Live from the Freedom of the Seas - March 18, 2012

[hollon]

You know, I had wondered this myself. We really loved the Oasis and Allure, but we're finding that the Freedom of the Seas is a beautiful ship with plenty of things to do and lots of places to hang out, just what we're looking for in a ship. Sure, we don't have the Boardwalk or Central Park, but I really don't miss them here.

 

We're having a great time on her and can highly recommend her.

 

Thanks, glad you're having a good time :)

[medfordgirl]

If you get a chance to walk thru the casino, can you see if they added any more "sex and the city" machines. When I was there last there were only 2. Also can you see if they got any "ghostbusters" machines. Didn't have any when I was there last time and I just played them recently at the hard rock and they were fun. :D

[Daghis]

If you get a chance to walk thru the casino, can you see if they added any more "sex and the city" machines. When I was there last there were only 2. Also can you see if they got any "ghostbusters" machines. Didn't have any when I was there last time and I just played them recently at the hard rock and they were fun. :D

 

They still have just two Sex in the City machines and no Ghostbusters. The machines in the casino are somewhat dated compared with a land-based casino, but that's to be expected, I guess. Many more reel machines whereas casinos are moving more toward video slots.

[Daghis]

News flash!

 

The $25 "wash and fold laundry special" appears to have been discontinued. I talked with our stateroom attendant, asking about it, and she told me that. She did get special permission from her supervisor to allow me to use it (along with my $5-off Platinum coupon), but it's not something they're offering any longer.

[Daghis]

Well, we've returned from Falmouth, Jamaica. We even had a few runners make it onto the ship just before they let loose our lines. No, it wasn't us! :)

 

The Good Hope Great House is a pretty place, and the High Tea excursion was pleasant enough. We got a tour of the Great House and then sat down to tea and snacks. We enjoyed meeting some new people from the ship during tea.

 

The roads in Jamaica are as bad as Pittsburgh's after winter, very bumpy and hilly. Plus, it was a bit unnerving heading down the road (on the wrong side, of course) with narrow streets and cars seemingly coming right at you. All in all, we made it there and back, safe and sound.

 

The shops at Falmouth are pretty much all done, but there is still some lingering construction continuing on a couple buildings. The shops are very standard fare and pretty much nothing special. It begins to feel a bit like all the ports are the same when you keep seeing Diamonds International, Del Sol, and other frequent attractions. In addition, for those not interested in sampling the local cuisine, they had Quizno's and Nathan's at the port.

 

Tonight is a casual night for us. We're just hanging out with nothing special planned. We had dinner at Windjammer which was pleasant enough. We had hoped to go to Johnny Rockets and sit outside while we pulled away from port, but outside seating was closed and inside was full. I guess we'll try them another day.

 

I have lots of pictures and will upload some later. It's turning out that uploading has been going faster than it did.

[awicky]

Yes Marc, pls do share how it went. April 1 can't come soon enough ... FOS here I come. My 1st RC cruise, so excited & much needed!

[luv2cruiserccl]

News flash!

 

The $25 "wash and fold laundry special" appears to have been discontinued. I talked with our stateroom attendant, asking about it, and she told me that. She did get special permission from her supervisor to allow me to use it (along with my $5-off Platinum coupon), but it's not something they're offering any longer.

 

 

I got one one i believe Thursday night of our cruise we ended up not using it but it was offered and that was not more then a week ago so i would ask. It had not asked it was just on the bed that night after dinner.

[kimala]

Hey there Mark,

 

Really enjoying your posts! We are going back on the Freedom...Was on her before in '08. Last year we were on the Oasis and we're very interested in your comments regarding going back on a "smaller"ship after experiencing the Oasis class.

 

Also just noticed your from McMurry PA...me too. I graduated from Peters Twp HS. 1978.

 

Thanks again for the review And keep up the great work.

 

Kim

[SherriZ366]

I don't know. I tried to ask the waiter in Portofino's last night, but wasn't able to get a clean answer.

 

The menu in the Main Dining Room lists it as a lobster (1 1/4 to 1 1/2 pounds), so I think it's a whole lobster. I may order it later this week.

Thanks for the update. If you order it, I will look for your comments.

[Familygoboston]

News flash!

 

The $25 "wash and fold laundry special" appears to have been discontinued. I talked with our stateroom attendant, asking about it, and she told me that. She did get special permission from her supervisor to allow me to use it (along with my $5-off Platinum coupon), but it's not something they're offering any longer.

 

Oh my goodness! I hope not:(. This is one of the only things I buy onboard:p

Now that I think of it, on my Jewel crusie a month ago, I did not see it advertised, but on the day it should usually be advertised, I left a note for my attendant saying I wanted a wash and fold bag. He left it and I filled it attached my Emerald $5 off coupon and it went out and came back no problem. Wonder if it's fleet wide, won't be advertised, but will still be offered? Is the coupon still in the new ( no expiration date) coupons?:confused:

Thanks for your review...enjoying!

[cruizinmimi]

News flash!

 

The $25 "wash and fold laundry special" appears to have been discontinued. I talked with our stateroom attendant, asking about it, and she told me that. She did get special permission from her supervisor to allow me to use it (along with my $5-off Platinum coupon), but it's not something they're offering any longer.

 

I got one one i believe Thursday night of our cruise we ended up not using it but it was offered and that was not more then a week ago so i would ask. It had not asked it was just on the bed that night after dinner.

 

Need clarification....are you talking about the "free" bag of laundry coupon has been discontinued (D+) or are you saying the $5 off of $25 laundry coupon has been discontinued?:confused:

[Daghis]

Need clarification....are you talking about the "free" bag of laundry coupon has been discontinued (D+) or are you saying the $5 off of $25 laundry coupon has been discontinued?:confused:

 

This is the $25 laundry bag special that seems to be being discontinued. The other Diamond Plus laundry coupon should still be good.

 

Note that the $5 off $25 "wash and fold" special coupon is still in the new coupon books, so that makes this even more puzzling.

[Daghis]

Today was an early start in Grand Cayman. We had to be ready by 7:45 to meet up with our Stingray City and Barrier Reef excursion. Fortunately, we managed to get up easily enough, had our pre-ordered room service breakfast, and got the first tender with no problems whatsoever. They did appear to be checking for Royal Caribbean shore excursion tickets for this tender, but since we actually departed before 8:00, it probably would have been fairly easy to get a tender for third-party excursions as well.

 

Getting back to the ship, however, required waiting in line at the port for about half an hour, and this was at 2:45 with the "last tender" supposedly at 3:15. Nonetheless, we made it back just fine and in plenty of time for our scheduled departure.

 

The excursion itself was disappointing this time around. Last time I did it, we were the first ones at the sandbar, and there were tons of stingrays around. This time, there were a couple hundred people there, and there were very few stingrays to be seen. I would imagine that they'd had their fill of squid and were off resting. I don't know how Stingray City can sustain so many visitors at once. It didn't help that there were five ships in port today. We were told that sometimes it's even busier there!

 

Anyway, after the excursion (and the very long ride back to land), we headed off for lunch at Jimmy Buffett's Margaritaville. It was very loud there, but still rather enjoyable. I had the Jerk BBQ Cheeseburger. It was spicier than I was expecting and couldn't finish it, but otherwise good.

 

A bit of shopping, and then we returned to the ship, where I spent some time in the steam room relaxing.

 

Dinner tonight was at Chops Grille. It was fantastic! Thanks to Cruise Critic for the Mississippi Mud Pie recommendation!

 

Tonight is another show plus the adult comedy show. I'm looking forward to the comedy. Plus, apparently the Captain is going to be dealing at the casino tonight, too! That should be fun to see.

[famofsix]

Thanks for your details about tendering. What time was the first tender according to your Cruise Compass? Our booking confirmation shows us arriving in Grand Cayman at 8:00, but the cruise compasses I've seen posted on these boards have shown 8:30 as the first tender. Maybe 8:30 is the first official tender but there are tenders prior to that for ship-sponsored excursions.

[CrusieToy]

Enjoyed reading about your trip so far. We have 5 weeks from this Sunday.

Love the FOS esp.sitting out at night under the stars and watching

movies ..

Enjoy

[brwnIgir1]

We are on FOS in December and can't wait. Thanks for your great review and sharing your vacation with us.

[Daghis]

Thanks for your details about tendering. What time was the first tender according to your Cruise Compass? Our booking confirmation shows us arriving in Grand Cayman at 8:00, but the cruise compasses I've seen posted on these boards have shown 8:30 as the first tender. Maybe 8:30 is the first official tender but there are tenders prior to that for ship-sponsored excursions.

If I remember correctly, it said that the tenders started at 8:00. I'll have to double-check that later. Our tender actually left shortly before 8. We started boarding the tender at 7:45.

[Cheryl H]

I have a question about the labadee cabanas. So if I pay the 150$ to rent one, can my sister and her husband who are in another cabin use it with us?

 

Also I thought I noticed beach towels in your pictures at the cabana. So are those there for your use? That would be very handy not to have to bring towels along.

 

Thanks for the info! Looking forward to seeing more photos. Glad you liked the mud pie! I cannot wait for more mud pie!

[cruzinisgood]

I have a question about the labadee cabanas. So if I pay the 150$ to rent one, can my sister and her husband who are in another cabin use it with us?

 

Also I thought I noticed beach towels in your pictures at the cabana. So are those there for your use? That would be very handy not to have to bring towels along.

 

Thanks for the info! Looking forward to seeing more photos. Glad you liked the mud pie! I cannot wait for more mud pie!

 

Cheryl,

What I've understood with the cabana's they occupy up to six and they can be anyone. Just one fee. Not sure about the towels. If you go to the excursions and look they tell you everything you get. I believe Marc was in one on Barefoot Beach which is typically for suite guests. There are others on Nellies Beach now.

Hope this helps.:)

[Daghis]

I have a question about the labadee cabanas. So if I pay the 150$ to rent one, can my sister and her husband who are in another cabin use it with us?

What was said before was correct. You can have up to 6 people per cabana for the one price.

 

Also I thought I noticed beach towels in your pictures at the cabana. So are those there for your use? That would be very handy not to have to bring towels along.

I don't know whether this is special for the Barefoot Beach Club cabanas, or if Nellie's Beach cabanas have them, too. With the Barefoot Beach Club cabanas, we get towels there, plus get floating beach mats, and a cabana attendant to help us out while we're there.

[SherriZ366]

What was said before was correct. You can have up to 6 people per cabana for the one price.

 

 

I don't know whether this is special for the Barefoot Beach Club cabanas, or if Nellie's Beach cabanas have them, too. With the Barefoot Beach Club cabanas, we get towels there, plus get floating beach mats, and a cabana attendant to help us out while we're there.

Didn't you get the better lunch also?

[Daghis]

Didn't you get the better lunch also?

 

That's right... I forgot about that. It wasn't all that much better. The steaks were tough, but the shrimp skewers were good. The selection otherwise seemed a bit smaller than the main buffet there.

[Daghis]

A few more pictures while we wait in Pharoah's Palace for our luggage tag to be called...

 

The port at Falmouth:

 

The Good Hope Great House (where we had high tea):

 

A prominently displayed warning side at the Falmouth port:

 

Outside the Bull & Bear Pub:

 

The Voyager of the Seas departing from Falmouth:

[Daghis]

Well, that's it for right now. We'll be heading off the ship soon, and then we go through the mundane experience that awaits us in the terminal. :(

 

Since our flight is later this evening, we are heading to Kennedy Space Flight Center for the day.

 

Ah, they just called our number! Time to go!

 

More later...

[luv2cruiserccl]

I am glad you had a good time nice photos! It was great to hear about the fos again.

 

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