Rose City Cruiser

452 days have passed since I booked.
Now it's just 6 days away!
I'm single digit dancin'! I'm super excited, and I just can't hide it! No more waiting, no more holding back, it's time to get this ball rolling!
This will be my live(ish) blog for our long-awaited first-ever cruise. My family and I will be on Freedom of the Seas, sailing out of Port Everglades in Fort Lauderdale. It's an Eastern Caribbean itinerary with four sea days and four port days, and we have a fair bit planned on those port days. BUT, that's not all we're doing! We're flying down to Fort Lauderdale 3 days early, as it saved us a ton on the airfare, so we'll be taking in the sights and activities around Fort Lauderdale for a couple of days before we board. AND we're staying one extra day in Fort Lauderdale after disembarkation, to get in one more beach day (and maybe an air boat ride) before flying back home.
Here's the full cruise itinerary, plus what we have planned each day:
March 31 - Embarkation from Port Everglades at 5:30 PM April 1 - Sea Day April 2 - Sea Day I'm doing Chef's Table this day April 3 - St. Kitts, 9 AM to 6 PM Dolphin push/pull/swim excursion in the AM Wandering around town in the PM, after we shower and have lunch on the ship April 4 - St. Maarten, 7 AM to 5 PM This is the big big day; we're doing an all-day beach and snorkeling tour around the island with Soualiga Destinations I'll be curious to see how the snorkeling is after the hurricane roared through there last year; haven't really heard much about that on the other recent live blogs to St. Maarten, so I will be sure to report back April 5 - Old San Juan, PR, 7 AM to 2 PM We're meeting up with a friend my older daughter met last summer, who lives in Old San Juan We plan to visit El Morro, and around that my daughter's friend said she'll show us some other interesting places, as well as the best places to eat; this might mean we'll miss a stop at Barrachinos as originally planned, but who am I to ignore the advice of someone who's lived there her whole life? April 6 - Labadee, 9 AM to 5 PM Wife and kids are doing the zip line in the morning All of us are doing the alpine coaster, as I got all-day passes for a really good sale price The rest of our time we'll be chilling in an over-the-water cabana! I heard @Matt's recommendation and rave reviews on his podcast, and I said, "This is my splurge item this trip!" April 7 - Sea Day April 8 - Return to FLL Why this itinerary?
We needed a cruise that timed well with the girls' Spring Break week, but wanted one that filled up as much of that time as possible and also gave a good mix of port days and sea days. Our only other options were 7-day trips on Harmony or Allure that only gave us 3 ports, or a 10-day on Navigator to the Southern Caribbean that we'd have loved to take, but ran over the time we had (and before we knew we'd want to fly down early anyway). So this wound up being our "Goldilocks" cruise, especially with Freedom being liked by so many as a first-time cruisers' ship.
We also wanted something kind of big for a first-time cruise, because we're celebrating 3 simultaneous milestones that will all happen in May / June of this year:
Our 20th wedding anniversary Our older daughter graduating high school Our younger daughter wrapping up middle school Our TA actually has "20th anniversary" down on the reservation for the room my wife and I are in, and "High School Graduation" for the girls' room; I'll be curious to see if there are any decorations in either room when we arrive, or if the staff does anything out of the ordinary. Not expecting it, but ever-hopeful.
Our Cabins
We booked two D3 Superior Balcony rooms on deck 8, forward. The rooms are connecting, so my wife and I were able to book in one room together and the girls are in the other room. This was after looking at the prices of suites and realizing that we got more space and saved a ton of money going the two-balcony route. We plan to get the divider opened up as soon as possible, so even though we won't have a suite, we'll at least have a suite-size balcony! 
The rooms included $100 OBC each, we have no idea what we'll spend that on at this point. The girls are thinking of putting theirs into a purchase at the salon or maybe to get some on-ship merchandise.
Drink / Dining / Other Packages
I've purchased the Deluxe package for myself, and I'm planning to at least try and keep a running tally of everything I get to see if it works out. I think it will, but time will tell. The rest of the family has the Refreshment Package.
Since it's our first cruise, we chose not to plan on any specialty dining and just use the MDR for all dinners. Not sure yet if we'll use the MDR for breakfast, at least on sea days, or go to the Wind jah-mehr for all the morning food. WJ will likely be our go-to for lunch, at least when we're not in port. Depending on whether any lunch specials are offered, we might try Giovanni's for lunch one day. For sure I'll be visiting Sabor, even if only for guac and margaritas.
I did get the 4-device VOOM Surf and Stream package on a fairly good sale in the Cruise Planner. We mostly plan to use it for communicating with each other through iMessage and Google Hangouts (my wife is the lone Android user), and of course I'll be taking advantage of it to post updates here as I'm able.
Updating this blog
I'm only bringing my phone with me, no laptop since the one I have is employer-issued and I'm not working on this trip. I'll post updates as I'm able to each day, but they may be on the shorter side since typing on the phone is a lot slower than I can manage on a proper keyboard.
 
So looking forward to this!

Yeah...about a 25% diff in exchange rate which really hurts....but I usually book in USD so easy to compare...and looking back at what I paid in 2013 and 2014 for my cruises with Royal and what the same cruise goes for now...plus increase in grats and drink packages(and having to buy 2 now) plus plus plus..its easily close to an extra 50% difference..then add the 25% exchange rate difference (not Royals fault) and it really hurts...
 
Again, they have to recoup these huge costs for new mega ships and island make overs...someone has to pay for it.
 
 
 

Our funny money took a huge hit as well. 

I would tip to fund that!  Does Twangster have a Patreon acct set up? 

Keep in mind that Freedom OTS will be based in San Juan, Puerto Rico.  Flights flying to/from SJU will cost more compared to flying to/from FL.
Freedom OTS will be visiting ports that Allure OTS does not visit as well. 
Allure OTS has restaurants, entertainment options and features that Freedom does not offer such as the AquaTheatre. 

I tried to record some on my phone for you but the screen broke.

I would tip to fund that!  Does Twangster have a Patreon acct set up? 

Waiting for bumper cars to start. This was the line up at 20min prior.
Start of the line is at the pink arrow.  They run 17 cars at a time. The ride lasts 3 mins. The line now at 10min prior is 3/4 the way around the rink. 
Tip: Get here early!!

You must be a minimum of 5 years old to be a passenger and over 42" to drive.

?: Hubby
Random observation: something I've been wondering is how this activity handles Star Class guests. They made an announcement about 1-2 min prior to starting that SC guests did not have to wait in the line. They all went straight to the front. The dirty looks and comments were unbelievable! I know some of you may disagree with me, but I'm annoyed that people would think that all is equal when obviously not all fares are equal!

Sounds like someone in the CIA would say

Blue Lagoon Dolphin Excursion:  RC Excursion
This excursion is available in several forms.  There is the Blue Lagoon Beach Break.  This gives you access to beach only.  Then there is the Blue Lagoon Dolphin Swim where you can actually swim with a dolphin.  The one Hubby and D2 did was the Blue Lagoon Dolphin Encounter, which basically lets you play with a dolphin in waist high water.
The excursion started at 7:45am with the meeting spot at Station 1 on the pier.  Hubby reported that it took a long time to actually get on the ferry to Blue Lagoon Island.  They waited pier side until about 9am.  People were separated into two groups (beach people, animal encounters) and bands are given out before boarding the ferry.  
The ferry ride to Blue Lagoon Island took about 45min.  Hubby and D2 reported a smooth, slow ride.  There is a washroom available on the ferry.  You can even purchase drinks and snacks on the ferry.

After arriving on Blue Lagoon Island, there are a few dolphin locations and staff direct you where to go.  There is slight confusion but no one got lost.


Once arriving in your location, there is a consent to sign off on.  Then your belongings are stored in a locker.  Hubby reported that these lockers are small and difficult to lock.  If you have a large backpack, it won't fit and you have to put it off to the side.  The locker can fit approximately a mid-size handbag.  Hubby says the locker is ancient looking and rusted.  It locks with a key.  After securing your belongings, everyone is provided with a life jacket.  Then you are taken to the area for the Dolphin Encounter.  Here the dolphin trainer gives instructions on how to interact with the dolphin and safety.  There are about 16 people in each group.  No personal cameras or recording equipment allowed.
Interactions with the Dolphin includes hugging, kissing, dancing, rubbing, and touching its teeth.  You are also given a fish to feed to the dolphin.  Sometimes the dolphin squirts and splashes you.  After, the dolphin does a few tricks and then you are given to have the opportunity to take a group photo with the dolphin.
Change rooms and showering facilities are available to clean off.
Kiosks are available in the gift shop for purchasing photos and videos. 
Single pics are about $14
Videos are about $58
4 pics + video is $97
All inclusive pics through email was $79
7.5% tax is charged on all purchases and if paying with a credit card, you have to show picture ID.
Beach time is included with the excursion and you have the option to take selected ferry times back to the ship.


Overall thoughts:  Hubby felt this was worth the money.  We paid $119.70 CDN (on sale during Black Friday).  He reported that some parents had children who ended up being afraid and not wanting to go in.  So, buyer beware.  Know your children.

Photo credit: all Hubby
Excursion recap:  Hubby and D2 ?

My family and I went on a cruise on the Enchantment of the Seas last week.  I'm a male in my 20s, and I went with my grandma in her 80s and my uncle in his 40s, for reference.
 
MONDAY 3/5 (Leaving Miami):
Getting on the boat was a breeze, especially because my grandma has been on enough cruises to qualify for gold status (the word on the card, not the actual gold-colored card), so we got to skip the longest lines.  I remembered it taking much longer the last time I went on a RCI cruise (Liberty of the Seas in 2008), so that was a pleasant surprise.  One annoying thing when we got on board- we had pre-paid for different beverage packages (they were nice enough to let my uncle get the deluxe beverage package with only making me and my grandma get the refreshment package even though we were all 21+) that all came with the Coke freestyle cups.  But, they already had those in our room, which we couldn't yet access.  Since Windjammer's machines are cup-sensitive, we were unable to get soda at the first lunch even though we had paid for it, but that isn't the biggest deal in the world.  A touch I really liked was that they provided mini-buffets by the pool deck as we were getting ready to leave Miami.  As it was a beautiful day, a lot of people were on the pool deck watching us leave, but we were able to get a table.  Dinner was really nice.  We chose the 6 PM seating and were paired with three other small groups of people.  My family all went for the prime rib, which we really enjoyed.  I will touch on this more later, but our wait staff gave us really good service too.  We elected not to go to the evening show, instead walking around the boat.  Also, we spent a couple hours watching the entertainment in the Centrum, which was pretty good (except when a drunk guy broke a glass on the dance floor).  When my grandma went back to the room, my uncle and I continued to explore the ship.  Even though the shuffleboard courts theoretically close at 9, there was nothing stopping us from playing and no one waiting, so we played several games (I eeked out the win too).  A nice way to start the trip.
 
TUESDAY 3/6 (Nassau):
On Tuesday, we were in Nassau.  Breakfast in the Windjammer was decent enough everyday (I certainly didn't need that chocolate covered cheesecake at breakfast though).  Since we could do more for less money using a third-party excursion service, we had booked a Nassau tour through Viator with a company called Tyrone Wilson's Shore Excursions.  Our guide, Kevin, knew everything to know about Nassau and even seemed to know everybody.  While we did make five stops, one of the real highlights was getting to hear him talk about the Bahamas.  My personal favorite stop was the Queen's Staircase, both for the history and for the views as we descended.  My uncle and grandma also really enjoyed the rum distillery.  I don't drink, so it wasn't the stop I was looking forward to most, but it was still very interesting to see and learn about the industry.  The only real disappointing stop was the chocolate factory because they only gave you a tiny crumb as a sample (whereas all the other sampling stops were far more generous) and ridiculously overcharged for any additional chocolate you wanted to purchase.  I had been there before (as a hotel guest), but we also had about 30 minutes to explore the Atlantis resort.  Our guide also drove us through some poorer areas of Nassau, so we got to see the various ways people live there.  We also asked him for a lunch recommendation, and he recommended us some place called Bahamian Cookin' (or something like that) a couple blocks inland in downtown that was excellent.  We later went to this zoo and gardens that was somewhat disappointing, at least relative to the excellent tour Kevin had given us earlier in the day.
We got back on the boat in time to get ready for dinner, which was formal night.  Unfortunately, we were the only ones at our table who were able to get there.  We again went for the beef, all getting the tenderloin.  Since the dining room wasn't very full, they must have had a bunch of extra food, so we were offered seconds, which we happily accepted.  I think there might have even been thirds.  Additionally, the service was far better than I could have ever expected.  Our waiter remembered that I had a Diet Coke the night before and had one there for me as soon as I sat down, without my even having to ask.  When they realized how much we seemed to all like beef, they sent promoters from Chops Grille to offer us a discount for the next night, which we seriously considered, but decided against (largely because my uncle would have wanted lobster, which wasn't included with the base surcharge).  After dinner, we split up, all having different things we wanted to do.  My uncle had wanted to enter the poker tournament in the casino (by the way, the casino has tutorials of the different table games 30 minutes before opening every night, which I enjoyed, even if I wasn't really planning to play).  Assuming full capacity, the winner from Tuesday was set to play Wednesday's winner on Thursday for a free cruise on the Allure of the Seas.  I walked around with him for a while, but went back to the room to get out of my suit.  My grandma went to the music show that night, which we allowed her to do alone since neither of us wanted to go.  While my uncle was playing poker, I met up with my grandma after the show and we went to the Love and Marriage Game Show.  That gameshow actually has importance in our family because, on our cruise 10 years ago, my grandmother and my late grandfather were the long-married couple on the show (they came in last).  When they were trying to find couples, my grandma told that story, which was a nice moment for all of us.  The show (in my biased opinion) didn't live up to the one ten years ago, but that could just be me.  We still had a good time.  Afterwards, I met back up with my uncle, who had unfortunately only come in third in the poker tournament, and we went back up to the pool deck because I had read in reviews that there was a big party with a poolside buffet when leaving Nassau.  That was only partially accurate, as they only had food inside the Solarium, but there was music from the boat's DJ.  It was a bit more of a party scene than I would have liked because there was a group of close to 500 spring breakers just from one school on a ship of only 2500, but we enjoyed it still.  After that ended, we did briefly go to the Viking Crown Lounge, but that was a little too wild for me, as it was pretty much only the spring breakers (I'm about that age myself, but I am not really that wild).  Some of them were enjoyable to talk to individually, but they were crazy as a group (my uncle actually described them as entertainment).  We got some late night food from the Solarium (my uncle had the idea of putting pizza inside a burger, which he said was excellent) and went back to the room.
 
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 7 (Not CocoCay):
While at breakfast, even though it was partly sunny outside, we heard an announcement from the captain that the weather would not allow us to go to CocoCay as planned because the seas were too rough and a cold front was approaching from the west.  Royal Caribbean did do a good job of adding more events, such as ping pong tournaments, trivia contests, and game shows to try to let us still have a good time.  But, as the weather was still pretty nice, we grabbed seats at the pool and hung out there (but unfortunately they weren't opening the main pool until 11).  Before lunch, we went to play Family Feud, one of the added activities, which was fun.  Lunch in the Windjammer was likely the same thing they were going to serve on the island, but it was good, and we rushed out of lunch to play sports trivia, which was harder than we expected (or, more accurately, a lot of the questions were from sports we didn't follow as closely as the Big Four American sports).  By the time we finished with trivia, the bad weather had arrived, so we mostly had to stay inside.  I did use the Solarium pool in this time (and found out that I'm actually 7 feet tall if that is really 5'6" deep).  At dinner, to our surprise, again nobody else showed up, so we yet again got fed like royalty.  My grandma was finally tired of beef and got a lasagna, while my uncle and I had multiple beef short ribs.  If you are ever on this cruise, you must get the warm chocolate cookie with ice cream.  I made the mistake of not getting it, but had a bite of my uncle's one, and it was easily the best dessert I had.  But, since the dining room wasn't full, I was then able to order one anyway.  After dinner, my grandma is a big North Carolina fan and wanted to watch their game, so we went to the casino, where the only sports bar is on the ship.  We tried our luck with the penny slots before the game, and I wasted $5 in about 15 minutes and decided I had had enough.  My grandma and uncle were up for a little while, but they lost theirs too.  My uncle decided to give the poker a second go, but again finished in a tantalizingly close third, good for nothing.  The casino sports bar was also crowded with some of the students on spring break, which really wasn't too bad.  The only annoying part is that smoking is allowed in the casino, so you could intermittently smell smoke.  I do wish they had a smoke-free place to watch sports other than your stateroom on board (and I know newer RCI ships do).  After the game, my uncle and I caught the second half of the adult comedy show, which we definitely enjoyed.  We took advantage of the midnight buffet in the Park Cafe before calling it a night.
 
THURSDAY, MARCH 8 (Key West):
This was my fourth cruise, but I had never been on one that reentered the US before returning to the embarkation port, so I had never been through the "you must wake up at a certain time to go through customs" thing before.  It was pretty early in the morning, so we just rolled straight out of bed to do that and ate and got ready for the day afterwards.  We did the hop-on, hop-off bus tour in Key West that morning.  When we first got on, our guide, Louis, was excellent, so we rode around most of the way before getting off at the location of the Southernmost Point and the butterfly house, which we enjoyed (even if my grandma inadvertently took a butterfly out on her shirt and had to get an employee to return it to its habitat).  We ate lunch at Sloppy Joe's, where they actually invented the Sloppy Joe and went around both on the bus and on our own to see a few more landmarks before returning to the boat.  It was a sunny, but not hot, day, which made it perfect for exploring the island.
The previous night we had considered seeing if we could take them up on their Chops Grille offer and even got to the point of asking them if it would still be good for Thursday, which they said it would.  However, we really liked our waiters in the main dining room and were offered a discount on getting the Chops food in the main dining room, which we did.  My grandma and I got the Chops filet, which was excellent, while my uncle got their lobster, which he seemed to enjoy.  My uncle and I got the lamb shank as well since it still wasn't full (we weren't totally alone, as one of the other three groups did come that night).  After that, we wanted to watch basketball again, so we went back to the casino.  Before going to the casino, we checked out the Centrum entertainment and I somehow got drafted into doing some dance in front of everybody without even being told what I was doing.  At least I didn't drop the woman from the activities staff when she jumped!  Duke and North Carolina were playing in back to back games and my family is split between those two schools (I'm actually a fan of a different school, but I was rooting for both that night, and both won).  Again, the college spring breakers were at the casino bar, but some were into the games since they were mostly from North Carolina themselves (I actually live in Tennessee, but my family is from NC).  Once they had both won, it was about 11:30, so The Quest was already well into progress, but my uncle and I decided to go anyway.  While I don't mind humor that isn't PG-rated, The Quest went too far for our tastes, so we left after about 10 minutes, went back to the room and called it a trip.
 
FRIDAY, MARCH 9 (Returning to Miami):
I had breakfast with my grandma, but, after breakfast, my flight to Tennessee was much later than theirs to North Carolina, so I stayed on the boat when they left.  I decided to simply carry my bags off, so I went a little before when my number would have been called, but the line was already crazy.  It likely took me well over an hour to get off the boat, but there was nothing we had to wait for after getting off since we had been through customs in Key West the day before.  I had reserved a $30 shuttle to FLL, but that had taken me so long and I didn't know where to go that I found an third-party shuttle to the airport for only $20 that I took.  In the future, I would just do that from the beginning.  I got to the airport in plenty of time, but my grandma and uncle actually missed their flight out of Miami to get home.
 
OVERALL THOUGHTS:
-I really liked the refreshment package, but I probably could have lived with just the classic soda package if I had been paying for that part myself (my grandma was gracious enough to pay for most of the cruise for all of us).
-The food was of excellent quality, and there was virtually always somewhere you could go.  The late night food was actually really good too.
-This was a relatively small RCI ship, but everything was running well and the crew did a great job.
-We had fun plans for CocoCay (the Aqua Park and walking the nature trails), so I was disappointed it got cancelled, but it was handled well.
-I didn't see what they gained from roping off the pools at night.  I wouldn't have minded taking a night swim, but that was impossible.  Also, the Solarium may technically be a retractable roof, but it was always closed, even though three of the four days had perfect weather.
-They do need to have a place to watch sports that isn't smoky.  I don't think it would be a big deal to put a couple TVs at one of the bars, possibly the Schooner Bar.
-We did a bunch of the game shows and trivia and really enjoyed all of that.
 
All in all, my complaints are minor, and I had a really good time and would go back on the Enchantment of the Seas.  But, from seeing the pictures of the very newest ships, I think I want to try one of them the next time I go on a cruise.

No cruellers!! Super disappointing! 
And you are 100% correct! I like my Mom's congee the best! Hopefully she's following this ?

Do they have those cruellers to tip it in? 
Congee is like pasta.  Nothing beats mom's congee.  LOL

Sounds like someone in the CIA would say

Sailing into Nassau:
Here with Enchanment and Empress. 
?: Hubby from the treadmill 



 
 

Regular breakfast in the WJ today. Grabbed a few photos. I have noticed that for lunch and breakfast they always have a section of Asian food. I don't remember seeing this that regularly on other ships. @jurrjurr no dim sum though. 





Sorry for all the slanted shots. It was crowded as usual. I am certain I don't like the WJ here on Anthem. The food is good but the poor flow of traffic really bothers me. It is consistently like this. 
I did find this which I thought was very interesting....

And here on Anthem, mimosas can be found on carts that look like this...

Trying to decide what to do now. Hubby might take the kids to the pool so I might go check out the solarium finally. ?
 
 

If you are booking for yourself/immediate household, you could get away by booking everything one your own.  I find that a travel agent is most useful when it's with multiple parties.  They can combine all reservations together for dining and activities for you.  You can do it on your own but it takes time and work and the other party's consent.  I have learned the hard way.  People in the group will assume you are the point person and go to you to make changes.    
Having a travel agent may or may not save you money but it will save your sanity especially dealing with a group cruise!  

Call RCL and see if you can make reservations for My Time Dining.  You can to choose a time for each day if you wish to make reservations.  I think you will still need to line-up to "check-in" for them to assign you a table. 

You are welcome, it was my honor.

April Fool's came early

Kids are having Sorrento's pizza and chips on the balcony and I had some time to put this together. This was probably the coolest sailaway I have experienced. After putting this together I had to laugh at myself, I am the whimpiest Canadian. Can you tell I hate the cold? Lol. Hence the retirement plan to move to Florida.
 

This is our setup. Six table cloth clips and two towels per chair. The clips keep the towels on in a good wind as well.