LIVE From the Freedom of the Seas

[Trainman-2]

Philipsburg, St. Maarten (Spelled Correctly) :D

[Trainman-2]

We made it ashore this morning. Here's the proof...

 

 

We did not take the water taxi to the Downtown Area. We left that to the Power Shoppers. There is a nice area just off the ship where we did our shopping.

 

We took a golf cart type free shuttle to the shopping area and back. It was really nice and saved Carol a lot of walking.

 

Here are some random photos...

 

 

 

 

 

[Trainman-2]

And here is our "haul" from two days of shopping!

 

 

$9.99 spread around the Eastern Caribbean.

 

I am sure that the Politicians in Washington are proud of us! :eek:

[jillybabes]

Trainman-2 I just found your postings and am enjoying your cruise. I will be on FOS 11/8, can't wait. I will be celebrating 30th anniversary with DH. My DH wants to know what movies are playing and how often can you see one? Also, when did you get your tickets for the ice show? We loved the ice show on another RCCL ship.

 

Have a wonder cruise. Your pictures are fantastic!

 

Hello 3JM...Yes i am a mom 3 times..all boys..and we are all Ds DH and myself included..I see you are in Clearwater..I am in Deltona. I think i mentioned we will be celebrating our 15th Anniversary. We should get together for an Anniversary drink..LOL I too am driving the family crazy..Especially my boys..They have never been on a ctuise and are so jealous. :D

 

 

mom3times & 3JM: We also will be on board Freedom on the 11/08 sailing...The formal nights on a 7 nt cruise are usually the 2nd nite which would be Monday the 9th and the next to last night which would be Friday the 13th (hope this helps with your making a reservation...)

3JM: Tell your DH that movies are shown in the cabin on the tv at various times during the day throughout the cruise...We are south of you in Indian Shores!

Trainman-2: Enjoying your posts and pictures, never can see enough of St Thomas and one of our favorite ports St. Maarten:p!!!

[Trainman-2]

Its time for a nap and then a visit to the Pool deck and the Solarium. :D

[ccletzgo]

Another excellent breakfast (for me) in the Windjammer this morning!

 

 

If you haven't figured this out yet, Carol sleeps late and I take her a breakfast and coffee which she enjoys on our balcony.

 

oh man..........your killing me here.. that just looks too good!

[MICHLEV1974]

Thanks again for the wonderful pix and commentary. I look forward to reading them each day.

[miamiyogi]

I am so glad you and your wife are having a great time. Thanks for spending the time to post the wonderful pics.

[Mystic Seaport]

Trainman- Sorry to hear about the rudeness aboard the Freedom. My wife and I will be sailing the Freedom/Western Caribbean on 15Nov09. My wife has MS and uses a power wheelchair. We heard good things about RCCL and passengers with special needs. I guess you can't fix rudeness. Have a great time, awesome photos & look forward to reading your posts. Thanks!

[shezza]

your posts and photos are fab!!! thank you. myself, partner (both evil smokers) and son will be onboard on 8th Nov. could you just tell me if they sell the evil cigs on board the ship??

[Trainman-2]

Let me be very clear about this.

 

RCI, the Company, goes out of their way to meet the needs of handicapped passengers. It is a pleasure to work with them.

 

Our problems have been mostly the other passengers. The exception to this being some of the wait staff in the MDR who are busily rushing around serving everyone.

 

I understand their being in a hurry but I have had to ask several of them to stand back and let Carol through. This problem only occurred the first or second night. They now all know us and go our of their way to help. Once the realized how difficult it is sometimes for Carol to move through crowded areas they became her advocates and are now very helpful.

 

I have talked with many other passengers who have said they have quit going to Europe and other areas because they do not have the Laws to support handicapped people like the US does.

 

There is one lady on board in a scooter who is downright dangerous to be around. She scoots forward while talking to the people along side of or behind her and does not look where she is going. She "rear ended" a guy in another scooter yesterday near the Windjammer.

[Trainman-2]

Another Excellent Lunch in the Windjammer today.

 

WOW! Just WOW!

 

They more than made up for a disappointing dinner last night.

 

The Carved Lamb and the Blacked Fish were excellent and the Black Bean Soup was the best I have ever had!

 

BTW - I noticed that the dinners in the MDR have been very quiet and orderly so far this week. After last night in the Windjammer I know know why. That is where all of the kids are. They were everywhere!

[audome78]

mom3times & 3JM: We also will be on board Freedom on the 11/08 sailing...The formal nights on a 7 nt cruise are usually the 2nd nite which would be Monday the 9th and the next to last night which would be Friday the 13th (hope this helps with your making a reservation...)

 

Jill,

 

Sue and I will miss you and Dave by a few months- B2B in Feb/Mar. on FOS. Hope all is well- big day for us i 2 days- #1 son gets married!

 

Hi to Dave- enjoy the FReedom!

 

Trainman- sorry to hijack- we REALLY enjoy your efforts!

[Trainman-2]

I noticed that there is a lot of dredging going on here and I got to wondering why so I looked up the itinerary for the Oasis and sure enough, she will be coming here.

 

 

 

 

 

[joan_al]

 

If you haven't figured this out yet, Carol sleeps late and I take her a breakfast and coffee which she enjoys on our balcony.

 

Trainman-2, you're a good man. My pay back when I do that is the smile on her face. Don't you just love it....

Great thread. Thanks for the time you took away for your vacation for us.

Al

[balcony4u]

Hi Trainman-2, I was wondering if you have had an opportunity to check out the snack time in the windjammer from 3-5?

[Dett]

Trainman - Can you stay on the ship another week? I am really enjoying seeing your pictures and reading your posts. What will I do next week and the week after and the week after........ until we go on FOS in January? We are doing Western Caribbean so will see different ports. We went to the ones that you are visiting last January.

[jillybabes]

mom3times & 3JM: We also will be on board Freedom on the 11/08 sailing...The formal nights on a 7 nt cruise are usually the 2nd nite which would be Monday the 9th and the next to last night which would be Friday the 13th (hope this helps with your making a reservation...)

 

Jill,

 

Sue and I will miss you and Dave by a few months- B2B in Feb/Mar. on FOS. Hope all is well- big day for us i 2 days- #1 son gets married!

 

Hi to Dave- enjoy the FReedom!

 

Trainman- sorry to hijack- we REALLY enjoy your efforts!

 

Jim: Congrats on the wedding...Hi to Sue from us...Hope to sea you again on the high seas...

Now back to your regularly scheduled program :p

[Trainman-2]

Hi Trainman-2, I was wondering if you have had an opportunity to check out the snack time in the windjammer from 3-5?

 

 

Thanks For The Reminder!

 

I rushed right up to the Windjammer and guess what I found!

 

Warm Deserts! WOW! Thank You Again**

 

 

 

Also...

 

Hamburgers

Hot dogs

French Fries

BBQ'ed Ribs

Sandwich Fixin's

Taco Fixin's

Other Lesser Deserts

Fruits

Cheeses

and much, much more

 

** My Team of Doctors Will Be Adding You To Their Enemies List Soon! They want me to lose weight and give up everything that feels good, tastes good, and smells good. :D

[3JM]

mom3times & 3JM: We also will be on board Freedom on the 11/08 sailing...The formal nights on a 7 nt cruise are usually the 2nd nite which would be Monday the 9th and the next to last night which would be Friday the 13th (hope this helps with your making a reservation...)

3JM: Tell your DH that movies are shown in the cabin on the tv at various times during the day throughout the cruise...We are south of you in Indian Shores!

Trainman-2: Enjoying your posts and pictures, never can see enough of St Thomas and one of our favorite ports St. Maarten:p!!!

 

Hi jillybabes, thanks for the response. I was referring to the movie theater which I think is on Deck 2. I remember one cruise relaxing watching a movie in a theater. I hope they still have that open.

 

What time are you leaving Indian Rock's to go to the ship? We were going to try for 10, depends how much sleep we get the night before. I think it should be about a 2 1/2 hr drive. we just did it in May for our last cruise.

[jillybabes]

Hi jillybabes, thanks for the response. I was referring to the movie theater which I think is on Deck 2. I remember one cruise relaxing watching a movie in a theater. I hope they still have that open.

 

What time are you leaving Indian Rock's to go to the ship? We were going to try for 10, depends how much sleep we get the night before. I think it should be about a 2 1/2 hr drive. we just did it in May for our last cruise.

 

We are leaving on the Friday b4 the cruise and staying in Orlando for 2 nts pre-cruise as we have annual passes to SeaWorld and want to use it one more time b4 the end of the year:D...It does take about 2 1/2 hours to get from Indian Shores to Port Canaveral without any stops along the way:p...

[mommabean]

I've never eaten in the Windjammer for lunch other than the first day. Suddenly I want to.

 

I LOVE the food pictures.

 

Gina

[jillybabes]

I've never eaten in the Windjammer for lunch other than the first day. Suddenly I want to.

 

I LOVE the food pictures.

 

Gina

 

 

You don't know what you're missing Gina, or maybe you do now that you see the pics :p

[mommabean]

You don't know what you're missing Gina, or maybe you do now that you see the pics :p

 

It's just so hard to eat everywhere. On Radiance we want to eat in Sea View Cafe on sea days. On Freedom I kept wanting to eat at Sorrentos. They seemed to have different food each day, too. Even the Promenade Cafe had tasty little sandwiches. And now I see all this Windjammer food? There just aren't enough meals in a day. :p

 

Who needs Johnny Rockets coupons? I can't imagine wanting to eat there even for free with all the other food that's available.

 

No, I have no complaints about the food on board.

 

Don't forget to try the free range chicken in the MDR on Freedom. I hope they offer it on my upcoming Radiance cruises.

 

Gina

[joan_al]

 

Don't forget to try the free range chicken in the MDR on Freedom. I hope they offer it on my upcoming Radiance cruises.

 

Gina

 

Thanks for making me laugh I really needed it.

 

"It turns out the the term "free range" can be rather loosely applied in some countries and it applies to ours. The birds may still be de-beaked and while not in cages, only have a very limited area to move around in. They may be crammed into sheds in the thousands and although the birds have access to the outside, it's only the chickens close to the door that can get out."

But yet they are allowed to label them "free range".