LOS - TA - April 2-16, 2011 MIA-BCN - TRIP REPORT

[foxesden1]

 

 

Some snack options.. (free of charge) at Latte-tudes.

 

[foxesden1]

I'm enjoying your review. I can't believe your CA didn't bring ice twice a day, let alone having to ask for it.

 

Thanks, I was starting to think that everyone is hating it.. Too big, etc etc .. I was starting to feel like I was speaking to my self! :rolleyes::D

 

Just nervouse because it's my first trip report on CC I guess. :D

[foxesden1]

NO!!! please do not cut it!!! I am loving reading it. MY DH and I are hoping to do a TA next year for my 60TH brithday. Can;t wait for you to get to Europe

 

LOL at the rate I am going, it should be some time next month! :o

[kernow]

Hi Taylor,

 

love the review, its bringing it all back.

 

Its really interesting to see the same trip from a different perspective. We had a fantastic cabin attendant and thought the food in the MDR was really good overall (we were on 2nd seating deck 3). It just seems to be the luck of the draw which staff you get who can make a real difference.

 

Can't wait to read more, love all the photos. I remember everytime we saw you, you were taking photos, now I can see why:)

 

Julie

[foxesden1]

Wave! Oh I hope people don't think we did not have a good time on the Liberty of the seas transatlantic, this past April 2011... Because we had a blast! Just a few areas that needed some improvement. :D

[didicruiser]

Great review....keep going:D

[Cotswold Eagle]

Wave! Oh I hope people don't think we did not have a good time on the Liberty of the seas transatlantic, this past April 2011... Because we had a blast! Just a few areas that needed some improvement. :D

 

I'm so happy to read that, because it was sounding to me as if you'd had a horrible time! You hadn't got this, that never came, you weren't told something else...and none of it's as good as Disney.... Maybe because the little problems get a detailed play-by-play, but the good gets a one liner? And, for me, some of the narrative gets lost in the very detailed photo record (especially of food!)

 

Looking forward to reading more, though :)

[foxesden1]

I was thinking the same thing.. I was trying to get as much up yesterday as I could, before miss em got back from her birthday party. My review does sound very pro Disney.. I will try to write more about the good, then just assuming everyone is a mind reader... :rolleyes:

 

So do I have too menu photos? Not sure I could cut back on those... !

 

 

Taylor

[cruzemaven]

Thank you for posting your link on my thread. This is a wonderfully detailed account and very interesting to read.

[Nancynurse]

Thanks so much for the great review...keep it coming. We will be on the same cruise next April!:):):)

 

Nancy

[foxesden1]

I give up.. lets just call this day four...

 

 

Getting ready for our "own" Murder Mystery.. (we all had a diner booked, but with the change over of the dance staff, and the new show being brought on board, it was canceled. So Karen, along with a few friends stepped up to make sure the show carried on! (I was in and out because I was on Miss Em duty.. )

 

 

 

 

Very nice to see your menu on the screen - sometimes the incorrect menu was uploaded, but no big deal.

 

 

I am sure this is NOT the correct day.. but I do know that this is Miss Em's drink, and it was just before the Harry Potter Quiz! (WAVE to my team mates!)

 

So glad I read about the free nuts in the Schooner Lounge, they hit the spot!

[foxesden1]

 

Most nights there was to be live music in dining room - might have been switched every other night between early and late setting, or that our speakers were not working. We did hear it a few times, and it was nice both ways. (Our waiter Cat would also sing, and that was fun too).

 

 

Caesar Salad night! (Now I have no idea if this was served on plates, or in the large bowl placed in the middle of the table). It was a nice light salad, not to heavy on the dressing.

 

 

 

 

[foxesden1]

Okay for those of you have made it this far, I would like to insert a comment. I am not a chef, I am not a paper chef. I am not a pastry chef. I do cook. I do decorate cakes. Two of my best friends are trained paper french chef, and one is a trained chines chef. I am a foodie, but I am very confidant in my palate. I like going and getting a burger as much as anyone else, I make 98% of our food from scratch, at home. We also by frozen ready made food. In short, I am a normal busy mom of the 2011. (Still not off my soap box yet.. ) stay with me.

 

So, food. I worked it out by day 5. RCCL like everyone else, is cutting costs, with a per diem of about $12.00 a day per pax, I do not know how they do it. I had a great talk with the head waiter around this time of the cruise - (it was on day three maybe.. ) about why I did not bother to order another meal to replace the one I did not eat. (My waiter and head waiter really did want to try and please me.. like every pax on board).

 

Its not that the kitchen can not make a good meal - lord knows they can, all the sauces are made in house and they are wonderful.. its that they are going on cheaper cuts of meat. Lesser fish fillets. They are cuttings costs where they can. The presentation is spot on with all the dishes. The seasoning is correct. The main dish sides (veggies/starch/what not) are always good. Its the main protein that seems to fall short. Or the dessert, sometimes the starter. Most of the time it is something that was not made in house. Or came out of a box. Because when Royal does something well in the kitchen... it is fantastic. When Royal does something.. shall we say, a little left to the mark, it seems to be because of the budget.

 

So what I am trying to say, is that I wish, with my whole heart, that I started to sail RCCL when it was in its hay day. I know, my first cruise was in 1984. I can tell you, one night in the dining room and it was like my life changed - it is what turned me into a foodie (and I was 15 at the time.. it was a Greek Liner ) It was the first time I tasted a true consume soup - the first time I had rare lamb (is there any other way to eat it?) the first time I had a perfect dessert..

 

(sorry all most done..)

 

Like many of you, I have been blessed to have a few meals, that I will remember my whole life. The first was on that cruise, so many years ago, and the last was the first night menu on Royal. (The starter and the dessert was what I am dreaming off.. its the memory taste, I kept wanting to get in the dining room every night.. ) ((let me also insert at this point, I NEVER had that even once on our Disney Cruise - the food, looked great, but was missing the flavor, it was about the :show: and not the taste.))

 

I know, in my heart of hearts if the kitchen of RCCL ever gets a good per diem back, there will be no stopping them.

[foxesden1]

 

Our waiter Cat knew how much we enjoyed dinner on day one.. so surprised us at diner with a few of the items we liked the most!

 

 

Just as good as the first night..

 

 

OMG I sooo loved this..

 

 

LOVED THIS!

 

Dinner then became a game for Cat and I - he would bring me things out of the kitchen, and have me "taste it" to see if his thoughts married up with mine. It was so much fun, and I in truth really looked forward to seeing what was going to turn up at diner! Sometimes I ordered what he wanted me to taste, other times, it just arrived. It made fun a night night. (it was also around this time, I stopped eating the bread.. OMG those rolls were a killer.. soooo good! Over a course of a mean, I could eat at least three.. with butter.. the madness had to stop..)

 

 

So not a dish for me - I ordered it, and ended up giving it to my husband. Cheese, Sauce, and fried foods - way to much going on for me. I could feel my dress splitting as I had my first bite! <G>

 

 

Fab. So glad my husband ordered this. I loved it!

[foxesden1]

 

Miss Em's 2nd dinner of choice.. with Soy Milk!

 

Now I know my husband ate dessert, and I know I did.. I am 99.9% sure David had the Choca-Chino Trilogy (and he loved it) and I had the mango parfait (which is just a mouse.. not at all a parfait at all.. <G>). It was okay.

 

 

Cat

 

 

Karen.

 

Our waitstaff <G>

 

I am sure when then headed off to kids club, quiz night, show and then snack.. that seemed to be our standard night..

[foxesden1]

Some photos taken off our AFT balcony

 

 

 

 

 

 

For me, the infrastructure was not a big deal at all. In fact, I think it looked kinda cool. As a parent with a small child, deck SIX aft was perfect.

[LovesBeagles]

Enjoying reading your review. I too got the impression that you did not like your cruise and for the most part were having a bad time.

[foxesden1]

Again, not sure if this is the correct order, but lets just say it is shall we? LOL Sea Days seem to run into each other!

 

Comment on the Dreamswork Breakfast - I know at the start of my review, I stated it was not worth getting up out of bed for.. that is not quite what I meant, but I was unable to go back and edit my comment.. so let me add what I left off.

 

It is a fun show - its not a great show, its cute. Kids 8 and under would love it. Its at 8am. Which is far too early for young children, who are doing a time change every day of one hour. So yes, the 3rd show was not worth getting out of bed for, because - really its the same as the other shows.. and you have a kid, who needs another four hours sleep easy..

 

TA are great for small kids - Miss Em was able to keep up with most things - and we did not have a killer jet leg when we arrived in Europe. Because, she like most kids really did not make the time change.. ever day, she would end up staying up an hour later.. so at the start of the cruise 10pm was when she was falling asleep.. every day we added an hour, so did she.. at bedtime. Near the end of the cruise, it was more like 12am or 1am before she could fall alseep. (not for a lack of trying.. ) so getting her up at a7, so she can eat tons of chocolate, not a good idea.. if you know what I mean.. so we just skipped the last one. NOT WORTH the hassle for our family.

 

The 2nd show was very cute. More Sr. staff came, less kids (again, too early) and a few adults joined it. The ships photographer no showed. Maybe it was too early for them as well? Or with the time change, maybe they did not set there clocks?

 

 

 

***SIDE NOTE***

 

Why I felt we had the best waiter..

 

 

Knowing Cat, if his tables were set with stained linen, he would love lost his mind.. and with out a doubt I am sure would have tried to get it out him self! LOL

 

 

We did not do this every day.. ($$$ adds up!) but we did it a few times in the dining room, and it was good, very good!)

 

Breakfast started again with chocolate covered pastries..

 

 

 

Miss Em had the same as her dad, but she had to eggs sunny side up.

 

 

My perfect breakfast. A full English. I was just talking about those mushrooms yesterday in fact.. so so good..

[foxesden1]

Enjoying reading your review. I too got the impression that you did not like your cruise and for the most part were having a bad time.

 

 

noop not at all. loved it. but yes, things did go wrong, but that's just life. it had no major affect on our good time.. (most days.. :rolleyes:) but I also think that both the good and bad should be shared..

 

the first day or so was rocky.. then it was great.. then it went sour again in Malaga.. (so please take note, I will be sharing a few neg comments.. ):p

[foxesden1]

 

 

 

 

 

Out of the two shows we did, this was the best. The staff really got into it. And that made it so much more fun!

[foxesden1]

Some more dining room photos..

 

 

 

Make sure to check this sign out when you enter the dining room - thats how I had that yummy egg breakfast a few days prior!

 

 

Sunrise. Taken AFTER we finished our Dreamworks breakfast. Stunning, but very early for a five year old!

 

 

Breakfast Options for those not going to WJ or the MDR

 

[foxesden1]

 

Sign outside of Chops in WJ for Breakfast and Lunch.

 

 

 

It was a gray day, which meant that the chair hogs might not be by the pool. I think we got a poolside chair three times? (always on wet days.. ) nice to know that the chair hogs are out in full force on every cruise line in the world..

 

 

Miss Em, hiding from the rain.

 

 

Like many people have posted, I don't think RCL is using the screen to its fullest.. they did have movies, I think twice a day.. but nothing much in between..

 

 

Ice Cream in the rain? Why not!

[foxesden1]

Windjammer for lunch, but as it was just Em and I we took it up stairs. I could not carry two trays, so we just shared a plate.

 

JADE

 

 

 

 

 

Very good soup~ perfect for a wet day!

 

 

Windjammer Roast Pork was all ways my first choice.. !

 

 

Miss Em getting her drink of choice at the bar. She was so happy to be able to go up and order it on her own.

 

We meet a really nice couple at lunch, we were Emerald, and very kindly gave us a coupon to Johnny Rockets! (WAVE!)

[foxesden1]

 

When we arrived, Miss Em's fruit cup was in place, but I also ordered the Fruit and Veg plate for her. it was okay, the cucumbers seemed to be past there best date.. very soft..

 

 

My starter.. Garlic soup maybe?

 

 

Davids starter

 

 

Miss Em's main

 

 

David and I both had the lamb shank, he loved it. Me, not my choice cut of meat, but the sauce, and starch were yummy!

 

 

I have no idea where the dinner menu is. I must not have uploaded it to facebook..

[foxesden1]

Most nights, Miss Em did not have the dessert - she went off to the kids club, and because we were ordering off the adult menu, she was rushed for time. We loved the fact that they arrived at 6:45 to take the children upstairs. On formal nights, we kept Miss Em with us in the dining room, and then a quick change back in the cabin before she went off to join her friends.

 

 

Miss Em has Jello!

 

 

David's. Tiramisu is hands down always my dessert of choice, and this one, was just not.. great. The base was very soggy IMPO. BUT David really enjoyed it!

 

 

One of the top three desserts for me, on this cruise. SUPER! Very light, and fresh!