Cruise Review Freedom of the Seas !!!

[Moondawgie]

Clio, don't stop writing. The one with the paragraphs is a bit better. I still copy to a word document and read there. Thanks.

 

One question? Can you eat breakfast and lunch in the MDR instead of Windjammer? Do you know the times if you can?

 

I'm still enjoying your "story." I am not a big fan of Jamaica myself. Even with a planned excursion, it's just ok. Others may disagree.

[Clio1610]

[/size]

 

Please dont stop posting! What I did was quote your post and then go to size at the top of the message box - I am sure when you paste in your notes you can adjust the size. Your details are so helpful.

Wendy

 

WOW Wendy that is brilliant !!

 

Now why couldn't I do that :eek: ??

 

I'll have another go.....

[Clio1610]

Folks, it may be possible as well to increase the font size on your browser. This will increase the size of all the text on a webpage. In my browser (Safari), "Increase Text Size" is under the "view" menu. I (unfortunately) use this feature all the time. :)

 

I would suggest looking in the help menu of your browser, or perhaps try to google "Increase Text size" and then the name of your browser.

 

Hope this helps :)

 

Clio -- would it have been possible to avoid the pushy vendors on Labadee, or are they right there as you get off the tender? Thanks, I'm greatly enjoying your review!!

 

Hi Kim4 !

 

When we got onto Labadee we went straight over to the Market and thats where most of the "pushy guys" were...

 

I suppose we should have gone straight to the Beach instead, because we didn't have the problem there !!!

[dagadget]

Great review but agree with request to increase font size. It is more readable if you click on "thread tools" and then "printable"

 

 

I have to agree I love the review so far. Font size is no problem if I tilt my head back and let the progressive lenses (New fangled bi focals do their magic) Look forward to the rest of the review as we are going on this same cruise in july :D

[Clio1610]

This is turning into an epic :( !!!

 

I hope this looks better !!!

 

Day 5

Today we arrived at Georgetown, Grand Cayman which is a ‘Tendered’ port and looks very flat (no mountains). Unfortunately our Room Service Breakfast didn’t arrive, and when I rang Room Service they said they had no record of our order – so someone must have removed it from the outside of our door overnight !!!

No problem, we just went to our favourite Windjammer for breakfast and afterwards made our way down to Deck 1 to board the Tender boat.

We really like Grand Cayman, it was lovely and clean, beautiful buildings and they drive on the left just like we do in the UK !!!

There were no groups of locals hanging around anywhere, so Nic was much happier and we all felt completely at ease here…

We had a good look around the lovely shops and found the prices to be about the same as Orlando for Perfume and Jewellery…

Nic had is name embroidered onto a Cayman Islands baseball cap, and he bought a couple for his friends back home.

We got back onto the Tender about 1:30pm ish and spent the rest of the afternoon Poolside watching Nic with his friends….

Tonight was our 2nd "Formal" Evening, so we got ready nice & early and went down to have some Professional Photographs taken against some stunning backgrounds (as we had missed these on our 1st Formal Night !)

We had a lovely Dinner in Leonardo’s of Salmon for Main Course and a Dessert Sampler for afters – what a clever idea 3 small samples of 3 desserts on one plate !!!

Nic went to get changed out of his suit before meeting his friends in the Living Room and Fuel..

We strolled along the Royal Promenade and ordered a gold neck chain for Nic and they gave us a bracelet in the same chain FOC !!!

We then went to the Arcadia Theatre to watch the “Once Upon a Time” Production Show which was excellent !!!

We had arranged to meet Nic at the Café Promenade at 11:30pm and tonight we were all so tired that none of us wanted our usual ‘Bedtime drink and snack’ …….This cruising lark does seem to make us really tired – or could it be all the lovely food ???

We ordered Room Service Breakfast for tomorrow from our TV – how cool is that ???

To Be Contd......

I have got my fingers crossed that this is better ?!?

[Clio1610]

Yahoo !!!!

 

I know what I'm doing now folks !!!!!

 

Next instalment to follow.......

 

A Question for you........

 

Should I repeat my earlier ramblings ?!?

 

What do you think ??

[Clio1610]

Clio, don't stop writing. The one with the paragraphs is a bit better. I still copy to a word document and read there. Thanks.

 

One question? Can you eat breakfast and lunch in the MDR instead of Windjammer? Do you know the times if you can?

 

I'm still enjoying your "story." I am not a big fan of Jamaica myself. Even with a planned excursion, it's just ok. Others may disagree.

 

Hi Moondawgie !

 

We actually never got to eat either Breakfast or Lunch in the MDR, there were just so many other options available on the Ship.

 

Also, our Tablemates did have 1 x Breakfast & 1 x Lunch in the MDR and actually told us not to bother as they weren't impressed......

[Clio1610]

Day 6

Our lovely Breakfast arrived at 8am and we ate it whilst arriving into Cozumel, Mexico and watching the gorgeous ‘Flying Fish’ from our Balcony!!! WOW how fantastic to experience this sight !! They leap up out of the ocean and skim across the top of it before diving back underneath !!! Never seen anything like this before !!!

We went up onto Deck 12 at the front to film along the coast of Cozumel, Nic asked if he could stay onboard because they were having a “Crew Hunt” today in the Teen Area – he is having such a great time with his friends that we agreed to this and arranged to meet him in the Windjammer at 1pm for lunch…

Steve & I spent a couple of hours in the shops around the dockside in Cozumel before returning back to the Ship, and spent the rest of the afternoon Poolside…

We watched ‘Sailaway from Cozumel’ from up on Deck 12 at 6:30pm before having a pizza in Sorrento’s and then picking up some bargains at the “Royal Promenade Sale”, mainly RCI Logo merchandise, t-shirts etc… We had a Bud outside the Bull & Bear Pub, did some people-watching before returning to our Stateroom to watch the Departure Video on Channel 27, as requested by Richard Spacey our Cruise Director, and then to bed…..

To be Contd.....

[Clio1610]

Day 7

Today was our last day and was a “Cruising at Sea” day – good job really as we didn’t wake up till 8:30am !!!

After Breakfast in the Windjammer, Nic went off again to meet his friends and we had a wander around the “Clothes Sale” on Deck 11 Poolside. We spent most of today relaxing by the Pool, then sitting out on our Balcony - just watching the sea is wonderful !!.

We had a sandwich & coffee for lunch from Café Promenade, collected our “Formal Night” photograph from Deck 2 before returning to our Stateroom to get ready for our Farewell Dinner in the MDR.

The Waiters all sang and paraded around the Dining Room, and after we had said Goodbye to Conrad & May and our Tablemates, all 3 of us went to watch the “Farewell Production Show” which was just wonderful !!!

Nic had his photograph taken with Richard Spacey our wonderful Cruise Director (hope he will be on Oasis next year !) and we returned to our Stateroom with some drinks and apple/cinnamon cake and watched a movie on our TV. We ordered a wake-up call for 5:30am (because we wanted to film our arrival back into Miami), before putting our luggage outside our Stateroom as directed…

To be Contd.........

[wildernesslady]

Sounds like a great time. Keep the reports coming.

[Clio1610]

Day 8

I woke up a 4:30am, went out onto the Balcony and saw the lights of Miami !!! So I sat outside and filmed our arrival back into Miami Cruise Port…

I am still amazed at how this huge Ship can be so gracefully manoeuvred into her required position…..

We had our last Breakfast in the Windjammer and then returned to our Stateroom to wait for our colour tag – Light Blue 2 – to be called..

We were called at 8:30am, so we made our way down to Deck 2 and just before we left the Ship, we saw Bernt (Nic’s Flowrider Instructor) and we were happy to hear that she might be on the Oasis next year !!!

It took us just about half-an-hour to leave the Ship, go through Passport Control, collect our Luggage and get to the Pick-up Point for the Dollar Rental Shuttle to be taken back to Miami Airport to collect our Dodge Magnum hire car.

It took us about 3 hours to drive back up to WDW and again we stayed at Disney’s Old Key West Resort for 4 nights before flying out of Orlando and back to the UK on Thursday evening (23rd)

 

Summary to follow.......

[cruiser2101]

Day 4

Ocho Rios, Jamaica....we expected the local to be a little pushy.

However when we came out of the dock area through the security gate we were not prepared for the number of local men – mainly Taxi Drivers – who wouldn’t take “No Thank You” from us… There was also a number of local men selling all sorts of stuff, copied DVD’s, copied Perfume and some other sorts of locally grown “Stuff”……???

Nic was very frightened by them as some walked along side us and continued to talk at us, even though we kept on saying “No Thank You”….. So we quickly made our way up to the Hard Rock Café shop and the Harley Davidson shop and then called at a couple of the small ‘shopping malls’ near to the Ship…

Nic was very uncomfortable and uneasy with the atmosphere and with all the local men standing around in groups and when they kept on talking at us, so at 12:30 we went back through the security gate (where they checked our SeaPass cards) and made our way back onto the Ship and up to the Windjammer for some lunch…

In retrospect – maybe we should have gone on an organised excursion……

 

We had almost the same exact experience in Ocho Rios, Jamaica. I know just how you felt. An hour of saying no, no, no every 15 seconds was all we could take, so it was back to the ship for us too. :(

[Clio1610]

Summary.......

We have had the Best Holiday ever on board Freedom of the Seas !!!

The Ship is Beautiful, the Service everywhere was excellent (I would just like to give a Special Mention to all the wonderful Crew in the Windjammer because every single time we went in, they just all made us feel so welcome and the food was wonderful every time we ate in there- and we ate in there a lot !!!!!)

As First Time Cruisers we really didn’t know what to expect from a Cruise – But Freedom of the Seas and Her Wonderful Crew simply Blew Us Away !!!!!

For us, being onboard Freedom of the Seas WAS our Holiday – the Ports of Call were secondary…..

Thank You Freedom and All Your Crew – You Were SENSATIONAL !!!!!!!!!

Please Note...... These ramblings are our thoughts, and opinions and show how we felt during our First Ever Cruise !!!!

We are now looking forward to next April and being on Oasis - I can't even begin to imagine how FABULOUS that is going to be !!!!!!!!

[Clio1610]

Day 4

Ocho Rios, Jamaica....we expected the local to be a little pushy.

However when we came out of the dock area through the security gate we were not prepared for the number of local men – mainly Taxi Drivers – who wouldn’t take “No Thank You” from us… There was also a number of local men selling all sorts of stuff, copied DVD’s, copied Perfume and some other sorts of locally grown “Stuff”……???

Nic was very frightened by them as some walked along side us and continued to talk at us, even though we kept on saying “No Thank You”….. So we quickly made our way up to the Hard Rock Café shop and the Harley Davidson shop and then called at a couple of the small ‘shopping malls’ near to the Ship…

Nic was very uncomfortable and uneasy with the atmosphere and with all the local men standing around in groups and when they kept on talking at us, so at 12:30 we went back through the security gate (where they checked our SeaPass cards) and made our way back onto the Ship and up to the Windjammer for some lunch…

In retrospect – maybe we should have gone on an organised excursion……

 

We had almost the same exact experience in Ocho Rios, Jamaica. I know just how you felt. An hour of saying no, no, no every 15 seconds was all we could take, so it was back to the ship for us too. :(

 

Hi cruiser2101 !

 

Its such a shame, because the locals are obviously frightening people away....

 

Maybe the local Tourist Board will realise - at some point.....

[thomasale]

Great review and glad you had a great time!

[Clio1610]

Great review and glad you had a great time!

 

 

Thank You thomasale !!!!

[Moondawgie]

Thanks for the big font, clio, and also for all this great information. You made us feel like we were along with you and I got sad on the last day!

 

Enjoy the Oasis. I believe Richard Spacey will indeed be bought over there since he is such a great CD.

[amybeth4]

Clio, thank you for caring about us enough to change your font. I'll admit I didn't go back to your original posts to copy and paste them into Word. But it's appreciated that you fixed your other posts. I was able to read those. :)

[stevekc]

Well Clio I must say your day by day reviews have been very enjoyable reading over the last few days.

 

We too are Disney Vacation club members and always enjoy visiting with folks from the UK when we're at Disney.

In fact one of our favorite places is the Rose & Crown pub at EPCOT, I imagine you've stopped there?

It seems to be the only place I can find to enjoy a well poured pint of Golden, and while I'm not a fan of the fish & chips, my wife and daughters have an order every time.

 

I know with the pound to dollar exchange you have enjoyed a wonderful advantage that we don't share being Americans. We are patiently waiting for the exchange rate to tilt to our favor so we can enjoy a holiday abroad as my entire family has always wanted to see London and Europe.

 

We are going on the Freedom at the end of May and hoping we will have a fabulous time as well. We then will slip over (like yourselves) for a few days in WDW before heading home.

Once again let me say how reading through your positive and well detailed review has really been encouraging!

Thanks for making these cruise boards fun.

Steve

[Clio1610]

Well Clio I must say your day by day reviews have been very enjoyable reading over the last few days.

 

We too are Disney Vacation club members and always enjoy visiting with folks from the UK when we're at Disney.

In fact one of our favorite places is the Rose & Crown pub at EPCOT, I imagine you've stopped there?

It seems to be the only place I can find to enjoy a well poured pint of Golden, and while I'm not a fan of the fish & chips, my wife and daughters have an order every time.

 

I know with the pound to dollar exchange you have enjoyed a wonderful advantage that we don't share being Americans. We are patiently waiting for the exchange rate to tilt to our favor so we can enjoy a holiday abroad as my entire family has always wanted to see London and Europe.

 

We are going on the Freedom at the end of May and hoping we will have a fabulous time as well. We then will slip over (like yourselves) for a few days in WDW before heading home.

Once again let me say how reading through your positive and well detailed review has really been encouraging!

Thanks for making these cruise boards fun.

Steve

 

 

Thank you All for your lovely comments, and I'm glad you have enjoyed my ramblings !!!!!!!

 

SteveKC, Hello to a fellow DVC Member !!!

 

Have you tried the fish & chips at the Raglan Road Pub on the Westside at Downtown Disney yet - I can recommend them ! - and we prefer them to the Rose & Crown ones..... Must be the touch of the Irish Charm !!!!!

 

In May 08 we enjoyed a $ rate of 2.22...

 

However this April we only got 1.34 - and this does make a huge difference to your spending money !!!

 

We are hoping for better rates for Apr 09 !!!!

 

I just know you and your family will have a wonderful time on FOS at the end of May !!!

[Clio1610]

Clio, thank you for caring about us enough to change your font. I'll admit I didn't go back to your original posts to copy and paste them into Word. But it's appreciated that you fixed your other posts. I was able to read those. :)

 

 

Hello amybeth4 !

 

I have now placed my complete ramblings.......erm.....I mean Review... onto the "Member Reviews" and its all in larger font....

 

Here is the link : http://www.cruisecritic.co.uk/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=54646

[debs2028]

enjoyed reading your review,we are sailing on IOS in July round med,it will be our first cruise and we are really looking forward to it.

 

Hope you don't mind but as you are a fellow Brit and have a home at OKW I wondered if you were a dibber, if you are you will know what I mean streight away

 

Debs

[Clio1610]

enjoyed reading your review,we are sailing on IOS in July round med,it will be our first cruise and we are really looking forward to it.

 

Hope you don't mind but as you are a fellow Brit and have a home at OKW I wondered if you were a dibber, if you are you will know what I mean streight away

 

Debs

 

 

"dibber" ?!?!?

 

erm Nope..... you got me there ?!?!?

[MAZANDSTEVE]

Great review, really enjoyed reading it. Thanks for sharing.:)

[Clio1610]

Great review, really enjoyed reading it. Thanks for sharing.:)

 

You are most welcome !!