Liberty of the Seas - Salivalicious

When planning a vacation, the rigueur du jour is concerting the transportation, accomodation, attractions, and salivations quartet into a harmonic travel experience. For land tours, there are more options. If one hotel isn't right, we can always change another. If some place is not fun, we have the choice to get out and go somewhere else. If the food at a restaurant sucks, there's always Mc D, KFC or Burger King to fall back on.

That's not the case with a cruise holiday. If we boarded a bad cruiseliner, there's no where to run. There's no different hotel to change to, no escape to greener entertainment pastures, and we are at the mercy of the nautical kitchen. If a cruise is bad, that's it. It'll be a floating torture chamber for days. So choose your cruise operator wisely!

Having experienced 2 cruises with Royal Caribbean, I would say this company would be your best bet. But of course, I haven't been on other cruise ships to draw comparisons. However, considering the standards set by RC, it will be very tough to match.

I've shared about the ship's beautiful interior, exciting activities onboard and fabulous nightly shows in my previous post so in this entry, I shall show you the good food that went into my tummy during those 6 days 5 nights.

Windjammer Café - All Day Buffet

Located on Deck 11, Windjammer Café serves up an international buffet spread in a casual dining atmosphere for breakfast, lunch and dinner. It is open from 7am to 9pm. A major section of it closes at around 4 pm for the restaurant to refresh itself for dinner but a small portion remains open to serve snacks.



You can design your own burger or sandwich with meat patties, a selection of hams and cheeses, and smoked salmon. Or perhaps plate a personal fusion of tastes that could be Eastern, Western and everything in-between with Japanese sushis, Chinese dumpling noodles, Cantonese congee, English meat steaks, Turkish kebabs, Spanish paella, American potato dishes, etc.

It can get quite crowded during peak meal hours but there are a lot of seats around. I didn't have any problem getting a table during those times as the turnover is pretty fast. The great thing about eating here is the oceanic view!

I had the mixed paella (chicken and seafood) at Windjammer and surprisingly, it's better than the many I had in Barcelona. It's hard to believe that a ship's kitchen turned up a better paella than the restaurants in Barcelona but in my opinion, that's the way it was. My parents agreed the paella here was tastier too.

The roast beef was also amazingly tender and sweet. Meats usually have this dowdy effect (jer lat) after one too many servings but this roast beef made me hungrier the more I ate!

I love sushi so my ears pricked up when our waiter at Windjammer mentioned that it's being served during dinner. As the nightly dinners were a fine-dining affair at the Rembrandt Dining Room (see below), I made a special trip to Windjammer prior to one of our evening meals to have sushi.

It was disappointing though. The rice wasn't sour enough to provide a contrast that compliments the savoury to fruity fillings. But that's my personal preference to have a stronger vinegary hint.

My friends always say I have a huge grudge against prawns and crabs. Because whenever they are available in a buffet, I'll do serious damage to their population. So imagine my thrill when I saw skewered prawns in Windjammer's spread! And they're peeled with the black intestinal thread removed some more. Best!

However, the prawns here were probably of the supermarket frozen variety as their glassy texture, paler colour and taste were unlike the fierce vermillion and rubbery feel redolent of fresh catch. So I held back and gave the prawn population a break. The other thing I didn't do damage on were the herring and olive rings as I only saw them after a full stomach. But they do look pretty appetising.


On top of all the savouries, there is the quinessential dessert spread of cakes, sweet breads, cookies, mousse, jello and other sweet creations.

Rembrandt Dining Room - A La Carte Fine Dining

When it comes to dinner, you have 2 options. You can either have buffet at Windjammer, or sit down for a fine dining experience at one of the many dining rooms assigned to each passenger. Eating at both the Windjammer and dining rooms are free.

We were assigned the Rembrandt Dining Room on Deck 3 and our seating was 7pm. There are 2 seatings every night, 7pm and 9.30pm. The other dining rooms (Michelangelo on Deck 4 and Botticelli on Deck 5) have seatings at 6:30pm and 9pm. To dine at these places, smart casual attire is required and no singlet, shorts and slippers are allowed. On captain's night, formal dressing is recommended.

Not sure how the other 2 dining rooms look like but Rembrandt is grand and b.e.a.u.t.i.f.u.l.! The central table is where the captain will sit when he dines with selected guests on Captain's Night. You can check the Cruise Compass, a daily programme sheet, for the indication of the formal dining occasion.

The best time to shoot the dining room is on the first day after you come onboard. That's when the place is practically empty. The photos above of my parents, with our waiters and the family who shared our table were taken during Captain's Night, which fell on the second night of our cruise.

A nice family portrait at Rembrandt Dining Room although the ship rated me with a 'F'. Is it 'F' for Fabulous / Fantastic or 'F' for Fail / Fat Face? Hmm...

Other than the ambience, the great thing about eating here is the tip-top service... Attentive, Affable, Axcellent, Axceptional... how many aces are there? :o)

The next best thing about eating here is that you can repeat your orders! The dinner consists of a 3-course meal (appetiser, main, dessert) and the menu changes every night. You can order more than one of anything and even seconds or thirds of the same thing!

I ordered sceonds for the baked escargot for it just goes so well with the breads freshly basked onboard and one night, I had 2 main courses so it's like an a la carte buffet. One of the interesting things to try here is the watermelon cold soup. Not to be missed are the Chinese dumplings, grilled prawns with rice and this...

... the gorgeous, gorgeous lamb shank! The meat just wears the bone and can be taken off with a whisk of the fork while in the mouth, it disintegrates like a ballet on the tongue. You can still taste the baa-baa (say it sounding like a sheep) without the overpowering gamey mutton musk. Baa-rific!

While the menu changes every night, some of the items were ported over from Windjammer, just decorated differently. Just like the prawn skewer in the above photo, I've seen it at the buffet but at Rembrandt, it's jazzed up with a sauce topping and came dolled up.

Another must-try is the appetiser pictured above. Cannot recall its name and the photo of the menu came out blur because of low light condition and I didn't check as I was too eager to try it. Anything with garlic is a magnet for me. It consisted of a slice of ham with mushrooms and other stuff that don't just work as decorations, but taste good when combined on the palate.

Accompanying the appetisers and main courses, we finished off dinner with desserts.Of the many I tried in the few nights, my favourite was this cherry pie pictured below. It didn't feel too heavy after a sumptuous meal and the cream sauce lent just a right touch of egg-vanilla aroma.

If you're stumped what to order from the menu, no sweat. The waiters serving your table are always ready with recommendations. Anyway, you can order as many items as you like so basically, you are only limited by your appetite.

During dinner on the third and last night, Rembrandt's waitering team even sang for us! It's really quite a sight having all of them fill up the rotunda's stage. I think this just goes to show the trouble and effort in adding a personal touch for the guests. They sure ended on a high note!

Chops Grille - A Cut Above the Rest

If you fancy a meal that's more private and exquisite, do check out the 2 reservations-only restaurants onboard - Chops Grille (steak house) and Portofino (Italian fine dine). Meals here are chargeable. We booked a dinner at Chops Grille and it costs about S$34 per person.

Located on Deck 11 (to the side of Windjammer Café's entrance), Chops Grille offers a 3-course menu that starts with a selection of appetisers, main courses with choice of side dishes, and desserts. You can place unlimited orders for appetisers, side dishes and desserts, but only one order of the main course. Additional order of main courses incurs a charge.

Again, service at Chops Grille is nothing short of excellent with our waitress appearing and disappearing at all the right moments to serve and clear up. Very intuitive. Bravo!



Our meal at Chops Grille was also the only rare time that my family and I got to catch up with Yee Leong, also a winner of the Royal Caibbean blog contest. Even though we stayed on the same ship just a few doors away from each other, we hardly had the time to spend time together as each of us had different plans to enjoy the vacation.

So it was really nice catching up with him over dinner and exchange experiences on the ship and the land tours we took. All-in-all, we were mostly gushing about the facilities and the shows onboard. It was also a chance for me to admire Yee Leong's photos. This guy has a great eye for photography. Check out his photos of the various restaurants here.

A French loaf with specialty dippings started off our dinner with a blurred photo of this delightfully creamy Forest Mushroom Soup. I finally decided to invest in a flash for photographing food after seeing the large percentage of out-of-focus or grainy photos due to low light and high ISO.

There's a long list of appetisers to choose from and we pretty much went wild. I ordered 2 - Oyster Duet and Shrimp Cocktail. Baked in the dual condiments of Rockefeller and Kilaptrick style, I ordered seconds. As for the Shrimp Cocktail, now, this is what prawns should look and taste like! The size was hwah! and succulently fresh.

For the main course, we ordered a mixture of seafood and what Chops Grille is famous for - steak. I had the Herb-Crusted Jumbo Shrimp (did I menion I'm a prawn king?) while mum ordered the Broiled Veal Chop.

Dad and Yee Leong ordered the Chops-Style Mixed Grill which was the best dinner choice with a combination of grilled lamb chop, apple-chicken sausage, veal tournedos, and bacon. It's a whole lot of meat that're big on taste!

We can accompany our main courses with a choice from 8 side dishes. We particularly liked the Steamed Asparagus as the vegetable provided a balance to all that meat. But mostly because we've not seen such gigantic asparagus stalks! Yet they taste so tender and not fibrous at all.

By now, I'm sure you know what comes next to complete any meal... desserts! I don't really have a sweet tooth but I had so much cakes and sweet what-nots onboard. The portraits of these desserts are still hung on my waistline till this day.

Here's the droolsome Chocolate Mud Pie and the Passionberry Duo which is a circle of delight with a layer of berry gelatin sitting on a mousse of tropical passion fruit.

The highlight was the Crème brûlée with the burning of the sugar crust done at our table! I'm no dessert expert so I'll just say they all provided a sweet ending. Yah, that saying is cheesy... I know!

If you ever cruise with Liberty of the Seas, my advice is to diet before the trip. Eat less 1 week prior to sailing because once you're onboard, you will be overeating for the next 6 days 5 nights. So by eating less 1 week and overeating the next, your total caloric intake for the 2 weeks evens out!

The F&B experience isn't limited to these 3 eating joints but include a few other free and paid eateries such as Sorrento's Pizza, Café Promenade (24-hour free snacks), Cupcake Cupboard, Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream (all on Deck 5), and Johnny Rockets (Deck 12).

Oh, here's another piece of advice... leave the tight-fitting clothes at home! Have fun going on a gourmet exploration! :o)

Legend of the Seas - Gourmet Pageant

When I started creating this entry about all the activities one can do onboard Legend of the Seas, I wanted to talk about the eating, sports, shopping, entertainment and partying. But when I finished compiling all the dining photos and talking points, I realised the topic on food alone could fill an encyclopedia. If I added on the other parts, this entry could cure insomnia.

Not that those experiences are not exciting, but all at one go may cause sensory indigestion. Talking about indigestion, I had my first one in years onboard the ship. A good friend of mine nicknamed me "The Vacuum Cleaner". I contest that title because no doubt I eat a lot and I usually finish up everything left on the table because I hate to waste food, but I don't eat trash.

The problem while on Legend of the Seas is that honestly, the food is pretty darn good. And it is served all day long. All you can eat. Anytime. And that's what I did. Vacuum cleaner mode on full power. You can imagine my impending peril. By the fourth day, I got indigestion. My gastric juices were all topsy-turvy and my stomach did the camel. But instead of water, it stored all the food I ate the previous day and refused to stool. I had to sayang (pat lovingly) it and say, "It's okay, I know the food is good, but don't hold on to it, let them go!"

Apparently, I was talking to a mule because I continued to feel bloated in the last two days. I couldn't eat anymore. It was a torture. There was all this great looking food lying around, spreading themselves... the hot savouries playfully veiled by sexy steam, the pastries dressed in light, fetish-inducing translucent sauces, some of the food were so fresh, they postured stark naked... seducing my mouth. Yet my appetite chose to be celibate.

I suspect it was due to my gorging on gourmet cheeses the night before. There were so many, so tasty, the amount I had might have just drained a cow dry. Moral of the story? Too much of a moo-ood thing is baa-ad. Gosh... I'm speaking like a cow and sheep. I think all that beef and lamb is still in me. "It's okay, I know the food is good, but don't hold on to it, let them go!"

Having read my ordeal, let this post be a warning. Beware of the seductive food that'll bring about a high on the taste at the three food outlets of Legend of the Seas - Windjammer Cafe, Romeo & Juliet Dining Room, and Pizza & Burger Bar. Like delicious sirens, they will lure you to become gastronomically promiscuous.

Windjammer Cafe - All Day Long Buffet

Located on Deck 9, Windjammer Cafe is open from 6:00 am to 9:00 pm daily. There's no dresscode and you can stroll in for a meal anytime. I have a theory why this restaurant is called Windjammer. You'll be eating so much, get heavy and the wind can no longer sway you with its force. You jam the wind. Go in as kite, come out as windjammer.



Initially, I thought ship food would be like airline food... defrosted, pre-heated, wrapped in aluminim foil and taste like doing housework with your tongue. But far from it. The food is prepared fresh onboard and the most amazing thing is that the spread changes 4 times a day, everyday!

It's a different set of food for breakfast, lunch, afternoon snack, and dinner; you can sample the world all in one place... Italian, American, Mediteranean, Indian, Chinese, Vietnamese, Japanese... they are bound to turn your belly into a globe.



My favourite at Windjammer Cafe is this Vietnamese Pork dish. The unexpectedly juicy and tender meat was drizzled with a brown sauce that has an aromatic smoked garlic flavour. Yumz!





Dessert lovers are headed for a sugar rush here. I don't have a sweet tooth but even I relented to these irresistible temptations.





Food blogger Catherine told me the black stuff on the sandwiches are poppy seeds, but the sandwich chef claimed they are mustard seeds. But whichever plant the seeds belong to, this sandwich sure blooms in the mouth.



The best thing to do at Windjammer Cafe is to grab a seat by the window and enjoy your meal while looking out into the horizon. I could never seem to get a window seat but that could be because I'm there during the peak dining period. All the food is included in the fare except for wines and beers. A 250ml bottle of white or red costs US$5.00.

Romeo & Juliet Dining Room - Fine Wine & Dine

Located on Deck 4 and 5, this lavishly decorated restaurant is open daily according to a schedule. Refer to the daily Cruise Compass publication for the meals that R&J would be serving. But dinner is always served here and there're two seating times - 5:45 pm and 8:00 pm. The seating time is printed on the SeaPass Card along with the assigned table number.



R&J favours the smart-casual dresscode and on the night of the Captain's Welcome Ball, formal wear is required. While packing for this trip, all of us were unsure how formal we need to get. The advice was gowns for ladies and suits or tuxedos for men. Aiyoh, very mah fun (troublesome) leh, still must pack suit.

Here's an example of what we and some of the guests wore to give you an idea on what to bring for formal attire.

But the experience was worth it. We all felt so glamed up sipping champagne (in my case, gulping down the bubbly wine) under the the twinkle of chandeliers. Our Captain's Welcome Ball happened on the second night at Anchors Aweigh Lounge and dinner was served at R&J thereafter.

Oh, one pointer though... there's no iron onboard so press your gowns and suits before boarding. Or hang them in the bathroom the moment you get on. When you take a hot shower, the steam and moisture will work to soften the creases.



Again, the 3-course menu changes every night the wow-factor here is that if you don't like what you ordered, you can order another. Regardless of whether it is the appetisers, main courses or desserts, you can keep ordering till you get bored of hearing your own voice. There are two words to describe a dining philosophy like this... SATISFACTION GUARANTEED!



However, there's more to R&J than the satisfaction of taste. Eating here goes beyond fine wine and dine. It is the pleasure of being cradled by the nape of pampering. The serivce is just so... so... please accept my inability to describe it be the best compliment to its excellence.

Each table has one or two dedicated waiters depending on group size. We're at Table 47 served by Dong Biao and Antonio who didn't just serve us dinner, but humour and a level of attention most personal. While Antonio joked with us and posed for a photo with Catherine holding the table vase, Cherie was surprised beyond words by Dong Biao who brought her a cup of honey water because she told him that she was having a sore throat during dinner the night before.

I should've told Dong Biao I'm broke. I wonder if he'll serve me a plate of cash... LOL.



The added fun of having a sit-down dinner at R&J was of course the company of my newfound friends. It's funny how I've never met all of them (except for Catherine who I met during our Singapore Blog Awards Hong Kong trip), but we didn't feel like strangers. I guess blogging broke down our barriers.

Then again, blogging has developed a nasty habit in us. The thing about having a meal with bloggers is that we taste the food with our cameras first. We must appear so comical to Antonio and Dong Biao. Each time they put a plate on the table, we zoom onto it like piranhas with cameras and we won't eat until everybody has taken a good shot. Then again, you can't blame us, the food on Legend of the Seas are all supermodels in the culinary world.

Pizza & Burger Bar - Quick Snack On-the-Go

Located on Deck 9 within the Solarium, the Pizza & Burger Bar is open till 2:00 am and serves hotdog as well (I think frankfurter is better description because these things are quite huge). I didn't try the food here so I have no comments. Besides, I'm already constantly stuffed at Windjammer Cafe and Romeo & Juliet Dining Room.

Midnight hungry go where? Just drop by the Pizza and Burger Bar on Deck 9 anytime for a quick snack till 2 am or order 24-hour room service.

After the gastronomic ride across all three main food joints, let's dive underbelly to where it all happens. The 10 of us went on a Kitchen Tour on the fourth day and although it was complimentary for us, guests can take the visit too by purchasing the Savor cookbook (US$26.90) which has a collection of onboard recipes. Our tour was hosted by the Executive Chef, Suresh Balal. I overheard someone commenting that the master chef is quite a dish himself.



During the tour, we got an inside look at the huge kitchen which spans two floors and divided into various sections such as hot foods, cold dishes, bakery and desserts. There are a total of 120 kitchen staff onboard to prepare a mind-boggling 12,000 meals every day! Woah! Guess I'm not the only one who's overeating.

If only the camera can 'eat' the scene and recharge its battery. I ate soooo much onboard, I got indigestion on the last day. The ship is to blame for serving LOTS of sumptuous food so it is not my fault that I overate.

My favourite part of the tour was the area where all the day's menu is lined up for tasting by the chefs. If a dish passes the taste test, it becomes a standard to be served. If not, adjustments are made at this stage before being subjected to taste test again.

Presentation is also a big deal and the display dishes serve as examples for replicable quality. Like beauty queens on a pedestal, the food of Legend of the Seas has to go through a gruelling process to ensure high standards in both aesthetics and substance. No wonder my mouth and stomach were so seduced!

Beautiful, grogeous meals. It's a pageantry of food onboard the Legend of the Seas where beauty and quality take centrestage.