LIVE from Freedom of the Seas 12/4 Western Caribbean

[iahawkfan21]

Day 3 Compass:

 

 

 

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[Ainslie757]

Headed out on Feb 12 on the Freedom, so I will be following along with interest. Thanks for taking the time to post all the info. And have a great trip!

 

 

 

By the way, where did your wife get her name, Ainslie? Is it a family name?

 

 

Razzinger: wife here. I got my name from some one mum went to school with who passed away before I was born.

 

It's Scottish and it means meadow.

I am from New Zealand originally and we are very heavily influenced by English, Irish and Scottish names as well as everything else.

 

 

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[Lynne95]

Thank you for the larger size photos. Its a lot easier on these old eyes, LOL!

 

Great job, eager to hear about what you are planning to do today.

 

I like the new loungers!

 

Hope you are having a great time!

[iahawkfan21]

Good morning everyone! Day 3 and the sun is coming out looks like a beautiful day. We're still steaming toward Grand Cayman at around 21 kts but I expect we'll start slowing down soon as the map shows us getting close and expected arrival is still 8am.

 

My wife and mother are headed to stingray and snorkel excursion with Nativway Watersports while my dad and I are headed to the Cayman Islands Brewery via the local bus to take the tour. Attached is my morning Voom test, it's still holding really solid I'm impressed. Workout done, now off to get breakfast. I will post some of the days photos when I get back hope everyone has a great day!

 

 

 

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[scottygirl]

Boleros menu and some photos around the ship. To anyone wondering, the wine dispensers in Vintages are not being used and they're serving from behind the bar exclusively.

 

 

 

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Glad to see they have my favorite. Kim Crawford.:D

[razzinger]

Razzinger: wife here. I got my name from some one mum went to school with who passed away before I was born.

 

It's Scottish and it means meadow.

I am from New Zealand originally and we are very heavily influenced by English, Irish and Scottish names as well as everything else.

 

 

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Thats awesome, thanks for taking the time to answer!

 

The real reason I asked is because 32 years ago, I named my daughter Ainsilie!! :).

 

Had no idea what it meant or its roots, but loved the name. A fellow salesperson I knew back then introduced me to his wife probably 40 years ago. She was beautiful, bright, and everything I hoped if I every had a daughter she would be like her. And God blessed us when our 3rd child was born. My wife named the first 2 boys, so I got to pick hers, and Ainsilie has born. And she is everything I ever hoped for in a daughter.

 

Funny story to go with her name.

We were on a vaction in Wisconsin Dells about 15 years ago, in a Burger King for a quick lunch, my wife, my daughter and myself. We were filling our drinks, and from near the registers, we hear.....

 

"Ainsilie, get over here now!"

 

We looked, and there was a young girl named Ainsilie, playing near us! Her mother came over and apologized for her daughter being near us, and we all had a great laugh when we explained our daughters name was also Ainsilie, also spelled the same way, but our daughter was a well behaved 19 year old!

 

Hope you have a great cruise!!!

[Glitch1928]

I noticed the dress for day 3 is Caribbean - is anyone doing that and how are they doing Caribbean? Looking to see if they have a white night and the 80/s and/or 70's parties, too.

 

Thank you so much for this! We are impatiently waiting for our Jan. 15 cruise. :)

[GotRum?]

Hello Cody,

 

I see one formal night on day 2. Is there another formal night?

 

Thanks in advance and hope you enjoy your cruise

[the kids]

Thanks for the blog.reading with great interest. Sailing in 12 days..Can you please let us know if smoked salmon is available in Windjammer breakfast buffet! Thanks

[iahawkfan21]

Hello Cody,

 

 

 

I see one formal night on day 2. Is there another formal night?

 

 

 

Thanks in advance and hope you enjoy your cruise

 

 

 

There should be another one likely the evening of Costa Maya but I will confirm when I see it.

 

 

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[iahawkfan21]

A great day in Grand Cayman! The sun was shining and it was nice and warm.

 

For those looking for something different to do, I can't recommend the Cayman Island Brewery enough! Two of us took the local bus ($2.50 pp each way) and took the tour ($10 pp). The tour was just the two of us and came with five 6oz samples of their different beers as well. The brewmaster even stopped to talk and gave us some Caybrew straight out of the tank it was really good. The whole staff was very friendly and there was no one there.

 

Some photos are below, we also visited the Cayman Coffee Company which was nice. Will post menus as we're heading to the MDR shortly. Drew Thomas and Love & Marriage shows tonight, thanks for following along!

 

 

 

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[Kovster]

 

 

Yikes! That is quite a bit for a case of Caybrew, $37.00 USD :( I had some Caybrew draft from a little pub by the port there. Loved the stuff! Was hoping to pick up a case for cheap from there to share with friends here, when i'm there this coming January.

 

Edit: Now that i have had my coffee, that's about $1.55 per beer, not bad :)

Edited December 7, 2016 by Kovster

[iahawkfan21]

Good morning everyone! We're pulling up to Cozumel and it's going to be hot and sunny today. High is supposed to be 86 so a great day.

Attached is this mornings Voom test and still going really strong speed wise.

 

Last night my parents went to Drew Thomas and said he was really good. I did a late gym session and was too tires afterwards so we skipped Love and Marriage show. Today we are heading downtown to have lunch at Casa Denis which has become our goto stop and then going to wander the shops for awhile and walk the long walk back to the ship. I will try and post today's compass before we leave.

 

 

 

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[iahawkfan21]

Docked beside a Celebrity ship. Navigator is here as well but docked downtown. With seven ships in port it will be busy but nothing they haven't had here before.

 

Day 4 Compass:

 

 

 

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[Dragonkeper]

Following. Will be sailing on her on Feb 26. Looking forward to more of your review.

[prekteacher]

Enjoying your review! My family will be on Freedom for New Year's Cruise. Really looking forward to it. Thank you for making the wait a little more bearable.

 

Barbara

[iahawkfan21]

Thank you all for the nice comments I'm glad you're enjoying my review. It was a sunny and beautiful day in Cozumel. We took a cab to downtown and ate at our favorite restaurant Casa Denis which was great and cheap as always. Picked up a bottle of tequila on the way back and walked the roughly three miles to the ship stopping in the occasional shop and bar along the way.

 

Spent an hour in the Solarium pool with a monitor and friends now enjoying pre dinner drinks in the Olive or Twist bar. Dinner menus to follow later. The Ice show has two shows tonight and we're planning on watching the 70s bar from Vintages tonight.

 

One neat thing I hadn't seen before was RCCL had a tent set up outside the ship with couches, chairs, water, and cold towels. Had to match the Equinox next to us I guess! Pictures are below. I know previous reviewers have answered many questions but if you have any in the next couple days please ask away I would love to help if I can.

 

 

 

 

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[MrZoey]

Can't wait to hear more, we are doing the 6 day on Freedom in January!

 

 

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[iahawkfan21]

Hello Cody,

 

 

 

I see one formal night on day 2. Is there another formal night?

 

 

 

Thanks in advance and hope you enjoy your cruise

 

 

 

2nd formal night is tonight (day 5) do there are two total.

 

 

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[iahawkfan21]

Thanks for the blog.reading with great interest. Sailing in 12 days..Can you please let us know if smoked salmon is available in Windjammer breakfast buffet! Thanks

 

 

 

Not to say there isn't any somewhere but I have yet to see any up there.

 

 

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[iahawkfan21]

Good morning from Day 5 and beautiful Costa Maya! The sun is coming up now and the weather is very nice. We are docked and will be heading off here soon for a day at Maya Chan.

 

70s party last night was entertaining if not a little dry compared to others I've been to but still had fun people watching. Daily Voom test and last nights menu attached and I will post the compass when we get back in this afternoon.

 

 

 

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[Biker19]

I noticed the Compass mention body cameras being worn by ship security personnel - wonder what prompted that? :rolleyes:

[anteldel]

Best dining option was the wine pairings dinner at Vintages

 

Thank you for posting the live review! We're on same itinerary in January.

I pre purchased the four night dining package and am planning on Giovanni's, Chops Grille and Sabor. Do you know if the fourth night could be used for the wine pairing dinner in Vintages?

Thanks again and I'm looking forward to following. :)

[Sea_Legs38]

Day 2 & Day 5.

 

 

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[Sea_Legs38]

When I sailed on the Freedom last week, one night was Hawaiian style clothing. If I recall it was day four. On shore the shirts are around $7 at most ports.

 

 

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