The Freedom of the Seas
Sometimes it's just fun to hop on a ship and do nothing.....just lazy days doing what you want to do. No stress, no muss, no fuss.....
We drove over to Port Canaveral Dec 1, and boarded the Royal Caribbean Freedom of the seas. The FOS is ,by all standards a Huge Ship, 160,000 Tons, 1112 ft. long, and carries 3600 passengers and 1300 crew! It has 18 decks, and the Royal promenade is 4 decks high, and 445 feet long, lined with bars, cafes, and shops. We love this ship!
Boarding was easy peasy, taking about 15 minutes from Dock to schooner bar for our traditional welcome aboard bloody Mary. Our room was open by 1300, and we had a wonderful view outside our balcony. Honestly, we are not particular about our room at this stage. We book rooms, based on itinerary, weather, and price. Our Cabin was a bargain so balcony here we come!
After the lifeboat drill, we unpacked, and continued on to the Diamond+ lounge. The service was wonderful, lots of little hot and cold items to snack on, but we wondered what happened to the veggies, and cheese platter? Service as usual, was excellent.
The Royal promenade
Christmas had arrived!
I love the glass elevators!
We were late arriving to My Time dining, and couldn't be seated until 8:45 ( a little late for us),So we joined our friends upstairs at the windjammer. The buffet was adequate, and we had a hearty dinner, complete with dessert. We were tired, so we elected to forgo any evening activities , and off to the cabin we went for a glass of wine on the balcony.
What a sunset!
Day one was coco Cay, and after a late breakfast in the Diamond lounge, we addressed the My Time dining issue, and made standing reservations for 6 pm, table of six.
Continental breakfast, and the cappuccinos were so yummy!
We played golf...( I won!!)
Watched a number of people lose their bathing suits on the flow rider! Best show in town!
Later that day, after we sailed off, our ship had to return to the Bahamas twice to evacuate medical emergencies, hence we were delayed enough time we couldn't make it to St Thomas, and we were diverted to Puerto Rico instead! We were thrilled, as we had never visited San Juan!
Day 3, San Juan, was a disaster! Rain, rain, rain and then monsoon! We only made it a few blocks into Olde Town, and we ducked into a bar and grill to dry off. Had some sangria, a little lunch, and headed back to the ship.....Thank goodness we are flexible!
The fort at the entrance to this beautiful harbor
After the monsoon, this street had a river running down it!
The sangrias were 2 for 1...how lucky is that!
Plantain baskets with the most yummy chicken and peppers....Eat local I say!
Day 4 was Phillipsburg , Dutch West Indies......We have been there several times, so we
just did a little shopping and people watching while we had a cold one!
The view from our little Cafe
No point in having a small beer!
A little birdie flew by...I wonder what he might tell you?
The two remaining seas days were just relaxing, watching the shows, eating, cocktail hour each night, and did I mention eating??
Our travel partners watching the show!
Michael and his partner on stage! ( No, that's not me!)
View from our balcony as we left San Maartin
Finally some Sun!
Michael shops in only the best places!
Chops..... Dinner was excellent and the service was wonderful!
Main Dining room..... Food had it's ups and downs, but for the most part was very good. We ordered escargot one night, and had scallops were served instead. The warm chocolate cake was missing it's almond toffee and little pear slices. We spoke to the head waiter, and the next night we were surprised with our warm chocolate cake with the toffee and pears!!. Later in the cruise, we were presented with actual escargot! We were treated like Royalty!
Evening entertainment...... The singers and dancers were amazing, and both musicals were excellent! The ice show we saw was wonderful...one of the skaters was injured badly enough, that he had to be evacuated off the ship for an injury on his arm. The Cruise Director, Richard Spacy, was hilarious! The best I've ever seen!
Spa.....I had a Swedish massage that was heavenly.....Thank you CruCon!
overall impression...... A wonderful week! I highly recommend this ship and give it a B+ overall.
Good photos, great stories, I give this post a A - . I deducted a few points due to jealousy over the Swedish massage :)))
ReplyDelete