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Freedom eastern review long

tazdeb

By tazdeb,
in Royal Caribbean International

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tazdeb

tazdeb

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We just got off the Freedom last Sunday. This was the 4th cruise for me, my wife and 2 ten year old daughters. We had previously gone on the Rhapsody, Mariner,and Radiance . This was the best cruise we ever took.

We flew from Chicago to Ft Lauderdale a day early on Southwest (free tickets) and took abc limo to the Holiday Inn Port of Miami. The limo was a streach for $120 with a discount for booking online. Since a cab is $87 plus tip and a shuttle was $67 with a lot of agravation, the limo was a nice surprise for my family. The Holiday Inn is in a great location. Across the street is the Bayside Marketplace mall with resturants, live music and shops. We ate at a cuban place called Mangos which had live music and good food. There are also boat tours availiable of the mansions or speed boat rides. I used holiday inn reward points so the room was free but the Saturday rate was $169. Ask for a port view and you can see the ships parked across the way. On Sunday morning we left for the ship at 11am by cab which only cost $6. We were checked in by 11:30am but then had to wait for the ship to clear. They led us to a room and were given group 4 loading passes. This is where it got a little goofed up. At 11:40 they began calling numbers but when group 3 was called they announced that a special group of 225(members of a quincenera, girls turning 15 and members of their parties) was going to be boarding next. These people didn't have numbers so alot of people with higher numbers then group 3 joined them. The gate agents then quit checking numbers and let everyone board. As you can imagine mass confusion. Still even with this we were on board by a little after noon. The ship is well, the Mariner on steroids. We grabed a quick bite in the windjammer (no problems getting a seat) signed the kids up for AO. Then swam for 3 hours. The kids pool is great with a pool with waterfalls, a spray area that is ankle deep, and a round whirlpool thing that is sort of like a lazy river. We then checked out our rooms. We had adjoining rooms 9659 and 9657 inside cabins. We always get adjoining so the kids can have there own bath and we can have some privacy. The rooms were nice but seemed a little smaller then some other ships we had been on but over all very nice. We had the lifeboat drill in the resturant, then checked out the promanade. My DD's are not alike, one is very outgoing and loves AO and making new friends , the other is introverted and likes to shop, read or play her DS. This ship had things galore for both of them on the promanade alone. During the week there were parades, live dances, concerts, seminars etc on the promande alone. We always give our DD $100 to spend on shore and another $100 to spend on their sea pass. When that moneys gone they're done. I could see the look in thier eyes that they could'nt wait to start spending (my wife too). We then went to eat at the main seating. We were given a 4 top right by the door which at first we didn't like because we enjoy meeting other people and because the location had a lot of traffic passing. Our servers Daniel and Stef were great and we decided to keep the table. We then went to the welcome aboard show which was hosted by Richard Spacy our cruise director. He turned out to be the best director we've had. He is very original and had a little movie before each show that depicted something onboard the ship. Very funny and likable. We liked him even better then (Hello Love) Becky on the Mariner. However I dont think he will be on this ship too much longer as he is switching ships. We went to all the shows as my introverted daughter (ID) really enjoys them. My other outgoing daughter (OD) would rather be in AO while my wife would rather be in the casino. Anyways, here is a quick rundown of the shows. Sunday night..... welcome aboard with some singing, a contortionist act, and a comedian who was ok.On a scale of 1 to 5 I'd give it a 2.5 Monday night..... Broadway highlite review. This show was really good with great staging and special affects. They take scenes from broadway shows and recreate them. The boat scene from Phantom of the Opera with the fog was really good. Id give it a 4.8. Tuesday......Freedom ice show. Tickets for this show must be picked up on monday morning. They had 3 shows. Two on Tuesday at 7 and 9 and one on Saturday at 5pm. Since Tuesday was Puerto Rico day we went to the Saturday show.....It was very entertaining, there was the normal jumps, spins, and twirlls, but set to good music by Pink Floyd, Queen and Billy Joel. The highlight was the couple who skated and kept changing costumes on the fly. Its hard to explain but one secound she would have a long red gown on, then he would spin her and she would have a short green dress on, The costumes matched the music they played. Maybe it was all the beer that day or the cute skaters but I'd give the show a 5. (and I dont like ice shows). Wednesday.......Magic show.....Very good tricks, good staging and great special affects. The magician goes into the audience for closeup magic. However, his banter seemed forced to me and I didn't find him genuine. The kids liked it though so I'd give it a 4. Thursday.....Big Name night was the group Nelson....They are the sons of Ricky Nelson and the Grandsons of Ozzie and Harriet Nelson. They had a few hits in the late 80s earlly 90s and also coverd their fathers tunes like Hello Mary Lou, Travelin Man, Garden Party, etc.....My ID wanted to leave during the show because the songs were so ancient, but I kinda liked it so I'd give it a 3.5. (Nelson also plays in the Promanade on the last sea day so you could hear them there). Friday.....Once upon a time...This is a take of on fairy tales put to modern music. If you like the singers and dancers on board, this is the show for you. Little kids under 6 will be board, but my DDs loved it. I'd give it a 4.5 Saturday......Farewell Show.......Two Very funny set pieces by Richard Spacy, then the contorsionests take to the air in a show that had to be seen to believed. That guy is strong and that girl was limber. After that a comedian who did impresions was ok, followed by the farewell crew wave and song. I'd give it a 4.....Overall the shows were all well done and the staging is what impressed me most, especially the live screen movie effects. The things they can do on ships theses days....... Port days.........Puerto Rico......My ID broke her glasses this morning so we had to find a place to fix them. One problem, the ship did not get there till 3pm and Old San juan is not the place to find this kind of service. Found an Ace hardware and bought some glue, then went to El Morro and took the tour. It is a fort that is over 400 years old and was attacked by Sir Francis Drake and others. Very interesting tour that was cut short because it closes at 5pm. Then walked to the other famous squares to see the Ponce De leon statue and the Christopher Columbus statue. One wierd thing did happen as we were near the old gate, some crazy lady with mental health issues started screaming at my family in Spanish calling us el Diablo de muerta, then said the f bomb and flipped us off. This unerved my DDs and DW and we kept walking, however she then got too close and invaded our personal space (yelling within 3 inches of my face). The streets in Old San juan are very narrow and you cant step off the curb with out going into traffic so I had to push the crazy lady away. I guess I really am the devil of death. This sort of put a damper on things so we stopped at the Parrot club for a drink, shopped a little and went back on the ship. Port 2....St Thomas......This was orignally going to be a stay on the ship day to use the flow rider and rock climb without the crowds, but I got off earlly to find a place to fix my DD glasses ( the glue didn't work) however it was the 4th of July so everything except the tourist places were closed. As I was going back onboard I mentioned to my wife how pretty the place looked and we decided to wing it and go to Megans Bay. Cabs are very expensive in St thomas and we paid $80 round trip for the 4 of us just to get there. Entrance was another $3 each, 2 chairs and 2 floating mats $24 total. There is also a bar and resturant there that served beers for $3.50 each. As you can see, not a cheap beach day but it was worth every penny as this is one of the prettiest beaches I have ever seen. The water was crystal clear to 20 feet, the sand was like flour, and the best part is there was no waves. The water was as calm as a bathtub, We spent the whole day as a family floating on mats, talking, playing games etc.... a perfect spur of the moment day. Port 3....St Marteen....We did a rollin in St Marteen segway tour which was very cool. You get about a ten minute orientation then its off you go on a 1.5 hour trip along the boardwalk on to the sand to the end of the beach, pass the straw market and back. These things are a riot and both my DDs instantly wanted one. They're safe too, only one nut fell off...me....I was going too fast and hit a bump and flew forward. No harm no foul...Right in front of the segway place is the beach and in back is the shopping street. We finally found an optics place that was open and he soldered my daughters glasses, we then bought the wife a ring and hit the beach. Chairs were $4 each but the best part was beers were only $1 a bottle. We swam, jet skied ($45 half/hour) and met some nice newlyweds from the Carnival Valor that we had been chasing all week. Over all a great day............. On board activities were great. The flow rider is a blast but always seemed to have a long line. The bear and Bull pub had a great sing along drinking song vibe and we broke even in the casino. AO was great as usual, my DD is the gaga ball champ. They even turn the pool area into a bar/disco one night that lasts til 4am. This ship had so much to do for evryone that it was impossible to be board. Formal nights are Monday and friday with Friday being lobster night. Debarcation was very fast we got off by 9am rented a car stayed at the same HI then hit South beach for the day. The beaches there were topless and the beers were $6 each...Ya gotta love America.....We flew home yesterday so its back to the grind until we can afford our next cruise.........Did anyone say Genisis?

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tazdeb

tazdeb

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The beach we hit was right in downtown Philipsburg. If you take the ferry from the ship it will drop you off right there. When you look at a map there is front street which basically is right off the beach. This 1/2 mile long street has all the stores and open air bars right on the street (there is an open container law that allows you to walk around with a beer in your hand). If you then walk through the shops/hotels you will be at the beach area. This area is full of beach bar resturants that are just a sidewalk away from the beach. Here you can rent beach chairs, jet skis etc....This is where you ride the segways. We did the excursion through the ship but they were taking walkups. You will save about $15 if you do this yourself. I was really impressed with how clean everything was in this area. It wasn't the most secluded beach but it was very nice....TAz

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kaf61

kaf61

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Hey, that was a great review. Just a few questions - first, is there another show Tuesday night other than the Ice Show? My husband and I like to go to all the shows before we hit the casino. If there is no other show that night, I'll probably go to the late Ice Show. If there is - then I'll plan on going on Saturday. Also - you mentioned the two formal nights - is there a smart casual night/and or/ a caribbean night? I need to plan my wardrobe. And lastly - what's the earliest they will allow you on the ship? My plane gets in around 9AM and I need to find something to do until they allow you to board. Once again, thanks for the great review. We went on Mariner last year and had such a blast we wanted to try the Freedom. We really loved Becky and heard a rumor that she is moving to the Freedom. Hope it's true!

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tazdeb

tazdeb

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The ice show is the only show the day the ship ports in PR. There are 2 shows at 7 and 9. The only other theme night we really noticed was smart casual on thursday. You might scan these threads for more info as someone has posted the eastern compasses on another thread....TAZ

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