Freedom July 7-14 from San Juan

[alfaeric]

Second time sailing on the Freedom, 11th time sailing from San Juan.

 

Since we came a week early, and didn't stay in San Juan, can't have a hotel and stuff to do review- but can note that you can see the improvements recovering from Maria. Less debris than in Jan when we were last there, and far more traffic lights worked in the town we were in (Ponce). So things continue to get better.

 

We arrived at the port at ~3pm, got on quickly and was able to unpack right away. Then got about wandering the ship.

 

One thing to note if you are D+, this ship has not gotten a Suite Lounge, yet- so you can still visit the CL on deck 9. I'd much rather be in the DL on deck 14, since the view was actually there.

 

The ship is so much like the Adventure that you will be used to it, but different enough to notice- Vintages, cupcakes and ice cream on the promenade. Plus the "On the Air" club entering Studio B. It is nice to see different shows- and the ice show is really great. The main shows are still just the normal singing and dancing- so if you like that, you will enjoy it. It would be cool if this ship gets a show, eventually.

 

The only issue we had was getting our D+ upgraded stuff- we were originally told that our amenities that we got in a JS are the upgraded things. And the deck supervisor made a great show of him doing something special to get the GS amenities that you would normally get. When he called to check, I had double checked on line to make sure we still got it, so I just told him to talk to the loyalty ambassador as it's not our problem. Not a big deal.

 

One cool thing we experienced was a chocolate cake and red wine paring in Vintages. Sweets and red wine normally are a no-go, moreso if you add chocolate. But the pairing of the cake with Camus Cab was really good. Very unexpected and very interesting. If you like that kind of thing, I'd totally suggest going for it.

 

We've been to the islands more than once, but we like to once in a while mix things up.

 

In Aruba, we rented a car, and just wandered all over the island- starting with the rock formations, to the natural bridge (there's a small one next to the old one that collapsed many years ago), to the California Light House, back across the island to Baby Beach (where we had a late lunch), through the national park, and back to the airport to return the car. Great thing to do, IMHO.

 

For Curacao, St Maarten, and St Thomas, we didn't do much new- wander around, rent a chair on the beach, shop. Both St Thomas and St Maarten are visibly improving from when we last saw them in Feb and May. Great to see. One sad thing we saw was Stars and Stripes- US56- is in a shipyard in Phillipsburg- with the starboard side totally caved in.... They hope to restore it, so hope that goes well.

 

On that note- the 12 Metre Racing that is there is being reconstructed. They hope to be back racing with True North IV and US55 by the end of the year, and add Canada II early next year. This was one of our favorite things we've ever done on a cruise, so hope for the best for them.

 

Anyway, we had a great time, and will be going on the ship again in December as well as next July.

[davekathy]

alfaeric...thanks for taking us along on your cruise. We enjoy a piece of dark chocolate when we have a glass of Cabernet Sauvignon.

[EeyoreFan1967]

Thanks for sharing your thoughts! We have booked a cruise on Freedom next May...never done a cruise out of San Juan. So looking forward to it! Glad you have more cruises booked on her, votes of confidence! Did you try any specialty dining?

[alfaeric]

Thanks for sharing your thoughts! We have booked a cruise on Freedom next May...never done a cruise out of San Juan. So looking forward to it! Glad you have more cruises booked on her, votes of confidence! Did you try any specialty dining?

Not this time- we almost went to Sabor on the last night, but decided that we wanted to finish in the MDR.

 

Our new dining "strategy" is to get MTD early- like 15 min before the main dining starts. We've transitioned to doing that at home anyway, and are rarely under pressure to get to dinner on time. But that lets us have a table for 2 and always get the same waiter and assistant. Which we really liked this time.

 

The closest we came to specialty dining is when we ate in Aruba, LOL!