Jump to content
Cruise Critic Community

LIVE - Freedom of the Seas Transatlantic - Barcelona to Fort Lauderdale - Oct 22-Nov 5

Newbcruiser1
 Share

Recommended Posts

Newbcruiser1

Newbcruiser1

Posted
  • Author
Posted

Lunch consisted of a quick bite of tapas-style dishes. I had the meatballs and patatas bravas au gratin with pesto (essentially cheesy fries with pesto!). Lunch was passable but nothing special.

 

d8570623f70fc824bd27c17befba8629.jpg

 

On my way out, I snapped this picture of Placa Espanya:

 

18ca38420c836a5770c37b844acd46cf.jpg

 

Notice the relative lack of people? I found out soon after where they all were. An estimated 450,000 people were in the city centre on Passeig de Gracia (outside of Gaudi's Casa Batllo) near Placa Catalunya protesting Spain's move to take away the Catalonian president's power.

 

e941178e7a527772f8453207da14f2ae.jpg

 

Needless to say I'm happy I opted to stay in this part of town this time around!

 

Next up - dinner! I asked the executive concierge for a recommendation for tapas and was referred somewhere a 7 minute walk away. Unfortunately when I got there, the menu did not appeal to me. As such, I returned to the hotel and finally fed my sushi craving at the hotel's restaurant, Kurai. I had veggie tempura and a tempura avocado roll with salmon in Japanese mayo on top. Both were delicious, although it was not cheap at 25 euros including a glass of wine!

 

d2be277361fb4a923f60180b39592cd2.jpg

 

93913d750c1681f580617bb05db94017.jpg

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Newbcruiser1

Newbcruiser1

Posted
  • Author
Posted

After dinner I went to see the Magic Fountains show! Unfortunately it was a complete madhouse with thousands of people packed in, so I watched from a little bit further away. Nonetheless, it was still beautiful!

 

745ed9a5394c9caa15aafe47f0ca238d.jpg

 

6351418566a1b8520eae470456d5d440.jpg

 

7eac8f76f3c5273e3bb31e0753392b4d.jpg

 

I then ended my evening out on a sweet note with gelato from the lower level of the arena mall (baccio and tiramisu, if anyone is wondering!)

 

020f57e7bf61f99d4a2b95c8f1b74d14.jpg

 

That's it for today! Next up - embarkation day tomorrow! Thanks to everyone that is following and stay tuned!

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

Link to comment
Share on other sites
kandj05

kandj05

Posted
Posted
After dinner I went to see the Magic Fountains show! Unfortunately it was a complete madhouse with thousands of people packed in, so I watched from a little bit further away. Nonetheless, it was still beautiful!

 

745ed9a5394c9caa15aafe47f0ca238d.jpg

 

6351418566a1b8520eae470456d5d440.jpg

 

7eac8f76f3c5273e3bb31e0753392b4d.jpg

 

I then ended my evening out on a sweet note with gelato from the lower level of the arena mall (baccio and tiramisu, if anyone is wondering!)

 

020f57e7bf61f99d4a2b95c8f1b74d14.jpg

 

That's it for today! Next up - embarkation day tomorrow! Thanks to everyone that is following and stay tuned!

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

Where is the magic fountain?

 

Sent from my SM-G900V using Forums mobile app

Link to comment
Share on other sites
orla56

orla56

Posted
Posted

Kandj05 if you look at the pic with the roundabout in post 24, the magic fountain takes place between the two big pillars in the pic.

It's great to see but it gets very busy.

We stayed at the Silken Concordance which is a five min walk away from the fountains and the mall and very close to the port.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
krb1000

krb1000

Posted
Posted

Hello!

We are on Celebrity Reflection, also heading yo FLL ...we just followed Freedom out of Barcelona harbor...and now, almost two hours later...it appears you all are returning to port???? Did you have a medical emergency on board?

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Newbcruiser1

Newbcruiser1

Posted
  • Author
Posted

Embarkation Day!

 

I started my day with a short walk next door to the food court area of the Arena mall for a delicious chocolate croissant - sorry, no pictures as I devoured it too quickly!

 

I then took a taxi to the port. The driver did not speak English but somehow with lots of Spanglish on both our parts, he got me to the right place!

 

8470363842e1fe8e9d2341b692271457.jpg

 

The ride was 14 euros, although 4 of those were from a major traffic jam over the bridge to the port. Against my usual embarkation day process, I decided not to rush to the ship. Having been on several Freedom-class ships before, I was not in a hurry to explore, and being a 14 night cruise, I also wasn't in a hurry to start the fun! That turned out to be a wise decision as I did not hit any line ups anywhere throughout the check-in process. I was through security, checked in, and onboard within 20 minutes! I killed a little bit of time on the Promenade until rooms were ready to drop off my carry-on. They were ready right on time at 1pm. Sadly I am sailing in an inside room this time. I don't typically don't sail in regular insides, although I have had Promenade rooms and virtual balcony rooms in the past. I was a little bit surprised to see the lack of any gap around the bed, but have asked my room attendant to shift the bed over to 1 wall tonight so that I can walk around 1 side of the bed.

 

ce8c0091729e9542bf6736d79e24809a.jpg

 

c770ff2db3ca14782dec63e4f06edade.jpg

 

I then headed up to the Windjammer for a late lunch at 2:30. Strangely, it was still quite busy. Unfortunately lunch was extremely underwhelming. My plate consisted of this sad selection:

 

72e5baf6825d2b5bf788243910f76a08.jpg

 

But this made it a smidge better!!

 

2695cfd8d6e0069c70940b50fd9ed23d.jpg

 

The muster drill took place at 4:15, and then it was up to the Cruise Critic meet-up at the Sky Bar! It was completely packed, but we had a great view of the sailaway party going on below:

 

4f464866503628eb217b49d14658ad31.jpg

 

 

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Newbcruiser1

Newbcruiser1

Posted
  • Author
Posted

c93f7a188100f6bd43612596f131a566.jpg

 

Because of the number of Crown and Anchor members on this cruise, happy hour has been spread out. Pinnacles are allowed in the Diamond Lounge, diamond plus and above in Olive or Twist in the Viking Crown Lounge, and diamond are in the Star Lounge. So off I went for a diamond drink!

 

acb21234e4c0d93fe319fc35a254d33f.jpg

 

I later found myself at the Promenade Cafe for a snack after my unsubstantial lunch:

 

9ce0913c102b5e4d9dc1f6f173ef690c.jpg

 

Unfortunately we are headed back towards Barcelona for a medical emergency.

 

More later!

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Biker19

Biker19

Posted
Posted
I was a little bit surprised to see the lack of any gap around the bed, but have asked my room attendant to shift the bed over to 1 wall tonight so that I can walk around 1 side of the bed.

You should see that "lack of gap" on Empress.:eek: You might try splitting the beds for easier access.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Kfoot

Kfoot

Posted
Posted

[quote

 

acb21234e4c0d93fe319fc35a254d33f.jpg

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

 

I love this pic. The drink and the stirer with RC emblem set up just right. Centered in the reflection of the setting sun. Perfect! Not sure if it was planned that way, but well done.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Please sign in to comment

You will be able to leave a comment after signing in



Sign In Now
 Share
Go to topic listing
  • Forum Jump
    • Categories
      • Welcome to Cruise Critic
      • New Cruisers
      • Cruise Lines “A – O”
      • Cruise Lines “P – Z”
      • River Cruising
      • ROLL CALLS
      • Cruise Critic News & Features
      • Digital Photography & Cruise Technology
      • Special Interest Cruising
      • Cruise Discussion Topics
      • UK Cruising
      • Australia & New Zealand Cruisers
      • Canadian Cruisers
      • North American Homeports
      • Ports of Call
      • Cruise Conversations
×
×
  • Create New...