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Come aboard: My Nickelodeon cruise
Let the wild rumpus start
The sailaway party as we left Miami provided our first official introduction to the Nickelodeon entertainers, and it was a rip-roaring time, if unbelievably crowded. What appeared to be every family onboard gathered on Deck 11 for a show featuring songs, antics, games and the first sliming of the cruise. It was a big hit, and a harbinger of more great amusement to come.
Nickelodeon entertainment highlights
I thought the folks at Nickelodeon did a terrific job with the entertainment, particularly given that it was their first-ever venture. Beloved Nick host Ruben emceed most of their events and, when not working the crowd onstage, could be seen mingling with the kids and posing for pictures. We spent one tender ride from Labadee, our final port of call, sitting next to him, and he's just as he appears on TV: charming and gregarious, and wonderful with children. The Slime Time Live shows were, as you might expect, the highlight of the cruise for many of the kids, including my own. We caught the show on day two of the cruise, before we had a chance to overhear any hints about what to expect.
Like most everyone onboard, especially those parents who grew up watching “You Can't Do That on Television” every afternoon like I did, I pretty much knew the deal. Families compete in a game show, in which they answer questions and compete in contests that require hapless participants to do ridiculous and hilarious things like don chicken costumes, jump through plastic hoops and sit in chairs that gyrate. Volunteers are brought in from the live audience to join in the antics; ultimately, somehow, some family wins. The loser family gets doused with fluorescent green slime, while seated in a plastic pool and everyone howls in approval. Any way you look at it, even if you've seen it before, it's just plain funny, whether you're 6 or 60. Still, many of the families onboard had visited the Nick Suites in Orlando, and were hoping they'd mix the show up a bit more for the cruise.
A huge hit with the 'tween crowd was a meet and greet with two of the stars from the Nickelodeon series "iCarly," Jeannette McCurdy and Nathan Kress. These kids are big stars, and the demand to see them was so great that not everyone got a chance to do so on the first go. To the credit of both actors and staff, they put together an impromptu second event later in the week to accommodate those who were unable to get into the first one. Another big night for this age group was the premiere of Nathan Kress' new movie, "Gym Teacher." He is a truly delightful and sweet kid, and many slightly older kids really seemed to enjoy the movie, but I think my son was a little young.
Another somewhat unexpectedly (from my perspective) great performance was by Tom Kenny, the voice behind SpongeBob. My son, tuckered from a long day three in Cozumel, wasn't eager to attend, but the show also promised a sneak peak of a never-before-seen episode of the show, which proved enough to get his weary body into a seat. He was positively glued to the screen during the short premiere. And when Tom Kenny came on afterwards to entertain the kids with his band (who knew he had a band?) it was much more fun than we both expected. He can't really sing of course, but he's SpongeBob, so who cares? At first my son didn't even believe this guy was the real voice, distracted by his appearance as, well, a person. So we played a game where we covered our eyes and listened, without looking at him. "It really IS HIM!" he finally declared. For about an hour after the show kids could be heard all over the ship humming his most catchy tune, "It's the Best Day Ever," which I found oddly touching.
Throughout the cruise, Nickelodeon hosted Nick Live on the pool deck with games, contests and challenges, as well as Bikini Bashes (named after Bikini Bottom, SpongeBob's hometown, and not because you are required to wear one, thankfully) and slimings. There were also, as suspected, Dora sing-alongs, as well as character breakfasts, Nickelodeon family improv and karaoke nights, series premieres, and one massive scavenger hunt, all of which we thoroughly enjoyed.
Highlights onboard
With the exception of a few late-night events like the Love & Marriage game show and a comedy performance, the entertainment on Freedom of the Seas was not just kid-friendly, but also genuinely amusing for them. Our personal favorite was day five's Now You See It, which featured the magic of Drew Thomas and his lovely assistant in a dizzying array of dexterous feats. Kids were enthralled with everything from the old standby act of cutting the assistant in two, to the downright breathtaking: a grand finale of snow falling in the theater. Extraordinary. The Freedom-Ice show was also very enjoyable, a high-energy performance with a cast of extremely talented skaters, bright costumes and props that the kids loved. I'll be honest, I'm not really one for this kind of thing normally, but in this environment it was perfect. Guests can also use the ice rink during off hours to skate, which I was dying to do but never did find the time for. Skates are gratis.
Also memorable was day two's comedian Steve Shaffer, who entertained with some tame jokes, and performed with the crazy-talented visual comedian Kirk Marsh. Mr. Marsh was a huge hit with the kids, taking to the stage via the audience while climbing over seats, he performed a series of hilarious and silly stunts, embarrassing the heck out of one unexpecting dad who was called on stage to the utter delight of his kids.
Hurry up and wait, kids
While we're on the topic of entertainment, a word about the lines: Let's face it, when you have Freedom's haul of passengers, some lines are a given, no question. Throw in the extra Nickelodeon events planned for this cruise, and they are pretty much unavoidable. At several times throughout the cruise, but particularly on the second day, lines snaked the length of the promenade, as patient parents (and less-patient tykes) waited for tickets to the character breakfast, Slime Time Live and Freedom-Ice shows, all of which had multiple showings. We opted to wait for the Slime Time and Freedom-Ice tickets, but take our chances with the character breakfast, figuring since it was in the dining room we might get away with sneaking in at the last minute. A decision which, given the 25-minute wait, seemed worth the risk, and paid off.
Dining: Anything goes, almost
Providing top-notch grub for 3,600 passengers at every meal is a triumph on any cruise, but throw in the finicky eating habits of kids of every possible age, and the inevitable disruption of little ones' bed and nap times (if there are such things on a cruise), and you're talking about the potential for major disaster. Thankfully, disaster was not even close to the case, but there certainly were a few hiccups. According to three different waiters we talked to during our trip, the dining experience on the Nickelodeon cruise was very different than you would expect on a "normal" Freedom of the Seas voyage. It was decidedly unstructured, super-casual, and borderline chaotic at times, particularly at the character breakfasts. But really, no one seemed to mind very much. Families were given either early seating (6:30 p.m.) or late seating (8:30 p.m.) but there were no table assignments. Most people I spoke to appreciated the lack of designated tables, while a few missed what can often be your best excuse to get to know other families aboard. For us, the lack of formality worked fine, and because we were only two, we often got placed with another group instead of dining alone.
We were given second seating dining, which meant an early show and a late dinner each night. But we didn't always abide by it, since 8:30 p.m. is pretty late for my son to eat dinner, and 9 p.m. is even later for him to be sitting down to a show. We opted not to bother to request a change in seating, and just kind of wing it. On some nights, no matter how exciting or kid-friendly the show, after a day of exhausting activities, a late show would have ended in a snooze fest for my son every time. I think earlier dining room seatings (in addition to the present ones), and earlier show options (likewise) would be great for this type of cruise.
On some nights, it just made more sense for us to grab a sandwich at 6:30, head to the show, and stop in at the Cafe Promenade afterward to grab a snack and dessert, though I might have preferred to eat in the dining room instead. In any case, we were never questioned about our dining habits. I get the feeling that folks were put on standby, in an effort to see how things would go in terms of meals for this first cruise. Maybe next time around it will be slightly more structured.
Incidentally, the dining room itself is stunning. Freedom has a three-tiered dining room, which houses three separate restaurants: Leonardo's, Isaac's and Galileo's, on Decks 3, 4 and 5 respectively. While we enjoyed all three dining rooms, and even though I know the same menu is offered in all, Galileo's turned out to be my favorite on account of the scrumptious shrimp ravioli with leeks I had there. In fact, we enjoyed every meal in the dining room, even if the timing was not always ideal. Tyler's favorite was Leonardo's, not because of the food but because a bar waiter trekked 10 decks up to fetch him a shake from Johnny Rockets one day -- so nice! Dress in all of the dining rooms was very casual every night, with most moms opting for casual pants or skirts, or sundresses. There were no formal nights on this cruise. I saw a few stray dads in tuxedos on the first night (cursing their wives), after which I never saw one again.
Throughout the cruise, the buffets at the Windjammer Cafe and Jade were crowded, much more so than usual, with many families opting to grab a quick dinner there (or a pizza from Sorrento's, or a burger from Johnny Rockets) instead of hauling the whole gang to the dining room. But fewer parents than I had expected opted for a quiet dinner entirely without kids, judging from less-than-capacity crowds at the two adults-only specialty restaurants: Chops and Portofino. Invited by some new friends, I opted to try Chops one evening, despite being a vegetarian. Sounds like an odd choice, I realize, but I do eat fish and the seared diver scallops were magnificent -- and my companions thoroughly enjoyed their choice of steaks. It actually turned out to be the most restful night of the cruise, having full support from Tyler, who was happy being left to his own devices in the Adventure Ocean program with his friends.
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