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Freedom - May 19-26 - Southern Caribbean Maybe, Kinda Semi-Live?

thetone
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dddangerousdan

dddangerousdan

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We survived the red-eye, and even got a few winks. $24 taxi from San Juan airport to the terminal. (Traffic was terrible.) Arrived at the terminal at 11:00. On the ship at 11:15. Painkiller at 11:20. Ahhhh... Windjammer not too packed. Food is fresh; wide variety. Having a blast already. Cheers.[ATTACH]421581[/ATTACH]

 

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We get on board the day you get off. Hope you don't drink all the good stuff!

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thetone

thetone

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The ship is busy today. Had a few Peroni and then went up to Olive and Twist and met Latch from Barbados. Has been battening with Royal for 18 years! Loves Freedom Class and won't work the larger ships. Had a few cocktails then took a much needed nap! Muster drill at 5:30. Late dinner at 9:00 pm. Cheers.

 

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SeaRise

SeaRise

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The ship is busy today. Had a few Peroni and then went up to Olive and Twist and met Latch from Barbados. Has been battening with Royal for 18 years! Loves Freedom Class and won't work the larger ships. Had a few cocktails then took a much needed nap! Muster drill at 5:30. Late dinner at 9:00 pm. Cheers.

 

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Thanks for posting. At what time did you get your cabin?

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viper88

viper88

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All:

 

I have been voraciously absorbing every morsel of information possible from this board and others for the last 12 months in anticipation of an anniversary trip with my wife on Freedom. While I find some of the snarky comments and discussions on the board unnecessary (i.e. chair hogs, smoking, etc.), which are more suited for junior high social media, I have obtained some very useful information from those brave enough to post. I want to thank Bob and others for their insight, and I hope I can provide a semi-live review while I am on Freedom next week. This is a VACATION with no child, so I will not break my back to post every day, but I will try and provide some information, especially since this is one of the first Southern itineraries for FOS.

 

My wife and are are in our mid-late 30's, live in sunny San Diego (truly one of the most amazing towns on earth, in my opinion. If anyone needs suggestions on where to go/what to do in San Diego - let me know.), and have never been to the Southern Islands. We are not "cruisers" per se, but have been on 3-4 cruises with RCI. I have read all of the doom and gloom about the cruise industry trending down, and am interested to see how much truth there is to the rumors. We dabble in the bar/restaurant industry, will over-tip almost as a rule, consider ourselves semi-foodies, and enjoy a proper cocktail. We have a balcony cabin, the drink and internet packages, and will be dining in one specialty restaurant. We decided on the MDR, as we have met some fun couples on prior cruises. Per Bob's suggestion on another board, we emailed Royal a few weeks ago with our dining preference (i.e. couples our like age and no kids), and were promptly responded to and advised our request would be granted, so - we'll see...

 

My wife and I are professionals, but still like to dress up we we get the chance, so we will be the couple with cocktail dresses and coats in the MDR every night. We may visit a show or two, but will likely be found in the R Bar, casino, Pub and/or Olive and Twist most nights.

 

I am extremely excited for our get away, and will try and provide a fun and engaging review. Thanks again for the all wonderful info. Happy sailing.

 

Cheers.

We are on Freedom in 3 weeks so will be following your posts. Also, my wife and I love San Diego! We can't wait to go back.

 

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thetone

thetone

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Following a well deserved nap, we hit the R Bar for a few classic martinis and then went to the MDR (dun, dun, dun...). The food was perfectly acceptable, even for those of us who are somewhat picky. Herb crusted salmon was very good; salad and apps were fine. Based on only one night, I would say the death of the MDR is greatly exaggerated! Our table mates wanted to sit in the karaoke bar, but mercifully, that only lasted two singers. The Schooner Bar pianist, however, was awesome, Grahame Sinclair. Highly recommended. St. Thomas today, and formal night for those of you keeping score at home. Cheers.

 

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thetone

thetone

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Made our first mistake today.... After having a morning coffee and bagel, decided to do full blown breakfast in the Windjammer at 9:00 am before disembarking the ship. BAD IDEA. I have never seen anything like it. Imagine Disneyland on on a holiday with Elsa herself serving waffles. We will be eating breakfast in the MDR from now on, or at 8 am, but I digress...

 

St. Thomas - windy but beautiful. They have a sign as you leave port for taxi prices, and someone to place you in taxis. Run, don't walk, run to Sapphire beach. It was hard hit during the hurricane, but the beach rental shop is up, great beach bar with fresh food (best.snapper.sandwich.ever.), and rest rooms. We were the only crusies there until 1:30 pm, when it got windy. The rest of the patrons were locals or those staying on the island. Taxi stand right there to bring you back. Couldn't recommend it more. Cheers.

 

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thetone

thetone

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Following! We are sailing this itinerary on FOS leaving June 30th! Loving all of the info! If you are able to post pics of the Compass it would be greatly appreciated! Enjoy!
Sorry, but the compass is long. Here is the menu though.IMAG0627.thumb.jpg.e24a5ed7043db0580ee69586dac0beaf.jpg

 

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luv2zdworld

luv2zdworld

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Made our first mistake today.... After having a morning coffee and bagel, decided to do full blown breakfast in the Windjammer at 9:00 am before disembarking the ship. BAD IDEA. I have never seen anything like it. Imagine Disneyland on on a holiday with Elsa herself serving waffles. We will be eating breakfast in the MDR from now on, or at 8 am, but I digress...

 

St. Thomas - windy but beautiful. They have a sign as you leave port for taxi prices, and someone to place you in taxis. Run, don't walk, run to Sapphire beach. It was hard hit during the hurricane, but the beach rental shop is up, great beach bar with fresh food (best.snapper.sandwich.ever.), and rest rooms. We were the only crusies there until 1:30 pm, when it got windy. The rest of the patrons were locals or those staying on the island. Taxi stand right there to bring you back. Couldn't recommend it more. Cheers.

 

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Following your review! I have been there before but never visited the beaches. Did you take a taxi to Sapphire beach? If so, how much was it? Do you have any pictures?

 

 

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thetone

thetone

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Following your review! I have been there before but never visited the beaches. Did you take a taxi to Sapphire beach? If so, how much was it? Do you have any pictures?

 

 

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Taxi is $11 pp for 2 people.IMAG0633.thumb.jpg.63925dd72aa6217f5cf0f55a8dcb707d.jpg

 

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thetone

thetone

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Was planning a large Formal Night post, but life sometimes leads you down a different path. In sum, the beef tenderloin was one of the better pieces of meat I have had in a long time. Very impressed. However, right before dinner, my wife realized her wedding ring was missing. After a frantic search, we decided to call guest services. Somehow, the ring came out of her purse while she was on the way to the spa, and some wonderful person turned it in! We get cynical sometimes and forget most people are truly good at heart. I am trying to purchase a specialty dinner for our heroes at this moment! Sea Day today. More to come.

 

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TimeToGetNauti

TimeToGetNauti

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OK - looks like I figured out how to post a photo from the mobile app. Good start. Today is the commencement of our adventure. To begin, we are breaking one of the ten CC commandments by flying into San Juan the day of embarkation (gasp!). Truthfully, flying times from San Diego were not great, so we would not have gotten to spend any valuable time in San Juan today anyway. As such, we are taking a red-eye tonight, landing in Miami around 6:00 am, and should be in San Juan by 10:00 am Saturday. Our plan is to board as soon as possible, and start putting that drink package to good use (kind of like TimeToGetNauti did....). We like to meet and mingle with bartenders and explore the ship before the masses get on board. If we survive embarkation lunch in the Windjammer (fingers crossed...), we will likely grab a lounge chair in the sun, or even take a nap depending on our level of exhaustion. We have late (8:30 pm) dining, so we should have plenty of time to unwind before then.

 

 

Only a few hours left to go...

 

Cheers.

 

Oh how I miss the unlimited amount of alcohol I had on that ship. sigh.......

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