NJCruisers

Monday - Nov 18th - At Sea  
I didn’t want to just sit and hang by the pool all day, I wanted to enjoy the ship.  Since we had gone to bed early the night before we were up and out early for breakfast in the MDR. We took our time eating, walked all over the ship and took a bunch of pictures.  I love taking pictures & I wish I had brought my camera, unfortunately all I brought was my iPhone & my son’s older Gro Pro. 
We went to the Guacamole class at Sabor at 11am. In hindsight we never should have eaten breakfast. My husband laughed when I told him I booked this since I make a pretty good guac if I do say so myself.  All of the ingredients were on the table and measured out for us so you could adjust them to your tastes along with a nice big bowl of chips.  We had to stop ourselves from eating those because of the lunch they served.  We were able to order off the menu, I had the pork tacos, I don’t remember what hubby had but neither of us could finish them.  Delicious!  They also showed us how to make 3 different kinds of margaritas.  I used to bartend for years but I still thought it was good.  The margaritas were delicious and they gave each of us 2 of them.  The table next to us asked for more and were given them, we had the drink package so we didn’t feel we needed to ask for more.  We were so full, but then of course they brought us a dessert sampler platter.  I wish I had taken pics to share.  
We waddled out of there with full bellies and didn’t feel like doing much of anything at that point.  We decided to just walk around the promenade and check out the shops.  My daughter had asked us before the cruise to see if they had the RC Teddy Bears on board - she’s a graphic designer and her & her co-workers designed them.  We were happy to see them in the Logo Shop and proudly took some pics! 
Afterwards we headed to the Bull & Bear Pub because there was supposed to be a beer tasting.  I don’t drink beer at all but the hubby does & he was disappointed that they didn’t hold the event.  When we asked the waitress after the time had clearly passed & there wasn’t anything going on, we were told it didn’t look like there was much interest so they weren’t doing it.  He just ordered a beer and we took it to go.  I thought they could have at least went around to each table to see if others were interested. 
We decided to go up to the deck and relax on a lounge chair to plan what to do next.  Turns out that’s all we did, it was so nice and relaxing up there we ordered some drinks and called it a day. I'm attaching a picture of how calm the sea was.  
It was formal night, hubby insisted on bringing a suit so we got dressed up and headed out to the MDR.  He now says this is the last time he’s going through the trouble of bringing it.  We sent it out to be pressed and it was back in time but he ended up not wearing it after dinner all that long.  Speaking of long, the lines for pictures were very long so we decided to wait until after dinner.
Dinner in the MDR was as follows: Hubby had the beef carpaccio which he thought was just okay & I had the lobster bisque which wasn’t very good.  We both decided on the seafood linguine for the main course and were disappointed. The pasta was very starchy and the sauce was bland.  As Italians from NY (who have been in NJ for 20 years) we weren’t expecting it to be as good as we can get at home, but it just wasn’t good.  For dessert I had the Grand Marnier souffle, believe it or not that was my something new, and again I didn’t like it.  I think it was more a texture thing with me because the hubby tried it and said it was very good.  He went with one of his favorites, carrot cake which he said was great.
We tried to get our pictures taken after dinner and the lines were even longer. We took a selfie, went back to our room to change and headed to the Marquee show which I thought was pretty good. We ended our night in the Bull and Bear Pub. Brendan was very entertaining and our waitress Nelma was such a sweet lady.  
 

Wednesday - Nov 20th - Curacao
Did I mention I’m a beach girl? I absolutely love the beach and it’s nearly impossible to make me leave.  Although I have quick access here at home in NJ, our beaches are obviously nothing like the Caribbean.  With that in mind, I booked a morning beach excursion thru RC from 9:15-1:15 which allowed my beach fix, then we were free to go explore Curacao on our own.   We went to the Blue Bay Resort and it was beautiful. It included chairs and a bottle of water.  (I purchased it at 27 pp) Since we had the drink package we already had water with us so we skipped it and scored an awesome spot.  There were some rain clouds, and it drizzled a little bit but it didn’t ruin our beach day at all.  We didn’t have snorkel gear but we were able to see some fish anyway.  Hubby drank the local beer and I had to have a blue drink - when in Curacao right? We also ordered a small appetizer which held us over a bit.  There were some iguanas around and they were cool to watch.
I noticed they had a donation box for a “cat cafe”. After inquiring about it, one of the staff members showed me they have an area where they feed the local cats (they are all vetted & fixed). I love cats, so I of course I donated and a few of them even came out for us.  It definitely passed the time because our tour bus was almost half an hour late picking us up.  If I had another tour scheduled I would have been a nervous wreck.  
I had decided that we would walk around Punda,. Can you tell Hubby has no interest in planning at all?  It was amazing to finally see the Queen Emma Bridge and that famous strip of buildings in person. I took a ton of pictures.  I was on a mission to go to a store called Cornerstone.  Google “Skadey Cat Curacao” and you will see it.  I mentioned I love cats right? The artist there Melissa paints them and we had been messaging each other back and forth on Instagram.  It was such a pleasure to meet her in person.  I picked out my own Skadey Cat and she wrapped it with so much care.  (I'm happy to say it survived our flight home.) We stayed a while chatting and it was really nice.  Hubby really enjoyed the air conditioning as well.  
It was really hot out that day and we walked all over Punda, with me snapping pictures on my Iphone all day long.  Eventually hubby said we both needed a break, so before heading back over the bridge we stopped at the Iguana Cafe where we enjoyed a drink and the nice cool breeze.  The only thing that was somewhat annoying is that I’m not used to people smoking at restaurants and the group that sat down after us had a few cigar smokers, hence only one drink. 
Once back over the bridge we walked up the steps to the fort and took in the views from there one last time.  We weren’t really interested in any of the shops or the bars there so we took a nice leisurely walk back to the ship and showered before dinner.
We had a MTD reservation in the MDR.  I had the Eggplant & Olive Tartare and hubby had the Seafood vol-au-vent. After tasting mine, hubby asked for his own eggplant appetizer.  He said it was much better than his.  He ordered Beef Stroganoff and I originally ordered the lasagne, but after I ordered it,I regretted it so I quickly changed it to the NY Strip.  It was delicious, cooked perfect for me (medium rare) and we both enjoyed it.  For dessert he had the Coconut Layer Cake which he said was just okay and I had the Creme Brulee which is a favorite of mine and did not disappoint. 
We ended up back in the Bull and Bear. We were having a great time but we were tired from the past 2 days and with an early morning planned we were in bed by 11ish. 
I think I've written enough for today, I'm not sure if anyone is actually reading this, but I'll add more after Thanksgiving.
**Note - I have no idea why some of my pictures are facing the wrong way.  They are fine on my computer but not on this blog.  
 

Tuesday - Nov 19th - Aruba
We started the day with a simple continental breakfast.  I really just wanted to save us the trip of having to go out and get coffee.  I ordered hubby his usual oatmeal and I had a muffin. 
This was one of our longest days in port and we took full advantage of it.  I booked a tour with Trikes Aruba and we absolutely loved it.  We were picked up at the port with another couple from the ship, we drove to a hotel to pick up a small group and we all headed over to pick up the Trikes.  Once there, payments were taken, waivers were signed, we were given a simple demo, test drive and we hit the road.  You do not need a motorcycle license to drive them.
We drove all over the island, and it was so much fun.  I can’t wait to watch my Go Pro videos.  We went to the lighthouse, drank straight out of coconuts and once finished they sliced it in half so you could eat the fresh coconut.  There was a pretty cool bird hanging out there as well.  The next stop was the Church which was peaceful as there weren’t many people there.  
After that we went to the Casibari Rock Formation.  We were given more time here to climb up the rock, have lunch if you wanted and shop.  We opted to climb the rock.  
The last stop wasn’t really much but it makes a nice picture, it was in front of the Aruba sign. It was cool to drive all over the island and see the different landscapes, from the cactus plants to the beach, to the local housing areas as well as the tourist spots.  Our tour guide was a really nice guy, told us some stories and a little bit about each stop.  If you are looking for a full blown historical tour, this isn’t it.  It was perfect for us though.  
After the tour was over I asked our driver if he recommended a certain taxi or had a friend that could take us to Surfside Beach. He offered to take us there himself however we didn’t bring any of our beach stuff with us so we had to go back to the ship.  We went to the Windjammer to have a small lunch and each had a salad.  It was surprisingly packed for a port day and we were unimpressed. We grabbed a taxi right by the ship and off we went.
I’ve been to Eagle Beach once before, and although it’s beautiful, that wasn’t what we were going for this trip.  We wanted smaller and local and that’s why I had decided on Surfside Beach.  I had also started following 2 of their beach bars on Facebook for some time so the decision was made to hang out at Surfside Beach Bar for the rest of the afternoon.  The cost for 2 lounge chairs and an umbrella was $15.  There were less than a dozen people there.  It was cool watching the planes land, but it wasn’t obnoxious.  I think we saw maybe 2 an hour. The water was calm and we could see our ship in the distance the whole time which was kinda cool.  Hubby ordered a bucket of beers, I don’t recall the price but he said it was cheap.  I only had one drink as I mainly stayed in the calm waters all afternoon.
Pre-cruise I had been going back and forth with returning to the ship for dinner or going to a restaurant called Barefoot Aruba which was less than a 5 minute walk on the beach from where we would be.  I made a reservation for 6:15 and I’m SO GLAD I did.  
There was an outdoor shower at the beach bar and we freshened up in the bathrooms which was quite comical.  We walked down the beach and were blown away.  It was even more beautiful with the sun starting to set.  My pictures don’t even do it justice.  After asking our waitress if she could take our picture, she not only took them at our table, but had us stand up with the beach behind us and took even more.  
For appetizers we ordered Goat Cheese Medallions (served on roasted bell peppers, with red onion chutney, served with pine nuts and balsamic syrup), Prosciutto & Melon (served with arugula, pine nuts and a pepper reduction). Hubby also ordered a Greek salad.  The goat cheese dish was delicious but the show stopper was the Prosciutto & Melon.  I’ve mentioned I’m from NY and I’m used to getting excellent Italian food.  This was BY FAR the best prosciutto I’ve ever had in my life & the sauce was to die for. We were honestly shocked, we couldn’t believe how delicious it was.  We savored it to the last bite.  Hubby ate about half the salad but I didn’t have any.  

For dinner he ordered the Snapper Amsterdam which had a crust of Old Amsterdam cheese, zucchini, breadcrumbs with a white wine sauce. I had the Caribbean Grouper which was grilled and topped with a mango cream cheese.  I ordered the mango sauce on the side and I’m glad I did because I mixed it in with my rice. I didn’t think to take pics but again, it was absolutely amazing. Hubby kept saying good call, good call, I’m so glad you didn’t cancel this reservation.  It was hands down one of the best meals we’ve EVER had.  We both agreed this would probably ruin the rest of the dinners we were going to have on the cruise, lol.  I forgot to mention I drank my usual moscato and hubby had a bourbon drink. Even though we were full we decided to end the evening splitting a classic sorbet which was served with fresh fruit and strawberry syrup. 
The restaurant arranged for a taxi back that was allowed to go all the way down near the ship.  We grabbed a night cap at the R bar and headed to bed.  
The heck with Coco Cay, THIS was the perfect day ?
 
  

 

We decided to walk down the block and eat at a small local place called Waikiki. It was perfect for what we were looking for, we shared the Chickpeas & Chorizo Casserole for an appetizer and we each had Mofongo for dinner (that was my new thing for today & it was delicious!).  We were too full for dessert so we opted to get some ice cream later on from the hotel.
 

I should have mentioned that I do not fly often and I need to take Xanax in order to get on the plane.  It works great for me, however it leaves me pretty tired for the next 24 hours,  so after dinner I pretty much passed out. The bed was comfortable and the room was very clean.  The only slight complaint was that the glass door to the balcony could have been cleaned a bit better.  It wasn’t dirty, it was just the salty sea air that made it a bit cloudy.  The few staff members we spoke with were very nice and helpful.I thought this hotel was perfect for pre-cruise and wouldn’t hesitate to stay here again.   
Sunday - Nov 17th - Embarkation Day
Our plan was to wake up without an alarm and just “get there when we get there”. I slept till about 10am (thanks Xanax) and we checked out of the hotel at 11am.  We scheduled an Uber, again it came really quick.  She told us we had about an 8 minute ride to the ship but it only took about 5, we were there super quick, no traffic.  I’ve only cruised RC once before and we are only Gold but our line was really short and we were on the ship in no time.  This photo was time stamped 11:30 exactly.
We walked around the ship taking it all in and sat down on lounge chairs and had drinks in our hands by 12:15. We were next to a family that cruises together several times a year and it was nice to sit and chat with them a bit.  
I want to say the announcement that the rooms were ready was around 2pm. Unfortunately this is the only picture I took of the room, cabin # 7400. We booked a spacious ocean view and honestly I think we would have been fine with a regular ocean view. My main reason for not booking a balcony was that I wanted us to be somewhat forced to get out and enjoy the ship.  Our last cruise we were upgraded to 2 bedroom suite which had a balcony that held 4 lounge chairs and a table with 4 chairs, so I was a bit worried we would really miss it - and I can honestly say we didn’t. 
I pretty much spent the rest of the time before muster drill unpacking and organizing everything.  I drive my husband crazy because I insist on keeping outfits together but he agrees it works out better in the long run because it’s easier to get ready later on.  He just let me do my thing while he listened to the info on the television.  I don’t think we will ever get the Wash Your Hands song out of our heads! I brought magnetic hooks with us and they were really useful.  I didn’t bring anything else to organize the room. Since it was only the 2 of us the storage in the room was just fine, if anything we had extra space which was shocking. I did bring my own hair dryer and also my own shampoo/conditioner and I’m glad I did.  
Once I was finished it was almost time for the Muster Drill so off we went & once it actually started it went pretty quick.  We had MTD scheduled for 5:45pm and we were there around 5:30.  Today’s new thing to try was Escargots, I chewed about 3 times before I just swallowed it (if I had a paper napkin I definitely would have spit that sucker right out.)  It wasn’t for me. Hubby tried it for the first time as well and wasn’t impressed.  He thought the butter sauce was way too oily.  We both had the prime rib for dinner, it was cooked perfectly and we really enjoyed it.  I had the Key Lime pie for dessert and he had the chocolate cake.  Both were tasty but nothing exceptional. We roamed around a bit afterwards, ended up in the Viking Crown Lounge and I’m embarrassed to say we just about made sail away.  We were fighting to stay awake.  I think we were in our room by 9:30pm that night.  Totally lame, I know.
 

I found this group about a year ago when we booked our cruise.  Tomorrow morning we leave for San Juan and then we'll be on Freedom of the Seas for the 11/17 sailing.  Everyone has been so helpful with all of my questions & concerns and I really appreciate it. I'm not looking forward to the flight (I do not enjoy flying at all) but I'm so excited to go on this cruise!
THANK YOU!!! ?

I found this group about a year ago when we booked our cruise.  Tomorrow morning we leave for San Juan and then we'll be on Freedom of the Seas for the 11/17 sailing.  Everyone has been so helpful with all of my questions & concerns and I really appreciate it. I'm not looking forward to the flight (I do not enjoy flying at all) but I'm so excited to go on this cruise!
THANK YOU!!! ?

I found this group about a year ago when we booked our cruise.  Tomorrow morning we leave for San Juan and then we'll be on Freedom of the Seas for the 11/17 sailing.  Everyone has been so helpful with all of my questions & concerns and I really appreciate it. I'm not looking forward to the flight (I do not enjoy flying at all) but I'm so excited to go on this cruise!
THANK YOU!!! ?

I found this group about a year ago when we booked our cruise.  Tomorrow morning we leave for San Juan and then we'll be on Freedom of the Seas for the 11/17 sailing.  Everyone has been so helpful with all of my questions & concerns and I really appreciate it. I'm not looking forward to the flight (I do not enjoy flying at all) but I'm so excited to go on this cruise!
THANK YOU!!! ?

I found this group about a year ago when we booked our cruise.  Tomorrow morning we leave for San Juan and then we'll be on Freedom of the Seas for the 11/17 sailing.  Everyone has been so helpful with all of my questions & concerns and I really appreciate it. I'm not looking forward to the flight (I do not enjoy flying at all) but I'm so excited to go on this cruise!
THANK YOU!!! ?

Have an enjoyable cruise!!??

I found this group about a year ago when we booked our cruise.  Tomorrow morning we leave for San Juan and then we'll be on Freedom of the Seas for the 11/17 sailing.  Everyone has been so helpful with all of my questions & concerns and I really appreciate it. I'm not looking forward to the flight (I do not enjoy flying at all) but I'm so excited to go on this cruise!
THANK YOU!!! ?

Have a great cruise!
 

Happy sailing! Hope you have a fabulous cruise!

I found this group about a year ago when we booked our cruise.  Tomorrow morning we leave for San Juan and then we'll be on Freedom of the Seas for the 11/17 sailing.  Everyone has been so helpful with all of my questions & concerns and I really appreciate it. I'm not looking forward to the flight (I do not enjoy flying at all) but I'm so excited to go on this cruise!
THANK YOU!!! ?

I found this group about a year ago when we booked our cruise.  Tomorrow morning we leave for San Juan and then we'll be on Freedom of the Seas for the 11/17 sailing.  Everyone has been so helpful with all of my questions & concerns and I really appreciate it. I'm not looking forward to the flight (I do not enjoy flying at all) but I'm so excited to go on this cruise!
THANK YOU!!! ?

A recent experience.  We sailed on Nov 3, 2019.  Left the hotel in a Uber at 11AM, arrived at the port at about 11:15, checked in and walked right on board at 11:30. 

We are sailing on Freedom leaving the 17th too! My email said to arrive after 12:30 but, like others have commented,  that's just a suggestion.  We are in grand suite and concierge email says boarding begins at 11:30.
Our usual target arrival time is 11:00 and we have never had an issue boarding. 

We booked the trikes!  Cant wait to get some great video from that experience!  Thanks for the info!  Now still checking on Curacao options...

We sailed in September, arrived a port at 10:30 took 15 minutes to get onboard. Our friends got there at 10 and was onboard in 15 minutes. Just drop your bags off with porters in front of terminal, go in terminal and as Matt says you maximized your time onboard. Loved the English pub, great people there. Have fun, we did.

Freedom just leaves later than the typical Caribbean cruise and so they try to skew the passenger arrival to later.  But the terminal should be open 10-11am as it will be cleared from the prior sailing's arrival in the wee hours of the morning.  Might as well get there early and take advantage of the full day on the ship.

The time listed on your email is just a suggestion. They are NOT strictly adhered to. Show up as early as you'd like, check-in, get on board and start enjoying your vacation and exploring the ship!
We showed up for Freedom this past January at around 10:30-11:00 a.m. This early arrival let us drop off luggage, check-in, and get on board in under 20 minutes!

When i sailed on Freedom last Nov was onboard by 11am ? drink in hand by 11: 05 lol 

I believe you can still plan to do that.  This 3pm is just a suggestion, just like they have a suggested embarkation time for everyone.  If you want to get on first, just get there early and you can expect to get on early if there are no reasons for a delay such as CBP inspection or technical delay or anything of that nature.  Just know that as usual, rooms will not open up until 1-130pm.  Have a great trip!  I'll be on Freedom soon enough and CANNOT wait given we hit a record low where I live today.  I'm ready for sunshine and warm temperatures!

Hi everyone! I pride myself on being very social when I meet people in person, but online, I’m a certified lurker ?. I read the message boards, take notes ?, and have learned so much from everyone on this blog (thanks @Matt for this awesome platform) but I rarely make a post or comment.

Maybe it’s because everyone has already said what I was thinking (and y’all don’t need to see my “ditto” response ?)... Maybe it’s because I can’t come up with any interesting new questions or topics that are worth posting ?... Maybe it’s because I’m afraid that my post will be the equivalent of the kid sitting alone at the lunch table in a crowded middle school cafeteria ??...

Soooooooo... This post is dedicated to all of the lurkers out there just like me! Say hi, hit like, or drop a comment of your choosing below! Or don’t. ? You are still loved and welcomed here!