DarthGrady Posted October 27, 2009 #1 Share Posted October 27, 2009 Introduction: This was my second cruise with Royal Caribbean (RCI), and my wife’s third. We had previously been on Monarch of the Seas together, and she had since cruised on Monarch again with some of her girl friends. I have also cruised twelve times with Carnival, and once with the now defunct Premier Cruises. After posting my review of the Monarch cruise last year on Cruise Critic, many folks said that I should try one of Royal Caribbean’s larger ships to truly get a feel for what they are about. We had originally been booked on Navigator of the Seas, but had to switch to Freedom due to a schedule conflict with my wife’s job. Freedom ended up being a better fit for us since it’s a shorter drive from our house to Port Canaveral, and she is a newer, larger ship. This cruise left from Port Canaveral on 10/18/09 for seven days to Coco Cay, St. Thomas and St. Maarten. Pre Cruise: We drove to Port Canaveral on Saturday, the day before the cruise, and we stayed at the Country Inn and Suites, which is right near the port. We could actually see the Carnival Glory and the two Disney ships in port when we arrived. We chose this hotel because we got a free room with my wife’s credit card points. They also allow you to leave your vehicle parked there during the cruise (for a $20 fee), and provide a shuttle service to the pier. This saved us money versus driving down the day of the cruise and paying the pier’s parking rates. After checking in we headed to Grills Seafood and Tiki Bar which sits right on the waterway that the cruise ships traverse. We had an unofficial pre cruise meet and greet with some of the folks from our Cruise Critic roll call. Despite the cool temperatures and winds, everybody seemed to have a nice time. I was able to get some pictures of the Carnival Glory and Disney Magic as they left port. Here comes the Glory ...and Disney Magic Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slotaddict Posted October 27, 2009 #2 Share Posted October 27, 2009 You cant tell me your tired and done for the night???:eek: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DarthGrady Posted October 27, 2009 Author #3 Share Posted October 27, 2009 Embarkation: After a decent breakfast at the hotel, we were shuttled over to the cruise terminal. I was impressed with Freedom of the Seas when I first saw her while I was on the Carnival Inspiration back in 2006. Standing next to her at the pier was even more impressive. The size of the Freedom Class ships is just unbelievable. We got to the pier at around 10:45, and went through security relatively quickly. There were no lines at the check in counters, and were all done with the process by 11:05. We thought we would be able to board the ship, but were redirected to a sitting area. The embarkation staff told us that a US Coast Guard inspection was holding up passenger loading. After about 15 minutes they started letting folks on, but stopped again shortly thereafter. We sat around for a long while, they then made an announcement that the check in machines had gone down. We eventually did make it on board at around 12:15, one of the longest embarkation processes I have been through. Arriving at the pier The Terminal Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DarthGrady Posted October 27, 2009 Author #4 Share Posted October 27, 2009 You cant tell me your tired and done for the night???:eek: No, I will try to get as much up as I can. But I have TONS of ship pics to post so its gonna take a while to get everything up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DarthGrady Posted October 27, 2009 Author #5 Share Posted October 27, 2009 Day 1: Exploring the largest cruise ship in the world After we boarded the ship, we went up to the Royal Promenade; there was an immediate “wow” factor to seeing this for the first time. It is nothing short of amazing that such a large and elaborate area is built into a moving machine. I liked how all the shops, bars and dining areas are all right on the promenade. The barber shop, gift shops, general store, café, champagne bar, pizzeria, ice cream shop, clothing stores and wine bar are all right there along the “main street”. I especially enjoyed the Sorrento’s pizzeria, which had a wide variety of pizzas, Italian dishes, desserts and salads. It gets much less crowded than the Windjammer buffet, so we had lunch there instead. We did visit the Windjammer to make our Chops Grill reservations (more on that later), but we didn’t stay and eat since it was packed full of people. My first time on a Royal Promenade What would become my favorite eatery, Sorrentos! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DarthGrady Posted October 27, 2009 Author #6 Share Posted October 27, 2009 The Bull and Bear pub yes, those are skulls The detail was remarkable, the pub looked 100 years old there was a dart alley, but I never saw it being used Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DarthGrady Posted October 27, 2009 Author #7 Share Posted October 27, 2009 Vintages wine bar The logo shop The General Store Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amybeth4 Posted October 27, 2009 #8 Share Posted October 27, 2009 You cant tell me your tired and done for the night???:eek: lolol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DarthGrady Posted October 27, 2009 Author #9 Share Posted October 27, 2009 Ben and Jerrys The Champagne Bar Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Atomica Posted October 27, 2009 #10 Share Posted October 27, 2009 Nice photo-review! Keep it up! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Illinoisgal Posted October 27, 2009 #11 Share Posted October 27, 2009 WOw Im so glad you are posting this. I have read your wonderful reviews before on the Carnival boards. Im defecting out for the oasis and thinking about another RCI cruise as well. Im looking forward to more pics and the rest of the review. Also any tips for a normal Carnival cruiser would be great Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DarthGrady Posted October 27, 2009 Author #12 Share Posted October 27, 2009 Cafe Promenade The coffee bar at the Cafe The Cafe food Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DarthGrady Posted October 27, 2009 Author #13 Share Posted October 27, 2009 WOw Im so glad you are posting this. I have read your wonderful reviews before on the Carnival boards. Im defecting out for the oasis and thinking about another RCI cruise as well. Im looking forward to more pics and the rest of the review. Also any tips for a normal Carnival cruiser would be great Thanks! It never hurts to try other lines, I think its fun to explore a new ship and not know what is around every corner. Cruising RCI after doing Carnival is easy, most of the main things are very similar: food, service, rooms (on RCIs newer ships) and activities. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DarthGrady Posted October 27, 2009 Author #14 Share Posted October 27, 2009 Random things from around the Promenade: Stairs down to the Casino The barber shop Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DarthGrady Posted October 27, 2009 Author #15 Share Posted October 27, 2009 More Promenade: Guest Relations and Shore Tours desk These cool deck plan sculptures are on every deck The glass bridge over the Boleros Lounge, at night it changed colors Looking up into the Aft Atrium Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DarthGrady Posted October 27, 2009 Author #16 Share Posted October 27, 2009 Stairwells Each side has either red or blue carpet Elevator lobbies Glass deck directories in the elevator lobbies Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Illinoisgal Posted October 27, 2009 #17 Share Posted October 27, 2009 So different from Farcas. Im soon going to see the purple grapes for the 2nd time in my life :) Looks great. Seems like the food choices are more spread out than on CCL too. Keep up the awesome job. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DarthGrady Posted October 27, 2009 Author #18 Share Posted October 27, 2009 The Forward Atrium Jets in the Forward Atrium Traffic lights in the Aft Atrium Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DarthGrady Posted October 27, 2009 Author #19 Share Posted October 27, 2009 So different from Farcas. Im soon going to see the purple grapes for the 2nd time in my life :) Looks great. Seems like the food choices are more spread out than on CCL too. Keep up the awesome job. Yes, they are. I liked it though, I only ate in the buffet twice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DarthGrady Posted October 27, 2009 Author #20 Share Posted October 27, 2009 The Windjammer: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DarthGrady Posted October 27, 2009 Author #21 Share Posted October 27, 2009 Chops Steakhouse Portofinos The View from Chops Disney Wonder Carnival Sensation Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DarthGrady Posted October 27, 2009 Author #22 Share Posted October 27, 2009 The Main Dining Room: First Level, Leonardo's Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DarthGrady Posted October 27, 2009 Author #23 Share Posted October 27, 2009 Second Level, Isaacs Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DarthGrady Posted October 27, 2009 Author #24 Share Posted October 27, 2009 Third Level, Galileo's Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DarthGrady Posted October 27, 2009 Author #25 Share Posted October 27, 2009 The Lido Areas H20 Zone The dive shop Pool bar Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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