In our second video blog, we preview the Eastern Caribbean itinerary aboard Royal Caribbean's Freedom of the Seas.   We preview each of the three islands: CocoCay, St. Thomas & St. Maarten, including what the islands are known for and what the good excursions are.  Joining me on today's episode is Kaleigh Lay from CruizeCast.

Let us know how you liked the video and any suggestions you have for our cruise!

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We're very excited to kick off our first video blog episode that will take you through planning a Royal Caribbean cruise.  This new video series will take you from start to finish how we're planning our upcoming cruise aboard Royal Caribbean's Freedom of the Seas that is sailing an eastern Caribbean itinerary. 

Let us know how you liked the video and any suggestions you have for our cruise!

• Email us: [email protected]
• Tweet us: @therclblog
• Post on our Facebook page: facebook.com/royalcaribbeanblog

For more videos, subscribe to our Royal Caribbean Blog channel on YouTube.

When you choose a Royal Caribbean cruise ship, it's important to know what's special and unique about that ship so you can take advantage of it.  Today we will begin a look at the ships in Royal Caribbean's fleet and what is fun and exciting about it, starting with Freedom of the Seas.

Best place for sail away: the helicopter pad

Most guests enjoy Freedom of the Seas leaving port from their balcony cabin or the pool deck, but a lesser known fact is you can enjoy sailaway from the helicopter landing pad on the bow (front) of the ship.  

You can get to this special spot by walking all the way forward on deck 4 outside. There will be stairs that go up to the next deck, and farther forward is the helipad.

In addition, some nights the helipad is open to passengers at night which is perfect for star gazing.  Which night the helipad is open will vary from sailing to sailing.

FlowRider

One of the unique entertainment offerings on Freedom of the Seas is the FlowRider, which is a surfing simulator located on the back of the ship.  This is a free activity where you can try to learn to surf in a controlled environment.  There are also private and group FlowRider classes offered.

Lines for the FlowRider can be long for most of the cruise.  Try to hit it up as soon as you embark upon Freedom of the Seas on the first day or during port days.

Buy One, Get One Free Margaritas

Lately the "On the Air" bar on Freedom of the Seas has been offering buy one, get one free margarita drinks, which is fantastic deal for those that enjoy having adult beverages during their cruise.  We've seen this deal offered throughout the cruise as well as starting on the 2nd or 3rd day.  Check with the bar or your cruise compass when you board, but it's hard to go wrong with free drinks.

Freedom of the Seas Entertainment

Freedom of the Seas offers some unique entertainment that is only found on a few other ships in the fleet

• Ice skating show (Freedom-ice.com)
• DreamWorks parade in Promenade
• DreamWorks character breakfast (free with reservation)
• Marquee (stage show)
• Now You See It (stage show)
• Headliner Show
• Once Upon a Time (stage show)

Boxing Ring

Freedom of the Seas offers a boxing ring for passengers to use inside their massive gym.  Here you can take boxing lessons, which can be a fun workout.  Passengers can take individual or group boxing lessons for an additional cost. 

Ben and Jerry "Sweet"

On the promenade there is a special stateroom that overlooks the promenade area, cabin 6305, which is unique because it is themed to the Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream shop that is below it. The cabin lies directly above the Ben & Jerry's ice cream shop on the Royal Promenade. And because on the porch of Ben & Jerry's two life-size cow figurines, the passengers look through their window behind these cows.

If you happen to stay in this stateroom, you will get certain extra amenities such as complimentary Ben & Jerry's ice cream as well as access to the concierge lounge.  

Freedom of the Seas quick info

Formal Nights: Day 2 (Monday) and Day 6 (Friday).  Monday is also the Captain's Reception

Specialty Restaurants: Chops, Portofino & Johnny Rockets
Other food that costs extra: Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream, Cupcake Cupboard, Cafe Promenade (coffee), Vintages (wine)

We stumbled across this great video made by Dan Carter that takes a tour of Royal Caribbean's Freedom of the Seas in beautiful high definition (be sure to enable the HD option). It's impressive and a great way to get "a quick fix" before your next cruise!

A Royal Caribbean sponsored excursion in St Martin ended in an accident when thirty-six passengers were on a bus that crashed into a ditch last Thursday.  No major injuries although a few were taken to a local hospital.

The accident occurred when the bus was trying to avoid a taxi heading up a steep hill.  The bus hit the taxi, causing it to overturn.

The passengers were on an excursion from Freedom of the Seas to visit Loterie Farm for a treetop ropes courtse and zipline adventure.  The bus was taking them from Philipsburg, St Maarten to St. Martin.

Six passengers from the United States and the bus driver were injured according to Royal Caribbean. The injuries were minor, with the worst being a broken wrist.  

All the injured "were immediately transported to the local Louis Constant Fleming Hospital for treatment." Guest care team members and a ship doctor remained with the passengers during their stay at the hospital. All returned to the ship the same day. The guest care team and onboard medical team also continued to provide onboard treatment for passengers, including counseling, for those who asked for it. 

If you're looking for a Royal Caribbean "fix" on television, there's a great show set to air soon.  The TV channel Destination America will air "Ultimate Cruise Ship: Building Freedom of the Seas" on Tuesday, June 26 at 8pm Eastern.

The show was produced in 2006 by the Discovery Channel and is still an interesting look at one of Royal Caribbean's biggest ships.

Here's a quick preview of the episode

Royal Caribbean has released their schedule of cruises to the Caribbean for 2013-2014 and are now open for bookings.

Royal Caribbean is planning cruises for Oasis of the Seas, Allure of the Seas, Independence of the Seas, Freedom of the Seas, Navigator of the Seas and Serenade of the Seas to bring a total of 140 sailings across 31 itineraries what will make stops at 20 different ports.

New to the schedule will be cruises out of New Orleans, Lousiana aboard Serenade of the Seas.  The first cruise out of the Big Easy will be a 9-night Caribbean cruise on December 12, 2013 that will stop at Key West, Nassau, Labadee & Ocho Rios.  Following that cruise, Serenade will alternate between 7-night cruises to the Bahamas and Western Caribbean.

It will be business as usual for Oasis and Allure of the seas.  They will continue their popular 7-night western and eastern Caribbean cruises out of Port Everglades, Florida.

Also calling Port Everglades home will be Independence of the Seas, who will offer 6-night cruises to the western and eastern Caribbean.

Freedom of the Seas will continue to operate out of Port Canaveral, Florida and alternate between 7-night eastern and western sailings.  

Finally, Navigator of the Seas will debut in Galveston, Texas with two western Caribbean cruises.  Both are 7-night sailings and one itinerary calling at Falmouth, Grand Cayman, and Cozumel, while the other at Roatan (Honduras), Belize City (Belize) and Cozumel.

Freedom of the Seas September 16 through 22 cruise will play host to the "Disco Queens on the High Seas", a pageant for a half dozen drag queens.

The western Caribbean cruise will feature nightly entertainment hosted by Darcel Steven and Orlando-area performers Ginger Minj, Chantel Reshae and Aysia Black.

Other activities onboard include the 1st Miss High Seas 2012 Drag Pageant during the cruise, and the event will judged by nationally known drag queen Tommie Ross. Organizers of the event are looking for six contestants for the pageant, which will include an evening gown competition, a swim wear competition and disco-themed performance competition.

More information can be found on the event's homepage.

Royal Caribbean has unveiled Freedom of the Seas' Summer 2013 schedule that features 26 new sailings.  The schedule covers May through October 2013 and bookings are now open.

Freedom will continue alternating between seven-night western and eastern Caribbean cruises sailing out of Port Canaveral, Florida.

Eastern cruises will have ports of call in St. Thomas, U.S.V.I., St. Maarten and CocoCay, Royal Caribbean’s private island in the Bahamas.

Western Caribbean sailings will stop at Falmouth, Jamaica; George Town, Grand Cayman; Cozumel, Mexico; and Labadee, Royal Caribbean’s private "island" on the north coast of Haiti.

Fans of the NFL's Baltimore Ravens can get ready for the next season with the third annual AAA Ultimate Ravens Fan Cruise set for July aboard Royal Caribbean's Freedom of the Seas.

The seven-night cruise will take a Western Caribbean itineraru and offer the opportunity to cruise with several current and former Ravens players, such as Dennis Pitta, Paul Kruger, Jonathan Ogden, Qadry Ismail and Billy Cundiff. 

This cruise will also offer onboard activities including

• mingle with the athletes through cocktail parties
• exclusive photo, autograph
• question and answer sessions

Rates for the cruise, July 8-15, start at $1,319 for an interior cabin. An oceanview stateroom with balcony starts at $1,599. The rates include a $25 shipboard credit, Ravens events, complimentary photo and dinner for two at Portofino or Chops Grill.

More details here.