Mommy and Daddy Sail on Navigator of the Seas 1-05-2013

[lemonade-sails]

Absolutely enjoying your trip report! Great photos and commentary! Thanks so much for sharing.

 

You're welcome. Thanks for reading!

[SHERRIFL]

The stingray tour is FABULOUS! I would definitely take it at least one time. We have done it twice, both time through Capt. Marvins, and I recommend them.

Thanks for this tip! We have not tried this and think we will on this cruise! :D

[lemonade-sails]

 

 

 

 

I slept well last night but I was up early again this morning.

 

I stepped out onto the balcony to see land on our Starboard side.

 

We were coming into Jamaica!

 

The ship turned and prepared to back into port.

 

I got dressed and headed down to the Excursion Desk just before 7:30 am to see if I could cancel our Chukka Beach Break. This was handled easily and quickly as it was sold-out and there were others hoping to book it. We received a refund onto our SeaPass account.

 

 

I returned to the room to see us backing toward Falmouth.

 

I was hoping that our cabin would be on the side of the dock and it was.

 

We showered and dressed and spent time on the balcony watching us dock. Absolutely loved this balcony for this, and many other reasons.

 

It was sunny and very windy.

 

Good morning Jamaica!

 

[lemonade-sails]

 

 

After docking we headed up to the Windjammer for breakfast.

 

Mine - I finally had a waffle.

 

 

My husband’s.

 

After breakfast we headed to the Cafe Promenade for coffee and hot chocolate. Hey - there were danishes too so we had to try a couple of those.

 

We had a raspberry one and a cheese one. Yum on both counts.

 

 

 

We headed down to the ganway on Deck 1. We had to use the elevator because the stairs were roped off for some reason. This was day 5 and only our third time on the elevator. Pretty good I thought.

 

 

We made it through the gangway and onto the pier. Again, we skirted around the photographers.

 

 

 

Soon we we made our way through the port building and into the shopping area.

There was Jamaican music playing and we did a little shopping.

 

[lemonade-sails]

 

We saw some beautiful wooden carvings in the center area.

 

We picked out two turtles for our two littlest boys.

 

 

The man then carved their names into the bottoms.

 

 

 

We continued walking around and looking in the shops.

 

We found the craft market we saw from our balcony that morning.

 

There were a lot of brightly colored shirts and dresses for sale. We had our eye on a pretty dress in the front for me. But, I just wasn't sure so we kept looking.

 

We bought two matching shirts, one blue and one green, for our two “middle boys”. They’re really bright and flashy - just the ticket for these kids. They wear them all the time and can’t wait to visit Jamaica themselves.

 

In another store we found t-shirts for our oldest two and that meant we had something for each of the kids (remember we had purchased a shark-tooth necklace for our youngest daughter in Cayman - in case you’re counting)

 

We still had that dress on our minds so we went back to the craft market and bought it.

 

It's the pink one with the blue flowers just to the left of the black one. I love it!

 

 

By this time we turned around and saw the Freedom of the Seas had arrived.

 

[lemonade-sails]

 

With our shopping done and most of the port area explored, we headed back on board.

 

 

 

There was a security screening inside the port building for anyone going back to the ship. Do you think I remembered to take off my watch this time? Nope - I set the metal detector off again. Thankfully, there was not a line and not many people there.

 

There was also the usual security scanner once back on board. Just in case you try to smuggle something from somewhere in between the port building and the ship. Like if those rogue photographers stick something in your bag. Not sure if that's a problem. But I did remember to take my watch back off this time.

 

 

We quickly went to our cabin to set down our souvenirs and take some more pictures.

Freedom from our balcony.

 

Falmouth, Jamaica

 

 

We went to the Computer Center on Deck 8 to check for email, but there was none so we headed downstairs.

 

Stairwell artwork.

 

 

I found that one of my favorite things was knocking around in port for a little bit and then being back on board when most everyone was gone.

 

I took the liberty of dancing down the Promenade for our music video. Besides the two people behind me, there wasn’t anyone there.

 

We hit the Cafe Promenade for turkey and cranberry sandwiches.

So yummy!

 

We took a peek at the Ben and Jerry’s counter but the ice cream didn’t look that good so we skipped it.

 

Then we went up to the Windjammer for our ‘real’ lunch!

[lemonade-sails]

 

We got a table by the window on the starboard side and had a great view.

 

 

We started with dessert - a blueberry tart that looked like a face. We also had some stir fry.

 

 

We finished up with some burgers and pizza.

 

 

After lunch we headed back to the cabin for a much needed nap.

 

We woke up about 3:30 and showered and I spent some time writing in my journal out on the balcony. I found that I had to write several times throughout the day in order to remember everything. It was not really a hassle to take a few minutes here and there to jot some notes down.

 

We decided to go up to the pool deck for sail away.

 

We grabbed two loungers by the rail on the top deck. It was crazy windy!

 

I went to the bar and ordered a Passion Papaya Punch drink.

 

Very good.

[lemonade-sails]

 

 

We waited and waited for sail away. I’m not really sure if we left Falmouth late or if we were just impatient but we just didn’t seem to be leaving.

 

My drink was finished and it was kind of boring up on the top deck :o.

 

We decided to head back to the cabin and by the time we stepped out on the balcony the ship was moving. Funny how we had no idea.

 

Check out the video of us arriving and pulling away from Jamaica.

 

 

 

We really enjoyed our day in Falmouth. The people were so very friendly. Sail away was fun too as the people on the dock were yelling and waving and also people on Freedom were saying goodbye and waving too. Such fun!

 

Some pictures of us leaving Freedom behind.

 

 

 

 

We enjoyed the sunset again and then got ready for dinner.

 

 

Tonight we had dinner reservations for 6pm. Again we had the same table. I had the scallop risotto and my husband had the garlic potato soup . I had the garlic tiger shrimp and he had the lamb shank. Everything was recommended by our waiter and everything was delicious. We both had the warm chocolate cake with vanilla ice cream for dessert.

 

 

With a 6 pm reservation, only two of us at the table, and no dawdling, we made it out in about an hour most nights. This meant we had time to make it down to the Headliner Show in the Metropolis Theater.

 

Tonight’s show was an impressionist. It was just okay. The funniest part was when he brought up some children from the audience.

 

We went back up to the room to change and spent some time stargazing on the balcony. It occurred to us that we hadn’t seen the moon all week. We spent quite a while out there. There are a lot of things to talk about out on the balcony.

 

Something we talked about was what to do if one of us fell overboard. Standing at the railing on a moving ship in the middle of the ocean in the dark of night is a bit intimidating. Almost every time we were out there it came up - except when we were docked. You do really feel small and vulnerable when looking out at the amazingly huge ocean. We formulated a plan that if one of us were to fall overboard, the other shouldn’t jump in after them. Instead they should throw a life jacket from the closet over the railing and then phone the front desk. After all, the kids would need someone to take care of them. And the chances of finding someone were not that great. Admit it, you’ve thought about it too . . .

 

With our plan formulated, we grabbed our schedule for the next day and highlighted the things we were interested in.

 

We decided to wander the ship at this point. We ventured up to the peek-a-boo bridge but the shades were closed. We had yet to get to peek at the bridge. Every time we were there it was closed. I started to wonder if it was the Captain’s preference to close them all the time.

 

We wandered to the pool deck where they were setting up for the Dancing Under the Stars Deck Party and buffet. They were also starting the Battle of the Sexes game. We grabbed a spot by the top rail to watch but - and I’m sorry if you were involved - it was pretty dumb.

 

One thing I did notice this night was that it was not windy on the top deck. I was amazed. Every time we had been out there previously it had been terribly windy - to the point where I was clutching my dress in my fist to avoid any unwanted peek-a-boo moments of my own.

 

We decided we were not hungry enough to stay for the buffet either so we headed to Deck 8 to check the email. We hadn’t heard from the kids all day.

 

There was a long email for us that night and I may or may not have cried when I read it.

[blivey]

I am enjoying your review so much. I am getting more and more excited about our cruise in March.

[loeytalldog]

I've been following your review and just wanted to chime in and say you are doing a great job! Love reading it and love your writing style!

 

Lois

[Rocknsoul]

lemonade-sails,

 

This is great! We just returned yesterday from what appears to be a mirror-image itinerary of your cruise. We had a great time, and I'm loving the idea that you saw/took pictures of things I didn't, and vice-versa...so maybe my report won't be completely redundant. :)

 

I love your photos. For some reason, the ones on the first three pages don't show up for me; but the ones I can see are beautiful! Mine are more utilitarian. :p

 

I'm looking forward to seeing the rest!

[smeck]

Fantastic review, I know how much work an review of this caliber entails it's greatly appreciated.

[Iamthesea]

I forgot to mention on Day 3 we had Thomas the Activities Manager came on after the show to let us know that the CD Jimmy Rhodes had been injured and would not be there that night. Something about his knee - but not too many details. We had only seen Jimmy once at the end of the Ice Show on day 2.

 

We never saw Jimmy again that week, but Thomas took over as host of the activities and we saw him a lot. I thought he did a very good job - although I had nothing to compare him to. He wore cowboy boots and sometimes a hat with his suit.

 

lemonade-sails,

 

This is great! We just returned yesterday from what appears to be a mirror-image itinerary of your cruise. We had a great time, and I'm loving the idea that you saw/took pictures of things I didn't, and vice-versa...so maybe my report won't be completely redundant. :)

 

I love your photos. For some reason, the ones on the first three pages don't show up for me; but the ones I can see are beautiful! Mine are more utilitarian. :p

 

I'm looking forward to seeing the rest!

 

Hey, who was your Cruise Director? :)

[lemonade-sails]

I am enjoying your review so much. I am getting more and more excited about our cruise in March.

 

Glad you are enjoying it! It has been fun remembering everything.

 

I've been following your review and just wanted to chime in and say you are doing a great job! Love reading it and love your writing style!

 

Lois

 

Thanks so much for chiming in! :)

[motherchic]

I have a question and I apologies if you have already mentioned it. To write an e-mail and receive one, approximately how much was it? Just a ball park?

How did you do it? purchase a package or separately? On Celebrity, they had an easy method but I am not certain about Royal. We have no desire to get internet, just an e-mail from the kids.

Thank you for any information.

Nadine

your review is adorable and informative. Do you write for a living?

[lemonade-sails]

lemonade-sails,

 

This is great! We just returned yesterday from what appears to be a mirror-image itinerary of your cruise. We had a great time, and I'm loving the idea that you saw/took pictures of things I didn't, and vice-versa...so maybe my report won't be completely redundant. :)

 

I love your photos. For some reason, the ones on the first three pages don't show up for me; but the ones I can see are beautiful! Mine are more utilitarian. :p

 

I'm looking forward to seeing the rest!

 

It seems as though I'm having a problem with Photobucket - maybe I moved the pictures into an album and that's why they're not showing up. :( I wish we could go back and edit things.

 

I can't wait to read your review and see your pictures! Are you still moving with the ship? We were rocking for about four days after we came back!

 

Fantastic review, I know how much work an review of this caliber entails it's greatly appreciated.

 

Thanks so much! Glad you're enjoying it!

[lemonade-sails]

I have a question and I apologies if you have already mentioned it. To write an e-mail and receive one, approximately how much was it? Just a ball park?

How did you do it? purchase a package or separately? On Celebrity, they had an easy method but I am not certain about Royal. We have no desire to get internet, just an e-mail from the kids.

Thank you for any information.

Nadine

your review is adorable and informative. Do you write for a living?

 

Getting online is intimidating but not hard after you get the hang of it. We did not bring a laptop so we used the ship's computers in the Computer Center. You go to any computer there and click on the box that says email. Then follow the directions. You will have to swipe your SeaPass card in a slot directly on the keyboard. (If you have had a hole punched in yours for a lanyard it works better to remove it from the lanyard.) Then you enter your stateroom number and this is when you will choose to pay per minute or buy a package.

 

We did not dilly dally at the computers. We read the emails fast and replied fast. I did not take the time to correct minor spelling errors and I didn't capitalize anything :D. I used to transcribe for a living so I can type relatively fast.

 

I had planned to get the cheapest internet package. On our sailing it was 60 minutes for $35 but my husband didn't think we'd need that much. So we did not buy a package and went with the $0.65 per minute - this is all charged to your SeaPass card.

 

Because we didn't have a package, we just repeated the process every time choosing to pay per minute. I don't know how it would differ if you had a package.

 

At the end of the week we spent $18.80 for the internet which comes out to be approximately 29 minutes. My husband was right!!:D

 

It worked out well for us. We checked email once or twice a day and we were quick about it. That is all we did online. There were a couple of times throughout the week where I missed easy access to Google for looking something up - like the flag that is flown at the aft of the ship and a couple of other things. So, it was enjoyable to be disconnected in that way.

 

Oh, one other thing is that I started a new email account just for the trip so that the family could send us an email and I would not have to sift through junk mail or other non-important things. The only messages we got were from the kids.

 

P.S. Thanks for the compliments. I don't write for a living - I stay home with the kids. I like to say I'm the CEO of the family ;)

[lemonade-sails]

So sorry that I was messing around with my Photobucket albums. I moved pictures from the first day into an album (cleverly titled Day 1 :rolleyes: ) and they are no longer showing up on the first posts in the thread. I moved them back and they have the same IMG url now - but they're still not showing up. :(

 

WTTW (Word To The Wise) DO NOT mess with your pictures after you've posted them to CC. Even if you're just trying to organize them. They will not show up and you'll feel like a munch!

 

Any hope that they will magically appear now that I've moved them back? Any mods with a heart for a newbie on her first review? Any way to fix it?

 

Bueller??

[gambee]

Ok here is the deal if they show the exact same url they will show up, photobucket sometimes takes time to update their database. It happened to me in the past, you see the items updated in list but it takes time to report it to the link.

 

But my real question is, is it really the same URL? or no? check letter by letter. I would imagine that once you move them, the url changes, but I could be wrong.

[lemonade-sails]

Gambee - thanks for your reply! It seems that, since I returned them to the library of photobucket, that the URL's are back to what they were. I checked several of them letter for letter. I am so hoping they will come back. I'm not gonna lie and say I know what I'm doing - you guys are too bright for that ;).

 

Either way, I have the end of Day 5 coming up . . .

[knots4crewzing]

Thanks so much for taking the time to write your wonderful review!!

Your pictures are beautiful and I was particularly interested in the Port Of Falmouth. We'll be stopping there in May and from what I see it really is nice.

 

BTW..........I love the dress you purchased. I would have picked the same one LOL:p

 

Thank you again

Liz

[lemonade-sails]

Our seven-year-old son had included a little note in this evening’s email.

 

 

 

Yes, I teared up a little bit at this. Our son had lost a tooth and I wasn’t even in the country! I freaked a teeny tiny bit. I missed my kiddles. I wanted to go home. I needed to see them. I . . . WAIT! It was not his first lost tooth and it wouldn’t be his last. This would be okay.

 

We had a good laugh though when we formulated a plan to put the $ from the tooth fairy inside the pillowcase and pretend it was there the whole time. This would prove to him that I was not the one.

 

***NOTE*** In the end, my mother-in-law had delivered the cash that evening while he slept. Even though she couldn’t find the tooth - it always falls between the mattress - he brought it to her the next morning and she kept it aside until we got home. But, he’s seven, so he knows so much and now he’s convinced that not only am I the tooth fairy, Grandma is too!

 

Further down in the message was a reassurance from them that priority #1 - the health and safety of everyone - had not been compromised. Oh, and they had remembered to put the garbage out - bonus!!

 

We headed to the cabin and to bed.

 

We were supposed to turn the clocks BACK one hour tonight but we didn’t. I think we just forgot. Hmmmmm . . .

[lemonade-sails]

Thanks so much for taking the time to write your wonderful review!!

Your pictures are beautiful and I was particularly interested in the Port Of Falmouth. We'll be stopping there in May and from what I see it really is nice.

 

BTW..........I love the dress you purchased. I would have picked the same one LOL:p

 

Thank you again

Liz

 

 

Thanks for the kind words! We did enjoy Falmouth, but we stayed inside of the shopping complex.

 

I do love the dress!

[vavasmom]

I am really enjoying your review. Thanks for taking the time to do this

[lemonade-sails]

 

I am reposting some of the photos that are missing from the first three pages (my bad). I’m not sure if they’ll ever come back. Lesson learned . . .

 

The long, long hallway to the aft cabins

 

 

Cabin 7688

 

Tiny bathroom:

 

 

 

Exploring:

 

The Main Dining Room

 

 

Christmas tree on the Promenade