Jump to content
Cruise Critic Community

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

myfamilyluvs2cruise
 Share

Recommended Posts

angel54321

angel54321

Posted
Posted

Wow! Can't wait to hear the rest of the story. You made me cry with your wonderful surprise for your husband. I'm getting married in a month, and I can only hope I can be that good of a wife to my husband to be......

 

 

 

Soon to be Mrs. Taddeo. 8-10-12

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

Link to comment
Share on other sites
michigyrl

michigyrl

Posted
Posted

I'm loving your review! I saw the blue tshirts on board and was wondering if they were from your group. So glad your surprise went off smoothly and I loved your review part 1--made me tear up too.

 

I didn't know the serenity deck served lunch! I was only up there twice and it was in the late afternoon. We spent most of our daytime back by the adult pool.

 

Looking forward to the rest of your review!

Link to comment
Share on other sites
myfamilyluvs2cruise

myfamilyluvs2cruise

Posted
  • Author
Posted (edited)

Day 2 . . . . 45 Push Ups, 45 Sit Ups and 45 Mojitos

 

The next day we woke up bright and early for our workout on deck. What I had sort of forgotten is that it was my birthday. I was so caught up in the fact that my husband was turning 50 that I neglected to think too much about my turning 45. And actually, I was hoping to sweep it under the rug. My sister ratted me out that morning, however, and as I walked up to our workout- our trainer announced that today would be the “45” workout in honor of my new age. Let me just say that I have never wished more that I was younger . . .

 

Our workout entailed doing 45 of everything, and in between sets running around the track as fast as we could go. I am not much of a push- up girl, and 45 definitely put the hurt on my mojito-drinking muscles for the rest of the day. I think everyone else there was also wishing I was much younger too!!!

 

It was a fun workout however, and it always amazes me how much fun it can be when you are suffering alongside your friends. A think a couple of our college-agers suffered a bit more than us, and they might have had a few too many the night before . . .

 

At any rate, we left our workout, and decided to have breakfast in the MDR. It was very delicious, with of course the exception of the eggs. I ordered an omelet, which was also made with the pseudo egg mix. It tasted better, however, with all of the ham and cheese and vegetables in it. I LOVED the hash browns too. And the OJ, although likely from concentrate, really tasted pretty fresh. Several people at our table got the eggs benedict and French toast, and everyone really liked it.

 

We decided to head out to the same spot as the day before, and low and behold it was still available. We sat in the sun, drank a few mojitos, listened to music, and relaxed. When it was time for the “hairy chest” contest, we got up to watch over the railing. I had to recoil a little bit when I realized that most of the kids in our group had a front row seat. And, NONE of the contestants were really very hairy at all. We think we had what would have been in a winner in our group, if only we could have done a little more convincing . . .

 

Lunch was again off the Serenity menu delivered to us on the pool deck by Yasa, the waiter who took care of us. It is really a very delicious menu- and so convenient.

 

We had planned a group 1.5 hour cocktail party scheduled right before dinner that night. WHAT A GREAT DEAL!!!! I would highly recommend this to everyone. The Carnival Group planned scheduled the Swing Time Lounge for us, and we had it all to ourselves. The décor in that lounge is really pretty cool, with white swag draping from the ceilings. It was an awesome venue.

 

The drinks on the platters were OK, mostly pretty foofy (not sure if that is a word, but it seems like it should be) - with lots of sugar and juice. But they were pouring awesome well drinks and wine at the bar. They put out pretzels, goldfish and potato chips as well. The kids were in heaven with smoothies and soda flowing freely.

 

They also had arranged for a microphone to be up and running and I was not sure why- but it turned out to be really fun! We decided to have open mike for jokes and speeches. The kids were pretty funny telling their jokes. And then we had a few fun toasts to our friends and our group. Because it was my birthday, my kids each got up and gave a toast- which I was shocked about- and it was so sweet that there were some tears.

 

And then along came Justin and our world was ROCKED (hee-hee) . . .

 

My friends had given me a birthday card that was a stand up cardboard cutout of Justin Bieber doing his “say what?” pose with his hand up to his ear with fingers spread. It was SO funny, and I am not really even sure why it was so funny. I am not a “BIELBER”, really . . . J But we decided that he would be our “Flat Stanley” for the rest of the trip. And, boy, did Justin have some excellent adventures . . . but more about that later. I think pictures really tell the tale, and I promise to figure out how to post them.

 

We promptly laughed our way to the MDR for dinner. Dinner was excellent, and the service was prompt once again. They brought out a very delicious looking chocolate birthday cake as well. I ate some of the frosting (GF) - which was awesome. As dinner was wrapping up, the waiter from another table came over and made a cloth person out of napkins. He asked me if it was a boy or a girl. He asked me to pet it with my eyes closed, and then . . . . Well, let’s just say there was some creepy movement that made it apparent it was a boy. WOW- a little risqué and I think I may have screamed just a little too. I didn’t see that one coming in the MDR . . . but I have to admit it was actually a pretty creative joke.

 

After then we decided to go to the Swing Time and listen to live music- “Groovy Tunes with Jay”. We walked in, and there were only 2 people in the lounge. The singer on the stage looked burned out and was making kind of bitter statements . . . like “I am playing Hotel California in honor of all the Carnival employees who can’t get out” . . . YIKES. DOWNER ALERT . . . J We asked if he would play “Sweet Caroline” and he told us in no uncertain terms that we had to write it down. He was just a little bit short and curt, and you could tell he was not relishing his job playing music to 2 people that looked barely alive in the audience.

 

Our group had about 35 people that qualified as adults- so suddenly with our arrival, the lounge was pretty full. We started teasing him about playing Justin Bieber songs. He promptly brushed that off- so when he went on break, we decided to put Justin up on the dance floor in front of him, just to antagonize him a little. J He came back, shook his head in disgust, and then played “Piano Man” by Billy Joel. Now, you have to admit it is hard to hear that song and not chime in and belt out the words- so we all started singing along and then gave him a rousing round of applause. We offered to buy him a drink- which he took us up on right away- and then we saw his outer crusty shell crack a bit. J

 

We had a BLAST- singing and dancing and laughing. He turned out to actually be a pretty darned good guitarist- great skills and voice. There was a waiter there, Marco- who was a kick in the pants. Every time the singer- (Jay Laboy) - would reference Marco- we would all yell back “POLO”. We thought we were pretty funny- but I am sure at least 80% of the funny factor was because we had a few drinks.

 

When Jay went on break, we moved Justin from the dance floor into his guitar case full of tips. He came back, just shook his head and kept on playing. We told him that Bieber eventually gets what he wants, so why fight it? J Finally, after a $10 tip and 3 drinks, we talked him into playing “Sweet Caroline” and he was awesome. By then, several other people wandered into the lounge and we had a huge group on the dance floor. It was so much fun!

 

We closed the bar, and went to bed. We were all hoarse from singing, feet hurting from dancing, but we had a blast. Best birthday I could every want or have!

Edited by myfamilyluvs2cruise
Link to comment
Share on other sites
trvlqueen

trvlqueen

Posted
Posted

The easiest way to post pictures here is to copy and paste from facebook if you have them loaded there ...

 

Great job with the review! I'm sailing in 7 weeks and cannot wait (on Dream, not Freedom). We also have a big group of friends going along and it sounds like you all had at least as much fun as we plan to. :)

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Dirkgun

Dirkgun

Posted
Posted
Someone PLEASE help this woman in posting pics!!! This is such an awesome review but pics would make it that much better.

 

I have no idea how to post them or I would help.

 

It is actually pretty easy ... once you know how. lol. You need to upload your pictures to a hosting site like photobucket dot com (the one I use) or webshots, or like some have said facebook. Then just have two tabs of your browser open and toggle back and forth between the review and the photo site and just copy and paste the photo's IMG code into the review

 

DSCF6813.jpg

 

this is (below) what the code looks like (except at the end of this string there is another Bracket (the "]" ) that I dleted so it would not show my picture twice. Goood luck as I would love to see her pictures as well.

 

http://i643.photobucket.com/albums/uu158/dirkgun/super%20bowl%202010%20cruise/DSCF6813.jpg[/img

Link to comment
Share on other sites
myfamilyluvs2cruise

myfamilyluvs2cruise

Posted
  • Author
Posted
It is actually pretty easy ... once you know how. lol. You need to upload your pictures to a hosting site like photobucket dot com (the one I use) or webshots, or like some have said facebook. Then just have two tabs of your browser open and toggle back and forth between the review and the photo site and just copy and paste the photo's IMG code into the review

 

DSCF6813.jpg

 

this is (below) what the code looks like (except at the end of this string there is another Bracket (the "]" ) that I dleted so it would not show my picture twice. Goood luck as I would love to see her pictures as well.

 

http://i643.photobucket.com/albums/uu158/dirkgun/super%20bowl%202010%20cruise/DSCF6813.jpg[/img

 

Thank you so much! Do you know if shutterfly would work? I have avoiding being on Facebook - and was trying to figure out if I there was an easier way. I just need to research because I do have a shutterfly account.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
jburke1566

jburke1566

Posted
Posted

This is a great review and a great cruise!!!

 

I was on this same cruise in May and Parta was also our waiter!!! We loved him and you are dead on....he works his butt off! We were lucky becs we had late dining and we were able to talk to him each night a little bit after dessert. He is from Indonesia and told us a little about himself. He was so nice!

 

Did he have an assistant named Ida? Pronounced Eeda? She also worked extremely hard! I told her I would take her home in my luggage! She was always hugging me!!!! These people work so hard!!!! It's so admirable!

Link to comment
Share on other sites
myfamilyluvs2cruise

myfamilyluvs2cruise

Posted
  • Author
Posted (edited)

St Thomas and Speedos on Secret Beach

 

We woke up early again for our morning workout. Today James and Jacqui (trainers) had a relay event planned for us. We were separated into teams, and had to compete relay-style while lunging, squatting, doing burpees, hopping, and then sprinting around the track. While waiting for our turn we were assigned different tasks such as jumping jacks, skipping, etc. It was a fun workout, and I think I pulled a glute while trying to relive my glory days in sprinting around the track. But the energy and excitement was building as it was our first day off the ship. We could watch the ship pulling into St Thomas, and we were all somewhat distracted from our pain by the beauty of the island.

 

After much research (and thanks to CC again) I realized we were going to be in port with the Oasis of the Seas and the Carnival Dream. Our last trip to Magen’s Bay with just one ship in port was a little overwhelming, albeit beautiful, so I was looking for an alternative that would be more serene for our first beach day. I ended up deciding on Secret Harbor.

 

I contacted three companies through the internet to get quotes for round trip transportation for our group- trying to find the best deal and service. I received replies from each- and decided on Air Force One. The website was the best, the reviews were the best, and the price was definitely the best. I paid in full upfront ($1000 for 54 people), and received an email that they would be there to pick us up at 10:30with a sign. I did received internet quotes from the other two, and both quotes said something to the effect of “Please note- if you do not confirm with us and make prepayment, we will NOT be there to provide transportation.” Good enough for me, I moved on and booked with Air Force One.

 

Upon leaving the ship, I saw a gentleman (whom I recognized from the website) holding an Air Force One sign. And, as I approached, I noticed he was involved in a shouting match. I walked up, and the gentleman with the sign asked me in an angry tone if I had booked with two tour companies. I said no- and then immediately the police, the taxi authority, and another large gentleman with reflective glasses shuttled me 10 yards away from our driver. The police woman was yelling at the taxi dispatcher and our would-be driver to shut up. I was completely quiet- trying to figure out what in the world was going on. The gentleman in the glasses took out some papers and accused me of booking with his company. I told him very calmly and in no uncertain terms that I did not book with them, but instead booked and paid with the other guy. He then took and out showed me the email quote that was sent to me, all while he was towering over me. And he then accused me again of booking with him. I calmly pointed out to him that the email he was showing me clearly said that if I did not email them back and pay upfront, they would NOT show up to get us. It was clear that was trying to bully and intimidate me, and I had the police, the taxi authority and 54 people standing around watching this spectacle. I was so confused as to why a simply internet inquiry with zero back and forth would lead him to think he should show up to drive our group. Especially as the “evidence” he had clearly stated otherwise.

 

I stood there with the police woman and asked if we could go over to our driver. It was embarrassing and awkward- and I was a little unnerved. She said “NO- the gentleman you booked with is an intruder on my pier. I am in charge- and he needs to stand back”. I stood there a little longer, and asked her and the taxi authority again why the gentleman in the glasses would show up and stake his claim to our group if his paperwork clearly said otherwise. I could not understand why I had to stay and be intimidated by him while our ride was waiting- it was very confusing. The glasses dude then leaned into me again, and said “YOU emailed me back and said I should come!” I asked him for a copy of that email, and he yelled at me that he had it, and he would go get it. I knew he did not have anything- and all that had happened was I requested a quote on their website- and got a computer generated reply. Case closed. But the whole thing was freaking me out a little bit. Then another 5 minutes went by, he never came back, and I was finally told we were allowed to go back to our driver.

 

After all was said and done, and we were taken back to the pier, our driver pulled me aside. He said that he wanted to wait until our trip was over to tell me, but the reason for all the earlier drama was that the police woman was actually married to the bully. The whole thing is a scam to try and force people to use that service. They had no idea that I had booked and paid, they just thought they would take a flier and see if we would go for the bait. YIKES!

 

Well, no harm done. All was well and I guess when you are fighting to make money, people will try anything. And, if we had not actually booked and paid, we would have likely gotten suckered to jump in their cars- and their intimidating actions would have paid off. We were a big group, representing a large fare- so I guess more enticing to fight over. But, it is something to be aware of when booking online. I was very caught off guard.

 

But, now to the good part of our St Thomas experience . . .

 

We rolled up to the beach after a 20 minute somewhat harrowing drive. Secret Harbor is hidden behind a hotel building- and as we walked down the path, we could see the most amazing beach! The water was crystal blue- the mountains around were so green. It is a wonderful spot, not crowded at all! They had a floating dock for the kids to play on, all kids of water toys for rent, and a wonderful gourmet restaurant on site.

 

The water was warm, the snorkeling was AMAZING, and everyone had a ball. The coolest thing was that the beach servers wade in to take your order and then BRING YOUR DRINK RIGHT INTO THE OCEAN! How sweet is that! Lunch was so good- ahi nachos, gourmet burgers with sweet potato fries, mahi sandwiches with French fries in truffle oil. SOOOO good! Not exactly a bargain, but very worth it.

 

We looked down the beach and saw a beautiful bride and remarked that our upstairs neighbors on the ship were also getting married on the island the same day at Lindquist Beach. We were excited to chat with them and see how it all went.

 

We had music playing, and then one of our friends (who always wears board shorts) was outed by his wife for wearing a speedo underneath. She yanked his board shorts down, and after much protest, he finally did a little speedo dance to LMFAO’s “Sexy and I Know It”. Somewhat inappropriate, but it was really more of leprechaun jig meets chicken dance than anything too risqué. We were all laughing so hard, and then realized that the lucky bride got her bachelorette party dance on her wedding day LOL. (But it really was a PG dance . . .)

 

Our 4 hours there went WAY too fast. Seriously, that is the most perfect beach in my opinion. We enjoyed every minute- and then it was time to head back. No drama with our ride this time, thank goodness, and we all got back safely.

 

We all split up, did a little pool time, showers, ice cream- but somehow ended up informally gathering on our balcony around 4ish. We looked to the balcony above- and low and behold there was the newly married couple! We gave them a round of applause and congratulated them. We asked how their wedding was on Lindquist Beach. They said it was perfect- the beach was amazing. They then went on to tell us that their reception was at SECRET HARBOUR- so yes, it was actually our upstairs neighbor that we spotted in her bridal gown. We did not connect at the time because she had told us they would be on Lindquist Beach. And then, the groom said- “Secret Harbor was amazing! The food was incredible, the scenery was spectacular, and WE EVEN SAW A DANCER IN A SPEEDO THAT LITERALLY STOPPED OUR RECEPTION”! . . . .oops ... . We had to confess that we might actually know the speedo dancer. They were laughing hysterically and said they were hoping to get one of his pictures in their wedding album. The morale of the story is THAT IT IS IMPORTANT TO HANG ON TIGHTER TO YOUR BOARD SHORTS- LOL.

 

I am going to take a break before dinner- as we did the Chef’s Table that night. There is much to write about, and I WILL FIGURE OUT HOW TO POST THE PICTURES, I promise, especially as we had the new menu which I hadn’t previously seen pictures of.

 

Thanks!

Edited by myfamilyluvs2cruise
Link to comment
Share on other sites
PSkinner

PSkinner

Posted
Posted

Wow!!! And I thought my DH surprise party last year was hard to pull off! What a great idea! Mine was not as big as yours and it took months, the best part of mine was I had both sons pick a song and put pictures to it on DVD. My DH cried, especially when our oldest (mine not his) used the song by Brad Paisley "Half The Dad He Didn't Have To Be" Not a dry eye in the house. Our guys are pretty lucky to have us! Congrats again on the surprise! Love it!

Link to comment
Share on other sites
myfamilyluvs2cruise

myfamilyluvs2cruise

Posted
  • Author
Posted
Off topic - but for those wanting info on how to post pics found this on the 'photo' site here at CC - hope it helps! :)

 

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1340448

 

Thank you!! I just read through this whole thing and it appears Shutterfly will work. I will try that tonight or tomorrow morning.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Please sign in to comment

You will be able to leave a comment after signing in



Sign In Now
 Share
Go to topic listing
  • Forum Jump
    • Categories
      • Welcome to Cruise Critic
      • New Cruisers
      • Cruise Lines “A – O”
      • Cruise Lines “P – Z”
      • River Cruising
      • ROLL CALLS
      • Cruise Critic News & Features
      • Digital Photography & Cruise Technology
      • Special Interest Cruising
      • Cruise Discussion Topics
      • UK Cruising
      • Australia & New Zealand Cruisers
      • Canadian Cruisers
      • North American Homeports
      • Ports of Call
      • Cruise Conversations
×
×
  • Create New...