Freedom of the Seas Cruise March 9th-16th; A cruise of firsts

[tdmullins]

Thank you for such a wonderful review! I have really enjoyed it. I'm keeping my fingers crossed for Liberty to come to Galveston. Can't wait to try a Freedom class ship!

 

Thanks for all the kind words everyone!!

[Canadian Tyler]

Really enjoyed your review. Hope to see another from you in the future.

 

 

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[tdmullins]

Really enjoyed your review. Hope to see another from you in the future.

 

 

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I would love to write another one. Because that would mean I would have to take another cruise! LOL

[beshears]

Thank you for letting me know what kind of food Jade serves.

[mulan1123]

It has Asian selections like sushi (for dinner), stir fry, sweet and sour chicken, a different soup every night. Things along that line.

 

We're a Chinese family, and Jade excites my mom the most. She likes to have her Asian food whenever possible...lol....even if it's not going to be authentic Asian food.

[ynghipfam10]

Great review! Thank you!

 

 

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[dmcdo]

Was on the Freedom last July was my first cruise and had a blast.Sailing her again next May Eastern Caribbean this time .:)

[jerrib]

I've very much enjoyed your review, great job!

I have a question about your balcony, how many chairs, what kind, table size etc. Do you by any chance have any pictures?

Thanks

[aloha43]

I would love to write another one. Because that would mean I would have to take another cruise! LOL

 

Then you better "Get moving"!! :D

 

Great review!!

[aloha43]

If you liked my review, and if you dont mind would you please go to my YouTube Channel and subscribe? I am still pretty new at this and I am trying to get my numbers up. Thanks a bunch!!

 

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCf6JH2sU8jyQWl200g6-JiQ

 

Done!!:D:D

[metphan714]

Thanks for the terrific review, my wife and I were on the Freedom a few years back and it's nice to read reviews of ships we've been on to bring back memories, and it appears thing have changed a little but still my favorite class of ship.

[cruiserdudebobby8]

i wanna sail on Freedom one day,

[Bloomdl]

DH & I are going with my best friend & her DH in late Feb next yr, celebrating DH's 40th bday (also my best friend's 40th AND her DH's 40th...I'm the old fogie of the group, lol). We've only been on a couple cruises on slightly smaller ships (with Carnival & Celebrity), so I was a little leery of booking on the bigger Freedom, but we wanted to try it out anyways. Thank you so much for your comprehensive review! I am feeling much more comfortable about being on a larger ship - especially this specific ship, as you made it look absolutely amazing in your review.

We booked a Grand Suite since it is a celebration cruise for 3/4 of us. I saw you mentioned you'd been in a GS before. Did you not book a GS on this particular cruise because you'd been disappointed with the suite in the past? Or did you just want to try out a different category?

[jules815]

After El Morro, we jumped back on the trolley and headed back into the city. I had researched restaurants and decided I wanted to eat at Barrachina's. I told my husband that we needed to get off at trolley stop #9. We passed #3, then drove awhile. Next thing we see is #12. I was like what happened to all the other numbers? So we jumped off there and went on our own. Much to my husbands embarrassment I pulled out my trolley map to see where we ended up and how far away the restaurant was. He HATES this. For some reason my map reading in public drives him crazy. He says that it puts a lost tourist target on my head..lol. At this point I was a little frustrated because THERE WERE NO STREET SIGNS!!! If they did have them, they were placed where I wasn't looking. I kinda just went by the trolley stops to find my around the map..lol. But we found Barachinna pretty quickly, considering everything. The host said it would be a 30 minute wait or longer. But people must have left because we were seated within 15 minutes.

 

We were seated in the outside area. This is the bar out there.

 

 

 

 

It was delicious! Made me regret not ordering one for myself!

 

We ordered the Special sampler for two.

 

 

We loved it. It had coconut crusted calamari, grouper fingers, turnovers (chicken), stuffed fried plantains, croquettes and corn fritters. My favorite was the grouper fingers with the corn fritters not far behind. The sampler was available for four...I almost wished we had ordered that..lol.

 

After eating we walked around and did some shopping as we made our way back to the ship. It was a wonderful walk. The weather was nice with a constant breeze, so it really was a pleasant day to walk around.

 

 

 

 

I got flagged going through security because I had bought these little wooden swords to take home to my three nephews. I am not sure what they must have looked like on the screens, but I got the whole.” I am going to have to check your bag.” LOL. She looked at them and just told me to not take them out of my room. My second bag then got flagged because of my GoPo's monopod. I assume it looked like a weapon.

 

Once back on board I went up to the pool deck and took some pics of San Juan from there.

 

 

Fort San Cristobel. You can see how close it actually is to the pier. On a beautiful day like today it would be a pleasant walk.

 

 

Before we leave San Juan here is some video I shot while at the fort.

 

[YOUTUBE]ZdFeljBoXxE[/YOUTUBE]

 

Enjoying your review. We'll be visiting San Juan (a first for us!) when we sail on FOS in September. Did you have a directory for what's available at each trolley stop?

[tdmullins]

Hey Guys. I have been away from cruise critic for a bit. I have had a busy summer that did not include a cruise....boo!

 

I have actually felt lost not having one booked or even a clue to when I will be able to cruise again. But I am happy to say that I now have the Explorer booked for Feb!

 

But to answer the question for the trolley, I do not have that information any longer. But I got the information from their website. They had a great map on there also.

 

 

I hope everyone is enjoying the review and enjoys the Freedom as much as I did!

[shelbylook]

Hey Terri! Nice to see you posting again! Congrats on the Explorer booking.

 

Have you noticed FGL's latest addition? My nephew was hired full time as a guitar player. It was all caught on video Memorial Day weekend (they sort of pulled a prank on him). Jimmie is typically on stage to the left of the drummer as you face the stage. Check him out! We are all so proud.

 

Cathy

[tdmullins]

Hey Terri! Nice to see you posting again! Congrats on the Explorer booking.

 

Have you noticed FGL's latest addition? My nephew was hired full time as a guitar player. It was all caught on video Memorial Day weekend (they sort of pulled a prank on him). Jimmie is typically on stage to the left of the drummer as you face the stage. Check him out! We are all so proud.

 

Cathy

 

OMG That's great!! That is soooooo exciting! I am not scheduled to work with them anytime soon. But I sure do hope that changes!

 

I am excited to try the Explorer. I really wanted to do the Freedom again, but my son and his fiance is going with us and we needed to bump it down to five days. He is talking with an upcoming duo that has been really getting a lot of attention lately. They are wanting to go full band next year and they want him to play guitar for them, so we needed to work it around their tour.

 

But from everything I am reading the Explorer is a smaller version of the Freedom. So I am sure I will love her. Who am I kidding? I love all the ships hahaha.

[tdmullins]

DH & I are going with my best friend & her DH in late Feb next yr, celebrating DH's 40th bday (also my best friend's 40th AND her DH's 40th...I'm the old fogie of the group, lol). We've only been on a couple cruises on slightly smaller ships (with Carnival & Celebrity), so I was a little leery of booking on the bigger Freedom, but we wanted to try it out anyways. Thank you so much for your comprehensive review! I am feeling much more comfortable about being on a larger ship - especially this specific ship, as you made it look absolutely amazing in your review.

We booked a Grand Suite since it is a celebration cruise for 3/4 of us. I saw you mentioned you'd been in a GS before. Did you not book a GS on this particular cruise because you'd been disappointed with the suite in the past? Or did you just want to try out a different category?

 

Hey Bloomdl,

 

You are going to love the Freedom. Do not let the size worry you at all. It's laid out great and offers so much! I did not book a GS because I booked late and there was only a couple left. The price was a lot higher, I think because they were selling well. I saved over $1500 going with a JS. I loved the GS and I am hoping to upgrade to one on my next cruise on the Explorer.

 

 

Let me know if you have any questions. I promise to not be away so long!

[Johndoe813]

I loved the review and thank you for mentioning Jade every other review i have seen just says the name and that is all. I grew up in Asia and love their food so i am really excited to try this place out. Sadly I have to wait until October of 2015 to do it lol I hope its still there after drydock!!!!!

[ttnc4me]

Thanks for posting this review (and bumping it). Your pictures really helped a lot!

[tdmullins]

I loved the review and thank you for mentioning Jade every other review i have seen just says the name and that is all. I grew up in Asia and love their food so i am really excited to try this place out. Sadly I have to wait until October of 2015 to do it lol I hope its still there after drydock!!!!!

 

I have not heard of it being replaced. It would be a shame to see it go.

[Clarea]

I loved the review and thank you for mentioning Jade every other review i have seen just says the name and that is all. I grew up in Asia and love their food so i am really excited to try this place out. Sadly I have to wait until October of 2015 to do it lol I hope its still there after drydock!!!!!

They may add Izumi dduring the drydock.

[tdmullins]

Thanks for posting this review (and bumping it). Your pictures really helped a lot!

 

Thanks. I love looking at everyone's pictures so I try to take a lot to share when I get back.

[dorisis]

just finished reading all of this review. I was on the Freedom OTS about a year ago and will be on her again in December. I took lots of notes on things to do a places to see. Thanks Terri...You did a great job.

[tdmullins]

just finished reading all of this review. I was on the Freedom OTS about a year ago and will be on her again in December. I took lots of notes on things to do a places to see. Thanks Terri...You did a great job.

 

Thank You so much! I loved this cruise and ship! Have fun in December.