Trip Report: FOS 9/21/14 With Pics!

[Debitoo]

About Us. We are a family of 4: Myself – Debi, daughter Jessica and grand kids Cameron 15 & Alexis 12. We’re from SoCal. This is my 4th cruise with Royal and my family’s 3rd.

 

Our pre-flight hotel to Orlando was at the Renaissance LAX which is where we used their Sleep, Fly & Park package. It was nothing special but very convenient. They shuttled us to the airport in the morning with plenty of time to spare. Security & check in was a breeze.

 

We arrived on time in Orlando at 5:00 pm and rented an SUV from Avis. Before we knew it, we were on our way to Cocoa Beach. We stayed for 2 nights at the Cocoa Beach Hilton. It was nice and comfy with easy access to the beach. The Tiki hut was a nice place to sit and unwind from our busy day.

 

Saturday we spent driving around the area and doing last minute shopping for the cruise. We found that Publix Supermarket had a decent selection of wine and everything else you may need. We ended up having dinner at A.N.Y Pizza. It was pretty good with HUGE portions of food.

 

Embarkation day we dropped the car off at 9:30am and were told that their shuttle couldn’t take us till it picked up all the departing guests. We were prepared for this so we just had them call us a cab. We arrived at the port @ about 10:15 and it was packed with cars, taxis and busses trying to get in and out of the parking lot. Our Taxi driver somehow zipped past everyone and we ended up at the front part of the terminal where there were no other people embarking. It was GREAT! We unloaded the bags to a porter who was waiting with nothing to do. The only snag was he refused to let us check our case of water. He said we had to carry it on. I’ve never encountered this before. He said if we checked it in, we’d never see it again. So we lugged it along with our carry-on's.

 

 

 

 

There was no line outside of the terminal building yet so we showed our IDs and we went inside. The priority line was empty so we headed that way but we were turned away by the guard saying that the Priority lines were for handicapped travelers only. After a while it was announced that priority travelers could use the line. No big deal just thought it was odd. We went through security really fast even though we had to stop for our case of water to be cut open and checked out. Funny, they never even blinked at the 2 bottles of wine that I had in my carry-on! Check in was quick also. We sat in the priority waiting area for about 10 minutes and then we were allowed to board.

 

 

 

 

 

 

We were at Sorrento’s by 11:00 having pizza. We decided to park there until the rooms opened up as we had that darn case of water to lug around.

 

 

 

We had JS 9326 and loved the location! It was close to everything. The kids just had to go up 3 decks to the teen area and the WJ was 2 decks up. Our room steward Balfour was very efficient. We didn’t request too many things from him: Ice twice a day, an egg carton for the sofa bed (very lumpy) and an extra chair for the balcony. We gave him a box of See’s candies right off the bat and he was very pleased to get them.

 

 

[Debitoo]

More cabin pics:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Our luggage arrived very fast. It was there by 2:00! We were unpacked and ready to hit the pool area by 3:00. During the cruise I kept finding cigarette ashes on the balcony. I don’t know where they came from as I rarely saw my neighbors and I never smelled anything. Someone was pretty sneaky. Just in case anyone is wondering, the safe is the light greyish one and it held our iPad, Galaxy Tab 10.1, 2 wallets, my Nikon CoolPix camera and our 4 cell phones. We had to stack things but they did all fit!

 

 

 

[Debitoo]

Our CC roll call had a meet up at the pool bar at 3:00 and it was well attended! I met so many nice people there! I ran into many of you throughout the cruise and it was great to be able to stop and chat. I’m absolutely horrible with names so do I apologize if I didn’t recall your name while we chatted.

 

The ship itself was in very good condition. I didn’t see any area that was in need of immediate repair except for the “days of the week” carpet inserts in the elevators. Some of them were really beat up and tattered.

 

The staff was really friendly with everyone saying hi or good morning. I’ve come to expect this from the Royal staff and they did not disappoint!

 

We decided to hang out on our balcony during sail away. We waved goodbye to everyone at Fishlips and enjoyed watching the shore get smaller and smaller. After sail away we took the kids up to the teen area to meet the staff. Iggy was there to greet us and give us the low-down on the events of the week. While we were there another family walked in with a boy my grandson’s age, 15! Hallelujah! This is the 3rd cruise I have taken him on and he has never found anyone to hang out with! It turns out that there were about 7 or 8 kids his age and they all became fast friends.

 

 

 

 

 

My granddaughter is 12 and because there were so few kids on board, they combined the teens into 1 group ages 12 to 17. Well, this was great for my granddaughter but not so much for my grandson….”does she have to hang out with my friends?” “Ah, yes, they’re her friends too!”

 

We had dinner the first night at Chops and the food was pretty good and the experience was not so good. I had the petit fillet which had good flavor but had way too much gristle running through it. My granddaughter also had the petit filet but she said hers was good. My daughter had the lamb and LOVED it. Sorry, I don’t remember what my grandson had. Our server was not very accommodating. I’d give him a “D” grade. He was very condescending to us when we ordered. Everyone wanted a starch instead of a vegetable. I didn’t need the waiter telling me that we didn’t order a “balanced” meal. We’re on vacation and food pyramid doesn’t factor in here. It was not worth the $35pp IMO. I probably should have complained about the steak but I didn’t want to start off the week with a negative. The steak was bad. It happens.

 

The casino. The slots were not friendly and the place stinks of tobacco….nuff said.

 

Day 2 found us at Coco Cay. The weather was great and the seas were calm. We were lucky to be able to tender.

 

 

 

[Debitoo]

More of Coco Cay

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Havin'fun]

Loving the review and the pictures. Keep 'em coming!

[Debitoo]

Day 3 We had our Official Meet & Mingle. Unfortunately, Royal changed the time of the meeting to 9:15 instead of 10:30 which was published on their website. Quite a few on our roll call never received an invitation in their staterooms with this new time. I’m not sure why it was changed. Maybe it was because we had 138 signed up for it and they felt there wasn’t enough space for everyone. I don’t think there was enough room if everyone showed up. They also mentioned that there was another function in the room right after ours. It was nice meeting those who did make it.

 

David Mac from the activities staff MC’d the event and he did a terrific job. He gave out lots of raffle gifts including internet packages! He was very visible and approachable during the whole cruise and I appreciated that he went out of his way to say hi to me by name whenever he’d pass by. He also suggested activities to try that we would normally not do. We were glad he did! Kudos to you David! I hope I have the opportunity to sail with you again someday.

 

After the M&M we had our slot pull. We had 12 of us there. We picked a “stinker” slot machine and ended up with nothing, but we did have a fun time!

 

 

 

 

Later that day, we watched as land became closer and closer. We found out that we had to make an emergency stop in Nassau to bring a crew member to the hospital. It was quite serious and it was the fastest way to get him the help he needed. We found out at the end of the cruise that he was out of intensive care and was doing much better. Yea!

 

 

 

 

 

 

We were also informed that due to the stop, we would not be going to St. Thomas. Instead, we’d be having a quick stop in Puerto Rico in the late afternoon on day 4. The time was not announced though as there were 2 Carnival ships in port and we had to wait for one of them to leave. We found out later that one of the Carnival ships had docked there unexpectedly due to mechanical problems. <chuckle>.

 

Day 3 was also a Cup Cake Cupboard decorating class for my family. They had a great time and this was one of the creations.

 

 

The only negative here was there weren’t any of the Decorating Books available to purchase at the time. (My daughter is a baking fanatic). They said they would be in on Friday. They never became available.

[Debitoo]

We had Ice Show tickets for this day also. It’s always a fun show to watch. The girl with the hula hoops was fantastic!

 

 

 

 

 

A Family Selfie

 

 

 

 

Random shots from around the ship.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Debitoo]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

That’s all for now…More later!

[Thetrail]

Looks like you guys had a fantastic time!...:)

[FunX5]

Loving your review!

[NemoCrownie]

Also enjoying this. I love your pictures and writing style.

 

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[thegima]

We sailed the 14th and were getting off while your family was getting on. Port Canaveral has changed up some of their parking/drop off processes so it was kind of a cluster but it sounds like you guys made out well.

 

I'm really surprised they didn't let you check that water! I normally just pack a 6 or 12pk of the sport bottles in my checked bag and forget about it. Might explain why I saw 2-3 people carrying around big 24 packs of water in the WJ on day one the week before.. :D

 

Looking forward to more pictures so I can relive the experience haha

 

Thanks for taking the time and sharing this.

[cruiserdudebobby8]

im excited for Freedom

 

 

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[Debitoo]

Day 4 found us sailing mid-afternoon into Puerto Rico. We weren’t immediately able to dock as we had to wait for one of the Carnival ships to leave.

 

See how nice the weather is?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We were finally able to disembark around 5:00 pm in the most torrential downpour I’ve ever seen!

 

 

 

 

 

[Debitoo]

We had decided against taking one of Royal’s excursions and I’m glad. I heard reports from our shipmates that it was too dark to see anything plus it was way too rainy and not worth the money. Instead we opted to take a leisurely walk to Senior Frogs. Well, walk, yes; leisurely, no. We had 2 umbrellas for the 4 of us. It didn’t matter if we had 8 umbrellas. They were no match for the rain. By the time we got to Senior Frogs, we were drenched from head to toe. The hostess and the wait staff had no idea that another ship was docking that night and was unprepared for the throngs of people descending upon them. I didn’t mind the wetness too much except for my tennis shoes. Ugh!

 

Service was really, really, really, really, really slow. No complaints here though considering the circumstances. They jumped into action and called in extra help and soon everyone had a drink in hand and a balloon hat!

 

 

 

 

 

After dinner, the skies had cleared and we had a nice walk back to the ship. Of course we argued along the way as to who had first dibs on the hair dryers to dry our soggy shoes!

 

 

 

Day 5 found us docked in BEAUTIFUL St Martin! The weather was hot and humid!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[agentcorona]

I'm loving the pics! Keep them coming :)

[Debitoo]

We had decided to venture out on our own today debating between taking the water taxi to Philipsburg and walk to the beach or grab a taxi to Marigot. We had visited Marigot briefly in 2012 on Bernard’s tour but barely had time to see anything of the town. We really wanted to visit Sarafina’s bakery again and have one of their wonderful sandwiches on their freshly baked bread. So that’s what we opted to do. We found a taxi and jumped in. OMG….talk about a bad driver! This guy drove about 30 mph with one foot on the gas and the other on the brake. Luckily, I was in the front seat. Those in the back were in desperate need of a barf bag! We couldn’t get out of that cab fast enough!

 

Marigot is a charming European flavored seaside town with lots of shopping and sidewalk cafés…..except for September. Apparently, September is the month that many of the local businesses close for repairs and renovations…..including Sarifina’s. Wah Wah Wah……epic fail!

 

 

 

 

We wandered around the small area where the locals were selling the usual “made in china” souvenirs. There were however a few handmade items. I bought 2 small pictures from a local artist which she signed for me.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Debitoo]

We had lunch at Rosemary’s, a quaint little sidewalk café. It was delicious!

 

After lunch we decided to taxi back to Philipsburg. This time we got a decent driver. Here are a few pics I took from the car.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Debitoo]

Once we returned to Philipsburg, we had to make the obligatory stop at the Belgian Chocolate Box.

 

 

 

 

 

We decided to walk back to the ship and I’m glad we did. We found this shop on our way! Your trip to St. Martin isn’t complete till you meet the Yoda Guy!

 

 

 

 

 

The Yoda guy was a key contributor to the development of Yoda in the Empire Strikes Back. He was there at the shop talking to everyone that stopped by!

 

We headed back to the ship and we met a new friend.

 

 

 

 

 

[homeschoolmama]

Thanks for sharing pics. We love FOS! One of out favorite ships. Leaving in 5 wks on her for b2b. Your pics definitely got the excitement ramped up!

 

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[Debitoo]

The next 2 days were sea days and we really didn’t do much except eat and drink. We did spend quite a bit of time at the FlowRider watching my grandson perfect his form!

 

 

 

We also ventured down to the Crypt one night to check it out.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Debitoo]

Here’s a few more shots from our balcony

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Our last day on board was spent packing. Yuck! We had early disembarking tags #1 as we had booked the Kennedy Space Center tour with airport drop-off early the next morning.

 

Our last sunset

 

 

 

Disembarkation was a breeze. We all met in the Arcadia Theater and we were off the ship in no time. There were 3 agents working and the line moved very quickly.

 

 

Next up, The Kennedy Space Center!

[bigbny1]

GREAT JOB!!! thanks for posting.

 

Brian

[O2Bcatfree]

Hi Debi,

 

Nice to see the cruise through someone else's eyes. Thanks again for your work on the roll call! We met some really interesting people at the meet & mingle. Good job all around. SIL Alix is now converted to cruising.

 

Bill

[Topo Gigio]

The chocolates of The Belgian Chocolate Box are the best. I pay the same price as tourists, but in guilders. Almost half the price!