We went on a cruise to the western Caribbean from Dec 9-16, 2007. Took the American Airlines flight to Miami on Saturday morning in the first class cabin. The new sleeper seats were great & they were only offered on that flight to Miami. Went to South beach that night and had dinner at this cuban place- food was so- so. We wanted to sit outside and so had to wait for a table. Was very annoyed when the hostess gave our table away as she had forgottent hat we were waiting at the bar. By the time we got our table, it started to rain and we ended up moving to the inside anyway.
Sunday morning, we had lunch at the cafe in the Hyatt, then took a cab to the docks.
On the date of sailing , Freedom of the Seas was the largest cruise ship in existence. We were in cabin 7222, towards the front of the ship. Even on such a large ship, if you hit rough seas, it is still much more rocky in the front. Must remember in future to always try to get a cabin in the middle or back.
when we got on board, we were disappointed to find that we had not yet been assigned a table in the dining room. We had to wait in line for about 30mins to set up our table assignment - hence the problem with large ships- the lines.
We set sail at 5pm and was escorted by the coast guard out to sea.
We were assigned a table for 6 in the Issac's dining room. Our waitor was Ruel & assistent waotor Michelle - they were both fromt he phillipines. On the first night we were joined by a couple from Detroit who were colelctors of vintage cars. On the night after that, our dining partners were Mark and Meredith from chicago.
Food overall was pretty good. There were a few things that they simply did not tdo well in my opinion: the soups were always to salty and the pasta was always overcooked. Their best dishes were the escarogts ( I had 2 severvings), the garlic tiger prawns(unfortunately too full for seconds on this night), the lobster tail (3 servings!) and souffle( doubled down here too). The buffet at the windjammers consistently had very good french fries and papadums. The desert selection here was a little lacking. Loved the soft serve at Sprinkles by the pool. Only chocolate and vanilla but the ice cream was so refreshing and cold. We had dinner one night at the steak house which had a $25 cover charge. Shared a selection of appetizers: crab cake, shrimp cocktail, ahi tartar and lobster bisque (again too salty) and then had the filet mignon. The beef was good but not great. I've had better filet mignon. This one did not melt in my mouth and definitely could not cut with a fork! Not convinced that the meal was worth the extra cover charge.
The highlight of this cruise ship was defintely the shows on board. Very good productions of song and dance. They had a broadway inspired one, a fairytale inspired one, 70s night, etc. Magic show was very good- magician was very David Copperfield like in terms of quality. Ice show was phenomenal. We went to watch the same show nights in a row as it was so good. Some comdey acts. The Quest was a lot of fun. The cruise director was entertaining but sometimes I felt a little too cheesy for my taste.
Our ports of call turned out to be a real disappointment. We were supposed to visit Labadee ( Private island in Haiti), Ochos Rios ( jamaica), Georgetown ( Grand Cayman- I picked this itinery specifically to dive at the Caymans) & Cozumel. We missed Labadee and Grand Cayman completely. Captain said that the winds were to strong top launch the tenders. Personally I think he was being overly conservative. Apparently tropical storm Olga paid us a visit.
So we spent 5 of the 7 days of the cruise stuck onboard at sea. That meant playing bingo, attending the art auctions and art lectures, jewelery lectures, etc. Bought some art at the auction ( not that I needed anymore). Also did some rock climbing on the rock climbing wall and boogie boarding on the surf rider! The funnest thing we did was the new Balance sponsored amazing race game. Two hours to complete a bunch of tasks and answer some cruise related Trivia questions. We played in teams of four and we were San Chicago and teamed up with Mark & Meredith. I had to stand on a surf board on the surf rider for as long as I could. Other challenges included the rock climbing, mini -golf, running a relay , basketball hoops. The clues had us constantly running from one end of the ship to the next. We didn't place but it was fun.
At Ochos Rios, we took a taxi to the Dunn River falls and climbed the falls. It was quite fun and very refreshing. I enjoyed sitting in the pools of fresh water. Had some jamaican jerk chicken in a mall near the ship dock and it was really lame. I beleive I can get better jerk chicken here in SF. Bought some hot sauce made of scotch bonnet pepper and some jerk marinade form a local grocer. In the Pm, It started to pour & I got quite drenched. Also bought some mango rum for Jen and some Ponche Cuba egg cream liqueur for myself.
At Cozumel, we went to the Dolphinarium for the dolpin encounter. We got to get in the pools with the dolphin and pet the dolphin, get a kiss from the dolphin, shake hands and also ride the pectoral fin. I was a unique experience. Dolphin skin is as it looks, smooth and firm.
In the afternoon, we went diving in some very rough seas with Sand Dollar. The dive boat was rocking so much the horizon would disappear out of sight. It was pouring rain, but in ocean was the calm beneath the storm. 1st dive was Santa Rosa wall, second dive was at a shallow reef just adjacent to the hotel. Both drift dives. Saw a very very large grouper, morays, octopus, the endemic splendid toad fish ( purple with whiskers) and the largest lobster I've ever seen! Santa ROSA wall had some amazing coral towers with several swim through opportunities.
Overall, a fun trip but not quite as much activity as I had hoped for given that we only stopped at 2 ports. I had really wanted to go diving at Cayman and wanted to ride the Dragon flight line in Labadee. Hope to go to the Caymans one day for diving but probably would not repeat a Caribbean cruise anytime soon. There are just too many other places to see in this world. And as for a vacation in the Caribbean, I think I would prefer to visit Dominica over Cayman.
