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Finding my happy in the Western Caribbean on Freedom of the Seas

Carolina Wren
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Carolina Wren

Carolina Wren

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Fantastic!! I LOVE reading and viewing your pictures and posts! My trip isn't until march 2015. An entire year away, but this really helps me prepare! How much was Johnny rockets to eat at?

 

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Oops, forgot to put the cost of Johnny Rockets in the post. It costs $5.95 per person. That covers all of your food. Milkshakes and sodas are extra (and worth it!) The whole meal will leave you so full that you won't need your "afternoon snack" at Sorrento's Pizza!

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Carolina Wren

Carolina Wren

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(Sorry so late in continuing this ... have been away living life this weekend!)

 

Wednesday afternoon after our delicious Johnny Rockets lunch was devoted to an aggressive schedule of relaxation on a deck chair on the main Pool Deck. I skipped everything on the Cruise Compass - Music trivia in the Schooner Bar (and I LOVE that hangout), the line dance class poolside - it looked fun, but I had a nap to attend to. I did join my family poolside for the showing of Disney/Pixar's movie Frozen on the big outdoor screen over the pool. This screen is a relatively recent addition to the ship - they didn't have this back in 2010. I'd already seen the movie, so with the full tummy and the heat, I quickly fell asleep.

 

Wednesday night, after we left Jamaica, was set to be to a quiet evening - just Tropical Casual in the MDR, and a show. Everyone interpreted Tropical Casual in their own way. You saw a lot of everything in the dining room. As long as you're not wearing shorts or flip flops, I think you're good on casual night. But you also saw lots of ladies in skirts. I took a couple of pairs of capri pants for casual night and it worked out. This evening I paired up a coral shirt with a pair of teal capris - I guess you could say I was really going for a Jimmy Buffet vibe.

 

Any rate, because we had the late seating, we got to go to the evening's show in the Arcadia Theatre first. Right before I joined the family - I decided to watch the ship leave the pier at Falmouth. A few other passengers joined me and we were watched three officers milling about the gangway, looking as if they were looking for someone. All Aboard was at 6:30 p.m. At 6:28 p.m. three people came running up to the ship!!! Whew - talk about cutting it close. Everyone on deck cheered. No sooner had the last person gotten on board than the crew was pulling in the gangplank, the shore crew was casting off ropes, and the ship was LEAVING. No horn blast, no nothing, just goodbye, Jamaica.

 

Afterwards I made my way to the theatre, found my family and dropped into the aisle seat they saved for me, about nine rows back from the stage. (That's important later.) The night's headliner was magician Drew Thomas. Several years ago he was the first magician to make it to the finals of America's Got Talent - and he blew away judges David Hasselhoff, Piers Morgan and Sharon Osborne with his performances. He re-created one of the tricks in his Royal Caribbean show, "Now You See It."

 

When we took the Eastern Caribbean cruise 4 years ago, Drew performed the same show, using the then-dancers as the cast. While the same this year, the show was just as entertaining ... and this year even more special!

 

He started out asking a young boy to assist him for one trick. It went well, and everyone loved it. Then, he started looking for another assistant. He came over to our side of the audience ... and the little boy sitting across the aisle almost jumped out of his seat, shooting his arm up in the air, begging to be picked. I did my best to look inconspicuous, not making eye contact at all, and was sending subliminal messages to him saying pick the boy! But of course, Drew turned and picked me. And so I was off to be part of the act. I spent my time on stage holding most of a torn playing card in a napkin, but holding a piece of the card in my teeth.

magic2_zps1f31a32a.jpeg

 

At one point he got another guest (a man) on the stage and did a bit with an orange and a HUGE knife. He was waving that knife so close to me I moved over. He used the huge knife to cut open the orange, which was revealed to contain the card - minus the torn-off edge, which was still in my teeth. And no, I have NO idea how he did that.

magic1_zpsa0efe22c.jpeg

 

It was hilarious and special being a part of the routine. Up close I got to see that Drew (a very good looking man) wears eyeliner for his stage show. :p

 

Later that night was the Love and Marriage show, but in keeping with my goal of doing as little as possible, I didn't go. Besides, I'd seen it before. I stayed in and watched movies on the in-cabin t.v. Somehow watching Chevy Chase in National Lampoon's Vacation, while on my cruise vacation, was just the perfect end to the day. :D

 

Up next: a near-perfect day in Georgetown, Grand Cayman!

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vmt514

vmt514

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We are looking into going on this cruise in June, I know we are late in booking, but you have really brought this cruise to life. Thank you for your posts. I can't wait to read about your next 2 ports and if you kept to your goals. :)

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Carolina Wren

Carolina Wren

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We are looking into going on this cruise in June, I know we are late in booking, but you have really brought this cruise to life. Thank you for your posts. I can't wait to read about your next 2 ports and if you kept to your goals. :)

 

Thank you for the feedback! New posts coming soon!

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Carolina Wren

Carolina Wren

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Thursday, March 20 - Day 5: Grand Cayman Island!

 

First up, though, I, my brother and sister-in-law, and their youngest, met for breakfast in the MDR again. This was such a nice change from the free-for-all buffets in the Windjammer - I highly recommend it to all cruisers. Breakfast there can be as leisurely or as fast as you would like. It just depends on whether you choose the served menu, and linger over coffee, or head over to the buffet. (Special note - check out the cereal bar. Make your own muesli! Amazing how many different types of granola there are each morning!)

 

My SIL and I loved the fact that someone else cleaned up all the dishes after each meal. That alone is LUXURY!!!

 

The only challenge with meeting family members for breakfast is WAITING on them, especially if they are not morning people like I am. I'd be up early. Remember, on alternate days I was going to the gym, getting in a good workout, then cleaning up for breakfast - all before 8:30 a.m. Having to wait until 9 a.m. for the night owls to join me before I could enter the MDR: ARGHHH. So I decided this morning, once the minute hand hit 9:06 a.m., I'd waited long enough. I joined a lovely couple who were being seated at a large table ... and then the rest of my crowd walked in. The waiters found space for them, so it all worked out.

 

Tip for cruisers traveling alone, or those who want to meet other cruisers: go to breakfast in the MDR. You'll meet fascinating people. Each day we were seated with new folks, and they were all great. Even the more quiet ones!

 

Ok, breakfast is over, now on with the excursion. Today's trip: a combination land and sea tour with my mom and dad. I wanted to spend some quality time with them - and this excursion was cheap - only $59. Bonus points!

 

The ship was headed to Georgetown, the capital of Grand Cayman. The Caymans are made up of three islands: Grand Cayman, the biggest, which is only 22 miles long, Little Cayman and Cayman Brac.

 

Grand Cayman is an extremely popular destination - there were four other cruise ships anchored offshore. I got a picture of one from the window of the Windjammer (where I went to collect Mom and Dad. No matter how much I evangelized the MDR for breakfast, he wouldn't budge. Dad loves the Windjammer.)

098_zps17716e03.jpg

 

For this port, we had to take tenders. I managed to get a great shot - the tender pulls right alongside the ship, and you negotiate a sometimes wobbly gangplank to board. The stewards help everyone to climb on.

101_zps9f9a807b.jpg

 

The Carnival Sunshine was very close by - I wasn't kidding about all the tender traffic:

102_zpsc402b386.jpg

 

Moving away from the Freedom:

103_zps5f9c8fd7.jpg

 

Then it was a fairly quick ride to Georgetown. There, we disembarked and were herded, along with many others, to the waiting areas for various excursions. Each group leader had a sign to corral their groups. Awnings were set up for the herds to wait under. (And at times we did look like herds.)

 

I insisted we tender early, because that's the way I am. And it gave us about 20 extra minutes to stop by the Georgetown Information office right there at the pier. The ladies there have lots of helpful information - they gave me a big overall map of the Caymans and a smaller, more detailed walking map of Georgetown. I love the big map - it is called "The Official and Most Excellent Map of the Cayman Islands." Literally - that is the name printed on the cover. Stop by the office if you get the chance. They'll hand you a map for free and give you brochures on other tours.

 

There were signs up with maps and lots of information about Grand Cayman. Please excuse my terrible photos - I was trying to get both sides:

 

105_zpsbd9d2a29.jpg

 

and the interesting historical info:

104_zpsb035ba63.jpg

 

And soon - but not soon enough - it was time for the excursion. Disappointment ahead!

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Carolina Wren

Carolina Wren

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When I last left off, we had disembarked from the tender to the port area in Georgetown and picked up cute maps.

 

The shore excursion we booked in Grand Cayman was NOT up to Royal Caribbean standards. For future reference: It was GCG2 - Cayman Glass Bottom Boat & Island Tour.

 

First: the excursion leaders were late. We were supposed to gather at 10:15 - no one in charge was there at 10:15 - just a group of people waiting. We were supposed to leave at 10:30 a.m. - and the leaders finally showed up about 10 minutes late. Okay, I can live with that - if that were all. (But it was hot!)

 

At that point they herded us in a line over to the area with buses, so naturally we all thought we were going to get on a bus. Oh no. We had to walk half a mile to the ship dock, which wasn't advertised. My 75-year-old mother would never have gone if she had known that.

 

Finally, we got to the glass bottom boat, boarded and were seated around the viewing areas. The deck hands came by with non-alcoholic punch for everyone.

 

We mostly saw coral - and a shipwreck. I didn't get such great pictures. Here's the coral:

107_zps73b995f2.jpg

 

And of course I forgot to get shipwreck photos. It wasn't that terribly exciting, to be honest. Just metal and planks in the sand, about 30 feet below us.

 

Then the captain announced he was going to put on scuba gear and feed the fish. (At least that's what I finally figured out was happening when I saw it. The PA system on the ship was terrible!)

 

The fish in this area were obviously well trained and knew what it meant when he came by.

108_zps68e7d779.jpg

 

That was pretty much the sea tour - it wasn't long. And yet - we were out there for a while, because that's when the trip became an ADVENTURE. The ship's engine broke down and it took forever for us to get back to land, so we could go on the land tour! :(

 

(Okay, well not forever, but compared to the actual sea tour - it took just as long to get back to shore as it did to take the tour.)

 

While waiting for them to fix the engine I took a picture of all the other ships in the area where we were:

109_zps1074728f.jpg

 

We finally made it back to a dock (passengers almost cheered) and then hurried onto the buses for the land portion. Look for that in the next post.

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TropicalIslandGirl1981

TropicalIslandGirl1981

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When I last left off, we had disembarked from the tender to the port area in Georgetown and picked up cute maps.

 

The shore excursion we booked in Grand Cayman was NOT up to Royal Caribbean standards. For future reference: It was GCG2 - Cayman Glass Bottom Boat & Island Tour.

 

First: the excursion leaders were late. We were supposed to gather at 10:15 - no one in charge was there at 10:15 - just a group of people waiting. We were supposed to leave at 10:30 a.m. - and the leaders finally showed up about 10 minutes late. Okay, I can live with that - if that were all. (But it was hot!)

 

At that point they herded us in a line over to the area with buses, so naturally we all thought we were going to get on a bus. Oh no. We had to walk half a mile to the ship dock, which wasn't advertised. My 75-year-old mother would never have gone if she had known that.

 

Finally, we got to the glass bottom boat, boarded and were seated around the viewing areas. The deck hands came by with non-alcoholic punch for everyone.

 

We mostly saw coral - and a shipwreck. I didn't get such great pictures. Here's the coral:

107_zps73b995f2.jpg

 

And of course I forgot to get shipwreck photos. It wasn't that terribly exciting, to be honest. Just metal and planks in the sand, about 30 feet below us.

 

Then the captain announced he was going to put on scuba gear and feed the fish. (At least that's what I finally figured out was happening when I saw it. The PA system on the ship was terrible!)

 

The fish in this area were obviously well trained and knew what it meant when he came by.

108_zps68e7d779.jpg

 

That was pretty much the sea tour - it wasn't long. And yet - we were out there for a while, because that's when the trip became an ADVENTURE. The ship's engine broke down and it took forever for us to get back to land, so we could go on the land tour! :(

 

(Okay, well not forever, but compared to the actual sea tour - it took just as long to get back to shore as it did to take the tour.)

 

While waiting for them to fix the engine I took a picture of all the other ships in the area where we were:

109_zps1074728f.jpg

 

We finally made it back to a dock (passengers almost cheered) and then hurried onto the buses for the land portion. Look for that in the next post.

 

I've been waiting for the remainder of the cruise.

 

Sent from my DROID RAZR using Tapatalk

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