BIBPhotography

Looking forward to your review Bill!  Here's to a great birthday and an enjoyable birthday!

Thank you Manders175 for the review!  I'm counting down the days...

On ‎11‎/‎21‎/‎2018 at 2:28 PM, mawvkysc said:

Day 6 The Sad Day

Boohoo. We have to leave. We had number 7 for our luggage group.  We were still eating in mdr when they called us. The hash browns were better today. They were cooked on the griddle instead of deep fried. 

 

When we left our luggage was right where it was supposed to be. We got in line and it kept moving. Still it was  1/2 hr to 45 minutes. With 6 people and a mom with a bum knee we should’ve used a porter and jumped to the front though. 

 

The agent looked at our passports and us and that was all. No questions or declaration form Welcome home.  They did ask my parents if they bought anything. It took my European  BIL just a little bit longer than us. BTW we didn’t have to fill out a health question before boarding.

 

We had to wait for the 241 shuttle a while. Glad we used a lot with a shuttle as we left from Pier 3 and returned at 6. 

 

Thanks for following my ramblings It was fun reliving the trip. Feel free to ask questions 

Thank you so much for the review MAWVKYSC!  We  will be sailing on BOS in March and cant wait.  Love the tips, quiet spots and all your pics!  Once again, THANK YOU 🙂

Just put two and two together and realized "OTownNick" and Nick Vitani were one and the same!  Enjoying your scopes buddy.  One day I'll hit up Symphony for a ride!

But I am a diamond guest...wait, I'm only a Gold Guest!  LOL
Just watched this and laughed!

On ‎1‎/‎2‎/‎2019 at 10:08 AM, dreadpirate3 said:

In just over two weeks, I will embark on the Adventure of the Seas, for a 9-day itinerary that visits four ports in the Eastern Caribbean.

 

* Labadee, Haiti

* San Juan, Puerto Rico

* Phillipsburg, St Maarten

* Basseterre, St Kitts

 

This cruise has 3 sea days and departs from Fort Lauderdale.

 

This will be the longest cruise I have taken, and my sixth cruise, all on Royal Caribbean. I will be a platinum member this time, and hope the top tier party is not the same time or date as the other things I plan to do onboard.

 

You are welcome to join me. Oh, did I mention this is my 50th birthday cruise?

 

Following along and Happy Birthday Dreadpirate3!
 

Loving this review Ashton!  It's like I'm there with ya.  I hear you about the smoked salmon and sushi.  Recently just had my first piece of sushi and it was okay.  OK enough that my wife an I signed up for the sushi making class on our next cruise.

Good job and can't wait for the next phase!

16 hours ago, Justmekaren918 said:

The Park has Pizza & cookies as well! Riding those ocean facing elevators is a must! 

OOH, I've not heard of the ocean facing elevators!  That would be a blast 🙂

BLAMBKY, let me know if the Roast Beef sandwiches are as good as people say.  Down to 74 days before we board Brilliance!

I agree with those that stayed at Sheraton Old San Juan!  We stayed there this past June and was really impressed!  Easy to get anywhere in Old SJ and a quick taxi ride to the port!

Now here's my 2 cents.  When booking the hotel back in July of 2017, I ran across the "senior discount".  The website said you had to be 65 or older, at the time of my cruise, I was a youngster at 59.  So I was bummed out.  On a whim, I called Sheraton Old san Juan and they said no, as long as you had an AARP card, you were golden.  So I paid my $12.95 for a years membership and booked our room.  The price went from around $225 a night, down to $115 for the night.  Now I know things change, so don't quote the price based on my experience.  But I would say its at least worth a shot!  Enjoy your cruise!

2 hours ago, manders175 said:

We sailed away at approx 4pm. We reached the Sunshine Skyway Bridge at 6:15pm so just over 2 hours. We have gone under the bridge before so we were not outside to watch, but dont miss it if you never have been!

 

Here is a pic from when we went under the bridge in 2015. 

 

 

I cant wait!  We will be sailing on Brilliance March 23 and it will be our first time on this ship!  We've only got one other cruise to compare it to and that was Freedom of the Seas this past June.  So looking forward to your review, we've already booked the same excursions as you.

Once again, thanks for letting us tag along!

Oh yea, I can't wait to sail under the bridge, LOL!

I had knee replacement 3 weeks after sailing on Freedom this past June.  I ordered one of those old fashioned ice bags from Amazon and asked our Steward for some ice.  He not only filled my bag while we were out, but kept an ice bucket in the fridge in case I needed extra!  Needless to say that cruise was memorable in terms of pain, but an ice pack, the solarium and the deluxe drink package took care of most of it!  Here's to a great cruise!

Good Morning~

We cruised last June on Freedom, sailing from PR.  While I did notice that there were a larger number of Spanish speaking cruisers, I did not notice the rudeness or rowdiness that I've read about.  That may have been because this was our first cruise and we were blown away by Freedom and all the ship is.  

Enjoy your cruise and don't worry about it!  Like I said this was our first cruise and we were blown away, so much that we booked our next cruise while we were on the ship!  86 days till I sail away on Brilliance of the seas!

We took our first cruise this past June on Freedom out of San Juan.  Not actually knowing what to expect, we arrived at the port around 10:15 am that morning.  The porter station was very busy, but not a disaster and they took our bags rather quickly.  We then moved to the next part of embarkation and all told, we had everything we needed to board the ship within 10 minutes.  We were next told to find a chair and wait.  As we were walking to the waiting area, a nice RC associate pointed out two chairs right up front for us.   Within 5 minutes of sitting down, the gates opened and we were boarding the ship.  No disorganization, nor delays and I'm happy to say our first cruise embarkation was a breeze.  Now if our 2nd out of Port Tampa can move just as quick, I'll be super-stoked and ready for a drink!

17 hours ago, Chasep17 said:

For those still hanging around, finally, the Symphony vid. And just enough shirtless CLR to hold you over.

 

https://youtu.be/wWrRLSkcMuY

Thanks guys for another awesome video.  Been waiting for this one ❤️

My husband and I cruised on Brilliance from Tampa in February. One thing we noticed was the ship seem to catered to more of the retiree crowd. This wasn't an issue for us but we would like to take our kids (13 and 11) on the Brilliance for spring break next year (last week of March). The kids loved our video of going under the bridge and they want to experience it live.

 

Anyone know if there will be more kids on board since it is spring break? Also, any idea if it is a big college spring break cruise destination?

 

My kids love to cruise and make friends in the kids clubs. Since Brillance doesn't have as many activities as Harmony, making friends to play basketball and ping pong with is important.

 

Any insight would be appreciated! Thanks

We're booked on March 23 and was wondering the same, although we are an older couple and was wondering about the amount of college kids. Enjoy your cruise no matter what! That's wat I'm gonna do!

Great job! Just found your you tube channel and have been enjoying all of the videos! I've been spending my lunch break with you guys for a few weeks now. LOL

Keep it up!

Glad to see your still alive and kicking Rick! Now you've got me wanting to book a weekend cruise on Mariner. Have to look for a cheap flight from Nashville!

So Someone doesn't create a title - "Royal is the best cruise line"

 

and then you reply, "I agree"

 

Then the original poster changes the title to "You should be allowed to marry your sister" :evilsmile:

 

 

 

Absurd example , but we are killing time till the OP finds time. I will definitely go back on Freedom again.

So to help you out and kill a little more time, here’s dinner this evening from Chops!

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Sorry I’ve been a little lax at posting! Too much to do and not enough time. I promise to catch up soon!

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I don't want to be a spelling ****, but if you change the spelling from "Fredom" to "Freedom" in the thread title, this thread will come up when people use the ship-specific search links on the right. Following along, thanks for doing the review...

Believe me Evilgrin, I tried!

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Well we got into San Juan around 3:15pm yesterday and was exhausted! The flight was not bad at all, and in fact, I think Southwest even upgraded us to deluxe peanuts! This trip is already off the hook!

As we flew into San Juan, I was taken back by the way the city still looked from the air. Buildings were either still covered by blue tarps or simply just left to the elements and were decaying right around us.

We got out of the airport fairly easy and our cab driver was super! He filled us in on the island and how the hurricanes effected him. I did like the taxi process. It’s a flat rate from the airport to the hotel, $1 or $2 per bag and then a fuel fee. All in all, we knew before getting in the taxi, that is was going to be $25 from the airport to Old San Juan Sheraton. Getting ready to head out, but until then, here’s a favorite from Harry Fat One! If you’ve followed his reviews you know he’s all about boats with big afts!

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Hey, Hey, Hey – It’s my main man, BIBPhotography, going on the Freedom! Woohoo!

 

 

 

You and the wife have a great cruise. You plan to paint your face on sail away party? Go ahead and sing the “Baby Got Back” song as you board the ship…

I was wondering if you would see this!!! Thanks Harry, and I’ve got the country version of “Baby Got Back” ready to go! LOL

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Don't forget to say hi to my co-worker Mike, he is not on cruise critic and it would make him wonder. I posted his pic in your roll call.

Got it Bill! I’ll look for Mike and wish them a Happy Anniversary!

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Just got off Freedom a week ago. Tell Christian and Oscar at the R Bar that Tony and Jen from San Diego said hi! Have a great cruise.

Followed your review and learned a lot! I’ll pass on the hellos!

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Just arrived in Tampa for a 3 hour layover. Wait a minute, that almost sounds like Gilligan and a 3 hour cruise!

The flight from Nashville started out rough, but smoothed our pretty quickly. As soon as we broke through the clouds, we were presented with a gorgeous sunrise!

The weather is not bad at all! Considering this what we had when we left

And now it the sun is shining here in n Tampa.

More to come!

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