Day 2: Our First Fun Day at Sea on the Carnival Freedom

I mentioned in the previous blog how we closed the piano bar the night before and didn't get to bed until 1:15 a.m. With today being a sea day, we didn't need to get up early like we generally do on a port day. That being said, we don't want to sleep the day away, either. As a compromise, we set the alarm for 8:15. We awoke to a sunny day with calm seas. I opened the door to our balcony and was greeted with a mild breeze. 

Good morning!

Just like we did on the Carnival Vista, we ordered a light continental breakfast from room service to enjoy on the balcony. We'll just consider this "first breakfast" since it's only some pastries and coffee. We've traditionally done this, even when in an interior cabin. Having a balcony makes it more enjoyable, though. Our favorite selection is some croissants with butter and orange marmalade to go with our coffee. Carnival supplies a continental breakfast menu that you complete and hang outside your door the night before. It's convenient and we don't have to leave the cabin just for a quick bite.

Breakfast menu

scanned from original menu

As you can see, there are plenty of options for breakfast and if that doesn't work for you, there's always the Lido buffet or the main dining room (MDR). Later on during the cruise we'll check out brunch in the MDR. Cindy and I took our time with first breakfast, just enjoying the balmy weather and talking about what we wanted to do during the day. We decided second breakfast was definitely in order, so we got dressed and walked up to Lido for some Blue Iguana Cantina burritos.

Breakfast burrito and hot sauce

My burrito, unwrapped, ready to eat

Today's burrito was eggs, crispy potato, cheese and pico de gallo, wrapped in a jalapeno tortilla. Cindy opted for the smaller breakfast tacos, slathered with guacamole. Both the burritos and tacos are made to order, and you can have them with whatever you want.

Cindy's breakfast tacos

With second breakfast done, we decided to see what was happening at the Red Frog Pub on deck 5. Surprisingly, it was almost empty. Well, not surprising, I guess, since they weren't televising the Texans game in there. As we chatted with the bartender, several people approached her and asked about the game. "Sorry, we aren't showing it here. You can find it at the Sports Bar." 

After the third or fourth inquiry, she called her supervisor and asked if she could show the game on the TVs in the RFP, stating how many people had been asking about it. As she changed the channel, I heard this voice behind me: "Patrick, is that you?"

I turned around and.....holy crap! Standing in front of me was someone I hadn't seen since junior high. We had reconnected on Facebook a few years ago but hadn't actually been face to face in decades. "I thought that was you yesterday but wasn't sure. I had to check Facebook and find a current picture of you." 

Great to see you, Paul!

How cool is that? I knew Paul and his wife were avid cruisers like us and figured we'd cross paths one day. I just didn't know that that day would come so soon. He introduced my to his wife and said they'd be hanging out in the Red Frog Pub to watch the Texans game. I laughed and told him that had there not been so many people asking about the game, it wouldn't have been shown here. We got caught up on several years worth of history and I grilled him on many of our mutual friends.

What a fantastic surprise! No matter what else went on this day, reconnecting with Paul would definitely be the highlight. Since we had kinda, sorta made plans with Keith and Barbara to join them for lunch, we left Paul and his wife to watch the game while Cindy and I went up to deck 10. In what used to be a fish and chips restaurant, there's now the "Ol' Fashioned BBQ" in its place. This is one of those little-known eating venues that many people overlook and is usually not nearly as crowded as the Lido buffet. I guess that since it's only open for lunch, it doesn't get the exposure that other dining venues do.

Keith and Barbara were already there, so Cindy and I joined the short line to grab us some BBQ. If you've been paying attention, yes, we've already had first and second breakfast, and yes, it's barely noon. Maybe I should give this blog the subtitle "Cruising like a hobbit."

I think I have room...

Believe it or not, I'm really trying to pace myself, foodwise. I selected the pulled pork, chicken and some mac and cheese. You have your choice between several styles/flavors of BBQ sauce, so I picked a brown sugar sauce and a spicy sauce. The bun was for the pulled pork. Why a bun? They didn't have tortillas, silly!

Our Facebook group had a meet and greet scheduled soon after lunch, so I dropped into that for a bit before heading to the cabin. I wanted to spend some time on the balcony, taking a nap to the sound of rushing water (and some Jimmy Buffett on my mp3 player) with the caress of a tropical breeze. 

With tonight being formal night, we took a few extra minutes to get ready. In all honesty, I could take or leave formal night. I'm generally not a big fan of dressing up just for dinner. If Carnival ever does away with formal night (not likely), it won't break my heart. For those that enjoy it, great! I don't begrudge anyone preferring to dress up. It's just not for me. I dress formally so we can eat in the MDR and follow the dress code instead of having dinner in the Lido buffet.

Having cruised with Carnival since 2007, I'm pretty familiar with their menu for the most part. I knew what we'd be having tonight, so even being a bit full from lunch, I made my selections based on what I knew to be good, yet on the lighter side.

Appetizer: "Tart with Braised Kale, Blackened Pork Tenderloin"

Citrus cream

This is perhaps my favorite appetizer Carnival offers. These bite-sized morsels pack so much flavor into such a small package. If you ever cruise Carnival and see these on the menu, I highly encourage you to try them out. Depending on how hungry I am, I'll order one or two plates of these.  Tonight was just one plate, given what all I had throughout the day.

Entree: "Spaghetti Carbonara"

Bacon, cheese, garlic, cream

This is another perennial favorite of mine. The sauce is always thick, rich, and creamy with crispy bacon. It's available as an appetizer if you choose a different entree.

Dessert: Butter pecan ice cream

I've found myself ordering ice cream for dessert more and more these past few cruises. Even with the wide variety of desserts that Carnival offers, I have had most of them more than once. Some are fantastic, others are just "ok." All of them are filling, though, and ice cream is just light enough to finish off a nice meal without feeling completely stuffed.

Before going back to the cabin to change into shorts and t-shirts, we took a few photos in our formal wear. Some of these photos come out quite nicely and we'll purchase those. The others get tossed into the waste can to be recycled. 

Today's towel animal

Now we have two

Ahhhh, yes! Shorts, t-shirts, and Tevas are much more preferable than my suit. Our plan for this evening was to hit the comedy club and then the piano bar. We had about half an hour to kill before going to the comedy club so we spent the time on the balcony watching the stars.

Good seats

Waiting for the show to begin

Of the two comedians on the ship, we picked Chris Wiles to watch. I haven't seen his act before, so I was looking forward to seeing what he had. Wow! He was hilarious, and his "Tony Montana does PBS" had me laughing until my sides hurt. I'll definitely make it a point to watch his show again the next time he's on our cruise.

Chris finished his set and we walked the short distance, about 20 steps, to the piano bar. Naturally Ben had the place rocking again and greeted us as we walked through the door. Another of Ben's many talents is to remember people's names. He'll greet people by name throughout the cruise from day one. We weren't there more than twenty minutes before Keith and Barbara came in. 

My first request for the evening was Jimmy Buffett's Fins.  Ben loves his props and has bags full of them. As he read my request, he gave me this large shark's mouth to carry around the bar so people could take selfies with it.

Fins to the left

Fins to the right

The cliche "Time flies when you're having fun" is absolutely true. We were having a blast and I was surprised when Ben announced final call for the bar. Whaaaat? Already? My watch showed it was after 1. For the second night in a row, we closed the piano bar. 

We weren't scheduled to dock in Key West until 10 a.m. so we could sleep in, have first breakfast on the balcony and take our time getting off the ship. Nothing specific was planned for Key West, so there was no hurry to get going. 

That's it for day 2. Coming up next, I'll write about our day in Key West, with lots of photos. You can access it here.


Until next time....


carpe cerevisi