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Cruising with an Infant, 1-7 to 1-15 Review on Freedom

Cjess86

By Cjess86,
in Royal Caribbean International

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Cjess86

Cjess86

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DAY THREE – LABADEE………….(not really)

 

DD slept in till almost 7, it must have been the gentle rocking of the ship……wait that rocking isn’t very gentle. After getting out of bed and looking outside we did not have a good feeling. The ocean was churning and you could tell it was windy. We had a bad feeling after opening the curtains and looking outside about making it to the dock. Sure enough, we were informed at around 730 that we would be skipping our beach day at Labadee as the waves were engulfing the pier. We were very disappointed because we LOVE Labadee, but there was no way we would have had a good beach day. I can only imagine how red we all would have been from being pelted with sand all day.....turns out later on in the day the Captain actually informed us that we had to somewhat rescue the Labadee pilot boat captain as their boat was taking on water. He got to stay with us till our next stop :).

 

Disappointed but ready for the day we got up and headed down to the MDR for breakfast about 745. We were seated by ourselves; however, we observed a very unfortunate event at the table next to ours. As has been presented throughout this review, DH and I are pretty relaxed (at least we think we are). Two older couples were seated next to us about 5 minutes after we were seated. Our poor waiter was slammed with what seemed like 8 tables all being seated at the same time. The assistant was able to come over and offer us coffee, however, our neighbors were not offered anything for maybe 5 minutes. While we understand that they were disappointed, we would not have done what one of the ladies did. She got up and walked over to the waiter and as loud as ever blurted out, "The service here is TERRIBLE...." Okay, yes it had not been what you hope for, but obviously things had gotten very busy all at once. We were actually embarrassed. DH and I have discussed what we would have done and we agreed maybe just flagging someone down and politely asking for coffee or a danish would have been more appropriate.....I mean come on people - we're all confined to the ship for another full day, why are you in a rush? Please just relax, we're all on vacation..... With respect to the food, I just got a variety from the buffet that they set up in the middle of the MDR whereas DH ordered scrambled eggs (with cheese on top), bacon and hash browns from the menu. We both also utilized the yogurt bar they had set up with a few different flavors of yogurt, different types of granola and fresh cut up fruit. DH said his eggs, bacon and hash browns were all very good. The food from the buffet was ok, and the yogurt bar was very nice.

 

After breakfast, as it was still early and the ship was still rocking and rolling, we went to what would become our 'hangout' spot. On deck 12, outside of the nursery and overlooking the pool deck there are two comfy chairs and a little table that we would sit in with DD and bring her toys and just play and watch the crazy people trying to cross deck 11. At this point in time only the hot tubs were open and there was very little activity on the ship.

We headed back to the room for a nap till about 1230. We went to the MDR again for lunch. I had a tutti salad and the seafood tomato risotto which were both very good. For anyone not familiar with a “tutti” salad, the MDR for lunch has a salad bar set up with various greens, proteins and other topping that they will combine for you to order. It is always very good. DH just nibbled on some fries and a burger due to his stomach doing some turns. He was not alone as guest services was providing sea calm to passengers in need and the obligatory sickness bags were available throughout the ship. We also learned that green apples do wonders for sea sickness (DH tried it and said it worked well).

 

At lunch we were seated at a ten top with 3 other couples. We enjoyed conversation with 2 out of the 3 couples but we unfortunately encountered another (what we thought) was rude event. After taking our orders and observing that we were about done eating our tutti salads, our waiter came with the entrees. A gentleman at our table (who happened to be wearing a shirt with a rude statement on it) refused his entree because he was not done with his salad. Further, he said to trash that one and bring him a new, hot one, when he was done with his salad. A few minutes later, he made his wife's decision and said the same thing for her when she was clearly just about done with her salad as well. Again, it made the entire table uncomfortable. It just didn't seem like that big of deal to slide your plate to the side for a minute or two. Especially knowing that everyone and their mom was going to be wasting time by eating a sit-down lunch due to the poor weather........

 

After lunch we attended American football trivia at the Schooner bar at 2 (yes our perfect losing streak stayed in tack) and then back to our spot on deck 12 to read, play and watch crazy people on deck 11. Back to the room by 4 to get ready for dinner. Crab cake appetizer was okay. We both had the short rib pasta which was pretty good (DH loved it and just thought it was ok). For dessert DH, as he often does, went off the kids menu and got the apple pie (he normally gets the brownie madness, aka a brownie with chocolate sauce and ice cream) and I had pistachio ice cream. Apple pie was just ok and the ice cream was good. Our tablemates had informed our waiters that they wanted to go to the 7PM show and they accommodated us nicely without making dinner seem rushed. Before the show, we snuck to the room, changed DD into her sleeper and got a bottle. We sat in the back row of the balcony and enjoyed the show while we fed DD her bottle. Lou Gazzara was the entertainer. He's an American Idol runner-up and performed a nice mix of songs and was very energetic. We walked the promenade with a sleeping DD for a bit and then headed back to the room by 845. As DH is not a huge fan of wine, instead of bringing 2 bottles of wine, we brought 2 bottles of craft beer. They look the same as wine and are 750ml. We drank a bottle and watched the NCAA football championship. Great Game! The seas were starting to improve at this point....

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Cjess86

Cjess86

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DAY 4 - SAN JUAN

 

What is that making a soft glow through the outside of our curtain?????? OMG it is the sun!!!!! Woke up to a beautiful morning just as we passed the old fort which marks the entrance to San Juan Bay. DH and I are still getting used to waking up to see the ship get into port. Will admit that this entrance was very cool and we enjoyed watching the sun rise as we docked.

I wore DD in the ergo carrier to the WJ where we ate breakfast as it opened at about 7AM. When we knew she wasn't going to nap this became the preferred method of travel because she seemed happiest being able to see everything. We then went back to the room and prepped for the much anticipated first ride on the flowrider. DH and I both thoroughly enjoyed the flowrider 2 years but we had only done the boogie boarding. Stand-up surfing started at 830 this morning and we took full advantage of using it while the ship was docked. We were able to take turns in line (only us and 2 others!) and switch off with DD. At about 915 we fed her a bottle and she went down for her morning nap in her umbrella stroller. I will mention that our stroller almost fully reclines and has a nice sun shade. We brought the stroller down to the covered area (no splash zone) and were able to see her as we took turns. Conveniently enough, she slept till 11, so, we got over 2.5 hours of stand-up surfing and boogie boarding!

 

Back to room to get ready for San Juan. As we entered the bay, we saw a sign for San Juan Brewery. We had no plans so we thought we would take DD out and walk around town and maybe end up at the brewery. Well, we made it to the brewery but unfortunately it was closed and wasn’t a brewery in the sense we are used to in the states; rather, it is just the name of a fancy looking restaurant. We ended up just walked around and headed back to the ship. I will note that there are many retail type stores within walking distance of port so if you forgot anything at home you can easily pick it up there.

 

Not sure if there was a new guy running ship security, but it took almost 45 minutes. There was no line as it was not a peak time, however, we did see several people that had caught up with the ship from Ft Lauderdale and it seemed that it took extra time for them to go through security and get checked in which held up the line. So, of course the line started moving and we had DD asleep in her stroller. Instead of waking her up, they held us to the side and had someone come down and swab the stroller so it didn't have to go through the detector. This was a very nice thought, however, it took a good 20 minutes and she ended up waking up. So now DH was just carrying her while I had the stroller. They had already given us the go ahead with the swabbing so I assumed that I did not have to collapse the stroller but I was sadly mistaken. Long story short - a piece of advice to parents with kids - if you don't want to hold people up in line, just carry your kid even if they are sleeping (hope that they stay that way) and collapse the stroller....

 

After getting back we changed DD and took her to her first trip to the baby splash pad. It is only a couple inches deep so she could sit there and splash around with her toys. She loved it! After the splash pad we got ready for dinner. Dinner was good - minestrone soup for an appetizer was very good. Do not remember what we had for dinner but will try to remember and update. Orange sherbet ice cream for dessert (DH mixed his with vanilla which is also very good). After dinner we collapsed in a heap and cancelled the nursery because we had already seen the ice show. We were looking forward to the love and marriage show, but we did get to see it until it was on tv the next morning. It was very funny as usual.

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Cjess86

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Loving this review! I have another question if you wouldn't mind. Was it easy enough to source highchairs in the food areas such as the Windjammer and dining room?

 

 

Yes in the dining room they always had one easily available and in windjammer you just had to ask someone and they would get one. The highchairs come with a tray but you can take it off easily if you prefers. Thanks for following and please don't hesitate to ask any other questions

 

 

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DAY 5 - WEDNESDAY - ST MAARTEN

 

DD had so much fun in San Juan that she decided she was too excited to sleep in and woke up at 5. DH got her loaded up into the stroller and took her and her stuff for a walk around the ship. They ended up in the Viking crown lounge letting her play since they had it to themselves and watched the ship approach the port. After bringing me a coffee and pastry at about 8 we went up to the WJ for breakfast. DH got an omelet from the made to order station and said it was very good, much better than pre-made ones at buffet. DD fell asleep on way back from breakfast so we relaxed in the room while the people who had to get off the ship right away cleared out. Once she woke up (about 10:30) we got ready and left the ship. Our plan was to just get a cab to Galion bay for the day. We took the stroller at DH's request but next time I would definitely just use the ergo carrier. The walk from the ship to where the taxis are located is a short one and obviously a stroller is no good at a beach. I really hope no one replies with any harsh comments about a lack of car seat but we were driven to Galion Beach in a SUV. It was about a 20 minute ride and it cost $20 each way total. Our driver asked if we wanted to be picked up and she asked for a time and was very prompt in returning us to the port. For those going to St Maarten and are considering going to the Butterfly house, Galion Beach is not too far. Some say that you could walk from one to the other but I would NOT recommend this with small kids.

 

The beach was very nice. We rented two chairs and an umbrella for $15. There was a nice bar/restaurant that had a waiter taking orders along the beach. During a short 'tropical' rain shower we headed down to the restaurant and shared a very good jerk chicken plate and a few beers. The surprise of the day was that Galion Bay turned into DD's first topless beach! We later learned that the French side allows people to go topless while the Dutch side does not. So be advised that while Galion Bay is great for kids from the standpoint that it is always very calm and shallow you may run into some topless people (There was only one the day we were there). There was a man on the other side of us that told his about ten year old son to “look” lol (Nothing like starting them early I guess). A last note here - no one trying to pedal anything on the beach besides one lady that came around offering massages.

 

After getting back to the ship without any issues we got ready for dinner. Sorry did not take any notes about dinner. After dinner changed DD into her pajamas, packed a bottle and took her to daycare where she proceeded to fall asleep for the night 15 minutes later. After dropping off DD we made our way to the pub for a beer and then went to the evening game shop which was a family feud style game they held in the star lounge. Very entertaining. After that we walked around the ship until the 9:00 headliner show which was Drew Thomas magic. He was supposedly on America’s Got Talent although we didn’t remember him. Now DH very much enjoys magic acts, as do I to a lesser extent, but he was not impressed. I won’t give away any parts of the show but in summary it wasn’t even close to the best magic we have seen on a cruise ship.

 

After the magic show we made our way to the casino which was very busy. We took back some of our money! After cashing out we looked at compass but there was nothing going on we were too excited about so we picked up DD at 11 and called it a night.

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DAY 6 -THURSDAY - ST KITTS

 

DD woke up at 520 so we had to wait for the MDR to open at 7AM for breakfast. DH said French toast was fresh and delicious. DD was cranky at breakfast but thankfully she fell asleep for her nap early and we proceeded to drop her off at the nursery at about 915 so that we could go horseback riding (I really enjoy it and DH plays along).

 

By the way, during the day the nursery is $6/hr while evening is $8.

 

We headed off the ship and met our contact person for our excursion. Through Periera tours we made our way to Trinity Stables. Liz from the company met us promptly at 930 at the Smoke n' Booze shop and about ten minutes later her co-worker drove us to the stables. He was very nice and it was fun talking with him about the island and its history. Elvis took us out for the riding. He was a nice enough 19 year old man but was not overly talkative. It happened to be a private tour and it would have been nice to hear a little about the country and what not. Great views of Basseterre and Nevis as well as the port. We rode for two hours up a mountain and into the rainforest and then back. On the way back, our driver took us by the Carib brewery and pointed out his favorite bbq chicken stand. As we were starving, we proceeded to get back on the ship, check DD out, quickly change and to load her into the ergo and we were back on the island by 1. We headed back to get the chicken which was great and we washed it down with 3/$5 Caribs.

 

As we were smart this time around, getting back on the ship was quick and easy and we made our way to the pool deck. DD loved the baby splash zone and we split time going in the hot tubs and getting ice cream cones. While on the subject of ice cream, am I the only one who thinks it is wrong and gross to allow your child to get a cone and then eat it in the hot tub? Just doesn’t seem that difficult to eat the ice cream and then go but maybe being too sensitive.

 

After the pool deck we got ready for dinner. It took until day 6 but I think we finally figured out how to do dinner. We got ready early and gave DD a bottle at about 5PM. We then put her in her stroller and the walk down to the pub lulled her to sleep for her afternoon nap and enabled mom and dad a relaxing beer on the promenade a first course of dinner in peace. Dinner was great! Clam chowder and seafood ceviche appetizers were pretty good and a new entrée for me, the chicken kiev, was very good. Very juicy and well seasoned. Warm chocolate cake (with extra vanilla) was great for dessert. As always, we enjoyed chatting with our table mates, often talking differences between Canada/US customs.

 

Uneventful evening - I think DH was sleeping before 830 and I could only stay awake reading till 9.

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