Freedom of the Seas-Western--1100+ pictures/video-July 10, 2011 sailing

[Ohiocruiser]

Great review....we are on the Freedom next March, and this is a wonderful pre cruise for us :)

[BillOh]

I'm enjoying you review' date=' honest I didn't know there was a bathroom by the casino. Thanks for the information;) and I like long reviews makes me feel like I'm there with you.[/quote']

 

I am assuming this is a nice feature of the new interactive sign features. I saw this on Allure and it saved long walks back to the cabin using the NEAREAST BATHROOM. I assume, and someone please confirm, this is feature is now on Freedom.

[Queen of Oakville]

Great Review!

 

Lots of questions for you!

 

At the sailaway party .... is there any interaction allowed with the characters? My kids are young and they want to meet King Julien. I'm wondering if they may feel more deprived if they are held off by ropes?

 

 

Are Sorrentos and the Cafe included? Or pay extra?

 

 

You mentioned the dreamworks parades run twice? Do you remember the second timing? I thought from reading previous posts that it was always at 11PM .... which is really late for my little guys!

[BillOh]

I find it rather interesting.

Yes its long, (and maybe we didn't really need to know the bathroom details :p)

but who cares?

There is lots of interesting info here, and love the pics!!

 

More, please. :)

 

 

 

I've found with reviews, about anything you can throw it, its important to somebody. I can skim over stuff I don't care about, but still find something of value in almost every review.

[medfordgirl]

I have menu pix, food pix and the Compasses... Will have to ask husband to scan them :o

 

 

 

I love you, thanks,I want to plan my trip this time. we were on freedom a year and a half ago but did the eastern. So I want to plan everything especially when to go to the specialty restaurants. Did you happen to make a video in the sound proof rooms? just wondering how the quality is.

[ryansmom]

I am assuming this is a nice feature of the new interactive sign features. I saw this on Allure and it saved long walks back to the cabin using the NEAREAST BATHROOM. I assume, and someone please confirm, this is feature is now on Freedom.

 

Confirmed. The interactive screens are in EVERY elevator lobby. Nearest restroom, eats, the Compass...all there. Turns out, most every elevator lobby has restrooms..so you didn't have to go far...

 

[ryansmom]

At the sailaway party .... is there any interaction allowed with the characters? My kids are young and they want to meet King Julien. I'm wondering if they may feel more deprived if they are held off by ropes?

 

I don't think there's interaction AT the party...but there weren't ropes either. I know they have the breakfast (didn't go...son is 12 and that's SO NOT cool) and they did have a photo op on the Promenade one night...Prolly will be crowded, so GO EARLY!! It'll be in your Compass.

 

Are Sorrentos and the Cafe included? Or pay extra?

 

Included...drinks (beer, wine, soda...the usual) extra tho...but you can get milk at the Cafe included at no charge.

 

 

You mentioned the dreamworks parades run twice? Do you remember the second timing? I thought from reading previous posts that it was always at 11PM .... which is really late for my little guys!

 

The first parade was late...on the last night they had it at like 5:30 (I'm pretty sure...would haveta check). They purposely have it early later on FOR the littles ;)

 

[ryansmom]

I love you, thanks,I want to plan my trip this time. we were on freedom a year and a half ago but did the eastern. So I want to plan everything especially when to go to the specialty restaurants. Did you happen to make a video in the sound proof rooms? just wondering how the quality is.

 

I will hopefully get my husband to scan them tomorrow. Today was crazy with dinner, runnin out to soccer, cutting the lawn...no way I'm askin him to do it tonite! :eek:

 

As for the sound proof rooms... I think you mean the recording booths outside of On Air? They ARE free, but no way I was going there. Let's just say...I didn't want to break anything with THIS voice! lol

[ryansmom]

Day 11 -- Monday, July 11

 

Cruise Day 2 -- Sea Day

 

It was a restful night...except when Ryan would move in bed. I'd hear him. Creaky, noisy pullman. :mad: Randy & I were happy to finally be in a bigger bed and we all slept in this morning. We started waking up around 9 - 9:30 and decided to finally get up and get ready for breakfast.

 

We were finally ready to head to the Windjammer at 10:30! Good thing they serve till 11:00am...but, not long after we got there, they started breaking some stations down already! :eek: We all managed to get a decent breakfast....pancakes, biscuits/gravy, eggs, bacon, donuts, etc.... Made it just in time! (Promised ourselves we wouldn't do that again tomorrow!) Note: PLATES in Windjammer are hotter than the food on Carnival (MDR & buffet)!!!!

 

After breakfast, we picked up a Compass for Ryan because our cabin attendant left one for the younger age group. I also wanted to add $30 to Ryan's Seapass card for him to charge some stuff and long story short, we couldn't add 'cash'. Explanation I got was that it would change our account from 'credit' to 'cash', and we didn't want that. So we went ahead and added him, but she DID put a limit on HIS card...the $30. Interestingly, she said the ONLY place it would not "limit" his card is in the arcade. Well of course not....why would it? So, we let it go, gave him the spending allowance and had a nice little 'chat' with the boy.

 

After our trip to Guest Services, we headed back to our cabin so Ry could change shoes. His plan was to do the Murder Mystery at 12:00, Bingo in the Living Room at 1:00 and Capture the Flag at 2pm. I thought he might need sneakers for the Capture the Flag thing, so that was the reason we went back to the room. He wouldn't have time to change shoes in between the activites he wanted to do.

 

Closer to 12:00, he left for the Living Room and we headed for the top deck.

 

First thing we wanted to see, that we hadn't yet, was the Flowrider. They were only doing boogie-boarding at the time, so we sat and watched for a little bit. Since we were aft of the ship, we headed down a few steps and took some awesome pix from the aft. I don't know why that water is so mesmerizing, but it is (to me anyway).

 

Next we checked out the mini golf. It's very nice but very windy up there. There are lights for night golfing up there....altho I would think it'd be awful windy & chilly? I wanted to get back there at night, but never did :( Pix: 1, 2, 3 and 4.

 

We took more pictures (and video) of the sports decks, including the rock climbing wall and more mini golf before my batteries in my camera died...again. (usually I carry extra on me, but so early into the cruise, I kept forgetting!) So, we went back down to our room to get batteries and change into our swimsuits.

 

After getting batteries and changing, we headed back up to the top decks. After wandering around the deck, we decided to play a round of golf. Not an easy course....some really wicked curves on some holes. We had fun playing and after a good start, I lost by 2 points.

 

After golf, we caught a little of the Sexiest Man contest by the pool. We didn't watch long before we went to the Solarium. It was crowded by this time of the day. Only 1 seat here or there. We saw a couple start gathering their things to leave and I was going to get their seats, but there were 2 girls coming from the other direction and the first girl got the seat closest to her, while I took the other seat closest to me. My husband was like "Really?" and walked away annoyed. I sat down figuring they would figure out we were headed for those seats. About 10 seconds after I sat down, there was a man and his wife on the end of the row of chairs leaving and he told me, "You can have our seats. I saw the whole thing and we want you to have these 2 seats together." I thanked him and we put our towels on our new seats and sat down.

 

My DH didn't stay long as the "sun beating down on you" is really not his 'thing'. I hate the cold and absolutely love the heat, so I got comfortable. He went for a walk, out to the helipad for a while and then came back later.

 

I was here about 45min - hour. Randy went to see the ice carving demo at the pool. He was only gone about 15 minutes or so and was back. We debated going to watch Kung Fu Panda 2 in 3D, but decided we didn't want to see it without Ryan. More of a family movie we thought.

 

We figured Ry would be about finished with his afternoon schedule and we went back to the room and caught up with him there. He told us about what he did that afternoon, while we shared what we did. He also mentioned he was hungry, as he didn't have any lunch. He wanted Sorrento's pizza, so that's where we went. He had his soda and 2 slices and was good to go.

 

We didn't have a plan for the later afternoon, so we went up to check out Olive & Twist lounge...one place on the ship we hadn't been to yet. While there, I took a couple pix of H20 Zone too. Here and here.

 

After our photos from Olive & Twist, I suggested we play a round of golf, as a family, and they liked that idea. That's where we found ourselves next. We couldn't keep score as there weren't any scorecards left. Matter of fact, we got the last 3 clubs! We had a quick round and after we finished, we went to check out the Flowrider again.

 

Flowrider was closed for lessons, so we sat and watched for about 20 minutes. This was Ryan's plan, but he never did it. I mentioned a couple of times about going up to sign him up for lessons, but I never got around to it. Didn't matter, he decided he didn't want to do it anyway. :confused:

 

When we were finished watching lessons, we headed down the aft steps, passing Fuel and going through Johnny Rockets. By this time, it was just about 5:30 and there really wasn't much to do till 7pm. We figured we'd head back for showers and to get ready for dinner. It was formal night, so maybe we'd get a family picture taken or meet the Captain or go to the trivia show before dinner. So, off to 'hit the showers'.....

 

We took our time getting ready for dinner, and by the time we were all showered and ready to go, it was almost 8pm. Now, I must say, I will give a thumbs up to Royal Caribbean on their showers. Not only was the water temperature adjustable (not just hot water like we had on that other line last year), but the water pressure was great! You could adjust the pressure as light or heavy as you like. The only thing I don't like is how small a space it is to shower. For tall people with longer legs & arms, it can be a little cramped...especially if you're a chick trying to shave those long legs! I remembered to take the trashcan in the shower with me and put it upside down...something for some leverage for my leg so I could shave more easily. Other than the small space, the shower is great!

 

At 8pm we headed to the Promenade to see if we could get a family picture taken. Holy cow! Crowded doesn't begin to describe the Promenade! :eek: There were lines everywhere! Lines so long, you couldn't tell what they're for, OR where they ended! A suggestion: go EARLY (or in between dinner seatings) if you want a nice formal picture taken without waiting a lifetime in line.

 

At the Captain's party on the Promenade, they were giving out complimentary champagne. They did have some hors d'oeuvres and a band playing, but I didn't see the Captain anywhere? Eh, I wasn't really looking either. :blush: We did poke in the Logo gift shop to have Ryan pick out his t-shirt. Each vacation he gets a t-shirt of where he's been or what he did, then he wears it the first day of school. Easy for me to keep track of what we did the summer before that grade and how old he was. We also wandered around checking out stuff in the store. They did have a lot of stuff...and quite the selection for the kids.

 

About 8:15pm and we decided to leave deck 5 Promenade and head to Deck 4 to Isaac's dining room to wait for dinner to begin. On our way to the dining room, we stopped by the Photo Gallery to check out our photos. Here is one package they offer. We buy "by the picture" and don't usually get "packages". This trip was no different. After roaming around looking at pictures for a bit, the dining room opened their doors and we went to our table.

 

The menu tonite was: Vitality, Appetizers, Entrees: 1 and 2, and Desserts and the Pairing Recommendations.

 

We ordered: Lobster bisque, escargot and shrimp cocktail for starters. There's no picture of the shrimp cocktail because it was eaten before I could get my picture.

 

After we ordered, we had Ryan take our picture for us. Our assistant server must have noticed because she came over and offered to take a picture of the three of us. She took this one also because she wanted the chandelier in the background. We also had the professional come around to take our picture. This is the picture we purchased from that night's photos. Ryan also took a picture of the Captain's table...although the Captain wasn't there yet.

 

For dinner, we had: roasted duck, sauteed seasonal mushrooms, shrimp ravioli and the grilled seafood brochette. Everything was delicious...yet again.

 

There was dessert tonight. We orderd the bittersweet chocolate souffle and the double strawberry cheesecake. I sampled both...pretty good. The chocolate souffle was hot too!

 

After dinner, we went to our cabin, it was approximately 10:30pm, to get ready for bed. Ah yes...the towel animal. Wouldn't be a cruise without those! Normally it wouldn't have been an early night, but the lack of sleep since our trip began (last week) was catching up to us and we wanted to try to get some rest. Tomorrow was Royal Caribbean's private island, Labadee, Haiti, and we didn't want to sleep in too late...nor get up too early.

 

We called it a night around midnight after watching a movie in bed.

 

[GinDon]

Love the format of your review.......especially the way you have inserted photos in the appropriate places in your narrative. It's really fun to read this way! Thanks for all the effort you have put in, for the rest of us to benefit from!

 

We were on the Freedom in early May. Loved, loved, loved it!

[currlee33]

Best review I've seen! Loving the photos. I know it took (and is taking) time to write and post these but it is SO WORTH IT. Awesome!

[erin_cruisers]

Great Part Two review. :)

I'm enjoying it - first because of the details, and second because its a little different style than other reviews.

Good job. Can't wait for the next installment.

[gogispu]

Thanks for all the info..this has helped shape our plans for April.Loved all the pix and info especially from a mom of a young teen. Mine will be 17 and 13 when we cruise. How does the self serve soda work? Is there a bar code on the cup?

[nyer]

Thanks for the review. You have a very lovely family....really cute kid.

We are looking at Freedom for our next cruise so this review is very helpful.

[maxy35]

Thanks for sharing your vacation with us, the way a review should be! ;-) lol

Going on Freedom end of Sep, thats all Frredom class for us now in reverse order, can't wait!!

One thing I'd love to see if you can is the cruise compasses, curious to what's going on just now onboard throughout the day. :)

[beej]

Thanx for the great review. Can't wait for the next installment. A special thanx for the menus. We have Chops already reserved, but after seeing Monday's menu may have to change it.

[SevenSeas1492]

Love, love, love your review! The pictures just really make me feel I'm on that cruise with you. We are sailing on the Freedom in September. Can't wait! Thank you so much.

[Queen of Oakville]

Thanks for answering my questions! And kudos for the great reviews. I especially love the menus and the pictures of what you ordered. I find myself picking out my food, and then when debating over one or two entrees, the pictures help me judge portion control! I now know I can add the seafood brochette to my filet of beef lol!

[sailingawaysoon]

Loving your review. I hope I get to see all of it before I leave Friday for the Freedom on Sunday!

[ryansmom]

Got my wonderful husband to scan the Compasses....

 

Day 1 - Boarding

 

and

 

Day 2 - Sea Day

 

 

[ryansmom]

Day 12 -- Tuesday, July 12

 

Cruise Day 3 -- Labadee, Haiti

 

Today's Compass.

 

We had asked our cabin attendant yesterday to switch pullman beds for Ry. I was hoping maybe the bed over top of my side of the bed would be quieter...and it was! He wasn't happy on that side, as he couldn't lay in bed and watch tv then....but, I was happier not hearing his every move during the night!

 

This morning we woke up at 7:30 to the sound of the gangway ramp being put out. Turns out this was right directly below our room. So, if you want to sleep in (on port days), this is probably one room you don't want! If you needed to be up early (like we do on Thursday), this is a welcome 'wake up' call.

 

We didn't need to get up quite so early, so we lounged around in bed and slowly woke up. We finally got up about an hour later and headed for breakfast at the Windjammer. We probably got to the Windjammer around 9am or so and had a nice, leisurely breakfast. There was no packing breakfast up on us this morning. Plenty to eat. Make sure you find a table before you get your food. If you get your food first, by the time you wander around looking for a table, your food could cool off. We'd always find a table first and someone (usually me) would have a seat while the others went for their food first. The system worked pretty good for us. Also, after you fill your plate, put another plate over top of your food. Helps keep it warm.

 

After breakfast, it was back upstairs to change into swim duds and head ashore. Randy & Ryan had an 11am waverunner tour. They needed to check in at 10:45 for that. We headed off the ship, and by now there wasn't any crowd or line. We scanned our cards and walked toward Labadee. It looked beautiful and we had a beautiful day! We took some pictures before checking in for the waverunner tour because we were early. Our family, our son...who was still tired apparently. Some random pictures: a local boat, a fountain, a pathway up the hill, the ship, another picture of the ship, another fountain, directions on Labadee and some tunes to set the island mood.

 

We decided to check in because there wasn't any lines. We were a bit early and sat and waited to be called at 11:00. They called the 11am tour into the room for the safety video first. You always have the little talk about how to operate the waverunner, how to do it safely, basic rules of the water, etc... After the 'chat', it was time to get lifejackets on. Unlike years ago when my husband & I did this on Coco Cay, the driver now wears an additional vest. This vest has handles on the sides for the passenger to hold onto.

Their actual departure was more around 11:15am. Waverunner pix: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9. Here are some of the pictures Randy captured from his video from their tour: 1, 2, 3, 4, this was a local boat selling goods out there, and starting to head back, 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9.

 

After they left on the waverunner, I decided to roam the island and take some pictures. I passed by that fountain again! I decided to head to Dragon's Point Lookout. The sign posted was informative and it was easy to find...just go by the end of the zipline! I walked around and came across the entrance to the Lookout. I climbed up to the point, taking pictures along the way. Here are some of the sights from the path up to the Lookout Point: literal end of the zipline, the beach and the cafe.

 

Pictures from the Point: 1 and 2.

 

I was all by myself up top at the Point. It was very quiet except for the water you could hear...making the 'dragon breath' sound. I thought it was neat and enjoyed about 5 minutes there alone. Before I left, I took video and many pictures.

 

I checked the time and it was almost 12:15! I figured the guys would be back from their waverunner tour and I had their flipflops! I started to head back.

 

I decided to take the 'road to the right' path. I didn't know where I'd come out, but it seemed to head in the direction of the ship (where I needed to go) along the coastline. This turned out to be the 'scenic' route back and it was pretty empty. Most of it was an easy walk and downhill (of course).

 

Some pictures from the way back down: 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, looking back at the Point where I just was, 10, 11 and 12.

 

Walking along the coastline had some beautiful scenery and it was a quiet path...I didn't come across but a few people on my way back. Here are some pictures from that walk: the ship, the water is just so beautiful, 1, 2. Earlier in the day, I'd seen a party of what looked like a vow renewal (or a wedding). I had to guess this is where that happened. If so, it was a beautiful spot for it.

 

As I got closer to the ship, I came across a little outcove. There was a bench under a tree there with this beautiful view of the ship.

 

This was the path I came from. I realized it was near this fountain...in case you wanted to take the shortcut TO Dragon's Plaza.

 

After stopping for those pictures and video along the way, I arrived back at the spot where we waited for the waverunner excursion to begin. The guys were there looking at the video Randy had taken while out on the waverunner. I came up behind and asked how it was. They said they had a fun time. That was the first time my son had been on a waverunner. He liked it...a lot!

 

from the day up to this point.

 

They asked what I did while they were gone and I told them where I went. They wanted to see where I'd been, so we headed to the Lookout Point. A bit more crowded now, but we stayed a few more minutes and then went back down the stairs/path we came up. (didn't take the scenic way down this time)

 

Our family at the Lookout Point: Ryan at the point, looking beat? It's only 1:30 son! Wake up! Lots more fun to be had today!! A pic with his Dad, his Mom and Mom & Dad together. After a few more pix, we were ready to go. 1, 2 and 3.

 

We came back down to the beach and took a few pictures. Beach pix: 1, 2, Lookout Point & the 'dragon', 3 and 4. Then we went to the Cafe to get some ice for the bottled water we'd brought with us. While here, we also took advantage of a bathroom break.

 

While we were over in the Dragon's Point area, Ryan wanted to ride the Dragon's Tail Coaster. While over here, why not? We walked in that direction. Tucked far away in that part of that area, it took a little while to walk to. It was an easy walk though, since they have paved pathways. Not sure what kind of tree this was, but I took a picture because it was pretty.

 

We arrived at Adrenaline beach where the DragonTail Coaster was. More pix of Adrenaline beach first: 1, 2, 3 and 4.

 

We turned in our ticket at the coaster counter and signed the waiver release. Randy didn't want to go, so I was going to go with him. Turns out, I sat in the back and ended up being the driver/braker because I was taller. There is a handle in the front of the coaster car for the passenger to hold on to, but when Ryan would hold onto it, he was sitting more upright. You need to know my son is only about 3" shorter than me, so when he'd hold on and sit more upright and I could not see the track ahead of us...just the back of his head! When the worker told him to hold on, I explained I couldn't see (to brake) and he was actually better off leaning back against me. After showing him, he agreed he could lean back and then was nice to take our picture for us.

 

We started our ride up the mountain. Ryan videotaped our ride while I worked the brakes (and snapped a couple of pictures along our ride). We seemed to be going up forever. Just when we thought we were finished our climb, nope. We continued up.... We finally did make it and had some GREAT views!! Some pix from the ride: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 and 10. Randy waited for us at the bottom, or end...whatever you want to call it. The cruiseline also has someone there taking your picture. Here we come : 1, 2 and 3.

 

It was a nice ride down...very curvy. They do warn you where to brake before some of the curves. Ryan really enjoyed it and could have done it again. I don't know that he, or I, could do it all day long over and over, but at least once...maybe 2 or 3 more times would have been enough..... No matter, we had a good time doing it and I'm glad I went! Here is the video of

.

 

After the coaster ride, made our way to Columbus Cove, taking pictures along the way. The island is beautiful and very well laid out. It never felt crowded while we were there. We did see a tram stop, but decided to walk since it was a nice walk.

 

We had to take this picture. It looks like an apple fell from the palm tree! Kinda rude to have left it there, but now that it was there, our son took the opportunity for a Sir Issac Newton photo op. This was kind of strange in a way, because just last night before the doors opened for dinner, we were reading something on the wall about Isaac Newton (who the "Isaac Dining Room" was named after) and about how the story of him sitting under the tree when the apple fell on his head was a little exaggerated. I wish I'd taken a picture of what we read about him....I just found it ironic to have seen this apple under the tree after that!!

 

We walked past the market area (with little pressure to buy anything) and once at the beach, I found 2 chairs in the shade (under a palm tree) and plopped our stuff on the 2 chairs. You know I found shade for my dear hubby...I woulda preferred the sun, but I was heading out to the water, so it didn't matter.

 

It was around 1:30 when we got to the beach area. I checked Ry in at the Aqua Park & signed his waivers. They said to meet at the lifejacket area (he pointed it out to me) in about 15 minutes for instructions. We checked out the Aqua Park from the dock and took some pictures of it and before we knew it, it was time for him to check-in for his lifejacket.

 

Pix of the Aqua Park: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, emptying out, looking back at Columbus Cove beach 7 from the dock, 8, 9, back on the beach.

 

He got his instructions and headed down the dock with the group to get in the water for the water park. He went right in and got busy right away. His swim session: 1, 2, he's on the right of the trampoline, him jumping in the middle, 3, him in the center triangle of the slide and 4. Looking back, Randy should have gone with him. I think he would have had more fun with a buddy than just by himself.

 

After some video of him and pictures, I went to get my floaty mat and drinks for Randy & I while Randy checked out the buffet. He was back before I was! He had missed it. We were so busy exploring the island and doing stuff, we didn't keep an eye on the time and it had already closed for the day. Oh well.....come back another day. Randy said he could wait till we got back on the ship to get something to eat. He enjoyed his beer instead. I wanted a Labadoozie, but the bartender said he'd run out of the indgredients to make it. So, I just asked for some ice (I had water with me) and how much for a souvenir cup? (I have one from CocoCay and I wanted one from Labadee to go with it.) He said he wouldn't charge me for the cup and he'd give me ice in it. I forget how the conversation went, but I just ended up buying a water and getting the cup. I think he charged me like $3.95 or something like that. It was worth it to get my cup...and have some ice water.

 

I got my mat, my drink, my husband and headed for water. This late in the afternoon, people actually started leaving the beach area! The water was nice and the bottom was easy walking on the feet. (Although a little deeper it was that grassy bottom, fyi.) I laid on my mat and just soaked in the sun. It was so nice...the water, sun, cold drink.....just relaxin..... I relaxed, Randy took pictures. These are shots from the water: 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5. And then I got to take some pictures: 6, 7, 8 and 9.

 

While in the water, we got a few pix of the boy playing in the Aqua Park. We could have sworn he saw us, but later said he never saw us? We saw a mass of peeps leave the water park area around 2:30-2:45 I'm guessin? We heard lots of people were getting stung by jellyfish and the staff was spraying something on them. Ryan said he didn't get stung though? He stayed the whole time.

 

Ry crashed on a chair with us when he was done in the Aqua Park. He stopped me from washing ashore while on my mat... seemed the tide was coming in, as I found myself holding on to his chair to keep me next to him!

 

Seemed he had the last scheduled slot of the day. I thought there'd be a 3pm time, but I guess not because there wasn't another group going into the water. The place seemed to empty around 3pm. The beach, the chairs... We figured the early seating for dinner people were heading back to get ready for dinner?

 

So Ry was relaxin in a chair in the water, Randy was hanging around and I was on my mat. A couple of kids that were leaving with their folks managed to find a crab and were chasing the poor thing under the chairs. The little boy got a plastic cup from somewhere and managed to chase down and catch the poor thing! Poor Mr. Krabs, he was probably freaking out! After a couple of pictures, he let him go and he scurried under the chairs again. At one point he dug back into the sand in the surf, but resurfaced again. I'm sure all he was doing was looking for some food.....

 

Around 3:30 we headed back to the ship. Besides being hungry, we wanted to get some pix of Labadee from the top deck before we left.

 

We ended up taking a different path back to the ship than the way we took to get there (from Dragon's Plaza). Here are the cool pictures from that pathway: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6.

 

Nearing the ship, still more pictures: the boy, ah....the long walk back, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, see the hottub?, 6, 7, 8, 9, how YOU doin?, in case you forgot where you were, [/url] and looking this time.

 

Back onboard, since we were only on Deck 2 (, remember?) Randy wanted to get a quick shower to rinse off. When he was done, we headed up to the top deck for our pix while Ry got his shower.

 

Pictures from top deck: , , , , , , , , , and in Labadee.

 

When we got back to the room, he was done with his shower and we decided to go grab a bite to eat and then go to the all skate at the ice rink. It was sandwiches at the Cafe and pizza at Sorrento's. It killed some time before the ice skating session started. Pictures of sandwiches: , , , , , and . Pix of some of the cookies: , , and desserts: , , , , and . The cookie offerings varied at times. They did usually have a carmel cookie...omg...to die for! Of course chocolate chip, peanut butter, oatmeal raisin...and they did have some sugar-free offerings of them also. This was a popular spot to hit before bedtime. And, they do have little milks there too....so it was cookies and milk for Ryan before bed most nights. And there is here too.

 

After Randy got a couple sandwiches, we went to Sorrento's because Ry wanted pizza. Here's some pix of food from there: , and breads: , and and .

 

You will see pictures of different things throughout the trip....same the pictures I've already taken. But, I just walked by and HAD to take the picture. Like the , , great shot. So if I was walking somewhere, chances are, I'd snap a picture just because. Besides, who doesn't like pictures?

 

It was near time for the ice skating session, so we left for Studio B. Along the way, a picture of the .

 

We checked in at Studio B and signed up for the skating session. Tip: if you want to go, make sure you go early and sign up for that session you want. They only allow so many skaters. We did this our last day and by the time we got there, the session we were going to go to was already full, so we signed up for the next session. You can leave and come back once you've signed up, but, if you are going to skate, try to do the whole session. (Particularly the last day) some people came and skated for like 10-15 minutes and then left. It's a 45 minute session and some people were turned away because it was full. I felt bad for those who couldn't get it because of the kids/people who wanted 10 minutes on the ice. And, , long pants and socks required. If you're like me and get chilly easily, bring a lightweight jacket too. They have elbow and knee pads, but they are not required. And, the ice is chippy and awful (because of the figure skates) and the skates haven't been sharpened in forever...so don't expect great skates.

 

But, had fun and we were proud of . My had fun horsing around too... is Dad comin in for the check into the boards. And this is the . He hadn't been on skates in a while and he did really well! I know it's from being older with a stronger core (from years of taekwondo) and having better balance because of it. Matter of fact, within a week of being home, went ice skating and he did even a little bit better.

 

We were there till they closed the session. To our surprise, they even have a . I just HAD to have a of ! was smaller than my car!

 

Here is

up to this point in our day.

 

After our skate session, as we were leaving Studio B, I noticed we were on our way from Labadee. I took from a window in Studio B. Already crusin' at a pretty good clip! Here is a picture of the club just outside of Studio B. A lot of karaoke and 'Finish the Lyrics' shows go on here. Ryan asked me to take here too...don't even ask what he's doin!

 

We headed back to our so I could get my shower & get ready for dinner. We were 10 minutes early for dinner, so we went to check out the photos that were taken of us earlier in the day. This would end up being our usual thing...checking out our photos either before or after dinner...since the Photo Gallery was on the same deck (opposite) our dining room.

 

Menu for tonite: , , and .

 

Tonight Ry didn't like any of the appetizers, or want to try any, so he didn't order anything. He tried Randy's and liked it so we got our Assistant Waiter to bring him and I had the soup. For dinner we had: slow-roasted double-cut , with seasonal herbs and .

 

Ryan didn't care for any of the dessert offerings, but I think there was something going on in the Living Room he wanted to do anyway. So, Randy had the and I ordered the . Not that I was all that hungry, but we both wanted to try it. Very orange-y. I felt bad there wasn't anything Ry liked, so we decided to get him a cupcake at the Cupcake Cupboard.

 

After dinner, we got (to go) and put them in our room with a note for Ryan to "DO NOT TOUCH". We were only going to get 1 each, but when I asked what the was, they told me it was cinnamon, I had to get it. Ryan loves cinnamon. We decided to get 1 of those and we'd split it...3 ways!

 

Randy & I headed to the Promenade to catch the . We ended up standing in front of the Cafe and it was convenient when Randy wanted a beer during the show! It was a lot of fun and (cruise director) was funny! He was especially funny when he had to of Ben & Jerry's to retrieve a . While he was up there, he & ran.... What a riot! It was a good show with dancing, the , had a 'love train' going, doing the 'brickhouse', dance tunes from the 70s...

 

Some pix: , too, , , , , and .

 

It wasn't a long show...maybe 30-45 minutes or so. Here's some video of the .

 

After the show, we went back to the cabin. We were surprised Ryan was already there.

 

We had our with some milk (I picked the milk up at the Cafe after the Dance Party). I'd say the were pretty darn , but probably not worth $2.50. But, I wanted to try one, and I did...try 1. Although, I found myself in there just about every day...checking out the cupcake/ and taking pictures. Remember that one we were going to split? Hard to do if you don't have a knife!

 

After cupcake snack, we were and Ry got ready for bed. Good thing because he fell asleep watching tv. Randy & I gave him a kiss and he woke up just enough for us to tell him we were going to go out and about the ship to take some night pictures. He was okay with that and went back to sleep.

 

Some pictures: , too, the , and too. The , the , entrance, pix: and . The (or whatever they call the place to book your next cruise), yet another of the Promenade, at the end of the Promenade, (I actually never made it IN here!), and we poked our nose into an Arcadia .

 

After ship pictures, we went to just sit and relax. It was a beautiful night; the moon was out and we sat at the helipad for awhile just taking in the warm breeze (surprisingly, it wasn't all that 'windy'...just breezy.) We tried to get a picture of the moon reflecting off the ocean, but with a point & shoot camera, you can only do so much.... (and it was cloudy, which didn't help). Here are some of the best pictures he could get: , , , , , and . Not enough light for a good shot of the , so we put the ...kinda weird?

 

After a little while there, we figured we'd better head back to the room. Taking some more pictures along the way. The Bar, the theater again, a quiet , at the decks from the Promenade and a picture of in front of Vintages...since nobody was around. And, we noticed, after 12-1am...this ship was empty! Not sure if it's the 1am curfew, but the Freedom is QUIET at night!!

 

It was about 2:30am when we got back. It was okay to be up late tonight. Tomorrow is Jamaica and we don't have to get up early because we don't have any plans for tomorrow.

 

 

[foxesden1]

Love the review, :D not a fan of the format, windowns are opening all over my screen, and I keep loosing my place. Is it because I am on a IPad?

[slmwo]

Love the review, :D not a fan of the format, windowns are opening all over my screen, and I keep loosing my place. Is it because I am on a IPad?

 

Maybe it is because it's an IPad, from the regular computer, the format is perfect!!!!

[Loves_Dogs]

GREAT REVIEW!

Waiting patiently for the next chapter. Can't figure out how you added your pictures as links like that in the review (I am computer challenged) but I really like it.

[beej]

Ryan's Mom, what a great review. I am just lovin the pix in the review and the videos. Sitting here just waiting for your next installment. This is better than waiting for the next Saturday's installment of Flash Gordon. Guess that's way before your time, but what can youexpect from an old toad.