Live from the Freedom of the Seas - March 18, 2012

[Daghis]

Day 2 started before the alarm I had set on my iPhone went off, thanks to the light coming in from around the sides of the balcony curtain. Even with the curtain fully closed, when the sun is shining brightly, the room still gets adequately lit from what light makes it in around the curtain. So, I didn't get to sleep as long as I had wanted, but I woke up feeling okay and mostly refreshed.

 

After getting ready, I spent some time on the balcony. I was trying to take some notes on my iPad, but the noise from the balcony dividers was annoying. Both of the dividers (the ones on the left and the right) were rattling. Seeing that the problem was due to the guide opening being wider than the balcony divider itself, I took a piece of paper, folded it up a few times to make it thicker, and inserted it into the guide. I repeated the process on the other side. Voilà! Noise problem solved!

 

 

And now I could enjoy the view from our balcony in peace.

 

 

Looking forward:

 

 

You can see the cantilevered whirlpool from here, too:

 

 

And looking aft, you can see the hump:

 

[famofsix]

Thanks a million for posting the cruise compasses!

[Daghis]

Once we were ready, it was time to get some breakfast and then go to the Meet & Mingle.

 

For breakfast, we headed up to Windjammer. I was looking forward to getting some miso soup with my breakfast as I had really enjoyed that on the Liberty of the Seas. Later on in the week, I couldn't find it, so I suspect that if it was there, it was only on the starboard side of Windjammer, as the port side had oatmeal or something like that where I would have expected to find it.

 

Breakfast was basically fine, nothing fancy. It was tricky finding a table, but the servers worked together to clean the tables quickly and help people looking for one find a place to sit down. It worked reasonably well. Later on in the week, I would take advantage of the Platinum status and eat my Windjammer food in Chops instead.

 

Soon, it was time to head to Olive or Twist up in the Viking Crown for the Meet & Mingle. This crowd was rather subdued and quiet. Jacinta, a Cruise Director staff member from Australia, ran the event and gave away a few prizes, and then let us chat among ourselves. I had a pleasant time talking with a few people from our roll call thread. I'd say that there were about 20-25 people in attendance. I think we'd had 60-70 sign up.

 

What I really like from the Meet & Mingle is getting a chance to meet people so that when you see them again later on during the week, you can recognize each other and it's like having additional friends onboard. It makes the cruise week even better.

 

From the Meet & Mingle, we headed down for a game of bingo. I sort of enjoy playing bingo, but with the payouts being relatively low, sometimes it can be a bit disappointing. We were joined by another from our roll call thread and her son. I'm happy to say that I was able to be a "stander" (just one number needed to win) for each of the four games, so that's something at least. I didn't win, though, but that's okay.

 

From there, we had lunch... I don't recall where we ate lunch today. It was either Sorrento's or Windjammer. In any case, it wasn't that memorable, I guess. :)

 

Next up, the Royal Slot Tournament. Bryan and I both entered. We were listed as being in round 2, but that seemed to be the first round. I guess they'd had an initial round the previous night. I didn't get a great score, but I beat Bryan, so perhaps that's something. Later on, I'd see that I'd ranked #10 out of the top 15, so there was a chance I might be able to make it to the semi-finals. If enough people joined the slot tournament, the top prize would be a cruise for a big slot tournament on the Liberty of the Seas sometime in December; if not, it'd be a cash prize only tournament.

 

Keeping busy as always, it was time to head down to Studio B for the FREEDOM-ICE.COM ice show. On the way, we saw Po hanging out by the On Air Club.

 

 

We waited a bit for people to enter and get ready for the show to start.

 

 

And pretty much right on time, the show started. I only took a couple photos before I realized that the low lighting conditions and the fast moving skaters would make it difficult to get good pictures.

 

 

I like the various ice shows on the different ships, and I like that they have different themes. This show was a play on different aspects of "freedom" and was quite enjoyable. I especially enjoyed a performer who did a sort of juggling act while skating around. He had some good charisma and played well with the audience, including having them throw rings out onto the ice and he'd catch them around his neck. For the times that they missed, or didn't throw the rings hard enough, he made it a great show to work with them to have them try again and again until they'd finally succeed.

[katiel53]

Daghis,

I am totally enjoying your review as we have been on Freedom several times and your review brings back many memories. I was just wondering which of the two specialty restaurants you liked better? My fav is Portofino, but I know so many love Chops.

 

Thanks for your postings.

[Daghis]

Hmm... that's a good question.

 

My initial answer is that since we don't get dressed up for formal nights, we tend to eat in the specialty dining restaurants during formal nights. Having two formal nights and two specialty restaurants means that we get to have both during the cruise!

 

In the past, I wouldn't have chosen Chops due to a disappointing dining experience on the Oasis of the Seas, but our recent time on the Freedom of the Seas really turned that around.

 

I'm very hard pressed to decide between the two. I love the variety of menu items available in Portofino, but I really enjoyed the sides and my filet mignon in Chops.

 

I guess I'm just going to have to try them both again in October! :D

[Daghis]

After the ice show, we wandered around a bit and then finally got ready for dinner. Since it was the first of two formal nights and we choose not to get dressed up, we seek out alternate dining options. Tonight we chose to eat at Portofino's.

 

I shared pictures of the food, but let me talk about the meal overall. As expected, service was fantastic, and everything tasted great!

 

Here are Portofino's menus:

 

 

 

 

For the appetizers, I had both the Prosciutto in Insalata

 

 

and the Risotto ai Gamberetti (no picture). They were so yummy! For the main course, I had the (not listed) dual lobster tails, served with mashed potatoes and vegetables.

 

 

Since we don't dine in the Main Dining Room on formal nights, I usually miss out on lobster night. Having the lobster tails available in Portofino's (at no extra charge) gives me a chance to get lobster during the cruise.

 

Dessert was the Tartufo al Cioccolato.

 

 

Oh, it was so wonderfully tasty! I wish I had ordered a second one!

[Daghis]

Bryan ordered the Dolcetti alla Portofino (sampler). He enjoyed it.

 

 

In addition to our desserts, we got chocolate-covered strawberries and cookies. They were yummy, too.

 

 

After such a fantastic dinner, we went back to the cabin to get ready for the evening and then headed off to see the production show, Marquee. The show was well done, but not my favorite kind of show. I prefer the Broadway shows on the Oasis and Allure, especially Hairspray. I'd like to see more shows like this to come to some of the other ships in the future.

 

After the show, we headed up to Olive or Twist to listen to Roman's "Easy Listening" music. He's a guitarist and he was great to listen to. I really enjoyed hanging out there with his music in the background.

 

We hung out there for a while and then wandered on back to our cabin for the night.

[Daghis]

Day 3 - Welcome to Labadee!

 

 

One of the things that seemed new to me was that they have a tender that takes people from the dock over to Columbus Cove on the other side of Labadee. That seems nice for people who want to get over there more easily.

 

 

Once we made it onto the beach, we headed over toward the Barefoot Beach Club so we could check into our cabana.

 

 

 

Once we got through the gate, they checked for our cabana reservation (since we didn't have a gold-colored SeaPass card) and escorted us to our cabana.

 

 

They explained what services were available to us from the suite attendant and showed us our towels and bottles of Evian water.

 

The view from our cabana was pleasant, and with the numerous trees planted in the area gave us relaxing shade as well.

 

[Daghis]

While I hung out in the cabana for a bit, Bryan headed up the hill toward the spa area for his hilltop massage. I lounged around in the cabana and read a book, while listening to the birds and feeling the breeze.

 

I felt a bit bad about spending all the time here in the cabana, so I decided to walk around a bit.

 

Here's the Barefoot Beach area:

 

 

And a view of the ship from the Barefoot Beach:

 

 

Heading over to Nellie's Beach, here's another view of the ship and some of the cabanas there:

 

 

Several new cabanas are being built over here.

 

 

Continuing on, I passed by the Artisan's Market, but I didn't go in as it was pretty crowded inside.

 

 

I wandered over to Adrenaline Beach and watched some of the zip-line riders for a bit.

 

[cruisenlove]

You have very wondeful posts, DAGHIS...I love your pictures and I love you rpics from Labadee it was beautiful there i even lost my sunglasses in the ocean there they fell off and went all the way to the bottom that was at the beginning of my trip and they were prescription i had to wait till i got home to get brand new ones i was so pissed..thanks for posting everyday i follow this post because it is so interesting :)

[Daghis]

I then headed back toward the cabana area and figured I'd grab some lunch. I was curious to see what the "special" lunch was like. The selection seemed less than the general buffet, but the food was generally good. I did enjoy the shrimp skewers, but I found the steak to be overly well done and tough.

 

Bryan returned from his massage feeling very relaxed and even a bit worn out from the massage. After chilling for a bit, we took our provided floating beach mats out into the water and hung out for about half an hour. I was very impressed with myself that I was finally able to get on the mat, lying back, and really relax on the water. I had a great time, and I'll definitely get a mat in the future now that I know how to use them! :)

 

I didn't want to stay out in the sun too long, so we went back to the cabana and relaxed for a bit longer. We had Labadoozies which were okay, but not as great as I thought they might be.

 

Around 3:30, we started packing things up and got ready to head back to the ship. If someone in cabana S-4 should find a partially used can of sunscreen that we forgot... you're welcome! :D

 

From the dock, we took a look back to the cabanas.

 

 

 

The cabanas on the left are at the Barefoot Beach Club (generally for suites) and on the right are at Nellie's Beach.

 

Arawak Aqua Park:

 

 

And finally, it was time to return to the ship.

 

[Daghis]

You have very wondeful posts, DAGHIS...I love your pictures and I love you rpics from Labadee it was beautiful there i even lost my sunglasses in the ocean there they fell off and went all the way to the bottom that was at the beginning of my trip and they were prescription i had to wait till i got home to get brand new ones i was so pissed..thanks for posting everyday i follow this post because it is so interesting :)

Thank you very much!

 

I almost lost my glasses last year at the water park in Atlantis in Nassau. I tumbled out of my inner tube during one of the rapids sections and my glasses went flying. I was convinced that I would be unable to see any writing clearly for the next week or so until I returned home from my big trip, but fortunately they flowed down the river to an area where the currents ebb and end up dropping off lost items. My glasses were recovered!

[landni]

So curious about your time in Cozumel. Did you do an excursion?

[Daghis]

We went back to the Main Dining Room for dinner tonight, but I don't recall what I had. It was good, whatever it was. :)

 

After dinner, we headed off to the Crown & Anchor Member Recognition Event. I thought it was quite nice to enter Pharaoh's Palace with the ship's officers standing in lines by the entrance. It felt so formal, and I felt a bit underdressed until I got into the room and saw that I was dressed pretty comparably to the other attendees. We were served complimentary cocktails (rum punch or sea breeze) or champagne.

 

The Loyalty Ambassador, the Hotel Director, and the Captain each talked for a bit. The Loyalty Ambassador mostly gave us a sales pitch talking about Crown & Anchor benefits, booking onboard, and the RCCL credit card. The other two, however, shared interesting information about the ship and those aboard.

 

After this event, it was time for Now You See It, the magician/illusionist show with Drew Thomas from America's Got Talent. In the beginning, I wasn't all that impressed, but as the show progressed, my interest grew dramatically. He had a couple acts that were quite fantastic and a bit mesmerizing. I'm really looking forward to seeing him again in October.

 

After the show, I spent some time in the casino, enjoyed some of the free drinks that Andreea gave me, and eventually made my way up to bed.

[Daghis]

So curious about your time in Cozumel. Did you do an excursion?

Cozumel was day 6, so I'll be getting to it after I get through Jamaica and Grand Cayman.

 

We did the Stingray City and Barrier Reef Snorkeling excursion through the ship. The highlight of that was that it was very crowded at Stingray City by the time we got there and the stingrays were few and far between. The reef had some good snorkeling, though, and people did seem to enjoy that.

[awicky]

Wow D, you r the best!!! Thx so much for sharing. I sail Sun 4/1 & 1st time w/RC & W Carib. great pics and info.

Awilda

[BillOh]

What I really like from the Meet & Mingle is getting a chance to meet people so that when you see them again later on during the week, you can recognize each other and it's like having additional friends onboard. It makes the cruise week even better.

 

Absolutely, We had a great roll call on our Freedom cruise nearly 2 years and 6000+ posts. You mentioned finding a seat in the Windjammer. Several times roll call group members would see us looking for a table and call us over. Sure made that easier, and I think the Freedom windjammer is the best of the fleet.

[BillOh]

Day 3 - Welcome to Labadee!

 

 

 

 

You know your are obsessed with cruising when you look at a picture of a ship and say, "I see my cabin" :o

[windjamming]

What a great review, as usual, Daghis. I really enjoy your commentary and photos.

 

We are considering the Freedom vs the Allure for a special family cruise later in the year. We have not sailed Freedom before and are very interested in trying a 'new' ship. We love the Allure, though.

 

Given your experience on both ships, which one would you choose for a special cruise? The novelty of the Freedom is making us lean towards her, but we don't want to be disappointed.

[BillOh]

What a great review, as usual, Daghis. I really enjoy your commentary and photos.

 

We are considering the Freedom vs the Allure for a special family cruise later in the year. We have not sailed Freedom before and are very interested in trying a 'new' ship. We love the Allure, though.

 

Given your experience on both ships, which one would you choose for a special cruise? The novelty of the Freedom is making us lean towards her, but we don't want to be disappointed.

 

Having been on both, you can have a great time on both. I recently went through this process for my next cruise, do I go back on Freedom or Allure? If Freedom sailed out of Port Everglades I probably would have chose that to have Coco Cay over Nassau. Port Everglades is just so convenient.

[Daghis]

Wow D, you r the best!!!

 

What a great review, as usual, Daghis. I really enjoy your commentary and photos.

Thank you both very much!

 

We are considering the Freedom vs the Allure for a special family cruise later in the year. We have not sailed Freedom before and are very interested in trying a 'new' ship. We love the Allure, though.

 

Given your experience on both ships, which one would you choose for a special cruise? The novelty of the Freedom is making us lean towards her, but we don't want to be disappointed.

I really liked the Oasis and the Allure and was concerned that I'd be disappointed by a step-down to the Freedom. The concern was unfounded. Sure, there weren't two Flowriders, but there was one; there wasn't a Jazz on 4 club, but there was pleasant music to listen to in various venues; there wasn't a Giovanni's, but there was Portofino's; and so on.

 

I think a lot of it would depend on who's in your family that'd be going on this cruise. If you've got a larger group, then the greater varieties of amenities, activities, and venues on the Allure might be a better choice. That said, the Freedom of the Seas is a great ship, and the service was excellent, so I can still wholeheartedly recommend her for your consideration.

[medfordgirl]

we were on the Freedom a few months ago and will be back in december (same itinerary too) Anyway, can you tell me about the slot tournament. I never did it. How much does it cost and what exactly do you do? how do you progress and win? What machines do you play? Where do you sign up to participate in it. Just wondering if I should give it a shot. OH and when do they usually occur? Maybe that is why I never tried it, maybe it conflicted with something? :confused:

 

Gosh, I would love it if they would put a whole show in Freedom ie, chicago or hairspray....I believe they have a show on Liberty. Wonder why they don't put it on Freedom?

[Daghis]

The slot tournament costs $25 to enter. You could enter multiple times if your score isn't high enough to qualify for the semi-final rounds.

 

They run several rounds during the cruise, usually on "at sea" days. The top 15 scores from all rounds during the week will play in the semi-finals on the last "at sea" day. The top 3 scorers during the semi-final rounds then play one last final round to determine their winning positions.

 

If there are 75 entrants for the slot tournament, then the top prize is a particular cruise and an entry for its high-prize slot tournament, with a couple cash prizes as well for the other two finalists. If there are fewer, then the prizes are cash only.

 

As far as what you do, you press a button... a lot! You're set up on a bank of machines that are set in tournament mode. Instead of playing for money, you're accumulating points based on what you get on the reels. The machines are programmed with a five minute timer. When the signal is given, everyone starts pressing their "Spin" button as fast as possible. The goal is to get as many spins in as possible during the five minute window. If you're lucky, you'll get a high score and be able to advance.

 

There's no skill needed whatsoever, save for being able to press a button repeatedly.

 

You sign up at the casino cashier.

 

Take a look at the Cruise Compasses I posted and you'll see the slot tournaments listed there periodically. Otherwise, just ask in the casino and they'll let you know when they're going to be.

 

In addition to the regular slot tournament, they also held "Lucky Winners Slot Tournaments" that gave away special prizes (dinner for two in Chops and a bottle of wine or champagne) to the top winner (out of 10 players). These were free and people were selected to play in this tournament if they were playing in the casino at that time.

 

Give it a try sometime. It's a unique experience and it can be fun, especially if you bring a cheering section with you. :)

[QTMichele]

Loving the photos and commentary addition to your review!

 

ALSO... WONDERFUL picture of the cabanas from the water... great vantage point that will help those interested in renting a cabana. The cabanas in the center of the picture, up on the rocks, are part of Nellie's cabanas - they are the hillside cabanas available to rent. :)

[Daghis]

Day 4 - Welcome to Jamaica, mon!

 

We arrived leisurely at Falmouth, Jamaica, sometime around 10 am. I wasn't paying attention to the time to know when we actually docked. By the time I was up and ready, I think we were already docked.

 

 

We were sharing the port today with the Voyager of the Seas.

 

 

 

From up high on the ship, I could see entertainers down below who were ready to pose for pictures (for tips, of course).

 

 

When entering or leaving the port, you are funneled through this building. It contains the security checkpoint.