Rare Ozark_Kid Posted July 28, 2023 #476 Share Posted July 28, 2023 5 hours ago, Momof3gurlz said: It’s over already?????? Thanks for sharing your week with all of us and safe travels home. I was thinking the same. Seemed like it went so quick. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cruisingpeople Posted July 28, 2023 #477 Share Posted July 28, 2023 (edited) Safe travels home and thanks for the great 'RIDE' these past few days. Edited July 28, 2023 by cruisingpeople 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dani negreanu Posted July 28, 2023 #478 Share Posted July 28, 2023 2 hours ago, CrzLvr2 said: @A&L_Ont and Lisa, Thank you for sharing your anniversary cruise with us!! Your live reports are always so enjoyable. And. . . I'm happy 🥰 to see that you saw your rainbow👼again. 😉 @A&L_Ont + 1 🌈 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare h20skibum Posted July 28, 2023 #479 Share Posted July 28, 2023 Thanks for taking us along. Interested in your take on the short cruises, doing B2B Safe travels. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cruisegirl1 Posted July 28, 2023 #480 Share Posted July 28, 2023 Looked like a terrific cruise. Safe travels home and Happy Belated Anniversary. What is planned for the 20th? M Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jk04 Posted July 28, 2023 #481 Share Posted July 28, 2023 Thanks for taking us along on your Anniversary cruise. It was a lot of fun and appreciate the live review. Safe travels and look forward to the follow-up. ☺️ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rusty_lock Posted July 28, 2023 #482 Share Posted July 28, 2023 Another great live review... Thanks for the ride 🙂 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare A&L_Ont Posted July 29, 2023 Author #483 Share Posted July 29, 2023 We have been home for about an hour. Suitcase are unpacked and laundry is sorted. Grandma got her bottle of gin and has headed home. Tomorrow we will have her over for a steak dinner as an extra thanks. Lucy also appears to be happy that we are home. I think. I also can’t believe how the hydrangeas have grown. We got 3” of rain while we were away. 27 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare A&L_Ont Posted July 29, 2023 Author #484 Share Posted July 29, 2023 4 hours ago, h20skibum said: Thanks for taking us along. Interested in your take on the short cruises, doing B2B Safe travels. Final thoughts are crafted and will be posted between loads of laundry tomorrow. Lisa and I chatted often during the cruise and on the trip home. 8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sunshine3601 Posted July 29, 2023 #485 Share Posted July 29, 2023 Welcome home. Lucy looks thrilled to see both of you. Where is Owen? Did you check out the cars in the garage yet? LOL Thanks for sharing your cruises with us. I really enjoyed🤩 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Sea Dog Posted July 29, 2023 #486 Share Posted July 29, 2023 Welcome back! I’m sure Owen and Lucy were glad to see you. Looking forward to your thoughts. With a lot of people unhappy saying Royal is going downhill, I’m curious on your take. Cheers! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ocean Boy Posted July 29, 2023 #487 Share Posted July 29, 2023 28 minutes ago, Sunshine3601 said: Welcome home. Lucy looks thrilled to see both of you. Where is Owen? Did you check out the cars in the garage yet? LOL Thanks for sharing your cruises with us. I really enjoyed🤩 Kind of reminds me of the car in the garage in the movie Ferris Beuler's Day Off.😀 1 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Missusdubbya Posted July 29, 2023 #488 Share Posted July 29, 2023 Loved this trip report, thanks Andrew Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
saltycat Posted July 29, 2023 #489 Share Posted July 29, 2023 Thanks so much for taking us along on your Freedom Anniversary cruise! always a pleasure to “travel” with you. Truly appreciate you taking time to share. Sea you next time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Lionesss Posted July 29, 2023 #490 Share Posted July 29, 2023 Thanks for sharing your travels, especially as you traveled on your anniversary getaway. Take care. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jimbo Posted July 29, 2023 #491 Share Posted July 29, 2023 (edited) 11 hours ago, A&L_Ont said: Lisa and I chatted often during the cruise and on the trip home. Oh you 2 were still talking after the B2B cruises. 😉 Sounds good, can't wait to hear what you say about doing two short cruises B2B instead one just a 7 night cruise. Edited July 29, 2023 by Jimbo 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arzeena Posted July 29, 2023 #492 Share Posted July 29, 2023 Thank you Andrew. Enjoyed the trip report! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ocean Boy Posted July 29, 2023 #493 Share Posted July 29, 2023 12 hours ago, A&L_Ont said: Lisa and I chatted often during the cruise and on the trip home. Good to hear being it was your anniversary and all.😉😊 1 10 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
#55worktoplay Posted July 29, 2023 #494 Share Posted July 29, 2023 Great review as always. It sure went by fast. Thanks to both of you for sharing. Good to see Lucy was home to greet you. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BonTexasNY Posted July 29, 2023 #495 Share Posted July 29, 2023 @A&L_Ont Andrew, as always, thanks for taking us along. Your cruise reports are always highly anticipated and very enjoyable. I wonder what your plans will be for your and Lisa's 20th next year! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Another_Critic Posted July 29, 2023 #496 Share Posted July 29, 2023 (edited) 13 minutes ago, BonTexasNY said: I wonder what your plans will be for your and Lisa's 20th next year! Ultimate Family Townhouse on Icon! 😁 ETA: Go big or stay home. 😉 Edited July 29, 2023 by Another_Critic 2 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare A&L_Ont Posted July 29, 2023 Author #497 Share Posted July 29, 2023 I’m going to break our final thoughts into a few segments, to make it easy to follow along. Itinerary It would not have been our first pick, but it was practically our only choice. That said it was very decent. The two stops at Coco Cay were very. Stopping and getting off the ship in Nassau was a change for us. There are huge port improvements. Going to fish fry a great outing. We made our other stop at Nassau a “sea day” and stayed on ship. Our final true sea day seemed anticlimactic as we could see MIA all day, but the ship kept us out of the rain and in the sun. Food All around it was really good. I might have picked a food dish that wasn’t to my liking but they were all cooked properly. We found specialty dining restaurants were not as busy on the 3/4 day sailings compared to a 7 day cruise on Oasis Class ships. For example, there were walk ins at Giovanni’s at 7pm on the last night. Suite breakfast in Chops was very nice, we also ate at Hibachi, Playmakers, Chops Steakhouse and Giovanni’s. No issues at any venue. Cabin - Grand Suite On top of our comments earlier in the review, Lisa found the toilet to be mounted high. Her feet dangled. We figure the toilet was a replacement toilet which was higher. The tub is a bit of a step up to get into as well. The height is OK for us, but we thought both our moms would have a problem getting in. Cabin was in a great location right by the forward elevators. Those forward elevators on dissemination morning were quiet compared to the masses at the aft elevators. Pool deck We spent all of our time at the solarium pool. Great bar staff and waiters. They made frequent rounds and drinks came quickly. On a positive note none of the pools were closed because anyone had an “accident”. I’m not sure if they are heated or if the sweltering heat kept them at 88 degrees. Ship We found it to be in great condition. Sure if you looks in the corners you will see some wear and tear but she was built in 2006. She has all the features of an Oasis Class ship, just on a smaller scale. As for entertainment, it wasn’t Oasis Class but we knew that coming in. No ATS etc, but we enjoyed the ice show, the schooner bar, the pub and some of the shows that involved guest participation. We heard that Freedom is ranked second in guest satisfaction of all RC ships and we can see why. Internet We found it to be exceptional anywhere on the ship. From connecting, to watching videos, to uploading videos to YouTube. Interesting enough, I could not get a speed test to run at anytime. I muse if RC is blocking this from happening, not that it really matters. I was just curious. Crew They were friendly and always seemed willing to please. Harry our cabin steward was awesome. Really every crew member we came across from Guest Services to the towel station we’re willing to help. Senior Officers They were highly visible throughout both cruises. We saw them on the Royal Promenade in the day and night, on deck at sail away, greeting guests every port day while coming back to the ship, and the Captain had his breakfast most mornings among the suite guests in Chops. It was nice to see them out so much, and they seemed to be approachable. 21 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare A&L_Ont Posted July 29, 2023 Author #498 Share Posted July 29, 2023 A couple items of concern we thought was worth noting. Hand washing - cleanliness among guests We only saw people hand washing at the windjammer where they were highly encouraged. We rarely saw other people use it at other venues and locations such as Sorrento’s, Playmakers, or even getting back on the ship. I wonder with guests getting off the ship ever 3/4 days they have departed before sickness can become an issue. Could it be people are lazy, the ship isn’t pushing it or a combination of both. Maybe it’s just a pandemic lag on my part, but I was always a fan of hand washing and sanitizing well before 2020. The ships itself is clean, the guests however IMO could wash their hands more. I didn’t sniff armpits, but I didn’t smell any from afar either. 😉 Vaping I don’t want to turn this into a debate, just wanted to note who followed the designated locations for those that didn’t. We wanted to note vaping. We saw people sneaking quick vapes around the pools, the Schooner Bar, and Studio B during the Quest. These were the spots we saw it first hand. On the first sailing one of the Quest Vaper’s was a team captain. The CD called him out and took points away before the competition started. On the 4 day sailing the guilty vaper was in the second row. The CD saw it, called them out, and again removed the 5 points like the cruise previous. I’d like to commend the smokers who stayed in the designated areas, and took the time to go there VS sneaking a vape off in the corner of a room. 16 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare A&L_Ont Posted July 29, 2023 Author #499 Share Posted July 29, 2023 Guests demographics for each sailing. Three night sailing This certainly was a weekend party vibe. People who left work early Friday afternoon and were headed back to work Monday morning. We in fact met the Deputy Mayor of Holleywood Beach and that’s exactly what he did. Lots of bachelor/bachelorette parties and groups of friends away for a weekend. There were some families with kids. Lots of folks from Florida, Georgia and we met some from as far as Ohio. The Quest was a riot with the party cruise guests. Four night sailing This was less off a party atmosphere. We saw many more families, honeymooners and even a few babies in strollers. Either way the casino was just as busy. There were many first time cruisers that we met on both sailings. At both Quests more than half the people there had never been to one. All of the newbies we met were have an amazing time and would return to cruise again. All age demographics were well represented. 23 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare A&L_Ont Posted July 29, 2023 Author #500 Share Posted July 29, 2023 Our thoughts of a 3/4 night B2B cruise. This B2B itinerary worked for us with our limited time frame and schedule. We would have preferred a 7 day with no turn around day but it was not a big deal. If there had been a 6 night cruise, we probably would have taken it over this B2B. That said it was a great sailing. Thanks for following along and being a part of our anniversary cruise. As of now our next cruise is in March, unless something else comes along. Until then take care of yourselves and see you then. If you have any questions let me know and we will gladly answer them. 30 10 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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