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Simply Solo Freedom (11/29/2021 - 12/3/2021)


IRMO12HD

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C-6 (Cruise minus 6 days)

First, the obligatory background.  I was first bitten by the cruise bug in 2013, when my husband and I joined about 1500 bikers on the High Seas Rally – a charity-driven biker cruise (well, we shared Freedom OTS with about 2000 other non-biker guests).  The charity (and purpose) of the cruise was to raise money for kidney dialysis – and provide an opportunity for about 15 dialysis patients to experience cruising (and for many, their first vacation) while receiving dialysis on board – and completely free of charge! It was an amazing experience -- and the bite sank deep!
Fast forward to April 1, 2019, when we were supposed to embark on our first Transatlantic on Oasis of the Seas – when (no fooling!) a crane fell on Oasis, shattering her aft and our aspirations of being on a megaship.  Two years later, I made this new reservation on my first cruise ship – Freedom of the Seas!

Cruise data:  I first reserved this cruise through my TA in April 2021, because it fit in well with my goal of accomplishing a B2B or S2S this year.  It has always been a solo cruise, and I made a concerted effort (with my TA) to search out price reductions through the months after the initial reservation.  At his urging, I reserved an Interior cabin on the 8th deck, right around the “corner” from Central Park.  In the end, I saved about $300 on my original booking by going to a non-refundable deposit; cost per night is about $82.00.
Ship:  Freedom of the Seas
Cabin Type: Interior (8th Deck Forward)
Cruise Length: 4 Nights
Cruise Itinerary: Miami – At Sea – Nassau – PDCC – Miami
Cruise Planner Purchases:  The Key, Casino Lesson, Nassau Snorkeling, PDCC Beach Club

Sooo. . . some caveats.  I am unabashedly low maintenance.  I don’t do makeup or hairstyling, and am most comfortable and relaxed in casual clothes.  I drink water from the tap (have even drank water from a garden hose and lived to tell the tale – although I DON’T drink irrigation water (yech!), and always carry my water bottle empty through the TSA checkpoint and fill it up right away at the first water bottle filling station I can find.   Therefore, I won’t be grabbing (or griping at the lack of) bottles of water onboard the ship.  I also don’t get straws – maybe for slushies/Slurpees/smoothies, but for other drinks – not a chance.  I do understand how the feeling of a paper straw decomposing between one’s lips is gross, and so may bring one or two plastic ones – or just drink my slushie/smoothie really fast. Since I don't have the DBP on this sailing, I will be picking and choosing my beverages with care; I am, as my DH is eager to point out, "frugal."  Well, he says it a different way, but the point is the same!

The reason I titled this blog “Simply Solo Freedom) is because this is what it is and what I am.  As part of my milestone birthday this year, I wanted to: a) go on at least one cruise, b) cruise on a ship class I hadn’t been on before, c) stay in a cabin type I haven’t been in before, and d) try a solo cruise (my husband is not as fond of cruising as I am, and was very supportive of my trying it on my own).  Since I couldn’t see just going on a 4-Night and calling it good after a 2500 mile flight, I added a fifth goal – try either a side-to-side or back-to-back series of cruises.  The result:  a solo cruise on Freedom, and following that, a cruise on Oasis – originally solo but my daughter said she’d like to try cruising.  So this particular cruise is a simple solo cruise – with a few firsts in terms of things I’m trying (The Key, Casino lesson, Coco Beach Club) and a few goals for myself:  maintain a live blog,  figure out how to navigate Miami using public transportation, and enjoy the ship!
What I will include in the blog:  timelines and experiences; answers to the questions I’ve posed on different forums in the past; pictures of my interior  cabin and its pros and cons; and experiences with the RoyalUp program, having put in two (minimum or near-minimum) bids for upgrades.
Although this is a solo cruise. I hope you’ll enjoy the experience with me!
 

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  • IRMO12HD changed the title to Simply Solo Freedom (11/29/2021 - 12/3/2021)

C-4 (Happy Thanksgiving!)

I am a planner – to me, that’s ¼ - ½ the fun of a trip, so I began my travel and accommodation arrangements pretty early.  Booked a RT flight on Delta with FF miles, and booked two different hotels for my pre-cruise stay.  Both hotels were free cancellation, and I just pulled the plug on one of them.  My choices were:


Intercontinental Miami – Bay View 

Comfort Inn & Suites Miami Airport

Can you guess which one I’m going to cancel?  Hint:  check out my caveats and the things I said I wanted to try.

Now that I’m less than a week away, I also set up my Plans A, B, and C for COVID-19 Testing.  Plan A:  local drive through test at my local Walgreens the morning of my day of departure (November 27); Plan B: drive through test at a Walgreens 1 mile away from my pre-cruise hotel (although I may have to get an Uber to meet the Drive-Through requirement – I’m also thinking about finding a rent-a-scooter, in the hopes that the requirement is just for a "motorized vehicle."  I wonder if a bicycle would count)?  I've checked into using CVS, but don't really have a warm and fuzzy feeling about using the CVS Minute Clinics as I don’t understand how they work; Plan 😄 use one of my two RCL-sanctioned, Navica-supervised Binax AG Card tests.

Since my flight(s) will include a red-eye, and I’ll arrive in the morning of the 28th, I’m going to spend the day exploring the city, to include the best routes and transportation options for the second part of my S2S.  I’ve picked out a couple of possibilities for take-out dinner that I can bring back to the hotel room, and will plan for a pretty early night to make up for the sleep I didn’t get on the red-eye.

Today is also packing day!  I’m packing for two weeks, due to the S2S, but plan on doing a load of laundry on the intervening two days between ships.   If I can’t get tested on the last day (disembarkation day) of the first cruise, then I’ll set up back-up testing plans for one of the two intervening days as well.

Did you guess the Intercontinental?  Nope!  At $160 more than I'll be paying for the Comfort Inn and Suites, I just couldn't justify it (told you I was frugal!).  Well, cost was part of it -- the other part is that the Comfort Inn & Suites has a free airport shuttle, AND a free shuttle TO the cruise port.  I'll let you know how that does (or doesn't!) work out.

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10 hours ago, IRMO12HD said:

Plan A:  local drive through test at my local Walgreens the morning of my day of departure (November 27); Plan B: drive through test at a Walgreens 1 mile away from my pre-cruise hotel (although I may have to get an Uber to meet the Drive-Through requirement – I’m also thinking about finding a rent-a-scooter, in the hopes that the requirement is just for a "motorized vehicle."  I wonder if a bicycle would count)?  I've checked into using CVS, but don't really have a warm and fuzzy feeling about using the CVS Minute Clinics as I don’t understand how they work; Plan 😄 use one of my two RCL-sanctioned, Navica-supervised Binax AG Card tests.

Are these Walgreens tests the rapid tests? Or PCR tests? 

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C-0!

It’s Cruise Day!  I made it to Miami yesterday right on time — about 10:45 a.m.  While my suitcase was not the LAST one off the plane, it was also not in the first 40!  

Some MIA (Miami International Airport) tips:

1.  If you’re catching a Hotel Shuttle, look for and trust the “hotel shuttle” signs in the baggage area.  They know where you’re supposed to go even if you don’t!  The hotel shuttle stop is across the first lane of traffic, and kind of hidden.

2.  It’s a bit of a longish walk from the far gate — if you’re following a 7’0” tall person, do not necessarily try to keep pace with them!  On the other hand, I did get to the Baggage Claim area really quickly 🙂

I stayed at the Comfort Inn & Suites on Mokena Drive; it’s not the most exclusive area, but the shuttle worked out well, and I felt perfectly safe as a solo traveler.  The desk staff was very helpful; I was all set to leave my suitcase with them and go exploring until my 3:00 check in time.  Fortunately, when they asked me if I cared if I had one bed or two in the room, I replied that one was fine — and they gave me my room right away!   I had a great room on the 8th floor (801) looking west so I could watch planes taking off, but the soundproofing works really well and there was little noise.  I did use public transportation (bus) to go into town to a Target to get a replacement “bite valve” for my water bottle; it managed to fall off somewhere between my arrival and departure gates in Atlanta.

Made my 9,000 steps goal for the day!

Red-Eye Flight tip:  find your afternoon/evening meal early (I recommend the Airport Liquor Store and Cafe on 36th Street — had an awesome pork sandwich with adobo chiles and French fries) and be prepared to go to bed early — I made it until 8:30 pm and that was it — lights out until 5:30 this morning!

I decided to catch the early (9:00 a.m.) shuttle to the Cruise Port (another nice thing about Comfort Inn & Suites — they offer a free shuttle TO the Cruise Port).  I know, I know, “don’t get there too early, you’ll just have to wait.”  I don’t mind waiting, though — I’ll find a porter and get rid of my suitcase pronto, and then go find a spot to sit and read.  I guess my only concern is whether there are any restroom facilities available to people waiting outside, but can always ration my water intake if there aren’t.  I do have The Key, so my latest instructions from RCL were to make sure I am at the Terminal around 11:00; my arrival time on my Set Sail Pass is already 11:30, so either way I’ll have about a 2 hour wait.  

I don’t have the DBP on this first half of my S2S, so I’ll probably have one Sailaway drink — hmm, decisions, decisions!

All for now; I’ll post more once I get on Freedom — solo!

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My first time uploading pictures, so please excuse the lack of formatting.  

#1 Comfort Inn from the bus stop

#2. Room 801 (802 and 803 are right next door and would have the same views, I believe).  It was a nice room, right around the corner from the elevator and right next to the emergency exit stairs.  Rate was $87+ tax; total was about $100.  Pretty reasonable, especially given the free shuttle services and the breakfast — standard Comfort Inn fare, but had hot scrambled eggs and sausage, muffins, yogurt (including Chobani!), cereal, toast, and fresh fruit.

#3.  Adobo Pork Sandwich with Fries from Airport Liquors and Cafe ($14)

#4.  View from Room 801

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Ok, so maybe this will be a semi-Live Blog, at least for the first two days until I get the hang of it!

First, some details about my Cruise Day morning:

Part 1 — The Arrival and the Walk

I got on the first shuttle — we left at 9:10 (about — after loading 8+ people and their luggage.  I was the only one going to Terminal A, which happens to be the first stop, as the route cars/busses have to follow is a one-way loop.  Got to the Terminal about 9:30 a.m.  Found a porter right away (the folks in the white hats standing near the yellow carts to the right side of the terminal entrance).  Turned my suitcase over to them and watched it go onto the cart — Mission 1 complete!  Asked where the Key line would be, and was told it would be to the left of the Entrance doors.

Happy Note #1:  There are public restrooms available!  To the left of the Entrance doors.  Hooray!  I can drink water on my walk!

 

Having relinquished my suitcase to the (hopefully) tender mercies of the porters, I decided to go for a walk and get some pre-cruise steps in (plus, I was early!).

 

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Cruise Day Part 2: All Aboard!

Some more pre-boarding thoughts and observations

Bag Drop to the Right (yellow carts, guys in white hats)

Bathrooms to the left of the Entrance Doors.  The Key and General Boarding were to the Left; suites line to the right

Getting onboard:

30 minute walk to Carnival terminal and back; in line at 10:30. The Key line area was pretty well marked; as I came up, someone asked to see my Set Sail pass; at first they wanted me to go stand in the growing line by the wall where they were sorting people by their arrival times — but then pointed me to The Key line, where I was the second “group” in the line.  The other “arrival time” lines were sorted out in short order; I’d guess there were 50-60 people in the 11:30-12:00 group.  Our group entered the building at 11:00 — sea pass, Vax card, Covid test results at door; Up escalator; Vax card, passport check and picture, then on to the Security check.  Surprise!  Had to empty my water bottle, just like at the airport (any open liquid containers is what I was told, so I guess maybe an UNOPENED bottle of water might have made it through?  If you tend to get thirsty while waiting, just be prepared.) and then passed through, up another escalator into the Waiting area. In The Key seating at 11:15

Boarded the ship at 11:45.  And yes, I had misty eyes and a quaver in my voice!  

One problem in the waiting area was water.  You couldn’t take opened drinks (I.e., water bottle) through Security, but there was no place to refill it once you got to the seating area.  There were vending machines, but I don’t know if they were working or not.  Fortunately, we only had a 1/2 hour wait, but I was getting thirsty.

 

 

 

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The Key . . . So far, so good!

Things I’ve enjoyed:

Priority embarkation:   Although my initial time was 11:30, being in The Key line meant that we went in just as the middle of the Suite Line had entered the Terminal and right before the 11:30 crowd - it looked like about 50-60 people in that line.  We were directed to a separate The Key seating area — right next to the General Boarding waiting area, but separate.  I have no idea where the Suite area was, or if there was a separate Pinnacle/Diamond Plus section as well.   There was a restroom right next to us, but, as I typed before, no place to refill water bottles or get a drink of water.  I think RCL needs to rethink that approach.  The Key area was summoned before the other groups to proceed aboard.

Carry On Bag Handling:  Since I was carrying my two bottles of wine in my carry-on (an E-bags backpack — very comfortable, but kind of heavy when serving as a wine tote), I was very happy to hand it over to The Key staff at the entrance to the MDR prior to going in for my Chops Lunch.  TBH, I was a bit concerned because it had my iPad in it too — but when I got into my room at almost exactly 2:00, there it was perched on my sofa!  I felt badly that I had those concerns, as I really have a lot of faith in the RCL crew members — and they delivered their usual high degree of excellent service.

Chops Lunch: My filet was really good — perfectly cooked (medium rare) and so flavorful and tender.  I restrained myself and only had grilled asparagus as a side — and no dessert, much to the dismay of my server, Anna.  

25% Discount on Specialty Dining — yup, it was included, and worked on my Sushi and Sake pairing on Day 2!

Voom 1-Device: the daily cost for Voom onboard is $22.99 (I think), so The Key gives me the above benefits PLUS Voom for $6.00 / day less than Voom onboard.

 

One small downside:  the priority access for the shows in the Theater appear to be limited to the 4th Deck, which is the Everybody deck.  I don’t want to deprive families with kids of the opportunity to see shows, so plan on sitting in the Vaccinated sections on the 3rd Deck.  I guess it gives families with The Key a better chance of getting prime seats for their families which is fine.

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5 hours ago, IRMO12HD said:

Fortunately, we only had a 1/2 hour wait, but I was getting thirsty.

I definitely brought water on in my Hydroflask! Don't think I knew that I couldn't bring it through security, whoops. I am a huge water drinker myself and found the tap water in the cabin to be fine. I did end up getting a bunch of water bottles from bars as we had the DBP but it was nice to have an unlimited tap supply once we were in for the night. I so so so hope Royal recycles!! Holland America has the canned water and in-room recycling bins so I felt way better about consuming tons of them.  

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22 minutes ago, DDaley said:

I definitely brought water on in my Hydroflask! Don't think I knew that I couldn't bring it through security, whoops. I am a huge water drinker myself and found the tap water in the cabin to be fine. I did end up getting a bunch of water bottles from bars as we had the DBP but it was nice to have an unlimited tap supply once we were in for the night. I so so so hope Royal recycles!! Holland America has the canned water and in-room recycling bins so I felt way better about consuming tons of them.  

I have found that onboard Freedom, anyway, the easiest place for me to get my water bottle filled is the Cafe Promenade — there is a little coffee/tea/water bar off to the side, and a person who cheerfully fills up a glass (“Iced or Regular, Miss?) and refills my water bottle for me.  Since I’m on the 7th Deck, it’s easier to just go down two flights of stairs and get it filled, rather than climbing 5 flights of stairs to take it in to the Windjammer.  

BTW, I had my water bottle hanging on a carabiner on the outside of my backpack; if it had been inside, there probably would have been no problem.  It was pretty hard to miss seeing it though 😉

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Day 1 Activities:

After — well, no, during!— my lunch, I focused on getting logged in on my Voom account and setting up reservations for shows.  I had an idea of what was available from other people’s Freedom descriptions, but had to get the hang of finding the one I wanted (I.e., Vaccinated vs. Everyone).  I booked a couple of duplicates, so went back and cancelled the ones I didn’t want.  That was pretty easy.  I had also figured out what meals I wanted to eat in the MDR, and then made sure I wasn’t going to overtax my stomach (or scale!) by choosing more than one big meal a day.

Days I had to watch out for:

Day 1 — Maryland Crab Cakes in the MDR

Day 2 — Sushi & Sake pairing in Izumi (I had no idea how much food it would be, but wanted to make sure I could savor it and still enjoy an evening meal — which happened to be tenderloin in the MDR!)

Day 3 — Nassau, so I’ll be snorkeling — that should burn up a few extra calories

Day 4 — Coco Beach Club.  Filet and lobster.  Need I say more?

 

Once I had all of my reservations figured out and made (by which time I had wandered out of the MDR from my lunch, and was just kind of hanging out in the Promenade), I KNEW I had to ask Guest Services about SOMETHING — but I couldn’t for the life of me remember what it was. Hint: it was about the COVID test I wanted to get before I disembarked.   By then, it was about 1:57.  Why so precise a time, you may ask?  Well, the Captain had just come on over the PA moments before and said the rooms would be ready at 2:00 — and it was almost 2!  So I calmly walked up the two flights of stairs, down the hallway to my Interior Promenade room — and THERE WAS MY KEYCARD!  Yes, I was that excited, I was thinking in all caps.

Here are some pictures (I think, if I can master this silly “Drag Files Here to Attach” procedure . . . Forgive me, please, if some of them turn up sideways; they look fine in my gallery 😞 )

 

 

 

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Owww — now I have a crick in my neck from trying to look at them and figure out how to fix their orientation — sorry!

Anyway —

I was putting things away, looked outside my door, and there’s my suitcase!!  Yay!  Started putting those things away and realized that I was supposed to be meeting some folks from our 29 Nov Freedom OTS FB group at the Lime and Coconut 5 minutes ago!  Rushed (well, cheated and took the elevator) up to the 12th Deck, and found the one other member who decided to show up.  Ryan and I had a really nice chat for about 30 minutes, and then I realized I’d best get finished with my unpacking — as I had a heavy evening schedule.

I LOVE RCL’s Maryland Style Crab Cakes — and they’re on the menu the first night!  And I have a casino lesson at 6.  And dinner starts at 5:30 in the MDR (I have early dining).  Hmmm.  I let my server know as soon as I get to my table that I just want three crab cakes — that’s it!  No dessert?  Not Entree?  Nope, just three crab cakes and water would be great.  They’re so accommodating!  I savor the crab cakes (because they’re just on the first night menu), sip my water — and depart the MDR at 5:55 (I could have left a little earlier, but had to persuade Maricar (my server) that I would be fine, I wouldn’t starve, and no I didn’t need dessert :-).

Casino Lesson:  $25 gets me two drink coupons, as many lessons from whatever game dealers I want, and $25 in Free Play. Good deal, I say.  I rapidly learn a few things:

1) I will never understand “Ultimate Texas Hold’Em” — I’m completely scared away for LIFE!

2). I have a slightly better understanding of roulette now, but really need a cheat sheet to figure out the odds on each kind of bet

3) Craps is kind of cool

4) There are lots of guys who when they see someone at a table, assume that there’s actual gambling going on — even though the announcement has been made several times that the Casino won’t be open for play until we’re 12 miles out — like 45 minutes from now — and that those of us trying to learn about a specific game are not interested in their tips on how we should play.  Oops, rant over — but they were really annoying

5). I think I’ll stick to slot machines for the time being.  But I still have my drink coupons and my $25 Free Play!

 

After the Casino lesson, I decided I was hungry (go figure!), so I went up to the Windjammer and had a nice big salad, with some protein.  No dessert, not me!  Then I was looking at my RCL app while I was eating my salad, and guess WHAT they were serving in the Windjammer???  CRAB CAKES!

At that point, my self restraint was broken.  I grabbed a dessert plate, got a coconut cookie and a piece of Key Lime pie; then went over to the Hot Line, and requested (and got!) a little plate with two crab cakes!  I scurried like a squirrel back to my humble cabin, put the crab cakes in a sandwich ziploc that I had just happened to pack, and rejoiced in my cookie and Key Lime pie dessert.

 

Went to see the Headliner Comedy Show — Rick Corso — somewhat entertaining but not over the top funny.  Had a couple of good conversations with the Cruise Director (Chris) and another veteran (TJ) about the possibility of having a veterans meet up (not really likely on such a short cruise), and then headed back to the cabin — a good, long day, and I’m ecstatic to be on board.

Then I went to bed.  The End.

 

Ooops. Nope.  A FaceTime call with my loved ones, and then to bed.  The End.

 

Nope.

 

I wondered if I had to make a decision on how I wanted my $25 Free Play — chips or slot machine credit — that day.  It was 11 p.m.  I got dressed back in my “go outside of my cabin” clothes, and walked down to the Casino.  went with my instincts, and turned it into slot machine credit.  Decided, well, might as well try it out.  $10 later, no winnings — I’ll save it for another day.

 

Went to bed.  The End.  For real this time.

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Rotating on an iOS device:

1) open your photo in the Photos app

2) press the Edit button in the upper corner

3) click the rotate button on the bottom row (see “1” in the attached screenshot)

4) click the rotate button in the upper right (see “2” in the attached screenshot)

5) when done, click “Done” in  bottom right

616199563_Viewrecentphotos.thumb.png.19a31b1f87607ab0502a9c2bbfbfb391.png

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2 hours ago, MattG said:

Rotating on an iOS device:

1) open your photo in the Photos app

2) press the Edit button in the upper corner

3) click the rotate button on the bottom row (see “1” in the attached screenshot)

4) click the rotate button in the upper right (see “2” in the attached screenshot)

5) when done, click “Done” in  bottom right

616199563_Viewrecentphotos.thumb.png.19a31b1f87607ab0502a9c2bbfbfb391.png

Thank you!!  Any ideas on why the picture looks normal in my gallery and then rotates when I insert it into a post?

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23 hours ago, wannabecruiseexpert said:

I've always wanted to play table games but have no clue how to play any of them. People always look like they're having so much fun at the tables. I've heard reviews before of the lessons and they didn't seem great but reading your experience makes me want to do it. 

It worked out really well for me.  I didn’t get the DBP on this cruise, so just getting the two free drinks in the Casino Bar made it worth it!  You can choose how you want to use the $25 Free Play — either chips or slot play — so it’s almost like you’re playing with “free money.”  Good thing too, as I’m not very good at slot play!  I actually came out with $4.50 to the good, so I figured that was a win.  The lessons are pretty helpful for learning the basic concepts of the games in a risk free environment.  I found the dealers willing to answer my questions and provide their perspective on the games and how to play.

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How did I get so far behind??  Having too much fun, I guess.  Let me get caught up by working backwards.

Right now I’m sitting in my Day Bed overlooking the Infinity Pool at the Coco Beach Club.  First lesson learned — be the first off the ship , go straight to the Beach Club, head straight towards the bar — not for a drink (yet) but to stake your claim to a Day Bed.  There are six to the right of the bar, and (I think) three to the left of the bar — and they get claimed pretty quickly.

BTW, I think if I take the pictures landscape instead of portrait, they display correctly.  I tried rotating a couple in Gallery, and they just rotated to the other landscape perspective.  But, I digress.

Got off the ship this morning right at 8 a.m.  I learned that they don’t even want you down on Deck 1 until 8 am, when they play the Coco Cay song.  There was a trolley that I and another passenger kind of Shanghai’ed (there’s a specific trolley for the Beach Club but it hadn’t shown up yet) so we were the first ones here.  Thanks to the advice of a seasoned Beach Clubber on the trolley, I staked my claim right away.

Working backwards now, on to yesterday (Day 3: Nassau) — if this is confusing, I apologize.

Had to get up earlyish to get breakfast in the Windjammer so I could digest it before my Sail & Snorkeling Excursion at 8:30.  As it happened, I found a nice solitary table, getting into the WJ just when it opened (funny thing; the app let me make a reservation for 6:45 am, but it didn’t matter because (a) they don’t open until 7 and (b) there were very few people there — maybe 10?  I had assembled my gear the night before, so went back to my cabin, changed into my swimsuit, shorts and tee shirt, and headed out the door.   Mariner came in to dock just as the Shore Excursion groups were getting lined up, so we had to move over on the pier so that we didn’t interfere with that.  Mild confusion.  Then had to get organized into who had signed the sign-in form and who hadn’t — medium confusion.  Proceeded down the pier (masked) to a spot between Carnival ?  And Disney Magic, where our guide determined there were 58 people and 56 signatures. More medium confusion until the culprits were identified (two kids not signed in by their parents).  Finally boarded the catamaran at about 9 and headed out.  

The snorkeling was pleasant; lots of fish and one baby ray.  Some really pretty coral formations although pretty small; I tended to stay away from the larger groups of people and just float, relax, and (mouth) breathe.  Tried to dive a couple of times but definitely need to work on that skill since I dint have any weights.  After we got back (about 1200) I showered and headed back out with my newfound friend and sister-in-arms (Go Army -Beat Navy!) to explore Nassau - we definitely found the alternate route to the Queen’s Staircase — Fort Fincastle, and a great liquor store/cafe called Giotto Cafe.

 

 

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2 hours ago, IRMO12HD said:

Mariner came in to dock just as the Shore Excursion groups were getting lined up, so we had to move over on the pier so that we didn’t interfere with that.  Mild confusion.  Then had to get organized into who had signed the sign-in form and who hadn’t — medium confusion.  Proceeded down the pier (masked) to a spot between Carnival ?  And Disney Magic, where our guide determined there were 58 people and 56 signatures. More medium confusion until the culprits were identified (two kids not signed in by their parents).  Finally boarded the catamaran at about 9 and headed out.  

This is the Royal Snorkel and Sail excursion, right? This terrible lack of organization made us miss out on our excursion. Only 50 of the 120+ people who signed up actually got to take the tour due to the second catamaran never showing. It was the "who signed in, who hasn't yet" ineptitude that made us fall behind the first 50 people or else we wouldve been one of the lucky few! As it was, we were told it was cancelled down on the dock (after 45 min!) and had a sad walk back to the ship. 

I am glad you got to do it anddd the Nassau walking tour on the same stop! Hope you have a good last night before your second adventure starts. 

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11 hours ago, DDaley said:

This is the Royal Snorkel and Sail excursion, right? This terrible lack of organization made us miss out on our excursion. Only 50 of the 120+ people who signed up actually got to take the tour due to the second catamaran never showing. It was the "who signed in, who hasn't yet" ineptitude that made us fall behind the first 50 people or else we wouldve been one of the lucky few! As it was, we were told it was cancelled down on the dock (after 45 min!) and had a sad walk back to the ship. 

I am glad you got to do it anddd the Nassau walking tour on the same stop! Hope you have a good last night before your second adventure starts. 

@DDaley I’m sorry to hear that you missed the excursion.  I believe on this one, they actually had both catamarans, as the one overtook us on the way to the snorkel site.  They were still a bit disorganized when it came to tracking down the missing signatures, but overall I’d say they dealt with the confusion of another ship docking at the same time as our scheduled Excursion meeting time pretty well.

Our “walking tour” was pretty impromptu; we asked the security guard as we walked out which way we should head to get to the Queen’s Staircase; either we weren’t listening well (highly possible) or he figured we were more familiar with the streets than we actually were, but we did take the “scenic tour” on our way to the site.  Add to that the paucity of sidewalks, and it was quite an adventurous foray to start!

Hint:  the streets with sidewalks start to the RIGHT of the security exit!

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Day 3 — Nassau (Continued)

Once we got back to the ship, my new friend invited me back to her and her son’s stateroom — she bid the minimum on a Royal Up to a 2-bedroom aft suite — from a balcony!  It was gorgeous!  BTW, I received my “sorry, your bid wasn’t successful” email at 7:14 pm on the day we sailed.  I think I had figured that out already, but it was nice (?!) to get the official word . . .

 

I did visit the Casino to make the most of my remaining $20 in Free Play — well, the Casino made more than I did, but I at least netted $5.00!  Then, I tried using some of my OBC ($20.00) and got back $19.00 — so I was $4.00 to the good!  I am not a gambler, that’s for sure.  I did enjoy my two free drinks though!  I think the Casino lessons (they cost $25) are a good deal if: 1) you don’t have the drink package AND 2) you’d like to learn how some of the games in the casino are played without risking any money AND/OR 3) if you’ll use (and enjoy using!) the $25 in Free Play you receive.

 

Went up and relaxed in the hot tub for a while after dinner (tomato soup, tenderloin, asparagus and mashed potatoes, with creme brûlée AND soufflé cake with vanilla sauce for dessert — yup, two desserts; after all, I put 15,000 steps + on my Fitbit today!  

 

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Day 2: At Sea

I wanted to try eating breakfast in the MDR, so I got up in time to make the 8:00 opening of the MDR, and sat at the exact same table (by the window) that I had had the day before for the Chops luncheon.  I enjoyed a leisurely breakfast, and then headed up to the 13th deck to participate in my First Annual RCL Mini Golf Tournament (note:  I did say “my” 🙂 ).  I did not win any prizes as I chose to take some of the more adventurous routes to the hole, resulting in a few extra strokes (well, more than a few).  The winning score for 9 holes was 19.  I had 26.  ‘Nuff said.  It was fun, though, and we taught our Sports person (from Macedonia) a few select golfing terms, like “neck and neck” and “scramble” and OMIGOSH.  

And then I . . .  Don’t remember what I did.  Ummm — Oh, yes!  I went to Izumi for the Sake and Sushi pairing!  It was really good!  I did receive my “The Key” 25% discount, which was nice.  If you have The Key and it includes the discount on specialty dining, make sure you remind the restaurant when you make your reservation, or at least when you go in.  We had five different courses, and four different sake’s — including a sparkling sake, one that was milky white, a “house” sake, and a more refined sake.  Did you know that the grains (kernels) of rice are polished before being made into sake?  It takes off the outer husk so that only the inner part is left; the one with all of the sugar.  Many people in the north enjoy their sake warm.  Oh, and sake production in Japan (and maybe elsewhere) is heavily regulated by the . . . Yakuza!

After that, I went to the Ice Show (“Freedomice”) — it was a retro (70’s)- oriented show but really well done, I thought.  I figured I’d be cold (it is an ice rink, after all!) but I was not!  The first row of seats is reserved for social distancing, so the closest you can get is the second row.  The “short” end of the rink seemed to be the most popular for seating, but I sat in the middle of the “long” side, and could see perfectly.One of the male skaters made a round of the rink with one of the female skaters balanced on the top of his head.  Talk about core strength!

Also went to the Headliner show — “Once Upon a Time”. — a retelling of several fairy tales in contemporary style; a lot of fun.

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Day 4 (Perfect Day at Coco Cay)

Fast forward back to today (that’s an oxymoron, I know):  once I had staked my claim on my daybed at the Beach Club, I made a dash back to the ship to 1) charge my keyboard, 2) charge my phone, and 3) while #1 and #2 were happening, go ride the Perfect Storm slide.  Yup, no line at all — everyone’s at Coco Cay.  I just did it one time; frankly, I didn’t go very fast — but it was still fun.  I had to push my way through a couple of the spots that were less steep, so the run was more sedate than scintillating.  However, I made it back to the Beach Club just in time for my 11:00 lunch reservation — took @Matt’s advice and had the appetizers (I found the ceviche pretty fishy-tasting; the tzatziki sauce and the hummus were really good, as were the shrimp) and the “surf and turf.”  I found that the Platinum C&A 50% discount on wine and beer doesn’t work on Coco Cay.  The sorbet for dessert was excellent; I found the rum cake to be kind of dry and not really “rummy” enough for my taste.  Overall, though, the meal was really good.

After giving myself about an hour to digest the lunch, I went for a snorkel — out by the lifeguard stand I found a fairly large school of fish near an old pylon, got stung (I think) by a jellyfish, and found that it gets very shallow very quickly over by the cabanas! Came out by South Beach and walked back to the Beach Club.

Today’s ending step count:  17,455!

I came back to my cabin to see the saddest sight imaginable — the dreaded luggage tags.

More tomorrow on disembarkation with The Key.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Way post facto, I know — I’ll get into my excuses in a separate post (some foreshadowing here — its title will include words like “Oasis Medical Center” and “cobblestones” and “right wrist”).

Debarkation Day — AKA Desolation Day — went super smoothly from ship to shore and was made really pleasant by The Key.  

Since I didn’t have a flight to catch, I was in no hurry to exit Freedom. M “The Key” tagged large suitcase had been picked up the night before, so I headed down to my special section of the MDR, enjoyed my breakfast (the Chops Grill Crabcake Eggs Benedict was superb, especially the crab cakes!), and headed off the Freedom about 8:15 (with The Key, you get to choose when you disembark).  Grabbed my suitcase from The Key area, and headed through the “Look into the Camera” Customs with no issues.  Although it’s probably my overthinking, the signs for which direction to head if you had a US Passport were confusing, as the sign pointing to the left was for US Birth Certificates and the one to the right was for “All Other Passports,” or words to that effect.

I went outside to track down my new-found friend and sister-in-arms and her son to see if we could Uber together downtown.  More details on THAT experience to follow in my “Lessons Learned” post, to follow.

Now, some D-Day pix:

 

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OK, the long-promised Lessons Learned...

 

1. My COVID-19 testing plans worked out well.  It felt reassuring to know I had back-up and back-up to the back-ups which I didnt end up using.  I did receive an At-Home (proctored) test that I ended up not needing to use as I was able to make an appointment at one of (Northern) Miami's testing sites. A friend gave me a ride, but I could have reached it pretty easily using public transportation.  It was walk-up and not crowded at all - and very forgiving of my lateness due to traffic.  Received my test results in less than 3 hours.  Printed them out at the local Library branch.efits i

2.  The Key was really worth it for me as a Solo, not-yet-Diamond, Internet connectivity-seeking cruiser at the price I paid for it ($15.99/day).  The benefits included (early arrival, Chops lunch, carryon bag delivery to cabin, 25% discount on Specialty Dining, Departure breakfast and Disembarkation time choice) were all value-added to the price I would have paid anyway for Voom Surf and Stream.  Would I get it again?  Possibly, depending on the price and my cruising status.

3.  Interior Promenade cabins are pretty nice! I liked having the window -- but was also thankful for both the sheer and the blackout curtains.

4. my goal of using the elevator a maximum of two times per day worked really well; having a cabin on Deck 7 helped a lot.

5. Definitely make sure that if you loaded $ on your Miami transit card more than 30 days prior that it hasn't gone dormant!

 

#6-10 to follow

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Lessons Learned (continued)

 

6.  Be up front with your MDR servers -- if you're only there for the (CRAB CAKES!!) appetizers and have somewhere you need to be in 25 minutes (like a Casino Lesson), tell them, reassure them that you won't starve, enjoy your appetizers -- and go.  

7.  Have fun participating (not competing!) in the different activities onboard -- laugh!  smile! go for the improbable shot!

8. Don't trust Budget's Downtown Miami location to have the car you reserved -- there were SIX irate reservation holders there when we arrived; ended up  Ubering to the Airport Rental Center to pick up a vehicle.

9.  The Best Western North Bay Island is a distance away from the Cruise Port, but has pretty good transportation and dining options. Check out Sana's Cafe for friendly service and good coffee and breakfast options.

10.  I like solo cruising!  

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