My Freedom Review - Kinda "Live" but not really with lots of pics

[sayvan]

I always enjoy the shrubs and trees of any tropical paradise

 

 

Streets of Marigot

 

 

 

a place to hang on the weekends....

 

 

 

This ship has seen better days..

 

[sayvan]

Vanda snapped this one of me at one of our stops along the tour.. GO BLUE!

 

 

A Panoramic view is always nice..

 

 

Shopping area in Marigot

 

 

heading back toward the Dutch side...

 

 

 

[sayvan]

We would experience some more great views along the road back to Philipsburg.

 

 

 

Anguilla off in the distance

 

 

some old abandoned homes...

 

 

and then we were back in Philipsburg. Now at this point of the tour you could either get off the bus or take it back to the ship. We decided that we would get off the bus at this point and then head to the beach and grab some lunch... so that's exactly what we did....

 

 

I will be back later to continue our day in St. Maarten.

[crusin4funtimes]

Thank you so much for taking the time to write your review. Your pictures are amazing and I agree, GO BLUE!

[sayvan]

Amazing views ,enjoying your review & pics immensely

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

 

Thanks so much...

[sayvan]

After our tour we headed for the beach and some lunch. Great Bay Beach is just up the road from the where the ships dock. It's walkable but you can take the water taxi as well. I think the walk would be about 15 minutes or so. The area is actually very nice with a boardwalk, lots of shops and restaurants. We hadn't had any lunch yet, so we decided to stop at a bar called the Blue Bitch Bar.

 

 

 

After some lunch we decided to head over to the beach where we found a couple of lounge chairs and an umbrella. Immediately, we were greeted by a local guy who was in charge of the area we were in. The rental of the chairs and umbrella was $15 for the day and then for another $10 we got a bucket of (5) beers and some water. The afternoon was set.

 

 

 

Vanda was very happy while we waited for our drinks and food in the Blue Bitch Bar

 

 

The Bar also offered the bucket deal....

 

[sayvan]

Some more shots from our afternoon...

 

 

There were quite a few ships in port this day... 6 I think. Freedom and Dream from Carnival, Oasis of the Seas, Norwegian Sun, Westerdam and Celebrity Reflection.

 

 

This was a Pirate Island it would appear..

 

 

 

The beach was stunning...

 

 

[sayvan]

Some fellow passengers I assume enjoying the warm waters of St. Maarten.

 

 

Vanda getting her Vitamin D...

 

 

 

Me taking a little stroll in the waters... ships in the background

 

 

Another panorama...

 

 

After awhile on the beach we then ran into Mike and Jerilyn again so we all hung out for a bit on the beach and then we made our way to the Hard Rock Café for a snack and another margarita...

 

[sayvan]

After the Hard Rock Café it was time to get ourselves back to the ship and get ready for the night and sailaway. We made our way to the water taxi and started the journey back to the dock area. It's about a 10 minute ride, give or take.

 

The beach area where we were from the water taxi

 

 

The building in to the far left in this shot is where you get the water taxi...

 

 

 

Mike and Jerilyn.. the happy newlyweds

 

 

I love Palm Trees...

 

 

[sayvan]

we were now approaching the docks....

 

 

and back on land...

 

 

 

 

of course you always have to take a picture in front of the port sign..

 

 

and to make sure you get the shot perfect you always want to take more than one.... hey wait...it looks like Cruise Critic Member Delta Dear photo bombed my picture... I hope she and her husband enjoyed being in St. Maarten

 

[sayvan]

Prior to getting back on the ship we stopped to dance a little with this Steel Drum band

 

 

Freedom looking good...

 

 

I was amazed at the size of this queen of the seas... I mean Oasis...

 

 

almost back onboard...

 

 

[sayvan]

Once back on board we went to freshen up and well have a little cat nap. As a result of the nap, we missed the sailaway.. so after getting a brief second wind we headed up to the martini bar for some pre-dinner drinks... however we remained tired from a very busy and fun day..

 

 

 

We then went to dinner and to be honest I can't recall what we did next.... whatever it was my camera did not record the evening.... I am going to surmise that the reason for that was the many beers and margarita's on the beach in St. Maarten and then of course a couple of Martini's prior to dinner... well you get the picture. We called it a night and when we returned to our room this was waiting for us...

 

 

That's all for today so see you all in St. Thomas tomorrow....

[Delta Dear]

we were now approaching the docks....

 

 

and back on land...

 

 

 

 

of course you always have to take a picture in front of the port sign..

 

 

and to make sure you get the shot perfect you always want to take more than one.... hey wait...it looks like Cruise Critic Member Delta Dear photo bombed my picture... I hope she and her husband enjoyed being in St. Maarten

 

LOL, Delta Dear and husband. Morgan DID enjoy St. Maarten. As a matter of fact they photobombed just the right shot because when they went to St. Maarten in 2011, they forgot to take a picture of the sign. Chances are they may forget again when there are there in Dec, 2014. Thanks for putting us right there. LOVE IT ! Love the review, too.

[Ms. Fun Bunch]

I am really enjoying your review! I will be on the Freedom in September.

[sayvan]

Thank you so much for taking the time to write your review. Your pictures are amazing and I agree, GO BLUE!

 

Thanks... makes it worthwhile knowing that peopel are enjoying it.

[sayvan]

I am really enjoying your review! I will be on the Freedom in September.

 

That's great so you will get to enjoy her after she has her upcoming upgrades...:)

[cruisin blue]

and your pictures are stunning! We did a B2B cruise on the Freedom and, many cruises later, it is still one of my favorite ships and itineraries. :D

[JillGadget]

I'm actually making decisions on what to do on these Islands when we go in April.. Thanks for photos and descriptions they are so helpful and intense. Makes me want to buy a Dslr instead of using my phone :-)

 

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[JillGadget]

And due to your pic of the oasis, I realise the empress floor which is one Above lifeboats doesn't seem to have a partially obstructed view. They had a great rate and decided against bc I want site and I spend a lot of time on balcony agree midnight

 

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[ch27088]

First of all, loving your review and the awesome pictures, thanks for sharing. Second, I'm laughing at how you included Delta Dear and her hubby, that was just too cute. She also does great reviews as well. Keep up the great job on your review, and yes I've subscribed!

[Handsome58]

And some awsome pictures. Some would even make great posters or would be great blown up and framed. Good job! I will be on the Freedom in September, can't wait!!!

[hlb76]

Great review.. we are booked on her in Oct. Great to see a nice review. I'm bummed about the Port side web cam as we have a Starboard balcony. :)

[2 cruzen]

Mike and Jerilyn.. the happy newlyweds

 

 

Haha...they don't LOOK too happy. The picture of your wife a few posts back was lovely. She looked very relaxed and content. Funny how that happens on a Carribean island. :D

[CrusieToy]

 

 

Here you can see the Oasis in the background:

 

 

To be continued folks.....

Nothing like that 1st drink with a week on a cruise ship to look forward to..

Nice photos! thanks for posting

[bigmama9224]

I love your review thanks. I am not planning on any cruise on the Fascination, will be going on the Splendor, I don't fly and live in NY. We are going to Turks and Caicos. Have been there three times. The tour you did sounds very interesting. In your opinion can a person with knee problems be able to handle the Safari truck...