32yo couple first time cruisers on FOS eastern caribbean

[albones456]

My girlfriend and I are taking our first cruise on RCCL FOS in 2 weeks! 7 night eastern caribbean to Coco Cay, St Thomas and St Maarten. Even though I've spent the last 2 months burning up the internet researching, figured I'd ask the pros if they had any tips relevant to the ship or ports of call. Specifically, has anyone purchased RC all inclusive liquor package? We could be considered "heavy social drinkers" lol. My assumption is the ship wouldn't offer it if they weren't making money. Having never cruised I don't have a frame of reference to budget the bar tab. Any tips or "secrets to cruising" will be greatly appreciated

[ticktoneer]

If you drink more than 7 or 8 drinks a day the drinks package would be good value.

 

If you like burgers try Jonny Rockets and if you like steak Chops is great !

 

Freedom is an AMAZING ship. You're gonna have a great time !!!!!

[ticktoneer]

P.S don't forget room service is free. The amount of people we've bumped into towards the end of their cruise who didn't know this is a lot !!

[charleyroo]

it would be even better value as you are visiting a private port, and you could utilise the drinks package there :)have a great time, FoS is FAB!!

 

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[Eng23]

Keep in mind with the Premium Drink package that you would have to purchase 2 packages. One for each person in your cabin.

[sirk25]

We will be on that cruise as well. Can't comment on the drink package. If you want info on the ports of call, go to the main menu of these forums and under 'ports of call' going under Caribbean and there is loads of information on the 3 ports that we will be stopping at.

[Steve78]

Hey Guys

 

In St Maarten you should definitely check out Maho Beach. The Sunset Beach bar there is amazing and watching the planes land and take off right on top of you is very cool experience. That beach was probably the highlight of my Eastern Caribbean cruise on the Ruby Princess in November. Have a great cruise!

 

Cheer

Steve

[TravelerThom]

P.S don't forget room service is free. The amount of people we've bumped into towards the end of their cruise who didn't know this is a lot !!

Unless room service is delivered by your own cabin steward, a modest gratuity is normally extended. There is a service charge [i think $3.95] for room service between midnight and 5am(?) in lieu of a gratuity. There are some on CruiseCritic who brag that they never tip for service associated with "free" items.

[Cruiser-T]

Hey Guys

 

In St Maarten you should definitely check out Maho Beach. The Sunset Beach bar there is amazing and watching the planes land and take off right on top of you is very cool experience. That beach was probably the highlight of my Eastern Caribbean cruise on the Ruby Princess in November. Have a great cruise!

 

Cheer

Steve

Maho beach meh. Been there once, never going back. GO TO Orient beach, topless and further down full nude if that is what you prefer. Great beach and waves.

[MermaidWatcher]

No experience with the drinks package; the only thing we ever buy is one soda package to quell by wife's Diet Coke addiction. Browse around here, as there are lots of posts on this topic.

 

Book any shows you want to see in advance. You can go stand in line, but there are usually not a lot of available seats on show nights.

 

If you want to do the Flowrider, I will say what should be the obvious......the early morning sessions will get you the most board time.

 

Freedom class are great ships with lots of activities, but don't forget to take some time to just relax and enjoy doing nothing.

[albones456]

REALLY looking forward to that oddly enough. How often do you take a tropical vacation and plan on visiting the airport as an attraction lol. How far from the port in Phillipsburg is Maho Beach? As much as I want see it I don't think my girl would appreciate spending an ENTIRE day going to watch planes takeoff haha

[Cruiser-T]

REALLY looking forward to that oddly enough. How often do you take a tropical vacation and plan on visiting the airport as an attraction lol. How far from the port in Phillipsburg is Maho Beach? As much as I want see it I don't think my girl would appreciate spending an ENTIRE day going to watch planes takeoff haha

 

It is rather quite boring, don't waste your time, go to Orient Beach

[jndsilver31]

Be sure to catch the Ice Show. It is amazing all the tricks that they do on a rink that is only 90% of what they would normally skate on. But you have to make reservations for that show.

[skyking]

Get off the ship in St Marteen and rent a jeep right at the pier. It's a great way to spend the day and allows you to see the entire island. We have done in about 6 times and love it everytime. Enjoy!!

[Envelope21]

Just got off the Freedom today. We were on a different itinerary, but wanted to mention the ship is awesome. Be sure to check out the "silent disco" in the Crypt. (Look for it in the cruise compass. On our cruise it was on Friday night after the 70's disco party. ) Have a great time. The Freedom is beautiful!

[SECdawg]

Beer will be between $5-$7. Mixed and fruity drinks will be between $6-$8. Wine starts at around $6-$7 for a glass and goes up quickly with quality.

FOS is great ship. If you want to try the flowrider, it opens at 1pm on boarding day and there is usually not much of a line or people watching the wipeouts. Do your waivers online, you'll still need to get a wristband but it will go quicker. Get on the ship early, they usually start boarding between 11-11:30.

[island lady]

REALLY looking forward to that oddly enough. How often do you take a tropical vacation and plan on visiting the airport as an attraction lol. How far from the port in Phillipsburg is Maho Beach? As much as I want see it I don't think my girl would appreciate spending an ENTIRE day going to watch planes takeoff haha

 

It is a long taxi ride there, only because of the horrible traffic through town. We loved

the restaurant at the beach there, but the airplanes landing...meh..(as another posted

earlier). The really big jets don't land until later in the day, which would put you at

a limited time frame to make it back to the ship.

 

The second time we were there, we simply walked up to the water taxis right there

at the port and went to the beach in town. For 5 bucks you can get a bucket of beer

and a lounge chair right set up right on the beach. Rum drinks are great too, and not

expensive...and strong!! :eek:

[Steve78]

Maho beach meh. Been there once, never going back. GO TO Orient beach, topless and further down full nude if that is what you prefer. Great beach and waves.

 

I went to Orient Beach as well. We hired a car and drove right around the island. Maho was our last stop before heading back to the ship. Its probably about 20min drive (without traffic jams) back to Philipsburg.

 

Orient was a nice beach however Im also in my early 30's and everyone who was sunbaking topless or nude were WELL over 50. It wasnt a pretty sight..... :/

 

Try all the beaches though. Im sure you'll have a great time :)

 

Cheers

Steve

[stazerd]

Husband Steve and I sailed FOS last July. For the first time cruiser I would suggest the Helipad for sail away! Wave to the people watching you leave!

[albones456]

Get off the ship in St Marteen and rent a jeep right at the pier. It's a great way to spend the day and allows you to see the entire island. We have done in about 6 times and love it everytime. Enjoy!!

 

Was actually considering that as well. Any idea on price? If cab rides are $20 a piece and we plan on hitting a couple of different spots on the island it could wind up costing as much or more than a rental.

 

Also thank you to everyone for your advice/suggestions.

[papaflamingo]

If you really want to see the island rent a car. We have done that a couple of times. We are in the "watch the airplane" crowd. Sunset Bar is fun. Then continue to Marigot, the capital of the French side. Shop a bit, have a drink or eat. Then on to the beaches. Orient is a great place to go but crowded. We went there last time. If you only want to go to the beach you can catch a cab for $7 per person each way. But if you rent a car, explore the island. It's small and beautiful. Lot's of beaches to simply "find."

Freedom is a great ship. You'll love it.

[Steve78]

Was actually considering that as well. Any idea on price? If cab rides are $20 a piece and we plan on hitting a couple of different spots on the island it could wind up costing as much or more than a rental.

 

Also thank you to everyone for your advice/suggestions.

 

Hey

 

We hired a Jeep from the port area there and I think it was about $120 for the day with insurances and all that. I cant remember the name of the company but it was the one furthest to the right where are the rental car places are. They even dropped us back into the town at the end of the day after we returned the car.

 

Cheers

Steve

[Mustangman1123]

Absorb everything people suggest but make your own decisions... All too often I hear of people complain about stupid things on the Ships... vacations are what you make of it and as a first time cruiser it will be a great experience...

 

Happy to hear other New Jersey people on board....lol.

 

We are young couple(31/31) too maybe we will run into you guys in the bar...haha..

 

Have a safe trip and HAVE FUN...

Flying or Driving???

 

Dan

[foolishmortals]

You picked a great ship for your first cruise! I took DH on the Freedom 5 months ago for his first cruise and he has been hooked on cruising since then! :D Make sure you have lunch in the MDR for their Tutti salad. They prepare it in front of you from a setup in the middle of the MDR near the entrance with a nice selection of greens, veggies, and various other toppings and dressings. We also liked the margaritas at the On Air bar located near studio B. they had margarita specials(after 4? 5? Sorry, I can't remember now,,,check your daily compass for info on drink specials). The bartender was great and the drinks were strong and tasty. Be sure to try the Captain's Caipirinha if you like caipirinhas.

 

In St. Maarten, we booked a private tour with Joyce Prince after reading reviews here on cruise critic. She took us everywhere we wanted for the entire day. She brought along a cooler of tasty and strong rum punch. We particularly enjoyed our lunch at Sandy's in Marigot where we had oxtail stew and rice and peas followed by macaroons at Sarafinas(also in Marigot). Watching the planes land and hanging out at Maho Beach was fun, too. As other have said, they have a bar there called Sunset Bar and grill and I have heard their fried grouper nuggets are good. Back at the pier, there is also a kiosk that sells spices, jams, and sauces. I forgot the name of it but it is at the end of the string of shops near the end of the taxi line. The prices were pretty good and they had free samples. Also be sure to try the samples of guavaberry colada at the guavaberry liquor store there at the port shops. We bought a couple bottles of the liqueur and some sauces there as well. :)

 

Honestly, I think you will have a great time on this cruise! Enjoy! :)

[albones456]

Absorb everything people suggest but make your own decisions... All too often I hear of people complain about stupid things on the Ships... vacations are what you make of it and as a first time cruiser it will be a great experience...

 

Happy to hear other New Jersey people on board....lol.

 

We are young couple(31/31) too maybe we will run into you guys in the bar...haha..

 

Have a safe trip and HAVE FUN...

Flying or Driving???

 

Dan

 

We're rolling the dice and flying down that morning out of Philly. We booked transfers from airport in Orlando to the ship