No expectations makes for a great FREEDOM cruise! My Story:

[pinkroses]

Michele, I am looking forward to the rest!!! Each time you "get ready for dinner", I have visions of you and three kids trying to shower. :) You and the kids looked beautiful for formal night! We are traveling on the Freedom in June with kids, 20 and 17, along with 20 other people. Did the Explorer out of Bayonne two years ago and I loved it!! It was the first vacation we have ever been on where I had to to NOTHING!!!!

Keep the pictures coming!!

 

Susan

[QTMichele]

We are exhausted and decide to sleep in today. A late breakfast in the Windjammer kick starts our day, then off the ship to visit St. Martin. Originally, we were going to go to Orient Beach, but we decided to play it more low key. We took the Water Taxi to the shops and beach in Philipsburg. My sister, niece and youngest DD stayed at the beach while the rest of us walked around the shops. It was hot and humid! (For a change!)

 

St. Martin Dock

 

 

Since no one was in the mood for the beach or shopping, we decided to get back on the ship and enjoy the Freedom. Lunch at Johnny Rockets was our first stop (they didn't open until 1). We sat outside and enjoyed the view of an older ship docked next to us. I believe this was an old Celebrity ship sold to another line. It looked very blah - I was very happy to be on the Freedom.

 

Johnny Rockets was good (for greasy grub!), but the service was slow today. Not sure why? The kids ordered milkshakes - they were yummy! I ordered a cheeseburger, but only had a few bites. Too many onion rings beforehand!

 

The rest of the afternoon was spent at the H2O Zone for the kids. They played all afternoon and had a blast. I decided to do the Ultimate Race Challenge with my siblings and oldest DD. We met in the Promenade only to be told we would have a milder challenge because of the weather (it had started to RAIN). So, instead of rock climbing, running, surfing, and whatever else they usually do, we had a scavenger hunt. We had a fun time getting most of the items. We were missing a few (pink sarong, postcard and Royal Caribbean t-shirt), but we were proud of ourselves for trying. We were the first team to check in, but another team had bummed and borrowed from the passengers and came in with all their items. Oh well! We were happy for them!

 

For whatever reason, none of us felt like going to the dining room for dinner - off the the Windjammer we went. Again, the lighting was low and the tables were set with napking and silverware. It was a lot busier tonight than it had been on the first formal night that I was banished by my son from the main dining room. It was still relaxing and a nice change of pace with the kids.

 

After dinner we stuck to our usual routine. The kids went to Adventure Ocean, then I dropped off my DS with the babysitters and off I went for some adult time!

 

I skipped the show tonight - Now You See It, a magic show starring Drew Thomas of America's Got Talent. I heard it was fantastic! I did go to the Battle of the Sexes Gameshow. I had a few laughs, but found this to be a little cheesy. Seems to me that it would be more fun with a few (er, a lot) of drinks in me.

 

The day was coming to a close, so I picked up my girls, stopped at - you guessed it - Sorrento's, and went to our stateroom for our midnight snack. It was a good day, even with the turn in the weather. All of us were looking forward to our upcoming sea days.

 

 

My absolute FAVORITE towel animal so far... can you guess what it is?

 

 

This little guy just cracked me up! Hopefully you can guess... if not, scroll down for the answer...

 

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He's a PIG!

 

Tomorrow is a sea day... stay tuned for more pictures!!!

[QTMichele]

Michele, I am looking forward to the rest!!! Each time you "get ready for dinner", I have visions of you and three kids trying to shower. :) You and the kids looked beautiful for formal night! We are traveling on the Freedom in June with kids, 20 and 17, along with 20 other people. Did the Explorer out of Bayonne two years ago and I loved it!! It was the first vacation we have ever been on where I had to to NOTHING!!!!

Keep the pictures coming!!

 

Susan

 

Thanks, Susan! Let me tell you, no amount of imagination could possibly prepare me for getting three kids and myself ready for dinner each evening! My girls did a great job getting themselves showered, but showering with my son was quite the experience. Actually, it wasn't the room in the shower that was bad (it was okay, I thought, and I'm not skinny!), it was trying to get alllllll that sunscreen off of his body. Not to mention that he hates showers! (Loved the spray from the baby splash zone though - go figure.) :rolleyes:

 

Oh - just a reminder, we did have connecting cabins so my girls had their own bathroom. This made things MUCH easier and MUCH less stressful! :)

 

As a mom, I'm sure you can fully appreciate what a cruise does for us moms. We really have very little to worry about. I just loved it for our family - everyone can do what they want to do without Mom stressing about where to go, what to do, when to do it, what to eat, where to eat, etc. Can't wait to go again! Have a WONDERFUL time on the Freedom!

[QTMichele]

Today is a much anticipated sea day! We were looking forward to enjoying the ship (and hopefully the weather) while relaxing! I took the girls to the Windjammer to grab breakfast to go, then out to the H2O Zone we went. They loved eating outside, but ate quickly so they could SWIM and PLAY. By this point, my baby knew exactly where we were and he wanted in the Baby Splash Zone. Who am I to argue?

 

H2O Zone

 

 

 

Look out! These buckets will get ya!

 

 

As I mentioned, relaxation was part of our day too...

 

 

Isn't this the best? (For Mom, at least?)

 

 

After a long, exhausting day relaxing, it was time to prepare for our second and final formal night. This is also "Lobster Night" (have you ever wondered if the lobsters look forward to this night as much as the passengers do? Just a thought...).

 

I'm not a huge lobster fan and ordered the Thai chicken. It was very good. Love a little spice. Everyone enjoyed dinner this evening. Afterwards, it was time to get the girls to their Adventure Ocean activities, and my son off to babysitting. The show tonight was Once Upon a Time. I didn't go, but my family enjoyed it. I did take the time to go to The Quest. Funny, as always. Our team didn't win, but they had a good time trying!

 

The Quest

 

[QTMichele]

After the Quest, it was time to pick up the girls, run an errand at Sorrento's :p, then back to the room for "night-night time."

 

 

Tomorrow is another sea day - our last one before our vacation ends.

[QTMichele]

It's our final day at sea - bittersweet emotions this morning. We're glad to have another day on the ship, but we'd much prefer another week... or two... heck, we'd love to live on board!

 

So, we took advantage of the sea day and slept in. Why not?! (get it?! I know, dorky!) The girls wanted to try room service so I called in our order. It was milk and donuts for them. Definitely a breakfast of champions. I was told it would take 40 minutes, but it was less than 20. I prefered a more substantial and "healthy" breakfast and went to the Windjammer with DS.

 

Our weather today was pretty crappy. Actually, the weather all week left a lot to be desired, but today really was nasty. It started off cool, cloudy and windy, but ended up rainy, cloudy and really cold. We took advantage of several things we hadn't done yet, but soon found some of the activities would be left for "next time." We could not rock climb because of the weather. My 6 year old was dying to do this. Also, we tried to go ice skating, but only had capris on (they require pants). Oh well... we tried!

 

Studio B

 

 

 

We also recorded our own song in the sound booths. We were terrible, but had great fun! Thankfully, you can choose to keep the booth clear or opaque - we chose the later option as we knew we'd make fools of ourselves. I believe it was $19.95 - maybe $24.95? - to purchase a copy of our video. SOOOOO not worth it. Have you ever tried karoke with kids that don't know the words to the song and/or can't read the words??? I won't mention my own singing voice, but we DID have fun!!!

 

Today was Freedomfest! It was a "party" held in the Royal Promenade. Many departments had booths set up to show off their talents. We saw a towel animal demonstrations, napking folding demonstrations, ice sculptures, food displays (yes, you could EAT too!), etc. It was really nice to see. Personally, I liked it better than the mid-night buffet that no longer exists. (The buffet was stunning to look at, but I was never hungry to eat - much preferred the interaction of the Freedomfest.)

 

Ice Sculptures... where do they go after the ice melts??!! LOL

 

 

 

 

[CruisnKs]

Michele - I'm really enjoying your review. Thanks for taking the time to write it. Your kids are adorable and look like they had a great time.

We will be on FOS on 1/31/10 and I have a quick question for you. Was the water heated in the lazy river area of the H2O zone? If not, was it warm enough for the kids to swim in it even on the cooler days? I hope so, my boys LOVE the H2O zone.

Looking forward to the remainder of the review.

 

Thanks again.

[QTMichele]

A walk back to our stateroom... a bit BREEEEEEZY!

 

 

I know we're dressed like it's warm, but, trust me, it wasn't!

 

After lunch, I took my 6 year old to Adventure Ocean, then I returned to my room to pack before dinner. I am proud to say, I was packed and ready to go by dinner!!!

 

At dinner, I was sad to say goodbye to our dining staff. They were really awesome, especially our head waiter. I have never seen (on my entire TWO cruises! lol) a head waiter as visible as he was. Every evening he came to our table to chat, help my girls with their meal (cutting food), and offered to help in any way possible to make our dining experience exceed our expectations.

 

 

(Yes, you do see JEANS in the dining room! Sorry, folks, but my mom was freezing and had no other long pants to wear.)

 

 

I took the kids to Adventure Ocean after dinner, then made my way to the Farewell Show starring Jeff Harms (comedian) and Duo Mosolov (acrobats). The acrobats were okay the first night, but were really good this night.

 

Duo Mosolov

 

 

 

The show was good with funny comedy, nice cruise in review and the main show. I was glad I went, but sorry to see that our cruise really was coming to an end.

 

I picked up the girls from Adventure Ocean, went to Sorrento's one last time, then we called it a night.

[QTMichele]

This is it! It's time to say our very last goodbye.

 

We woke up early, ate a continental breakfast in Cafe Promenade and waited until our color (lavendar - 7-7:30) was called. We were called at 7:30 (a bit delayed because of the weather - 32 in Cape Canaveral!!!), but we found the process to be quick and easy. We were on the road by 8 AM!

 

One final thought...

 

I titled my review "no expectations..." because I knew there would be challenges cruising with three children without my husband. I decided to travel with a positive frame of mind without preconceived expectations of what this vacation should be. I went with the flow. :) I can say with 100% certainty that this attitude helped make this vacation wonderful. Cruising with a baby is not really a vacation, and sub-par weather (um, hello, 32 degrees in Florida?!!! rain and wind every day, etc.), but we chose to focus on the positives and had a tremendously great time!

 

I will put together a summary of my thoughts about some of the main "topics" (dining, room, shows, etc.) and post that soon. I'll add more pictures too!

 

Thank you so much for taking the time to read my review! I've enjoyed reliving the experience and answering your questions. Please feel free to ask more questions and share your comments. :)

 

The Freedom of the Seas

 

[QTMichele]

Michele - I'm really enjoying your review. Thanks for taking the time to write it. Your kids are adorable and look like they had a great time.

We will be on FOS on 1/31/10 and I have a quick question for you. Was the water heated in the lazy river area of the H2O zone? If not, was it warm enough for the kids to swim in it even on the cooler days? I hope so, my boys LOVE the H2O zone.

Looking forward to the remainder of the review.

 

Thanks again.

 

Thanks so much for taking the time to read my review and for your compliments! I really appreciate them!

 

The water was not heated and was pretty cool; however, my kids were in the pools every day except for the first and last day (sea day). I did see kids (and adults) in the pools on these days, but it was really cool/cold - they must have froze! We had unseasonable cold weather - hopefully yours will be much better! Have a great cruise!!!

[jjtt]

Thanks Michelle for your VERY thought out review and AWESOME photos!! :D Your kiddies are adorable! I am thinking of a cruise (in 2011) with my sister on Freedom or Liberty. It will depend on the itinerary which ship we will take. Not sure when RCCL will release that schedule yet. Anyway thanks again for taking the time to write your experience on Freedom!!

[MreenD]

Thanks so much for writing this review! I've really enjoyed reading it and am looking forward to our cruise on the Freedom in 2 weeks! :) I really appreciated your "no expectations" attitude. Our son is 15 and has autism (similar situations like having a toddler sometimes) and that's the approach we always try to have. If we get to do something, great, if it doesn't work out, oh well, there's always something else to do later but we won't let it upset us. :-)

 

Thanks again!

 

Maureen :D

[QTMichele]

Thanks Michelle for your VERY thought out review and AWESOME photos!! :D Your kiddies are adorable! I am thinking of a cruise (in 2011) with my sister on Freedom or Liberty. It will depend on the itinerary which ship we will take. Not sure when RCCL will release that schedule yet. Anyway thanks again for taking the time to write your experience on Freedom!!

 

Aw, geez, thanks! (blushing) I'm really glad you've "stopped by" to read about our trip. THANKS! Do you know which itinerary you'd like? I thought I'd like the Eastern better, but I really didn't care for St. Thomas. Will try again next time - maybe I'll have a better experience??? I really felt this trip was more about the ship so there was no disappointment. Hey, a cruise is awesome, no matter how you look at it!

 

Thanks so much for writing this review! I've really enjoyed reading it and am looking forward to our cruise on the Freedom in 2 weeks! :) I really appreciated your "no expectations" attitude. Our son is 15 and has autism (similar situations like having a toddler sometimes) and that's the approach we always try to have. If we get to do something, great, if it doesn't work out, oh well, there's always something else to do later but we won't let it upset us. :-)

 

Thanks again!

 

Maureen :D

 

Thanks so much for reading this, Maureen! You'll have such a great time on Freedom - wish I was going with you! I'm sure you're weather will be much better than ours. Please take the time to write about your trip when you return. :)

 

Love your positive attitude! It's really a great one to have; although, I hate to admit it, but there were a few times I was frustrated that I didn't get to do what I wanted to do, then I realized how blessed I was to even be on such a beautiful ship. My disappointment never lasted more than a few minutes. Have a great time!!!

[cynt]

Great review! Thanks for taking the time to share it with us!

[Cruising Granny]

Thank you so much for your review, Michele. A really great job of reporting. Maureen is my DD and we are so ready for this cruise in two weeks. Seventeen of us will be sailing. Your review just makes us more excited. Thanks for sharing. Hope your next cruise has much better weather and your husband gets to go too. Helen

[QTMichele]

Great review! Thanks for taking the time to share it with us!

 

You're so welcome! And thank you for taking the time to read it. :)

 

Thank you so much for your review, Michele. A really great job of reporting. Maureen is my DD and we are so ready for this cruise in two weeks. Seventeen of us will be sailing. Your review just makes us more excited. Thanks for sharing. Hope your next cruise has much better weather and your husband gets to go too. Helen

 

Thanks!!! I really appreciate all the comments and my readers. ;) I hope you have a wonderful cruise. It's great to have a big group on board... everyone gets to do what works for them - a great vacation, I think. :D Please report on your experience when you return.

[lemjm]

Thanks so much for your review. We sail the 1st week of February with a 7 and 4 year old. I REALLY enjoyed your detailed information. You answered so many of my questions. Thanks again!

[QTMichele]

Thanks so much for your review. We sail the 1st week of February with a 7 and 4 year old. I REALLY enjoyed your detailed information. You answered so many of my questions. Thanks again!

 

 

You're so welcome! I'm really glad you enjoyed my review. Thanks for reading! Let me know if you have questions - I'd be more than happy to answer. :) Have a wonderful cruise!!!

[Duffys wife 1957]

Thank you so much for the great review.The pictures are great and your children are adorable.

[cubbielover]

Loved the review. We were on the western itinerary last March...we loved her so much we are taking a trip on her again..this time with 10 family members and the eastern itinerary in June! This review really made me glad we chose the FOS again!

 

Thanks again!:)

[pinkroses]

Sorry this is finished. I felt like I was there, too! Thanks Michele!

[Sky616]

Great review. We were on the Freedom in Oct. and it's neat to see and compare our cruise to yours. Sorry the weather was so cool but it looks like you all had a great time and your family is lovely. We loved the Beatlemania show also. We were on the Western itinerary. Were there lots of kids on your cruise? We had like 500 in October. Lots of playmates for my 8 yr ds.

[rade2rising]

great review tfs

am leaving this sunday on freedom! :D

[mj cruiser]

I noticed your son is 15 months and we are going to be on freedom March 21st! Any tips for us?? Our other son is 13 and we know he will have an awesome time....any pointers would be awesome! loved your review! For daycare its in room daycare only correct? thanks so much, molly

[judie43]

Michele...I dont think I ever enjoyed reading a review as much as I did yours. Generally by about day 4 or 5 of a review I give up on it. I have to say I was sorry to see yours end. Loved the pictures and your children are beautiful.