GrooveInWhichWeMove

Sorry for the thread necromancy, but I really liked that documentary! I think they did a good job of selecting a broad range of principal subjects and showed how significant the experience is for those who come from non-LGBT friendly countries - but also the challenges and anxieties of being on the ship, too. The film was a little slow in parts (I could've done without those voiceover clips with the echoes over the faces of the men), but definitely something worthwhile to watch.

Surely (and please don't call me Shirley!;))

"I just want to tell you both good luck. We're all counting on you." Airplane is the best film!

Anyway, I have nothing of value to contribute to the thread, but you have good taste in films.

One great suggestion I've seen before is to stay on the ship, and give a donation (equivalent to what you'd spend on the island) to an LGBT or human rights non-profit in Jamaica, such as J-FLAG. This gesture shows solidarity with fellow LGBT individuals in homophobic countries.

Awesome video - such high production quality! NCL should give you guys a free cruise for advertising the Breakaway so well.

I like the light of the oceanview. Sometimes I have trouble sleeping. If I wake up and see natural light, I can be content that the day has begun and I know I don't have to try to keep resting. If I wake up and it's still dark, I know to roll over and give sleep another try. It's true the television (or the virtual oceanviews offered on some ships) will offer similar information, but I find the artificial light of a screen to interfere with sleeping.

That said, I'm happy to be on a cruise in an interior cabin as well. Saving money is good, too!

This video is fantastic. Thanks for sharing!

Unfortunately I have no tips. I am trying the Breakaway for the first time with my boyfriend in November, so I hope it's a great experience!

I'm glad you had a good time on Holland America! I think many of us would agree that those positives you identified are what makes us love the brand.

But we weren’t ready to shop yet. We were trying to head out to Studio A/B to get some ice skating time in. One problem - so is everyone else. That day was much more windy so all the sun worshipers came inside and the morning skating session was full by time we showed up and they turned everyone away saying the skating sessions are all booked the whole morning. So this was the only picture we had of the skating area.

 

 

 

 

Thus if skating is high on your list of things to do, plan to go to Studio A/B early in the cruise or whenever they have it. Because it will be swamped by last day - especially on popular kids vacation time like our sailing with 1,000+ kids under age of 17, many of those love to skate.

 

As we skated on the Allure couple years ago, it would have been nice to skate but it wasn’t a must for you. So plan accordingly for your cruise.

Ah, finally, after reading your review like a Where's Waldo? book, I finally spot myself in a picture! I'm in the line for skating, wearing the grey hoodie - you can see the back of my head. How exciting!

Skating was definitely busy - I had come before the 1st session and signed up for the 2nd one. I also tried to go earlier in the week but again would have to wait for sessions, and at that time I would be busy later so I knew it wouldn't work out.

I hadn't skated since I was a child so I was surprised I could still do it. :)

Kung hei fat choy/gong xi fa ca Harry! I've been following this one closely, and just like a real cruise, I'm excited for the review to continue but also sorry it'll be over soon.

Cheapo Dad, I was on this cruise and I'm excited to see such a wonderful, detailed, photo-filled review of it!

I remember the tendering process at Grand Cayman very well... it was quite the nightmare. I'm surprised the Freedom of the Seas was not more organized about the process.

Thanks so much for this great review. I'm travelling on the exact same itinerary so it was super helpful for me!

The misconception I had was cruising was all about gluttony. It can be, but it doesn't have to be.

Captain just announced we're back enroute to Grand Cayman and not heading to Key West after all. No other explanation that I heard but hopefully the passenger in question is doing better.

Reminds me of a parent driving on vacation... "If you two don't stop fighting, I'm turning this ship around and we're heading back to Florida!"

Seriously, though, I hope the rest of the voyage is free of incident for the entire ship. Thanks for letting us have a glimpse into the live experience!

Thank you for taking time out on your vacation to share this lovely, informative, and fun review! I can't wait to be board the Freedom in a few weeks.

What a gorgeous video. I like the music, too! Thanks for sharing it.

Either that or some sort of cabana for vampire.

Cabana for vampires is one of the funniest things I've ever read on a message board! :D

I've always had a positive, welcoming experience on HAL as a gay man, and the HAL veterans I've met on-ship also feel the same way.

I like most of the "Chicken Soup for the _______ Soul" series. Unlike reading a novel, they're short stories, so it's easy to read a couple of stories, put the book down, and come back to it at a later time. There are two that are my favorites. Chicken Soup for the Beach Lover's Soul, and Chicken Soup for the Ocean Lover's Soul. Both are good for taking on a cruise.

I second the idea of taking along short stories/anthologies. There's more "built-in" breaks, so I can put the book down, take a look around, and appreciate where I am on vacation. And if I don't read for two days while I get busy with other cruise activities, I won't have to spend time remembering who the characters are or where the plot left off when I get back into it!

Having worked in various capacities at my company who uses NPS surveys similar to RCI, I can vouch for not getting a perfect survey = the person getting crucified by their superior.

At least NPS (if correctly implemented) goes from zero to ten, and both nines and tens are part of the "good" rating!

If I had a time machine I would prevent the original book about NPS from ever being published...

On that first sailing on Oasis, we decided to visit the MDR for lunch on a sea day. When we checked in I forgot to tell them we wanted to sit alone and we were led to a 4 top with 2 others already seated. By the time I noticed, it was too late to turn back without appearing rude. So I sucked it up and sat, fully prepared to have a lovely lunch and engage in friendly conversation. It turns out that the other couple owned some kind of self-help company and the husband was a lecturer/moderator and talked like he thought he was the next Tony Robbins. Needless to say it was an uncomfortable lunch and we nodded and smiled as they yapped. They gave us their business card which we politely took. I meant to keep it so I could look it up online when I got home but I tossed it a few hours later. It was not a fun experience.

Oof, this sounds like a rough meal! That's the problem with us Canadians - too polite to say no!

I'm going on the Freedom for the first time this December, so I'm really excited to follow this thread!

I work in survey research, and I see this kind of thing all the time, in many industries. I echo the sentiments who see that the system is not doing its job.

It breaks my heart because I see more companies implement "Anything but the highest rating is a punishment" philosophy, and I want to yell at the top of my lungs, "This isn't how statistics or probability work!"... but that's what clients want, and that's the kind of surveys we end up writing and sending out.

At the end of the day, from a customer POV, I see both sides in terms of how to react and I don't think any response on a customer's part is wrong (whether it's to always give a 5 or to purposefully not give a 5). The fundamental problem is the system, and hopefully discussions like this raise awareness of how it's hurting good service, since customers don't have a honest feedback tool anymore. The problem is bigger than all of us, sadly. That said, writing a customer letter to corporate - independent of any survey - complaining about their abuse of surveys wouldn't hurt.

I will be taking my first Royal Caribbean cruise on the Freedom this December, so I really appreciated your wonderful live review! Thank you!

For me, it actually always takes a few days to fall in love with the cruise. The first few days, I haven't made any friends yet. I'm haunted by that question in the back of my mind: "Will this be a dud of a vacation?" But once I'm midway, I've started to make memories that put a smile on my face, and that makes me forgive the hiccups here and there. Finally, by the end of the week, I don't want it to be over!

One thing to consider is when 3 people share a room on a cruise, the third bed (usually a sofabed or a berth) is generally the least comfortable bed. One assumes you and your partner will want to share a bed, so you could be giving your elderly mother-in-law the worst bed in your cabin! (Alternatively you could keep the cabin beds in twin layout, i.e. separate, and all sleep individually giving you or your partner the worst bed.)

I think one of the lovely things about cruises is that they can be great trips for people of different generations, so I think it will definitely be a good choice.