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Freedom with 54 Surprise Guests, $6513, and Justin Bieber :)

myfamilyluvs2cruise
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myfamilyluvs2cruise

myfamilyluvs2cruise

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I think I am going to try the picture attaching from another computer tonight. I keep going in, changing the size and emailing them back to myself. Not sure I am being efficient. I need to ask my 12 year old son. He is my IT department.

 

So, I will be back later with many more pictures. . . :)

Edited by myfamilyluvs2cruise
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GeorgiaMomof4

GeorgiaMomof4

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[ATTACH]239291[/ATTACH]

 

 

 

Here is the group jumping up and down saying "SURPRISE"!!!!

 

 

 

I was following your planning stages back several months ago. I am a planner myself and I am so happy that your "secret" was kept for you and all your family and friends.

 

I'm also glad I found your review - I don't usually read the ones which don't pertain to the ship we are getting ready to sail.

 

Can't wait to read more - keep it coming!

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mondello

mondello

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I remember your ongoing battle to gather all the price drops and OBC. Really glad to hear everything worked out so good. You did a great job with the planning and execution of the whole endeavour. Thank you for coming back to update us with your postings. Best of luck with the pictures, too.

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TrqoisWtrs

TrqoisWtrs

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What an awesome story. Congrats on the organizing of this. And congrats on actually getting people to follow through and cruise! :)

 

Love this pic - the culmination of it all. :D

 

attachment.php?attachmentid=239290&thumb=1&d=1342024132

 

Here is a side action view of our friend sitting at the bar, and everyone else hiding down below :)

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myfamilyluvs2cruise

myfamilyluvs2cruise

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Day 2 . . . Let the Good Times Roll

 

We woke up early, partly due to excitement, and party due to the fact that we had scheduled a group workout for 8:00 am. I thought it would be bad form to not show up on the first day. We agreed to meet on the deck in an open space by the jogging track. To my surprise, almost all of the adults/college age kids were there and ready to go! I think they rolled in straight from the disco . . . but they were there and ready to rock.

 

Our trainer had some fun ideas for the week, and planned different programs for each day. He was on the cruise with his girlfriend- who is also a fitness trainer- and they were so cute coaching the somewhat hung-over, not used to any humidity complainers, like myself. He started the workout by calling it an “add-on” day. So we had to start with 25 push-ups - and then run 2 quick laps around the track. Each time he added on 25 of some other torture- squats, jumps, sit-ups, plank, and then we would work our way through the entire lineup, ending with a run, again. It was really hard, but SO fun. We had a great time cheering each other on, and running around looking out at the spectacular ocean views. He said he was going to give an award at the end of the trip for perfect attendance, most improved, and a secret award- which added to the excitement.

 

After our 60 minutes was up, and we were all dowsed in sweat, we went to breakfast in the Freedom Restaurant. The lines were really not too bad. And, I need to say that I never personally waited more than 12 minutes for anything- omelets, wok, deli included. Maybe it was just the times I was there- but it was easy to get food. A little too easy . . . . J

 

The breakfast was good- my only pet peeve is the egg mix that they use onboard. (RCCL does it too). Eggs should taste and feel like eggs! So, no big deal- I would just wait in the omelet line and ask them to make scrambled eggs there with the cheese and vegetables. SO GOOD- and the scramble took way shorter time to make than an omelet- so it was a quick fix for my scrambled egg addiction.

 

My friend Kellie made a “skillet” every morning... She would get potatoes/grits, some type of breakfast meat, cheese, salsa- and would stir it up. They were actually very delicious- and easy and quick to make. She is gluten free- and so is my family- so we copied her idea often. Breakfast is really very easy when you are GF- and they also put out GF bread in the buffet line too!

 

After breakfast, there was talk of saving some chairs all together. But, I told everyone about “CHOGS” and how we didn’t want to be in that category. So we all went and changed, and then wandered around and found a great spot up high on the forward part of the deck (nowhere near the pool- but beautiful views of the ocean). The chairs were not set up- so we took them out and set them up and sat down- and all the adults/college age kids were able to be in the same area- which was great.

 

We spent the day just sunning and relaxing. We had the cutest waiter who took great care of us. He even offered us lunch from the Serenity Deck menu- though we were not sitting in that area. As much as I had read on these boards, I did not realize there was a delicious lunch menu and the waiter would bring it right to your chairs! They had probably 5 delicious items such as chicken Caesar salads, and a shrimp salad sandwich that was amazing! All served with pretzels and great sauces/dressings. Very impressive, Carnival!

 

It was a nice relaxing day. The kids were all together swimming down below, playing in the arcade, and exploring the ship. The rest of us were getting our tan on (or our burn on, depending . . . ) J

 

It was then formal night. We all got dressed up- and everybody was looking good! I love seeing my kiddos all dressed up- as it is a rare occasion. J We took pictures and had a drink or two on our balcony with all the adults. We headed off the MDR, and I was a little nervous about how everyone would like that experience, as it was our first night there.

 

We walked in and I was so pleasantly surprised to see our seating at dinner. We were in the Posh Dining Room, and had tables of perfect size along the aft window- which provided a beautiful view as we were dining. We had early seating- which was great as the kids were barely holding their eyes open. We met our waiter, Parta- and he would roll his “r’s” for effect when he said his name- which was cute. I am not exaggerating when I say that those guys have zero time to chat. He was running back and forth and every which way with hot dishes. I remember past cruises where the waiters would be more personal and chatty- and those days on a full sailing may be gone. But, I will say unequivocally that of our group we did not have ONE service complaint. All our food was hot- promptly delivered, and our orders were correct. Very impressive as well!

 

As a side not, our friends come from all different backgrounds, but a number of them are definitely “foodies” and/or picky eaters (and I might be one as well). All the feedback I got was that they thoroughly enjoyed the MDR experience as well as the variety of the menu- and thought the service and quality was quite good. We had sailed the Freedom of the Seas last summer with some of the same friends, and those friends kept remarking how much better the food was on Carnival. I was nervous about this as food for me could make or break a trip- I love to eat! But it was spot on.

 

We headed out to the piano bar, but there was not a soul in there and the player was on a break. We were trying to fill a little time before the family friendly comedy show at 8:45, so we stopped by to see Music Motion in the Habana Bar- which was again empty. But we danced and sang for 30 minutes, and thoroughly enjoyed their performance.

 

We got our group together and went in to see John Rathbone with the kids. He was really pretty funny- although you could tell that being family friendly was tough for him. The kids got a big kick out of it, except for one joke that he made at my daughter’s expense regarding her being “fat”. She is underweight, so I think he thought it would work. But she is 14, at a sensitive age- and I shuddered to think how some kids would take a joke like that. But, she fortunately laughed it off while we all raised our eyebrows. But the rest of his show was cute and loaded with jokes like about how to spot Ronald McDonald at a nudist colony- he is the one with the sesame seed buns . . . and the kids LOVED it.

 

The adults then stayed to watch Macio. OMG is all I have to say. He was absolutely hysterical- with great delivery and energy on stage. But, it is not for the faint of heart. “Irish George”, the comedy host kept warning people that if they are easily offended, that they need to leave. WOW- he was not kidding. We all laughed so hard we couldn’t breathe, but felt a little uncomfortable while doing so- LOL.

 

One word of warning . . . the chairs in the international aft lounge have a metal coating on the arms. Some of them have coating that is flaking off- and several of us had a handful of metal splinters the next morning. We mentioned it to the waiters, but I am not sure if they are fixed or changed out yet. I am sure that there have been more than a few drunken people who wake up wondering what in the world happened to their hands . . .

 

We then called it a night. All in all, it was a great start to our trip. The entertainment was plentiful, the food was solid, and the service was great.

 

Next stop . . . day 2.

 

Edited by myfamilyluvs2cruise
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myfamilyluvs2cruise

myfamilyluvs2cruise

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This is by far one of the best reviews that I have ever read. Congrats on pulling off such an incredible surprise and thank you so much for sharing! :)

 

Thank you so much for reading! I want to respond to everyone that has made a comment, and probably will at some point. :) But, thank you!!!

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pcrum

pcrum

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Loving the review. This is a link to a thread that explains the various ways to upload photos to a a CC thread where you get the large photos. Basically your photos have to be on a site like picasa or photobucket or facebook for you to be able to use them on CC and get the large photos to show in your review. This thread explains it better than I ever could, complete with screen shots. I have used all of the methods detailed in the thread, but facebook is by far the easiest for me, because my photos are usually already on facebook!!

 

Looking forward to more of the review!

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1622136&highlight=how+to+post+photos&page=3

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myfamilyluvs2cruise

myfamilyluvs2cruise

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Loving the review. This is a link to a thread that explains the various ways to upload photos to a a CC thread where you get the large photos. Basically your photos have to be on a site like picasa or photobucket or facebook for you to be able to use them on CC and get the large photos to show in your review. This thread explains it better than I ever could, complete with screen shots. I have used all of the methods detailed in the thread, but facebook is by far the easiest for me, because my photos are usually already on facebook!!

 

Looking forward to more of the review!

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1622136&highlight=how+to+post+photos&page=3

 

OH, thank you so much!!!!! I am not on Facebook- but will figure something out tonight.

 

I so appreciate your help!

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harleymouse

harleymouse

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glad you had a great trip . The kids and I had a Blast all around great time!!!!

Oh- did you see the blue t-shirted group? We were in normal clothes- and I was the one biting my fingernails and pacing- haha.

 

I am so glad you had a great trip! What was not to like though, right? It was awesome!

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Jbird81

Jbird81

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Thanks for the great review, glad to see a nice positive review about Carnival, highlighting all of the excellent service on board! Amazing job doing all of this work for your husband's surprise!

Edited by Jbird81
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needabreakcanada

needabreakcanada

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I have been following your tale from the very start. Definately warrants tears. I am so happy that everything worked out so well. This will be a memory your family,friends and especially hubby will cherish forever.

 

Job well done!

 

I have told several friends about your journey and hardships along the way - would makes for great inspirational reading:D

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