Dawn T.

We have been on 20 RCCL cruises and have been on Eastern, Western and Southern Caribbean.  We are lucky to live in Central Florida and to date we have only cruised from Florida ports.  I like to pick different ships and different ports, but we have also repeated ships and ports.  I typically book 18 months to 2 years out to get the best prices and the cabin that I want.  We are starting to finally branch out of the Caribbean next year.  In 2019, we are doing a cruise from Sydney, Australia in March, and the Canada/New England cruise in October.  We are talking about Europe for 2021.  Onboard we are lazy cruisers.  I am there to relax.  We will see shows on the bigger ships, but typically not the smaller ones.  No trivia, bingo or things like that.   The ship is always one of the destinations for me.  

We stayed in cabin 9334 last month, which is next door.  I hope the picture attachments work.  I've never done it before...  The Freedom is awesome.  It was our third cruise on that ship.

We stayed in cabin 9334 last month, which is next door.  I hope the picture attachments work.  I've never done it before...  The Freedom is awesome.  It was our third cruise on that ship.

Love this thread!  Our first cruise was 3-night on the Disney Wonder, October 2002.  Our kids were 5 and 8 at the time, and we loved it!  Our first Royal cruise, also with the kids, was on the Freedom, July 2010.  The kids have been on Oasis with us twice since then, each for high school graduation.  We don't bring the kids with us any longer.  ?

Booked 3 more!
Or should I say Jacki at MEI Travel will convert three holds into bookings whenever the RCI system is back up from its overnight maintenance.
With these three new bookings I've sailed or am scheduled to sail (with a booking) on every ship in the current fleet. 
I'll deal with Spectrum once her schedule becomes available.  Might have to save up for a suite on that ship to experience the rumored suite only areas.
All of my bookings involve a travel agent.

I would say bad traffic all around, but I also agree with @tonyfsu21.  If you leave a little later that Monday, you might miss some of the congestion and rush hour.  My husband also suggested US-1 as an alternate, a more scenic route, that would take a little longer.  The problem is really the unpredictability of traffic in general.  You just never know what you will get.  

Hi @Lovetocruise2002!  First, I like your new "title".  ?  We live in Central Florida.  We have cruised out of Miami and Fort Lauderdale multiple times. Traffic on I-95 between FLL and Miami on both Monday morning and Friday morning, during rush hour, will no doubt be nightmarish.  I-95 can become a parking lot at any given time.  It sounds like you really want to stay in FLL, but maybe fly into MIA and stay in South Beach instead.  South Beach is a beautiful area, plenty of restaurants, and very close to port.  I can't recommend a hotel because we've never stayed there.   I can recommend Joe's Stone Crab. https://www.joesstonecrab.com/.  They don't take reservations.  Go when they open.  It was awesome.  Have a wonderful cruise! I can't wait to read your blog on it.  I have Mariner booked out of Port Canaveral for a B2B in January 2020.  

Hi @Lovetocruise2002!  First, I like your new "title".  ?  We live in Central Florida.  We have cruised out of Miami and Fort Lauderdale multiple times. Traffic on I-95 between FLL and Miami on both Monday morning and Friday morning, during rush hour, will no doubt be nightmarish.  I-95 can become a parking lot at any given time.  It sounds like you really want to stay in FLL, but maybe fly into MIA and stay in South Beach instead.  South Beach is a beautiful area, plenty of restaurants, and very close to port.  I can't recommend a hotel because we've never stayed there.   I can recommend Joe's Stone Crab. https://www.joesstonecrab.com/.  They don't take reservations.  Go when they open.  It was awesome.  Have a wonderful cruise! I can't wait to read your blog on it.  I have Mariner booked out of Port Canaveral for a B2B in January 2020.  

So the update is that we woke this morning from an email from Royal to find out we have been upgraded to a Crown Loft Suite. ??

Getting ready for our day in Mexico. Wanted to post some photos in the meantime until I can post on the previous few days. 

We  have only booked one guarantee cabin.  It was a balcony guarantee, and we were given our cabin assignment probably several weeks before the cruise.  The cabin did not change.  I would be surprised if they would ever change the assignment once it is done.  I believe all the connecting doorways are only one door, at least that is all I have ever seen.

It's a free weather app, you guys are easy to impress ? 

I agree with @JLMoran that choosing a traditional dining time might be better than MTD.  We had 8 people in 4 cabins on Oasis a few years ago. All the reservations were linked.  We had a table for 8 at the first dinner seating.
 

My balcony. 

My balcony. 

The Cruise Compass for the following day is provided every evening from the cabin steward.  At the top of this page, there is a link for "Cruise Compass".  If you check there, you might be able to find a recent cruise compass for the ship you are sailing.

T-minus 3 days until embarkation...
Right now, with everything packed, last-minute jobs taken care of, and our flight not until 2:45, I can only think of Tom Petty.
"The waiting is the hardest part."

Joe, I feel like you are a chick that we all raised and now we're watching you learn to fly on your own !
So excited for you.  I know we are all just recalling the awe that we felt when we drove up to our first cruise ship.  Even the little ones are SOOOO impressive and when you first step foot through the Centrum and see all the shiny glass and metal.  It takes your breath away.  Freedom is a beautiful ship.  You are definitely not starting small like we did.
I know you're going to have a great time.  You have chosen VERY well with all of your options.  I think the adjoining balcony rooms are going to be WAY nicer than a suite.  There will be much more room and 2 bathrooms.  I think you've thought of everything !  ...but of course, you haven't.  There will be something that you will learn on this cruise that you will use on your next...and so on and so on.  It never ends.  I still learn something new every single time I cruise.
Wishing you fair winds and following seas.
Look everyone - our little Joey is going off on his own !
 

So excited to follow along on your trip!  Freedom was also our first Royal cruise.  Our boys were 12 and 16 at the time.  We were in a balcony, and the boys had an inside room across the hall.  It was awesome having 2 closets and 2 bathrooms!  Congrats on all your upcoming milestones!  Have a great trip!

So excited to follow along on your trip!  Freedom was also our first Royal cruise.  Our boys were 12 and 16 at the time.  We were in a balcony, and the boys had an inside room across the hall.  It was awesome having 2 closets and 2 bathrooms!  Congrats on all your upcoming milestones!  Have a great trip!

My husband and I always request a table for 2 when booking.  I book really early (usually 1-1/2 to 2 years out).  We always went to the main dining room upon embarkation to confirm that we had a table for 2.  Sometimes we got one and sometimes we didn't.  They have always been able to move us to one, even if it takes a little persuasion.  Some ships do have more two tops than other ships.  You can also send an email to [email protected] about 2-3 weeks before sailing to ask for confirmation of your table for 2.  I do this now for all our cruises.  It makes it easier than waiting until you board.  Provide them with your ship, sail date and reservation number in the email.  I would also include that you are Diamond Plus.  

Like everything else we do I was OCD with my planning especially the flight, the last time I had flown this far was to Hawaii during the early 80's and back then I didn't know any better and flew during the day. So I over planned, read everything I could about not having jet lag with the time differential etc., because I wanted to hit the ground running in Barcelona and see everything, so the best plan for no jet lag as far as I could tell was sleep.
To answer your question, I had ear plugs, noise cancelling ear buds and an eye mask (Because there is still light in the airplane cabin), I ended up going with the ear buds playing some really low volume acoustical play list I had and the eye mask. You could probably go with a white noise generator through the ear buds (Rolling ocean).
I had always read and heard that the noise cancelling head phones or ear buds were magic for flight fatigue, but never really comprehended it until I actually had some, I never take a flight now with out them, your neighbor might think you are rude, but I never feel tired when I get off a flight any more.

I can't sleep on a plane either; however, hubby is asleep before we even take off...

We did business class to Paris in January and I was hoping to get some sleep. Unfortunately, it's just something I can't seem to do on planes. So while it was nice, especially having access to the lounge before the flight, I've decided that I'll save the money for now and cruise more often. 

Only way my wife said she would make the flight.