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Preview and Semi-live Trip Report Freedom Western Caribbean


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I will be sailing on the Freedom of the Seas December 17th, out of Fort Lauderdale. Sailing with me will be my wonderful husband, Chris, and we are celebrating our 20th wedding anniversary.

 

For this cruise, we booked in June, and have a hump balcony stateroom on deck 7.

 

This is a first cruise on Freedom, our fifth cruise, and all have been with RCI.

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We live in Orlando, and will be driving down December 16th, and staying at a hotel in Fort Lauderdale, where we will also leave our car for the cruise. I made arrangements through hotel n parking.

 

Another first for this cruise is specialty dining. We purchased the BOGO specialty dining through the cruise planner and will dine at Giovanni's Table and Chop's Grille. The discount means each meal is $15pp instead of being the listed price.

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Our itinerary for this cruise is the standard Western Caribbean itinerary for a 7 day, 6 night cruise.

CARIB_CAW_FLL_5621805_lg.gif

 

12-17 Depart Fort Lauderdale, Port Everglades, at 5:30 PM

12-18 Sea day

12-19 George Town, Grand Cayman - Tendered from 7 AM to 3 PM

12-20 Costa Maya, Mexico - Port from 11 AM to 7 PM

12-21 Cozumel, Mexico - Port from 8 AM to 5 PM

12-22 Sea Day

12-23 Return to Fort Lauderdale, Port Everglades

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The reason this is a semi-live report vs a live report is that I am not going to pay for the internet package this time. Recent reports indicate the speed has been poor, and we get limited access with T-Mobile while in port at all three locations, so I will upload photos if I can, and we do have wifi at one of our excursions.

 

Other things I have already purchased for this cruise are the refreshment package, which is $18/day on sale.

Wake up with the aroma of your favorite freshly brewed premium coffee or tea and enjoy breakfast with fresh-squeezed juices. Keep hydrated all day long with unlimited fountain soda refills in your Coca-Cola souvenir cup or a refreshing bottle of still or sparkling water. At night, pull up a seat at the bar and order your choice of non-alcoholic cocktails.

 

We do drink, but not much, and not enough to justify the cost of a deluxe package. We'll pay as we go.

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We've never been to any of these ports. I have been to Mexico, when I was a child, but that was 30+ years ago!

 

Our first port is Grand Cayman, and we have booked Native Way Stingray City, Coral Gardens, and Starfish Point. We wanted a half day excursion where we could be back and tender long before all aboard.

 

Link

Stingray Sandbar, Coral Gardens and Starfish Snorkel

 

Get ready for an exciting, unique adventure as you swim among the stingrays -- some of the most docile sea creatures in the world! Featured in National Geographic Magazine, Stingray City is the Cayman Islands’ most popular site. Here, 30 to 40 gentle Southern Atlantic stingrays swim freely in 3 to 5 feet of crystal-clear, current-free waters, waiting to see what you've brought them for lunch.

It was created by accident in the mid-80s when fishermen returning to port anchored in the calm waters of the Sound to clean their catch and discard bait overboard. The stingrays, drawn by the smell of the fish, quickly became accustomed to the “free meal” and stayed. Today, the rays regularly dine on squid provided by divers and snorkelers. Native Way instructors will show you how to interact with these incredible animals in the only place in the world where you can do so in the wild.

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Our second port is Costa Maya, and we have booked a beach day with Maya Chan.

 

Maya Chan is a limited access all inclusive beach day, where each party is assigned a palapa or pergola.

Link

 

Maya Chan Beach Resort is located four miles south of the busy Port of Costa Maya. We are a small oasis far from the hustle and bustle of tourism, and the hectic open restaurants and bars of the local village of Mahahual. Our all-inclusive beach break has been designed for the discerning cruiser who might not want to adhere to the strict regimen of a shore excursion. There is no need to rush off the ship to secure a spot in the shade, as this Costa Maya location reserves your spot ahead of time and holds it for you until you arrive. Our glass bottom kayaks are available for use all day, as well as our complimentary snorkel gear. Lunch is served fresh and hot off the grill, when you are ready to eat, not on a preplanned schedule.

 

This excursion and day is what I am looking forward to the most.

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Our third port is Cozumel, and we have hired a driver for the day through Tours Plaza. Link

 

I am an avid photographer, and looking forward to seeing birds, coati, iguanas, and other animals as well as visiting the wild side of Cozumel, seeing a blow hole, and doing some snorkeling. Hiring a driver made that all possible for not a lot of money.

 

I also plan to buy vanilla at this port to take home.

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Our second port is Costa Maya, and we have booked a beach day with Maya Chan.

 

Maya Chan is a limited access all inclusive beach day, where each party is assigned a palapa or pergola.

Link

 

 

 

This excursion and day is what I am looking forward to the most.

We are going to Maya Chan again. Went there 2 years ago and had a great time. Good drinks and food.

 

 

Sent from my Pixel using Forums mobile app

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freedom-of-the-seas.jpg

 

60 days until we sail!

 

Technical Specifications

The ship has an overall length of 338.77m; a perpendicular length of 303.21m; a breadth of 38.60m at the waterline (56.0m at the extreme due to the bridge wings); a draft of 8.5m; a height of 63.7m; and a gross tonnage of 154,407t. The ship has a cruising speed of 21.6kt. The Freedom can accommodate 4,375 passengers in 1,817 cabins. A crew of 1,360 creates a total on-board maximum complement of 5,730. The ship also has 16.5ha of deck space for passengers.
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We will be on the Freedom back to back from Nov.25th until Dec.9th. This will be our eight cruise on the beautiful lady which is our favorite ship and will be returning Feb.25, and April 8th. before she leaves for San Juan. Will be in our same Jr on deck 9 we have used in the pass. To bad we could'nt have left our stuff there.

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Thank you for the nice comments. This is our last cruise vacation for a while, I'm wrapping up my Master's program, and won't be able to travel while writing my thesis.

 

Villager, you will have to keep Freedom warm for us before we sail. I want to do a back to back sailing in the future.

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So glad to find this post! We will be sailing this ship and itinerary Feb 11th! We have never sailed RC but have been to all the ports. We will be doing Rays,Reef, and Rum Point with Native Way and probably Maya Chan again... not sure about Cozumel yet, but my daughter in law wants to experience the dolphins, so maybe we will book with the ship for that one? I look forward to reading your review [emoji4]

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

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We will be on the Freedom back to back from Nov.25th until Dec.9th. This will be our eight cruise on the beautiful lady which is our favorite ship and will be returning Feb.25, and April 8th. before she leaves for San Juan. Will be in our same Jr on deck 9 we have used in the pass. To bad we could'nt have left our stuff there.

 

 

Take good care of her for me. I leave the day you get back on April 14th.

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We are doing this itinerary 11/5/17.Have been to all of these ports and love this ship and all of its' related siblings. As if you could tell from my signature. One of my favorite cruise memories of all times was dinning at the Captain's Table on Freedom's second voyage with Captain Andrews.

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