CruisingwithCandM Posted January 20, 2019 Report Posted January 20, 2019 It's time and I am jazzed! I start this blog on the front sun deck area up front deck 12. It's my second blog and hope to share enough info to help others and just maybe entertain. We embark from San Juan in about 5 hours which has lent itself to be a very relaxed time. We arrived at the port at noon and from handing the bags to the porters to walking on board was ten minutes max. I assume we slid in right after the call of all those that were waiting for the ship to be cleared to board. The windjammer seemed quieter possibly again because there is so much time before the muster drill. No sense of a rush to get food before they close. We are coming back to Freedom from our first trip on an Oasis size ship. Honestly I was surprised that my first impression was that this ship seemed small. I remember how I thought Freedom was gigantic just last year. Well, not to fear, after walking around during the past few hours, it is feeling large again. Plus it helps being next to the Disney Wonder which is a good deal smaller. I will recap the full day later but will leave you with some pre departure thoughts. - San Juan airport was very busy with the taxi line being about a 30 minute wait. No Uber from the airport. - We stayed at a nice boutique hotel, the San Geronimo, but it's more european style than American. It is less than a mile to the port and about a mile and a half to the center of old San Juan. - fortunate enough to have been here for the San Sebastian festival in old San Juan. Good music and fun but very crowded. Hope you enjoy following and feel free to ask questions. I will try to track the answers down! Mrs. RoyalMoyal, JLMoran, NJCruisers and 12 others 15 Quote
FlowBro Ty Posted January 20, 2019 Report Posted January 20, 2019 Following @Irieman Have A Great Time On Freedom Quote
Mrs. RoyalMoyal Posted January 20, 2019 Report Posted January 20, 2019 Following @Irieman - if the key is in full swing, and you see a schedule, take a photo please! Thanks! Quote
Sweety Posted January 21, 2019 Report Posted January 21, 2019 Following. My husband still talks about Freedom. Quote
Skid Posted January 21, 2019 Report Posted January 21, 2019 2 hours ago, Irieman said: The windjammer seemed quieter possibly again because there is so much time before the muster drill. No sense of a rush to get food before they close. Following. Have a great cruise. Sweety, Fuzzywuzzy and SpeedNoodles 2 1 Quote
mom2mybugs Posted January 21, 2019 Report Posted January 21, 2019 I have been on freedom 2x and can’t wait to follow your blog. Have a great trip! Jane Quote
VACruiser Posted January 21, 2019 Report Posted January 21, 2019 I have over year (March 2020) to wait for this exact same cruise so I will be living my life vicariously through your blog - so no pressure SpeedNoodles 1 Quote
arebee Posted January 21, 2019 Report Posted January 21, 2019 Freedom is my favorite. Deedeelynn and SpeedNoodles 2 Quote
SolariumSnoozer Posted January 21, 2019 Report Posted January 21, 2019 Following along, booked this cruise for next year. Quote
Matt Posted January 21, 2019 Report Posted January 21, 2019 Following! Totally need a live blog in my life this week lauraodonnell86 1 Quote
henrysea13 Posted January 21, 2019 Report Posted January 21, 2019 following one of my favorites have been on her 4 times and she never gets old Deedeelynn 1 Quote
WAAAYTOOO Posted January 21, 2019 Report Posted January 21, 2019 Will be on Freedom at the end of April. Following for a preview !! Quote
Boston Babe Posted January 21, 2019 Report Posted January 21, 2019 Following!! thank you for the update so far! Quote
CruisingwithCandM Posted January 21, 2019 Author Report Posted January 21, 2019 Hello again! Sorry for the delay as my room did not work with the access code given. Had a day in St. Marrten and just met the internet guru so armed with the new code I am live again! I will use this pre dinner post to just catch you up on last night. As I mentioned, with a late embarkation, everything seemed more laid back. My time dining the first night is usually the most hectic and it was actually one of the smoothest nights ever in the MDR. I will have to see if it continues in which case I will give extra kudos to the wait staff. The sail away out of San Juan and past El Muro was beautiful at night. We will take the advice of fellow bloggers to enjoy the time at night in the various ports cause it is rather unique. The Patriot game was on the pool screen and was well attended with a good deal of passionate fans. The rest of my evening was low key and went to bed rather early. Just to paint a better picture of where we are coming from cruise wise, we are in a panoramic room on the 12th deck with no drink package. We may get a drink a day so it doesn't pay. We prefer to search out the more intimate parts of the ship but love all the headline shows. No gambling or art but lots of sun andr relaxation Later tonight I will share our rental car day in St. Maarten. Skigoofy, JLMoran, cruiselife and 4 others 7 Quote
Dan Curtis Posted January 22, 2019 Report Posted January 22, 2019 Will be on Freedom the 27 th. Awesome ship, save some fun and sun for us. Quote
Lovetocruise2002 Posted January 22, 2019 Report Posted January 22, 2019 11 hours ago, Matt said: Following! Totally need a live blog in my life this week Count me in on that one too! Quote
CruisingwithCandM Posted January 22, 2019 Author Report Posted January 22, 2019 Day 2 - On Our Own! This was our second time to St. Maarten so we figured, let's try it on our own. I was empowered by all the helpful hints from this blog so we rented a car from coastal. For those thinking about it, they range from $60 to $150 depending on the make with Jeep's on the high end. We paid in advance so after a few signatures we we're shuttled up a back road to our car. Off we went! Driving was easy but beware off, motorcycles who pass at a whim, some poor roads and very few road signs. With that in mind, driving was not that difficult. Thanks to @Matt our morning tour ended up at Merigot for some french pasteries and coffee. It was nice to walk around a bit and the vibe was nicer than Phillipsburg. Then we headed out for the great beach search. No signs had us passing by beaches I had researched until finally Orient Beach. A quick left off the main road had us drive down to the beach. There appeared to be a public parking lot with no amenities but in the distance we saw a beach club. Kontiki opened less than a month ago and is a gem. We walked in and for $30 we had two super comfortable chairs and an umbrella beach side with up class bar, restaurant and facilities. I highly recommend it as an alacarte beach destination. Back on the ship we had a relaxing evening in the main dinning room and a production show Marque. We turned Platinum this trip so for fun, we sported out bathrobes to the hot tub for a romantic late night soak. Some random thoughts - renting a car was fun but next time we will try the taxi back to Kontiki - seating front row center isn't for everyone but we love it. Freedom allows us regular folks a chance for those seats - I absolutely love the location of the panoramic rooms on deck 12. So easy to the deck chairs, gym and even a quick shot back to the windjammer. Sea day tomorrow to the abc islands. cruiselife, Matt, Guy Gadwa and 5 others 8 Quote
CruisingwithCandM Posted January 22, 2019 Author Report Posted January 22, 2019 Just a follow-up on the beach place we stumbled upon. Can't find a web site for Kontiki but this is their Facebook page. Also here are some photos... Deedeelynn, FlowBro Ty, Lovetocruise2002 and 5 others 8 Quote
mom2mybugs Posted January 22, 2019 Report Posted January 22, 2019 Looks beautiful!! I hate driving so I would taxi lol. I may not get off the ship in St Maarten because I've been before but my husband and daughter might and I could see them driving! Thanks so much for blogging!!! Jane Quote
CruisingwithCandM Posted January 22, 2019 Author Report Posted January 22, 2019 Good morning from Freedom! I love life and especially on board Royal Caribbean. This is a very live photo from my perspective with a sunrise shot from our pano room. More later Skigoofy, Guy Gadwa, The Cruise Junkie and 4 others 6 1 Quote
Matt Posted January 22, 2019 Report Posted January 22, 2019 10 hours ago, Irieman said: Thanks to @Matt our morning tour ended up at Merigot for some french pasteries and coffee. It was nice to walk around a bit and the vibe was nicer than Phillipsburg. Marigot is terrific! Quote
WAAAYTOOO Posted January 22, 2019 Report Posted January 22, 2019 Wow, Kontiki looks awesome ! I'm going to give this one a try next time I'm in St. Maarten. Deedeelynn 1 Quote
Boston Babe Posted January 22, 2019 Report Posted January 22, 2019 Sitting here in 21 degrees, you are making me sooooooo jealous! Enjoy!! Quote
twangster Posted January 22, 2019 Report Posted January 22, 2019 1 hour ago, Boston Babe said: Sitting here in 21 degrees, you are making me sooooooo jealous! Enjoy!! 21°C? That's not so bad... Deedeelynn and monctonguy 2 Quote
Boston Babe Posted January 22, 2019 Report Posted January 22, 2019 17 minutes ago, twangster said: 21°C? That's not so bad. LOL! If only! 21F!!! Yesterday was 12 for a high! and I live near that Mason Dixon Line twangster 1 Quote
WAAAYTOOO Posted January 22, 2019 Report Posted January 22, 2019 52 minutes ago, Boston Babe said: I live near that Mason Dixon Line Too bad you're on the wrong side of it ! LOL Quote
Boston Babe Posted January 22, 2019 Report Posted January 22, 2019 23 minutes ago, WAAAYTOOO said: Too bad you're on the wrong side of it ! LOL LOL! EXACTLY! I see no girlfriend visits lately to Rehoboth huh?? smart! Wait till June! LOL Quote
CruisingwithCandM Posted January 22, 2019 Author Report Posted January 22, 2019 Well, not to pull latitude on you but I started my trip in Augusta Maine which was zero last night. I have gained 82 degrees on this voyage. The sun continues to shine today on board. Too hot for a full day of sun so we took a relaxed lunch crawl from pizza and sandwiches on the royal promonade to dessert at the Windjammer. Next we took in the ice show which is the most action packed of the few I have seen on other ships. Always amazed at the talent level! Now back behind the flowrider on a lounger watching the expanse of the ocean behind us. Deedeelynn, mom2mybugs, WAAAYTOOO and 1 other 2 2 Quote
coneyraven Posted January 22, 2019 Report Posted January 22, 2019 20 hours ago, Boston Babe said: LOL! If only! 21F!!! Yesterday was 12 for a high! and I live near that Mason Dixon Line I'm also near that same line (15 minutes north) and the Potomac River (15 minutes south) --- It was Zero when I woke up this morning --- you know, as Bob Turk says on Channel 13, for all those north & west of the city ..... THAT'S US .....WAY WEST!!!! baltodave and Boston Babe 1 1 Quote
JLMoran Posted January 23, 2019 Report Posted January 23, 2019 7 hours ago, Boston Babe said: LOL! If only! 21F!!! Yesterday was 12 for a high! and I live near that Mason Dixon Line 5 hours ago, coneyraven said: I'm also near that same line (15 minutes north) and the Potomac River (15 minutes south) --- It was Zero when I woke up this morning --- you know, as Bob Turk says on Channel, for all those north & west of the city ..... THAT'S US .....WAY WEST!!!! And in NJ it was down in the single digits all day yesterday, and all of mid- to upper-20s today. Freaking JUNO and REYKJAVIK were warmer than us!! Boston Babe and WAAAYTOOO 2 Quote
CruisingwithCandM Posted January 23, 2019 Author Report Posted January 23, 2019 The sea day continued with dinner in the MDR, a late sunset promonade walk, a bit of music at Boleros, followed by our first ever top tier event and ending with the headliner show. For us, a busy evening! Here are my thoughts... As part of My Time dining we asked for a window seat for two. For us it is well worth it not just for the view but adds to the privacy. Most tables for two have other tables for two lined up so tight you feel like your tables run together. Our first top tier event was enjoyable with a Captains welcome and Q and A session. For the Platinum level, non alcoholic drinks and musical entertainment was followed by the speaches and awards. Very nice indeed. I am super excited for the next three ports. I have wanted to do the ABC Islands forever. My chance starts tomorrow! 0122191921.jpg Lovetocruise2002, cruiselife, The Cruise Junkie and 2 others 5 Quote
CruisingwithCandM Posted January 23, 2019 Author Report Posted January 23, 2019 The sea day continued with dinner in the MDR, a late sunset promonade walk, a bit of music at Boleros, followed by our first ever top tier event and ending with the headliner show. For us, a busy evening! Here are my thoughts... As part of My Time dining we asked for a window seat for two. For us it is well worth it not just for the view but adds to the privacy. Most tables for two have other tables for two lined up so tight you feel like your tables run together. Our first top tier event was enjoyable with a Captains welcome and Q and A session. For the Platinum level, non alcoholic drinks and musical entertainment was followed by the speaches and awards. Very nice indeed. I am super excited for the next three ports. I have wanted to do the ABC Islands forever. My chance starts tomorrow! Guy Gadwa, Lovetocruise2002 and Sweety 3 Quote
Camilla Posted January 23, 2019 Report Posted January 23, 2019 Hi. Following along all the way from Denmark. My family and I are going on a cruise from San Juan in October (4 kids aged 1-10) and 8 adults. If you have the time, could you please take a couple of pictures of the baby splash area and the kids area. Have a great cruise, can’t wait for our trip Quote
monctonguy Posted January 23, 2019 Report Posted January 23, 2019 On 1/22/2019 at 1:58 PM, Boston Babe said: LOL! If only! 21F!!! Yesterday was 12 for a high! and I live near that Mason Dixon Line -13 here today with windchill.....this Blog is making me feel warmer though! Quote
monctonguy Posted January 23, 2019 Report Posted January 23, 2019 Love the looks of the pool deck on Freedom...little different than most or any I have been on I think! Quote
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.