Freedom of the Seas 6/14-6/21-Best Family Vacation on Earth!

[triplefigs]

Day 5-St Martin/St Maarten: Our favorite Caribbean Island!

 

AAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!! We woke up late and decided to go to Maho Beach for a couple of hours! My son is an Aviation freak! It’s really easy to get a Taxi and it was $8 per person each way!

 

 

 

 

So is my DS! We go to our local regional airport and watch planes for hours upon hours. I showed him videos of Maho today on You Tube, and he is so excited! Was the water good for swimming? My other DS and DD will want to swim/play in the sand. How much was the food at the bar there?

[triplefigs]

Floridagirl, I am glad to see your DD enjoyed the AO. My triplets will be 9 (about to turn 10) when we go next summer. Since they don't give out pagers in the club, were you concerned if she needed to contact you (sick, wanted to leave, etc)? We will not be giving our trio sign in/out privileges either. Thanks for any advice or tips!

[sunandseagirl617]

floridagirl68,

 

We just got back today from our Eastern Caribbean cruise onboard the Freedom of the Seas. That ship is fantastic. We had a blast. I must tell you though that our cabin Steward was "Handsome" We were in cabin 9298. He was really nice. He would lookout for our son even though he is 17. We would come back to the cabin and see Hansen in the hallway. Hansen would tell us where our son was going on the ship. We also loved the junior suite. So much room. When I get a chance I will write a review of our trip.

Welcome back, Golf43! I'm so happy you had a blast and "Handsome" was your steward!:D

 

He is the best and did look out for our son as well!

 

I can't wait to read your review!!:)

[sunandseagirl617]

We just booked for June 2010. This will be our 2nd cruise (just got off the Disney Magic Western), but our FIRST on RCI. I already saved the posted copies of the 9-11 kids compass. Thanks!

 

Floridagirl, could you please email me the Eastern compass at triplefigs@bellsouth.net? Thanks so much, and I'm really enjoying your review. I am going to show my triplets the pics tomorrow, since they are still tentative about NOT sailing on Disney next summer.

Love your screen name!;)

 

You will love Freedom, I'm ready to go back!:D

 

I will email you the compasses.

 

Sorry I had to remove most of the pictures.:(

[sunandseagirl617]

So is my DS! We go to our local regional airport and watch planes for hours upon hours. I showed him videos of Maho today on You Tube, and he is so excited! Was the water good for swimming? My other DS and DD will want to swim/play in the sand. How much was the food at the bar there?

 

Floridagirl, I am glad to see your DD enjoyed the AO. My triplets will be 9 (about to turn 10) when we go next summer. Since they don't give out pagers in the club, were you concerned if she needed to contact you (sick, wanted to leave, etc)? We will not be giving our trio sign in/out privileges either. Thanks for any advice or tips!

 

My daughter played in the sand and briefly went into the water! The food at the bar was not bad at all. It's bar food!:D We nibbled on some fries and I think my husband had some fritters.

 

AO is so confident in their abilities! Every time my daughter registers on the first day I always quiz them and get the same answers!;)

 

ME: "What if there is an emergency?"

 

AO: "You are giving us permission to treat your child in the unlikely event of an accident or illness." :cool:

 

ME: "What if my daughter wants to leave AO? How would you contact me?" :(

 

AO: :rolleyes: "We will let her call your room and leave a message. However, we are confident she won't want to leave."

 

My daughter did call us once from AO to ask us to bring her a new pair of socks! So no worries, I don't think they've lost anyone!;)

[nycruiser80]

Great review and great pics. I felt like I went on the cruise too!!

[Ladymom30]

Hi

I would love a copy of the compass and of the teen compass. Ladymom30 at aol.com

We have been on 3 carnival cruises and loved them. Decided to give RCI a try this time though. We are going on the Freedom 9/6. It will be my DH, DD 14, and DS 13. They will be missing school so I am not sure how many other teens will be on board.

[CruisingCamper]

Hi, Great Review!! Love all the pictures and the information!!

 

Can you also email me the Daily Compasses to gregstephanie@bellsouth.net

 

We just booked the Freedom yesterday and we are so excited!!

[sunandseagirl617]

Great review and great pics. I felt like I went on the cruise too!!

 

Thank you very much! I had to remove most of the photos, hopefully you still got the full affect!;)

 

Hi

I would love a copy of the compass and of the teen compass. Ladymom30 at aol.com

We have been on 3 carnival cruises and loved them. Decided to give RCI a try this time though. We are going on the Freedom 9/6. It will be my DH, DD 14, and DS 13. They will be missing school so I am not sure how many other teens will be on board.

We have cruised a couple of times before Thanksgiving and before Christmas and there were still plenty of kid's on board! Actually, secretly, I love going in the off times!;)

 

I sent the compasses and teen programs to you! Enjoy:)

 

Hi, Great Review!! Love all the pictures and the information!!

 

Can you also email me the Daily Compasses to gregstephanie@bellsouth.net

 

We just booked the Freedom yesterday and we are so excited!!

 

My fingers are over on the RCCL website all the time!:rolleyes:

 

I emailed you the compasses as well! Have a great cruise!!

[triplefigs]

Love your screen name!;)

 

You will love Freedom, I'm ready to go back!:D

 

I will email you the compasses.

 

Sorry I had to remove most of the pictures.

Thanks!~ We are so hesitant to try FOS after sailing on the Disney Magic. I'm sure we'll love it, but it has us all outside of our comfort zone.

 

My daughter played in the sand and briefly went into the water! The food at the bar was not bad at all. It's bar food! We nibbled on some fries and I think my husband had some fritters.

 

AO is so confident in their abilities! Every time my daughter registers on the first day I always quiz them and get the same answers!;)

 

ME: "What if there is an emergency?"

 

AO: "You are giving us permission to treat your child in the unlikely event of an accident or illness."

 

ME: "What if my daughter wants to leave AO? How would you contact me?" :(

 

AO: "We will let her call your room and leave a message. However, we are confident she won't want to leave."

 

My daughter did call us once from AO to ask us to bring her a new pair of socks! So no worries, I don't think they've lost anyone!

Thanks for the info on the club. Did your DD ever stay for the extended hours (10pm on)? Was it fun and worth the extra $$? Did she have lunch on cruise days with AO for the extra fee? The extended hours in the Lab on DCL was one of DH and my favorite parts! ;)

 

And I got your email! Thanks for sending me the Compass for the Eastern. :)

[CruisingCamper]

Thanks!~ We are so hesitant to try FOS after sailing on the Disney Magic. I'm sure we'll love it, but it has us all outside of our comfort zone.

:)

 

 

I have also been on the Disney Magic and I really do like the RCCL ships better. The Disney was so expensive for us, but it was at near Christmas when we went, but I liked the AOS much better. Our son loves Disney, but I am hoping he'll like the Freedom too! He'll probably ask where Mickey is the whole time.:)

[CruisingCamper]

Thank you very much! I had to remove most of the photos, hopefully you still got the full affect!;)

 

We have cruised a couple of times before Thanksgiving and before Christmas and there were still plenty of kid's on board! Actually, secretly, I love going in the off times!;)

 

I sent the compasses and teen programs to you! Enjoy:)

 

 

 

My fingers are over on the RCCL website all the time!:rolleyes:

 

I emailed you the compasses as well! Have a great cruise!!

 

 

Thanks so much for the Compasses! I'll have fun reading them tonight!:)

[sunandseagirl617]

Thanks!~ We are so hesitant to try FOS after sailing on the Disney Magic. I'm sure we'll love it, but it has us all outside of our comfort zone.

 

Thanks for the info on the club. Did your DD ever stay for the extended hours (10pm on)? Was it fun and worth the extra $$? Did she have lunch on cruise days with AO for the extra fee? The extended hours in the Lab on DCL was one of DH and my favorite parts! ;)

 

And I got your email! Thanks for sending me the Compass for the Eastern. :)

My daughter did stay after 10pm a few nights. Actually my daughter really liked the late night a lot and we were shocked she could stay up late. She did that if the next day was a sea day. It's well worth the $5 per hour!

 

Thanks so much for the Compasses! I'll have fun reading them tonight!:)

You're welcome!

[Lissete]

I LOVED your review and the photos! We sail on 7/26 and would love to see the dailies as well. Would you mind sending out one more?

 

lisseted at yahoo dot com

 

Thanks!

[shezza]

myself my partner and our son aged 14 are doing the exact same itinery on the same ship as you have just done. it will be our first cruise. we go in november 2009. i am pleased to hear your children enjoyed it. i was a bit weary for my son but i think there will be plenty to do. was there anything for the children when you visited the islands? and did you buy the soda package?

[gui888]

floridagirl68,

 

I hate to ask, as I know this a bother. But, I would truly appreciate if you could forward these to me as well (the Compasses). I am trying to find out all I can. My Mom is traveling with us and I am looking for any info on wheelchair accessibility for venues and events. Thanks a whole bunch!

My email is gui888@me.com .

[sunandseagirl617]

myself my partner and our son aged 14 are doing the exact same itinery on the same ship as you have just done. it will be our first cruise. we go in november 2009. i am pleased to hear your children enjoyed it. i was a bit weary for my son but i think there will be plenty to do. was there anything for the children when you visited the islands? and did you buy the soda package?

You picked an excellent ship and intinerary for your first cruise!;) Your son will have plenty to do and still not be able to do it all!

 

CocoCay, St Thomas, and St Maarten have family friendly activities.

 

CocoCay is a beach day with various water activites. My kid's loved the gigantic slide they have at CocoCay.

 

We are not much for shopping so in St Thomas we chose Coral World and Coki Beach (though we skipped the beach this time). We have been to St Thomas numerous other times and visited Megan's Beach, Sapphire Beach, Coki Beach, and St John. Our favorite beach so far has been Sapphire Beach.

 

We have also visited St Maarten several times and I would highly recommend Bernard's Tour. He will give you all of the highlights of St Maarten and it's a very entertaining day! He was particular fond of my kid's.

 

My children do not drink soda so we did not purchase the package. They drank lemonade, water, or milk. :)

floridagirl68,

 

I hate to ask, as I know this a bother. But, I would truly appreciate if you could forward these to me as well (the Compasses). I am trying to find out all I can. My Mom is traveling with us and I am looking for any info on wheelchair accessibility for venues and events. Thanks a whole bunch!

My email is gui888@me.com .

Just sent the compasses to you!

 

Enjoy your cruise!

[hawkfish]

So is my DS! We go to our local regional airport and watch planes for hours upon hours. I showed him videos of Maho today on You Tube, and he is so excited! Was the water good for swimming? My other DS and DD will want to swim/play in the sand. How much was the food at the bar there?

 

 

http://www.sunsetbeachbar.com/index_html

 

 

FYI - to anyone going this summer, their website says that they are closed until October. Don't know what that's all about, but you might need to plan accordingly.

[angelapaulk]

I am taking both of my boys on the Fredom. I had a few questions that I hope someone will be able to answer. Let me start off by saying my boys are 12 and 10. Will they be able to do all of the activities on the ship such as the rock climbing wall, the water ride, and the ice skating? I want them to have a great time on the ship as this will be my first RCCL cruise and their very first cruise, so I wanted to make it very special for them. In the past I have traveled on Carnival and know they have the Camp Carnival for kids, does RCCL have the same thing? Any information on this would be very much appreciated.

[catlady]

I too would love to have the eastern compasses. We are going on Freedom in dec. email at catlady33949@yahoo.com Thanks.

[sack]

Our enchanted evening with Flow! We arranged for private flowrider lessons this evening! It was well worth the $60 per hour for my son and husband to participate!! Within 30 minutes, they were both able to stand up!!!!!!!!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We are booked on the 7-day Freedom, departing October 18th (10 people). Could you please provide a little more detail on the hourly rate of private lessons on the Flowrider? There will probably be 8 of us interested.

 

Do we make them on-line prior to departure or set it up after we board?

 

Thanks so much! You've done an incredible job and I'm even more excited as I read through it!!!

 

Sack:)

[sunandseagirl617]

I am taking both of my boys on the Fredom. I had a few questions that I hope someone will be able to answer. Let me start off by saying my boys are 12 and 10. Will they be able to do all of the activities on the ship such as the rock climbing wall, the water ride, and the ice skating? I want them to have a great time on the ship as this will be my first RCCL cruise and their very first cruise, so I wanted to make it very special for them. In the past I have traveled on Carnival and know they have the Camp Carnival for kids, does RCCL have the same thing? Any information on this would be very much appreciated.

Your boys are old enough to participate in the Rock Climbing and Ice Skating. Just bring socks! The shoes and helmet are provided by the ship.

 

FlowRider has a height requirements of 52" for boogie boarding and 58" for stand up surfing.

 

Royal Caribbean has wonderful youth staff so no worries there! You kid's will have a blast and you won't be disappointed!

[sunandseagirl617]

I too would love to have the eastern compasses. We are going on Freedom in dec. email at catlady33949@yahoo.com Thanks.

You are all set! Have a great cruise!

 

We are booked on the 7-day Freedom, departing October 18th (10 people). Could you please provide a little more detail on the hourly rate of private lessons on the Flowrider? There will probably be 8 of us interested.

 

Do we make them on-line prior to departure or set it up after we board?

 

Thanks so much! You've done an incredible job and I'm even more excited as I read through it!!!

 

Sack:)

Wow! Thank you for saying that!:)

 

Your group should be able to rent the whole FlowRider for $300 per hour up to 8 people. Individual lessons are $60! You're so lucky you have a group of eight! ;)

 

On the first day of your cruise, go up to the 'Wipe-Out' bar (right next to FlowRider) and sign up for lessons! Unfortunately, the lessons go quickly and cannot be pre-reserved. FlowRider will open the first day between 1 and 1:30pm.

 

Have a great time!

[firefly4423]

thanks for sharing everything! great pictures

[QTMichele]

Your boys are old enough to participate in the Rock Climbing and Ice Skating. Just bring socks! The shoes and helmet are provided by the ship.

 

FlowRider has a height requirements of 52" for boogie boarding and 58" for stand up surfing.

 

Royal Caribbean has wonderful youth staff so no worries there! You kid's will have a blast and you won't be disappointed!

 

Don't forget pants for the ice skating... or have they changed this rule?