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A Somewhat Live ‘Novel’ Review of the 9/1/13 Freedom of the Seas Cruise

foxgoodrich

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foxgoodrich

foxgoodrich

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A Somewhat Live ‘Novel’ Review of the 9/1/13 Freedom of the Seas Cruise



Preface

Having read a few books set on cruise ships, and having cruised numerous times on various great ships, I’ve often thought a cruise ship makes a great setting for a novel...and I confess to having kind of a fantasy about writing a novel...so about two weeks ago, after a couple of glasses of a really nice merlot with dinner, I had this great idea to write a cruise review in that format...like a novel. Apparently I hadn’t had THAT much wine that evening as even the next day I still thought this would be a fun thing to do. And now, 2 weeks later, I still seem to be committing to undertake this crazy project!

 

Hence, I am posting this Somewhat Live Novel Review of our 9/1/2013 cruise on the Freedom of the Seas. I am calling it a ‘Somewhat Live’ review because I’ve never done this before, so I’m not sure exactly how much time it will take or how ‘live’ it will be. But I do have the best of intentions. And I have a nice MacBook Pro. And I type fast. And Freedom does have shipwide wifi. This is also an odd cruise in that it’s an itinerary we’ve done many times and we have virtually no excursions planned so far. We have the option of just hanging out on the ship in port if we want, so I’m thinking the time factor will not be major and perhaps this little endeavor could be a fun part of the cruise experience.

 

So...before I begin, let me explain that we are Judy and Buz, from Oklahoma City. We are retired from our ‘real’ jobs and we, along with 2 great partners, have our own business importing and selling cultured pearls. (Gems of the sea!) Our heavy retail season begins late in September. We always book a cruise this time of year (risking hurricane season!) because it’s an easy time for us to be away. We love cruising, we call ourselves ‘shippies’ and this 9/1 cruise on Freedom is our 17th on Royal Caribbean.

 

And since I am determined to take a ‘novel’ approach to this review, we decided to give our characters names other than our own. We’ve had these Judy and Buz names our whole lives, so they’ve become kind of ho-hum. Who could we be? We started discussing the names we could choose for ourselves....the obvious choices were couples in the news like Kate & William or Angelina & Brad, but they seemed too young. Hillary & Bill, though relatively age appropriate, seemed too political. Anthony & Huma seemed too...well let’s just not go there in a review with pictures, shall we? Adam & Eve seemed too old. John & Yoko didn’t work for us either. Buz came up with Hank & Peggy and I favored Nick & Nora.

 

Our discussion of names continued over the course of several evenings...as did the merlot with dinner. Finally we both had a Eureka! moment, or perhaps it was a Great Merlot! moment. Since we were choosing aliases for ourselves, why not use an alias actually used by a favorite TV character? So we each chose a name based on a favorite character. Buz, a long time ‘King of the Hill’ fan, will be Rusty Shackleford. (That’s Dale Gribble’s alias on ‘King of the Hill.’ Since Buz already has facial hair, he won’t be wearing Rusty’s fake mustache though.) And I, having loved the Karen Walker character played by Megan Mullally on Will and Grace, will assume her alias Anastasia Beaverhausen. (To quote the inimitable Karen...”that’s Anastasia as in Russian royalty and Beaverhausen as in...you know, where the beaver lives.”):o

 

So we begin our story...

Anastasia Beaverhausen and Rusty Shackleford have been married 32 years and celebrate their August anniversary annually with a cruise. A second cruiseworthy event is Rusty’s birthday on August 31. The 9/1/13 Western Caribbean cruise on Freedom worked perfectly for them due to the timing, the fares were reasonable, and the ship was one they had enjoyed immensely once before. This cruise looked best even though the ports on this itinerary were those visited many times in the past. The one exception was Labadee, a place they had never managed to go before. They decided to choose this cruise. In May, Anastasia checked fares and decided that $1400pp for a JS was too much, so she booked a nice D1 balcony using a NCC, the senior citizen discount and D discount. They began the discussion on how to get to Port Canaveral.

 

Both Anastasia and Rusty enjoy a good road trip, they have a very comfy vehicle, and not having to pay attention to luggage weight limits would be a plus, so driving was seriously considered. They had the time on both the front end and back end of the cruise and estimated the cost of a road trip would be about $800, maybe less if hotel points were used most judiciously. Since driving seemed imminent, Anastasia put off looking at air travel for a few weeks, but finally decided she should price it.

 

Imagine her shock when she found round trip air for $245 per person! Since Anastasia and Rusty live in Oklahoma City (the hub to nowhere), this low fare with one connection was an incredible find. That sealed the deal and plane tickets with reasonably decent connections were bought. The Doubletree in Cocoa Beach was reserved for August 31 and paid for with Hilton points. Anastasia also watched the cruise fares in case of a price drop and one day she noticed a slight drop on the D1 due to a slightly better senior discount, and she also found a W suite guarantee offered with a great senior discount, so she changed the booking to the W guarantee. With the savings on air fare, how could she not do this? An added benefit was that this cruise, now with double C&A points, would send them up into the mystical land of D+ for future cruises.

 

Anastasia and Rusty were pumped! They made the final payment. They splurged and booked a Nellie’s Beach cabana on Labadee. They cashed in 15,000 points from their RC Visa and got a $150 OBC to add to the $100 OBC from the Next Cruise Certificate. They bought themselves a 5 bottle wine package for the MDR, thinking that the 5 bottles would be plenty since they would probably also bring a couple bottles of wine aboard at embarkation and they had access to the Diamond Lounge. (The DL is a wonderful perk for a drink before dinner, but you knew they couldn’t sail for 7 nights without merlot with dinner, right? Or sometimes sauvignon blanc...and occasionally a nightcap on the balcony...but I digress. You get the drift - Rusty and Anastasia are high functioning winos who also periodically partake of other adult beverages.:p Thus the $250 in OBC is lovely!) Their W guarantee cabin was assigned - Junior Suite 1364. While both had a brief moment of disappointment at not scoring a BIG suite with the W guarantee, in the end both were quite happy to have a JS at a great price, with its wonderful walk-in closet, larger bathroom with a tub/shower combo instead of the normal beam-me-up-Scotty tube, and double points, all at a bargain price.

 

AUGUST 30 - Travel Eve

The laundry had been done. The suitcases were out on the bed on this afternoon, and Rusty had his trusty luggage scale at the ready on his dresser. Lists of what to take had been made, some things had already been stacked and laid out, and some packing cubes had been started, but packing did not truly begin until today. After an hour or so of putting it all together, the lists had been all checked off, zippers were zipped, and the big bags were weighed. Rusty’s bag was well under the limit, but Anastasia’s was over.

 

“Rusty, if you’ll just put these 2 pairs of my shoes in your suitcase, I think mine will be under 50 pounds,” said Anastasia, and Rusty complied.

Rusty weighed the suitcases a second time. Anastasia was still over the limit.

 

“Rusty, you’re still 9 pounds under the limit, so put this big baggie with my mouthwash, all my hair stuff, lotion, and sunscreen in your big bag, then put one pair of those shoes of mine in your carry-on and it should be right this time,” requested Anastasia, and Rusty complied, though he knew that Anastasia’s second set of redistribution suggestions would probably not solve the problem.

 

So Rusty, with a desire to end this painful process as quickly as possible, made a few additional strategic moves of items back and forth between the 2 big suitcases and the 2 carry-ons. Finally he was satisfied with his moves, some cross packing had been accomplished, and he weighed the big bags a third time. Voila! Third time’s a charm and both bags weighed in at 46 pounds.

 

“Rusty, I should just let you do this yourself next time - you always seem to be able to get those big bags to weigh right. You’re like a packing wizard,” said Anastasia.

 

Rusty smiled and said, “Yes, I think that could make this process a lot less time consuming. Let’s do it my way from the start next time.”

 

But he knew from long experience that by the time the “next time” rolled around, Anastasia would forget, stuff her own bag until it was overweight, get frustrated trying to make it work, and in the end rely on him to get it right. These are the kinds of things a man just knows after 32 years of marriage. However Rusty, wisely, did not speak of these things. In truth, he had no need to say it since Anastasia already knew what he was thinking. She too had enjoyed 32 years of marriage, and this was one of those times when she could read his mind as easily as a Cruise Critic chat board. So the unspoken was left unsaid and all was well.

 

Anastasia and Rusty celebrated the victory of the under limit suitcases with a high five, a feeling of heady accomplishment, and they proceeded to go out to an early dinner with their son, daughter in law, and two precious little granddaughters. It was a perfect Travel Eve.

 

Next Installment: Travel Day/Cruise Eve/Rusty's Birthday

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dreamer976

dreamer976

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This sounds like it could be a lot of fun! Thanks so much for a Live From with a twist - you must have quite a vivid imagination. I admire almost all things creative as I received absolutely none of the creativity genes floating around in my family.

 

Only 3 months to go until my second (& third) turn on Freedom, so lets get this "story" started!

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EWM

EWM

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Looking forward to your review...very interesting beginning....We are booked on the Freedom April 2014 so will be following along with great interest of your views and experiences this week.

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foxgoodrich

foxgoodrich

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Thank you, Dear Readers and Cruisin' Friends, for your encouraging words! Tonight's installment is almost ready to post, and it will be up shortly.

 

Tomorrow (Cruise Day!) and subsequent days will include pics as well as prose. We hope to do justice to the beautiful Freedom of the Seas. We're having fun with this and hope you are too!:D

Judy (aka Anastasia) and Buz (aka Rusty)

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foxgoodrich

foxgoodrich

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This is going to be such fun!:) But with a lowly JS, how are you going to say the "butler did it"?:D

Keep me entertained so my cruise will seem to come quicker.

Happy sails!

Kathy

 

Hmmm...you're right! We do have a cabana at Nellie's Beach in Labadee, though, so maybe we can call the guy who brings us drinks "the butler!" Now I'll have to figure out exactly what he DID...:p

Judy

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foxgoodrich

foxgoodrich

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AUGUST 31 - Travel Day, Cruise Eve, and Rusty’s Birthday

The day dawned and Rusty was up, as usual, before Anastasia’s alarm sounded. Anastasia, though somewhat awake when Rusty arose, believed that it went against all the Laws of Nature to rise before her alarm sounded, so she stayed in bed. (Actually she luxuriated in the incredible softness of those comfy bamboo sheets bought at Cariloa on a previous cruise for another twenty minutes. Those sheets are great! But I digress...) As her alarm finally went off, she got up and suddenly remembered that, in addition to Travel Day and Cruise Eve, today was Rusty’s birthday! She put on her robe and went downstairs to the kitchen. She found Rusty at the Keurig making his second cup of coffee, and when he turned and saw her he grinned and burst into song!

 

“When I get older, losing my hair, like I am right now,

Will you still be sending me a valentine, birthday greetings, bottle of wine?

If I'd been out 'til quarter to three, would you lock the door?

Will you still need me, will you still feed me when I'm sixty-four?”

 

Anastasia applauded this performance and laughed with delight, greeting him with a hug and a kiss, and wishing him a happy 64th birthday. (Since Anastasia had turned 64 eight months earlier, this was a great day for her as well. He had finally caught up with her.) Then she stepped up for her turn at the Keurig.

 

She had given Rusty his real birthday gift a couple of days early. (Rusty’s gift was the Benjamin air rifle of his adolescent dreams. And he had already used it to shoot at squirrels in the back yard. Apologies to any PETA people who may be offended, but Anastasia, who truly DOES like small furry animals, believed squirrels to be simply rats with fancy tails. While she didn’t shoot at them herself, she had considered Rusty’s squirrel prevention proclivities with his old tired pump up air rifle to be a positive thing for their home. Particularly since squirrels had invaded their attic and eaten insulation off wiring several years ago, nearly causing a fatal short, squirrels were not welcome at the Beaverhausen/Shackleford abode. When they came in her house, ate stuff, and did damage, they broke the deal, so she fully supported Rusty’s desire to discourage their presence. But I digress...)

 

So Rusty had already received and enjoyed playing with his birthday gift, scaring off a few squirrels in the process, and this morning, after that first...very important...cup of coffee was made and Anastasia had enjoyed the first few sips, she gave him a birthday card with a ‘coupon’ in it...the ‘coupon’ being for a special ‘date night’ (you know...:o) of his choosing on the cruise. Rusty, despite his somewhat advanced age of 64, was ever the eager opportunist, and he was very happy with his gift coupon to be redeemed in the very near future on the cruise. He declared the day to be a very fine birthday indeed. If the day continued in this manner, Travel Day/Cruise Eve would be flawless.

 

Anastasia made breakfast (she made the meal since today was his birthday and she felt the need to reassure him that she’ll still feed him now that he’s 64), then they showered, dressed, and added all the last minute stuff to the carry-ons. They were ready. The luggage was ready. The passports, flight details, set sail papers, luggage tags, and all the other printed stuff needed were in Anastasia’s gigantic travel purse. The day was partly cloudy and hot with a forecast of possible afternoon thunderstorms, but their 10:52am flight should be just fine. All was well.

 

They arrived at the airport at 9:15. Truth be told, Anastasia had always felt a little superstitious about flying out of Will Rogers World Airport in Oklahoma City. While she had a great appreciation of Will Rogers as a person and as Oklahoma’s favorite son, Anastasia had always questioned the wisdom of naming an airport after a guy who died in a plane crash. Rusty pointed out that the OTHER airport in Oklahoma City was Wiley Post airport, also named for a guy who had died in a plane crash. This observation didn’t do much for Anastasia, but nevertheless, she put on her big girl panties and headed for the UAL check-in counter.

 

While the airport appeared to be relatively uncrowded when they were dropped off outside, as Anastasia and Rusty approached the UAL counter inside they saw a large crowd of young soldiers dressed in desert camouflage in the line. These young soldiers were headed home on leave after completing some training at Fort Sill. Fortunately the line moved quickly due to the slick UAL computerized check-in system, but the young soldier ahead of them had a problem. The military had routed him to Allentown, PA instead of his actual destination of Pittsburgh, approximately 5 hours away. He was slightly distraught and the UAL folks were unable to change his reservation since the ticket had been purchased by the military establishment, rather than the usual booking system. The young man was asking about buying another ticket out of his own pocket in order to get to his destination of Pittsburgh. The UAL dude was sad, but told him that it would be very expensive.

 

Anastasia, trying to be helpful, suggested that maybe he could rent a car and drive to Pittsburgh for less money than the plane ticket. At this point, the young soldier turned to her and said, “Thanks for the thought, Ma’am, but I’m too young to rent a car. They won’t let a male under the age of 25 rent a car.” What an irony! A young guy who’s old enough to risk his life fighting for his country can’t rent a car. The young soldier proceeded to buy his own ticket. This situation was kind of a downer! Rusty, who had spent 7 years in the Air Force back in the late 60’s and early 70’s, shook the young soldier’s hand and told him how much he appreciated his service to his country.

 

So finally Rusty and Anastasia stepped up to the computer station and scanned their passports. Their reservation came up on the screen, and they touched the appropriate spots to check in and get their boarding passes. Then...a screen came up with this question: “Would you like to upgrade to First Class on this trip for $79 per person?” HUH? They looked at each other and burst out laughing...of course the answer was YES! So now those $245 round trip plane tix were costing $324 apiece for First Class. SCORE! Now there would be no charge for checking bags, there would be food on the plane, and free drinks. Travel Day was turning out great so far!

 

The flight from Oklahoma City to Houston was uneventful and arrived early. The connecting flight from Houston to Orlando also took off on time and arrived early. What a flawless day! And the First Class treatment was just lovely...blankets, pillows, food, drinks, plus the nice roomy seats that actually allowed space to stretch out a little. Ahhhh.....this time the air travel was just perfect!

 

Executive VIP Limo was right on time to pick them up outside the baggage claim area and drive them to Cocoa Beach to their hotel, a trip that took a little more than an hour. The driver was a charming young man named Justin, and he cheerfully stopped at the local ABC store so they could pick up 2 bottles of wine to bring on the cruise. Justin delivered them to the Doubletree Hotel at about 6:15pm, and they checked in. The desk clerk was pleasant and surprised them with 4 free drink coupons since they are Hilton Gold! Plus, of course, the two huge warm chocolate chip cookies that the Doubletree always gives guests. SCORE!

 

After delivering their luggage to the room, Anastasia and Rusty headed straight for the bar to use those coupons! It was time for a glass (or two) of Merlot!! The bar wasn’t crowded, but there were several couples in there and pretty soon everybody was talking to each other. One of the couples turned out to be Carol and Eddie (from South Carolina), a couple that Anastasia and Rusty had ‘met’ on the Roll Call Board for this cruise. They discovered that they would be on the same 10:00am hotel shuttle to the port in the morning, so they enjoyed talking and learning more about each other. The big surprise was that Carol and Eddie had been on the same April 1 transatlantic from New Orleans to Rome on Navigator of the Seas that Anastasia and Rusty had enjoyed earlier this year! Small world, huh!

 

After a pleasant interlude in the bar, then a nice seafood dinner in the restaurant, Anastasia and Rusty retired to their room for the evening. Now it was time to redistribute some things and repack the luggage since there were no more weight limits to worry about. Those tasks done, the luggage tags were affixed to the bags, and they kicked back and relaxed, spending a bit of time on their little balcony in the overlooking the ocean, enjoying the moonlight, and eating those huge chocolate chip cookies. It was time to get some sleep...Travel Day/Cruise Eve had been a great day, and they were eager to get to bed knowing that tomorrow would be Cruise Day. Yippee!!:D

 

Next installment: Cruise Day - Day 1 Aboard the Freedom of the Seas

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Dorset Cruiser

Dorset Cruiser

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This is looking like being a great blog to read. So jealous of your upgrade to First. We are flying United (presume that is what UAL means) later this month Heathrow to Newark. Have upgraded ourselves to Economy Plus but would just love an upgrade to First for our long flight. Not likely to happen though :(

 

We are on a Caribbean Princess New England cruise to celebrate our 45th anniversary so we are similar ages to you - 66 for me and 64 for DH :)

 

Cannot wait for your next instalment :)

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foxgoodrich

foxgoodrich

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This is looking like being a great blog to read. So jealous of your upgrade to First. We are flying United (presume that is what UAL means) later this month Heathrow to Newark. Have upgraded ourselves to Economy Plus but would just love an upgrade to First for our long flight. Not likely to happen though :(

 

We are on a Caribbean Princess New England cruise to celebrate our 45th anniversary so we are similar ages to you - 66 for me and 64 for DH :)

 

Cannot wait for your next instalment :)

 

Yes, UAL is United! Try to get to the airport as early as you can and see what's available because you just never know!:p Our second plane (the longer flight) had 24 seats in First Class, which is quite a large First Class section on a domestic flight. On the international ones, I'm quite happy with Biz Class if we can get it. Had it a couple of times, including Rome to DC in April, and just loved it!!:D The new United international planes now have lie-flat seats in Business - it's heaven!

 

You guys got married a little earlier than we did with a 45th coming up. Have a wonderful cruise!:)

Judy (aka Anastasia)

 

(next installment will be from aboard the ship...we can see it from our hotel room balcony, waiting for us...almost time to head for the shuttle!!)

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Dorset Cruiser

Dorset Cruiser

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Yes, UAL is United! Try to get to the airport as early as you can and see what's available because you just never know!:p Our second plane (the longer flight) had 24 seats in First Class, which is quite a large First Class section on a domestic flight. On the international ones, I'm quite happy with Biz Class if we can get it. Had it a couple of times, including Rome to DC in April, and just loved it!!:D The new United international planes now have lie-flat seats in Business - it's heaven!

 

You guys got married a little earlier than we did with a 45th coming up. Have a wonderful cruise!:)

Judy (aka Anastasia)

 

(next installment will be from aboard the ship...we can see it from our hotel room balcony, waiting for us...almost time to head for the shuttle!!)

 

Meant to say Business - don't think they have any First on our flight! If we cannot upgrade (and I really don't expect to be able to), at least we have seats in the front row of economy plus so hopefully can stretch out our legs a bit although people might be using our space to stretch their legs :(

 

I was a child bride ;). No seriously, I was 21 and DH was 19. It was a different world then. My daughter married at 32 and had her first (and only) baby when she was 36.

 

Only 25 days until our cruise :)

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mikechass

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Great idea. My husband has written 5 books, and we loooove cruising so this is all a wonderful plan.

He writes true crime books though, so its a bit of our his comfort zone to write anything that isn't gory therefore I won't encourage him to try what your trying... Thanks so much

We just got off Freedom a few weeks ago.

You will love her.

xoxo

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