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New to RCL - Booked on Freedom 10/13/18


TNphilp

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Hello.  I will be sailing on Royal Caribbean for the first time.  We are booked on Freedom of the Seas on 13OCT18 out of San Juan.  Currently we have two Owner's Suites and one Junior Suite (J4) booked, all with connecting balconies.  Having never cruised on RCL before, I am receptive to tips, ideas and suggestions.  Of the five of us going, I will be the youngest (54 by then) in the group, although we're all older, we still enjoy many of the activities and attractions listed on the ship.  All of us are just ready for a vacation.

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You picked a great ship and even better rooms!
 

  • Ask your stateroom attendant to open up the balcony dividers
  • Get to the port early (10:30-11:30am) on embarkation day.  Sooner you check-in, sooner you board!
  • Research pre-cruise purchases via the Cruise Planner on RC's site.  Many purchases are cheaper before the cruise than onboard.
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Welcome to the boards @TNphilp, I will be on that same cruise in October, so ask away, any questions you might have, my wife (We are mid 50's also) and I will be in a Grand suite on deck 10 on the starboard side, the owners suits should be on the same deck I believe. We have never been on Freedeom before, but have been on Liberty and Indy, you will love this size ship.

1 suggestion, if you want is to have your cabin steward open your balconies up to where you have 1 large balcony.

You will love this itinerary, we especially love Aruba and Cruacio, 2 of our favorite islands

 

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We are so excited about not only this itinerary but about this ship.  She looks like a nice cruise ship with plenty to do.  Originally we were in 3 Grand Suites until I found out about the overhanging spa above.  I noticed via videos and photos that the balconies appear to be able to be opened up on the OS so, that is what we are planning on doing.  We will have to meet on the ship so we can introduce ourselves.

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My wife works at a school so this is her Fall Break, with that said we cannot leave until 6pm Friday 10-12, we are going as far as Miami and then getting up early Saturday morning and catching the 1st flight out of Miami to San Juan, we will be there by 9:50am I think. Maybe we will see each other in the Suite Boarding area. My wife and I are Diamond C&A members so we will split our time between the Diamond Lounge and the Suite lounge when on board.

If you get the chance try and look around Old San Juan, it's where the port is, very beautiful old city, a lot of people from the form have been down there since the hurricane and stated that old San Juan shows no ill affects.

As Matt said, you will love this ship.

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41 minutes ago, tiny260 said:

My wife works at a school so this is her Fall Break, with that said we cannot leave until 6pm Friday 10-12, we are going as far as Miami and then getting up early Saturday morning and catching the 1st flight out of Miami to San Juan, we will be there by 9:50am I think. Maybe we will see each other in the Suite Boarding area. My wife and I are Diamond C&A members so we will split our time between the Diamond Lounge and the Suite lounge when on board.

If you get the chance try and look around Old San Juan, it's where the port is, very beautiful old city, a lot of people from the form have been down there since the hurricane and stated that old San Juan shows no ill affects.

As Matt said, you will love this ship.

We are arriving via AA at 11:30am.  I have scheduled a private transfer with a service we have used in the past while on layovers in San Juan.  Once at the port, I am guessing getting onto the ship will be fairly quick and hopefully our cabins will be ready, too.  I am staying in OS1350 on deck 10.  If  we don't run into each other, feel free to stop by so we can meet.  Oh, we selected "My Time" dining, is that a good choice?

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1 minute ago, TNphilp said:

Oh, we selected "My Time" dining, is that a good choice?

Yes, that way you can go to the dinning room anytime you want and ask to be seated, with 5 people and priority seating with the Suite you should be in good shape, any issues you have just run them by the Suite Concierge.

We are on the same side of the ship, the owners suites are pretty close to mid-ship, I'm in 1252, closer to the front elevators.

 

We get in at 9:55 on AA from Miami, we should be on board by 11:30 if all goes well.

 

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1 minute ago, tiny260 said:

We get in at 9:55 on AA from Miami, we should be on board by 11:30 if all goes well.

Sounds like things have changed over the years with being able to board the ship so much earlier.  I checked the deck plan and we are on the same side of the ship.  Our cabins are near the Concierge Club.

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2 minutes ago, erinbee0000 said:

I'm on the same ship in September.  I'm super excited! My husband went on a similar itinerary on a different Cruise line last May and absolutely loved it.  So we just had to go back!

When I saw this particular itinerary, I booked!  I have only flown into and out of Aruba and Curacao on day trips, the passengers always speak highly of both islands.  Let us know how your September cruise goes.

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I just got off Freedom and I must say it is a great ship. You can get an idea on my live blog that I did. We did its current position out of Ft. Lauderdale and are planning to do the San Juan side in 2020 (almost booked on the cruise but will talk about that elsewhere). The ship is great for all ages, even walking the ship I noticed a great mix of ages. When I was in San Juan for the day we didn't see much in the main area of the city but did see some once we left towards the mountains for our excursion (Totally recommend it if you have time after your cruise.) If you have any questions of the ship its self ask away. 

37 minutes ago, TNphilp said:

I have only flown into and out of Aruba and Curacao on day trips, the passengers always speak highly of both islands.

It sounds like you're a pilot?

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49 minutes ago, TNphilp said:

Our cabins are near the Concierge Club.

I forgot this part, on Liberty the Diamond lounge and Concierge lounge are directly next to each other on Deck 14, up by the Viking Crown Lounge.

You can definitely get on earlier now especially with the Suite priority boarding.

I'm the opposite, I've never flown in to Aruba and Curacao, this will be our 4th cruise to both islands.

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34 minutes ago, LetsTryThisTech said:

I just got off Freedom and I must say it is a great ship. You can get an idea on my live blog that I did. We did its current position out of Ft. Lauderdale ...

It sounds like you're a pilot?

I will look for your blog regarding your trip.  I'm a flight attendant, off to Tampa this evening for a quick trip.  Then off to San Francisco on Saturday.

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On 3/15/2018 at 3:26 PM, TNphilp said:

I have scheduled a private transfer with a service we have used in the past while on layovers in San Juan. 

What is the name of this service, I was originally planning on a taxi, but this might be easier, pamper myself, lol.

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2 hours ago, tiny260 said:

What is the name of this service, I was originally planning on a taxi, but this might be easier, pamper myself, lol.

http://www.puertoricogt.com/

You can reserve private transportation via their website or via phone.  Upon arrival, text communications will let the driver know you have arrived and the driver will meet you outside of baggage claim.  PRGT has permits to access all ports in San Juan.

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  We did the same cruise a few years ago on the Adventure of the Seas and made it to the pier around 1130-1200.  When you get there and drop off luggage look for the suite line it will be considerably shorter.  Have your passport, set sail on line check in form and your credit card ready and everything will be smooth.   One other thing to consider is the group that's in the Jr. Suite will not be able to use the suite lounge.  The suite lounge has happy hour (free drinks) from 5 to 8 but only open to guests in the Grand Suite and above.  The rooms don't generally open till 1 or 2 so if its better to have a small back pack with you for your money, passports, jewelry etc. instead of rolling around a suitcase with you for 2 or 3 hours when your exploring the ship on the first day.  We have been on the Freedom 2 times and its a great ship.  Good luck, relax and remember you're on vacation.

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1 hour ago, MikeK said:

  We did the same cruise a few years ago on the Adventure of the Seas and made it to the pier around 1130-1200.  When you get there and drop off luggage look for the suite line it will be considerably shorter.  Have your passport, set sail on line check in form and your credit card ready and everything will be smooth.   One other thing to consider is the group that's in the Jr. Suite will not be able to use the suite lounge.  The suite lounge has happy hour (free drinks) from 5 to 8 but only open to guests in the Grand Suite and above.  The rooms don't generally open till 1 or 2 so if its better to have a small back pack with you for your money, passports, jewelry etc. instead of rolling around a suitcase with you for 2 or 3 hours when your exploring the ship on the first day.  We have been on the Freedom 2 times and its a great ship.  Good luck, relax and remember you're on vacation.

We are looking forward to this cruise.  Thank you for the tips, I'll take all of this into consideration and share it with everyone in my small group.

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Love Freedom!  My favorite ship so far.  Check out the Solarium (adults only pool), it's awesome, in my opinion.  Try Sabor!  The pub on the promenade is fun.  If you like sushi then try Izumi.  Even if you don't like sushi, try Izumi.  I tried it (sushi and Izumi) for the first time a couple weeks ago and found 2 rolls that I absolutely loved.  From what I've heard you're going to love your cabins, I'm definitely jealous, lol.

When you get back let us know your thoughts on all of it.

Relax and have fun!

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2 hours ago, RestingBirds said:

Love Freedom!  My favorite ship so far.  Check out the Solarium (adults only pool), it's awesome, in my opinion.  Try Sabor!  The pub on the promenade is fun.  If you like sushi then try Izumi.  Even if you don't like sushi, try Izumi.  I tried it (sushi and Izumi) for the first time a couple weeks ago and found 2 rolls that I absolutely loved.  From what I've heard you're going to love your cabins, I'm definitely jealous, lol.

When you get back let us know your thoughts on all of it.

Relax and have fun!

I feel we have picked a great ship and a great itinerary.  Sabor is high on the list as is the Solarium.  Izumi will definitely Be visited, too.  The pub looks like a good replica of what Kelli and I are familiar with in London.

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14 hours ago, RestingBirds said:

If you like sushi then try Izumi.  Even if you don't like sushi, try Izumi.

Just to clarify -- there is no Izumi restaurant on Freedom, only Giovanni's Table, Chops Grille, and Sabor. Freedom does have an Izumi Express, as found by @LetsTryThisTech on his trip just the other week, but that is nowhere near the same as a true Izumi sit-down restaurant. Just prepackaged stuff like you can sometimes find in the local supermarket (and equally questionable on freshness / previously frozen state).

Believe me, I wish Freedom had an Izumi on board as my kids and I are major sushi lovers. I'm just planning to "make do" with Sabor, and the margaritas I can get there! :3_grin:

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Yes no Izumi on Freedom (I don't think any of the class has them yet) I would recommend the murder mystery dinner that had dinner in Giovanni's (very good), chops was alright wasn't too impressed, Sabor was amazing try the pork tacos mmmmm. They normally limit you to 1 main each but we got an extra one to share (always ask and try for the most).

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3 hours ago, JLMoran said:

Just to clarify -- there is no Izumi restaurant on Freedom, only Giovanni's Table, Chops Grille, and Sabor. Freedom does have an Izumi Express, as found by @LetsTryThisTech on his trip just the other week, but that is nowhere near the same as a true Izumi sit-down restaurant. Just prepackaged stuff like you can sometimes find in the local supermarket (and equally questionable on freshness / previously frozen state).

Believe me, I wish Freedom had an Izumi on board as my kids and I are major sushi lovers. I'm just planning to "make do" with Sabor, and the margaritas I can get there! :3_grin:

What?!  ?  Thanks, i really couldn't remember and just thought she had one (sorry @TNphilp, this is why we have checks and balances).  As you said, Sabor will have to do ?

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4 hours ago, RestingBirds said:

What?!  ?  Thanks, i really couldn't remember and just thought she had one (sorry @TNphilp, this is why we have checks and balances).  As you said, Sabor will have to do ?

There are so many options for eating, I doubt we will miss a meal!  I am so looking forward to exploring the Freedom OTS.  She looks like a nice ship.

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