Newbcruiser1

Followed by the orecchiette pasta (it tasted like basic pasta with tomato sauce. Hardly had any short rib in it).

And for dessert I had the apple pie a la mode.

For the first time in 3 days, our table finished in time for me to go to the show. Tonight's show was "Hector is Magic". Hector is a Spanish magician from... Seville (how convenient?). He was great! I believe I may have seen him previously on a cruise, but his tricks and material doesn't get old!

After the show, it was back to my room to find 2 exciting things. A new towel friend:

And the first of 7 time changes (as daylight savings in North America will occur at the very end of our cruise).

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I stopped in at Vintages to pick up some wine for dinner.

By 8:00, we still hadn't left port. On the upside, it was still light at the beginning of dinner in the MDR. This is a rarity at late searing!

Dinner menu tonight:

I started with shrimp cocktail and the fruit plate:

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Note that Cadiz is a major ship-building/repair port. As such, it's not so nice to look at with lots of cranes and other equipment. I tried to get a decent picture of the ship anyway! I suspect I'll have better luck in the Canaries! Haha!

Once back onboard, I went to the Royal Promenade for a snack, including a caramel frappuccino with my 1-a-day preloaded diamond specialty coffee. Yes, it worked in the afternoon too! Yay!

After returning to my room to freshen up and change, I rushed out to the diamond lounge to pick up a glass of wine, and headed outside to the Promenade deck with big plans to watch the sunset and sailaway. Those plans were crushed as the captain made the announcement that we would be leaving late due to the loading of some supplies. It turned out at least 4 trucks, 2 forward and 2 aft, had just arrived with numerous pallets of provisions - I saw watermelons, red and green peppers, some other fruit, boxes of meat, and insulated boxes of... lobster perhaps?!

I watched the sunset and took a stroll up to the helipad and around the ship.

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We then had about an hour and a half of free time to explore the area!

Another look at the cathedral:

Myself and another solo traveling Cruise Critic member (shout out to herb she knows who she is!) went in search of lunch. There were a ton of tapas restaurants so we picked one that had a table available and in we went! First off, sangria:

We started with the caprese salad with burrata:

We then had shrimp croquettes, and "small battered prawns". Unfortunately I forgot to take photos, but the croquettes were delicious and nicely presented with some different sauces. The "battered prawns" looked more like shrimp pancakes or latkes, although they were somewhat tasty.

We then met up with the group once again and walked about 10-15 minutes back to our starting point where we boarded the bus back to Cadiz! It was another hour and 45 minute ride with a brief stop at a rest stop.

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The Royal Alcazar continued:

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More from the Alcazar:

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And we finally made it to the Alcazar - the Royal Palace. It was built between the 10th and 14th centuries, and is also the place of filming of scenes from Game of Thrones, and Lawrence of Arabia.

It had beautiful gardens both inside and out!

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It was then off to explore more of Seville including the old Jewish quarter:

And the outside of the Cathedral (the tower is also the highest point in Seville).

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More from Plaza de Espanya:

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We docked alongside the P&O Ventura - it looked like a gorgeous, new ship. Once the ship was docked they opened the gangways right away, and off I went in search of my Spain Day Tours bus! I had booked this shared tour directly via the tour operator's website. It was 78.50 euros per person, and was scheduled to be 7-9 hours long. As it turned out, there were 2 buses from the Freedom alone, including 32 people on our bus. This group of 32 was split into 2 groups later on for ease of following our tour guides.

The ride to Seville was about an hour and a half (maybe a little more) long, and we made one stop at a rest stop along the way for washrooms/beverages.

Upon arrival in Seville, we first went to Plaza de Espanya. Are you noticing a trend? It turns out there was a Plaza de Espanya in Barcelona, in Cadiz, AND in Seville (and many more in other cities across Spain and the Canaries!).

Due to the size and the very low position of the sun, pictures just do not do it justice!

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Hello from day 3 of 14 on the Freedom of the Seas!

This morning was a bright and early one for me. Well, it was early, with a 6am wake-up call, but definitely not bright! In fact, the sunrise wasn't until 8:41am! Keep in mind we travelled pretty far west from Barcelona with no time zone change, AND daylight savings time, like in North America, has yet to take effect in Spain! That led to a very dark morning!

I started my day with breakfast in the Windjammer at 7am. Fortunately it was not extremely busy. I also had great entertainment watching a lot of seagulls flying alongside the ship all the way into Cadiz!

I then headed outside to watch us pulling alongside the dock right on time at 8am! It was an incredibly windy and chilly morning. I later found out that Cadiz is one of the windiest cities in Spain, and even in Europe!

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You have to walk past the mall to leave the port on foot. It is over on your right as you leave, if you get to the main road you have gone too far. There are usually lots of crew heading there.

 

 

 

It's called Centro Comercial El Muelle if you want to google it for a map. There is a Hiperdino supermarket on the ground floor that would sell hairspray.

 

 

 

Julie

Thanks so much for the details! If all else fails I will try there! Hopefully I have time to get over there! :)

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oddly enough i am pretty sure i saw some in a small store on deck 5. not the store that sells all the souvenir stuff but the one that has chips and sodas.

I checked that one! Which is also where the gentleman verified what I meant by hairspray (he knew what I was talking about) and confirmed they didn't have any!!! Lol!

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Before I go to bed... any guesses on what this creature is? It looks like a cat or a raccoon face with chubby legs!

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So the remainder of my afternoon was spent sort of aimlessly wandering around! I sat poolside for a couple hours reading, watched the line dancing class (which was PACKED!!!), and then grabbed a diamond drink in the Star Lounge and a slice of pizza and some tiramisu from Sorrento's. The one thing about late seating dinner is that I always find I eat 2 lunches in the afternoons because I get too hungry by 6ish. Then again isn't eating every hour part of cruising?! Hahaha! I also happened to meet Kung Fu Panda on the Royal Promenade! Okay, okay - I just might have timed my snack with the listed time in the Cruise compass! Re-living my childhood here! [emoji38]

I started feeling a bit out of place in my jeans as people started emerging in their formal night gear. So off I went to prep for dinner!

I went back to the diamond lounge, which was now packed, so I took my drink to go and wound up mingling with people in the R Bar for the next hour or so. Which also meant that I missed the free bubbly and the captains welcome aboard speech on the Royal Promenade. No biggie - seen many before!

Dinner tonight - you are all going to be VERY disappointed in me! I forgot to take pictures right up until dessert! I even forgot to take a picture of the menu! Yes, I know - how could I?! Well, I had a great reason! My tablemates are just SO much fun and we had so many laughs that I completely forgot!

So the details! Night 2 has been my favorite menu for as long as I can remember! It's always the first formal night, and it's always the same menu! I ordered the bay scallops gratin (served like escargot in garlic butter with bread for dipping), followed by the shrimp cocktail, and then - drumroll...... my favorite dish.... the filet of beef tenderloin! Fortunately having ordered it on every.single.cruise, I have a picture of it! From 6 years ago! But believe it or not, it still looks the exact same! So here it is:

I then splurged on 2 desserts.

Creme brûlée:

And chocolate soufflé with espresso sauce. Delicious as always!

Our table once again closed the dining room. I have an early tour tomorrow so I am just packing up my stuff for that and then turning in "early".

Tomorrow we will be docked in Cadiz from 8am-7pm. I booked an all-day shared tour with Spain Day Tours (I believe a few other Cruise Critic members will be on it as well). Stay tuned for details tomorrow! Bonus points if you watch Game of Thrones, since I'm told it's taped there! Having said that, I know absolutely NOTHING about that show so no promises that I will take pictures of the right places! [emoji23]

Good night, all! And thanks once again for following along!

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What’s the condition of the freedom, there was another thread saying she was in rough shape.

To answer your question - the public areas seem a-ok! I haven't seen any big signs of wear and tear. The outside is in great shape from what I've seen so far - no rust, failings are nice and shiny, etc.

The room is looking somewhat old. My first thought, with my last several cruises having been on newer ships, was "woah they need to overhaul the rooms". I think I'm just getting over it now but it's not bothering me as much. There are some drawers that aren't aligned properly so don't open and close well, there's a mixture of hanger types in my closet (no biggie but the small OCD part of me is a little bothered! Haha!), and the bathroom looks like it's seen better days (nothing major, but a slightly scratched toilet bowl, etc.

So really nothing horrendous and really nothing very noticeable!

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Thanks everyone! Great ideas here! One of my tablemates has some that I can borrow, but I will still try to track some down in port so I don't have to bug her frequently! Haha!

We're going to Tenerife, Gran Canaria, and La Palma.

Where exactly is the mall in Gran Canaria? I suppose I can wait another few days!

This is the first time I have ever forgotten something on a cruise! :(

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Ah, what? Where did that perk come from? I don't remember that being a normal perk.

It's only on this TA cruise due to the number of Diamond and up members onboard - they're trying to cut down on diamond lounge crowds. Similar to the idea behind the fleet-wide 3 drinks/night for happy hour!

Needless to say it's a perk I plan on taking full advantage of! Haha! [emoji3]

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Thank you to both of you!

I checked all of the shops and no hairspray. Finally went up to the salon and all they had was extra firm and it was $22 (plus tax)... wasn't willing to splurge - with the Canadian exchange rate and Spanish VAT tax that's like $35!

Doubtful that I'll be able to easily find any in the Canary Islands, particularly as I'll be short on time with tours booked.

Ah well! Straight hair for the next 2 weeks! [emoji53]

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I am embarrassed to say I forgot to bring my hairspray with me! I checked the Promenade shops and nothing!

Has anyone successfully found hairspray on the ship? Or any thoughts of where I might be able to find some?

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The Meet and Mingle was held at 10:30am in Studio B. Unfortunately that setting, while necessary because there were 490 Cruise Critic members onboard, was not conducive to much meeting or mingling. The captain, cruise director, and hotel director all made appearances, and they did some draws for prizes. My ticket was off by 1 number for a RCI prize pack! Other prizes included 24 hours of internet, RCI merchandise, a hot stone massage, and bottles of wine.

I decided to see how far the 1 specialty coffee per day loaded on all diamond members' seapass cards would go. The welcome letter made it sound as if it could only be redeemed in the MDR; however, I asked at the Promenade Cafe and they said I could use it there! Better yet, I could use it on anything I wanted, including cold or blended drinks! As a non-coffee drinker, that was super exciting for me! I ended up getting a delicious iced chai latte!

From there, I wandered around the ship, and eventually landed in the Schooner Bar where they had sign-ups for a boat building competition. The rules were given (you may use anything on the ship to make a boat of maximum 3'x3' size, with the exception of life-rings or life-vests). The boat competition will take place in the pool on day 13, and they will create obstacles to see who's boat is the most durable. I plan to discuss with my table-mates at dinner tonight to see if they're up for the challenge! Sounds like it could be fun!

After that it was off to the main dining room for lunch! For me, perfect days for the MDR are those when I am not yet in a wet swimsuit pool-side! I started with the salad bar:

Followed by the chicken tenders with potato salad:

And finished with the apple parcel:

That's all for now! There are plenty of activities going on around the ship today so I will see where I end up!

Coming up later - the captain's welcome aboard reception, formal night dinner (hoping my favorite meal lives up to my high expectations), and I will likely call it an early night because we're in Cadiz/Seville tomorrow and I have a looooooong tour!

Stay tuned! [emoji3]

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Hello from day 2!!! It's a beautiful day today - the weather is gorgeous, and the Mediterranean Sea is completely flat!

I started my morning with breakfast in the Main Dining Room! The dining staff finally have it right - instead of one dining room with a buffet and menu as on most ships, they have opened 2 levels for breakfast. The 3rd deck is buffet only (including omelette stations), and deck 5 is a la carte. I arrived towards the end of breakfast so opted for a la carte. There was a very long wait to get in (20 minutes) until they finally opened up a separate section to clear the line. Fortunately the service was completely uphill from there! They were very prompt and on the ball - the opposite of all previous experiences at breakfast!

After breakfast I went for a stroll around the Promenade deck. It was a gorgeous morning!

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Just ask the bartender to cut back on the rum.

I realize I'm in the minority of those who would do that! Hahaha!

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We didn't end up going all the way back to Barcelona - instead, a small speed boat came to pick up the ill person. Shortly after, we resumed our journey to Cadiz.

I went back to the diamond lounge (well, the Star Lounge turned diamond lounge) around 7:40 and it was packed. I think it was the early and late seating people crossing paths. A note about my beverage preferences. I prefer fruity, sickly sweet drinks (think mudslides and piña coladas). As such, I am always asking "what can you make me that's sweet and fruity?". Earlier today, that was a rum punch (way too strong!). This time I decided to try a lemon drop since everyone and their best friends on Cruise Critic say how fantastic they are! Unfortunately, while the rim was delicious, I cannot say the same for the drink itself! Nonetheless, I drank it and moved on!

I arranged a large shared table on the roll call board so I was eager to meet my tablemates (well, those whom I didn't already know from last year's spring Independence TA). I am happy to say that all worked out wonderfully and we had some great conversation and some giggles! I look forward to the next 13 nights!

The menu tonight was the usual embarkation day menu:

I had the smoked fish rillettes:

Followed by the artichoke and eggplant tart (which our waiter tried to dissuade me from ordering). It was actually quite good!

I ordered the horseradish crusted salmon as my main. It was also very good, and the mashed potatoes underneath it were delicious!

For dessert I had the butter almond ice cream! I actually wanted creme brûlée which is on the everyday dessert menu, but I find when a good ice cream flavor comes along, you have to grab it!

We must have had a great table because we literally closed the place! We left at 10:20, which meant we had missed most of the welcome aboard show. I walked in and caught the tail end - an aerialist couple. They were outstanding and got a standing ovation.

I just returned to my room to find that the bed was moved over as requested. While I won't have to do acrobatics to get into bed now, my stateroom attendant will to try to make the bed! It seems much more functional though like this, and at least I can still sprawl out without being confined to a twin bed if I had them split.

That's all for now! Coming up tomorrow - Cruise Critic Meet and Mingle (in studio B due to the number of attendees!) and formal night (which includes my favorite dish of the cruise! Stay tuned to find out what that is!

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First off, here are today's cruise compasses! My apologies, I forgot to post them earlier!

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