disney Magic 2 weeks ago and I am looking to book next Spring Break. We LOVED our Disney cruise but dad and teenage brother will be coming along next year so we are considering FOS and Oasis as well. Can't wait to read the rest!

[CanadaCathi]

Time for the Cayman Islands!

 

We had a bit of a rough start on Day 5. Adventure Ocean was supposed to open at 7:30a, but the scheduled staff member overslept; the door was open but no one was home. There was another parent there who was MUCH more upset than I was, since they had a dive excursion scheduled; we took turns making calls to Guest Services to try and track someone down, and eventually the poor girl ran in at 8:15. I was there because I had to schedule Jelly for Adventure Dining that evening, since I had my Chef’s Table reservation, and I wasn’t able to do that until the day of (I tried doing it the night before, but no dice).

 

This was the busiest morning in the Windjammer; there was no cutlery left when we went through the line and we had to search a bit to find a spot to sit. Everyone wanted to eat and go! One of the things I liked was the ‘mango water’ that they had out – I mixed this half-and-half with OJ and thought it was quite tasty.

 

Also – it was St. Patrick’s Day! There weren’t too many people celebrating it as we were, with funny hats and assorted themed costume jewelry pieces. Maybe people got drunk at the pub later instead.

 

 

We tendered at 8:40a with no issues or wait; we were the 2nd last people on our boat, walked right down off the ship and on board. The Compass said we would need photo ID but it was not checked, either arriving or departing. It was 84 degrees and positively perfect; a light breeze and a few puffy clouds.

 

 

A note on catching a taxi; they’ve changed how they do it from last year when we were there, and they were shuffling everyone into a taxi line that was WAYYYYYY backed up. After about 4 minutes the impatient mama grabbed the equally impatient Jelly and we walked half a block up the street (left, coming out) to the nearest resort and caught a waiting taxi from there. I’d recommend doing this if there is a crazy line. We shared a cab with another group to 7 Mile Beach, more specifically the Royal Palms, for $4/each plus tip.

 

I had decided to be all fancy, since we weren’t doing an excursion this time (we did sting ray city last year), and had pre-booked a cabana. It was $80 CI/$100 US.

 

 

Here are the cabana pros and cons;

 

Cons – The one we picked, closest to the bar/entrance, was kind of set back behind the rows of beach chairs. So our view was, well, people in beach chairs. And people short-cutting through the cabana area to get to beach chairs. Also, we were right by the speakers.

 

Pros – We had awesome service from our cabana boy – food and drinks were brought quickly. Maybe too quickly. The cabana was GORGEOUS – I really liked having an actual table, in the shade, to sit at for applying sunscreen, eating lunch, etc. And I felt like our stuff was really safe, even when we left it for an hour. By mid-morning the beach chairs were mostly taken up, there weren’t any umbrellas left, and people were having to traipse all over to get a spot – so I was glad we had a dedicated spot that we didn’t have to fight for. And I liked being close to the action, even though we couldn’t see the water when sitting.

 

That’s me in the chair, ordering yet another drink.

 

In short, I LOVED THE DAMN CABANA. Now I understand why people pay a gajillion dollars for them other places.

 

So keep in mind, prices are in CI and converted to US (and then for some of us, converted to Canadian, and then we weep), so things are a little more expensive than you think. We tried the conch fritters (a lot of filler and kind of spicy but still pretty good), I had a Mahi sandwich (too much bread/mayo but the fish was excellent), and Jelly had the most freaking delicious chicken fingers and fries I’ve ever tasted. Exaggeration, yes, but still – get THAT if you go there, no lie. Perfect beach fries, and large, meaty fingers. Drinks and food were not included, so I ran up an extensive tab (over $100 after Jelly had a few smoothies, we bought some bottled water, and I had some drinkies). Still, not bad for a day of relaxation.

 

Jelly was making me nuts asking me to go in the water repeatedly when all I wanted to do was drink and lay in the sun, but luckily a friend she’d made on the ship showed up. Hurray for ship friends! The two of them had a blast.

 

[CanadaCathi]

We had seen a sign on the beach when we were first exploring in the morning, for Salt Adventures (jet packs, Seadoos, paddle board, snorkeling – the little building to purchase tickets is behind the cabanas), and the dude had said he’d come back for us at noon if we wanted to snorkel. He was back at promptly 11:55 (ISLAND TIME – 1 hour behind), which I thought was impressive, and since no one else had signed up, Jelly and I had a private trip! We went back to an area near the port just past a wreck and anchored. The ship was a little rocky with the slightly choppy water and Jelly FREAKED out halfway down the ladder and decided she wasn’t doing it, so she stayed on the boat while I had about 45 minutes in the water.

 

This was as close as she got…

 

 

I’m a certified diver but it’s hard to get in dives as a single mom, especially with just the two of us traveling, so I make do with snorkeling. There were tons of Sergeant Majors, Blue Tangs, some little itty bitty jellyfish, and two positively gorgeous Barracudas. The guide dove down and brought up a live conch for us to admire, and took several pics/videos with my camera for me.

 

 

 

I want to say we paid $45 each, which I thought was totally worth it, and I gave them an extra $20 each for the awesome service (the one guy did his best to talk Jelly into it, but then ended up keeping her company instead). Side note, there were a couple fishies around if you went out deep enough at the resort beach. I have a pretty cheap digital underwater camera; it’s a LOT of fun for Jelly, she takes it and has at it. Another pointer - the first picture I have saved on the camera when I travel is a word document I write up with my name, email, cell, ship info etc.

 

 

And then, all too soon, it was time to head back to port. Which was an absolute zoo, as it tends to be. I was glad we’d given ourselves some extra time; we were in line ½ hour to get on a tender. Or maybe it just felt that long, it was a really long line but moved pretty quickly.

 

Back on the ship, it was time to drop Jelly at Adventure Ocean and shower/change for...

 

[CanadaCathi]

Now, I love to eat. And I LOVE being treated like I’m special. So a Chef’s Table type of thing is just about my favorite thing ever. Other than Jelly, of course. If you’re ever in the Toronto area I highly recommend Richmond Station’s chef’s table, it’s phenomenal.

 

So what have you heard about the Freedom Chef’s Table? Yep, it’s in the Windjammer, which doesn’t seem like an ideal place for a fancy schmancy event, but they hold it on the left side as you’re entering, and it’s dedicated just to the event, so really, who cares? You still have a beautiful view, and the table set up was gorgeous.

 

 

We gathered at the bar area for cocktails and some weird little appetizers, and then were seated.

 

The menu was decent, not terribly inventive or adventurous, but had a handful of unique combinations. They didn’t seem to complement each other and were kind of an odd mix. I wasn’t looking for weird flavored foam or anything too exotic, but I was hoping for some surprises, and I don’t think this was the equivalent of gastronomical confetti. I also didn’t learn as much as I’d secretly hoped, although there were some interesting facts about feeding the ship, and I liked that the Amuse Bouche featured ice wine jelly (love me some Niagara ice wine).

 

 

The chef introduced each dish and talked a little bit about it, and there was a wine pairing for each course. That’s a lot of wine!

 

[CanadaCathi]

I also have pics of all the wine pairings, but Photobucket exhausts me. Suffice it to say they were all delicious and I drank every single last drop, and basically staggered to pick up Jelly afterwards.

 

The salad course (a little heavier than I expected) -

 

 

The soup course (I like pea soup so thought this was good, but I can see other people passing) –

 

 

The pasta course (really, really good – homemade pasta!) –

 

 

The fish course (I’m not a lobster fan, but this was tasty, and I liked the presentation) –

 

 

The meat course (I could eat red meat all damn day long, this was terrific) –

 

 

The Chef let us know that participation in the Chef’s Table event meant inclusion in the sea day Galley Tour on Saturday, and gave us info on where to meet up and when. I asked for permission to sneak Jelly along and he said sure :).

[CanadaCathi]

See? LOADED.

 

 

And, finally, the dessert course –

 

 

As mentioned I am not really a big fan of dessert or chocolate (weird, I know), so I had them wrap up my dessert for a very appreciative Jelly.

 

 

Nothing like a little chocolate and ‘Uncle Grandpa’.

 

Dinner in the MDR was ‘Jasmine’, FYI.

 

Next – Day 6 – Cozumel, Mexico – THE BEST DAY EVAH!!!

[Beachiekeen]

Wow I enjoyed reading about the Chef's Table as I am sure that is something I could never get my husband to do. We had a pool cabana reserved at Royal Palms but we missed the port on our cruise so it was fun to read about your day. If we go back, we'll spring for the beach cabana for sure!

[CanadaCathi]

Wow I enjoyed reading about the Chef's Table as I am sure that is something I could never get my husband to do. We had a pool cabana reserved at Royal Palms but we missed the port on our cruise so it was fun to read about your day. If we go back, we'll spring for the beach cabana for sure!

 

Yes, go for the beach cabana; the pool is kind of behind the bar area, so it's even further from the beach. It's more of the 'party' scene than the 'relaxation' scene, which some people might be looking for, but isn't my thing anymore. The beach cabanas are gorgeous!

[cruzin Phillis]

Want to read your new posts so bad but I'm driving home from work.... #addicted.

 

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[beachnative]

Great review. Next time you visit Falmouth go to Red Stripe Beach. RCL run a shuttle it's only about 10/15 mins ride and a great relaxing beach. Love it there :)

 

Are umbrellas and chairs available for rent on Red Stripe Beach?

[CanadaCathi]

Want to read your new posts so bad but I'm driving home from work.... #addicted.

 

Ahahahahaha I love it! Just remember to have a snack readily available.

[cruzin Phillis]

Ahahahahaha I love it! Just remember to have a snack readily available.

Done. Cheese, crackers, and a nice glass of wine!!!! Long day[emoji12]

 

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[cruzin Phillis]

I also have pics of all the wine pairings, but Photobucket exhausts me. Suffice it to say they were all delicious and I drank every single last drop, and basically staggered to pick up Jelly afterwards.

 

The salad course (a little heavier than I expected) -

 

 

The soup course (I like pea soup so thought this was good, but I can see other people passing) –

 

 

The pasta course (really, really good – homemade pasta!) –

 

 

The fish course (I’m not a lobster fan, but this was tasty, and I liked the presentation) –

 

 

The meat course (I could eat red meat all damn day long, this was terrific) –

 

 

The Chef let us know that participation in the Chef’s Table event meant inclusion in the sea day Galley Tour on Saturday, and gave us info on where to meet up and when. I asked for permission to sneak Jelly along and he said sure :).

I want to do the chef table for the experience but I am so damn picky that they might kick me out!!!

 

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[cruzin Phillis]

See? LOADED.

 

 

And, finally, the dessert course –

 

 

As mentioned I am not really a big fan of dessert or chocolate (weird, I know), so I had them wrap up my dessert for a very appreciative Jelly.

 

 

Nothing like a little chocolate and ‘Uncle Grandpa’.

 

Dinner in the MDR was ‘Jasmine’, FYI.

 

Next – Day 6 – Cozumel, Mexico – THE BEST DAY EVAH!!!

Nice. Your daughter is so cute!! Two peas in a pod!! We loved cozumel last time we were there! !

 

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[CanadaCathi]

Another slightly overcast morning broke to a beautiful day as we arrived in Cozumel, Mexico, for our last port adventure. Breakfast that morning in the Windjammer included a breakfast burrito stand!

 

 

A wonderful 91 degrees, we arrived at 10a and were off the ship at 10:30a.

 

 

Since we were there last there had been a great deal of new construction underway; lots of new buildings in the port area and a weird re-routing of people exiting. Maybe when they’re done it will make more sense, and it certainly looks like it will be nicer and definitely more up-to-date.

 

Cozumel is one of those stops where some people will stay within a few blocks and go shopping or drinking and never get much of the local flavor; as you have probably guessed, that’s not what we’re about. Last year my mum and I did an awesome cooking class at a woman’s house, and THAT was some good local flavor (especially the 32-ingredient mole sauce!). If interested I’d highly recommend her, just do a search for Josefina’s Cocina Con Alma. Because of that class I knew about the Mercado Municipal, the town market, and that before 1p it was the place to score fresh tortillas. Also, because my mum and I had done the class I had left Jelly on the ship with her Grandpa last time, so she hadn’t actually really been to Cozumel, so this was her first time setting foot on land and I wanted her to enjoy something not as touristy as well.

 

 

Checking my notes I have a correction from my Grand Cayman post – THIS is the port where there was a crazy line for taxis, not the islands, sorry for misleading you. I guess maybe because of the construction? Anyhow, again, if you are looking for a cab and there is a crazy lineup, walk up one block (to your left after exiting the area with all the shops) and get one from the closest hotel where there will be a bunch waiting. In Grand Cayman it was kind of confusing, you have to get a cab from one of the billions of people milling around with signs for tours. We waited on the street for 10 minutes trying to flag one down to no avail - learn from our mistakes!

 

So we hopped into a cab, and I told the driver we needed to get our fresh tortillas on, so he stopped at the Mercado and walked us in and got some for us (he just rolled the cost into the taxi cost, so I didn't have to get pesos). Jenny got to tour the market, which I love, and we got to have a conversation about all the meat sitting out in the heat and how that’s different than at home and wigs me out but that's how they do it and that's cool, and then we were back in the cab and on our way to our scheduled beach break. With a snack. This is a great example of why I carry emergency salt packets with me everywhere, I just sprinkled a little of that over these guys (which were STILL WARM) and they were oooooooommmmmmmggggggg amazing. Understand that Jelly was born in Raleigh, NC, so cut her teeth on good Mexican food - it's the one thing we sadly just can't get up North. We've gotten so desperate that a few weeks ago we made our own corn tortillas!

 

 

I had booked the Melia Beach Resort kind of at random; I made a request via Island Marketing Cozumel Excursions, and that’s what they gave me. I find that booking outside of the ship is cheaper and has more options; I’m compulsive about time so would never put myself in a situation where I wouldn’t be back at the ship before it left, which is one of the primary reasons people always give for booking through the ship (that, and in case there are cancelled stops). I wasn’t sure what kind of place the Melia would be but hoped for the best. It was $50 for me and $25 for Jelly for the full day, including all food, alcoholic beverages, water sport activities, kids club, etc. I was happy that they provided towels as well, so we didn’t need to lug ours from the ship like we did in Grand Cayman. I had added on a massage for $50 but by the time we got there I was so relaxed I didn’t need it, so ended up cancelling.

 

So there we were, not knowing where we were going, driving 15 minutes outside of the port area (my max, remember!), when we turned into… THE MOST BEAUTIFUL PLACE IN THE ENTIRE WORLD. Well, practically.

 

[CanadaCathi]

I cannot stress enough how lucky we got for a random pick. After a quick check-in and a stop to get towels we did a tour –this place was a CAMPUS. There were awesome things everywhere. Jelly was like, “These are just for relaxing on?!!!”

 

 

There were hammocks, and plenty of beach chairs, and a snack bar and restaurant, and several bars, and pools, and a swim up bar (one of my favorite things in the whole world), and the kid’s club, and… basically I just want to live there. I hope you don’t mind that the rest of this review is basically just a commercial for this resort.

This was just the ‘flavored waters’ section of their breakfast buffet, which was just closing down when we arrived…

 

 

So after the tour Jelly spent some time in the kid’s pool, and I started drinking (pounding back) Banana Coladas (with fresh bananas! Glorious!), and then we hit the beach.

 

 

 

[CanadaCathi]

 

The beach was gorgeous, as you can imagine; all those shades of blue that you picture when you think ‘Caribbean’.

And then Jelly learned about snorkeling off a beach, instead of off a tippy boat in the middle of the ocean where you can’t see the bottom. And Jelly was SOLD! I was happy it wasn’t being around all the fish that freaked her out. No, she loved that part. Which was good, because the fish were obviously used to people (feeding them) and were all over the place. It was like swimming in an aquarium. Which is to say, pretty freaking amazing.

 

 

 

 

The spot where the good snorkeling was to be found wasn’t at the Melia, it was actually just a little bit down the beach by the pier, by another resort. So guess who’s making plans for a beach break at El Cozumeleno?

 

 

After some swimming around we decided to take a break for lunch (and more drinkies). It was a good think we’d worked up an appetite.

[CanadaCathi]

Time for lunch! We meandered past the snack bar, which had some decent options and certainly smelled good, and into the restaurant. Boy, were we ever glad we did THAT. I don’t think I’ve ever seen so many freshly made types of salsa together in one place in my life. In addition to bountiful mains, side dishes and salads, there was a dude working a hot grill. I guess the options changed up daily, in talking to a guest who was staying there; the day we were there you could choose from chorizo, pork chops, steak, or WHOLE FISH. Yeah, it was crazy. And he was heating up tortillas as well, which I didn’t clue into at first but then figured out, and lunch got crazy awesome.

 

There were like, 852 different toppings for the tortilla soup. And you can imagine what that guac tasted like, right?

 

 

 

This was hands-down the best thing I ate on the trip. And I ate a LOT of good food.

 

 

Then we realized our trip was close to coming to an end, and we felt sad.

 

 

But we had some more drinks and felt better again. I’m up to 7 at this point, if anyone is counting.

 

After lunch it was back to the beach!

[CanadaCathi]

We took advantage of the included kayaks, for about a whole 12 minutes (we are not a sporty people).

 

 

Then we raced back to the other beach for more snorkeling and more FISHIES! And some sea urchins, carefully tucked away.

 

 

 

(you can just assume I have about a billion more photos like this)

 

 

[wolfganghowell]

Continued thanks for a great review.

 

Love the Royal Palms info - we have a cabana reserved there but ours are the ocean cabanas - which are a bit closer to the water than the beach ones. Did you happen to notice those? Any intel you can give me?

[CanadaCathi]

 

 

And then, all too soon, it was time to go.

 

Here’s the part where it’s good that I’m compulsive about being early for things; it took the hotel guy almost ½ hour to get a taxi for us back to port, and then there was traffic going back (so plan accordingly!). We were back on board just before 5p local/6p ship time, and watched the Liberty of the Seas leave. There were SIX ships in port that day, including Norwegian and Carnival, so the port was hopping! We took a few minutes to make sure there was nothing we couldn’t live without…

 

 

And I got a much more attractive beach hat to replace my old one…

 

 

And then we were on our way.

 

[mtns2sea]

This place looks awesome! Was it very crowded?

[CanadaCathi]

Phew, this was a long one, everyone ok? Hungry, right? I posted that pic of the tacos and my stomach growled.

 

Back on the ship the MDR menu for the evening was ‘Pomodoro’, but we had Sabor reservations because, well, Mexico! Is there such a thing as too much Mexican food? We don’t think so.

 

I wanted to catch the tableside guacamole cart in action but mostly just got happy Jelly and her pile of chips, which was basically her dinner. She wasn’t crazy about the salsa so asked for an alternative, and the waiter brought a fire-roasted one that she loved. Crazy kid.

 

 

 

I hadn’t had enough to drink at the Melia (final total – 10 Banana Coladas plus a Miami Vice, which I wasn’t crazy about), so I ordered a margarita flight. There were a few standard flights and then this beauty, which included a Sweet, a Savory, and a Classic. Oh god were these ever good. I told at least three other tables of people to order them. Other people shared them because it was kind of a lot, but they weren't as smart as me and I had them all to myself.

 

 

Jelly started with the queso, which was basically a lump of melted cheese which was ok by her, and the most delicious flour tortillas. Next time I’ll just get a whole bunch of those. Between that, the chips, and the guacamole, we would’ve been happy. I got the shrimp for my main which was ok, and Jelly got some yucca fries that she hated and a quesadilla that she didn’t eat because she’d eaten her weight in chips, and then there was the ridiculous dessert tray, which we took back to the room. We were DONE.

 

 

 

And that was the end of the most perfect vacation day we ever had in our little lives.

 

Up next – Final Sea Day

[CanadaCathi]

Continued thanks for a great review.

 

Love the Royal Palms info - we have a cabana reserved there but ours are the ocean cabanas - which are a bit closer to the water than the beach ones. Did you happen to notice those? Any intel you can give me?

 

No problem, having a blast in the retelling!

 

If you look at the pic I posted (from the water) of the Palms you can see the ocean cabanas there on the left. I think if we went back we'd stay in one of those. I didn't pay much attention to them so don't really have any other good info for you, sorry!

[CanadaCathi]

This place looks awesome! Was it very crowded?

 

Considering that were were 'regular' resort guests in addition to cruise beach break day pass guests (we saw a few other folks from our ship), it did not feel crowded at all, I was pleasantly surprised. I talked to someone who did a day pass who ended up booking a week stay there for next year, it really is that amazing, I certainly considered it!