manders175

No muster station drill! One of the best things post pandemic! We found our muster station as soon as we got on board and they just checked us off their list and that was it! Also I forgot to mention that cabins were not ready until 2pm. If you don't want to carry your carry on around all day just pick your boarding time for after 2pm or give your luggage to the porters in the terminal. Main pool area for your enjoyment!

We are staying in Stateroom 8410. An aft ocean view balcony on the starboard side. This room is very unique as it doesn't have the sliding glass door out to the balcony. Just a regular door. Glass only halfway down. We have a 2 year old and this room actually worked out well as it stays a little darker during the day for her naptime. She makes a cameo in the first pic! Lol. As always the balcony provides gorgeous views.

Day 1! We had a 10:30 arrival time. We got in our Uber at 10am from our hotel and believe it or not still hit Monday morning traffic. We dropped off our luggage with the porter by 10:35, checked in, they asked us our health questions again and up we went to security. Once through security we were able to walk right on the ship. We stepped foot on the ship at 10:55!! Such an easy process.

Long day of traveling yesterday. Got into Miami at 6:45pm. After telling the Uber the wrong location we finally straightened that out and got to our hotel around 8pm. Check in was a breeze. Grabbed dinner then settled in for the night. Had to get a crib around 11pm because we had a crazy toddler off her normal schedule and not wanting to go to bed. It's cruise morning!

I'm Leaving on a Jet Plane! We are flying today out of Cleveland on Delta. Our layover is in LaGuardia then on to Miami. Tonight we are staying on Midbeach, as my in laws wanted to be close to the Ocean. Holiday Inn Ocean front. We will be taking an Uber there from the Airport so will update on that. This is our first trip with our kiddo where we aren't renting a car so the car seat situation should be interesting. Hopefully they give us grace to click in and unhook the carseat.

Only 5 days until we leave! It's a freezing and rainy 40 degrees here. Miami is a beautiful 76 right now! Warm weather please!

Before anyone roasts me, I made an error! We are on the starboard side not the port! So much for trying to sound like a pro! Haha. My inlaws are staying also on deck 8 but will be more centrally located. My father in law's knees aren't the greatest. He doesn't need any assisting devices yet but they wanted close to the elevators. They will be in a hump balcony cabin. I will try to get some pics and reviews from them.

Our sailing on Freedom leaves out of Miami on the 8th, day 2 is our Sea day, day 3 Nassau and day 4 is Cococay. We are staying in a corner aft Ocean view balcony port side on deck 8, 8410. Now, this balcony we didn't find out until later, has an open and shut door not the usual sliding door so that will be interesting. I'm including some pics I found on the internet to give you an idea before we get there.

Hello all! My name is Amanda. Traveling with my husband (39), myself (43), and our 2 year old daughter (her first cruise!) This is my 7th cruise, all through RC minus a 2 night getaway on the Margaritaville at Sea out of West Palm Beach. Our last Royal cruise was March of 2020 right before they shut down cruising due to Covid so we are so happy to be back! My in laws will be coming along with us for their first cruise too! Since we have a toddler, we will be talking about Splash A Way bay on the ship for the kiddos and Adventure Ocean especially Royal Babies and Tots as I believe you have to be 3 for AO. We fly out of Cleveland 1 week from today and will be staying in Miami 1 night pre and post cruise before flying home. Hope you enjoy the review and thanks for coming along! Pic below is a few weeks ago, our daughters first baseball game! Cleveland Guardians. Have to get a pic with ketchup!

We booked back in September for our late March cruise. At that time we were each able to book our own room. I read somewhere they only allow so many cabins to have single occupants but can't confirm.

I totally agree with you! We turned this into an extended trip and stayed on Singer Island for a few days after we got back. The only extra we paid for on the ship was the drink package for $99. No massages, no upcharge dining restaurants just the main dining room and buffet. We also didn't get off the ship in Freeport for an excursion, just stayed on the ship by the pool all day. I don't think I would have flown down from Ohio just for a 2 night cruise at full price (We had Heros Sail Free) then flown right back.

We did it actually! Lol. We are from Ohio and flew down the day before but stayed 3 nights on Singer Island in an Air BnB post cruise. Had we not had the "Free" promotion we probably wouldn't have done it.

You're welcome! 😊 I just posted in my last post it was about $315 after all the charges and fees added to the account for the "free" cruise. Had we paid full price it would have been expensive for this 2 night cruise.

All in all we had a great time. It was my friend's 1st cruise and she had a blast. It was a nice relaxing get away with no husbands/kids. Your stateroom account is available on your TV so you can keep track of charges. Souvenir shop purchases go on your account as well. Lastly, they do charge a fuel surcharge and daily gratuities. My final bill on board was $230 + the $88 I paid to book so a total of $315 roughly for a 2 night cruise with food and alcohol. Was worth it for us! Hope you enjoyed and please ask any questions you may have! One last video just because! Happy cruising!! 20230331_202934.mp4

A few last thoughts and info about debarkation. Debarkation was in my opinion very unorganized. We were cleared to start that process around 8am. They started with people who had early morning flights that could get off first. Then they started calling you off by decks. They did deck 4, then 5. But it was only people who had passports. Then they called deck 4 for those who had birth certificates instead of a passport and there were so many people it grinded completely to a halt. Of course we were on deck 6. So we were waiting and waiting for our deck to be called. The only other thing was that you had to be out of your stateroom by 9am. So you have to hang out on deck 8 or 9 waiting for your deck to be called. My friend's stateroom attendant asked her if he could make up the bed for the next guests when we went to breakfast that morning. Even though her luggage was still in the room. Any how, they finally called our deck around 9:45 am. Once we got down to deck 5 they scanned our room keys and we walked off the ship. You immediately went to customs. We were in the line for passport holders and were through the line and outside of the terminal in 5 minutes. Long story short, BRING YOUR PASSPORT. The line for birth certificates was way too long. Some random pics!

The 2nd night was Jimmy Buffets Ship Show! Production show of all Jimmy Buffet songs. Was pretty good and had great crowd participation. We really enjoyed it. 20230331_201120.mp4

There were 2 shows in the Stars on the Water theater. The 1st night was a juggler/contortionist/comedian. She was good at the 1st 2 things but her jokes were very juvenile not taken well. Many people left the show before it was over.

Port Day was in Freeport, Grand Bahama Island. We had 2 Carnival ships in Port with us that day. This Port is a very industrial port. No beaches to go to. In order to get anywhere you have to taxi or take a ship excursion. We opted to stay onnthe ship and enjoy the quiet at the adults only pool. One thing I didn't find out until after we booked this cruise is that they offer a package called Cruise and Stay. You can get off the ship in Freeport with your luggage and actually go stay at a resort for a few days and then get back on the ship and sail home. Here are a few pics i took in Freeport. Ship coming in as we were already there. Interestingly enough, Freeport is not that far from West Palm Beach. They say you get to Port the next morning but our captain for some reason was hustling when we left and we were actually in Port around 11pm the 1st night!

We did stop in the casino for a short time. These pics were taken on the 1st day when we got on but it was not a widely used venue. There were slot machines and typical table games. I left after losing my first $20. Ha!

The main hang out was the Euphoria Lounge. That is located on Deck 8. Lots of live music and all the singers were pretty good! Was nice to just relax and listen to many different genres of music. 2 gameshows, the Quest and Cowboys vs Cowgirls games were played here as well.

Night 2 food.

We ate dinner in the Fins main dining room both nights. The food was pretty good! First night I had hush puppies, mango shrimp skewers with broccoli and rice. For dessert I had Key Lime sponge cake. My friend had pasta primodoro, which she also enjoyed. She got the brownie for dessert but said it was very dry. I did not get a pic. Sorry!! The second night I had the vegetable spring rolls, pineapple chicken, and baked Florida for dessert. Also very good! There was no formal night on the cruise. Some dressed up, some wore cut off shorts and everything in between. So wear whatever you are comfortable in!

Speaking of upcharge restaurants, there are 2 other options. One is called Lola's Pizzeria that delivers pizza on a robot! I believe it's close to $30 per person. The other upcharge is JWB steakhouse. This is your steakhouse restaurant connected to the Main Dining room. This upcharge is $65 per person! We did not purchase this as either. There is a coffee place available as well for an extra fee. $4.25 for a small. Could be a mocha or a hot chocolate. It's the same price. Side note this coffee place also had FREE cheese/pepperoni pizza available until late. Tasted pretty good!

If you walk to the back of the buffet you will find it leads you to the 5 O'Clock Somewhere Bar and Grill. That is an upcharge grill that serves nachos, tacos, and quesedillas I believe. Did not see many getting food from this grill, but we did eat all of our buffet food out here. Beautiful views!

When we got on the ship the Buffet was open and ready. The "Port of Indecision" is its name, located on deck 10. Buffet food was standard, hamburgers and hot dogs, French fries. Fried fish, fried chicken, rice, potatoes. The 1st day at lunch there was a pork dish that was very dry. Standard food, nothing amazing, but we didn't go hungry. Free drinks were water, lemonade, iced tea, coffee, tea bags, and juices. To be honest the water tasted a little soapy, and the iced tea and lemonade were watered down. There was also a soft serve ice cream machine where you could get cones from 11am until it closed at night. There were gluten free options as well. I just realized I only took 1 picture of the buffet foods! Sorry!