The World’s Longest Freedom Review: Part 7.2featured

When we got to the room, we found a note from Mom that she and grandma were up at the aft pool area, so Stephanie and I changed into our swimsuits and headed up to meet them. Mom and grandma were having some pizza for lunch and we caught up with them for a bit and then Stephanie and I headed into the hot tubs since there were some inebriated adults in the pool. Oddly enough, even though it was pretty nice out (despite the random intermittent periods of drizzle), the roof was still covering the area. The aft area was actually domed for most of the week and it really took some effort to find someone to get it retracted when it was nice out.

We stayed in the hot tub for a bit and then hopped out when they started to get too crowded. We were pruney anyways and we’d both need to shower before dinner. Stephanie went back to the room with grandma and took her shower and I went to the grill with Mom to grab a hot dog.

Mom and I headed up to deck 12 to walk around a bit and watch as we pulled out of the dock. But wouldn’t you know it, we got up there…and a few minutes later, it started lightly raining…again.

We headed back to the room and I hopped into the shower. The seas were pretty rough heading out of Cozumel and it was making me pretty sleepy, so it was taking me a lot longer to shower, do my hair and get ready for dinner than it would normally, so I sent Mom and Stephanie off to dinner while I finished getting ready. Mom was convinced the extra motion we were experiencing was from being in rooms at the very front of the ship, but to be honest, motion is motion. If you’re experiencing rough seas like we were, you’re going to feel it anywhere you are on the ship. We’ve been in foward rooms, aft rooms and mid-ship rooms and I’ve honestly never felt a difference. We’ve been as low as deck four and as high as deck eight and still…no difference.

I was only 10 minutes or so late for dinner. No big deal. There were people still coming in after me. Tonight’s dinner was pretty good. Mom started with her usual of shrimp cocktail and a caesar salad. I told her she should just start throwing ’em together and having a shrimp caesar salad. Then again…I don’t eat shrimp cocktails…or caesar salad. Maybe they wouldn’t make such a good combo.

Shrimp Cocktail

Caesar Salad

Stephanie started with Petite Marmite (clear beef broth with beef, chicken and vegetables) and the Mixed Garden and Field Greens salad (tomatoes, cucumbers and carrots with lemon vinaigrette dressing) and she thought both were very good. She said the salad was fresh and good, but very simple and basic and the soup was nice, with a light, flavorful broth and some hearty veggie chunks.

Petite Marmite

Mixed Garden and Field Greens salad

I started with the Crepes filled with Spinach and Ricotta Cheese (parmesan and cold-pressed olive oil dressing, cucumber confit) and the Thai Beef Salad (Sliced prime beef, onions and peppers, marinated with oriental dressing). The crepe wasn’t really a crepe…it was more of a spinach rolled in phyllo dough kind of thing and it was just okay. I order it every cruise, but I’m never really wow’ed with it. I think I’ll try something new next time. The Thai Beef Salad was something I’d tried before, but not in a few years and it was much too spicy for me (and I like spicy). It had some citrus segments in it, which helped cut through the heat of the noodle salad (the beef skewer was fine…not spicy at all), but it was really just much too spicy for me.

Crepes filled with Spinach and Ricotta Cheese

Thai Beef Salad

Stephanie had the Coq au Vin de Chamberlin (Supreme of chicken marinated and cooked in red burgundy wine. Garnished with silver onions, gratin potatoes and wine dough crisps) and it was one of her favorite dishes all week. She said the chicken was particularly tender and flavorful.

Coq au Vin de Chamberlin

Mom and I both had the Grilled New York Strip Steak from Aged American Beef (served with a green peppercorn sauce). Both of us thought that the steak was tough and fatty, but otherwise okay. They were cooked to our specifications and the peppercorn sauce was delicious, but the quality of the meat just wasn’t that great.

Grilled New York Strip Steak from Aged American Beef

Stephanie wasn’t really in a dessert mood, so she ordered a scoop of chocolate ice cream. And, well…it tasted like a scoop of chocolate ice cream.

Chocolate Ice Cream

Mom ordered the Almond and Phyllo Roll (served with a light honey sauce) and she thought it was surprisingly light and it was very tasty. I always want to try this because either Mom or Stephanie always order it and I just never get around to sneaking a bite. Maybe next time 😉

Almond and Phyllo Roll

I ordered one of my favorite desserts Carnival offers all week: the White Chocolate Bread Pudding. And just like always, it did not disappoint. It was soft and insanely scrumptious. If I weren’t so full, I’d have asked for another. If you’re a fan of the Bitter and Blanc (like I am), try this one. It’s similar in flavor (no dark chocolate in it, though) and it’s just SO good.

White Chocolate Bread Pudding

Like every night, Stephanie and I also split a cheese plate. That and a cup of coffee is always a nice end to the meal.

Cheese Plate

We all headed back to the rooms after dinner and found another fun towel animal waiting for us. Stephanie had a headache, so I went up with Mom and grandma to the Lido deck for grandma’s dinner and we had another great chat with Virgil. Mom and grandma were going to stay up and talk with Virgil for awhile, so I headed back to the room because the motion of the boat was really making me tired.

I took a short nap and then Stephanie and I watched the Bachelor. We contemplated going out for awhile around the ship, but honestly, there weren’t many activities going on and we weren’t really interested in the main show that night (which was a comedian, I believe). We were just constantly disappointed in the lack of activities on the boat, which really fell onto the cruise director, who really did spend the entire week with his girlfriend (even when there was a medevac later in the week, she was right at his side when she had no business being out on deck with the rescue crew and family of the patient). For a “fun ship,” there weren’t a whole lot of fun activities offered.

We spent a few hours resting in the room and then we decided to head up to the Lido deck to go watch The Proposal on the big screen. It got BUSY out there! The main lounge area really filled up quickly. People can go in the hot tubs during the movies, but those were filled with kids and teenagers who were spitting in the water (ummm ew) and running in between the hot tubs and then running all over the deck. And after that, I didn’t go into the hot tubs for the rest of the week.

Stephanie got us some ice cream cones and we enjoyed the movie and the experience of just being outside (I love the ocean air) and then we headed back to the room and just crashed. Even though we didn’t do much in port, port days are just always so draining and we had a full day at sea tomorrow to look forward to.

Today’s Lido lunch menus

Today’s Lido dinner menu