Just Off the Freedom - 2/13/2010

[Mary49]

Sorry to say that I never made it into the piano bar, although I did hear a female singer in the atrium that wasn't bad. And while on the subject of music ... the one thing that you cannot miss on this cruise is the 'Tribute to New Orleans' ... just blew me away. The lighting, the sets, the singing (especially the female lead), the dancing, the costumes ... all top-shelf!!! I cannot stress that enough ... do not miss that show!!

 

Hope this helps!

 

Did you happen to go see "Music Boardwalk" shows? They also do the Beatles show "Ticket to Ride". I hope to cruise the Freedom in August. Can't wait. Thanks Mary49

[bamaphotopro]

hi we are leaving sunday for this cruise.. did they have a night were they pass out beads for the holiday this week the children are hoping they do how was the water temp. we are the beach people and just cant wait specialy after having another snowstorm today.. your pictures are so nice thank you for sharing with everyone. i know i could come up with a million questions so when you get off in key west we just cant start walking. we never have been there ok everyone have a nice afternoon love debbie and family

 

Hi, debieanne. They did place beads on our table on Tuesday night (cruise elegant night).

 

As for Key West and walking ... they will cart you in from the ship into Old Town and drop you off. You could actually catch one of the other trains or catch the trolley. Even though we elected to walk, I would have chosen the trolley given the choice since you can embark and debark at given trolley stops. Be sure to pick up a Key West map for $1 when you get off the train after riding in from the ship.

 

I would also recommend reading the Key West threads in the Ports of Call section of the boards here. Lots of good advice there, too!

[SAC69]

Regarding the Canon SX120 IS. Also, be aware that besides the weak flash as noted it runs on AA cells instead of LiIon so carry a pocket full of alkaline, or a travel charger and rechargeable AA batteries. Run time is short.

[bamaphotopro]

Regarding the Canon SX120 IS. Also, be aware that besides the weak flash as noted it runs on AA cells instead of LiIon so carry a pocket full of alkaline, or a travel charger and rechargeable AA batteries. Run time is short.

 

I got about 130-150 shots per 2 AA batts.

[goscudder]

How was seeing the Falls in Ocho Rios the "dry way"? I'm trying to arrange a tour for my Mom who is going with us in April. She'd like to see them, but not be IN them. Is there still a lot of climbing involved? She has trouble with stairs.

[HowTheWestWasFun]

Great photos man.

[bamaphotopro]

How was seeing the Falls in Ocho Rios the "dry way"? I'm trying to arrange a tour for my Mom who is going with us in April. She'd like to see them, but not be IN them. Is there still a lot of climbing involved? She has trouble with stairs.

 

What we did was walk down an walkway (of course it's an incline on the way back up). As I best recall, there are steps .. i.e., maybe 3 or 4 at a time in a few places. The most strenuous part is if you walk down to the beach ... there's about 20 steps there, but you don't have to do it. You can elect to do your looking from a wooden walkway above the action. The only thing that was wet was my sweat .. it was pretty warm down there! :D

 

I've got some short videos from the falls. Let me look through them and see if any of them illustrate what I am talking about. If they do, I will post them to YouTube for you to see.

[bamaphotopro]

Did you happen to go see "Music Boardwalk" shows? They also do the Beatles show "Ticket to Ride". I hope to cruise the Freedom in August. Can't wait. Thanks Mary49

 

 

Mary, I am sorry to say that we didn't see either of those, but I did hear favorable reviews about the 'Ticket To Ride' show. But I serious about the New Orleans tribute ... do not miss that show. It will take your breath away. You have my guarantee on that. I didn't know you could do those things on a ship!

[bamaphotopro]

Great photos man.

 

Thanks!! ;)

[cbreit]

I TOTALLY agree - do not miss the New Orleans tribute show! AMAZING!!!

[bamaphotopro]

How was seeing the Falls in Ocho Rios the "dry way"? I'm trying to arrange a tour for my Mom who is going with us in April. She'd like to see them, but not be IN them. Is there still a lot of climbing involved? She has trouble with stairs.

 

I might add that these are the kind of photos you get doing the falls the dry way. :D

 

 

... and this ...

 

[bamaphotopro]

I TOTALLY agree - do not miss the New Orleans tribute show! AMAZING!!!

 

 

Was that not the most amazing thing you've ever seen?!?!?!? The 'Queen of the Night' number and the 'House of the Rising Sun' number both gave me the cold chills. Very intense, but very entertaining!!! I wish they would sell a DVD of it ... I'd buy several copies.

[bamaphotopro]

How was seeing the Falls in Ocho Rios the "dry way"? I'm trying to arrange a tour for my Mom who is going with us in April. She'd like to see them, but not be IN them. Is there still a lot of climbing involved? She has trouble with stairs.

 

Here is a link to a YouTube video that my wife shot at the entrance of the falls. This should give you an idea, but I'll post a couple more later today.

 

[bamaphotopro]

Okay, another video walking down to the falls with Anthony, our guide from Mark Morris tours. He tells a great story!

 

[serene56]

By chance did you keep your capers? My family got me tons of gift certificates for me to use at the spa- since we are staying on the ship this week and going to the spa. Was wondering about spa specials

[bamaphotopro]

By chance did you keep your capers? My family got me tons of gift certificates for me to use at the spa- since we are staying on the ship this week and going to the spa. Was wondering about spa specials

 

 

Serene, I am sorry to say that I didn't keep them. :(

[serene56]

RATZ-- well, thanks for the photos-- it will make waiting easier

[goscudder]

What we did was walk down an walkway (of course it's an incline on the way back up). As I best recall, there are steps .. i.e., maybe 3 or 4 at a time in a few places. The most strenuous part is if you walk down to the beach ... there's about 20 steps there, but you don't have to do it. You can elect to do your looking from a wooden walkway above the action. The only thing that was wet was my sweat .. it was pretty warm down there! :D

 

I've got some short videos from the falls. Let me look through them and see if any of them illustrate what I am talking about. If they do, I will post them to YouTube for you to see.

 

 

Thanks! Sounds great!

[goscudder]

What we did was walk down an walkway (of course it's an incline on the way back up). As I best recall, there are steps .. i.e., maybe 3 or 4 at a time in a few places. The most strenuous part is if you walk down to the beach ... there's about 20 steps there, but you don't have to do it. You can elect to do your looking from a wooden walkway above the action. The only thing that was wet was my sweat .. it was pretty warm down there! :D

 

I've got some short videos from the falls. Let me look through them and see if any of them illustrate what I am talking about. If they do, I will post them to YouTube for you to see.

 

Just noticed you already posted the videos...thanks so much! They're wonderful! Sounds like you had a terrific guide. Between your pictures and the video, I feel like I've already been there :)

[pawcreek]

I would like to add that we had a group of 10 people that were fortunate enough to have Mark Morris as our personal guide for the same day you were there with one of his guides. He was awesome. I could not say enough about this man as a great guide. Look him up before you get to Ocho Rios for a booking or you will be missing out on the history, sights and experiences of a beautiful place with a lot more to see with him leading you around. For Example .. .My sister in law is a teacher and when Mark found this out he took us into a small school of maybe 10-15 children about the age of 5 where we were welcomed with a nice song from the children. It was an experience we will never forget and would not have gotten if we had not been with Mark Morris. The food and shopping were also good. We did what was called the "highlight tour". After what I read on this site I brought a tube of sensodyne toothpaste for Mark as he has sensitive teeth and it was much appreciated.

 

Nice pictures...I remember walking by the 3 guys playing music at Dunn river falls and you captured it perfectlly...just as I remembered. 4 people out of our group of 10 went through the wet portion of the falls and 6 went through the dry section like you did. I would recommend that wet portion as I enjoyed it and so did everyone around me.

[mimgan3]

We are on this cruise in 18 days, thanks for the info, and you pictures are wonderful.

 

Mimgan

[bamaphotopro]

Pawcreek, I could not agree more about Mark Morris Tours. What a wonderful story regarding the schoolchildren! That is truly a life-changing moment!

 

I loved that little 3-piece band at the entrance ... they sounded so good! I've even been looking for plans on how to build my own Rumba Bass Box ... I could not believe how good it sounded!!

 

Thanks for the comps on the pics ... I hope to add even more as time goes by. I like looking at them until our next cruise. :)

 

- Bama

[bamaphotopro]

We are on this cruise in 18 days, thanks for the info, and you pictures are wonderful.

 

Mimgan

 

Thank you! I am glad that you enjoyed them! You are going to have a wonderful time. Let me know if you have any questions that I might be able to answer.

 

- Bama

[Baystate]

Almost forgot to tell you guys ... we had decided that given the quantity of our luggage along with our ages, that we should do the 'relaxed debarkation' (and we are so glad that we did). Of course, that gave us some extra time for breakfast before we left the ship, so we went up to the Freedom Restaurant. While there, I noticed an extremely large ship docked to our port side. I kept looking and then I saw it ... 'The Oasis of the Seas'. Holy Cow!! Now the Freedom is a large ship, but this ship is enormous!! Quite frankly, I think it would take me two weeks to find my way around it! It was so large that I couldn't get it all in the frame ... but I took a shot anyway.

 

 

That ship looks incredibly UGLY to me.

[bamaphotopro]

That ship looks incredibly UGLY to me.

 

Baystate, I agree ... it looks like a floating Motel 6, albeit a very big one. :D It would be wayyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy too big for me to feel comfortable on.