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Freedom with 54 Surprise Guests, $6513, and Justin Bieber :)

myfamilyluvs2cruise
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myfamilyluvs2cruise

myfamilyluvs2cruise

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After the surprise-

 

We opened a bar tab, ordered a ridiculous amount of mojitos, smiled as the kids danced the cha-cha slide, and tried to take it all in. My DH was in such a state of shock . . . and then the man that I have only seen cry at the birth of our children and the passing of parents began to tear up. I think he was overwhelmed with the sheer number of people from different friendship groups that were there. I mentioned earlier that he is the best guy, and I think that is truly why we were able to pull off such a good group surprise.

 

After our time in the disco was up, we all went up to see our rooms. We were all (with 2 exceptions) on the same floor in the aft section of the ship. We had some extended balconies and an aft wrap, and we were able to eventually get the divider opened up, which made for a fun party area. Our rooms were great- and I think everyone was pleased. It was nice that we could all be together.

 

I guess I should mention that over half the people there were cruise virgins- so I had no idea what they were expecting. A few of them had made it clear that they had no intent or desire to ever cruise, and they were only going because of my DH. I was a little nervous about that, but was pretty confident they were going to have fun, no matter what.

 

The balcony was so large that most of us gathered on our aft wrap balcony (which was AMAZING) - and opened a bottle (or 5 J) of wine. We laughed and chatted, and the kids were coming and going. It was a really great moment. Looking down from our balcony at the pier- I was shocked by the amount and type of food being loaded up. Bushels and bushels of carrots, watermelons, soda- it was so interesting to see! We met the people above us and next to us- all very nice. The couple on the aft wrap above us was really a hoot- and told us they would be getting married at Lindquist Beach on St Thomas- and I will write more about that later. (A little foreshadowing to keep you on the edge of your seat. . . J)

 

We were thoroughly enjoying settling in, watching everyone come and go- have drinks and relax. It was then time for the muster drill. I did notice a more serious tone than in the past, which was good. The cruise virgins in our group were really taking it all in too . . . It was quick and painless- and then we were off to St Thomas!

 

I had pre-arranged a dinner at the Steakhouse. The Carnival Group lady I worked with was amazing- she organized it so we would all fit into one side of the restaurant- which allowed us socialize and not disturb or be seen by any other guests- as I figured we might be loud and we did not want to ruin anyone else's dinner. About half of us had not yet receive our luggage- so we were half “cruise elegant” attire and have “elegant t-shirt” attire. But we were so happy to all be together, it didn’t matter.

 

The service there was exceptional in each and every way. They offered to cut up our children’s meat- as the knives were sharp. The continually filled our wine glasses. They fed the kids first so they could leave and not get restless- they really bent over backwards. At one point, I stood up to say a few words to our group, and the manager of the steakhouse came running with a wireless microphone! Bad idea to give me a microphone after several drinks J, but nevertheless- they were so service oriented! Our dinners were fabulous- and everyone thoroughly enjoyed the meal. I did realize that the tip was indeed in the total- as I had already prepaid the $30 a person and they gave me no additional bill. I asked her about it, and she said we were all taken care of. There are conflicting accounts of that issue on these boards, but the gratuity was definitely included in our case. I asked her for a separate slip so we could tip additionally, and we added (15%), however, as we were so grateful for all that they did to accommodate our large party. It is challenging to handle a large group like that with grace and ease- and they did it really well!

 

We went back to check on our luggage- which was indeed there. We changed out of our “T-shirt elegant” attire, and spruced up and unpacked. I had a liter of super glue strong hold hairspray that had completely dumped out in my suitcase- predominantly in my running shoes of all places. So I rinsed everything out and threw them in the laundry facility- which was SO convenient! As we walked back out we met Tony our steward. WHAT A GEM!!!! I cannot say enough about how kind and helpful (and tolerant) he was. We all tipped him upfront to keep our ice buckets full- and from that moment on- the ice was flowing like crazy! J I know there are varying opinions on tipping up front or at the end of the cruise (we all did both)- but I felt like our group might be a little bit of extra maintenance due to our size- and I wanted him to know we would take care of him.

 

We then headed off to the Habana Bar- where Music Motion was playing. They were AWESOME- just like I had read here on CC. We all danced on the floor and sang- and had a ball. I will say that I was shocked that it was pretty much dead in that bar, with the exception of our 34 adults there were probably only 10 other people. I had read so much here about the live music and the Asian bands, and I was surprised more people did not take advantage of such a cool venue with a really fun band! Maybe that is why there is talk of discontinuing the live music? But there is much more to discuss about the live music . . . stay tuned J.

 

After Music Motion took a break we moved on to the Disco. We danced some more and had a good time. But again, it was completely empty, except for our group there were probably 8 people in there. After a couple of songs, we realized were all zombies from all the excitement and fun- and most of us hung it up for the night.

 

Our bed was super comfortable. Our room was spacious and clean. Our youngest daughter was in our room (it was a 3 berth) on the couch that converted to a bed. She said in her sweet little voice as she was falling asleep that this was the best trip ever . . . J And that was just day one!

 

I will definitely post some pictures tomorrow morning. Thanks for reading my review!!!

Edited by myfamilyluvs2cruise
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myfamilyluvs2cruise

myfamilyluvs2cruise

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we saw you guys on the ship. we to where zone 2 getting on the ship. we had a great trip sounds like you all did too.

 

Oh- did you see the blue t-shirted group? We were in normal clothes- and I was the one biting my fingernails and pacing- haha.

 

I am so glad you had a great trip! What was not to like though, right? It was awesome!

Edited by myfamilyluvs2cruise
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pcrum

pcrum

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Oh my...I am in tears just reading through your first post. What a lovely surprise!! Your DH is a lucky man and it sounds like he is very deserving of this special surprise!!

 

DH and I turn 50 in Dec. of this year, so we are also thinking of taking a cruise to celebrate, but it's been really tough finding a date when my 17 year old twins can travel. Don't really want them to miss school, so it's looking like a New Year's cruise perhaps (my birthday is 12/31).

 

I can't wait to read the rest of your review!!

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Cruisecrzy3

Cruisecrzy3

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Loving this so far and you've only posted day one...lol! From one "insurance geek" to another, I can understand that all details must be planned for! ;) Sounds like all the planning and details were well worth it!

 

This review is going to be fun and promises to have a lot of followers! Looking forward to hearing/reading more and seeing lots of pictures. Thanks for taking the time to do this. You're going to think you're planning your surprise all over again.

 

Ready when you are! :D

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momof4boys

momof4boys

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You may be in insurance but you could be a fabulous story telller......"forshadowing"...?!?! Usually only teachers use that vocabulary!!! (I know...I'm a teacher!) :D

 

Can't wait for the rest. Please don't take too long....I leave Thursday for the Freedom on the 14th!!:)

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