MITSUGIRLYS FREEDOM OF THE SEAS REVIEW & PICTORIAL

[Laszlo]

Always enjoy your reviews Kim, this is another excellent one!

[crusin fools]

10 hours ago, mitsugirly said:

Our Uber arrived first and off we went.

 

Like always, something always happens to Kendra and the first to arrive couldn't fit everyone. But she eventually made it.

 

Check in was simple and fairly quick at the Southwest counter. Since Kendra arrived so much later than us, we went ahead and got in the security line while she was in the line checking in her luggage. 

 

THE LINES WERE FOREVER LONG!!! It took forever. I kept reporting to her as we moved along and told her "You better hurry up. The lines are extremely long and they are taking forever!!!" Then I seen her, Billy and the kids, roll right up to security and immediately go in. UGH! Just like that. We still waited in line a good 20 more minutes and they were already in and on the tram and shopping on the other side. Go figure.... I guess it pays to be handicapped sometimes. 

 

We were all on the same flight this time. I immediately notice this in my seat....737 MAX 8!!! Yikes! But we were actually on the 737-800 thank goodness! Whew

 

 

 

 

 

Goodbye Puerto Rico....until we meet again! We love you!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

As we were in the air...my son, Kolin, texted me to say that Sakari's husky, Loki, was sick and throwing up all of a sudden. He had gotten into some poison...weed kill. Oh no! We were in full panic mode all the way home. Loki is Sakari's best friend, it's all she talks about, it's all she draws most days, Loki is life!

 

Our flight was delayed about 1 hour and this only increased tension and worry. Kolin kept me updated along the way and sent pictures. He was starting to have blood in his vomit. 😞

 

When our plane landed, we ran to get our luggage and then ran to the shuttle stop, passing Kendra along the way and almost everything is a blur.

 

We raced to Kolins house, grabbed Loki (he was so weak he couldn't even walk or stand when we came in and let's be honest, he's a husky and they get excited easily) and immediately drove him to the vet hospital. He received IV fluids and several medications and we elected to take him home to monitor him.  He was so bad for 2 days...I honestly didn't think he was going to make it. Sakari swears one day when I was napping that he quit breathing and I woke up to her screaming and crying and shaking him and him not moving. I personally think that his breathing was so shallow that she just couldn't see it but daddy told her that she "saved his life". He finally pulled through it but it was so touch and go for a while. I don't know what would have happened if she has lost him. We would all be lost and we've had enough loss to last us for a long time in this family. After about a full week...he was back to his normal self.

 

Now who am I supposed to have dog sit when we vacation? I'm sure Sakari don't trust Kolin with Loki and Kolin don't want the responsibility now. Ugh!

 

But....that's the end of my review.

 

I hope everyone enjoyed it.

 

 

Up next....probably NCL. I have 2 cruise coupons that have to be used up before Feb 20, 2020....only 9 months from now and I have no idea what I'm going to use them on. I haven't sailed with them in some time because I got tired of the same old ports and find a better port selection on Carnival and RC. But, I guess I'll have to start looking again just to use these coupons up. I looks like no summer Aruba land vacation for us this year darn it. 

 

 

HAPPY CRUISING EVERYONE!

 

 

 

Great review as always...why don't you go back to Bermuda??? you can never miss an adventure there...

[brookie848]

11 hours ago, mitsugirly said:

Up next....probably NCL. I have 2 cruise coupons that have to be used up before Feb 20, 2020....only 9 months from now and I have no idea what I'm going to use them on. I haven't sailed with them in some time because I got tired of the same old ports and find a better port selection on Carnival and RC. But, I guess I'll have to start looking again just to use these coupons up. I looks like no summer Aruba land vacation for us this year darn it. 

 

 

HAPPY CRUISING EVERYONE!

 

 

 

Kim -- the Epic is sailing out of San Juan starting in the fall. Maybe that ship will have an itinerary that will work for you. 

 

Thanks again for the great review!

[KelSny1011]

Your review was amazing as always.  I was taking notes throughout the entire review as we are doing the same cruise next spring!  I like that you hold no thoughts back, and I swear my family cruises with the same scenarios as yours.  I'm so sad to read that you received some bad health related news, and I pray that you battle through the "time stamp" they gave you.   Just know that no one really knows how much time we have in this life.  You keep living life to the fullest!  I look forward to reading more of your reviews.

[pghsteelerfan]

I can't believe it's over already - boo!  Seriously, I enjoy and look forward to your reviews, no matter which cruise line.  I thought I'd wait till the end but during your scuba in Barbados, I loved seeing the live mushroom coral.  Apparently it's a common find in Hawaii and I did fine one piece (dead, on beach) while there.  The other was one of those shipwrecks was the same boat we did our "booze cruise" excursion (thought Carnival) on our honeymoon cruise in 1992!  I knew it was on the ocean floor somewhere, but didn't realize it was in Carlisle Bay.  We had a great time on that, but we were a lot younger too.  I have pictures of what it looked like if you're interested.  And when you guys were all being paged before getting off the ship - classic!  That was hilarious!  Someday I'd like to try that.  🙂

I am SO glad that Loki made it and you guys, especially Sakari, had a happy ending.  We lost one of our cats while we were in HI two days before our return and that was tough and I'm so glad you didn't have to go through that.  My heart was breaking for Sakari.  So glad he pulled through. 

I'm shocked and saddened by that news you got.  That sucks!  Please know that you are in thoughts, prayers, good vibes/juju, etc., which ever works for you.  I just can't imagine and I'm really hoping you prove them wrong.  I feel like I've gotten to know you/your family and we have a lot of the same interests - beaches and I also love snorkeling the past few years.  And thank you for taking the time to share your vacation with us. 

 

Holly (aka pghsteelerfan)

Edited May 20, 2019 by pghsteelerfan

[bunnyette]

Great review Kim!  I hope your health concerns don’t prevent you from cruising.  Glad Loki recovered, weed poison is nasty- actually it’s banned in Ontario.  I know the pet sitter drama...I have a parrot so am always looking for good sitters.

[mitsugirly]

14 hours ago, onlyano said:

That was a wonderful cruise report. Thank you for sharing. I look forward to hearing about your next adventures!

 

Thanks so much and glad you enjoyed it. 

 

 

13 hours ago, broberts said:

How was the rolled ice cream?

 

It was good. You got to pick 2 items to go in it and I remember picking pineapple but can't remember the other. I think it's so neat to watch how they do it.

 

12 hours ago, perfect match said:

 

Well, you said you would have to be dragged off the ship kicking and screaming! 🤣  Guess you really meant it! Yes, Kendra must be rubbing off on you!

 

I’m glad Loki is OK now. That must have been really scary for all of you, but especially Sakari. Hope you find a good dog sitter for your future travels.

 

Speaking of future travels, I’m sure you will manage to find SOMEWHERE to go on NCL, and a nice ship to take you there. I guess I’ll be looking for you over on the NCL boards at some point during the summer.

 

I've always said they need to drag me off the ship but I never dreamed that it was about to happen. 😄

 

I'm sure Kolin will still watch Loki in the future (unless he goes with us, which he has been talking about) and just be more careful. I hate the thought of sending him somewhere that he doesn't know them. ugh

 

NCL just don't like to go to the Caribbean during the summer months. That's what turned me to other cruise lines. They say it's not profitable enough during the summer months and usually only has 1 ship that is in the Caribbean. I don't know what they are thinking because the other cruise lines have ships in the Caribbean with no issues and full. The one ship they have, I have already done before and it's not going anywhere I want to go. The only other ones are starting from the north US and only going to the Bahamas and I really don't care for the Bahama ports. I'm considering Bermuda but they are so darn expensive. 

 

5 hours ago, Cherries Jubilee said:

Amazing review as always! Your trips really inspire me to be more adventurous. Thank you so much for sharing with us. 

 

Thanks for reading and glad you enjoyed it. 

 

5 hours ago, Laszlo said:

Always enjoy your reviews Kim, this is another excellent one!

 

Thanks so much!! I appreciate it. 

 

4 hours ago, crusin fools said:

Great review as always...why don't you go back to Bermuda??? you can never miss an adventure there...

 

I have been considering that and that is about my only option for summer months. I would love to go back there but they are just so darn expensive later in the summer months. Ugh

 

2 hours ago, brookie848 said:

Kim -- the Epic is sailing out of San Juan starting in the fall. Maybe that ship will have an itinerary that will work for you. 

 

Thanks again for the great review!

 

Yea, that's what I've heard (although I have already sailed the Epic twice now and "try" not to repeat ships if I can help it). But, you never know (and I need a cruise for the summer). 

 

2 hours ago, fyree39 said:

I've lived in three places that have those giant cockroaches: Japan, Hawaii and the Mojave desert. The only good thing about them is they're outside bugs and prefer to live near water. They'll get inside, but that's not their favorite place to live. 

 

Yes, they're huge and horrible.

 

Yea, I've heard about the cockroaches being so big. Yikes! Thank goodness they like the outside. lol

 

56 minutes ago, KelSny1011 said:

Your review was amazing as always.  I was taking notes throughout the entire review as we are doing the same cruise next spring!  I like that you hold no thoughts back, and I swear my family cruises with the same scenarios as yours.  I'm so sad to read that you received some bad health related news, and I pray that you battle through the "time stamp" they gave you.   Just know that no one really knows how much time we have in this life.  You keep living life to the fullest!  I look forward to reading more of your reviews.

 

Aww, such kind words. I hope some of them are able to help you plan an enjoyable vacation. 

 

Thanks so much for the thoughts and you are right, no one ever knows. I just have to take it one day at a time and enjoy each minute. 

 

24 minutes ago, pghsteelerfan said:

I can't believe it's over already - boo!  Seriously, I enjoy and look forward to your reviews, no matter which cruise line.  I thought I'd wait till the end but during your scuba in Barbados, I loved seeing the live mushroom coral.  Apparently it's a common find in Hawaii and I did fine one piece (dead, on beach) while there.  The other was one of those shipwrecks was the same boat we did our "booze cruise" excursion (thought Carnival) on our honeymoon cruise in 1992!  I knew it was on the ocean floor somewhere, but didn't realize it was in Carlisle Bay.  We had a great time on that, but we were a lot younger too.  I have pictures of what it looked like if you're interested.  And when you guys were all being paged before getting off the ship - classic!  That was hilarious!  Someday I'd like to try that.  🙂

I am SO glad that Loki made it and you guys, especially Sakari, had a happy ending.  We lost one of our cats while we were in HI two days before our return and that was tough and I'm so glad you didn't have to go through that.  My heart was breaking for Sakari.  So glad he pulled through. 

I'm shocked and saddened by that news you got.  That sucks!  Please know that you are in thoughts, prayers, good vibes/juju, etc., which ever works for you.  I just can't imagine and I'm really hoping you prove them wrong.  I feel like I've gotten to know you/your family and we have a lot of the same interests - beaches and I also love snorkeling the past few years.  And thank you for taking the time to share your vacation with us. 

 

Holly (aka pghsteelerfan)

 

I love the mushroom coral too. I have some in my tank and it just keeps multiplying. My clown fish host it (they think it's an anemone lol). I'm surprised they haven't died from the clown fish (Bobo & Gizmo) aggravating it all the time. LOL

 

How cool about the ship and your booze cruise. I would love to see what it looked like prior to the sinking. That is so neat!

 

Trust me...we weren't trying to be the last...it just happened and it was hilarious! 🙂

 

Loki is back to his normal happy spunky self. I don't know what we would have done if we had lost him. Sakari would be devastated! So sorry to hear about your cat. That has to be so hard to happen during a cruise. 

 

Thanks for the thoughts to the juju. I could really use it. 

 

Glad you enjoyed the review. I'm hoping to have many more in the future fingers crossed. 

[mitsugirly]

7 minutes ago, bunnyette said:

Great review Kim!  I hope your health concerns don’t prevent you from cruising.  Glad Loki recovered, weed poison is nasty- actually it’s banned in Ontario.  I know the pet sitter drama...I have a parrot so am always looking for good sitters.

 

Thanks so much! It won't prevent me from cruising for now. Do you have an African Gray (according to your picture)? I would love to have one of those. I'm told they have a huge vocabulary. We had a umbrella cockatoo and he was very talkative and loved to dance (Kendra had one too for a long time). Maybe some day we'll get another. 

[mitsugirly]

Is there anyone on here named Michelle that requested to be friends on my SM? It says they love cruising but I have no idea who it is...

[WisconsinFan]

15 hours ago, mitsugirly said:

Then it was time to move along. The hubby put up a fight about going that way saying that we'd have to turn around and walk back or end up all the way down by the fort. Well, I knew better than that because we had done it before. I'm not sure why he didn't remember the opening to get back into town. Well....I won the battle and we kept going...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Would ya lookie there...the gate....to get back in...without walking around. Hmmmmppppffff

 

 

 

I don't think you could have walked all the way around anyhow because it looked like they were still repairing past the gate.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We were in the wall during the downpour, inside the gate. I have enjoyed your review. Thank you for doing it and allowing me to see some things we didn't see- even though we were on the same cruise. Below is the river that ran through the gate during the 30 minute or so downpour.

[bunnyette]

29 minutes ago, mitsugirly said:

 

Thanks so much! It won't prevent me from cruising for now. Do you have an African Gray (according to your picture)? I would love to have one of those. I'm told they have a huge vocabulary. We had a umbrella cockatoo and he was very talkative and loved to dance (Kendra had one too for a long time). Maybe some day we'll get another. 

 

Yes I do...Peter is 21 yrs old!  He’s like our child and I hate leaving him when we cruise.  This type of parrot is pretty independent...so a great choice for us.

[perfect match]

Kim, I know you love your beach time, but how about Alaska for the summer? I’m pretty sure NCL goes there. It would certainly be a different experience for you! 

 

If you want to deal with the cold water, I know that there are snorkeling options in Alaska. Scuba, too, but I’m not sure if they offer Discover Scuba. I also don’t know what ports because I haven’t looked recently and my bookmarks are only in my old tablet. Another option in AK might be dogsledding 

 

I hope Kolin has secured all of his weed poison and other toxic substances out of reach so no other dog - or kid - manages to get into them ever again! I’m sure Loki’s illness really scared Kolin, and there’s no way he would want to go through that again.

 

 

[Getting out there]

I stayed at Hotel Milano and loved it. I had a room like yours, but with 1 double bed; no trouble with the mattress. Our room looked out the front of the hotel. I liked that the rooms are locked off from the elevator/stairs so people from the resturant can't get to the rooms.

[BuzzBuzzen]

I want to add my thanks for your awesome review , it's been a lot of fun. Take care and I hope for the best for you, Cheers, Buzz.

[friskat]

I rarely if ever comment on your reviews, but I had to this time. Thank you for all of the effort that you put into sharing your cruises, your life and family with us. I've had some land vacations recently, so am cruising vicariously through you. I notice people are mentioning your health and I guess I missed that mention in here. I just want to say that you are in my thoughts and I wish you nothing but the best! Thanks again for all that you do!

[ABQrobin]

Great review as usual.  Glad you get to spend such amazing quality family time with your kids.  Hope your health issues improve, prayers to you.  I have been going through some crap this past 6 months, still trying to get all evaluated and so I know I am in the same boat, so to speak.  

The good news for me is that we canceled our cruise out of San Juan in Sept...because our son who lives in Houston has decided he wants to take a week off work and go on a cruise with us.  yeah!  So, we are doing the Vista again out of Galveston in Sept.  So incredibly happy!  Quality family time, I really need that right now.

So thanks again for the great cruise report!  Take care.  

 

robin

[mechomper]

Great review again.  I really want to do a cruise from San Juan, but man is it expensive to get there from California.  Someday.  I look forward to your next cruise and all you adventures.  Happy to hear your dog is good.  Dogs are part of the family and we can't imagine life without them.

[crystalspin]

53 minutes ago, mechomper said:

I really want to do a cruise from San Juan, but man is it expensive to get there from California. 

Yikes I hadn't thought of that! We have two cabins booked, so looking at paying for four or five people, although two or three may travel by car to Florida (from Utah) to extend their vacation.

 

Ours is not until Jan2021, so too soon to start looking for fares.

[SuzD123]

On 5/5/2019 at 8:01 PM, mitsugirly said:

Sabor

 

This was a paid restaurant and they serve Mexican food here. We didn't use it, but man did I want to. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sailed on Freedom in May 2018 with my DD (a girls only get away).  We had tried Sabor on Oasis a few years earlier and left feeling "meh", but decided to give it another try on Freedom.  It had apparently been added sometime during a dry dock in 2017.  Gotta say...it was a totally different experience and vibe than our first experience.  We totally loved it...ordered a mix of foods so we could sample as much as possible.  It was delish and we left STUFFED.  Definitely will have it as a must dine the next time I sail with my DH.  Thank you for the pics and your review!!

[SuzD123]

On 5/5/2019 at 7:44 PM, mitsugirly said:

DECK 4

 

Boleros

 

This area was popping during the cruise and it had a dance floor and a latin-theme. I was so mesmerized with the glass sculptures that every time I passed by there I think I was taking a picture. I really didn't take a picture of the area itself. LOL  OOPS

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A nice place to enjoy a beverage while people-watching the comings and goings of the Royal Promenade.

[pghsteelerfan]

On 5/20/2019 at 1:27 PM, mitsugirly said:

I love the mushroom coral too. I have some in my tank and it just keeps multiplying. My clown fish host it (they think it's an anemone lol). I'm surprised they haven't died from the clown fish (Bobo & Gizmo) aggravating it all the time. LOL

 

How cool about the ship and your booze cruise. I would love to see what it looked like prior to the sinking. That is so neat!

 

Trust me...we weren't trying to be the last...it just happened and it was hilarious! 🙂

 

Loki is back to his normal happy spunky self. I don't know what we would have done if we had lost him. Sakari would be devastated! So sorry to hear about your cat. That has to be so hard to happen during a cruise. 

 

Thanks for the thoughts to the juju. I could really use it. 

 

Glad you enjoyed the review. I'm hoping to have many more in the future fingers crossed. 

You have mushroom coral in your tank at home?  How cool!!!  I love it!  Thank you about our cat, that was a tough one so the happy memories of Hawaii I wanted aren't the ones I have. 

 

I normally don't reply to start a chit chat session, I did tell you I had those pictures.  The quality isn't the best since they are scanned prints.  At the time, I took what would have been considered a large amount of film with me (still ended up buying 2 more rolls), so I only have 2 pics to share.  One is of the whole boat, right after we got off and the other is the best I could get from the interior to show the seating/stairs to the second level (there we 3 levels).  That pic was from where we were sitting, which was the bottom level, right side (starboard) & just a few tables back from the stairs.  The bar was just to the left of the stairs and I can't remember now if there was another bar on the middle level.  They actually took us out to a shipwreck to snorkel & there was a platform near the shipwreck that we could swim to and hang out on.  That was in Carlisle Bay, but at the time I had no idea where we were besides Barbados.  There was a rope swing off the left (port) side of it and that was a lot of fun.  We were trying to see how many people we could get on it before the weight of everyone got to be too much and we all dropped off.  Of course they had some great tunes playing. 

 

 

Edited May 21, 2019 by pghsteelerfan

[SuzD123]

On 5/5/2019 at 8:03 PM, mitsugirly said:

Schooner Bar

 

This was a cocktail and piano bar. It was always crowded in the evenings as well.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In the evenings, the Schooner Bar has more of a "piano lounge" feel...music, sing-a-long and such.  During the daytime/afternoons though, a lot of the trivia games/contests are held here.  People gather in groups/teams to compete...mostly for bragging rights.  Each contest lasts about 50-60min and has a designated theme...sports?  70s?  music?  etc.  Check your daily program for details, because it is different every day.  Definitely one of our favorite places to hang out.

Edited May 21, 2019 by SuzD123

[SuzD123]

On 5/5/2019 at 9:17 PM, mitsugirly said:

Cafe Promenade

 

This is where you could go to get food 24/7 (I believe). They had an assortment of cold sandwiches, pies, and cookies.

 

It was also a coffee shop. You could get free coffee or specialty coffee and espresso's for a price.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We splurged and had the Deluxe Beverage package on our last sailing.  One of the perks includes specialty coffees so we took full advantage of it every morning.  What impressed me and never ceases to amaze me is how quickly the barrista(s) would recognize us and know our order before we even told them.

[SuzD123]

On 5/5/2019 at 9:55 PM, lifes-a-beach said:

The layout is very similar to Liberty.  My in-laws stayed in one of those Promenade View rooms and said it was almost completely quiet even when there was a party below.  

Freedom, Independence, and Liberty are "sister ships" in the Freedom Class...all three (3) essentially the same with only slight differences.

[teachingforme]

Thank you for a great review. We sail on Freedom June 2 on the other itinerary. Your review prompted us to buy an underwater camera. I think our 7 year will love using it while snorkeling.