Freedom of the Seas April 14th Review

[AF-1]

Great review; great pics; thanks for taking the time to post. I understand your frustration with photo bucket. Looks like you and mom had a wonderful birthday cruise. So far, the weather looks to be great. You did an awesome job on the Flowrider; I never could stand up, just boogie board on belly.

[Cricket2010]

What a great review. I'm glad you had such a great birthday on the Freedom. I will be celebrating my 50th on the Freedom in a couple of weeks. Can't wait to read more of your review!

Edited April 28, 2013 by Cricket2010

[irishgal432]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

and went to take the car to pre-arranged parking for the week at the Crowne Plaza Airport.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Embarkation Day next...

How much was the pre arranged parking at the Crowne? I normally use airport parking, but his may be a little better.

[DM_KidAtHeart]

Wow! What a terrific ending to your birthday! Looking forward to reading more.:D

 

Tara

 

Great review; great pics; thanks for taking the time to post. I understand your frustration with photo bucket. Looks like you and mom had a wonderful birthday cruise. So far, the weather looks to be great. You did an awesome job on the Flowrider; I never could stand up, just boogie board on belly.

 

What a great review. I'm glad you had such a great birthday on the Freedom. I will be celebrating my 50th on the Freedom in a couple of weeks. Can't wait to read more of your review!

 

Thanks to all.

[DM_KidAtHeart]

How much was the pre arranged parking at the Crowne? I normally use airport parking, but his may be a little better.

 

It was $49.10 for the week.

[DM_KidAtHeart]

We had breakfast on the ship, our usuals. Mom's usual is the smoked salmon plate (no sour cream, no bagel) and an egg white omelet with veggies and salmon. We then took a brief stop at guest services to make sure how my mom in her wheelchair should get off the ship. It was always the elevators opposite of the doc or tender side that went down to lowest level needed.

 

This crab came walking across the path on the way to the tour meet-up tents. From most people’s reaction (including one of the Jamaican guides), you’d have thought it was a snake or scorpion. It was amusing.

 

For this day, I had booked the Runaway Bay Jewel resort. We were in a large group for the Jamaica for a Day people, but then it turn out that we were the only ones going to our hotel. Everyone else was going somewhere else. It was a 50 min drive to the resort, which I guess is why we were the only ones going here. But is it was a beautiful drive with a scenic stop or two including Discovery Cove where Columbus landed (the only real pictures I took on the way there even though it was all beautiful). I’d book it again in a heartbeat. We were glad that most people went elsewhere.

 

 

 

 

When we got to the resort, there was a short check-in process. Then conceirge got us some towels and told us about the food options as she showed us around the resort and to the pools. She took this photo for us along the way.

 

We had gotten these matching shirts at Old Navy before the trip, and they seemed a good choice for our one chosen beach day.

 

Coming up - Jamaica Part 2 (the pool views and fun for the mom)

[DM_KidAtHeart]

Oh, on the way there, the driver told us that this area is called Runaway Bay, because it was where the locals ran away to in order to get away from Columbus who making slaves of them.

[DM_KidAtHeart]

We spent pretty much all of the day relaxing in the pool at the swim-up bar. It was a beautiful view of the beach and the ocean.

 

 

 

This was where I spent most the day looking (when I wasn't looking at my Kindle or at food).

 

Just before the scheduled buffet lunch time, there was a water aerobics class. The instructor did an impressive job of getting almost everyone in the pool area to join in. I didn’t though, but I got some pictures of mom enjoying it.

 

 

 

She loved that she got to have an exercise class while looking out at the ocean.

 

Coming Up - Jamaica Part 3 (Food)

[DM_KidAtHeart]

We then went and had a tasty lunch buffet (although we had to wait a bit for it since I forgot about the hour difference in island time). It had a lot of seafood on it for mom, and I enjoyed several fried things.

 

Our food

 

Our view for lunch (have I mentioned that I love palm trees)

 

I then had a burger since I wanted a little more protein (as I'd mostly had fried bread items at the buffet). I then relaxed awhile at the swim-up bar again, and ordered a daiquiri with rum. It was kind of strong, but pretty good. I then went out into the actual ocean for bit, and enjoyed the bouncing of the waves.

 

BTW, we have waterproof cases for our iphones as well. Most in the pool or ocean photos were taken with those. We got ours years ago, but in case you are interested here's a link to similar ones: Link to similar ones on Amazon.

 

Coming up - Jamaica Part 4 (Rest of the day)

Edited April 28, 2013 by DM_KidAtHeart

[DM_KidAtHeart]

On the way back from the ocean, I saw somebody with nachos that looked really good. So I found where they got them and they were really good.

 

A little more sitting around in the pool, and it was time to meet up with the driver (or so we thought). We had some confusing communication with the driver on the way there about when we were supposed to be picked up. It was mostly confusing because of the hour difference between island time and ship time. Anyway, we ended up just waiting around at the front area for around 30 minutes. But the resort people offered and brought us additional drinks and we had kindles, so no big deal. My advice to others would be to have a good grasp of what the island time is beforehand. We wouldn't have ended up confused if I had.

 

We had the same beautiful drive back to the ship. It was the same beautiful drive really, but this time I took lots of pictures as we went. (This is just a portion due to the picture posting limit.)

 

 

 

 

 

 

The dinner that night was good but I don’t remember it since I was too tired to write notes this night. Despite a day of mostly just relaxing in a pool with a book, I went straight to bed and sleep after the El Gaucho show. This was a pretty good show. We are somewhat spoiled living where we do with Dollywood. We have seen a show similar to this one but with more people in it. And to be honest, that one was better. So while it was good, both mom and I kept thinking of and comparing it to the other one. And of course, all nights should end with a new towel animal, a swan supposedly according to a towel animal instuction guide I later saw.

 

 

Coming up - Grand Cayman Day (in many parts, evantually, this was the Turtle Farm Day for us)

[StarSong2001]

Thanks. I just wasn't much into taking pictures of the food. I was too busy eating it. I took a few here and there, but nothing consistently.

 

You did a great review. It takes all types. I enjoyed reading yours earlier tonight.

 

Same here. I got a picture of the Horeradish-Crusted Salmon (after I took a bite :o) and this dessert. Then abandoned my CC responsibility to provide food-porn. :cool:

 

Thanks for your kind words. I applaud you for trying the Flowrider - I was too chicken. Glad you have a nice birthday. If you do it again next year maybe I'll be on that same one again and I promise to say hello!

[DM_KidAtHeart]

Same here. I got a picture of the Horeradish-Crusted Salmon (after I took a bite :o) and this dessert. Then abandoned my CC responsibility to provide food-porn. :cool:

 

Thanks for your kind words. I applaud you for trying the Flowrider - I was too chicken. Glad you have a nice birthday. If you do it again next year maybe I'll be on that same one again and I promise to say hello!

 

We're scheduled for Serenade next year. My birthday falls the week before Easter next year. So cost reasons pushed us to a smaller ship. My feet will probably be happy about it even though I'll miss the FlowRider.

[StarSong2001]

We're scheduled for Serenade next year. My birthday falls the week before Easter next year. So cost reasons pushed us to a smaller ship. My feet will probably be happy about it even though I'll miss the FlowRider.

 

Love the resort photos. Was the pool water warm? Looks like a beautiful place. Keep 'em coming! Fun to see all the things I missed.

[DM_KidAtHeart]

Love the resort photos. Was the pool water warm? Looks like a beautiful place. Keep 'em coming! Fun to see all the things I missed.

 

It felt a smidge cool at first but fine after that. I occasionally would move out of the shade into the sun to warm up a little.

[tarajean1962]

That looks like a really nice resort and a great way to spend the day. Your Mom looks so happy!

 

 

Tara

[DM_KidAtHeart]

It was nice. But the really happy mom pictures will be seen on Cozumel dolphin day.

[DM_KidAtHeart]

Since realizing that Grand Cayman was a tender port that can sometimes be missed if the seas are too choppy. I had been praying for calm seas. The sea was as flat as could be this morning, actually it was that way most days of this cruise.

 

 

 

Another one of my favorite mom pictures

 

I think this pirate ship must have been sort of excursion. It looked like it might be fun.

 

While I remember it, the ATMs on Freedom are actually BB&T ATMs. We actually bank with BB&T. Although we never got a chance to use them since they were broken the last two days, when we wanted to use them. But it was only 3% charge in the casino, which worked out to only $1.20 for the cash we needed for extra tips and some cash for the travel, so very cheap.

 

The night before I had used a minute of internet time to go to cruise critic and search for the cheapest way to get to the Turtle Farm. I very quickly (fortunately) found that the public bus can be taken for $2.50. With some effort and asking around, we were able to find where to catch it. People did keep trying to point us to the tour buses, but a $8 per person each way and that was more than we were prepared to pay.

 

It was a nice little bus ride (really just a van). The driver was very nice about getting my mom’s wheelchair loaded. The ride took around 30 minutes with all the various drop-offs and pick-ups along the way.

 

Coming up - Grand Cayman Part 2 (Turtle Farm part 1, so many pics and 6 is such a small number)

[DM_KidAtHeart]

The turtle farm was in general wonderful.

 

We made a quick stop to look at the large turtles and put on sunscreen. Mom and I both burn very easily.

 

 

 

There were several iguanas on the beach where the turtles could go to lay eggs.

 

We then started with the aviary. On the way to the aviary, we happened to see the small turtles in the lagoon getting fed. We could see then there were lots of turtles in there where we would later be swimming. For some reason though I didn't take any pictures of them.

 

I did take a picture of this rooster on the way to the aviary. There were lots of chickens just running around all over Jamaica.

 

 

Coming up - Grand Cayman Part 3 (The aviary at the turtle farm)

[DM_KidAtHeart]

There was supposed to be a bird feeding at the aviary about an hour after we got there, but we didn’t stay in the aviary long enough to see it. It was just too warm out, but we enjoyed seeing all the pretty birds.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Be warned, some people did get hit from above.

 

Coming up - Grand Cayman Part 4 (Swimming in the turtle lagoon)

[DM_KidAtHeart]

We then went to find out when the lagoon opened for snorkeling and swimming the small turtles. It was soon and was just enough time for mom to get changed into her suit. The lagoon was tons of fun to snorkel in. There was a ton of fish, especially over by the bridge and glass wall to the predator tank. And even though I know there were lots of turtles in there, since we had seen them earlier being fed, I only ever saw two when we were swimming in there. The guy at the snorkel desk had told us that the turtle like to hide, and apparently they are very good at hiding. It was still fun though with seeing all of the pretty fish.

 

I had given mom my iphone in its waterproof case so she could try taking some pictures. She had difficulty with it and here's her most interesting picture.

 

 

But to be fair, while I got a good movie with the iphone, the picture taking did not work well for me either.

 

This is a compilation video I took with my real camera in its waterproof casing with the boring just water portions mostly edited out.

 

I also have this video from the iphone.

 

We saw these birds on the island that were rather pretty.

 

 

 

This is the money turtle shot pulled from the good camera video.

 

 

We really did have a good time in the lagoon though, even though we didn't see a whole lot of turtles while in it.

 

Coming up - Grand Cayman Part 5 (Preadator, Turtle and Croc feeding)

[DM_KidAtHeart]

After getting out of the lagoon and showering, I then raced over to the predator tank in time to see the predator feeding. It was cool, although I didn’t really get any good pictures of it since I got there too late and all the prime spots on the bridge were taken.

 

 

 

Use your imagination a little, and you can tell that these are pictures of nurse sharks. LOL. So I’d suggest getting there early if you want to a good view of the predator feeding show.

 

We then stopped by the large turtle tank where they were feeding them. It was fun to watch them come up after the food.

 

 

Next was the alligator feeding. My best photo of it was with my iphone.

 

 

By the time I got out the good camera, the exciting feeding parts making him jump for it were done. But I did get this one video.

 

Coming up - Grand Cayman Part 6 (Holding Turtles and the rest of the day)

[DM_KidAtHeart]

It started to rain after this so we ran for cover after this near the yearling turtles. In a break in the rain, I went out to catch and hold one of the turtles. Mom took pictures from some distance away still under cover (these are zoomed in and cropped).

 

 

 

When there was a decent break in the rain, mom got a couple of turtles to hold.

 

 

 

This guy showed us that if you pet the turtles under their necks, then they calmed down. It worked too. It was fun.

 

After washing our hands, we took a brief tour of the hatchery museum. It was kind of interesting. It was raining pretty hard by then, and we decided it was a good time to head back to the ship.

 

We just sat under cover for a little while just outside the entrance. The first driver had told us that buses come by every 5-10 minutes. We saw some get off one of the buses, and he told us we had to wait right by the street for one. So we did, and then, of course, one pulled into the driveway. With the rain and everything, I was a little frustrated by this time. In getting mom into the bus with her chair and everything, I had set the bags on the ground. Apparently in the confusion of getting everything loaded, I left our Del Sol bag on the ground in the driveway of the turtle farm. In this bag, we also lost mom’s entire swimsuit and the skirt bottom to mine, as well as our sunscreen and my flip flops. In the end, around a $40 loss probably.

 

When getting off the bus, I realized we were missing the bag. Shortly thereafter, I realized I had also lost our sea passes. I know I had put them in my shorts pocket after getting off the ship. I’m not really sure when they got lost. The shorts were in the lost bag at the point when we went snorkeling, but who knows. So we went to the port, and explained our loss. The first guards let us through with an understanding nod. When we got to the point where you actually have to show them to get to the tenders, they asked for our ids. I gave them our passports, they came back with our sea passes. Someone had turned them in. We asked if maybe a bag had been turned in with them, but no luck. We then happily got back on the ship with our sea passes.

 

After a quick stop at the next cruise desk to make an appointment for later, we then enjoyed a late lunch in the WJ. We then relaxed for a while in the room, watch the Love & Marriage game show re-showing on the television, until the time for our appointment. It was fun. The next booking was easily made as all we really needed to do was pick out a room. We had already decided pre-cruise on the Serenade of the Seas out of New Orleans for next year.

 

For dinner, shrimp appetizer for mom, mushroom gravy pastry thing for me. Mom was starting to get very tired of shrimp by now. For entrees, we each had one plate with two lobsters for each of us. I then had the prime rib as well. I liked the prime rib better. Mom had the sugar-free coconut-lychee mousse pie, and found it to be quite good. I tried the baked Alaska (really like the marshmallow topping), and the mousse with fruit (it was okay).

 

This night was the Once Upon a time show. I liked this show, although I ended up with the song “Popular” from Wicked stuck in my head. But it was a fun and well put together mish-mash of songs. After this, we went to watch Quest. I prefer Quest on the smaller ships. I know they can’t do it the same on the larger ones, and it was okay but not the same. The best part was when the team was supposed to make a ball with 4 people. Then the ball was supposed to roll, as balls should. It was a trip to watch them to try and roll their bodies.

 

Finally at my nightly stop to look at the cookie selection in Café Promenade, they finally had chocolate chip cookies. I went to Cafe Promenade almost every night in order to get mom hot water for her nightly tea. And of course, there's always our nightly towel animal/person.

 

 

Coming up - Cozumel in tons of parts (might get to it later today, not sure.)

[tarajean1962]

Another awesome day for you guys despite the rainy part!! That is the best towel animal that I have ever seen!!:D

 

Tara

[DM_KidAtHeart]

Another awesome day for you guys despite the rainy part!! That is the best towel animal that I have ever seen!!:D

 

Tara

 

I thought it was a quite fun one too. We had a great cabin steward

[Cupcrazy]

Thanks for the review! Great job on the Flowrider. I can't wait to ride it in October on Oasis