Preview and Semi-live Trip Report Freedom Western Caribbean

Look what I found!

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More local photos.

Florida Scrub Jay

Freedom when she was at Port Canaveral.

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As time ticks away toward this sailing, more things are coming together. I've heard from one excursion vendor, Maya Chan, and have the rest of my excursion payment to send before the end of November.

I like to prepay as much as possible, including my onboard account, because I want to walk off not owing anything from my vacation. Last year, for our 5 day Majesty sailing, I had purchased a $100 electronic gift certificate and added that to our onboard account. We take cash on for extra tips, and spending in port. We ended up spending $10 on drinks, and $40 on t-shirts, and $40 on the galley tour and brunch, and got a refund to our credit card on file.

This time, for the first time, we have $100 onboard credit due to the change in fare type when we were upgraded to the JS. I will decide the week before if I am going to ask them to just charge me as we go to my card on file, or if I am going to prepay the account again. We honestly don't drink all that much, and don't visit the casino. I'm highly reactive to smoke with my asthma.

Equipment prepared so far:

Reef shoes for DH and I for Cozumel and Costa Maya, not allowed to be used at Stingray City in Grand Cayman

Full face snorkel masks, RX for me, and regular polarized for DH

Microfiber towels for our excursions, except for Costa Maya, we will take regular pool towels from the ship

Reef safe sunscreen for those three excursions

Beach bag dry bag

Mini dry bag

GoPro with waterproof case

Fujifilm X90 waterproof camera

30 days to go, with 29 until my vacation begins!

3 more Fridays to work in 2017, after this cruise, I have a week of holiday leave from my university, and we don't work next Friday because of the Thanksgiving closure.

I am very pleased that I found reef shoes for DH, as he has very wide feet, and reef shoes are rather limited in sizes.

I hope everyone is having a wonderful day!

From my garden

These are from my cruise last year, in Cococay.

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[emoji1303]❤️

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A few other things.

Here on CC, and on other travel sites, you will see people recommend over the door shoe holders, random magnets, washing balls, ball washers, sanitizing wipes and lights, etc. :eek:

I don't do any of that. We live close enough to port that we can bring enough clothing for our trip. We currently have three closets full of clothing. We can bring some of that with us and not be washing our undies in the sink on a regular basis. The only time you will ever hear that I did that is if I get on Survivor, and I am not interested in that. :p

DH and I teach wilderness first aid. One of the biggest things we teach people is about sanitation, and how bad sanitation can make your life a misery.

Wash your hands, don't stick your hands in your mouth or anyone elses. Don't let other people stick their grubby hands in your mouth. See? It's not that hard. :rolleyes:

We do enjoy sharing food, but with our own utensils.

The only handy packing item we own is a toiletry bag that includes a handy hook, and that will be used for toiletries. ;p

26 more days! I'm looking forward to Thanksgiving this week, at my home, using the wedding china we have never used in 20 years. It is just our nuclear family together, and I am happy about that. DS is 19 and will soon be too busy for his parents on holidays.

I've mentioned Maya Chan before, and the way the deposit and final payment system works is this:

Once you make the reservation request, you wait up to three days to get an invoice for the deposit, and part of that email is a three page document outlining what is included:

We include transportation from and back to the port, FREE WIFI , kayaking, standup paddle boarding, and snorkeling, all you can eat Mayan Feast lunch, and our never ending premium bar service. 6 types of beer on ice, 8 tequilas, and 6 types of rum. All served in your private shade venue. Lots of special blended drinks for all ages

And what they want you to know before you pay the deposit.

We do have space on the day you requested.

We are only able to hold your space for 24 hours.

If you are traveling with others that are making separate reservations, please send me those names.

I have attached some photos and our resort info sheet for your review.

We are just a very simple funky beach hang out. We don't have pristine water since we all keep our waters natural. Just like it should be. We clean our beach of seagrass everyday. The Costa Maya Coastline is a turtle preserve. If you need to have a Disney created beach, stay at the Port, or go into town. In town, they use dredges and tractors to make it look better. If you want the real Caribbean experience, then our place is for you.

 

We include transportation from and back to the port, FREE WIFI , kayaking, standup paddle boarding, and snorkeling, all you can eat Mayan Feast lunch, and our never ending premium bar service. 6 types of beer on ice, 8 tequilas, and 6 types of rum. All served in your private shade venue. Lots of special blended drinks for all ages

 

Massages are available for $ 25.00 half hour, $ 45.00 hour, and very popular. No reservations needed for massage

Email me back to confirm We will then send you a Paypal invoice and resort instructions. If within 90 days, we will invoice in full. If over 90 days, we will send out a Paypal invoice for a small deposit. Approx. 30 days before your sailing date, we will send out a final invoice and resort instructions.

No paypal account is needed. Any credit/debit cards work. We use Paypal as our credit/debit card servicer.

Thank you very much for your request and I hope you decide to hang with us when you arrive in Costa Maya.

We have now received an invoice for the remaining balance, due at the end of the month. I really like the ability to prepay as much as possible. We are not inclined to carry a lot of cash on us in our normal lives, so the fact that many of the excursion or beach day vendors want you to pay cash is daunting.

In 29 days, this will be my view.

Photo credit: Maya Chan

After today, I only work 15 more days until we sail.

Tomorrow will be a quiet Thanksgiving dinner at my home, I hope you and yours have a nice day.

We have now received an invoice for the remaining balance, due at the end of the month. I really like the ability to prepay as much as possible. We are not inclined to carry a lot of cash on us in our normal lives, so the fact that many of the excursion or beach day vendors want you to pay cash is daunting.

 

What is Maya Chan's refund policy should you later need to cancel, or if the ship for some reason does not stop at Costa Maya? I too like to pre-pay, but only if there's a good refund policy.

What is Maya Chan's refund policy should you later need to cancel, or if the ship for some reason does not stop at Costa Maya? I too like to pre-pay, but only if there's a good refund policy.

They will refund you in full. In fact, should there be less than great weather or a lot of sea grass, or water hazards, they will ask you at the port if you still want to go and refund you if you don't want to.

Thanks. I'm interested in reading what you think when you visit as I'm looking forward to giving Maya Chan a shot.

I will write an objective report.

During lunch today at work, I spoke with some people who have cruised to these ports before, and it was recommended that we should go to Sky Reef in Cozumel for snorkeling.

Today is one I have looked forward to my whole life. Cooking and having Thanksgiving dinner in my first home.

We bought our home in May, and we will use the dining room for the first time today.

We are also using our wedding china that has been in a box for 20 years.

Have a blessed Thanksgiving with those you love. 🦃

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Our feast was great.

Bourbon pumpkin spice pie

Cornbread and sausage dressing.

Mushroom soup

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22 days until my vacation begins! 🚢 ⚓ 🍹

23 days until I sail!

If you are going Black Friday shopping, please be careful out there.

I've seen nothing more vicious than Black Friday shoppers with a minivan to fill up. 🤤

My only outings will be for hooks to hang Christmas lights and the grocery store for tea.

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If you have a smart phone, and are traveling with a passport in the US, you should add the Mobile Passport app from US Customs & Border Patrol. I have had it for a year or so, and just scanned our passports and took photos so we can use it when coming back through Port Everglades.

https://mobilepassport.us/

I will report back how well it works for us.

I’d be interested to know how the passport app works?

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You scan your passport, take a headshot, verify the information, choose your port/airport, terminal, date. When re-entering the US, you answer customs questions and have the ability to bypass the regular lines.

"Eligible travelers can download theMobile Passport*app from the Google Play Store and Apple App Store. ... Travelers then bring their*passport*and mobile*device with their digital bar-coded receipt to a CBP officer to finalize their inspection for entry into the United States." Aug 18, 2017

It is not available at all airports, and Port Everglades is the only cruise port that has it.

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Interesting...I’ll await your report [emoji16]

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You can't beat the price. [emoji3]

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I've used the Mobile Passport app several times. Works great so long as your arrival airport/port accepts it. Many of the bigger airports accept it now but some don't yet (e.g. Cincinnati :(). The only cruise port that currently takes it is Port Everglages. Details here.

I've used the Mobile Passport app several times. Works great so long as your arrival airport/port accepts it. Many of the bigger airports accept it now but some don't yet (e.g. Cincinnati :(). The only cruise port that currently takes it is Port Everglages. Details here.

Thanks for sharing your experience.

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