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

myfamilyluvs2cruise
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FL Naturelover

FL Naturelover

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oh your post brought back memories! hubby and I spent an amazing week at the soggy dollar bar for our honeymoon. They have 6 little cabins on the property - they call it the sandcastle hotel. We had so much fun and Mick, Tina and all the staff are truly the best ever. JVD was quiet in the mornings, then got fun when all the boats pulled in. We met some awesome people from all over the world. Then in the afternoon, they'd depart and it'd be "our" beach and island. One day we rented a dinghy and went all around JVD and to sandy spit. SO relaxing and awesome. Another day we did a snorkel trip to the indians, caves, and willy-t (SO fun to jump off that boat). We walked on the beach, played ring toss, lounged in hammocks, ate and drank at some great places (seddy's one love, ivan's stress free bar, Gertrudes, Foxy's, etc. ) . On the other side of the island was a family-run restaurant called Harris place where we shared a GIANT lobster.

 

I think I had 582 painkillers while I was there.

 

For an island with "not much to do", we sure had a fantastic time!

 

So anyway, if you liked your day trip to JVD you should totally go back for a longer stay.

Fly into St Thomas and then ferry to west end, tortola.

Stay 1 night in Tortola (you'll most likely have to due to ferry schedule), then in the morning take the 20 min ferry to JVD. Paradise, truly!

 

You can also fly to Tortola via Puerto Rico, but it costs a lot more for that flight, and you still need to get transport to west end for the JVD ferry... so price wise, much better to fly into St Thomas and ferry it to Tortola.

 

Ok I need to stop rambling now :)

 

 

Edit: In case you're interested, here's my album from our honeymoon on JVD.. we stayed the 1st night on tortola at Chateau Relaxeau lol (great name, right?)

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.458216728979.242648.527963979&type=3&l=f0c9e182f8

 

OK sorry for hijacking the thread :) i love your review by the way! We took the same ship and itinerary in Feb (my 1st cruise -- see link in my signature)

 

 

Love your photos!!!

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myfamilyluvs2cruise

myfamilyluvs2cruise

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Great review! Wow, a trip of a lifetime! I love when you said "it makes you feel like a kid again" :)

 

It was hard not to feel that way, bouncing on a trampoline, getting wet from the ocean- and laughing till you can't breathe :) Just added some soft serve ship ice cream at the end, and it completed the feeling.

 

Thanks so much!!!!

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myfamilyluvs2cruise

myfamilyluvs2cruise

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Great review and it sounds like a great cruise!

 

We're hitting the same ports on the Breeze in December so your information has been great!

 

On St. Thomas, were you at the Secret Harbor Resort or is there a public beach there that you went to?

 

Thanks!

 

It is a resort, but the beach is public. You can't use the resort's chairs, but they have them to rent. It was a very nice quiet beach. I don't think it is advertised much because they want to keep it mellow.

 

Have a ball on your cruise!

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myfamilyluvs2cruise

myfamilyluvs2cruise

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oh your post brought back memories! hubby and I spent an amazing week at the soggy dollar bar for our honeymoon. They have 6 little cabins on the property - they call it the sandcastle hotel. We had so much fun and Mick, Tina and all the staff are truly the best ever. JVD was quiet in the mornings, then got fun when all the boats pulled in. We met some awesome people from all over the world. Then in the afternoon, they'd depart and it'd be "our" beach and island. One day we rented a dinghy and went all around JVD and to sandy spit. SO relaxing and awesome. Another day we did a snorkel trip to the indians, caves, and willy-t (SO fun to jump off that boat). We walked on the beach, played ring toss, lounged in hammocks, ate and drank at some great places (seddy's one love, ivan's stress free bar, Gertrudes, Foxy's, etc. ) . On the other side of the island was a family-run restaurant called Harris place where we shared a GIANT lobster.

 

I think I had 582 painkillers while I was there.

 

For an island with "not much to do", we sure had a fantastic time!

 

So anyway, if you liked your day trip to JVD you should totally go back for a longer stay.

Fly into St Thomas and then ferry to west end, tortola.

Stay 1 night in Tortola (you'll most likely have to due to ferry schedule), then in the morning take the 20 min ferry to JVD. Paradise, truly!

 

You can also fly to Tortola via Puerto Rico, but it costs a lot more for that flight, and you still need to get transport to west end for the JVD ferry... so price wise, much better to fly into St Thomas and ferry it to Tortola.

 

Ok I need to stop rambling now :)

 

 

Edit: In case you're interested, here's my album from our honeymoon on JVD.. we stayed the 1st night on tortola at Chateau Relaxeau lol (great name, right?)

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.458216728979.242648.527963979&type=3&l=f0c9e182f8

 

OK sorry for hijacking the thread :) i love your review by the way! We took the same ship and itinerary in Feb (my 1st cruise -- see link in my signature)

 

 

LOVE your pictures! Thanks for your post- it sounds like the coolest trip!!!

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myfamilyluvs2cruise

myfamilyluvs2cruise

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WOW!!! What a fantastic day! You share it so well and then the photos are just icing on the cake! I would love to cruise with your group one day!!

 

I am amazed at how well they took care of the split lip and the price was great to boot....probably would have had to add a few zeros at the end here in the states! Sorry to hear it happened but glad it all was taken care of.

 

 

They were awesome there- it was really cool.

 

Thank you so much! :)

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ibcnusoon

ibcnusoon

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that sounds really awesome! All this talk of JVD... I really want to go back :)

 

I know! I had a Brilliance of the Seas cruise booked that stopped in Tortola, then decided to go Thanksgiving week, unfortunately no Tortola and switched to Carnival. We do stop in St. Thomas and I tried to find a private excursion to JVD, but the it is way too costly: http://www.watertaxi-vi.com/ . There are other private water taxi services available for the day, too, from St. Thomas to JVD.

Edited by ibcnusoon
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Ron_L

Ron_L

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It is a resort, but the beach is public. You can't use the resort's chairs, but they have them to rent. It was a very nice quiet beach. I don't think it is advertised much because they want to keep it mellow.

 

Have a ball on your cruise!

 

Thanks!

 

As long as we can be on a nice beach, have a few drinks and maybe a snack, and have good snorkeling we're happy :D

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Ron_L

Ron_L

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I know! I had a Brilliance of the Seas cruise booked that stopped in Tortola, then decided to go Thanksgiving week, unfortunately no Tortola and switched to Carnival. We do stop in St. Thomas and I tried to find a private excursion to JVD, but the it is way too costly: http://www.watertaxi-vi.com/ . There are other private water taxi services available for the day, too, from St. Thomas to JVD.

 

If you go from St. Thomas you'll probably have to stop at Grand Harbor to clear customs. Then you can go to White Bay and the Soggy Dollar Bar from there.

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Cruzin2paradise09

Cruzin2paradise09

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I know I am a sap, but I actually had to wipe away a tear as I read about the big surprise. I cannot wait to read more. You are a wonderful woman for getting all of this together for him! :)

 

Glad someone said this before I did!

 

OP - hurry up and start posting!! This is AWESOME!

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ibcnusoon

ibcnusoon

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If you go from St. Thomas you'll probably have to stop at Grand Harbor to clear customs. Then you can go to White Bay and the Soggy Dollar Bar from there.

 

Ok thanks. Then probably best to go to JVD from a stop in Tortola overnight (like the OP did), then catch the ferry in the morning.

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myfamilyluvs2cruise

myfamilyluvs2cruise

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Thanks!

 

As long as we can be on a nice beach, have a few drinks and maybe a snack, and have good snorkeling we're happy :D

 

Then you will LOVE it there! It is pretty quiet . . .well it was before and after we got there- haha. But just standing in waist high water- there were puffer fish and big silver fish that you could see perfectly. Going out to the platform and beyond (there is a little reef out there)- GREAT snorkeling.

 

And, your drink comes to you in the water- OUTSTANDING!

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myfamilyluvs2cruise

myfamilyluvs2cruise

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A VERY FUN SEA DAY . . . AND A FATEFUL MEETING WITH THE CAPTAIN

 

We all decided that we needed to sleep in a little bit. We had so many days in a row of non-stop fun and excitement, and we were getting up early to work out each day. Knowing tonight would be a formal night- and the comedians were new and they had four new shows, Jay was on the schedule, and there was too much fun to be had- we didn’t want to poop out early. So, in the spirit of relaxation, we scheduled our workout for 10am. James and Jacqui (our trainers) were a little vague and ominous in telling us to “meet them for a FUN work out at 10am.” Usually when James uses the word “FUN”- it really means the opposite of that. In fact, I am pretty certain that the word has a completely different meaning to him. He likes to scale mountains (fun), and shoot guns (fun) and drag large tires behind him to train (fun), and camp in the snow (fun) . . . and NONE of that is on my list of “fun”. But, be that as it may, we all showed up at 10 am.

 

We gathered upstairs, and James had a huge stack of papers. He asked us to follow him down to the Freedom restaurant and take a seat. We had a very full group, and even a bunch of the kids came since the start time was later. My sister had not come to any works outs yet- they were too early for her- but the 10am start time eliminated her excuse- so she made it that morning as well.

 

Still wondering what we were about ready to embark on, James asked everyone to be quiet so he could talk. He asked us to form teams of two, and then passed out a paper. We were going on a scavenger hunt! Basically, we had three hours to accomplish a number of tasks- fitness challenges, social challenges, answer questions regarding ports of call, answer questions on our knowledge of the Carnival Freedom, and he even threw in a few questions about my husband and me.

 

We would have three hours to finish, and each task we accomplished was assigned a certain amount of points. We had to have a witness (not part of our group), and take pictures of some of the challenges being accomplished. Here is a partial list of tasks from our challenge:

 

 

Fitness Challenge:

 

100 jumping jacks witnessed by a fellow cruiser or staff member

 

1 minute front plant timed by a fellow cruiser

 

5 laps around the track witnessed by a fellow cruiser or staff member

 

Make 10 free throw basketball shots

 

Social Challenge:

 

Meet 10 new cruise guests (record name and hometown)

 

Convince a cruise guest to do 25 push-ups with you

 

Find a staff member who speaks 3 languages

 

Arm-wrestle a staff member

 

Convince 5 staff members to do the chicken dance with you

 

Ports of Call:

 

In what year did the US purchase St Thomas, and for how much?

What year did Antigua gain independence from Great Britain?

 

Jost van Dyke was a famous______ ?

 

Carnival Freedom Challenge:

 

What is the length of the Carnival Freedom?

 

What is the Captain’s name?

 

How many staterooms aboard?

 

The anchor is located: a) on board b) on the side c) port side/aft d) there is no anchor

 

In MPH how fast are you traveling at 18 knots?

 

When using the MID-SHIP staircase, how many steps from the first floor to the 10th?

 

 

 

Above is just a very partial list of the tasks we had to accomplish! James gave us the rules, and told everyone to be kind and considerate of everyone else on the ship. He told us to meet him in our regular meeting area outside on the deck (where some of our group was laying out) at 1pm. I partnered with my sister, and we decided our biggest competitor would be her husband and his sister. And then we were off!

 

My sister and I made a strategy- and decided we should go straight to the gym. We figured we could find all kinds of people to witness our burpees and squats, and to participate in the challenges with us. We were dying of laughter watching each other try to sucker people into doing squats and jumping jacks with us. I asked a very large and strong gentleman to do push-ups with me. He asked me “Are you challenging me to do 25 push-ups against you?” I said “No, sir- I just need you to do them WITH me.” He shook his head and thought I was challenging him to a throw down, I think. We got down on the floor, and he promptly kicked my ass by cranking them out like a champion- and then stood up, looked at me as if to say- “Wow, you have got some nerve to challenge me, lady!” I kept trying to say, “Thanks- I just needed you to do them WITH me- not AGAINST me. “ But, I think to this day he thought I was challenging his manhood- ha-ha! Anyway he was a GREAT sport!

 

We were laughing so hard when we got to the bottom of the stairs mid-ship and saw our biggest competitors holding a plank with a gentleman who was clearly not dressed for the activity. Apparently they kept trying to tell him HE did not need to hold the plank- just that he needed to time THEM. About 30 seconds into it, they realized he has not even started the timer. I think there was a language barrier- but he was a great sport! I have to say, maybe it was the oxygen deprivation, but there was something very funny about getting to the first floor and seeing these three on their forearms in plank by the elevator. J

 

We went up to the track and found someone who we asked to time us while we ran 5 laps. He was playing shuffleboard, and had already timed another group. He was the funniest guy ever- as we were running- he was yelling at us to go faster, and to pick up the pace. It was like PE in the 5th grade all over again! He was such a good sport, and made us laugh through the pain of sprinting over a half mile.

 

My sister and I went to find five crew members to chicken dance with us! We thought it best to ask the bar/waitresses on the pool deck. We asked if we could take a picture- and all they would have to do would be to make flapping chicken wings. The head guy happily obliged- but then ordered all his employees to do it, and then he laughed and stepped back out of the picture- which was pretty funny!

 

We went back inside by the atrium stairs, and ran smack dab into the Captain!!!! SCORE!!! We waited for him to finish his conversation, and then casually (but respectfully) walked up to ask the fountain of ALL knowledge about the Freedom a few questions. I asked him how long the ship was. He said in his beautiful Italian accent, “My beautiful ship is . . . oh say ah . . .just about a 900 feet ah..” He gave us that answer and the answer about the number of the staterooms. Then we took a picture with him (we were hoping for bonus points for that one!). We thanked him, and then walked away. I was thinking “Oh darn, we should have asked him where the anchor was”- but I am SURE all crew members know that answer- no big deal!

 

Basking in the glory of what we thought was the scavenger hunt find of the day (the Captain), we went on to find a bartender for my sister to arm wrestle. J

 

On the way to the upcoming wrestling match, we happened upon a few crew members in officer uniforms, and we decided to ask them where the anchor was. We got very confused looks and a couple of varying answers along the way. We decided to chalk it up to language barriers- but otherwise, it was pretty funny if they did not know. We finally settled on an answer that sounded correct, and that came from our stateroom attendant.

 

After we located a worthy arm wrestling opponent (and of course, as all our athletic challenges had been met) we felt compelled to buy 2 mojitos so we could tip the brave little bartender from Indonesia who took on my bad-ass sister. (That is total sarcasm by the way). J But he was such a good sport- and we wanted to thank him. And we were thirsty from running around so much as well.

 

We kept stopping and meeting new people so that we could hit our 20- and realized there were people on the ship from all over the world. One of the tasks involved meeting someone from Canada. We were standing there trying to figure out what to do next, and a nice woman walked up and asked us if we had located our Canadian yet. We had not- so she signed off for us- which was really cool!

 

There were a few questions on our list that we could earn points for involving how my husband and I met, where our first date was, etc. I traded that personal knowledge to other competing teams for the answers we did not yet have. And, I had to get one of the answers about us from my DH as I couldn’t remember. BAD WIFE!

 

Feeling pretty good that we had done pretty well, my sister and I decided to head up to the meeting spot. We watched a little of the Mr./MS Freedom contest, and relaxed. We were head to toe tired from the scavenger hunt- and it had taken us two and a half hours. James took our answer sheet- and we ordered two celebratory mojitos!

 

Our group had a shared cocktail party that came as part of the “perks” from booking our group at 4pm. So, we got showered and dressed in our formal attire and met back in the Disco, the scene of the original surprise. We were very surprised once again, but this time is was because we were the only group at the shared party- so we had in effect, another private cocktail party before dinner!

 

The bartenders were great, and we were all laughing and having a good time. Then James got everyone’s attention to relay the information about who the winners of the contest were. And guess what? Darned it if we didn’t come in second place to MY BROTHER IN LAW of course! Why did we come up short? OH, I don’t know but it definitely had something to do with the ANSWERS THE CAPTAIN GAVE US BEING INCORRECT! What is that you say Captain Fazo? 900 Feet? WRONG!!!! Your beautiful ship is actually 952 feet! My brother in law laughed at us as he pictured the captain thinking “Math must be hard for you, Barbies” and giving us a nice round easy number to make it easy on us. (Not of course realizing my sister is a math genius and I actually am not too shabby with the numbers either- ha-ha).

 

Anyway, thanks to us finding the Captain, we lost out on the grand prize. I guess his job is really more about safety and running the ship than helping us with at scavenger hunt, and he did keep us safe and on course- so no hard feelings! :)

 

But we had SO much fun, and it was priceless to have an experience like this one. I rarely get uninterrupted time with my sister, and we laughed so hard, sweated so much, and learned a few facts along the way. What a wonderful idea and plan James and Jacqui put together! Everyone had so much fun, and it was a great way to spend a few hours. Plus, we met so many nice people along the way too!

 

I am going to take a break here- because we had a busy night that night. And, I really need to get the pictures from that day to post- they tell the real story behind the story- ha-ha. They are pretty darned funny!

Edited by myfamilyluvs2cruise
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Jenny in TX

Jenny in TX

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This is by far one of the best reviews I have ever read and I am enjoying checking in daily to see any new updates. Seems like y'all would be a very fun bunch to hang out with! You put so much time and effort in to this trip and it sounds like not only your husband but your family and friends all had a wonderful time!

Edited by Jenny in TX
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lovecruzing

lovecruzing

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OMG, this is a wicked AMAZING review. I am enjoying every ounce of it. I know and appreciate the time it takes to write a review but it is so rewarding as you get to relive your trip all over again.

 

Glad you enjoyed your roti. My hubby actually made that for dinner last evening.

 

We are also doing this same route on the Breeze in December so getting lots of tips. Looking forward to the rest.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

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myfamilyluvs2cruise

myfamilyluvs2cruise

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OMG, this is a wicked AMAZING review. I am enjoying every ounce of it. I know and appreciate the time it takes to write a review but it is so rewarding as you get to relive your trip all over again.

 

Glad you enjoyed your roti. My hubby actually made that for dinner last evening.

 

We are also doing this same route on the Breeze in December so getting lots of tips. Looking forward to the rest.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

 

Thank you so much! You are a lucky woman to have a husband who can whip up roti for you! :)

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myfamilyluvs2cruise

myfamilyluvs2cruise

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This is by far one of the best reviews I have ever read and I am enjoying checking in daily to see any new updates. Seems like y'all would be a very fun bunch to hang out with! You put so much time and effort in to this trip and it sounds like not only your husband but your family and friends all had a wonderful time!

 

Thank you so much! We had a ball, and are now trying to get something as a group on the calendar for July of 2014- once the sailings are released.

 

I really appreciate your comments- THANKS! :)

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