#royalwow - Stuff Parents Need

I was sent on a Royal Caribbean press trip in November. My experiences and my opinions are mine alone.

Before we experienced what it’s like to cruise with Royal Caribbean, we heard a whole lot of tips, tricks, advice and anecdotes from our friends and family who had been on a cruise (or 7, in the case of my older brother). But one theme was consistent from person to person: everyone raved about how great the food is. And especially so on Royal Caribbean.

I will tell you that having a break for several days from having to prepare breakfast, lunch and dinner was a HUGE treat. I would have been pleased as punch with mediocre food as long as I didn’t have to prepare it.

But friends, NOTHING is mediocre on a Royal Caribbean cruise. Every meal is perfection and so much fun. We had breakfast one morning in our room (room service is free of charge for the vast majority of the day!) and also enjoyed a character breakfast with the likes of Shrek and Fiona one morning. And don’t get me started on the waffles!

The chefs on Freedom of the Seas, the ship we sailed on, were so thoughtful about presentation. Eating happens with your eyes, as well as with your taste buds. I was smiling before I took my first bite!

We also enjoyed the lunch options, which were casual but, that doesn’t mean they weren’t excellent! As you can see below, attention to detail wasn’t spared. And the taste? Delightful!

This is the main dining room, where we enjoyed our extravagant dinners, as well as a few lunches and one special breakfast. You can’t help but feel totally spoiled eating in a room like this!

Our evening meals were true events: I particularly enjoyed taking time to “dress” for dinner (even though on most nights the suggested attire is on the casual side). We had 3 course meals that surprised and delighted us. And we were encouraged to let our server know if anything was less than stellar so that it could be swapped out for something different. One of my favorites was the seafood pasta I enjoyed. Since Tim doesn’t care much for seafood, I rarely make it at home. What a treat!

The desserts, as you can imagine, were their own little treasures. On our first night I enjoyed a cobbler that truly is one of the best I’ve ever had (and I’m from the South, where we don’t mess around with our cobblers, so that’s really saying something!).

And I also snapped a shot of my very favorite dessert of the entire cruise. Would you believe that it was served to me at lunch?! This flan was AMAZING!!!!!! Best I’ve ever had by leaps and bounds. I totally regret not asking for another one.

From the grab-and-go dining options on the promenade (pizza and pastries available around the clock, Ben & Jerry’s, and even a cupcake shop!), to the spectacular dining options at the Windjammer and main dining room, I really thought I had seen it all.

And then we had dinner at one of the specialty restaurants on board, Portofino’s.

I’ve had people ask me why you would pay an extra charge to eat at a restaurant on a cruise ship when the dining options are already so wonderful. Honestly, it’s a valid point. You certainly won’t be feeling shortchanged t by sticking to the complimentary options.

But now that I have had the experience, let me tell you what makes the specialty restaurants so darn special. First and foremost, there’s an intimacy about it that you won’t experience in the beautiful but vast dining rooms. It truly feels like a tucked away, quiet, romantic restaurant. Such great atmosphere!

The food is also a notch above what you’ll find in the main dining halls. I found that hard to believe since I was so wowed by everything I ate. But it’s true! You’ll find very premium dishes in these restaurants. And the presentation is just over the top!

I would recommend that you book one meal at one of the specialty restaurants during your cruise. The prices are quite reasonable when you consider the food quality and the service you will receive. It will also stand out as a #RoyalWow moment that you’ll remember for a long time to come.

If you’ve never experienced the joy of cruising with Royal Caribbean, and if you’ve never dined like a celebrity for a week (that’s what it felt like to me!), then let me suggest that you take a look at how to book a cruise with Royal Caribbean. The value, in my opinion, is simply unbeatable, unless you happen to have your own yacht, and your own house on a Caribbean island, I suppose. And if that’s the case, we should totally hang out on your yacht sometime!

Have you ever been on a cruise? What was the food like???

Friends, I have so many things I want to tell you about my very first experience going on a cruise. In November, I went on a press trip with Royal Caribbean, and explored all that there is to do on one of their truly remarkable ships, Freedom of the Seas.

In particular, I want to talk about how easy Royal Caribbean makes it to be gleefully entertained, how fantastic the kids programming is, how memorable all the meals really are (the food is every bits as good as they say it is!). And I want to talk about the most important thing that I learned: how critical it is for parents with children to spend time away from home AND away from their kids, together.

I’ve got separate posts headed your way over the next few months dedicated to each of these topics. For today, though, I want to introduce you to Freedom of the Seas, and if you have never cruised before, to give you a taste of what Royal Caribbean has to offer. We were told that cruising would give us an opportunity to feel pampered and to be very entertained, but we never could have imagined how a vacation could so easily provide wow after #Royalwow.

Accommodations

We stayed in a Deluxe Ocean Stateroom, which offered two twin beds that easily become a king, a small sitting area, private bathroom with shower, and most importantly, a small private balcony. The couch also converts to a bed to accommodate extra guests. The room was quite spacious for 2, and we could have squeezed in our two kids here, though it would have become decidedly less comfy if we had done that. When we cruise with our kids later (and we totally will…can’t wait to tell you about what they have on board for kids!), we will likely spring for a larger room.

The Ship Interior

The interior of the ship was, in a word, magnificent. It honestly felt like a floating city; very easy to forget that you were actually on a boat as opposed to at a resort complex on land! Freedom of the Seas has a main thoroughfare with what feels like a small, beautiful mall inside of it, with shops, specialty bars and places to eat.

It also has countless “tucked away” spots just like this one, where you can relax, have a drink, and just enjoy your surroundings. When we set sail, every single stateroom on the ship was booked, which means that we had somewhere around 3,000 passengers on the ship, not counting the 1,360 crew members. And yet, Tim and I were able to find place after place to steal away and be by ourselves, or at least not in a huge crowd. I have no idea how that was even possible, but I have been told that it is by design. The ship is overflowing with little nooks for people to find and enjoy in peace and quiet. This was one of the things that surprised and delighted me the very most about cruising. I assumed before going that it would feel like going on vacation with 3,000 strangers. But it doesn’t!

This is where we ate most of our meals. I mean, c’mon! The dining room was nothing short of spectacular. I felt so very spoiled just getting to dine here night after night. And the food. YOU GUYS. I have a whole future post dedicated to the topic, because it is just that worthy! 🙂

Entertainment

The Freedom of the Seas is a gorgeous ship, and it is perfectly appointed to encourage relaxation and pure enjoyment. But if you want to be entertained as well as to be relaxed, then don’t you worry: Royal Caribbean is ready for you!

Every single night they have amazing shows in their theater. We saw a Broadway review, incredible live musical performances, dancers, and a comedian (admittedly, he was offensive and I didn’t like him, but I guess that’s sort of the deal with comedians…). We even caught an afternoon 3D movie (The Croods! I’ve been wanting to see it for a while but I NEVER get to go to the movies!). I thought that the level of talent we got to enjoy on the ship was absolutely astounding. And as you can see, the theater can hold a lot of people, yet it still feels intimate. We had a great seat for every single performance, because there’s no such thing as a bad seat in the house!

We also got to try our hand at ice skating. That’s right, Freedom of the Seas has an ice skating rink. And as you can see, I was a total natural. I took one lap around the rink, gave myself a killer bruise on my arm (see picture above), and then retired my skates and decided to let the professionals take the ice.

Did you know that Royal Caribbean is one of the largest employers of ice skaters in the world? Their performers put on an incredible show for us. The house was totally packed for their shows; it was the most “crowded” I felt during the whole trip, and even then, it felt like no big deal. We were seated quickly and it only took a few minutes to get out of the theater afterwards. And best of all, no traffic to deal with to drive back home! In fact, we walked from the show straight to a fabulous dinner. What a vacation, people!!!

If you want something a little more “low key” then just play some board games with other folks on the ship. We took part in a really fun organized game of Apples to Apples. Evidently we aren’t the only fans of this game, as about 100 people showed up to play! In addition to organized group games, they also have a special room on the ship just for playing games at your leisure! Tim and I played a quick round of scrabble, and there was a fierce game of rummy happening one table over from us. Those ladies looked serious!

Arts/Culture

Or maybe art is more up your alley. TheCEO of Royal Caribbean is a huge fan of art, and his love really shows on the ships, which are full of beautiful pieces you can enjoy. There’s even an art auction on board so you can take home a treasure! We sat in on a very interesting art lecture while on the ship, too. See? Something for everyone!

I even managed to stumble upon a cooking demonstration, happening right in front of one of the main buffets on the ship. I watched the highly skilled chefs on board, I learned a few new techniques, and I got to sample the yummy end result. It really blew me away how many exciting and fun opportunities were waiting around every corner.

Work It Out

For those of you who like to work on your fitness, the views from these treadmills are quite spectacular. The workout facility also has a boxing ring (!) and an aerobics room for classes like yoga, pilates, and step aerobics. I almost got on one of those treadmills just so that I could workout in such a beautiful setting.

Almost….

Instead, I spent some very relaxing time in the sauna and steam rooms available in the fitness center. That’s got to be the best way EVER to work up a sweat. Seriously though, this was one of my very favorite moments on board: quiet, calm, warm, and relaxing. Growing up, I actually had a sauna in my house. It is SOOOOOO random, and not at all indicative of my income bracket. It just so happens that the person my parents bought the house from was “that guy” (you know, the upper-middle aged bachelor with a hairy chest, a gold chain around his neck, and a sauna in his master suite). I haven’t been in a sauna in 15 years (my parents use the space as storage! Ack!). It felt like going home, honestly.

Quantum of the Seas

While on the ship I also got to learn more about the ship that Royal Caribbean is currently building. It is called the Quantum of the Seas and I want to vacation on it SO BAD!!!!

So that would be bumper cars that you are seeing in this rendering. Bumper cars at sea. I think I could hang with that a bit better than the ice capades “incident” I had on the rink. Run into someone else on purpose? I got this!!!

That same area will also transform into a full basketball court. And I cannot WAIT to watch folks dribbling the ball on the high seas! Hee hee! Seriously though, the sports and fitness center on this ship is going to be second to none. Just imagine what the rest of the ship is going to look like!

What I Love About Cruising

I was so impressed with the Royal Caribbean staff, and the thoughtfulness behind the design of the ship. I spend 4 nights and 5 days without a care in the world, and without feeling like I was part of a big crowd. My experience on the ship was one of luxury and leisure. “Freedom,” indeed, is what I felt on this ship. Free to do as I pleased, when I pleased, and to always BE pleased. The staff made sure every moment was a #RoyalWow, and I had a blast. It was my first cruise, and there’s no way it will be my last!