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

[tallcva3344]

Jane, this might be the first review I have looked at from beginning to end. I have four weeks B2B2B2B in Jan 2016 on the Freedom after the Serenade cruise in Dec. When does the Freedom go to drydock? We are in room 9620 a D2 balcony the whole cruise.

 

I have a hint on your pictures. They were great. I would take them to Windows Photo Gallery and adjust exposure by taking out the shadows. It will look like you have the perfect flash. Then go to color temperature and a "little" color temperature. It will make your fantastic pictures even more fantastic. H

Edited May 31, 2014 by tallcva3344

[tallcva3344]

Jane, this might be the first review I have looked at from beginning to end. I have four weeks B2B2B2B in Jan 2016 on the Freedom after the Serenade cruise in Dec. When does the Freedom go to drydock? We are in room 9620 a D2 balcony the whole cruise.

 

I have a hint on your pictures. They were great. I would take them to Windows Photo Gallery and adjust exposure by taking out the shadows. It will look like you have the perfect flash. Then go to color temperature and a "little" color temperature. It will make your fantastic pictures even more fantastic. H

 

I must have had a mind meld. I just realized that for the entire month of Jan 2015 the Freedom is going to drydock. Cannot believe it will be there for one month. That is not the normal, and special cancelation was made last month to do this. It was scheduled for February 2015. No one knows why it was moved up, and why so long. I have a feeling specialty restaurants will be added, and Portofino's changed. But more must be in the plans. H

Edited May 31, 2014 by tallcva3344

[SherriZ366]

I must have had a mind meld. I just realized that for the entire month of Jan 2015 the Freedom is going to drydock. Cannot believe it will be there for one month. That is not the normal, and special cancelation was made last month to do this. It was scheduled for February 2015. No one knows why it was moved up, and why so long. I have a feeling specialty restaurants will be added, and Portofino's changed. But more must be in the plans. H

Harry -- did you see the pictures of Chuck and me in the CL with Jane and John? Edited May 31, 2014 by SherriZ366

[maxs mom]

Hi Jane,

Thanks for the lovely reviews. You sound like an expert on Royal Caribbean! Do you prefer the Allure/Oasis class or the Freedom class?

Thanks, Merry

 

Hey Merry!

 

Actually.....we prefer the Radiance and Vision Class ships. Oh yes... The Oasis/Freedom class ships are big and have all the bells and whistles....but give me the R and V class ships any day. I like the intimacy of those ships....plus the fact that they all look out to the sea and not focused inward. We cruise a lot, though, on the Voyager and Freedom class ships....all cruises are great. We've been on the Allure once and enjoyed it very much.....but there's just something about those smaller sized ships that I just love.

[maxs mom]

I must have had a mind meld. I just realized that for the entire month of Jan 2015 the Freedom is going to drydock. Cannot believe it will be there for one month. That is not the normal, and special cancelation was made last month to do this. It was scheduled for February 2015. No one knows why it was moved up, and why so long. I have a feeling specialty restaurants will be added, and Portofino's changed. But more must be in the plans. H

 

Hey Harry! Thanks for stopping by! Yes....it will be interesting to see what they do to Freedom in a month's time! Will be exciting. By the time I see you in Dec. of 2015, we'll both have probably sailed on her and can see for ourselves!!

[maxs mom]

Tonight was the second formal night. We stopped and had a picture made on the way to the CL.

 

 

We had great bar service, as usual, in the CL.

 

 

 

 

 

[Ocean Boy]

Hey Merry!

 

Actually.....we prefer the Radiance and Vision Class ships. Oh yes... The Oasis/Freedom class ships are big and have all the bells and whistles....but give me the R and V class ships any day. I like the intimacy of those ships....plus the fact that they all look out to the sea and not focused inward. We cruise a lot' date=' though, on the Voyager and Freedom class ships....all cruises are great. We've been on the Allure once and enjoyed it very much.....but there's just something about those smaller sized ships that I just love. [/size']

 

But you can't take your nightly walk across the bridge on those ships.

[maxs mom]

We had a very nice visit in the CL tonight. Casey, the CD, came in and we talked to him for a while. The Quest was going to be tonight and we told him what the Quest was like in the "olden days"!! He thought that was funny.

 

 

On to dinner about 8:15. Same quiet table. We both ordered Prime Rib tonight. I have sort of tired of the lobster, but I'll pick it back up on the next cruise....maybe.

 

The Grand Marnier Souffle was for dessert. Always good.

 

 

This would be our last night in the dining room because we had reservations at Portofino for the last night.....so we said good-bye to our fabulous waiter, Brian. He was top notch.

 

 

We were well rested, so we weren't falling asleep in our desserts tonight! After dinner we did our totally losing "Spin to wins". John got lucky on a Wheel of Fortune machine and won $165. I.....of course.....lost every dime.....once again. Three weeks on cruise ships and I lost every bit of my gambling money! I always count on my winnings to help pay the vet bill when we get back home!! Oh well!

 

We just hung out for a while, then found our way to Studio B for the Quest.

 

 

 

Edited May 31, 2014 by max'smom

[maxs mom]

But you can't take your nightly walk across the bridge on those ships.

 

That's true! I'll just have to suffer! I like to make staircase shots on those ships! ;)

[maxs mom]

Jane, this might be the first review I have looked at from beginning to end. I have four weeks B2B2B2B in Jan 2016 on the Freedom after the Serenade cruise in Dec. When does the Freedom go to drydock? We are in room 9620 a D2 balcony the whole cruise.

 

I have a hint on your pictures. They were great. I would take them to Windows Photo Gallery and adjust exposure by taking out the shadows. It will look like you have the perfect flash. Then go to color temperature and a "little" color temperature. It will make your fantastic pictures even more fantastic. H

 

Harry, my friend.....that is way above my head!! LOL!!

[Ocean Boy]

That's true! I'll just have to suffer! I like to make staircase shots on those ships! ;)

 

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

[maxs mom]

So as Quests go.....this one was just OK. That's another thing that I love about the smaller ships. The Quest is so much more fun because everyone gets to participate. And we used to participate a lot, believe it or not. Here are a few pictures from The Quest.

 

 

 

 

[maxs mom]

Some crazy stuff:

 

 

 

At the end, Casey called everyone down to the floor to dance. That was great because that gave us a chance to scoot out of there ahead of the crowds!

 

 

I've never seen that before.

 

I was proud of us because we were actually able to stay awake for something tonight. But it was late when this was over, so back to the cabin and bed time.

 

 

[mare0207]

Thanks for posting this review too!!! Thanks for the info on the camera!!

 

Sent from my SCH-I535 using Tapatalk

[Susie51]

I'm enjoying your review and pics.

[Susie51]

Thank you for your review and pics.

[Eng23]

I must have had a mind meld. I just realized that for the entire month of Jan 2015 the Freedom is going to drydock. Cannot believe it will be there for one month. That is not the normal, and special cancelation was made last month to do this. It was scheduled for February 2015. No one knows why it was moved up, and why so long. I have a feeling specialty restaurants will be added, and Portofino's changed. But more must be in the plans. H

 

Hey Harry! Thanks for stopping by! Yes....it will be interesting to see what they do to Freedom in a month's time! Will be exciting. By the time I see you in Dec. of 2015' date=' we'll both have probably sailed on her and can see for ourselves!![/size']

 

I can offer an educated guess about the Jan. dry dock. I noticed in this photo that it appeared that only two azipods were in use judging by the lack of wake to the left side:

 

I have read about the Freedom's schedule for Jan. 2015 being cancelled and guest were told it was because the ship needed to be dry docked. Freedom's original dry dock schedule would have been in early 2016 which would have been 5 years since her previous one. It has been rumored that there might be a propulsion problem with an azipod and that may have been the cause for the next dry dock to be moved up earlier than scheduled to make repairs. I shall continue to enjoy your review now Jane! :)

[SherriZ366]

Tonight was the second formal night. We stopped and had a picture made on the way to the CL.

 

 

We had great bar service' date=' as usual, in the CL.

 

 

 

 

 

Great pictures from the CL. We really enjoyed hanging out there with you two and Shelton and Jack. Loved the picture of the two of you on "your" bridge. Edited May 31, 2014 by SherriZ366

[SherriZ366]

I can offer an educated guess about the Jan. dry dock. I noticed in this photo that it appeared that only two azipods were in use judging by the lack of wake to the left side:

 

I have read about the Freedom's schedule for Jan. 2015 being cancelled and guest were told it was because the ship needed to be dry docked. Freedom's original dry dock schedule would have been in early 2016 which would have been 5 years since her previous one. It has been rumored that there might be a propulsion problem with an azipod and that may have been the cause for the next dry dock to be moved up earlier than scheduled to make repairs. I shall continue to enjoy your review now Jane! :)

I think you might be right. Remember how we did not leave until 6 PM from Port C and that there were divers under the ship doing something.

[Robinola]

I can offer an educated guess about the Jan. dry dock. I noticed in this photo that it appeared that only two azipods were in use judging by the lack of wake to the left side:

 

I have read about the Freedom's schedule for Jan. 2015 being cancelled and guest were told it was because the ship needed to be dry docked. Freedom's original dry dock schedule would have been in early 2016 which would have been 5 years since her previous one. It has been rumored that there might be a propulsion problem with an azipod and that may have been the cause for the next dry dock to be moved up earlier than scheduled to make repairs. I shall continue to enjoy your review now Jane! :)

 

I LOVE this picture of the wake. Is there anywhere to lounge and watch the wake on The Freedom?

[joand452]

You posted photos a while back about The Unexpected Boys show (was it on Indy or Freedom?). We saw them on Indy in April, and had seen them a couple of other times on various ships. Good thing I like Four Seasons music, but after the third time, the act is getting a little old. ;)

 

Anyway, this last time, the leader (probably the eldest of the group, the blond) talked about how they'd all met while performing in Les Miserables, then sang "One Day More." It just blew me away! It was the first time they'd done that. Did they sing that during the performance you saw? I could listen to them sing Broadway showtunes all night long!

 

Loving your review and photos.

[tallcva3344]

Harry -- did you see the pictures of Chuck and me in the CL with Jane and John?

 

Yes I did I will now recognize you both. Looking forward to meeting you. H

[maxs mom]

I can offer an educated guess about the Jan. dry dock. I noticed in this photo that it appeared that only two azipods were in use judging by the lack of wake to the left side:

 

I have read about the Freedom's schedule for Jan. 2015 being cancelled and guest were told it was because the ship needed to be dry docked. Freedom's original dry dock schedule would have been in early 2016 which would have been 5 years since her previous one. It has been rumored that there might be a propulsion problem with an azipod and that may have been the cause for the next dry dock to be moved up earlier than scheduled to make repairs. I shall continue to enjoy your review now Jane! :)

 

By George!! I think you've got it!! Very keen observation. That's probably one of the reasons they don't get into St. Thomas until noon. They should just say so!! They did on the Allure. (That noon arrival into St. Thomas really ticks me off!) Thanks for your post!!

[maxs mom]

I LOVE this picture of the wake. Is there anywhere to lounge and watch the wake on The Freedom?

 

Actually unless you have an aft cabin, there are not a whole lot of places that I know of. That's a neat view for sure!

[maxs mom]

You posted photos a while back about The Unexpected Boys show (was it on Indy or Freedom?). We saw them on Indy in April, and had seen them a couple of other times on various ships. Good thing I like Four Seasons music, but after the third time, the act is getting a little old. ;)

 

Anyway, this last time, the leader (probably the eldest of the group, the blond) talked about how they'd all met while performing in Les Miserables, then sang "One Day More." It just blew me away! It was the first time they'd done that. Did they sing that during the performance you saw? I could listen to them sing Broadway showtunes all night long!

 

Loving your review and photos.

 

They were on Freedom, but they were on Indy as well.....we just didn't go then. We've seen them a couple of times before as well, and you're right, it gets a little old. That's why we didn't go on Indy. But we were feeling a little guilty because we weren't going to any shows, so we thought we would stop by this one. They did not do any Broadway tunes while we were watching, but we came in late. They may have done that earlier. I would like to have heard that.