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Carnival Magic-Fog, Wedding, and lots of relaxing! 1/8-1/15/2012

txstarla

By txstarla,
in Carnival Cruise Lines

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txstarla

txstarla

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Day 3: Freeport

 

Today’s Theme: Classy

We did not go ashore in Freeport. Spa day, relaxing, eating, and more relaxing. You get the idea. More importantly, now is the time in the program we can talk about one of the highlights of the cruise – the Chef’s Table. I would recommend this over any excursion, destination or event. Well worth the $75 each and very informative. If you are interested in amazing pictures of a similar Chefs Table, I recommend Alicia’s (ItalianFemmy) thread: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1538638 She is a professional photographer and was allowed to take pics of her Chef’s Table event on the Dream. Ours was very similar. And my iPhone pics could never compare to hers! Our dishes were different, but her pics will give you the feel of what it is all about…

 

Hint: ladies, you really should wear flat closed toe shoes that are not slippery. You will be in a working kitchen and heels are not safe or appropriate.

 

We started out in the Piano Bar for champagne and hor dourves/amuse bouche (yeah I watch Top Chef!). Classy.

The little yummies were:

Olives with Parmesan

Chorizo & Dates with Piquillo Sofrito

Focaccia, Mascarpone Cream & Prosciutto Crudo

Langoustine & Sundried Tomato Jam Fritters

 

All of it was fantastic.

 

We then went to the Galley, which was very busy with dinner service. The Chef explained several of the stations and led us to a long table with place cards and personalized menus rolled up with a star anise ribbon tie. Classy. Rhymes with sassy. :)

 

We had modified service – one waiter assigned to two diners. One waiter would bring out two plates and serve two people. Again – classy. Before each dish, the Chef would describe and talk about what went into each course.

 

Menu:

Tomatoes Our Way!

Aerated Tomato Juice, Cocoa Butter Coated Tomato and Chardonnay Poached Tomato

 

Tuna Banh Mi

Lemon Bread, Sesame Crisp, Miso Cream Avocado Gel

(This was my favorite – Tuna Tartar with fresh avocado on a skinny lemon bread with crisps on the side – a very creative and tasty Banh Mi!)

 

Cornish Hen

Caramelized, Butternut Squash, Sofrito

(very tender and juicy chicken!)

 

Bavarois

Spinach, Green Peas, Warm Turnip and Apple Juice

(like a soup)

 

Salmon

Herb Pesto, Cuted Tomatoes, Carrots, Fava, Mushroom Earth, Condensed Beets

(Salmon was very tasty!)

 

Wagyu

Slow Stewed Short Ribs, Potato Pebbles, Pumpkin Fudge, Tomato Dust

(Amazing, tender meat!)

 

Dessert

Chef in a Candy Shop

(very hard to describe – several different crisps with many different mousse/flavors to dip in – very good!)

 

We also had yummy bread baked in a little flowerpot with a clove of garlic on top. You guessed it - classy!

 

About halfway through, we stopped eating (rest period, thank goodness) and toured the pastry chef’s area and watch the chef make Warm Melting Chocolate Cake. Found out you can get it three ways – super soft and jiggly, just soft in the middle and well done. You can order it from your waiter in the MDR any of these ways! Also found out all desserts are made start to finish in the galley – no previously prepared desserts.

 

During the meal we were continuously served Pinot Grigio and either Merlot or Shiraz (I forgot, FOOD COMA). To say the least after several hours I was very full of both wine and food. Not to mention great company and lots of info and discussion with the Chef. We also received pictures of everyone at the table with the Chef (he also autographed). We were also supposed to receive some recipes, but I think there must have been some miscommunication – he told us to ask our Maître d’ the next night, but he did not have them… I have his business card, so I will email him this weekend.

 

Ok, I said it once, and I am going to say it again DO THIS. Sign up through John Heald’s Blog. Stop reading my review and go there now. Remember, it’s classy.

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Cruisecrzy3

Cruisecrzy3

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[quoteLook to the left with all the lights, that is where the street fair/big group was who cheered us out...

 

403338_2935248814718_1066017864_3113670_36474437_n.jpg

 

This is a nightly occurrence in Mallory Square. Everyone comes to watch the sunset and booths/carts have been set up by street vendors selling a little of everything. When we were there (Hurricane Irene sent us to Key West instead of Nassau) we joined that crowd, it was fun. We even got to see this one performer....we'll call him the cat man since his cats (house cats) are trained to perform and they were awesome. The man seemed a little out there tho...lol.

 

Can't wait to read more of your review!

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TrqoisWtrs

TrqoisWtrs

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Great review. Love your cake topper.

 

We even got to see this one performer....we'll call him the cat man since his cats (house cats) are trained to perform and they were awesome. The man seemed a little out there tho...lol.

 

That is a really fun gathering to attend. I remember we saw one guy balance a full size stove on his chin. It was gutted, but still! :)

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lrcruising

lrcruising

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We are departing on the Magic in 76 days with this same itinereary. Can't wait to see your scanned Fun Times. I have been requesting them for weeks on cruisecritic. Thanks in advance for posting them.

 

1. Did you do either specialty restaurant? Did you like them? We have the steakhouse booked and want to eat at the Italian also.

2. Did they have a said away party?

3. How were the shows?

4. Was there a pizza or hamburger station by the pools?

5. Did they have a drink of the day daily by the pools?

6. What did you do in Nassau?

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txstarla

txstarla

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Sorry, super busy with work... need to scan the Fun Times, but where is the best place to host them? I know I just post photos here, but is there a better option for PDFs?

 

Tell me what you guys think... I don't have a personal website, I guess I could put them on Facebook.

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txstarla

txstarla

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Day 4: Nassau

 

After waking up from the food coma, we had room service breakfast supplemented with omelettes from the Lido deck. I do so miss breakfast and room service now that we are home. I took a quick steam and we went ashore. The spa facilities are also great for getting ready when you have a stateroom with small bathroom - much larger showers and facilities.

 

Nassau is pretty cool, and the view coming off the ship is nice. We were there with the Pride and the Enchantment of the Seas. Very short walk through the required overpriced port shops and into town. We walked around, checked out the shops (some luxury shops, but nothing that impressive – since I don’t have the need to park million in an offshore account in Nassau, my need to buy luxury items there is pretty small). Off to Arawak Cay for lunch. Note: this is not a short walk and you might want to take a cab. It was fine for us, but we needed to walk off the previous night’s dinner.

 

We dined at Twin Brother’s – outstanding. I had lightly fried whole red snapper with plantains and conch salad (like cervice) and my husband had a huge grilled lobster tail (put the small ones on the ship to shame – but you can never have too much lobster!) Don’t forget to try the Mac & Cheese. Made like a casserole and a little spicy. Yum. I had a half Strawberry Daiquiri/half Pina Colada. Super Yum. Their daiquiris are really, really good.

 

We walked back to town, past the fort and the cannons, and strolled around. Visited the Pirate Museum, which has TWO awesome features.

  1. Air Conditioning (not as big of an issue in January, but I could see how this would be a prime feature in the summer). Good bathrooms too.

  • Cool indoor pirate ship with lots of pirate facts you probably did not know.
You thought you knew pirates – this museum will teach you some stuff.

 

One thing that was not as cool as it should have been was the gift shop. I guess the management/marketing consultant in me saw the amazing opportunities for great branded pirate stuff. Instead it was a combination of things you get at the cheap Halloween store and some shirts and hats. A real missed business opportunity. They do have a courtyard with a bar, but it was not open during our visit - probably well used during the summer.

 

Back to the ship. FYI, Nassau also has taxis, hair braiders, tour guides, basket weavers and scooter rentals (some available for seemingly the same person in one vehical!) all available in one convenient place if that is your desire. It was clear that multi-function service providers were the name of the game.

 

Now for the pics:

 

The Magic and The Pride at the dock

409084_2935251734791_1066017864_3113677_65636950_n.jpg

 

All three ships

403371_2935252294805_1066017864_3113678_1153283410_n.jpg

 

View from the beach

400904_2935254934871_1066017864_3113682_1985525645_n.jpg

 

Twin Brothers, for seafood and a daiquiri or two

394948_2935256174902_1066017864_3113684_2022249079_n.jpg

 

A little bit of gov't and Queen

398412_2935257534936_1066017864_3113686_1154115568_n.jpg

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txstarla

txstarla

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lrcruising:

We are departing on the Magic in 76 days with this same itinereary. Can't wait to see your scanned Fun Times. I have been requesting them for weeks on cruisecritic. Thanks in advance for posting them.

 

1. Did you do either specialty restaurant? Did you like them? We have the steakhouse booked and want to eat at the Italian also. We did not personally do either, but my sister and her husband have and say they are excellent. You can also eat at the Italian restaurant free for lunch.

 

2. Did they have a said away party? We were busy with the wedding and reception and the ship sailed very late, so I have no idea.

 

3. How were the shows? I caught part of one of the Adult comedy shows and it was funny. The other shows really did not interest me - this was really a vacation to "turn off" and relax and we did not do shows.

 

4. Was there a pizza or hamburger station by the pools? Yes, both. Pizza is 24/7. I would suggest having them pop your pizza back in the oven to crisp it up, I thought the crust was a bit thick and could get soggy. I like a thin crust - personal preference. Hotdogs/hamburger grill was opposite and open during meal times. I did not care for the hamburgers, the dogs were fine. Hint: Look for the homemade salsa/pico de gallo here. WIth the fried flour tortilla chips YUM!

 

5. Did they have a drink of the day daily by the pools? Yes. I only had one - a rum punch.

 

6. What did you do in Nassau?See day 4 above. We did not do any excursions, but Nassau would have been great to do Atlantis if that is your speed since we stayed until 8pm (stayed later than usual to make up for late Key West arrival)

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