Freedom of the Seas~May 4th~Third Week of Cruising: My Diary

[maxs mom]

Whew! I wasn't sure if you were still talking to me after my smart a$$ comment about going back to work!:p

 

Almost all of your comments are smart a$$!! That's why I like you so much!! :D

[maxs mom]

Saturday ~ May 10th ~ At Sea

 

The last day! Slept in again today, but still up earlier than most folks! Took a few shots along the Promenade this morning on my way for coffee.

 

 

The great Logo Shop.....which the Indy does not have....to many people's dislike.

 

 

Had our last breakfast in the dining room. I do believe that breakfast is my favorite meal of the day. We will leave the ship very early tomorrow, so it will be McD's then. We shared a table with two very nice couples. Enjoyed our conversation.

 

 

Did some more hanging out in the DL today. Such a quiet place with a great view. Before going there, I went to see Bertie and changed our luggage tags so we could be first off in the morning. No problem. We read and used the internet some more in the DL.

 

 

Another reason to hang out in the DL:

 

 

Then there are the great views from the Viking Crown:

 

[Ocean Boy]

The great Logo Shop.....which the Indy does not have....to many people's dislike.

 

 

And I would be one of them.:mad:

[maxs mom]

Lunch in the WJ again. And one more "cookie du jour"!! Today's cookie was the cranberry/white chocolate. I believe this may be my favorite.

 

 

After lunch, the dreaded packing begins. We've gotten very good at this, so it didn't take too long.

 

 

On the way to the CL tonight.....had to get one more picture at the bridge!

 

 

Cheers to a great cruise!!

 

 

We said good-bye to the fabulous bar servers and to Bertie.

 

 

We had reservations at Portofino tonight and on the way there we were flagged down by Richard.....our cabin steward when we were on Freedom in August. He remembered us and wanted to say hello!!

 

[maxs mom]

So dinner at Portofino on the last night was a good call!! It wasn't very crowded and our dinner was wonderful!! We started with salad. John had the Caesar and I had the one they offer for two....but they made it for one. Very good.....and different.

 

 

 

 

We each had a beef entree (since we don't eat beef at home.....we go crazy on cruises!) John had the T-bone and I had the filet. It was delicious and I ate every bite!

 

 

 

I had the very yummy and rich chocolate dessert.

 

 

I am so glad we came here tonight!! Great way to cap off our three weeks of cruising!!

[maxs mom]

Back to the cabin after dinner to finish packing. I hate this part.

 

 

We learned a lot in these three weeks. Everything went well....especially considering we changed ships in different ports. We would do this again! We would pack a little differently, though.

 

We got to bed as soon as we could because we would be getting up very early in the morning.

Edited June 1, 2014 by max'smom

[maxs mom]

Sunday ~ May 11th ~ Port Canaveral

 

We're back!!!

 

 

 

 

Got up around 5:30 and began getting our stuff together. I got some nice hot coffee in the Café Promenade around 6 AM.

 

 

 

We finally got it all together and headed on down to the Pyramid Lounge before 7:00.

 

 

We met Sheri and Chuck there. We were to be called off at 7:15, but it was 7:30 before we got the call. Real easy debarkation. we got our luggage easily....it's on a carousel here. There was a very short line for customs and immigration. A shuttle from Park n Cruise was right there, so we got over to our car and were on the road around 8 'o clock! Not bad!

[maxs mom]

We grabbed some breakfast at a Mc.D's along the way and drove to Savannah. We spent the night there before making our way back to North Carolina on Monday.

 

 

What a great trip! I can't remember having so many fabulous beach days in a row! We were in great company on all three legs. The food was good, the accommodations were good. Great entertainment. And the relaxation factor was through the roof! Can't get any better!

 

I was ready to get home, though, and hug my dog!!!

 

 

She was very happy to see us!

 

I dreaded the laundry, the grocery shopping, and those first couple of sessions with the Personal Trainer. (I never saw the inside of a gym the whole time we were gone!) Oh and of course......no more "cookies du jour!"

 

Well......thanks for reading......and as usual.....I will end with a toast to all our cruise buddies...past and present (and virtual, too). Cruising is a lifestyle that we thoroughly enjoy. I sincerely hope that I may have helped someone in their cruise planning. Hope to see you on a future cruise. If you do happen to see us.....please come and say hello!! You meet the nicest people on Cruise Critic!!

 

Salud! And see you soon!

 

 

Edited June 1, 2014 by max'smom

[Susie51]

Welcome back. Does Navigator of the Seas have a similar DL like Freedom?

 

Your writing style and pics, made reading your review a joy.

[ARCruisinNana]

Welcome back. Does Navigator of the Seas have a similar DL like Freedom?

 

Navigator has a new Diamond Club that was added during the dry dock in January. It's in the same location as Freedom. It's in the Viking Crown on Deck 14 where the 19th Hole was located.

[maxs mom]

Navigator has a new Diamond Club that was added during the dry dock in January. It's in the same location as Freedom. It's in the Viking Crown on Deck 14 where the 19th Hole was located.

 

Thanks, Carolyn......I thought they were doing that on the refurbs, but I wasn't sure.

 

And thank you, Susie, for your kind words!

[mickev99]

Thanks for the great review and pictures. One question about luggage tags....you mentioned that you exchanged yours. Is that common? When we were on NCL (our only cruise so far), we went down to the lobby and picked up whatever tags we wanted, depending on when we wanted to disembark, but it sounds like on RCCL, they give them to you randomly. We are in no hurry (especially with 3 kids and a husband to try get out the door that morning), can we request a later disembark time with our room steward, do you know?

 

Thanks!

Michelle

[smeck]

Sounds and looks like retirement is agreeing with you.

[maxs mom]

Thanks for the great review and pictures. One question about luggage tags....you mentioned that you exchanged yours. Is that common? When we were on NCL (our only cruise so far), we went down to the lobby and picked up whatever tags we wanted, depending on when we wanted to disembark, but it sounds like on RCCL, they give them to you randomly. We are in no hurry (especially with 3 kids and a husband to try get out the door that morning), can we request a later disembark time with our room steward, do you know?

 

Thanks!

Michelle

 

Hi Michelle!

 

On some ships you fill out a departure form to say what time frame you want. But we didn't get anything like that on Freedom. (We did on Indy, though). The cabin steward brings the luggage tags on that last morning. If you don't like what you have....either ask the cabin steward about it, or simply go to Guest Services and ask to exchange them. That would probably be faster. It's not a problem.

[maxs mom]

Sounds and looks like retirement is agreeing with you.

 

LOL!!! You better believe it!!

[luv4cruises]

Please don't worry. I've seen no age signs of the ship. Freedom hasn't been to dry dock yet' date=' but they are constantly updating as they go. They got new beds back in August ( I was there to see that myself) and they are so comfortable.

 

Yes.....the MDR is open for breakfast every day. On sea days the hours are 8-10. On port days the hours are 7-9. It has been my experience that you should get there early. You will have a better experience and will not have to wait in line. And yes....avoid the Windjammer at all costs!

 

Sometimes I read a negative review of the same cruise that I was on and wonder how in the world we could have been on the same sailing. A cruise is what YOU make it. I never let the little things bother me. Hope you will have a great time![/size']

 

 

Thank you so much. I feel a lot better hearing your impressions.

[maxs mom]

Thank you so much. I feel a lot better hearing your impressions.

 

Oh....I forgot to tell you that you did a great thing reserving the Cabana on Labadee. You will thoroughly enjoy that! We usually just sit under the trees there, but in December we booked a cabana with friends and it was just the best day ever!!

 

Like I said.....Please don't worry. There is so much to do on board. your crowd will have a ball!

[Royal2464]

Good review, thank you. I believe the Freedom has been having problems with a bow thruster for six months or more. Not surprised at all that an early dry dock will be required to fix the problem.

[mn1111]

Neda....yes...that's basically what I found out about Sapphire. Might check that out. But the last time we were there....the iguanas were always nice and tame.....had gotten really aggressive. Too many people feeding them....and now they are demanding food from everybody....even jumping in chairs and onto people. We had a terrible time with them the last time we were there and had never had a problem before.

 

The renting a boat thing from Red Hook sounds interesting. Can you give me some information on how you do that. Is there a website? How much does that cost for the day? Thanks!!

 

Hi Jane,

 

There are a lot of places that rent boats in St. Thomas. We usually use See & Ski which runs about $550 a day (boat & captain) plus fuel. The boats fit about 6 people comfortably so if you have more people you can share the cost. We've also chartered sail boats which are limited to just going to St. John, those usually run about $125 per person including lunch and open bar and take a maximum of 6 people.

 

Other options include, Linquist Beach which is very quiet but has no facilities, however, I've heard that they are starting to build it up so it probably won't be deserted for much longer. If I was going to go there for the day, I would probably arrange with someone local to pick us up, provide chairs for the day and make food/drink runs (probably wouldn't cost too much more than renting from somewhere if you have at least four people). Another cool option is Water Island which does have facilites. You can get there via ferry very close to port.

 

Neda

[maxs mom]

Good review, thank you. I believe the Freedom has been having problems with a bow thruster for six months or more. Not surprised at all that an early dry dock will be required to fix the problem.

 

Yes....there is definitely something wrong somewhere. Glad they will be getting it fixed and getting the ship all spiffied up. It will make future sailings a lot nicer.

[maxs mom]

Hi Jane,

 

There are a lot of places that rent boats in St. Thomas. We usually use See & Ski which runs about $550 a day (boat & captain) plus fuel. The boats fit about 6 people comfortably so if you have more people you can share the cost. We've also chartered sail boats which are limited to just going to St. John, those usually run about $125 per person including lunch and open bar and take a maximum of 6 people.

 

Other options include, Linquist Beach which is very quiet but has no facilities, however, I've heard that they are starting to build it up so it probably won't be deserted for much longer. If I was going to go there for the day, I would probably arrange with someone local to pick us up, provide chairs for the day and make food/drink runs (probably wouldn't cost too much more than renting from somewhere if you have at least four people). Another cool option is Water Island which does have facilites. You can get there via ferry very close to port.

 

Neda

 

Neda .....thanks so much for that information! Will definitely look into that next time in St. T. We need to do something different there......that's for sure.

[mn1111]

Neda .....thanks so much for that information! Will definitely look into that next time in St. T. We need to do something different there......that's for sure.

 

We sailing Jewel on the Nov 1 itinerary which stops at St. Thomas. If you happen to be there, let me know and you guys can hop on our charter for free.

 

Neda

[The Big Booper]

As always, enjoyed your photo review.

 

I'm hoping I can post photo reviews of our upcoming 4 trips this year. First I have to get a new photo sharing website since Webshots is gone now. You use Photo Bucket?

[luv4cruises]

Good review, thank you. I believe the Freedom has been having problems with a bow thruster for six months or more. Not surprised at all that an early dry dock will be required to fix the problem.

 

Will it be fixed by Aug 31, 2014. When is the early drydock?

Thanks for all info.

[luv4cruises]

Repeat by accident

Edited June 1, 2014 by luv4cruises