lauraodonnell86

I would suggest Pinel Island in St. Maarten. It is very secluded and you can snorkel, kayak, walk around the island and see a lot of wildlife, or just sit on the beach. We used Caribbean Paddling to get over there. Rented a double kayak from them and only took about 10-15 mins to kayak to Pinel Island. Here is the link for the website: https://www.caribbeanpaddling.com/rentals/kayak-rental-pinel-island  If you do not wish to kayak, they have a water ferry that can take you over there. I have attached some pictures so you can see our experience. We will be going back at the end of this year! 
 
 

See you guys onboard! Celebrating my bday! 🙂

Hello from a fellow Kansascitian! 🙂 We are leaving from San Juan on January 6th for the 9 night sailing! We originally had this booked but recently the 9 night was lower in price than this one so we decided we'd like a longer cruise! We have done the Southern Caribbean many times as we sail every year from San Juan for our anniversary in January. Here are a few of my recommendations! I will preface this by saying we are mainly beach people so they will be pretty beachy 😅 
St. Croix - We always go down to Rainbow Beach which is a beautiful beach with a nice restaurant as well with delicious food! It's a very short/cheap taxi ride from the port and has always been our go-to for St. Croix. It's been several years since we've been here but we've always loved it in the past. They do have water activities for rent there on the beach but nothing pushy which is nice! 
St. Thomas - This is where we got married 14 years ago on Serenade of the Seas! 😍 We usually take a taxi to Meghan's Bay which is gorgeous as I'm sure you've heard but I will say the taxi is quite expensive and there is an entry fee to the beach ($5/person if I remember right). It was worth it for us though and a beautiful area! We recently walked around the port area and found a restaurant called Tickles which had beautiful views and great food! 
St. Maarten - Recently, we have been walking to Great Bay beach which is about 20 mins depending on how quickly you walk. It's a nice walk but you can also take a water taxi or regular taxi over there if you prefer not to walk. We used to book this excursion every year though Shore Excursioneer https://www.shoreexcursioneer.com/st-maarten/beach-bum-orient-maho.html It is such a great tour and you get to see 2 different beaches including Orient Beach and Maho Beach (which is awesome to see the planes). Drinks are also included in the $45/per person price. I just don't think you can beat that price for everything this tour includes! Another fun day we had was renting a kayak through this website https://www.caribbeanpaddling.com/ and using it to get over to Pinel Island. It's a gorgeous island to hike around and see hermit crabs, huge turtles, and iguanas in the wild! There are also 2 restaurants on the island. There is a ferry to the island if you wish to not kayak or paddleboard. 
St. Lucia - If we aren't going to the beach (usually Rodney Bay), we love doing this zipline tour https://adventuretoursstlucia.com/zipline-tours-in-st-lucia/treetop-canopy-adventure/ The guides are so amazing and will take pictures of you with your phone as you come down the zipline and are just so fun! We haven't done this tour for several years but it was such a good time! 
St. Kitts - We love taking a taxi to Carambola Beach Club. It's a gorgeous beach and lots of good spots for great snorkeling on your own. The taxi is fairly cheap from the port and it's a beautiful place to spend the day. There is a charge for the chairs/umbrella but I can't remember how much. You can take a stroll down to the left of the beach and find yourself on a black sand beach which is really neat! There is also a restaurant on site where food/drinks can be purchased. 
Barbados - Our FAVORITE spot! We never do anything else when we go to Barbados but go to Boatyard Beach Club. It is a short taxi ride there and only about $5/person. https://www.theboatyard.com/adventure-beach That is the link that will tell about it but with the $35 entry fee (used to be $25), you get a welcome drink, chairs and umbrella, access to all of the water activities including a water trampoline and rope swing, a snorkeling tour to see a boat wreck and sea turtles, and transportation back to the ship when you are done! Even with the increase in price, I really feel like it's still a great deal. The food from the restaurant is delicious and the sand is POWDER soft. Such a great place! 
Sorry this was a little long winded but I am passionate about the southern Caribbean 😀 I have pictures of all things I mentioned here and would be glad to post them if you are interested in anything particular, just let me know! I hope this helps you out a little bit with ideas and I KNOW you will have an amazing time no matter what you decide to do! 
Laura

Hello from a fellow Kansascitian! 🙂 We are leaving from San Juan on January 6th for the 9 night sailing! We originally had this booked but recently the 9 night was lower in price than this one so we decided we'd like a longer cruise! We have done the Southern Caribbean many times as we sail every year from San Juan for our anniversary in January. Here are a few of my recommendations! I will preface this by saying we are mainly beach people so they will be pretty beachy 😅 
St. Croix - We always go down to Rainbow Beach which is a beautiful beach with a nice restaurant as well with delicious food! It's a very short/cheap taxi ride from the port and has always been our go-to for St. Croix. It's been several years since we've been here but we've always loved it in the past. They do have water activities for rent there on the beach but nothing pushy which is nice! 
St. Thomas - This is where we got married 14 years ago on Serenade of the Seas! 😍 We usually take a taxi to Meghan's Bay which is gorgeous as I'm sure you've heard but I will say the taxi is quite expensive and there is an entry fee to the beach ($5/person if I remember right). It was worth it for us though and a beautiful area! We recently walked around the port area and found a restaurant called Tickles which had beautiful views and great food! 
St. Maarten - Recently, we have been walking to Great Bay beach which is about 20 mins depending on how quickly you walk. It's a nice walk but you can also take a water taxi or regular taxi over there if you prefer not to walk. We used to book this excursion every year though Shore Excursioneer https://www.shoreexcursioneer.com/st-maarten/beach-bum-orient-maho.html It is such a great tour and you get to see 2 different beaches including Orient Beach and Maho Beach (which is awesome to see the planes). Drinks are also included in the $45/per person price. I just don't think you can beat that price for everything this tour includes! Another fun day we had was renting a kayak through this website https://www.caribbeanpaddling.com/ and using it to get over to Pinel Island. It's a gorgeous island to hike around and see hermit crabs, huge turtles, and iguanas in the wild! There are also 2 restaurants on the island. There is a ferry to the island if you wish to not kayak or paddleboard. 
St. Lucia - If we aren't going to the beach (usually Rodney Bay), we love doing this zipline tour https://adventuretoursstlucia.com/zipline-tours-in-st-lucia/treetop-canopy-adventure/ The guides are so amazing and will take pictures of you with your phone as you come down the zipline and are just so fun! We haven't done this tour for several years but it was such a good time! 
St. Kitts - We love taking a taxi to Carambola Beach Club. It's a gorgeous beach and lots of good spots for great snorkeling on your own. The taxi is fairly cheap from the port and it's a beautiful place to spend the day. There is a charge for the chairs/umbrella but I can't remember how much. You can take a stroll down to the left of the beach and find yourself on a black sand beach which is really neat! There is also a restaurant on site where food/drinks can be purchased. 
Barbados - Our FAVORITE spot! We never do anything else when we go to Barbados but go to Boatyard Beach Club. It is a short taxi ride there and only about $5/person. https://www.theboatyard.com/adventure-beach That is the link that will tell about it but with the $35 entry fee (used to be $25), you get a welcome drink, chairs and umbrella, access to all of the water activities including a water trampoline and rope swing, a snorkeling tour to see a boat wreck and sea turtles, and transportation back to the ship when you are done! Even with the increase in price, I really feel like it's still a great deal. The food from the restaurant is delicious and the sand is POWDER soft. Such a great place! 
Sorry this was a little long winded but I am passionate about the southern Caribbean 😀 I have pictures of all things I mentioned here and would be glad to post them if you are interested in anything particular, just let me know! I hope this helps you out a little bit with ideas and I KNOW you will have an amazing time no matter what you decide to do! 
Laura

Hello from a fellow Kansascitian! 🙂 We are leaving from San Juan on January 6th for the 9 night sailing! We originally had this booked but recently the 9 night was lower in price than this one so we decided we'd like a longer cruise! We have done the Southern Caribbean many times as we sail every year from San Juan for our anniversary in January. Here are a few of my recommendations! I will preface this by saying we are mainly beach people so they will be pretty beachy 😅 
St. Croix - We always go down to Rainbow Beach which is a beautiful beach with a nice restaurant as well with delicious food! It's a very short/cheap taxi ride from the port and has always been our go-to for St. Croix. It's been several years since we've been here but we've always loved it in the past. They do have water activities for rent there on the beach but nothing pushy which is nice! 
St. Thomas - This is where we got married 14 years ago on Serenade of the Seas! 😍 We usually take a taxi to Meghan's Bay which is gorgeous as I'm sure you've heard but I will say the taxi is quite expensive and there is an entry fee to the beach ($5/person if I remember right). It was worth it for us though and a beautiful area! We recently walked around the port area and found a restaurant called Tickles which had beautiful views and great food! 
St. Maarten - Recently, we have been walking to Great Bay beach which is about 20 mins depending on how quickly you walk. It's a nice walk but you can also take a water taxi or regular taxi over there if you prefer not to walk. We used to book this excursion every year though Shore Excursioneer https://www.shoreexcursioneer.com/st-maarten/beach-bum-orient-maho.html It is such a great tour and you get to see 2 different beaches including Orient Beach and Maho Beach (which is awesome to see the planes). Drinks are also included in the $45/per person price. I just don't think you can beat that price for everything this tour includes! Another fun day we had was renting a kayak through this website https://www.caribbeanpaddling.com/ and using it to get over to Pinel Island. It's a gorgeous island to hike around and see hermit crabs, huge turtles, and iguanas in the wild! There are also 2 restaurants on the island. There is a ferry to the island if you wish to not kayak or paddleboard. 
St. Lucia - If we aren't going to the beach (usually Rodney Bay), we love doing this zipline tour https://adventuretoursstlucia.com/zipline-tours-in-st-lucia/treetop-canopy-adventure/ The guides are so amazing and will take pictures of you with your phone as you come down the zipline and are just so fun! We haven't done this tour for several years but it was such a good time! 
St. Kitts - We love taking a taxi to Carambola Beach Club. It's a gorgeous beach and lots of good spots for great snorkeling on your own. The taxi is fairly cheap from the port and it's a beautiful place to spend the day. There is a charge for the chairs/umbrella but I can't remember how much. You can take a stroll down to the left of the beach and find yourself on a black sand beach which is really neat! There is also a restaurant on site where food/drinks can be purchased. 
Barbados - Our FAVORITE spot! We never do anything else when we go to Barbados but go to Boatyard Beach Club. It is a short taxi ride there and only about $5/person. https://www.theboatyard.com/adventure-beach That is the link that will tell about it but with the $35 entry fee (used to be $25), you get a welcome drink, chairs and umbrella, access to all of the water activities including a water trampoline and rope swing, a snorkeling tour to see a boat wreck and sea turtles, and transportation back to the ship when you are done! Even with the increase in price, I really feel like it's still a great deal. The food from the restaurant is delicious and the sand is POWDER soft. Such a great place! 
Sorry this was a little long winded but I am passionate about the southern Caribbean 😀 I have pictures of all things I mentioned here and would be glad to post them if you are interested in anything particular, just let me know! I hope this helps you out a little bit with ideas and I KNOW you will have an amazing time no matter what you decide to do! 
Laura

Looks like you better have some words with @lauraodonnell86 ?
Well as it looks like our Sep 17 cruise won't go and were 117 days from that, our next scheduled cruise it 184 days out! ?

911 Dispatchers never lie. ?

@lauraodonnell86 promised me the Brilliance GC wont be cancelled

If you like beaches, we love going to the Boatyard which is about 3-5 mins taxi ride from the port. The entry fee is $25/pp and that includes a beach chair and umbrella, ocean trampolines, a slide and rope swing, and a free boat ride to a shipwreck and swimming/snorkeling with sea turtles. Included in the price is your return taxi back to the ship! The water and sand is absolutely perfect and it's our one of our favorite islands in the Caribbean! Here is the link for more information https://www.theboatyard.com/adventure-beach  Have a great time whatever you decide to do! 

So here's the wrap up of my recap...
Finding the Royal Caribbean Blog was a Godsend!  I could go on and on but if you’re already here you know how great of a community this is.  I have to admit that I did go over to the dark side several times (CC). I found some useful information on the ports I was visiting.  
I saw some really terrible reviews of Freedom and I’m so glad I didn’t listen to any of them.  One of the most critical things I read over and over again was that sailing from PR meant I was going to encounter very rude people.  I won’t say we didn’t, but honestly the few that we did encounter weren’t all from PR.  I’ve seen worse behavior at Disney World.  I think there were 2 quinceanera’s being celebrated on board, and we only noticed them on the formal nights because of the beautiful dresses.  Yes, the young girls were all over the place posing for photos, but they weren’t rude at all. Heck I was all over the place taking photos of the ship myself! 
I also want to mention there was a Salsa Group on board.  They were a very large group.  I noticed signs on some of the doors leading to our room right away and thought uh oh, this could get noisy.  I have to say, they were having such a great time.  They had some private events and yes certain lounges were very crowded but there was so much to do on board that we never felt cheated.  They ranged in all ages and were very friendly.  We chatted with some of them here and there throughout the cruise. 
Yes, Freedom is showing her age a bit & I knew going in she was scheduled for dry dock afterwards. We were in cabin #7400 and the hallway carpet was very badly stained.  Not stains here and there, just really long dark spots from people constantly walking on them.  It did not smell, only one night walking back to our room there was a strong chlorine smell along the hallway but it wasn’t near our room. No idea what that was about.
The room decor was outdated, the coral and teal colors scream the 1990’s to me. Otherwise everything else in the room was great, even the bathroom.  Plenty of storage space. Our room was at the very end of the ship and it was very quiet.  We never heard any of our neighbors.
Our room attendant was great.  I swear he was a ninja.  We really only saw him 2-3 times but our room was perfect and he took excellent care of us. We saw 2 other attendants in the hallway every day and they were both very friendly.
I ended up getting the Voom package for 1 device & we shared it.  It was $77 total. Even though our kids are technically adults, my mom is elderly and I wanted to make sure we could get in touch with each other if needed.  It was nice to be able to share photos with them using the WhatsApp.  My mom loves Instagram so I would add photos to my story at least once a day and she really enjoyed that.  We did not use it to stream anything but we never had any problems with it. Totally worth it IMO.
Ultimate Drink Package - Always a debate!  I booked it for $47 pp during last year’s Black Friday sale.  I figured I had plenty of time to cancel it and I honestly went back and forth for a while.  In the end I kept it and I’m glad.  With gratuity it was $776 making it approximately $55 per day, pp. I didn’t keep track of everything we drank, that wouldn’t have been much fun.  I can say this: When we had breakfast in the MDR we took advantage of the fresh squeezed juice.  Several mornings we had specialty iced coffees. Every time (not day, each time) we left the ship we each took 1 vitamin and 1 regular water to bring with us.  Every night at dinner I had 2-3 glasses of wine and hubby had 2 drinks (perfect Manhattan’s which are pricey at home too).  During the day when we were on the ship I enjoyed plenty different frozen drinks - I alternated with virgin versions here and there.  Most days hubby stuck to beer in the afternoons and switched to Bourbon after dinner. I think I had maybe 2-3 soda’s during the week but not in the souvenir cups.  We never used those. We enjoyed going to the different lounges and trying different drinks.  Yes I know we can get any drink pretty much anywhere as long as the bartender has the ingredients, but it was fun bar hopping.  There were a few drinks I didn’t like and some that I tried that I might not have if it wasn’t already paid for.  Ending the night with a cordial was also a nice treat. I’d say we took at least a dozen bottles of water back to the room during the week as well. I like to think we did get our money’s worth, but we were totally happy with it so that’s that. 
MDR - I also went back and forth with trying specialty dining.  With the exception of our one dinner in Aruba we ate there every night.  My theory was that we had fabulous steak houses and Italian restaurants at home, there was bound to be something we would enjoy on the menu.  In hindsight, I wish I had checked the menu on our Bonaire day.  I ended up getting the steak again which was delicious, but honestly this girl was missing her macaroni!  That probably would have been a good night to splurge and go to the Italian place.  Oh well, now I know.  I truly enjoyed being served every night and the waitstaff was just great.  
Windjammer - I know everyone loves this place, heck we enjoyed it last cruise too but I just didn’t enjoy it this trip.  The 2 times we went it was jam packed and when we went for lunch the options were either something really heavy or salad.  I don’t enjoy pre-cooked burgers so that wasn’t an option for me.  I’m sure if you are a picky eater or don’t want to go to the MDR it’s probably just fine for dinner as there are so many options.
Sorrento’s - I can’t believe I’m saying this either, but the pizza wasn’t terrible.  Dare I say we kinda liked it!  When hubby saw the pizza sign his eyes lit up and I told him don’t get excited, it probably sucks.  He works in Brooklyn so he eats great pizza for lunch AT LEAST once a week.  This place became our guilty pleasure.  Several nights I brought some back to the Bull & Bear.  We liked the veggie pizza the best but the cheese wasn’t bad either.  
Sabor - we only went here for the Guacamole class but we thought the food was fantastic.  We would gladly have a meal here again if given the chance.
The Promenade - depending on what they were selling sometimes it became quite crowded.  What’s the deal with watches?  It seemed like they were constantly selling them! I’m totally not a watch person so I didn’t pay too much attention.  People seemed to be going crazy for the t-shirt sales too, none of them really appealed to me all that much though.  I originally planned to get a Freedom of the Seas Spirit Jersey, but I didn’t like that the front was completely blank.  I thought it should have an anchor or at least the RC logo in the upper left chest or something.  I ended up with a super comfy hoodie instead. Also, I thought that balloon party was crazy. All the popped balloons all over the place, this from a company that doesn’t allow plastic straws? Weird.
Spacious Ocean View Room -  I thought it was great.  The window was very big and we didn’t miss having a balcony.  I would much rather use the money saved towards other things, such as the drink package or excursions.  Also, we had to factor in the flight to PR. We could have afforded one, but I chose book this instead.  We did agree that we could never do an interior room and probably wouldn’t want one overlooking the Promenade, just not our style. 
My “Something New Every Day” was just for me and just for fun.  
Pre Cruise PR:  Mofongo - loved it
Cruise Day: Escargot - hated them
At Sea: Souffle - not a fan
Aruba: Rode a motorcycle - loved it
Curacao: Walked on a floating bridge - very cool
Bonaire: Rode on a Catamaran & got to see a sea turtle while snorkeling - awesome
At Sea: Baked Alaska - loved it
St. Thomas: Conch Fritters - delicious
I’m pretty sure I covered everything.  I know I’ve said it several times but we absolutely loved this cruise. Although I don’t see us cruising every year, we definitely plan to go on another one in (hopefully) the next 2-3 years.  
Freedom didn’t have many reviews when I was looking so that’s the main reason I decided to write this.  Also, I’m going to print it and keep it so I can look back on it some day.  
Thanks for reading and if you have any questions feel free to ask.  
 

I hope you guys have a great time! It's so fun to get away with friends every now and again! I'm looking forward to following along. I'll hold down the 911 calls while you all are cruising ?

Oh I've been off the ship.  That took all of 5 minutes cabin to outside..they sweep you out sooo fast and then it's a nightmare from there.
Ditto!  Can't believe it's less than a month already!   At least knowing that is helping to keep me from eating my feelings now that I am without my Ultimate Dining Package (oh..and also the fact I now have to pay for food again).

Thanks for the amazing blog! I will 2nd what everyone else said! You were funny and kept my attention as I read through all 16 pages! I'm excited to meet you on the Freedom GC! 

Also blew the budget on lobster in Windjammer ??

shh..he's sleeping

Great blog!  Wonderful sense of humor!  Awesome writing!  etc, etc...blah, blah, blah.
Now get my ship back to Miami so I can board her tomorrow.  

OMG, legit laughing so loudly at this search history that my dogs are side eyeing me!

I love this whole blog so much! Sometimes I get bored reading through live blogs but your posts are fun and easy to read! So excited to be on board soon! Can't wait to check out those little overlooks! Enjoy the rest of your cruise! 

I hope you guys have a great time! It's so fun to get away with friends every now and again! I'm looking forward to following along. I'll hold down the 911 calls while you all are cruising ?

Ok, my attempt at blogging my Ovation cruise was a colossal failure (I'm just going to blame the bad internet connection, because why not?), but I'm going to give it another crack.  Not that there haven't been a thousand Navigator blogs.  I'll do my best to attempt to make it remotely interesting.
This time I will not be sailing with Mr. SpeedNoodles - instead I will be sailing with a coworker and a retired coworker - two of my bestest buds. We are (and/or were) 911 Police/Fire/EMT dispatchers from the cold, snowy state of Minnesota.   My retired compadre (Kris) has been on one cruise previously (7 nights to the Western Caribbean on Rhapsody, last Feb) and my other friend (Tiffany) has never been on a cruise. Ever.  Her biggest fear is getting seasick, but she's pretty excited about it nonetheless. It will also be her first time away from her two little girls, so she'll probably have mixed feelings.
I work overnights (aka "dog shift"), so I left work at 7am this morning, after working through a snowstorm, during which I brushed the snow off of my little car no less than 3 times throughout the night. I was burned years ago when I didn't check on my Chevy Equinox overnight during a storm and I couldn't find my car for over 24 hours.  The driver's side mirror was all that anyone could find the next day. I'm not retiring in Minnesota, if anyone is keeping track.

So as of this morning at 7am, I'm officially ON VACATION!!!!!  So excited.  We will be celebrating not only  just time hanging out together but the birthdays of my two partners in crime, and my recent promotion to Floor Supervisor at work (which won't actually go into effect until April, but who's counting).  We are all #TeamDX.  As a birthday gift to my friends and to spoil them a bit I purchased The Key at an acceptable price.  We booked a corner aft balcony (under the Windjammer, but I don't anticipate a great deal of grief with this location) - huge balcony and I'm not sure I'll ever get Tiff out of one of those lounge chairs back there.  She says she's just planning to sleep there. Time will tell.
In Nassau we will be going to the British Colonial Hilton for a beach day (I don't do "sit around on the beach" well, but they say the use of their kayaks, etc, is included, so I'll keep busy) and spending a little time exploring the port, which I didn't do when I was there last Feb.  At Coco Cay we have an Oasis Lagoon Cabana booked (I found it at the awesome price of $319, and harassed them into doing it - I'm not sure I'll ever again find such a deal!), and Tiff and I have reservations for the helium balloon, but we'll see if weather cooperates.   #highwindsfollowmeeverywhere    My friends have both had a great deal of stress over the last few years, and they are looking forward to relaxing, so whatever they want to do goes.
So I have 3 days to try to stop thinking about work, try to settle into vacation mode, and pack! Our flight leaves on Sunday morning, and we will be staying at the Kimpton Epic Hotel in Miami, very close to the Intercontinental (great deal obtained through HotWire).
More to come soon! (Seriously, I promise).

I love this whole blog so much! Sometimes I get bored reading through live blogs but your posts are fun and easy to read! So excited to be on board soon! Can't wait to check out those little overlooks! Enjoy the rest of your cruise! 

Drat.  Now there are at least two that are better than me.  

I love this whole blog so much! Sometimes I get bored reading through live blogs but your posts are fun and easy to read! So excited to be on board soon! Can't wait to check out those little overlooks! Enjoy the rest of your cruise! 

I love this whole blog so much! Sometimes I get bored reading through live blogs but your posts are fun and easy to read! So excited to be on board soon! Can't wait to check out those little overlooks! Enjoy the rest of your cruise! 

Today I noticed these cute little overlooks at Central Park.

They are accessible from the aft elevator banks on 9.

So last night was windy.  Yes, the Solarium sun deck is windy when the ship is sailing..very windy.  The clamshell covers are flapping in the breeze.
I meandered and eventually went to bed at a respectable hour.  Noticed a special delivery in my cabin from the cavity fairy: