Middle Aged Drama Queen's Eastern Carib Review: Fun on the FREEDOM!!!

Mikayla is NOT impressed! :rolleyes:

 

(as inspired by: http://mckaylaisnotimpressed.tumblr.com/ )

 

Sherri...I've quietly lurked through both your Serenade review and this one, and have thoroughly enjoyed them (just like everyone else) - but I finally had to comment after seeing this picture, and the tidbit about Mickey's real name!

OMG, that was hysterically funny! I hadn't seen that website - and what a hoot! (I hadn't even noticed my OWN Mikayla's smirk on the photo until I looked at it a bit closer! Hubby Mike and I got a good laugh out of this - thank you!

That is a beautiful name. It does sound more mature. Whichever one she goes by, she is a sweet young girl. Although she looks more mature than a 13 yr. old. I had 2 boys, and finally had a granddaughter. She is 16 now and of course Grammy is too old to pal around with. She's our sweetie and always will be. Only girl in the family besides my DIL and me. I have 2 grandsons too. Love them all. Grandkids are the best. You can give them back when they get to be too much to handle. :p

 

Gwen :)

Thanks, Gwen - she is a great young lady who is growing up WAY too fast! Kids - and grandkids - are awesome...as well as our furry children, too! ;)

Hi Sherri, I'm usually more of a lurker than a poster but I just had to say how much I loved your both of your reviews.

I think our daughters must be related. Mine is 12 1/2, is tall with same color hair as Mickey, LOVES to read, is DYING to go on a cruise and HATES sand in her swim suit (which seems to happen anytime she goes to the beach).

You two seem like a great pair. Thanks for sharing your adventures with all of us.

Aw - sounds like you need a Mother/Daughter cruise in your future - see how much fun you can have? And how much whining you can listen to about sand in the suit??!! :D

We named our eldest daughter (of three :eek:) Jessica. We figured she'd be Jessie until about the age of 12 of so. Nope, she wanted Jessica, even in pre-school! We've always called her Jessie. I don't think she likes it, because as a teenager she was always "Jess" to her friends, and even as an adult (28 now), she's always been Jess in her jobs.

 

I wonder if it has something to do with Uncle Jesse on Full House? :rolleyes:

 

I think I've convince DH to take that Bernard's Tour #1 when we go to St. Martin in December.

I have a stepdaughter named Jessica, so I enjoyed this story! And yay - I hope you take the tour - if you want to see more of the island, it's a good one...!

I don't think I need to take Bernard's tour. I just want to go and see the Blue Iguanas. They are really unique, and somewhat endangered. We will definitely have to visit them next time. :D

 

BTW, the store that Sexy took you to is Rima's Beach World.

 

http://www.rimasxm.com/aboutus.asp

 

It is a fun store with a huge selection of things and tropical clothing. It's a great place to get those (made in China) Caribbean vacation souvenirs for co- workers. :D

Those iguanas were pretty, weren't they?! What a great photo!

And YES! Rima's!!!! I could NOT remember it for the life of me...thank you! It was driving my OCD brain CRAZY to lose this little bit of trivia in my head, so I appreciate this, so now I can sleep at nights. Seriously - its those little things that keep me awake!!!

I'm so glad you went to Sarafina's - it's my absolute favourite bakery/ restaurant in St. Martin. I live in Anguilla and it is a MUST every time I go over (which is pretty often because the ferry is right there in Marigot). Next time you are in St. Maarten you have to take a day trip to Anguilla!

 

I have been reading your blog on the Mediterranean as well and am also a huge fan of your writing and your reviews.

Thank you! And I am SO going back to Sarafina's and getting some desserts! I have heard good things about Anguilla; I think a day trip would be fantastic!

One thing, it was a shame that Orient beach looked like it did when you were there. Normally, that is a gorgeous clean white sand beach with no sea weed or debris on the shore. That must have been a big storm to mess up the beach like that. The three times I was there the water was very calm.

 

One thing surprised me, and that is you never took advantage of room service. When I cruise, I just love to have room service bring me coffee and a small danish to wake up to,(or course I will usually wander down to the dining room for a larger breakfast later) and some days I like to have lunch delivered to eat on a balcony. As sore as you were, having some hot soup or tea delivered would have felt really nice.

You know, you're so right about Room Service...it never even occurred to me, and I don't know why....I would forget about it on the Serenade, as well. I need to put up a big sign in my cabin next time that says, "Don't forget about Room Service!!!"

Sheri, at Sarafina’s do they take US dollars? If not, where can you get the correct currency?

Yay - I'm glad others have answered this for you; yes, it takes US dollars, Euros, credit cards....I even received change in US dollars, which was nice!

Your St Thomas tour brought back a lot of memories. I was also on a Bernards Tour in January and John was our driver. We went to pretty much all the same stops except Orient Bay and I have a picture with him holding a sea urchin.

 

Although he creeped me out a little (he kept making very suggestive comments that I just ignored), he absolutely catered to the kids in the group, which was nice to see. I'd use them again in the future.

 

Loving the review; keep up the good job!

I could see these guys were really good with the kids! My only experience with John was when he rescued me from getting too lost at the beach!!!

Still LOVING your review! :D Hate to see it end. :mad:

Do you remember what time the KLM flight was scheduled to land at Maho?? That's the one thing we REALLY want to see when we got to St. Martin. :)

Well...the AA flight landed at 2:00...so the KLM was between 1 and 2, I would say...but I don't have an exact time unless I did some more research on the internet. Does that narrow it down a bit? I'd say - if you were there, drinking at the Sunset Bar on the beach (!!) by 1:00 pm, you'd be sure to catch the KLM - in case it was a bit early!

Saturday…July 21st….Our LAST DAY.

Boo hoo. Our last day…which is a sea day, of course.

Once again, it’s an absolute gorgeous sunny day in the Caribbean, and I’m sure the pool deck is a hoppin’ place.

We, though, have other plans.

We head to the MDR for breakfast, because today, it’s the much-anticipated Chocolate Breakfast. Isn’t that the Best Thing Ever?! Chocolate for breakfast??!! I always remember the famous Bill Cosby routine where he serves his kids chocolate cake for breakfast, and the kids sing, “Dad is great…giving us chocolate cake.” So…as we sit down for breakfast that morning, I’m singing, “RC’s great…giving us chocolate cake….!” Mickey is NOT impressed. Hee hee. However, Mickey IS impressed by the offerings on the menu this morning, as she loads up with chocolate pancakes, chocolate French toast, and a chocolate shake. Yowza! My head waiter, Edwin, is in the dining room, and of course, he comes running over immediately to make sure that no gluten neurons, protons or electrons will touch my lips. Drat. I get the boring gluten-free French toast. It’s okay…but its NOT chocolate. Sigh.

The Walk for Wishes was today at 10:45 am on Deck 12, but sadly…I can’t walk. If it had been a Crawl for Wishes, I would have been able to participate.

At 11:00 am, there was a (free!) backstage tour of the Arcadia Theater. This was open to everyone – and no pre-registration was required. We spent an enjoyable hour here, listening to a singer, dancer, lighting guy, and the pulley guy (who makes people “fly” in the shows) discuss their various responsibilities on the ship. Here’s where the singer and dancer admit that they have a very cushy job; their average workday is about 6 hours long, at the most. You could ask any and all questions about ship life, or the shows in particular, and they were very forthcoming.

Ew - Alien Eyes...creepy. Anyway - those stairs go up to the wig room....

They talk a lot about auditions for the show, rehearsals, etc…Backstage, I was really surprised at the lack of space – and how creative the backstage crew is with storage. If you have an hour to kill, I’d recommend it. Pictures are allowed.

At noon, we wandered up to the FreedomFEST, which was a big street fair in the Royal Promenade. Besides live music, there were all kinds of booths set up, offering (free!) nibbles of different types of food; demonstrations (such as towel-animal making); and various games.

We headed to the Main Dining Room for lunch, as is our tradition now for our last sea day…I wanted to indulge in some of the delicious made-to-order salad. Even without Edwin, my Head Waiter-turned Gluten-Free Enforcer, anywhere near, the crew seemed to know I was "gluten-free" - it made me wonder if I'd been labeled as such in some secret, invisible way. Seriously - how did they KNOW??!! There was a big discussion amongst the crew on whether I could have blue cheese salad dressing; I kept trying to tell them it was okay; however, they were convinced that they couldn't take that chance. They were much relieved when I finally settled for a vinaigrette dressing...whew. Catastrophe averted.

Mickey and I sat with a couple who had gone on an RCI excursion in St. Maarten two days before, and arrived at the scene of the bus crash shortly after it happened. This was the first we’d heard of any such incident…and it was pretty scary, listening to this couple talk about it.

At 3:30 pm, we participated in the Freedom Scavenger Hunt…teams meet in the Schooner Bar, are given a list of things to find (or questions to answer), and we had about 20 minutes to get the answers. Mickey had to do most of the running, although I hobbled gamely on…this is where we discovered who the godmother of the ship is; how many hot tubs are onboard; how many conference rooms are onboard – and so on. This was an intense competition – and we didn’t win. Drat. But – it WAS a lot of fun and got Mickey involved, somewhat.

Dinner tonight was a “Feast of Nations” – and it was hard to say goodbye to our wait staff. Sunil, Vincent and Edwin were amazing, and they will be my first choice of wait staff if we ever cruise on Freedom again. Just so you know - we did NOT receive any vouchers in our room for our pre-paid tips...which was a little...unsettling. I realize it's a great paper-saver/money-saver - but it still feels weird.

The Farewell Show was at 7:00 and 9:00 pm – and it’s the usual clapfest where the crew is invited to come out on stage to receive their well-deserved accolades.

Tonight was when Mickey and I FINALLY discovered how to get to the helicopter pad; I was determined that I wasn’t leaving this ship until we found it. We spent a bit of time up there with others, enjoying the sunset and our last night

onboard.

All too soon…it was time to pack; get our luggage out in the hall; and call it a night.

After all of the drama that my family had experienced on our Debarkation from the Serenade of the Seas, it was nice to have a very calm, orderly process.

Really....it was wonderful.

We got up...gathered our few remaining belongings in our cabin...and then headed to the Main Dining Room, where Diamond members were allowed to congregate. We were in Group 7, and when our group was called, we headed off - through Immigration - and then to the luggage area.

We DID have to wait for what seemed like forever for our garment bag to appear...I was starting to get a bit anxious that it was Gone With the Wind - but it arrived...we walked out...across the street to my little silver car...and away we went.

We paid our (outrageous!) fee to the Port Parking Guy - and we were on the road, back to Ft. Myers, within an hour.

No drama. No excitement. No anxiety.

As it should be.

Great trip report. We have really enjoyed following along with your review.

We had planned to try some of the health club specials while on board but after reading your review I think we will take a pass.

Sheri thank you so much for sharing your wealth of information for both Europe and the Caribbean..we will be on the Celebrity Reflection next April and I was going nuts trying to figure out what to do and see in St Martin..now I know..Bernard's it is!!! One last question..how far out did you make your reservation with Bernard's? Thanks so very much!

Aww, I don't like when it's over! I hope you don't have PCD now and maybe you've convinced Hubby Mike to cruise again. I really hope you'll someday give one of the big girls a chance. We loved Oasis (but I have to admit Liberty is still our favorite) and are looking forward to Allure.

Thanks for helping with my decision on Bernard's. I have booked the same tour you took and we have already received our email confirmation from Bernard. :)

Once again, thanks for another great review. I'll be looking for future reviews from you, and I'll be following your blogs and living vicariously through you!

Sheri thank you so much for sharing your wealth of information for both Europe and the Caribbean..we will be on the Celebrity Reflection next April and I was going nuts trying to figure out what to do and see in St Martin..now I know..Bernard's it is!!! One last question..how far out did you make your reservation with Bernard's? Thanks so very much!

You're welcome!

I don't think you can ever book too soon with a private tour operator, but because this was a "last-minute" cruise for us, I probably didn't book Bernard's until a month out...he has several vans, so I don't know if he ever "sells" out. If it were me - I'd be sending in a request. :) Good luck and have fun!

Aww, I don't like when it's over! I hope you don't have PCD now and maybe you've convinced Hubby Mike to cruise again. I really hope you'll someday give one of the big girls a chance. We loved Oasis (but I have to admit Liberty is still our favorite) and are looking forward to Allure.

 

Thanks for helping with my decision on Bernard's. I have booked the same tour you took and we have already received our email confirmation from Bernard. :)

 

Once again, thanks for another great review. I'll be looking for future reviews from you, and I'll be following your blogs and living vicariously through you!

Yes. I DO have PCD and I'm still working on Hubby Mike. He'll cave. He always does. ;)

You'll have a great time with Bernard's...I hope you have Sexy as your driver! :)

Conclusion: REVIEW OF SHIP

Here, I want to focus specifically on the Freedom of the Seas, and our thoughts and impressions. For a brief background, I have ONLY sailed on RCI ships…here is my sailing history:

Serenade of the Seas (2004, 2012)

Radiance of the Seas (2005, 2007)

Brilliance of the Seas (2009)

Vision of the Seas (2006)

Freedom of the Seas (2012)

As you can see, I predominantly sail on the Radiance-class ships, as I like the mid-ship “feel”….and I like the beauty of the Radiance ships.

ROOM

We booked #9202, located on Deck 9 in the VERY front of the ship.

The Pros: Adequate space (and storage space) for two people. Loved the "space capsule" shower with it's adjustable height and water pressure; we always had hot water. Loved looking out our port hole and seeing where the ship was going. We also loved the fact that our little tiny hallway was quiet and remote. We didn't have groups going by, runners running by, etc. It was very peaceful. The beds were extremely comfortable and we were always comfortable with the room temperature in the cabin.

Cons: It's a heck of a walk to get there! Also...you can't have your curtains open in the evening, as the light from your cabin will interfere with the officers on the Bridge. The ship's motion is felt more up front.

Conclusion: The motion of the ship would prevent me from booking this cabin again...I guess I'm more sensitive to motion than I thought, so it will be back to the "hump" for me.

SHIP

The Freedom of the Seas is a beautiful ship - it blew me away from the minute I stepped onboard. It IS large, however...which initially threw me for a loop. However, by the end of the first day, I was quite comfortable with the size and navigation. The LCD touch-screen maps were an awesome feature, and helped tremendously.

Pool: We found the pool adequate for our needs, although the chairs fill up pretty quickly. I hated the towel policy, but I know RCI has been forced to do this. I enjoyed the big screen video, but I didn't always like the choices of movies they showed.

Gym: No complaints with the gym; plenty of equipment, although we didn't use it.

Spa: Services were good; we DID feel a bit more pressure to purchase the spa products onboard.

DINING

I will divide this into several sections, to make it easier:

1. Windjammer

2. Main Dining Room

3. My Time Dining

4. Specialty Restaurants (Chops; Portofino; Sorrento's; Cafe Promenade)

5. Room Service

Windjammer

Sigh. It's a buffet. I hate the chaos and the crowds, but it is what it is...and the food is hit or miss on quality, depending on what you choose. I did miss the outdoor seating that the Radiance-class ships offer.

Main Dining Room

Loved it. The service was fantastic; the food was much better than the SAME food I'd had on the Serenade. The Head Waiter, Edwin, was pro-active; not just with us, but with other diners, as well. He chatted with most of the guests every night; wouldn't be too snooty to serve a salad if needed; and took care of his stations. Loved him. Loved Sunil and Vincent, as well. Class acts all the way.

My Time Dining

Once again, this worked perfectly for us. We had made reservations ahead of time, and was always seated immediately...even if we showed up 45 minutes before our reservation.

Specialty Restaurants

A Mother/Daughter trip - so I didn't eat at Portofino or Chops. Drat. However, we did eat at Sorrento's Pizza quite a bit. Pizza was always hot; usually pretty tasty. Not the best pizza, but not the worst - and a good change from the usual Windjammer buffet for lunch. We also enjoyed the offerings at Cafe Promenade, especially the (free!) cookies.

Room Service

I forgot about it and never used it! Another drat!

ENTERTAINMENT AND ACTIVITIES

Graham Seymour was our CD, and he was the best CD we've ever had. Loved him. Loved his sense of humor. Loved the myriad of activities offered onboard; there was never a dull moment nor a "blank space" in the Compass.

The Rock Britannia and 70's Party are "do-not-miss" events onboard; we also enjoyed the Freedom Fest street fair.

The entertainment (shows, headliners, etc) were top-notch in quality. There was never a show that bored us or had us walking out early.

CROWN & ANCHOR PERKS

We began (and ended) this cruise as Diamond members. We didn’t use the Diamond lounge in the evenings, as children were not allowed and I was traveling with a (almost!) 13-year old. We did use a couple of coupons from our Diamond book, and we used the Priority check-in line at Embarkation.

SERVICE

Outstanding.

CONCLUSION

If I had ANY negatives about the Freedom, they were minor:

1. I missed the glass that is on the Radiance ships, so I sometimes "forgot" I was on a cruise...especially while traversing the Promenade, which felt like my neighborhood shopping mall. A minor negative....

2. It was crowded. Sometimes. The Promenade could get crowded in the evenings, and the Jammer was always crowded. I don't like crowds - never have - so it was a bit disconcerting. BUT - there's always a place to escape to, to avoid the crowds.

Those would be my only two negatives...which aren't much.

Would I sail on the Freedom again?

YOU BETCHA'!!!!

I just have to convince Hubby Mike to go with me. ;)

Thank you so much the great, informative review! Hubby and I will be sailing Freedom in December. I have just a few questions about your day in St. Thomas....

What time did Sonny Liston Tours get you back to the boat? I know we are supposed to be in port until 7:00 (all aboard I'm assuming is 6:30), but we have 7pm reservations for the Now You See It show that night, so I'm thinking we will need to be back onboard by 5:30 in order to get ready for the show and dinner later that night. Can you request to be back at the ship by a certain time or are the tour times pre-determined?

I had originally planned to just do St Thomas on our own, sky ride to the top of mountain (did you see the sky ride? Is this the same Mountain Top where the Banana Daiquiris are?) and then taxi to Sapphire Beach. However, after seeing your pictures and tour description, I am now thinking about Sonny Liston.

We have already decided on Bernard's for St. Martin.

Thanks for your help!!! Glad you got to enjoy a trip with your daughter. I would love to do something similar in a few years with my (almost) 7 year old DD.

Thank you so much the great, informative review! Hubby and I will be sailing Freedom in December. I have just a few questions about your day in St. Thomas....

 

What time did Sonny Liston Tours get you back to the boat? I know we are supposed to be in port until 7:00 (all aboard I'm assuming is 6:30), but we have 7pm reservations for the Now You See It show that night, so I'm thinking we will need to be back onboard by 5:30 in order to get ready for the show and dinner later that night. Can you request to be back at the ship by a certain time or are the tour times pre-determined?

 

I had originally planned to just do St Thomas on our own, sky ride to the top of mountain (did you see the sky ride? Is this the same Mountain Top where the Banana Daiquiris are?) and then taxi to Sapphire Beach. However, after seeing your pictures and tour description, I am now thinking about Sonny Liston.

 

We have already decided on Bernard's for St. Martin.

 

Thanks for your help!!! Glad you got to enjoy a trip with your daughter. I would love to do something similar in a few years with my (almost) 7 year old DD.

We were back onboard by 5:00 pm...so I think you'll have plenty of time to get ready!

And no - the Sky Ride is NOT the same as Mountain Top...that's totally different! :)

Good luck and have fun...and I highly recommend a Mother/Daughter trip down the road...a great way to connect and have some much-needed girl time. ;)

Ok, thanks for the info! This will help in our planning.

And yes, with the hubby as well as 4 more little boys in the family, I foresee us needing "lots" of girl time in the coming years! ;)

Thanks again Sherri. You are one terrific lady to do this. Totally enjoyed reading every line of you reviews. As much as I will miss your reviews, I will now have the time to get ready for my Sept. 8 cruise on Celebrity Summit. First time on Celebrity and really looking forward to it. We too will be in the front or forward part of the ship. Hope we like it. I don't get seasick, so should be OK. But, will probably use Bonine, just in case.

I would love to be on a cruise with you someday, but we only leave from Baltimore or New Jersey. Don't care to fly. But, could always drive to Florida if we need to.

At least now you can get back to reading your "Explosive Eighteen" before her new one comes out. Enjoy!!

Gwen :)

Terrific review! I can say that now you've joined the ranks of THE Kings of Reviews Radio and Trainman as the ones to follow!

I have only one question and I'm sure there are others on these boards that want to know ....

So Sherri...

When are we going on the next cruise?:D:D:D:D

Thank you so very much for an entertaining and enlightening review. It was a joy to read, and I'm sure I'll re-read it again soon to keep the excitement going until I sail on the Freedom of the Seas in October... just 7 weeks away!

I have the same question, when are we going on the next cruise?

I love your reviews and your pictures. Thank you for taking the time to do this.

I was on the fence about Bernard's Tour and you convinced me to book.

I have really enjoyed reading your trip report! Do have any trip reports to Walt Disney World posted somewhere, I would like to read them?

Thanks for the review....I felt as if I were cruising right along with you. We are doing eastern in April aboard the Allure with these ports. Looks like Sarafina's is a must do! Wasn't sure what we were going to do, but now I am sure it will be Sunny Liston for us.

Sherri,

Thanks for another great cruise review. I was hoping it might last another couple weeks to tide me over till we leave. :D

Bill

Thanks again, Sherrie for the info on the KLM plane coming into Maho. No need to check their schedule, I will try to do it before we leave on our FOS cruise in Oct. Sure hated to see that your review came to an end! :( It was great and I almost feel like I know you & your darling daughter personally! :) Will look forward to your next review when you convince hubby Mike to go on FOS !!!

Sherri, I held off from posting until the end and must say that this and the Med review were the best reviews ever! Please hurry and book another cruise. We are all waiting and planning on joining you..hee hee.

Sheri

Still looking for n email and I will send you my cell phone so we can meet up at Epcot. Looking forward to meeting you and getting ideas for our upcoming trip to italy.

(fishingfrye@comcast.net)

Barbara