dreday3

There was a little confusion about who belonged on what shuttle, but maybe 20 minutes at most. We weren't in any hurry so didn't bother us at all. :)

Had a good burger and sangria at a place called Preachers right by hotel.

The shuttle was great. Easy ride, fun driver.

The hotel is great. Big room for the two of us. Very clean, updated looking. So far, pretty pleased with our choice. Will be here until we board Freedom on Sunday. :D

We should be arriving Friday and staying at Residence Inn until Sunday.

Anything not to miss? Any festivals, fun local things to do?

Suggestions welcome! :)

Hi! We are staying at Residence Inn this coming Friday until we leave on cruise Sunday. I think I read you walked about a mile? This may be a weird question, but I was wondering if it is walkable around there or if there are no sidewalks? We were thinking of going to the manatee park, maybe play mini golf at the place you took a picture of. Thanks! :)

Geez...2 died? That's so sad.:(

Try not to worry. Hopefully once you are on your way you will feel more in the vacation mood. It used to happen to me as I was in the airport recording my "out of office" message.

 

Our first cruise was very windy and rough and we still had a good time. I thought all cruises would be like that. Every cruise is different and being flexible makes it easier.

 

Hope your kitty does well with treatment.

 

Debbie

Thank you. Dumb cat, I love him. ;) :)

Leave 11/29 and already checked in online and printed set sail pass. I now know which credit card I want to use for $500 hold. Should I just add it at pier at this point?

Also, do I sign the set sail pass now?

Thanks!:)

We leave on 11/29 on FOS Eastern Caribbean. If it's still really windy and rocking, can we still sit on the deck during the day? We will take bonine each night just in case. I have no idea, when it's like this, can you still go to bars, have fun, or is it too hard to walk?:confused:

This is our first cruise and everything seems to be going wrong. Our 18 year old cat was just diagnosed with early stage 3 kidney failure. :( he is doing fine right now and will be staying at the vets office while we are gone where they will start treatments to hopefully slow progression, but still, I'm very worried.

Then I ended up starting a new job at beginning of November which is great, but stressful and I have barely thought about this trip and now it's here. :eek:

I know this is my stress talking, but I'm not looking forward to this trip!

Hopefully all my stress slides away when I get on the ship. :)

Data roaming should be set to OFF, phone roaming will need to be on to connect to the Cellular at Sea service, if you don't want to incur charges when the Cellular at Sea service is off, turn off roaming about 1 hour before the ship docks at ports, or before if you notice a different carrier shown on your phone

Thanks! For some reason I can only find a way to turn on/off data roaming, so I'm assuming my phone roaming is on?

So we have the cellular at sea package (50 free minutes, 100 free texts) mostly to keep in contact with our vet that our cat is staying with.

My package applies ONLY when cellular at sea is displayed on my phone, right?? I know to turn my data connection off (if off, can still receive/make calls right?) but what about roaming? It's already set to off, leave it that way, right?

Leave in a little over a week, time sure flew by....:eek:

Thanks all.

Excursion is the Secret Sands on St. Thomas. About 3.5 hours, tour guide provides drinks, with us whole time. I'll budget for $20 for tour, give or take. :)

Hi,

What's a standard tip for two people with 3 pieces of luggage for a shuttle bus driver?

Also, tip for two people for operator of our excursion?

Thanks! :D

Hi! We will be on this excursion in a few weeks...is there a restroom? Can you bring a lunch?

:)

We are using the Cocoa Beach Shuttle to take us from MCO to Residence Inn. $58 for two.

On way home we are using Cortrans to get back to airport, $40 for two. Would have used them both ways, but the latest pick up that day was before we even arrived.

What a treat to watch it leave all lit up, so pretty.:)

It's almost 7 PM Florida time and Freedom is still there. Anyone know why? :)

I don't think you need to do the self-assist thing. However, you should get luggage tag numbers that get you off the ship by 9am. See Guest Services for that. You should be OK with a 9:45am shuttle.

Thanks! So just see guest services on board the ship?

I ask so many questions!:D don't worry, cruise is almost here and then I won't have so many questions if we decide to cruise again. ;)

Can I jump in?:p

We have a 12:55 PM flight out of MCO. We will be on Freedom.

1. Do you think we should self-disembark? Or will doing the other way give us enough time?

2. Cortrans shuttle said we would have a 9:30-9:45 shuttle pick up. That should be good to make a 12:55 flight at MCO?

Thanks!

For all ships except Quantum and Anthem it will be sent to you (via email normally) a few days before sailing. Other than Australia, as you mentioned, it is rarely enforced.

 

Here is the email we got about 5 days prior to our last sailing

 

We, at Royal Caribbean international, want your vacation to get off on a wonderful start and in order to facilitate your check-in process, ask that you arrive at the cruise terminal according to the following designated times. This will help ensure a smooth embarkation experience so that you can begin your vacation as soon as possible:

 

Deck 10: 10:30 AM

Deck 9: 11:15 AM

Deck 8: 12:00 PM

Deck 7: 12:45 PM

Deck 4: 1:30 PM

Deck 2 & 3: 2:00 PM

 

Our Suites and loyal Crown and Anchor guests at the Pinnacle, Diamond Plus, Diamond, Emerald, and Platinum levels can check-in at their convenience between the hours of 10:30 AM and 2:30 PM. We look forward to welcoming you onboard for an incredible vacation experience!

Thanks! It says 12:45 for deck 7. We will still go early unless I hear times are enforced soon.

Uh oh, I already did all that online and I don't think I selected anything.....:o

We will just be there about 11 I guess.

I know boarding time isn't really enforced, but where do you find it?

Thanks :)

You cannot get to the water directly in front of the cabanas because of the huge rocks there. However, it's a short walk to the beach.

 

The cabinettes are on Barefoot Beach, which is barely showing on the lower right (#34) of this image:

 

The cabanas are shown at #2 on this image.

Wow, the cabanettes do seem isolated! Near a bathroom, that's good :p. We purchased one and are excited. Just hope we can dock that day!

$50 is not for cabanas...might be for clam shells.....

Yes, that's what I said.

Just to confirm, I spoke with two different people at Royal Caribbean (apparently they have the same reputation as Disney - everyone gives a different answer! :p)

Both confirmed that each package is for two, so only make the reservation under one name for two people - otherwise you will be charged $49.95 each, which would result in two packages, so 4 of everything! :D

Again, this was what was explained to me by the RC reps on the phone, so take it as you will.

I only booked under my name. Worst comes to worst, one of us will have to sit in the sand, while the other enjoys a fruit platter. :D

Are there any chairs and/or umbrellas or food options available? I know they just built some bathrooms/showers.

 

We will be doing a snorkeling excursion in the morning, but that ends at 11:30 and departs back by the ships. So, we should get there around noon-ish, is this doable given potential crowds?

 

Also - how "clean" is the beach? Meaning no trash, cigarette butts, etc. in the sand? thanks!

From what I've read, there are no food options available. On the excursion they bring drinks, snacks, but suggest you bring a sandwich. It's supposed to be pretty undeveloped! :)

Mine were issued yesterday and the print my luggage tags message magically appeared!

I printed them, but how in the heck do you fold them?? :p Is each printed page one ticket? - guest name, just put my last name? Should we put a tag on the bag we plan to carry on to the ship?