Newbcruiser1

I grabbed a quick snack in the Windjammer:

Then got ready for dinner. I stopped off at the shore excursion desk to file a complaint about the tour today. People had already beat me to it so there was already a report in progress. She added my comments and room number and said that it would be sent to their head office in Miami and some other places and they would determine compensation (if any). So she said at some point in the next 8 days, they'll call me.

Dinner tonight was in the MDR:

I had the salmon appetizer:

And the BLT salad appetizer:

And then the steak - which wasn't to my liking. My tablemates said they found it average and thought it was okay. I found the texture to be really weird so I didn't eat it. I did enjoy the veggies though since it wasn't the typical half-cooked broccoli and carrots that fly across the room when you try to stick a fork in them!

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There wouldn't be a clear sunset tonight!

I went for a dip in the pool to cool off, and then wandered the ship to watch sailaway at 5pm!

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More photos from my walk around the port area:

This beautiful mall is right at the port exit a 3 minute walk from the ship!

Back onboard the ship the air seemed to be getting sandier and more hazy!

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More from Maspalomas:

When we got dropped off, our tour guide had said he would try to get another bus. What do you know - the same sauna bus shows up to pick us up. So back onto the flaming bus from hell we went! [emoji849]He spent the whole ride back to the ship trying to convince us that it was cooler now (it wasn't!). The icing on the cake - on arrival back to the ship, they wouldn't open the back doors so we could unload (and breathe!) faster - we had to funnel through the front doors past the driver and guide who were anxiously awaiting their tips! Eeek!

So needless to say we saw some beautiful sites, but the tour was a major disappointment. It also felt more like shopping stops than anything else.

I quickly reboarded the ship to cool off. I first grabbed a diamond freebie frappuccino, and then headed back to my room to put my hair up, sandals on, and try to freshen up a little. I had lunch in the Windjammer:

They have these meringues everyday (with some variation) which are incredible!

I then headed back off the ship to explore the port area and take some pictures.

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More from Puerto de Mogan:

After an hour in Puerto de Mogan, we were back on the steamy bus. The tour guide finally acknowledged that the air conditioning wasn't working, and that something must have happened between that morning and the time we got on it. He then changed that to "it was working yesterday"... he mentioned that they could get another bus but it would have been a half hour wait. I don't know WHY he didn't order that other bus when he let us off an hour and 15 minutes earlier... so off we went with the vents blowing hot hair and the curtains closed trying to block the sun.

Next stop: Maspalomas! Note - this stop has some hotels, but the biggest attraction is the sand dunes!

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Puerto de Mogan continued:

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Some pictures from our arrival this morning:

My tour today was booked via RCI - "Southwestern Delights" - it was advertised to be a guided tour to 2 resort towns.

We were off to a bit of a rough start, as we sat in the theatre well after the tour was scheduled to start. Eventually, we were called to the bus and we sat there for quite a while as well, advised that 7 guests were still missing. We ended up leaving without them (by that point, the guests and the tour were 45 minutes late).

So apparently the Canaries are in a heat wave this week. Their air systems usually come from the north east which means cool breezes with maximum temperatures of around 25 Celsius even in the summer. They are currently in record-breaking hot weather because they have an unusual system bringing the wind from the Sahara Desert. This has caused warmer air, lower humidity (30% instead of 60ish %), and a haziness in the air due to suspended dust/sand.

The bus was uncomfortably hot and everyone was asking the tour guide to turn up the air conditioning. He told us that it was on the maximum and he couldn't do anything else. Clearly it wasn't working.

We went to Puerto de Mogan first - this is a town with a beach, marina, shopping, and market. We had about an hour there to explore.

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Welcome to day 6 onboard the Freedom of the Seas! Today we're in Gran Canaria!

I woke up bright and early at 6:00am for an 8:00 tour! Had breakfast in the Windjammer:

We're just tying up to the pier and I'm off to meet up with the excursion group! More later - including what the actual tour is! [emoji6]

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And the chocolate banana streudel:

It was "white night" and there was a poolside party. Unfortunately they listed the start time as 10pm but didn't actually start the dancing until 10:45 so I think a lot of people had left. I didn't stay long either due to the early morning that would follow. Nonetheless, it looked like a decent turnout!

I returned to my room to find a little baby waiting for me! I've never seen one of these! So cute!

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And off we went!

Dinner tonight was in the main dining room. This was the second of 2 nights that our head waiter advised missing for specialty dining. We didn't heed that advice! Luckily all turned out fine!

I started with the smoked salmon tartare. My apologies - I was starving after not eating in 8 hours, so I devoured it before realizing that I forgot to take a picture! You'll have to use your imagination there!

I then had the calamari Greek salad. I had asked for an appetizer size but they sent a full portion:

The breaded mushrooms were great:

As was the mushroom and goat cheese pizza (although the crust could have used some work!):

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Some more photos from the way back from El Teide:

2 more (much smaller) volcanos:

Back onboard I headed straight to the Promenade cafe for a sugar/caffeine fix with a caramel frappuccino with Baileys. Unfortunately the man serving me was a little clueless which made the process somewhat painful!

After freshening up and getting ready for dinner, I grabbed a margarita from the diamond lounge and headed outside to watch sailaway.

It turns out there was also a beautiful sunset!

I took my drink up to the helipad and it was even more beautiful!

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Sorry everyone - the internet is not working well enough to post pictures! I will continue Day 5 tomorrow, including another gorgeous sunset, and dinner!

And coming up tomorrow - Gran Canaria!

Have a great night and stay tuned!

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Next we stopped at another viewing point with restrooms and a restaurant.

And we eventually made it to our final stop - Mars! Hahaha! It really does look like Mars!

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Today I booked the Canadas del Teide Panorama tour through RCI. Last year I had done a full island tour including the volcano through NCL. Unfortunately RCI did not have an equivalent, however, I enjoyed the volcano so much last year that I decided to do it again!

The buses picked us up right on the pier and took about 2 hours to reach the platform of El Teide, at 7000 feet, including 2 stops along the way. The weather variation was remarkable. It started out at 30 degrees C which is unseasonably warm in Tenerife, was really windy and cold at the first viewing point, and then got a bit more comfortable higher up with a lot less wind!

Check out these layers of lava:

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We were docked behind the Celebrity Reflection, and in front of some oil platforms.

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Good evening from day 5 on the Freedom of the Seas! Today, we were in Tenerife!

I once again opted to sleep in a bit and skip breakfast. We arrived right on schedule at 11:00am and I headed off to the Windjammer for an early lunch at around 11:45. I had a chicken burger which was pretty good, although not super favorful! I added some bacon for flavor!

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After getting ready for dinner, I got a glass of wine from the diamond lounge and headed off to dinner.

Tonight's menu looked less than exciting, but they once again pulled it off just fine and whatever I ordered tasted great!

I started with shrimp cocktail, followed by Caesar salad:

My main course was the sea bass:

For dessert I asked for and received a bowl of mixed berries!

The show tonight was "Marquee", a compilation of different Broadway show songs. It was very good!

After the show I picked up a tea from the Promenade Cafe and headed up to my room!

Tomorrow is day 5, and we will be in Tenerife! I am very excited as I loved the island when I visited last year on a Transatlantic cruise. I will once again be visiting El Teide volcano!

Thanks once again for following and stay tuned!

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It was a beautiful afternoon at sea today! I spent some time reading in the solarium, talking to a fellow Canadian cruiser that I met, and later swimming and hot-tubbing.

On that note - a word of caution for anyone who is a weak swimmer and is short. The pools are deeper than the posted signs, so be careful! Fortunately they had to partially drain them today because of the waves from the ship's motion, which meant I could actually touch the bottom and was able to get in and let go of the pipe running along the sides. Also, the water was surprisingly warm today which was a nice treat! It was the solarium pool that I went in, and I was told the main pools were even warmer!

And another random note - the lifeguards have been out in full force which is fantastic! There is at least 1 at every pool (1 at each of the side by side main pools, another in the solarium, and a couple more in the kids' area).

I also got crafty and had another delicious drink for free courtesy of diamond perks! I waited for happy hour, headed to the Promenade cafe, ordered a mocha frappuccino with my 1 coffee credit, and asked for a shot of Baileys in it using one of my 3 happy hour drink credits. The result was delicious!

I later got some sushi from the Windjammer's dinner buffet. It was tastier than usual cruise sushi! Once again, good job, Freedom of the Seas! I took it outside to deck 12 to watch the sunset.

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Are they done with the scrubbers on the back yet? I like sitting out behind the Diamond Lounge and this past year it was closed off as they were putting the scrubbers on.

Yup appears to be done now! Although I haven't been out there at all since the diamond lounge is only open to Pinnacles for happy hour and I heard it's a zoo during the day! :)

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Kel J - glad to hear you're enjoying your cruise! If you bump into me, say hello! Young solo - likely the only one fitting that description! 🤣

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Having skipped breakfast, I was ready for lunch. I swung by the solo lunch get together, and was pleasantly surprised to learn that it would be hosted throughout - including at the dining table. There were about 6 people in attendance. On the way to the dining room though, I found some fellow Cruise Critic friends so I abandoned the solo group and ate with them.

I am shocked at how well the Freedom is doing their dining on this sailing! Not only does breakfast take place on 2 separate decks of the MDR with 1 being buffet and the other a la carte, but they are doing full lunch buffets as well in addition to the tutti salad bar! They had everything from a made-to-order stir fry station to a hot food area with veggies, potatoes, steak, chicken, and more, to a full dessert buffet including a sundae bar and a chocolate fountain!

I started with salad from the salad bar:

And then ordered the burger, which had mushrooms and cheese on it:

And finished with a sundae with butter almond and coffee ice cream, sprinkles, slivered almonds, and walnuts!

I then got the warmest hug ever from Alex the lion on the Promenade!

And now I am sitting poolside at the solarium pool! I plan to read for a while, maybe go to the poolside line dancing, and maybe take a swim (in the wave-created wave pool) before dinner!

Stay tuned for more!

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Good afternoon from

Day 4 on the Freedom of the Seas!!!

I had planned to sleep in today, although was mostly awake and just lounging around since 9am! I eventually ventured out at 11:20 for a check of the weather on the Promenade deck! It is a beautiful day! The ocean looks quite calm but the ship is rolling from side to side quite a bit. I heard that the captain has not put the stabilizers out as of yet.

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My apologies - I forgot to post today's cruise compass!

That's all for today! Coming up next - day 4 - another sea day! And it's supposed to be HOT HOT HOT at 32 degrees C (90F!).

Thanks again to those who are following!

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