Freedom Eastern Trip Report - 2/18/17 – Eight Days THIS Week w/ lots of photos!

[fletch1027]

That is so cool! Thank you!

 

Yeah, I thought that photo was too interesting to pass up! :)

[fletch1027]

enjoying your review very much!

 

Thanks for following along!

[fletch1027]

About what time did you get to Columbus and were there a lot of chairs available? Thanks

 

The day we went, Freedom was the only ship in port. They let people off starting at 8am, we got off around 8:30-8:40, and were over to Columbus Cove beach a few minutes after 9:00. When we got there, there were maybe 20 other people there and we pretty much had our choice of where to set up chairs.

[Ariel's Sister]

I have NEVER been tempted to zip.....then I watched your video. Gotta try it soon!

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

[LuCruise]

Wow...amazing photos and video! Thanks for sharing. It seems so peaceful and fun on the ride.

[Miryam1234]

Love the video! Thanks for sharing!

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

[fletch1027]

Day 3 – “Zipping” through Labadee (cont)

 

Made it back to the beach safe and sound and on the way out we were greeted by a few of our Dreamworks friends. It’s a little warmer here than where they’re used to living!

 

 

 

I had heard horror stories of the zipline taking most of the day, so I timed it because I was curious. For us the time from when we left Columbus Beach until returning was under two hours, so not very long considering all of the steps involved.

 

After returning to the beach, we laid around some, then wandered over to the buffet pavilion and had lunch. It was alright – not my idea of a great BBQ, but there were two big advantages. It was way closer than going back to the ship and they had coconut ranger cookies, so I was very happy!!

 

After lunch, there was more relaxation by the beach. That kept me occupied for around 30-40 minutes before I started moving around again. I snapped this photo which I thought looked pretty cool. A big tree contrasted against the cloudless blue sky. Postcard weather as they say.

 

 

 

Another tree photo – this time a coconut tree with some huge coconuts in there. At this point you guys must be thinking that I will post a photo of just about everything. Just about… :-)

 

 

 

I do not remember seeing these Labadee letters on previous trips. Either they are relatively new or I have totally spaced on my last few trips. In any event, we had Monty get some photos of us by them. Had to talk DW into posing for the second one… :-)

 

 

 

 

 

Saw some cool ropes on the way back – not 100% sure why but some people like rope perspective shots. :-) Back onboard by 2:30

 

 

 

to be continued…

 

[harryfat1]

Day 2 – Sea Day Uno (cont)

 

The Men’s International Belly Flop Competition” was now underway. When they introduced the competitors, there were 2 that stood out. A huge guy that was the favorite and a young guy that looked like he weighed 120 pounds. He actually got a bit of a chuckle from the crowd when he made his approach to the box. However, it seems like there is a lot more to belly flop success than just the “belly” part, because this kid totally crushed it and the crowd loved it (surprisingly he ended up coming in 2nd). Here is his attempt:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This next guy was middle of the road. He had a pretty bad start, but straightened out before hitting the water:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

to be continued…

 

 

 

Yeah, from the various belly flop contests we have seen, the key isn't the size of the person but the angle the belly hits the water and willingness to tolerate the pain. Especially if you have someone younger and can jump to have a high lift, the impact will be spectacular.

 

I see we both like taking pictures of the contestants from the top and straight on. The pool area would be a cool perspective but too crowded and may not get a clear shot.

[fletch1027]

Fletch, thanks for the link to the permanent shows. Looks good. I can't believe how early in the day the activities start. I will be doing alot of port visits, so will have early starts anyway but have two days on board and was hoping to sleep in.lol. Are the fitness classes free, like the fab abs and the stretching?

 

Enjoy the rest of the cruise. Loving the review.

 

Thanks - glad to have you along! I'm not sure how all of the fitness classes offered work, but I do know that there were some scheduled spin classes and they had sign-up sheets for them and there was a charge (between $8 and $12). Hope that helps!

[fletch1027]

Day 3 – “Zipping” through Labadee (cont)

 

Got back onboard and changed in time to make it to the Cartoon Themes trivia that I mentioned a few posts ago. Then we went back up top after sail away to walk around for a bit before dinner.

 

One of the convenient semi-secret Freestyle machines is in the arcade. It is a good place to get a refil without having to go all the way into the Windjammer, or if the WJ is closed, all the way down to Deck 5. Unfortunately this cruise, this one was out of commission. Freedom was running on all her engines, but only 6 of her 7 Freestyle machines!

 

 

 

Sun setting through the clouds always makes a good photo – even on an iPhone!

 

 

 

Here’s the MDR dinner menu tonight. Duck makes another appearance – this time as an appetizer. The cynic in me joked that they found something to do with the leftover duck entrées from last night. I may or may not have been right. What I got that I highly recommend was the Chicken Cordon Bleu, which I had not seen on a MDR dinner menu before. Maybe someone can confirm this, but I thought I read that it is/was on the MDR lunch menu sometimes? I don’t know because in all of my cruises we have never had lunch in the MDR.

 

 

 

Sometimes it’s fun on a stroll to look up and notice things that get overlooked. One of the elevator atriums (aft I believe) are these suspended traffic lights. Here’s the red one, the others are just above.

 

 

 

On the way to the super hard 80’s music trivia (also the most people I have seen playing – the walkway between Sabor and the casino was full of people that couldn’t fit in Schooner), we wandered a bit more. and grabbed a photo of the promenade at night (w/ King Julian down on the bridge taking photos).

 

 

 

In the room guarding the Day 4 compass was what I think is a towel swan? Some of the animals are hard to identify.

 

 

 

Next up is Puerto Rico – and the first of two ports we’re visiting for the first time!

 

[fletch1027]

Funny, we were just in Coco Cay last Saturday on Enchantment of the Seas and saw Santa Maria and Nina. We wondered where Pinta was!! [emoji38]

 

I guess that makes sense - between the two RCI "private islands", they have all three ships in Columbus' fleet represented! :)

 

I assume maybe they keep Pinta here in Labadee in case for some reason they need to tender people?

[fletch1027]

Awesome video!

 

Sent from my XT1575 using Forums mobile app

 

Thanks - it was a lot of fun to put together!

[fletch1027]

Day 4 – Into the “jungle”

 

Here’s the scan of the day 4 compass, and the one thing that stands out is the late arrival into San Juan, which is unfortunate and really cuts down on what options are available regarding activities. Although it leaves late, there is still a limited amount of daylight available for excursions. It makes for an odd day for those that are used to the early/mid morning to late afternoon port routine of Caribbean cruising. For us, it was finding something to do during the morning while we awaited arrival into San Juan.

 

 

 

After breakfast, we tried something we had not done as of yet on any of our cruises – play shuffleboard. It is a fun game of payback and revenge – or is that not the intent? :-)

 

 

 

After a half hour or so of playing, we walked over to Schooner for “Morning Trivia”. There we met and teamed up with another couple and our team of four ended up in second place. The interesting part of their story was that this was their 3rd week on Freedom! I guess in CC terms that would be considered a B2B2B? For them it was a pair of the 8 night eastern cruises with the 6 night western in-between.

 

Here’s my GPS app showing our trip into San Juan. I didn’t start the tracking until the night before - that’s why the start point is somewhere off the coast of the Dominican Republic and Haiti is just over to the left out of sight.

 

 

 

After lunch in the WJ, the five of us were prepped and ready for our excursion, so we headed up to the bow to watch out arrival in SJ. Here you can see the San Juan city center in the distance

 

 

 

The next several photos are of San Juan’s most popular landmark, usually referred to as Castillo del Morro

 

 

 

Getting a little closer to the fort. The cruise port is actually inside of a bay so it seems like we go around the back of the fort to get to the port. It gives us some great views of it!

 

 

 

to be continued...

 

[bUU]

El Morro is a fascinating place.

[fletch1027]

I have NEVER been tempted to zip.....then I watched your video. Gotta try it soon!

 

Wow...amazing photos and video! Thanks for sharing. It seems so peaceful and fun on the ride.

 

Thanks - zip lining is pretty fun. There is little to no risk involved these days, especially with the way the harnesses work where you are in a seated relaxed position. Unless you have a big fear of heights - that's really the only thing to overcome...

 

For me it's more about how much it costs to do it... :)

[Cruisinchristie]

Thank you for posting the Teen compass! We will be on Freedom next week with 2 teens - this is perfect!

 

Sidebar for Teen Compass posting

 

I have noticed on the CC boards, there are often requests to see what the Teen Compass looks like for a given cruise. Although we no longer have teens, I went ahead and grabbed one so I could scan it and post on here because sometimes the info is hard to find otherwise...

 

Here it is in all its glory! :D

 

 

 

 

 

[Ocean Boy]

One good point about our cruise missing Labadee was we arrived in San Juan much earlier and had a full day there. Unfortunately, rain showers plagued the day. But it was still enjoyable walking the forts once again.

[SherriZ366]

What was the name of the GPS App that you used?

[goldgirl2]

Day 2 – Sea Day Uno (cont)

 

The Men’s International Belly Flop Competition” was now underway. When they introduced the competitors, there were 2 that stood out. A huge guy that was the favorite and a young guy that looked like he weighed 120 pounds. He actually got a bit of a chuckle from the crowd when he made his approach to the box. However, it seems like there is a lot more to belly flop success than just the “belly” part, because this kid totally crushed it and the crowd loved it (surprisingly he ended up coming in 2nd). Here is his attempt:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This next guy was middle of the road. He had a pretty bad start, but straightened out before hitting the water:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

to be continued…

 

 

 

 

We were on this sailing. Had a fantastic time. I can see my husband in these pictures watching the belly floppers [emoji4]

[fletch1027]

Yeah, from the various belly flop contests we have seen, the key isn't the size of the person but the angle the belly hits the water and willingness to tolerate the pain. Especially if you have someone younger and can jump to have a high lift, the impact will be spectacular.

 

I see we both like taking pictures of the contestants from the top and straight on. The pool area would be a cool perspective but too crowded and may not get a clear shot.

 

Yes, if you look at some of the photos you can see the younger smaller kid that had a great flop with a bright red chest as proof of his great attempt. :)

 

I liked the vantage point for a couple of reasons. It wasn't as crowded up there, it was in the shade (where I was had shade from the big video screen), and had a great view of the festivities... :)

[fletch1027]

Day 4 – Into the “jungle” (cont)

 

Here’s another batch of photos from different angles as we pass by the fort

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

There are three flags flying over the fort. I recognized two of them (US and Puerto Rico), but I had to look up the third red and white one. It reminds me of the Florida state flag, but it is the flag representing the Spanish Empire.

 

 

 

 

 

to be continued…

 

[fletch1027]

Day 4 – Into the “jungle” (cont)

 

Here we are sailing around the side of the fort entering the bay. They sure picked a prime location for this fort when it was built – but I guess that was their intention. :-)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It was interesting to notice that the fort walls extend out into the city. It gives a cool contrast to the newer buildings – at least new when compared to the age of the fort!

 

 

 

 

 

That concludes our photo tour of the fort – next stop is the port…

 

to be continued…

 

 

[CruisingGAL82]

enjoying! Thank you!

[E23NK1]

Day 4 – Into the “jungle”

 

 

Here’s my GPS app showing our trip into San Juan. I didn’t start the tracking until the night before - that’s why the start point is somewhere off the coast of the Dominican Republic and Haiti is just over to the left out of sight.

 

 

to be continued...

 

 

I too am interested in the GPS App....what App and I assume you were on Voom?

[fletch1027]

El Morro is a fascinating place.

 

It does look awesome - wish we had time to do both the rainforest and the fort. I guess it will be top of list for next trip there... :)