Cheapo dad's trip report on Freedom of the Seas

[easyboy]

Really nice photos.

[harryfat1]

I can't believe it's over! I've really enjoyed reading every day. Well done, Harry!

 

We're flying to Las Vegas from D.C. on Virgin America next month. It'll be our first time on that carrier. Anything we should know?

 

 

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Hi, Joan

 

Thanks again for reading along. I have enjoyed chatting with you throughout this process. It’s folks like you that has made this trip report easier to write than the previous one.

 

Virgin America is nice. You get your own individual TV monitor to watch various shows. So the flight is more pleasant. Remember to bring your own ear buds or headphones so you can listen to the audio – unless you want tot pay few dollars for their headphones.

 

Oh, do you know about this web site – seatguru.com? Go there and check out your assigned seats to make sure it’s a not a bad one. If you have a bad seat, try to change it before it’s too late and the plane fills up. Forgot to mention this site during the trip report. Oh, well, at least you know.

 

Have fun in Vegas. Hope you win big in Vegas and then you can book the Grand Suite for your next cruise.

[harryfat1]

Really nice photos.

 

Thanks. The phones and the cameras did all the hard work. We just click the button.

[harryfat1]

Hey Harry,

 

I have a Mac for doing stuff like this from time to time, but if you're a PC user, I found this link with some options, although I can't vouch for any of them personally:

 

Best Photo Slideshow Software of 2017

 

Good luck & as always an excellent review! Which ship are you sailing on in December? I thought I remembered something about Celebrity 40-50 pages back? :)

 

First of all, sorry about your Falcons, Man. So close. The game was lost on that sack. They should have just ran the ball as they were in field goal position. When the Pats won the coin toss, you know that’s bad news given how they were scoring at the end of the game and the Falcons defense was dead tired from being on the field too long.

 

Were you aware of the drones they showed at the halftime show had a Disney connection? I did not know that until I saw it on Yahoo today.

 

https://www.yahoo.com/news/lady-gaga-super-bowl-drones-150608580.html?.tsrc=fauxdal

 

 

Thanks for the link to the various software. I will check them out now that I no long have to upload pictures nightly to Flickr.

 

I just updated my cruiser ticker today. So now it shows 2 ships under my name as possible future cruise. First time ever I have 2 ships under my name but in reality I will only get to go on one of them…

 

So you all set for your cruise next week? Going to show off your snazzy Disney and Star Wars ties on the 2 formal nights?

 

I’m sure many people that have been reading this trip report will migrate over to you trip report once you get back.

 

You would be the first person I know of here at CC that have worked on 3 separate trip reports in 3 consecutive months. There are many B2B cruisers but you will be the super reviewer in doing B2B2B cruise reviews in 3 consecutive months.

 

I’m dead tired after I do one of these trip reports. Can’t even imagine wanting to write another one without at least a 6 months break. You’re just a master trip reviewer.

[harryfat1]

[emoji23][emoji23] Gonna miss checking for your review.Thanks for making our Feb.12 Freeom cruise more realistic.Heading to airport Thursday

 

 

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Thanks for the kind words. So I guess I ended this trip report just in time for you.

 

You have a great cruise. Eat lots of food and take plenty of pictures and come back and write a new trip report to show us what a wonderful vacation you had.

[harryfat1]

Overall, we enjoyed this cruise. I knew going in that it was going to be a shorter cruise at 6 days because they don’t sail off on Christmas Sunday – one of the rare Sundays at Port Everglades where there was no cruise ships coming/departing on a Sunday because it was Christmas Sunday. But I didn’t realize an extra day would have an impact in that I felt short changed somehow from the cruise in not having that extra day.

 

First time I have ever done a 6 day cruise and most likely the last time as I want my 7th day and given we had to fly all the way to FLL from across the country, it makes sense to make it worthwhile to stay longer.

 

There have been couple themes I have been harping on from the start:

 

First is that a cruise is like a buffet. Everyone will have a different experience. There is no “right way” to do a cruise. There are certain biases in many of the trip reports here on CC to spend extra for the add on packages but if you have a different preference on what to do on your cruise don’t feel pressure to spend the money unnecessarily.

 

Second is look up, not down when you are on the cruise - unless looking down means you are taking a picture of things below you. Not to say everyone needs to take thousands of pictures like us but you spent a fair amount of money and time to be on this cruise vacation, look up & around and enjoy the surroundings. If you want to, by all means, take a picture. Don’t look at the email or CC while on the cruise. They can wait until you are off the ship.

[harryfat1]

I grew up in Asia as a kid and I will always remember reading of the fable of the blind men touching the elephant. I mentioned this on my Allure report and I will do so here again. Chances are this will be part of my closing spiel going forward.

 

You can read the info on Wiki as they can explain It better than me:

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blind_men_and_an_elephant

 

 

The whole idea is there are more to the whole story than what you think is the “whole story”. Take that concept on a cruise. What I have reported is just one part of the elephant – maybe the rear end part (I like them big and round). There are other parts of the elephant/cruise we never experienced. So whenever you read any trip report, do it with a skeptical eye as what they experience will unlikely be repeated when you cruise nor should it be.

[harryfat1]

So as this concludes my second lengthy trip report in this format, maybe it’s a good time to see how I got here in the first place. I had written other long single sheet format on CC previously they were for the front page reviews, not in the forums format as you are seeing now.

 

Back in 2014, prior to our cruise on the Allure, I was spending a lot of time researching for that cruise as I knew the Oasis class ships are very different and I wanted to be prepared for it. So I went back to read any and all trip reports as far back as 2012 trying to gather data in the pre-planning stage.

 

While I found tons of info in me search, it struck me that very few “major” reviews represent my demographics of being a “family guy”. The reviewers are either the younger set or folks with no kids. Maybe because we only cruise during the holiday seasons, but I know from my personal experience, there are tons of families on board but our demographic group seems to be under-represented here on CC.

 

On our Freedom cruise, we had over 1,000 kids who are under 17. They couldn’t be traveling by themselves so you know there is at least 1 or 2 parent or other family members with them. So I know there are many families on the cruise but very few people family folks come back to do a trip report with the exception of the Family Boston from few years ago with a lengthy trip report. I don’t see enough of multi-generational cruise reports here on CC and I hope there are more as cruise vacation is great for families.

 

In addition, being a finance person, I track my expenses carefully – which is a politically correct way of saying I am cheap. Now if it’s hard to find a trip report from a family’s perspective, it’s even harder to find reports that talk about money and how to save some on the cruise. Maybe for some people, talking about money is tacky or uncool but as a Finance person, it’s in my DNA to talk costs/money ad nauseum.

 

So in my report, I try to disclose how much things cost me at various stages of the review so people can plan accordingly. In my book, there is nothing wrong with saving few bucks.

 

Thus combining both concepts, I adopted the moniker “cheapo dad” for the Allure report. I guess I could have adopted a politically correct name instead - “Wealth Preserving Head of Household” instead of “cheapo dad”, but somehow it just doesn’t have the right ring to it...

[harryfat1]

I continued on with the same avatar for this Freedom report and most likely continue to use it until people are tired of the crazy aunt/uncle in prison analogy. Then I’ll call myself anal evil uncle or something…

 

Speaking of shopping and ship based photography, those and many other activities on the cruise ships are part of cruise life but seldom, if ever, shows up on the various trip report. Maybe it’s not “cool” to talk about the $10 t-shirt gift you bought you for someone back home but for a planner like myself, I like to know what things cost on the ship so I can budget accordingly.

 

At my age, being cool is no longer an issue. Maybe I cared about being cool as a high school teenager but at this stage of my life, being practical is much more important than being hip and cool. Don’t get me started on the “you know when you are old when you are more practical than cool” digression.

 

There are many other aspects of a cruise life listed on the daily compass that I haven’t done or won’t do – stuff like art auctions/casinos/bingo/spas/dance lessons and the list go on and on. Someday must be doing them but they seldom show up on the photo trip reports. The “other parts” of the elephant we never get to experience. Maybe others that participate in these activities will post their pictures from art auctions or Bingo or whatever else they like to do but not shown in other CC reports.

 

Hopefully someone else will be inspired on what I have started and report on other parts of the tainted family tree that we know exists but seldom seen. Who among us don’t have some weirdo grandparents or cousins or neighbors?

 

I hope more dads/moms write about your cruise experience with lots of details info and pictures. For all the cheapo folks, let’s hear it from you. Form the various feedback in this thread and the Allure, I know I am not the only cheap person reading CC but there are very few trip reports discussing how to save money.

[harryfat1]

Thanks to all for reading along. With aid of better camera, the pictures turned out better than previous cruise even though there were many more places for photo ops on the Allure than the Freedom.

 

I especially appreciate the folks that were reading it on a daily basis and gave me comments and feedback as at various times this past month, as it does get tiring to be writing this on a daily basis on your own without some feedback.

 

Thanks to the cruisers that will be sailing on the Freedom for reading this. Hopefully there is something in the massive buffet they you will find it helpful for your upcoming cruise.

 

Thanks to all the casual readings for reading along for entertainment purposes. The ADHD in me can’t read other people trip reports unless I am researching to be on that ship. I tip my hat to you. Think you need a cruise after this thing.

 

Last but not the least, to all my old friends that read the Allure trip report and came back and followed this one to the end. After reading 2 trip reports, you really need to be on a cruise…

[harryfat1]

Think that’s pretty much it.

 

As always, I am subscribed to all my trip reports so if you have any comments or questions, please feel free to drop me a line here. When I am not researching for my next cruise, I am not very active on CC as I am off planning the next road trip to look at rocks and mountains, but I will always respond to any messages posted to the trip reports.

 

For people that will be sailing on the Freedom, If any of my info is outdated/been revised, please do leave a new message here so other cruisers s in the future will know about it. I hate to be responsible for outdated info that messes up people’s vacations.

 

Life is never as exactly as you planned, but we are scheduled for another cruise later this December (not too late to cancel your cruise so you won’t be on the same ship as us). I hope to have enough energy and time to share that cruise experience with everyone. Until then, hope all of your cruises and vacations are full of fond memories…

[wmwmarmstrong]

Thank you, Thank you, Thank you!

[daze6399]

Thanks for sharing your journey with us! It was a great report and a pleasure to follow along with (why else would I have stuck around?!?!).

[lbjen]

We actually are cheap in our house so I will do my best to include some cheap reviews after our next cruise! Thanks again Harry, it's been awesome!

[sdpete]

Don't you wish there were Oasis class ships on the west coast?

[JamesEM]

Thanks for all your hard work, enjoyed following along on your adventure. On our cruise we decided to travel home the next day because of the difference in ticket price, but the problem was the flight back was not until 8 p.m. We stayed at the Riverside Hotel which is located next to the Cheese Cake Factory as shown in one of your photos. We made arrangements for delayed departure at the hotel, all in all we saved money, cover the cost of the hotel, meals, and transportation.

[JamesEM]

Also, if you are ever in the Los Olas area again I highly recommend checking out Louie Bossi's Ristoranti, located just up the street from the Cheese Cake Factory.

[harryfat1]

Thank you, Thank you, Thank you!

 

Thanks for sharing your journey with us! It was a great report and a pleasure to follow along with (why else would I have stuck around?!?!).

 

You guys are more than welcome. It was fun doing this (albeit tiring).

 

Hopefully the info is helpful/entertaining.

 

Thought people stuck around to see more Sir Mix A lot videos...

[harryfat1]

We actually are cheap in our house so I will do my best to include some cheap reviews after our next cruise! Thanks again Harry, it's been awesome!

 

Thanks for the kind words.

 

Yes, please provide money saving tips in your future trip reports to everyone here . I always like to learn about money saving ideas.

[harryfat1]

Don't you wish there were Oasis class ships on the west coast?

 

Sure, why not. I think most of the places would like to have a mega ship near their home state.

 

Having said that, don’t think big wide open ships like the Oasis class will do will in the west coast where it’s windy and rainy in the winter months such that the outdoor areas won’t be utilized to their potential.

 

From a personal perspective, we might only sail on her once at the most. We are the “one and done” family in that we don’t repeat the same cruise ship because the excitement of repeating the same ship won’t be there. We vacation through our camera lenses and without that sense of excitement to see a new ship, not sure we will spend the money and the time to go.

 

Never say never, but highly unlikely we will ever sail on Allure again even though it was the best cruise we ever had. We will do other Oasis class ships again but with so many other ships & cruise lines out there to try, we like to stick with the “one and done” and no repeats.

[harryfat1]

Thanks for all your hard work, enjoyed following along on your adventure. On our cruise we decided to travel home the next day because of the difference in ticket price, but the problem was the flight back was not until 8 p.m. We stayed at the Riverside Hotel which is located next to the Cheese Cake Factory as shown in one of your photos. We made arrangements for delayed departure at the hotel, all in all we saved money, cover the cost of the hotel, meals, and transportation.

 

Also, if you are ever in the Los Olas area again I highly recommend checking out Louie Bossi's Ristoranti, located just up the street from the Cheese Cake Factory.

 

Hi, James,

 

Thanks for following along. I know I could always count on your late night responses, even from 2 years ago while writing the Allure trip report; you were always up at your 2 AM time in South Carolina.

 

Yes, it’s worth the effort to check for the cost for next day’s flights as most of the people rush home right after the cruise. Especially if your cruise ends on a Sunday, the hotel prices at FLL area will be pretty cheap on a Sunday night as there won’t be as many people needing a hotel room as typically there are fewer cruise ships sailing on a Monday. Then on Monday, the flights leaving FLL will be fewer people compared to the cruise so you can save money and get an extra day of vacation out of it.

 

Thanks for the restaurant tip. I will keep that in mind next time we are in the area.

[fmack]

Thanks for the amazing trip review. You provided details to a newbie that was nowhere else.

 

Question, where are the menus online? We are sailing on the Jewel OTS in March

[fletch1027]

First of all, sorry about your Falcons, Man. So close. The game was lost on that sack. They should have just ran the ball as they were in field goal position. When the Pats won the coin toss, you know that’s bad news given how they were scoring at the end of the game and the Falcons defense was dead tired from being on the field too long.

 

Were you aware of the drones they showed at the halftime show had a Disney connection? I did not know that until I saw it on Yahoo today.

 

https://www.yahoo.com/news/lady-gaga-super-bowl-drones-150608580.html?.tsrc=fauxdal

 

 

Thanks for the link to the various software. I will check them out now that I no long have to upload pictures nightly to Flickr.

 

I just updated my cruiser ticker today. So now it shows 2 ships under my name as possible future cruise. First time ever I have 2 ships under my name but in reality I will only get to go on one of them…

 

So you all set for your cruise next week? Going to show off your snazzy Disney and Star Wars ties on the 2 formal nights?

 

I’m sure many people that have been reading this trip report will migrate over to you trip report once you get back.

 

You would be the first person I know of here at CC that have worked on 3 separate trip reports in 3 consecutive months. There are many B2B cruisers but you will be the super reviewer in doing B2B2B cruise reviews in 3 consecutive months.

 

I’m dead tired after I do one of these trip reports. Can’t even imagine wanting to write another one without at least a 6 months break. You’re just a master trip reviewer.

 

 

Thanks for the compliments (although no thanks for the Super Bowl reminder)! I've learned from doing the reviews that I have done so far that it seems the better ones have more photos and less me rambling on! :) Like you, I could never do a "live" trip report. Although I cannot sit still for long, I don't think I would want to dedicate vacation time to a report.

 

This next one I will be experimenting with new toys. I had mentioned before the Sony A7 w/ a telephoto lens that I am borrowing from work. A friend of mine is also loaning me his GoPro camera so that will be fun to play with as well.

 

Although my cruise is in 2 weeks, I don't see myself starting a report until March. I do everything in Word first, including the BB tags, then copy & paste into CC posts, and I like to have 5-6 posts ready to go when getting one started to help me try to stay ahead, but that doesn't last for long... :)

 

Thanks for the link regarding the drones - I'll check it out, and yes there will be some Disney tie formal night appearances... :D

[kelitino]

Harry - I just finished your closing statements to this fun trip report. I am sitting on the plane flying from Hartford to Orlando. I will spend 3 days in Orlando visiting my mom before heading to FLL to meet my Hubby and son for our Freedom cruise!

 

We sailed the Freedom in 2009 and we have been to all the ports before. I am an anal planner like you so I had researched the ship and ports prior to this sailing even being booked!! With that said, I am excited about all the new information I have found in your trip report! I appreciate the time and effort you took to share your trip with us!

 

I also enjoyed your detours! In 2005 I took my sons on a cross-country trip. We saw so many of the places you shared - Devils Tower, The Badlands, Hoover Dam, the Pacific coast, etc.

 

Thank you again!

 

 

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[SmartDogDallas]

So if you read my previous trip report, you know that I love the miniature effects from the camera (also call Tilt Shift). Works well when you take pictures from high above to the ground below:

 

Very late in on this review, but I want to second the miniature effects! I LOVE them! My father in law does miniature trains and I always think my pics would make a great train layout...

 

Look forward to reading the rest of your great review! We sail on the Liberty of the Seas on Feb 26th. :)