AmericanMom

Yes!!! I zoomed in on a breakfast photo and there it is! 🙂 Happy sailing!

I'm sorry to hear that! We actually found that most people were pretty patient. We took a bunch of tours and she had to get her walker every time we got our of the vans. The drivers were especially helpful and she usually wasn't the only one. The biggest issue was that we always had to wait for the elevators because navigating stairs is difficult, even if it's only to go up or down a single flight. Hopefully everyone is much kinder on your next trip! ❤️

We've done Freedom twice. It's a great ship. It's awesome that you have TWO great trips to look forward to this year! Have a blast!

Lucky you!! You're going to have so much fun!

Some pics from our last day in Puerto Rico. It was a great cruise. As I said before, Jewel is a smaller ship but that turned out to be what we needed this time around. Because the cruise was so port-heavy, by the time we got back to the ship, we were really too tired to do a LOT of the other things that the ship offered. In spite of there being no Wave Rider or Ice Rink, there were still shows every night and the Centrum, pool deck and Safari club always had something going on. You will never be bored, even if you have kids. On every RC cruise, if nothing else, I suggest always participating in Crazy Quest and watching Love & Marriage. They are really entertaining and very memorable experiences.

As promised:

Day 8 and the end of another fantastic vacation. 🥺 Believe it or not, we were not done with the adventure just yet! We woke up in Puerto Rico (which is not a bad place to be 🙂). We have The Key so we headed down for breakfast in Tides on Deck 4. Anyone could actually dine in the didning room but They Key guests and back-to-backers have different menus. The food was good, although service was a little slow, but we ended up sitting next to some great people that we took a tour with so it was nice to meet up one more time before we went our separate ways. Today, in our attemt tp delay the inevitable, we had one more excursion booked: Old and new San Juan with Airport Drop-Off. Our flight was booked for 2:30 pm so we took advantage of the time and took one last ride through San Juan. Even though we had spent a couple days in the city, a professional tour always provides so much more information (and entertainment) and we really enjoy learning about the histories of different countries (yes I know PR is part of in OUR country now but it wasn't always. Ask someone about the Banana Wars someday 🍌!) Our tour guide was Herman and not only was he informative, he was really funny and very patient. We toured Old San Juan first and learned a bit of history. Then we moved to "new" San Juan (outside the walled city) and then had stops in Condado and an African Disapora town called Loiza. The weather was perfect and I think that made me regret that the vacation was over the most. After the tour, Herman took us to the airport where we collected our bags and checked in. Quick note: when you get to the airport in PR, you need to send your bags through the agriculture scanners before you check in. Our flight was scheduled to leave from Terminal C but the machines that we were next to said "scanners for Terminal B Customers only" or something like that. We were going to bypass them and look for Terminal C ones but a guy stopped us and said the note didn't matter as long as the bags were scanned. You won't be able to check your bags onto the planes unless they have the bright orange stickers which are proof they've been checked. Just don't bring any fresh fruit or veggies with you when you leave the ship to same some time and embarrassment. There was a medical emergency on our place which caused some of the oxygen masks to drop. They had to be replaced before we could board so we ended up being delayed for about an hour. It was fine; we had seats and entertainement. However there were quite a few people that were concerned about missing connecting flights (totally understandable). The airline seemd to be trying their best to help them out. When we arrived back in Philly, there was an announcement that folks with connecting fights to xx should head directely to xx because they were holding the plane. So I guess they were especially accommodating where it was possible. Back home now. Happy to be sleeping in my own bed... not so much that I have to start doing my own cooking and cleaning and working again. We have another cruise already on the books but it's not until the end of the year. Until then... Happy Sailing, everyone! 🛳️🚢

You can't take photos in the shop and we had then delivered to the ship so I haven't taken any pictures. I'll post them as soon as they are unpacked.

This is the way! ⬆️

The food was great on most days. On the last day I had some vegetarian moussaka that was very bland and Mom had some fish that wasn't cooked all the way through one night, but overall it wasn't bad. I'm a pescatarian so my choices are a bit more limited than everyone else's but other than those two specific issues, no one complained. Mom even said the lobster was cooked perfectly on Day 6 (it's super easy to overcook) so don't let that put you off. Honestly, if you're eating something you don't like, you can always get a different entree. I didn't change out the moussaka because the ship was rocking (it was the only time I felt it) and I really didn't want much more to eat that night.

End of Day 7 - After returning to the ship, we relaxed in the room for a bit and watched an amazing sunset. It was a glorious goodbye to the Caribbean Sea for at least another year for us. We have a few different trips planned for 2024. The RCL crew did their best to keep the party going but you could definitely feel like things were wrapping up. We had dinner with Eliseo and John for the last time. (And Head Waiter Ben). I know there's some convenience with My Time dining but when you have the same wait staff every day, it's the coolest thing. We get to know them and they get to know us a bit and it's always hard to say goodbye. It was pajama night so some folks wore pajamas to dinner. It didn't have as much impact as 70's night but a few people did participate. Dinner itselt was ok. Mom and I both got the vegetarian moussaka which kind of sucked. It had no flavor. It came with a pointless veggie side dish that also had no flavor. Hubby and dad had the turkey and said it was all right. The wait staff did a little parade and dance in the middle of dinner so we could show our appreciation for their hard work and long hours 👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾. I'm sure they appreciated the envelopes more than the applause💰💰💰. In all seriousness, they really did a great job and we were truly appreciative. We had packed up and left our bags out before dinner but they were still there when I got back to the room (everyone else stayed out watching the karaoke final in the Centrum 🥴😖). I chose my sanity. So I showered and changed and had time to get my last set of clothes and shoes into my bag before it was taken. The guy next door must have had the same idea. I went out into the hall (wearing my pajamas) to put my clothes in my bag. The guy next door came out in his underwear. 😳😖 (I did NOT need to see that! 🤣🤣🤣). So it was an early night for me but we still have one last excursion: New and Old San Juan with airport drop off. Here we come Puerto Rico!🇵🇷

He got a couple bottles of Blanton's that aren't sold in the states as well as a really nice bottle of Johnnie Walker Blue Label.