Live Review - Nov 17th - Freedom of the Seas - Bourbon and Blackjack Weekend

[DeerJod]

Decided no Blantons for me. 

[DeerJod]

Boston tea party which is a Long Island but with name brand spirits.

[DeerJod]

Swim diaper enforcement has been no nonsense. 30 seconds in the kids area with a diaper and they’re on ya, very happy to see it. 

[DeerJod]

Small gripe are people bringing their own speakers to blast music, we’ve seen it on the pool decks and in other public venues.

[ivesk22]

18 hours ago, DeerJod said:

Tonight’s formal night attire is sponsored by vineyard vines.

Was the formal night on your sea day?

[DeerJod]

10 minutes ago, ivesk22 said:

Was the formal night on your sea day?

Day 2 coco cay.

[DeerJod]

Pool deck got crazy. Cash tips and see the same bartender each trip pays dividends. 

[DeerJod]

NFL Sunday at playmakers.

[Traveler1977]

 

8 hours ago, DeerJod said:

Decided no Blantons for me. 

 

 

Getting two JD’s single malt, not a bad decision. I’ve enjoyed your review and photos. Thanks. 

[DeerJod]

Quiet afternoon to a quiet dinner. Handed off our kraken and wine as an extra extra tip. 

[DeerJod]

We stayed in 6200 it’s been a great room size wise but a considerable amount of noise below of slamming doors. Not a deal breaker considering the size but something to consider. 

[Sea Dog]

9 hours ago, DeerJod said:

Decided no Blantons for me. 

 

 

 

Good choice. I think Blanton’s is overrated.

[DeerJod]

Some great blackjack sessions were had, but we’re calling it officially up 50$. 
 

Finishing the night out with a bt old fashioned, and ready to hit tomorrow’s travel day with a relatively clear head. Hope all enjoyed tagging along with us, side note we’re doing this same sailing again without the kids in a few weeks so we’ll be live one more time this year.

[Dee95]

On 11/12/2023 at 8:20 PM, DeerJod said:

Consider this the Hype post to start my 3 day live review on Freedom of the Seas. 

 

Itinerary is an interesting one in that we are not stopping at Nassau, every 3 nighter I've done in the past has the obligatory stop in Nassau so this will be interesting to have a true sea day to round out the long weekend. Honestly I thought we had a stop in Nassau until typing up this post and realizing we were not going to be seeing Atlantis, so not sure if this got dropped last minute or if it was never part of the itinerary?

 

This will be a family cruise with my DW and our two kids. So think of this as a Thirty Somethings Getaway Cruise guest featuring a 7 year old and a 2 year old. This sailing was HEAVILY subsidized by Club Royale, but not completely free as I had to pay for both of the kids. As a result we're all staying in an Ultra Spacious Ocean View room, (think regular OV room but with a set of bunk beds). All in all, the upgrade costs from the free interior plus two extra's put us at about $1,000 out the door with taxes and fees (not including tips) for the cruise fare. I'm interested to see what the room is like, but honestly have a feeling we'll be missing our typical connecting rooms. 

 

For those of you assuming family cruise = boring posts I assure there will be bourbon consumed and black jack being played which should balance out the posts from the kids pool nicely. We're all diamonds, so I guarantee we will leverage all of our free drinks each and every day of the cruise.

 

I'll keep an eye out for any questions or posts as we lead up to departure, but hope you all enjoy the ride. 

 

 

Hi! I went on this cruise as well. Do you know if there is a roll call for it? I am looking for someone that I networked with. We somehow forgot to exchange info.