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Freedom OTS 11/11/17 8 Nights, Modified Western Caribbean


twangster

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Stopped by Vintages pre-dinner for a glass of wine.  I like the selection of wines better on Freedom over Harmony.

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Dinner was in the MDR, food was fine but the wait staff were a bit overwhelmed.  Not a big deal, it's not like I was going anywhere.  At 5:30 pm I wasn't expecting them to be hopping like they would be in prime time.  Menu from MDR tonight:

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Top tier event tonight was in Studio B with none other than Super Mario!  The international skaters did a special show for the top tier to the music of Queen, The Beatles, Michael Jackson, Prince and others.  Well done!  A new Pinnacle couple was crowned tonight as well.

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Mario was presented yet another certificate and he did a short 2 minute but well delivered talk about his views of RCI and why he is Loyal 2 Royal.  They didn't announce his C&A count but it's got to be approaching if not over 7,100 by now.  The Captain mentioned of the 4,069 on board 2,319 are C&A members.  Us emerald were in the minority with something around 170 compared to 1,101 gold and 400+ diamond.  If I heard correctly ~20 Pinnacle are on board.  

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In other news, I checked my upcoming Anthem booking that is a longggg 6 days after this Freedom cruise and my Oceanview Guarantee has finally posted my stateroom assignment.  Scored an upgrade to a balcony on deck 11.  Woohoo!  This will be my diamond cruise - the cruise after which I turn from an emerald green to shiny diamond!

Thanks for the upgrade Royal Caribbean!

But I'll save more Anthem talk for another Live Blog...stay tuned, don't change that channel.  

One last thought - no deck noise from the pool deck so far this cruise despite being on deck 10 right under it.  Sleeping like the baby that I am.  

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I should have mentioned the Royal Swedes last night in the Star Lounge.  Great cover band.  Tonight the Star Lounge had 'Finish That Lyric Game Show'  - very fun!  A bit later was a street party in the Royal Promenade, bring on the 70's.  Quite the party, the Promenade was packed.  Lots of fun, everyone had a smile on their face. 

What a fun ship!

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That area by Boleros on deck 4 is very interesting and it draws me in every time I walk near it.

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I love blown glass and this area has it on many different walls in and around Boleros.

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7 hours ago, twangster said:

Stopped by Vintages pre-dinner for a glass of wine.  I like the selection of wines better on Freedom over Harmony.

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Red wine selection does look pretty decent. Malbec, Shiraz, and Zinfandel are all varieties I've learned I like. I assume Toscana is not the same as Chianti, even if both are from Tuscany, but I'll definitely try that out in the hope it's similar. Definitely looking forward to trying these out and seeing which one(s) becomes my dinner standard.

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10 hours ago, twangster said:

In other news, I checked my upcoming Anthem booking that is a longggg 6 days after this Freedom cruise and my Oceanview Guarantee has finally posted my stateroom assignment.  Scored an upgrade to a balcony on deck 11.  Woohoo!  This will be my diamond cruise - the cruise after which I turn from an emerald green to shiny diamond!

Thanks for the upgrade Royal Caribbean!

But I'll save more Anthem talk for another Live Blog...stay tuned, don't change that channel.  

 

Awesome news about the upgrade!  Can't wait to see the pics and blog from Anthem since we're going too in a few months.  Do you get to keep the balcony cabin for both legs of your B2B?

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5 minutes ago, Sabrinaklai said:

 Do you get to keep the balcony cabin for both legs of your B2B?

No, I'm switching to an Inside with Virtual Balcony.  I want to try a VB as that is what I've booked for the Alaska Group Cruise and I'd like to validate that is going to work for me.  I don't mind moving cabins, 19 nights in one cabin is okay, but I like to try different things.

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As promised the Captain delivered us to Cozumel on time where we met up with the Liberty of the Seas.

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The port area of Cozumel features a collection of shops and some bars.  Not far outside the port area are less expensive shops.

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I've been to Cozumel several times and the color of the water amazes me every time.

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Since we were not scheduled to arrive until 11am several people were out early in the adult only Solarium to get a head start on their tan.

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When sisters meet...

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I then headed up to Olive or Twist near the top of the ship aft.  Amazing views from up there.

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Last stop was the Chapel.

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Down to the pier...

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10 minutes ago, Matt said:

Interested to hear how you spent your day in Cozumel. Enjoy!

Third visit this year.  Sixth or seventh overall.  I just walked out of the port area and turned left towards town.  There are a few bars on the water heading in the direction of town where you can grab a Margarita and hang out watching the amazing water with the ships as a back drop.   A few rain cells came through so I had to time it to avoid getting wet.  Enjoyed WJ for meals today.  On previous visits I've rented a jeep or done an excursion so this time I just self-explored.

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Day 4 Dinner - My Time Deck 5 Galileo Dining Room

Service tonight was back to what I've experienced on other ships - very good!

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Let's start with the menu, Shiitake Night:

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I chose the Roasted Rack of Lamb.  It was delicious.  Great flavors. Perfect portion.  I wanted more because it tasted so good, but I didn't want to be over stuffed so on to dessert.

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Dessert Menu:

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Tonight's ice cream was Butter Almond and while I am not a big dessert person, I went for it.  Yum.  

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I hope @Matt has budget for more storage because I'm not done taking pictures!

I love this ship.  So many things, where do I start?

First off, you don't often get to see a cantilevered hot tub from the outside, but with Liberty still beside us, here is one:

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When sisters hang out you've got to take pictures...

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But all good things must come to an end. Alas Liberty of the Seas, Bon Voyage until we meet again...

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Back to our ship, the Freedom of the Seas, I mentioned earlier lots of places to hide out and escape or sort of, yet stay tuned to the vibe of the ship.  Here are some of those:

The computer area:

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The Library right below it (note the opening to the computer lab above)

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The Crown and Anchor Loyalty area:

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An observation area deck something overlooking the Royal Promenade (I can't remember right now, what deck am I on?).  

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Speaking of Matt, he is a big Sabor fan, so here is Sabor on the Freedom, right across from the Schooner Bar (I was saving this for a Mexican port):

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Speaking of the Schooner Bar...

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Which leads us to the Casino ...

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Changing gears for a moment, I really like Vintages.  So here is one of my favorite venues:

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For those that prefer the pub, across the 'street'...

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In case I'm losing the shopping crowd, here is a photo to re-focus your attention...

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Here is the B&J menu:

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One last shot of the end of the Promenade near the elevator bank:

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And with that, it's time for the Love and Marriage Show.  Can't miss it...  

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Fantastic blog! I Love the pictures. I believe  I saw you taking the photos up on deck 12 yesterday as I was running on the track before sunrise. We should do quick RCblog meet up somewhere on the ship.

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When people ask me how the cruise was, I'll just send them this link to look at your photos?

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On 11/15/2017 at 5:14 AM, FloatMe said:

 We should do quick RCblog meet up somewhere on the ship.

Absolutely!  Keep an eye out for contact later today.

Here is our Cruise Director Abe Hughes hosting the Love and Marriage Show.  

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Abe has been a great CD.  He told a joke during the welcome aboard show on day 1 which he credited to Johnny Carson, someone he admired growing up:

"If you're wearing a speedo but you can't look down and see the speedo, you're over the speedo-limit"

So true...

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Day 5 - Sea Day, Caribbean Sea on our way to Ocho Rios, Jamaica.  Yeah mon!

I have to give credit to Royal Caribbean for how they modified our itinerary when our some of our Eastern ports were closed.  They could have 'cheaped out' and saved money on fuel but instead they kept four ports and sent us back and forth across the Caribbean Sea keeping the same number of port and sea days.  Awesome cruise so far, well done Royal Caribbean!

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I slept in and missed the sunrise. Oh well.  I moved my MTD reservation until later tonight hoping for a good sunset.  Fingers crossed.  

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Breakfast today was in the MDR on deck 3, Leonardo's Dining Room.

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A Canadian couple from Vancouver told us a Cozumel story at breakfast.  They went scuba diving in Cozumel booked directly as it was full through RCI.  Coming back to the ship the waves were up and the dive boat couldn't dock.  After several attempts to dock, it was clear they couldn't without smashing into the pier, so as a result they were going to divert to the a downtown pier and were told they would need to take a taxi to the ship, but it was getting close to 'back on board time'. 

Plan B was to jump in and swim to the pier where Freedom was, so they did.  Port security freaked out and there was much shouting back & forth between the dive boat staff and port security but in the end they were allowed up a ladder and onto the pier.  Absent of towels they boarded Freedom dripping wet but just in time.

They had a one year old in the nursery so missing the ship was not an option.   I've heard of pier runners, but this was my 1st account of pier swimmers. :1_grinning:

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2 hours ago, twangster said:

 

Abe has been a great CD.  He told a joke during the welcome aboard show on day 1 which he credited to Johnny Carson, someone he admired growing up:

"If you're wearing a speedo but you can't look down and see the speedo, you're over the speedo-limit"

So true...

I have heard awesome things about Abe Hughes!  Never have been fortunate enough to sail on a cruise with him as CD.  We missed him by a month on Harmony ?

Tim Connor is also great!  We had him on Allure and I laughed so hard during the Quest and the Belly Flop contest that I was literally in tears.

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Cruise Tip # 1307 - Take a photo on your phone of the ship contact information for each port found on the back of the Cruise Compass before leaving the ship.  It changes at each port and lists the closest US Embassy, local police, ship's local agent and the telephone number of the ship and RCI Miami. 

You just never know when you might need this, such as the story of the pier swimmers above.   For example, here is the info for Cozumel:

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More art from the aft elevator bank.  Very fitting for the Freedom of the Seas and since we sailed on 11/11.

Many thanks to all veterans and active service personnel including their families!  

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And a shout out to a Periscoper @FloatMe I presume... I'm also on deck 10.

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Lastly you never know what interesting aquatic life you'll see in the middle of the Caribbean Sea:

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That's Harmony of the Seas, the largest cruise ship in the world!  She was with us on day 1 in Port Everglades.   Now we are trading destinations as she heads to Cozumel and we head to Jamaica.  I sailed on her in September and she is a great ship!  

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6 hours ago, twangster said:

More art from the aft elevator bank.  Very fitting for the Freedom of the Seas and since we sailed on 11/11.

Many thanks to all veterans and active service personnel including their families!  

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As an Air Force vet, the first time I saw this I was in awe.  We got to look at these F-16s and F-15 a lot, as our room was close to that elevator.

***I'm such an idiot.  The middle plane is obviously an F-18, not a 15.  I don't deserve to be in the Air Force...***

This blog is amazing; thank you for taking the time to post all of this!

 

Oh yeah - that blown glass art in and around Bolero is gorgeous!

Edited by Floski
Ummm, stupidity?
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Here is the three level main dining room:

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And some outdoor photos now that we are at sea and it was a great sunny day.

Ice cream anyone?

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The adult only solarium pool is outdoor.  It has underwater seats by that bridge so you can sit with your drink and enjoy the water.

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The really like the open access to the helipad on the bow.  I was scouting this for a sunset shot later tonight.

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Deck 4 outdoors.  You can walk around the whole ship but there are stairs to get up to deck 5 and helipad access.  Mostly covered except for the helipad access area and bump out around the MDR.

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The bump out around the MDR and great spot to watch pilot boats.

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Dinner tonight was Johnny Rockets.  I had the smoke house burger with fries and onion rings.  $6.95 charge (plus 18% service charge).

I had planned to eat in the MDR but I was out taking sunset pictures and I was right there so thought I'd try Johnny Rockets.  The smoke house burger was pretty good as were the rings but the fries are the same as in Windjammer. 

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