DunkelBierJay

This is a correction...there must have been a price reduction that was in place yesterday (Monday 2/15) that I missed earlier. The current promotion (30% off everyting) shows lower fares on my booking for the same room, but sacrifices more OBC than the savings, so I chose to stay where I was. Sorry if my previous post confused anyone.

Today, I benefited from the 30% off sale on one of the staterooms I booked on Freedom in May-June.The cost on my Superior Ocean View with Balcony fell by $55 pp keeping by on board credit. I've done it twice on this room for this sailing, and I have netted $540 in savings. It pays to check fares regularly. Inside staterooms are sold out as of today, and the price of ours actually went up. So, I kept that one the same. I believe that if there are possibilities for upgrades to a jr suite from the superior ocean view with balcony, for example, that only upgrades can be processed. Correct me if I am wrong.

I'm wrapping up planning for Sint Maarten on a stop on Freedom in June, and am leaning toward renting a jeep to get around the island verses some of the other options. If you have been there, how is the parking situation around Maho Beach? Google maps shows what looks to be a decent parking lot next to Sunset Beach Grill, but their website doesn't have a lot of information about it.

I have rented cars a couple times when I went to the Caymans when I was more into land vacations and didn't have any issues -- so, I'm not worried about driving in a foreign country. I am thinking about renting a Jeep on Sint Maarten and going counter clockwise around the island stopping at Orient Beach for a bit, Marigot (specifically Sarafina's Bakery), and then cross Maho Beach and Sunset Beach Grill off my bucket list with my family. The only thing I am a little nervous about is the time to leave Maho to get back to the ship with plenty of time for its 5:00 pm departure. I have read several forums with horror stories about it taking forever to get back to Philipsburg either due to traffic and/or the bridge at Simpson Bay being up for boats. I also don't want to miss any of the larger jets landing. So, if we leave at 2:00 pm, does that give us enough time? Should I go west toward Philipsburg, or go back around the island clockwise to go back? I am also renting a GPS so that I can deal effectively with the unlabeled roundabouts I read about. Does anyone have any experience with this, or thoughts from having been there? I am figuring the cost to rent would be about the same as hiring a driver as I have heard Matt suggest. Still, I like the independence of having a vehicle. I apologize for the repetitive question. I just wanted to ask it in another way.

As I understand it, a wave is measured from the middle to the top or bottom...so the difference between the trough and top is 30'

With Oasis going to Port Canaveral soon, does the possibility of Oasis 4 going to China increase? Or, will Oasis head over there after a short stay at Port Canaveral? I would love to see more options out of Jacksonville too. I am flying there the day before my next Port Canaveral embarkation and spending a half day in St Augustine.

I signed up on several sites, but never have never received an alert for a cruise I was booked on except cruiseline.com. I received an email with a price drop alert for inside cabins, so I looked, and there was a pricing chart showing a drop in my balcony category which was steeper than the others, so I looked on RoyalCaribbean.com and compared...and the savings looked huge. I called, and I was right about the amount of savings, but was then told about the OBC. I guess it pays to look at all of the alerts if it doesn't immediately look like it applies to you. In my case, I will save about 10% on that stateroom over my original fare which I booked on a previous cruise.

I received an alert that my sailing on Freedom in three months had a price drop. I have two staterooms booked. There wasn't enough savings on my interior room, but huge savings on my balcony room...and...it added OBC! I already had a pretty good deal, but this is great! The fact that Royal honors this makes me want to book even more...and I will, while I am on board.

I was on Enchantment this time last year and we hit 15' seas. That means the waves were 30' high, so yep, we were rocking. Use your seasickness meds if you think it will bother you. There was vomit in the hallway between the Scooner bar and the Spotlight. Yuck. (Not mine)

Is there a humidor on Freedom?

We are sailing Freedom on May 29. I saw some decent comments about Mystery Dinner Theater on some other sites, but only found one comment about it on this forum, and it wasn't entirely positive. I booked it to ensure a space, but I am unsure if this is worth the money, especially on the first night of the cruise when I know that I will miss the first night in the MDR with my teenager kids who will be on their first cruise. Any thoughts?

Thanks for this topic! My family and I are sailing on Freedom on May 29, and are scheduled for Sint Maarten. I reserved a Jeep to circumnavigate the island counter clockwise with the intention of stopping in Marigot for a while, and then Maho for lunch at Sunset Beach Grill to watch the planes. Given reviews of driving the island, should I go around the island this way, or should I go clockwise? From everything I can tell, the cheapest way to see that much of the island is to rent a car. If the ship sails at 5, what time should we leave Maho?