!*! FREEDOM !*! Southern Caribbean 6/22/14 -Heavy on photos of 2.0 upgrades & menu

[CleveCruiser]

Day 5: June 26 - Curaçao

 

8:30 – Up for day at 8:30. Finally sleeping better!

 

9:00 – Lido deck for breakfast (omelet station).

 

10:30 – Stateroom balcony. First ever dolphins sighting off of our balcony!!!! Making plans for Curaçao.

 

 

Can you see the dolphins? Don't try to hard, by the time I got the camera - - they were gone :(

 

 

 

 

 

 

12:40 – tied off.

 

 

 

 

1:00 – Lido deck for lunch. If you have never had Guys, there are a lot of choices to make... Here to help is the ordering board. (no cheese takes just a minute or two extra)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1:45 – Heading off ship, deck zero. Meet Irie, East Side, tour.

 

 

 

 

[CleveCruiser]

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2:00 – Tour Bus. Easy to find Irie tours. They are right at the end of the pier. There were two people waving signs and a few people with Irie shirts on. Waited a bit for some for some stragglers! Our guide was Sylvian or Sylvan(sp?). A genuinely friendly, and nice person; and a knowledgeable guide. He speaks four languages. He spoke English and Spanish for guests, about 27 on this bus. He provided us with drinks as we waited for the rest of the tour bus to fill.

 

For the price, Irie is an amazing deal. An informative tour of the east side; Sylvan would slow down or pause for photo opportunities (even if cars behind him beeped/honked!). He knew the area very well, I think he knew someone at every street corner and beeped and waved! He went out of his way to ensure we had an enjoyable, informative tour.

 

 

 

This is taken from the tour bus, looking back at ship. Very easy to book Irie, very easy to find.

 

 

 

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[CleveCruiser]

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Looking out the tour bus window to the channel that separates the Punda side from the Otrabanda side. You can see the Queen Emma bridge in the distance.

 

 

 

 

 

Colorful school building.

 

 

 

 

I personally did not care too much about the distillery, but it is informative and I learned some things about the making of Curacao liqueur and the island’s history. Sylvan made it clear we would be there 15-20 minutes, one couple did not come out for 40 minutes and we all had to wait (not his fault). Even after we left, we had to stop because two MORE people were even later (their fellow travelers had told Sylvan to go on, that they had met up with someone else). An FYI, Prices for the Curacao liqueur were cheaper here than anywhere else we saw.

 

 

 

 

 

Heading into the sampling area and gift shop.

 

 

 

 

Friendly distillery staff

 

 

 

 

Our tour guide: Sylvan

 

 

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[CleveCruiser]

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Colorful retirement homes.

 

 

 

 

The beautiful detailing of the "Wedding cake house"

 

 

 

 

So many beautiful homes....

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

What we learned was Salt/Wall cancer; the leaching out of salt from the sand/sea stone that was used to build these beautiful homes.

 

 

 

 

We learned that there is no new construction of these homes in the city, that the government will help subsidize renovation, as much as 70% of cost.

 

 

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[CleveCruiser]

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Cemetary, with some beautiful carvings.

 

 

 

 

A sculpture by Yubi Kirindongo at the art museum (unique for his use of car bumpers in his artwork).

 

 

 

 

 

The shopping district that everyone likes to photograph!

 

 

 

 

 

Queen Emma Bridge

 

 

 

 

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[CleveCruiser]

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4:15 - The Sea Aquarium Beach was crowded, we were on the late tour. There is a bar about every 10 feet, if you want! The beach was nice with a diving platform in the middle. We did not plan on swimming and caught up on things with the free wi-fi, home, romantic interests, and the world cup, from shaded seating. We never did figure out just where the actual Sea Aquarium was, but there was enough things to do in the time we had. There is a lot of construction going on. If I was going to Curaçao just for a beach, I would not go to this one, too crowded; unless you enjoy the bar/music scene. We are more of a nature loving, gorgeous vista viewing, family.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The diving platform

 

 

 

 

 

It is a narrow, populated beach...

 

 

 

 

A dreamy choco-carmo-moca-y kind of drink...

 

 

 

 

These little birds were everywhere; can you spot it?

 

 

 

 

A different part of the beach, you can see the wall which protects the bay

 

 

 

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[CleveCruiser]

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Back on the bus, heading toward the pier. More drink passed around freely.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

5:15 - They dropped us off at the Rift Fort area with plenty of time to shop at the pier. (FYI: We found many of the items sold here on Aruba for less money.)

 

 

 

 

 

The path from Rift Fort to the dock is the perfect picture taking spot....

 

 

 

 

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Here are some things we learned on the tour....Skim over if you want :D ! It was an interesting tour.

 

>Each resident learns four languages; Papiamento, Dutch, English, and Spanish.

>Yubi Kirindongo is a world wide known artist who lives in Curaçao who creates art out of car bumpers.

>There was a large Jewish influence in Curaçao .

>No new construction is allowed in town; only renovation.

>Government helps to cover cost of restoration; as much as 70%.

>Wall or salt cancer is the white scaly stuff on buildings. The “concrete” was made from sea rocks and sea sand; and the salt leaches out. They need to repaint every two years to cover it up.

>Why is Curaçao so colorful? The Governor claimed all the sun bouncing off white paint aggravated his headaches so he mandated people paint their homes colors; turned out the governor was a major shareholder in the paint factory!

>So long ago slaves came through Curaçao via the West Indian trading company.

>The “wedding cake house” has the face of the builders bride in the posts.

>Curaçao liqueur is the result of fermenting the laraha fruit, which was brought to curacao to be eaten, like a Valencia orange, but did not do well, and tasted too bitter.

>White stone quarry is mined for construction

>Many Dutch retired here

>$100-$300,000 homes are for sale in upcoming the Jan Theil area.

>There is only a 0.3% chance of hurricane hitting Curaçao; so many people with sailboats like to live/retire here.

 

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[CleveCruiser]

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5:30 – Port. Back on ship. Showers (spa again). Requested the towel monkey from Andreas…must have been hard for him because we found the towel folding book left on the bed, so sweet that he did it for us. We gave him an extra tip for that.

 

 

Walked around for a bit on “secret deck” on 10.

 

 

6:45 – Chic Dining Room. Dinner. The steak knives ARE magnetic. Guess what…I forced everyone to wait again while I snapped food shots…

 

 

 

 

Fire roasted chicken in sesame dressing; this was soooo good, it should be a main dish.

 

 

 

 

Gaspacho blanco

 

 

 

 

Beef Carpaccio

 

 

 

 

Magnetic steak knives (the one on the left)

 

 

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[CleveCruiser]

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Grilled new york strip steak from aged american beef

 

 

 

 

Vegetarian lasagna

 

 

 

 

Blackened fillet of tilapia

 

 

 

 

Chicken pot pie

 

 

 

 

Barbequed whole Cornish hen

 

 

 

 

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[CleveCruiser]

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MDR day 5 dessert menu

 

 

 

 

white chocolate bread pudding

 

 

 

 

almond date cake

 

 

 

 

chocolate cake

 

 

 

 

Our towel monkey

 

 

 

9:00 – off ship again for night shots.

 

 

Had to try to take a night shot; it is pretty unique for me to be at a night port:

 

 

 

9:30 – Pixel gallery. Review/choose pictures w/photographer Ivaylo.

 

10:00 – Victoriana. Hypnotist show with Peter Gross. Some things he told the “victims” were to only count by saying 1-3-5-6-7-8-9-10; then he asked them to count their fingers and they could not understand why they had 12 fingers. He had them forget their name every time they stood up, but remember it when they sat down. To act like they were in a gunfight and dying a slow death. Very funny stuff.

 

 

11:30 – Victoriana lounge. Had a hilarious conversation with one of our party who was hypnotized. Then off to Lido for snack!

 

Wouldn’t you know it…a certain waiter ( you know who ) was busing the Lido deck. He came over to talk for a minute and regaled again with some stories of when he is at home drinking with friends, he pretends it is water and then he does not get drunk.

 

 

12:40 – Stateroom. In bed.

 

[Chillaxx46]

We are sailing on the freedom in december and i am just wondering where this secret deck is...and how do i get to it?

[Ontario_Cruiser]

We are sailing on the freedom in december and i am just wondering where this secret deck is...and how do i get to it?

 

Go all the way forward on Deck 6 or 7. There is a doorway leading outside on both sides of the ship that will take you to the very front, below the bridge. It can get VERY windy out there!

 

It is not really a secret, but is not usually busy either. At night time, you can get a better view of the stars from there.

[Kao2293]

Can't wait to finish this at home!!

[ginak82]

Hi. Loving your review and all your photos! Not sure if you know this or if it's just me but I cannot see the pics in posts 115, 116, and 131 - 135. Can't wait to read the rest and look at all your beautiful pics!

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums mobile app

[Gingee]

We went to the "secret deck" for the first time on this cruise. I told my husband I was going to show him the secret door. A couple of the workers copied that. We were there as we were coming into a port.

 

The dive in blankets were at the same place that you get extra towels. (The little shack by the pool).

 

It's nice to see what other people did on our cruise.

 

Doesn't it seem like a long time ago since we cruised?

 

I never met you on the cruise but I am enjoying your review now.

[lovestocruise19]

I can't see any pictures. :(

[Momma1980]

I was able to see all the pictures before...but now cannot see some of them?

Must be a photobucket issue?

[CleveCruiser]

Guess I exceeded the free bandwith!!! Pocketbook is a little lighter now....

 

Try again now, if it was messed before :(

Edited July 18, 2014 by CleveCruiser

[CleveCruiser]

We are sailing on the freedom in december and i am just wondering where this secret deck is...and how do i get to it?

 

At the front of the ship, on deck 10...it looks like it ends in a room, but the hallway splits off and there is a door to .... beautiful vistas! Enjoy.

[CleveCruiser]

Hi. Loving your review and all your photos! Not sure if you know this or if it's just me but I cannot see the pics in posts 115, 116, and 131 - 135. Can't wait to read the rest and look at all your beautiful pics!

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums mobile app

 

 

 

I think I got it fixed, try again?!

[Momma1980]

The pictures are all back! Thanks!:)

[CleveCruiser]

We went to the "secret deck" for the first time on this cruise. I told my husband I was going to show him the secret door. A couple of the workers copied that. We were there as we were coming into a port.

 

The dive in blankets were at the same place that you get extra towels. (The little shack by the pool).

 

It's nice to see what other people did on our cruise.

 

Doesn't it seem like a long time ago since we cruised?

 

I never met you on the cruise but I am enjoying your review now.

 

Hey! Nice to hear from you!.

 

I should have tried harder to find the blankets.... We just used towels!

 

Remembering it on this review is fun, and I still have to scrapbook it!

 

Keep in touch!

 

[cruisinJenF]

LOVING your review!!! Thanks for taking the time to do it!

 

I can't stop laughing at your Robert(o) pics, because in my head I hear Bobby Bouche from the Waterboy talking about his daddy- Roberto! He even looks like him!!! He's going to get the dehydration!!!

 

Thanks again!

[Mich6674]

Thanks for the great review and pictures. We are sailing the Freedom in September can't wait.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[Kao2293]

Can't wait for you to finish!! Loving this. My fiancé and I are sailing Freedom September 6th, different ports but love to see pictures of the new upgrades!!

 

P.S. If anyone is on the September 6th Sailing Eastern Caribbean join the roll call!