Cheapo dad's trip report on Freedom of the Seas

[tropiclvrs]

Hi,

 

I read your posting quickly on my phone at work when I got a notification that someone had posted to this thread. I just read it real fast and put down the phone and went back to work. When you said you have 2 roosters, I thought you meant you had 2 chickens in your farm/yard. Only later on it dawned on me that you meant you have 2 family members that were born in the year of the rooster and not real chickens in the backyard…

 

DUH, I know it’s hard to believe, but I’m dumber than I look…:p

 

I live in the East Bay and the in-laws and all my wife’s relatives are in SF so they picked the restaurant in Daly City so we had to drive across the bridge to go there.

 

Here’s Yelp’s link to the restaurant:

 

 

https://www.yelp.com/biz/king-wah-restaurant-daly-city-3

 

Haha...yeah I guess I should have clarified my comment about roosters in my household. Your second assumption was correct, in that I was referring to my husband and son as being born in the year of the Rooster. My daughter is the year of the pig and she's not too thrilled about that!

[fletch1027]

 

- I'm assuming your sons never attended the Teen programs since you have not mentioned it in your review. Any chance you have a copy of the teen camp or kids' schedule?

 

 

While this isn't from Harry's cruise, this was the teen compass from our Freedom cruise last October-November.

 

 

 

 

 

Ours was a 5-night cruise, but this will give you a good idea of what types of activities will be on board for the teens...

[bobmacliberty]

I would imagine the Caribbean and Hawaii or other tropical places have a long list of people that wants to go versus Buffalo in January.

 

Hey now, I grew up in Buffalo and January's not...well it's...ah, who am I kidding.

[Friendship100]

Thanks so much for writing this review of the freedom. I have 3 more sleeps then we will be on the freedom. We are actually in one of the same rooms you had! 7295. It's been great reading all about your trip. Thanks again for taking your time to write a wonderful review.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

[harryfat1]

I love this photo - the guy holding the Po sign looks about as happy as someone that just filmed a hostage "proof of life" video. He's just holding up a Po sign instead of a copy of todays newspaper... :)

 

At least he is paying attention to his job, whether is he is happy or not is different story. Better than the Indian dude from the on the 70's party. Everyone is posing and he is looking at his hands and nails with hundreds of people below looking on. He cares not.

 

[harryfat1]

There are a couple of ways to achieve this. Some cameras have them built in as a selectable mode or feature. I have an Olympus TG4 waterproof that has this as a setting.

 

Until reading these comments, I never thought to look far an app that will do this effect on a smartphone camera. I looked around this morning and downloaded one called TiltShift and I think it was 99 cents for iPhone. I then messed around at work with some photos looking down at the CNN Center food court and the parking deck across the street. After taking the photo, you can then adjust the scope and amount of effect before saving it. Since I was in a hurry I didn't tweak them too much...

 

 

 

 

Not too bad for a cheapo (relatively) app to make the deck look like a bunch of Hot Wheels cars. :)

 

Like Harry said, the affect definitely works better when taking photos of a lot of similar sized things a little farther away...

 

The advantage of the phone app over the camera app is that you can retroactively go back and make a regular picture you have already taken and then go back and make it a miniature

[harryfat1]

Thank you for taking the time to write this review. It is very timely for me as we will be going on this exact ship and itinerary in April. An added bonus is that this review perfectly caters to my anal/cheapo/adventurous self. I have a couple of questions for you that I hope you might be able to answer:

- Were any of the Chacchoben ruins in Costa Maya in the jungle? As impressive as Tulum and Chichen Itza are, I really want to see some ruins surrounded by jungle.

- What time would you suggest that we need to be in line to catch a tender from the ship in Grand Cayman if we want to be to the pier by 10 a.m.?

- I'm assuming your sons never attended the Teen programs since you have not mentioned it in your review. Any chance you have a copy of the teen camp or kids' schedule?

 

You're welcome. Glad you are finding the info useful.

 

As for your question, not sure I understand what you are trying to ask. The entire ruins is in the middle of the jungle area. If you look at the pictures, there are many trees all around the ruins. What you looking to do? Be like Indiana Jones in the jungle?

 

We caught the first tender, although with a lot of work, to get to the pier before 9 AM. Will there be daylight savings time when you cruise to GC? Be sure you know the difference between local and ship time. Assume ship time = local time, try to catch the tender by 9 as it takes 15 to 20 minutes to get there and if you miss the 9 o'clock one, you can do the next one and still make it.

 

Fletch answered your question on the teen program. If you go to his review of the Freedom from last month and ask him nicely on that thread, maybe he will bring back one on his cruise in 2 weeks...

[harryfat1]

Harry,

 

Kudos on your most excellent photo trip report. Its been informative, enlightening and entertaining.

 

We'll be sailing the same itinerary on Freedom in April of 2018. Even though my cruise is still a long ways off this will be a valuable asset as I endeavor to plan, prepare and pass the time (as the Tom Petty song goes: "The waiting is the hardest part").

 

Your taking the time and effort required to make a presentation such as this is much appreciated.

 

Jack

 

Captain Jack,

 

Thanks for the kind words. Glad you find the info useful in your cruise prep. Yes, you have plenty of time to prepare so there will be many more cruise trip reports to read between now and then.

[harryfat1]

Hey now, I grew up in Buffalo and January's not...well it's...ah, who am I kidding.

 

Haha, I knew no matter where I pick, somebody will say something about that being their hometown.

 

Only question you need to ask is are there more people leaving town to go on vacation or are there more people coming to town for vacation in January?

[harryfat1]

Thanks so much for writing this review of the freedom. I have 3 more sleeps then we will be on the freedom. We are actually in one of the same rooms you had! 7295. It's been great reading all about your trip. Thanks again for taking your time to write a wonderful review.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

 

You're welcome.

 

Those are nice cabins. Smack in the middle of the ship and mid RP to see what's happening down below.

 

Have a great cruise.

[harryfat1]

After trying to select the pictures from Freedom’s parade to upload, I realize the Allure’s parade was much more elaborate. For example, Allure had Gloria and her roundness but she was absent on the Freedom. Same for the penguins – on the Allure and not on Freedom. Only thing we got was one lousy balloon Penguin figure. Boo!

 

I know only the Allure has the “How to Train the Dragon” characters with their special ice show but didn’t realize the Freedom had cut out some of the major characters from Madagascar in their parade. Maybe I am the only trip reviewer that actually cares about these things as I had not read about the absence of the major characters in other places.

 

These are characters pics from the Allure not on the Freedom – How to Train Dragon. This is a given as only Allure has this

 

 

 

 

Gloria and her roundness (I like them big and round) on Allure only

 

 

 

 

Penguins in the allure parade, none to be found on Freedom

 

 

 

 

No Shrek’s wife, Fiona, either

 

 

[harryfat1]

After the parade, we stopped by RP to get something to drink. Here is the pic of the snacks on the afternoon.

 

 

 

Showered and dress for the last dinner ta MDR but before then, it was ShowTime at the theater

 

Throughout the cruise, at times we would walk out of the cabin and felt the wet soapy feeling at the handle bar. Never knew why until the last night and saw the cabin steward lady wiping down every door handle on her list of cabins. Didn’t realize that was part of her cleaning routine was to clean the door handle with soapy water. Which is a good thing but you’d think they would come back the second time and dry it clean so when people come back and open the door, it won’t be wet.

 

 

 

 

So went to the last show performance of the cruise. The called it “once upon a Time” . It’s a rock version on some of the classical fairy tales. My wife didn’t care for it but I liked it more than the previous night’s Acapella group. So it’s just another one of those personal preference things.

 

For the show, we sat in the middle, right behind the sound control area

 

 

 

 

 

[harryfat1]

As with other pictures that day, not the best quality as we were tired and lazy and left the big cameras in the cabin. The cell phone cameras are not as good indoors with people moving and dancing

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[harryfat1]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited February 2, 2017 by harryfat1

[harryfat1]

At the end of the show, they do the typical cruise thing in bringing out all the departments to thank the people for cruising with them. I’ve always liked this part of the cruise. Time to say goodbye as a group. Never get to do that on any road trip vacations.

 

Different groups starting to come on the stage

 

 

 

 

And more are coming

 

 

 

 

Looks pretty full to me

 

 

 

 

Streamers coming down from above

 

 

 

 

The party’s over, time to turn out the lights

 

 

 

 

Off to dinner for the late dinner crowd

 

 

[harryfat1]

One nice touch is they have all the officers right outside of the theater for you to take pictures with them if you like

 

 

 

 

Looks like someone is happy with a selfie with the captain

 

 

 

 

Holiday decors

 

 

 

 

More singing at the RP at 8 PM as people walk from the theater to dinner

 

 

[JamesEM]

Did the officers shake hands or did they do the fist pump like they did on my cruse?

[Sunny AZ Girl]

Thank you for the great review! I am looking forward to our first Freedom Class cruise in October on the Freedom - a Trans-Atlantic from Barcelona back to Fort Lauderdale. Your review really helped the anticipation of the ship and nostalgic memories of some wonderful ports!:)

Edited February 2, 2017 by Sunny AZ Girl

[fletch1027]

Fletch answered your question on the teen program. If you go to his review of the Freedom from last month and ask him nicely on that thread, maybe he will bring back one on his cruise in 2 weeks...

 

Yep, I was planning to search out a Teen Compass and bring it back for my next review. Those are important to a lot of cruisers and it's sometimes hard to get any good information on the teen stuff... :)

[fletch1027]

Throughout the cruise, at times we would walk out of the cabin and felt the wet soapy feeling at the handle bar. Never knew why until the last night and saw the cabin steward lady wiping down every door handle on her list of cabins. Didn’t realize that was part of her cleaning routine was to clean the door handle with soapy water. Which is a good thing but you’d think they would come back the second time and dry it clean so when people come back and open the door, it won’t be wet.

 

 

 

This is kind of a dumb thing for the cabin staff to be doing. If they are going to wash the door handles, they need to also dry them off or they are doing more harm than good! :eek:

 

A wet hand is much more likely to pick up and pass bacteria than a dry one...

[harryfat1]

Did the officers shake hands or did they do the fist pump like they did on my cruse?

 

We didn't take pictures with them as we already had one with the captain earlier in the day. They just stood there. You see the family taking pictures with the captain on the starboard side. You just walk up in front of him/them for a picture.

 

 

The officers on our side of the ship had no interactions with the people walking out. I guess if someone sticks their hands out to shake or do the fist bump thing, they would respond but they didn't voluntarily start with people as they walked out.

[harryfat1]

Thank you for the great review! I am looking forward to our first Freedom Class cruise in October on the Freedom - a Trans-Atlantic from Barcelona back to Fort Lauderdale. Your review really helped the anticipation of the ship and nostalgic memories of some wonderful ports!:)

 

Thank you for the compliment. Glad the info is helpful.

 

The Freedom is just a stretch Voyager class plus bells and whistles. Looks and feels pretty much like the Mariner with additional Flow rider and other venues. So you should be at home since you have been on the Explorer of the Seas already.

 

Have a great TA cruise.

[harryfat1]

This is kind of a dumb thing for the cabin staff to be doing. If they are going to wash the door handles, they need to also dry them off or they are doing more harm than good! :eek:

 

A wet hand is much more likely to pick up and pass bacteria than a dry one...

 

Yeah, no idea why they did this.

 

I thought it was a fleet wide thing to keep things clean but didn’t read about it from any other trip reports. I’m surprised they didn’t dry it. You can keep an eye out for your door knob in 2 weeks to see what your cabin steward does.

[harryfat1]

(Before I start - just want to say I am not a fan of the new format at CC. Yeah, yeah, you know I am old school)

 

Last night at MDR. One thing I don’t miss about the “good old days” of cruising from 20 years ago had to do the tipping on last day in cash. I remember the old days of having to count cash in the cabin on last day of the cruise and making sure to have the right amount in the right envelopes to give to the right person. Especially complicated if you have a family of 4 times 7 nights times X dollar recommended at that time for one position and yu have to put different amount in each envelope and labeling it (waiter different tip value than asst. waiter and you have room steward and so on).

 

The auto gratuities are so much nicer. Especially since ours was grandfathered at the old 2015 price of $12/pp instead of $13.50 of current day price if we prepaid it with the final cruise payment, the gratuities is not even on the final bill on board.

 

One last meal at our table

 

 

I am typically not the menu photo taking type as it’s too hard to frame it just right. And since Bob is so good at giving out the links to the official menu web page, why take a picture when people can look it up online? Granted some of the menu items have been switched out for less quality meat (e.g. no prime ribs or side of duck), but some of the items remained the same. If you are not a big meat eater, the changes won’t impact you much.

 

But that night, they billed it as a “special holiday dinner “on December 23, so I felt compelled to take pics of the dinner menu and the dessert menu. Guess these pictures will be useful if whoever is looking at this for the upcoming 2017 holiday cruise.

 

So besides the regular offerings, for the holiday dinner, they had the basic holiday staple of Ham/Turkey/Hanukkah Brisket. I want to say someone had posted previously that on their sailings on day 6, they had prime rib and ducks. Maybe for their sailing that was true but not so on ours as you can see there are no ducks or prime ribs listed.

 

Making it bigger on computer screen as easier for people to see

 

 

 

 

 

 

[grand isle joe]

It would seem that if they dry the handle than the best way would be to use a clean paper towel or a one use cloth wipe. Imagine the huge pile of one use paper towels would be produced each day using one towel per door handle, Plus the cost of purchase of towels per sail, let it air dry to not spread the germs and save money. That's my guess.:confused: