Freedom 2/4/17 8-Night Review

[CruisingGAL82]

Enjoying this! Can't wait for our cruise on Freedom on April 1!!!!!!

[dream2cruise]

Next up is Day 5 in St. Maarten which was also our 20th anniversary. It was a fabulous day with a special private dinner at Vintages for family and friends who joined us on this cruise. The $40 up charge was worth every penny.

 

 

 

 

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[riclop]

Thanks for the review.

[belmontcrew]

Was the $40 dinner at Vintages with the 20% discount, or is that the regular cost?

[movierunner]

Great reviews and pictures, Thanks

Can't wait for our cruise in March.

[dream2cruise]

Was the $40 dinner at Vintages with the 20% discount, or is that the regular cost?

 

 

The base price was $49 before the 20% discount for party of 6 or more. An automatic 18% gratuity was added to the final bill. Out the door price was $46.26 per person. Compared to Chef's Table at $85 base price, this was a great value for us considering the amount of food and wine. I wanted to do Chef's table but knew it would be too much for us to eat and drink.

 

 

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[dream2cruise]

I have a question [ who was Hotel Director on Freedom during your trip?

 

 

The hotel director was Xavier Mathias.

 

 

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[Ocean Boy]

I am on the next 8 nighter :) Thanks for sharing your thoughts!

 

I think you had a substitute CD because all of the regular CD's were in Vegas at a conference :p

And I am on the next 8 nighter after that.

[Ocean Boy]

Did the ship go through any time changes or did it stay on eastern time the whole trip?

[jimbri]

Enjoying your review and photos!

[DISFANS3]

Thanks for info on the Freedom, we be on the Freedom 8 day also ,Jan 2018..

[dream2cruise]

Did the ship go through any time changes or did it stay on eastern time the whole trip?

 

 

The ship stayed on Eastern time the whole trip. San Juan, St. Maarten and St. Kitts were an hour ahead so be careful with private tours to make sure you meet at the correct time.

 

 

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[Ocean Boy]

The ship stayed on Eastern time the whole trip. San Juan, St. Maarten and St. Kitts were an hour ahead so be careful with private tours to make sure you meet at the correct time.

 

 

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Thanks. One year we did this itinerary on Indy and it went through 3 times changes. Moved to Atlantic time before getting to San Juan. Moved to eastern time before getting to Labadee. And then moved to eastern daylight savings time on the last night of the cruise.

[LilOleLady]

Enjoying this! Can't wait for our cruise on Freedom on April 1!!!!!!

 

We'll see you there - we're on the same cruise.

[ckrobyn]

Did the ship go through any time changes or did it stay on eastern time the whole trip?

 

 

 

Hmmm, I think we did go ahead one hour in SJ, but I don't remember 100%....I'll let you know. I'm not reporting LIVE this time, at least not on here [emoji6]

 

 

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[dream2cruise]

Day 5 Compass- St. Maarten

 

 

 

 

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[dream2cruise]

Day 5 - St. Maarten

 

We ate breakfast in the Windjammer prior to going ashore. There were different smoothies available each time we went there for breakfast. Some were good while others were ok. Smoked salmon and capers were readily available each day.

 

 

 

We wandered through the port and eventually took an impromptu cabbie tour to French side to eat at Chex Coco - stir fried conch with salad, potato salad and rice & beans.

 

 

 

I highly recommend making sure any "tour" driver can speak your language fairly well. We could tell that we were not being understood by the answers we were hearing to our questions.

 

 

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[dream2cruise]

Day 5 - St. Maarten continued

 

We had a lovely surprise of decorations in our cabin when we returned to the ship. Our family had snuck into our cabin while we were away. Prior to meeting them for dinner, we headed up to the Skylight Chapel for a selfie photo to celebrate our 20th anniversary.

 

 

We also stopped at the dining room to take pictures of the menu were missing while enjoying dinner at Vintages.

 

 

 

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[Clarea]

Hmmm, I think we did go ahead one hour in SJ, but I don't remember 100%....I'll let you know. I'm not reporting LIVE this time, at least not on here [emoji6]

 

We will miss hearing from you.

[dream2cruise]

Day 5 - St. Maarten continued

 

Dinner at Vintages was a lovely way to celebrate our special day with family and friends.

 

1st course of tapas and wine

 

2nd course of seafood salad and wine

 

3rd course of flatbread and wine

 

 

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[dream2cruise]

Day 5 - St. Maarten continued

 

4th course of mixed grill and wine

 

5th course of desserts and wines - We shared on dessert plate and took the other back to our cabin. The dessert wines were the moscato and Six Grapes Port from the Dessert and Port wine pairing that we had the night before.

 

Everyone in our group had trouble finishing the entire meal and took desserts back to their cabins.

 

 

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[dream2cruise]

Day 5 - St. Maarten continued

 

After taking desserts back to our cabin, we headed to the magic show. All the shows on this sailing were well done. This one touched me as he included talking about the "dash" - the time we spend between the year of our birth and the year of our death. In the past 20 years, I've lost both of my parents. I also lost one of my brothers last year. Life is precious and I treasure every moment I spend with family and friends.

 

 

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[dream2cruise]

Arugula and Bosc Pear Salad with Fried Camembert

 

Greek Vegetarian Moussaka

 

Chicken Cordon Bleu

 

Fish and Tomato Chowder - Amazing!!!

 

Orechetti Pasta

 

 

 

 

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Correction

 

Arugula and Bosc Pear Salad with Fried Camembert

 

 

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[dream2cruise]

Day 6 Compass - St. Kitts

 

 

 

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[ckrobyn]

We will miss hearing from you.

 

You can find me here ckrobyn@hotmail.com ;)