twangster

Welcome to RoyalCaribbeanBlog.com!
Are you in a suite?  What ship and what port?
If you've never sailed with RCI and are not staying in a suite you won't have any priority boarding.

The good news is that even without priority boarding, the RCI boarding process doesn't seem to be as chaotic as Carnival.  I've sailed Carnival more times than I have RCI and before switching to RCI in 2016 I endured some absolute chaos boarding Carnival at times.  So much so they created their FTTF program to sell you a way around it.  I've never felt the need for that on RCI.    
It can vary by port as not all terminals are created equally, but RCI built the cruise terminal in Ft Lauderdale with Oasis class ships in mind and they took time to look at how to board 6,000 guests without chaos.  They are doing the same in Miami with a new terminal there and they will begin rolling out even more boarding enhancements with the mobile check in functionality of their new app coming in 2018.  
Cabins are typically ready at 1pm for all guests, suites down to inside cabins.  Sometimes though they are able to open cabin access earlier.  Star Class suites is the exception.  

YW!  Just tell your husband ... twangster made me do it, it's his fault

On the Millennium class there are two sky suites that are unique.  They are next to the Penthouse Suites and are decorated the same since they have an adjoining door and make the Penthouse suite function like a two bedroom suite when extra "penthouse" capacity is needed.  I scored one of these on the Millennium.  Very nice Sky Suite that is penthouse-like.  
Wonder if Solstice class have the same concept.
I'm sure you know that your Emerald status will be recognized by Celebrity.  You'll receive "Select" benefits while on Celebrity but your nights won't contribute to C&A points.

Like a grand suite versus a loft suite on Oasis/Quantum class.  Celebrity suite isn't two levels so its not a perfect comparison, but the perks are the same, just a bigger room and a bigger price tag. 

Really enjoyed the review, really glad you mentioned what you did in the above quote, I think this is what determines what people believe if their cruise was enjoyable or not. I have Freedom booked next year, have been on Liberty twice, I believe you will enjoy her just as much.

Cruise Summary
An important question after any cruise is... "Would you sail this ship again?".  YES!
I enjoyed my time on the Freedom of the Seas and would not hesitate to sail her again.  Wait staff in the restaurants were great.  Food in the Windjammer and the My Time Dining room was very good.  Cabin service awesome.  Everything was clean
As for the ship layout and features I can see why so many like this class of ship.  I really like having open access to the helipad and the solarium pool being uncovered.   
I'm glad I had the opportunity to try both the Voom Surf as well as Surf and Stream.  I had several hour or two hour wifi phone calls using the basic Surf.  During heavy rain it slowed down, a phenomenon called rain-fade that affects all satellite reception even on land so its not perfect or just like at home, but heck I'm in the middle of an ocean.  The O3b satellite system makes a big difference and I'm hoping ships like Mariner or Independence entering dry dock next year will receive this upgrade.   
The comedians were very funny without resorting to excessive profanity that some comedians use in lieu of not being that funny.   Some of the entertainers left mid-cruise while others replaced them.  It was nice to have new faces and new shows. 
There is always risk booking a 'guarantee' cabin.  When I saw a deck 10 cabin assigned I was curious if pool deck noise would be an issue.  I am happy to report it was not.
One of the crew is approaching the end of their contract term and had been assigned another ship for his next engagement.  He requested staying on Freedom and was approved.  He also told me he is trying to get an extension on his current term.  Obviously the crew like the Freedom of the Seas as well.   I can't think of a single negative crew experience anywhere on the ship.
Freedom is not a brand new ship and after sailing on Harmony a few weeks ago you do need to maintain perspective and research the ship.  By doing so expectations were met and overall I'm very happy with the experience.  Money well spent.
The only problem - it was too short.  I had almost made it into a B2B but work intervened.  Having sailed Freedom I'll keep an eye on her in the spring for short term deals.  Liberty is high on my list for her water slides and I've booked Independence so hopefully soon I can complete the Freedom class trilogy.  

Here are my pictures from this evening.
We start with sail away from Ocho Rios just as the sun was going down.  The helipad is a popular place for sail aways and tonight was no exception.

I've said it before, but I need to say it again.  Royal Caribbean ships are beautiful by day but equally so at night. 




Mini-golfers still golfing away...

How about the solarium at night?  Pretty cool...





I was hoping to visit the helipad after dark to try to capture some night sky and star shots.  I've done night sky photography before but always questioned if you could do so from a moving ship.  The helipad seemed like a nice dark spot to try but alas, it was gated off tonight.  So I headed aft and tried from there.  Not great, but better than I expected with the ship's motion.
The white blob bottom left is the propeller wake.  Once the Milky Way heads back to our side of the equator I may try this again if I can find a dark spot on a ship on a some future cruise. 

Back to the ship, shuffle board anyone? I was actually lying on the deck for this shot.  Perspective is important with Ultra Wide Angle lens especially fisheye.

Isaac's Dining Room Entrance


Elevator bank looking towards Boleros

Lastly, the show tonight was "Two Funny Guys - Mario & Daniel".  Very funny.  Well done.  I arrived late and slipped in the back.  I had my UWA lens on - so much for seeing Mario & Danial in this picture, but still very funny.

Thank you @twangster for a wonderful live blog.  I really enjoyed reading this every day and found myself routinely checking for new posts.  Your photos alone were amazing, and I think we all picked up some tips/ideas from your experience.
Well done!

Today was a beautiful sunny day as we made our way around the North coast of Cuba on our way back to Port Everglades in Ft. Lauderdale.  
I enjoyed my lunch in the Windjammer, took in some sun at various places including the solarium, captured some sunset pictures and headed to dinner in the MDR.
Minutes ago I entered an elevator and made small talk as you some times do in an elevator.  When a woman asked how am I am doing I replied "Not good, I have to leave tomorrow".  At that point none other than Super Mario turned from looking out the elevator at the promenade and said "get off my ship!".  Too funny!  With his back turned I had no idea I was chatting with him! 
I'm procrastinating at the moment.  Packing my bags is what I should be doing, but as long as I make the final theater show at 9pm...
Here are some sunset photos from tonight:







I caught a cat running down the stairs after the Dreamworks parade.

One last look at the decks 3, 4 and 5.

Day 8 - Sea Day, Last Day
Sunrise as we make our way back to Port Everglades

OMG.  This blog is so awesome, I just booked Indy next month!  
Ok @Matt I know you are going on her next week, tag... you're it!

Thanks for this very nice detailed blog , 
Enjoyed every post , got me even more excited  for my Independence OTS next month. 

Thank you for a great live blog!! 

I did a GS on Harmony on deck 6.  It was on starboard so not exactly the same, but I heard nothing from the promenade and at times promenade noise is going to be louder than most Schooner Bar noise.  Piano's aren't that loud :)  I really like the location, so convenient to everything. 

Fantastic.  Thanks.

@twangster RC should pay you commission! After looking at these pics for the last few days, and having never sailed Freedom class myself, I just booked a cruise on Indy! Figured it would be very similar since they are sister ships and Indy will have the slides and trampoline park by the time we sail her. I have to say, your pics had a lot to do with the decision making! Thanks! Even my husband who never knows the where, what, how, and when is asking, "So, what pics did Twangster post today?" ??Thanks for taking the time to do this blog! 

Fantastic blog :) 
sailing for 1st time on freedom in nov 2018 so this has helped a lot 

I'm piling on here twangster, but have to thank you for the excellent commentary and beautiful photos.  Freedom is now on my bucket list.

Cruise Summary
An important question after any cruise is... "Would you sail this ship again?".  YES!
I enjoyed my time on the Freedom of the Seas and would not hesitate to sail her again.  Wait staff in the restaurants were great.  Food in the Windjammer and the My Time Dining room was very good.  Cabin service awesome.  Everything was clean
As for the ship layout and features I can see why so many like this class of ship.  I really like having open access to the helipad and the solarium pool being uncovered.   
I'm glad I had the opportunity to try both the Voom Surf as well as Surf and Stream.  I had several hour or two hour wifi phone calls using the basic Surf.  During heavy rain it slowed down, a phenomenon called rain-fade that affects all satellite reception even on land so its not perfect or just like at home, but heck I'm in the middle of an ocean.  The O3b satellite system makes a big difference and I'm hoping ships like Mariner or Independence entering dry dock next year will receive this upgrade.   
The comedians were very funny without resorting to excessive profanity that some comedians use in lieu of not being that funny.   Some of the entertainers left mid-cruise while others replaced them.  It was nice to have new faces and new shows. 
There is always risk booking a 'guarantee' cabin.  When I saw a deck 10 cabin assigned I was curious if pool deck noise would be an issue.  I am happy to report it was not.
One of the crew is approaching the end of their contract term and had been assigned another ship for his next engagement.  He requested staying on Freedom and was approved.  He also told me he is trying to get an extension on his current term.  Obviously the crew like the Freedom of the Seas as well.   I can't think of a single negative crew experience anywhere on the ship.
Freedom is not a brand new ship and after sailing on Harmony a few weeks ago you do need to maintain perspective and research the ship.  By doing so expectations were met and overall I'm very happy with the experience.  Money well spent.
The only problem - it was too short.  I had almost made it into a B2B but work intervened.  Having sailed Freedom I'll keep an eye on her in the spring for short term deals.  Liberty is high on my list for her water slides and I've booked Independence so hopefully soon I can complete the Freedom class trilogy.  

This was an amazing live blog!  That's so much for sharing and for the fantastic pictures!  

Thanks for all the updates, I do miss the Freedom.  It is by far my favorite.

Cruise Summary
An important question after any cruise is... "Would you sail this ship again?".  YES!
I enjoyed my time on the Freedom of the Seas and would not hesitate to sail her again.  Wait staff in the restaurants were great.  Food in the Windjammer and the My Time Dining room was very good.  Cabin service awesome.  Everything was clean
As for the ship layout and features I can see why so many like this class of ship.  I really like having open access to the helipad and the solarium pool being uncovered.   
I'm glad I had the opportunity to try both the Voom Surf as well as Surf and Stream.  I had several hour or two hour wifi phone calls using the basic Surf.  During heavy rain it slowed down, a phenomenon called rain-fade that affects all satellite reception even on land so its not perfect or just like at home, but heck I'm in the middle of an ocean.  The O3b satellite system makes a big difference and I'm hoping ships like Mariner or Independence entering dry dock next year will receive this upgrade.   
The comedians were very funny without resorting to excessive profanity that some comedians use in lieu of not being that funny.   Some of the entertainers left mid-cruise while others replaced them.  It was nice to have new faces and new shows. 
There is always risk booking a 'guarantee' cabin.  When I saw a deck 10 cabin assigned I was curious if pool deck noise would be an issue.  I am happy to report it was not.
One of the crew is approaching the end of their contract term and had been assigned another ship for his next engagement.  He requested staying on Freedom and was approved.  He also told me he is trying to get an extension on his current term.  Obviously the crew like the Freedom of the Seas as well.   I can't think of a single negative crew experience anywhere on the ship.
Freedom is not a brand new ship and after sailing on Harmony a few weeks ago you do need to maintain perspective and research the ship.  By doing so expectations were met and overall I'm very happy with the experience.  Money well spent.
The only problem - it was too short.  I had almost made it into a B2B but work intervened.  Having sailed Freedom I'll keep an eye on her in the spring for short term deals.  Liberty is high on my list for her water slides and I've booked Independence so hopefully soon I can complete the Freedom class trilogy.  

Thanks a bunch for such a great liveblog, @twangster! Really really excited now for my own 8-night voyage on her in just 132 days!
Can’t wait wait for your next live blog on Anthem!

Cruise Summary
An important question after any cruise is... "Would you sail this ship again?".  YES!
I enjoyed my time on the Freedom of the Seas and would not hesitate to sail her again.  Wait staff in the restaurants were great.  Food in the Windjammer and the My Time Dining room was very good.  Cabin service awesome.  Everything was clean
As for the ship layout and features I can see why so many like this class of ship.  I really like having open access to the helipad and the solarium pool being uncovered.   
I'm glad I had the opportunity to try both the Voom Surf as well as Surf and Stream.  I had several hour or two hour wifi phone calls using the basic Surf.  During heavy rain it slowed down, a phenomenon called rain-fade that affects all satellite reception even on land so its not perfect or just like at home, but heck I'm in the middle of an ocean.  The O3b satellite system makes a big difference and I'm hoping ships like Mariner or Independence entering dry dock next year will receive this upgrade.   
The comedians were very funny without resorting to excessive profanity that some comedians use in lieu of not being that funny.   Some of the entertainers left mid-cruise while others replaced them.  It was nice to have new faces and new shows. 
There is always risk booking a 'guarantee' cabin.  When I saw a deck 10 cabin assigned I was curious if pool deck noise would be an issue.  I am happy to report it was not.
One of the crew is approaching the end of their contract term and had been assigned another ship for his next engagement.  He requested staying on Freedom and was approved.  He also told me he is trying to get an extension on his current term.  Obviously the crew like the Freedom of the Seas as well.   I can't think of a single negative crew experience anywhere on the ship.
Freedom is not a brand new ship and after sailing on Harmony a few weeks ago you do need to maintain perspective and research the ship.  By doing so expectations were met and overall I'm very happy with the experience.  Money well spent.
The only problem - it was too short.  I had almost made it into a B2B but work intervened.  Having sailed Freedom I'll keep an eye on her in the spring for short term deals.  Liberty is high on my list for her water slides and I've booked Independence so hopefully soon I can complete the Freedom class trilogy.