Diffuser87

Well I know one thing - I found something "stream" shouldn't be used for.

 

Some jerk - and yes I'll use that term (there are better) thought it was OK to FaceTime a friend for the entire length of Grease tonight. Had her her phone pointed about a foot over her head. I was many seats over - if I had been behind her I would have said something.

 

My only problem with Internet on board is people are using devices more often in inappropriate ways, way do people think this crap is ok?

 

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

I'm surprised none of the staff said anything to them. You are not supposed to record the shows much less facetime them.....

We have not done the Allure yet, but every ship I have been on has requested to settle cash accounts the last evening before 11PM. You can wait and settle it on debarkation morning but the lines will be very long and it is the last thing you want to do since you will have to wait in another line to get off the ship.

Not everyone on dialysis is elderly so the jokes are invalid actually. Prayers for the family of the 2 that passed away and hopes for the best recovery of the other 2. Kudos to Royal for handling the situation correctly.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

So how was 8640? Is it center of he hump with 8638?

Great room, great view. It is in the center with 8638. Balcony pics are attached

Sorry for the blur....moving ship and slow shutter speed lol

We just disembarked the same cruise as well. I don't quite remember ever having to wait that long to get off the ship!

Our original debark tag time was 8:45am. It was changed to 9:30 and was finally called at a little before ten. We then waited over an hour in line from the promenade to the hotel shuttle.

We saw only 2 customs officers as well. Even one of the port agents directing inside said its the worst he's seen. Baggage claim wasn't too bad though. Luggage came around in under 5 minutes.

At 11am when we were passing thru the back side of the terminal and the next cruises guests were not even checking in yet. We were checked last Sunday around 10:30am and were sitting waiting to board lol.

The only thing we can figure is that yesterday we had a storm for most of the day with 50mph apparent wind and 10 foot seas which caused us to slow down. We got up at 6:45 and went out on the balcony and they were still getting the ship tied off and if anyone knows Freedoms schedule she usually gets in around 5-5:30am instead.

All in all it was a great cruise though. We had 6 days of perfect weather so can't complain too much. The islands have been cleaned up since the hurricane 2 weeks ago but you can still see damage like boats overturned on land and such.

We always add the basic international plan with the pay as you go rates with AT&T. It's a couple of dollars to activate it for one week.

$2.50 per minute on call....we rarely ever call out.

Text messages are 0.50 cents sent and free to receive.

All cellular data is disabled in the phone settings.

If you are in US ports such as San Juan or St Thomas your regular carrier plan applies, just make sure you are docked and your service says AT&T and not Cellular at Sea.

We leave our phones in the safe on airplane mode or powered off unless we specifically want to check it. You can be charged a minute rate even if a phone call comes in and goes to voicemail.

The most important thing to remember at sea is to leave your data turned off at sea. Otherwise you can wind up paying a small fortune.

The center hump is the best because you can truly see all the way forward and aft of the ship from the railing. But they are usually booked fast for that very reason. I don't think right off the center is bad at all though. If your on the back side of the hump it offers more wind resistance I believe. We'll find our this October and I'll let you know. Congrats on the cruise! First time on the freedom?

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

That's probably it. I was going to say that we are going to be in 8640 which is directly opposite of the one you are asking about this October. The hump balconies are great IMO. Close to the elevators but not too noisy as the elevators are not in the same hallway. They aren't any bigger on the freedom class but they offer a unique view.

Hmmmm they are showing up for me..... When are you sailing? Or are you just curious?

We stayed in 8336 a couple years ago and really enjoyed it. 8336/8340 are not the center of the hump but close enough to where you can still see mostly all the way backwards and forwards. Your cabin will be on the back side of the hump so you will probably have less trouble with wind. If your category is E2 like it probably is, you get a standard size room with love seat and the usual stuff. Got a couple pics from Labadee attached so you can have an idea.

I would recommend a flight after 12pm just to account for any delays. As for hotels, near the port you have the radisson and the county inn & suites. Down the road in cocoa beach you have a dozen different hotels. We have personally stayed in the Hampton Inn and enjoyed it. We are going to try out the Comfort Inn this year and give it a shot.

The only one that I can recall seeing on the islands is in Grand Cayman. Sorry!

.

 

 

Congrats to Tracy and your family! Great pics! Lots of new pictures to hang on the wall I'm sure.

bionicman..........thanks for checking back and seeing the result, greatly appreciated! Hope you enjoyed the video. I think I am down to watching it 5 times a day, hahaha :)

 

 

jst4fun....I know.........so true! The planning will never end, haha :) I just want 1 or 2 months off, that is all. Too much to ask? :)

Awesome video! Glad everything worked according to your plans. Best of luck to you guys in the future. Here's to raising the bar for the rest of us! Lol.

Mike, thank you for sharing your story and family with us once again. Awesome review! I love the crystal clear pictures. Best of luck to Tracy on the rest of her training and safe return to you guys!

Hey Mike, I downloaded it a few minutes ago. The directions are good. I didn't have to sign up. Basically clicked the Fun Times image in the post above and click the blue Download Now button on the 4shared page then waited the 21 seconds and clicked download now and it asked where the save the file and downloaded it. Didn't have to sign up.

You do have to have Adobe Reader or some program that reads PDFs to view them. But most everyone has that already installed.

Thanks for taking the time to scan all of these. I remember how many I had just for one cruise.....

Wow beautiful waterfall! I've been following this review since late September and haven't posted yet. I have this page in my subscriptions and check it a few times a day like everyone else. It's wonderful of you and your family to share all of this amazing adventure with us. Most people never seem to finish cruise reviews here and you are doing 4 in 1. Great job on the renewal ceremony. People a few pages back said you are making all of us other guys look bad....I happen to agree! Congrats on an amazing vacation and best of luck to you guys, especially Tracy on her training!

Edit: Also decided to honor you with my first post on this forum, being new to cruising with only one under my belt and just a general lurker of the forums. Love this place!