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First Timers Cruising For Dummies Guide..FOTS 25/11/2018


Ray

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We are also 1st time cruisers. Will be on Freedom in Feb for our 44th anniversary. Cannot wait, but not sleeping worrying about packing, planning ect.Was hoping Freedom wouldnt be too large to enjoy. We will have 2 sea days which sounds like that will be nice. We have a balcony on 9th deck. Any advice, do's donts?

Happy BD

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Our Sea day was spent relaxing by the pool, enjoying the nice weather and taking in the poolside activities while sipping some cocktails.

Unfortunately for me due to the rays from the sun and the lack of sun cream i now look like the Lava Flow cocktail i had been consuming at the time.

Having never cruised before i cant comment on or compare atmospheres between cruises out of different ports, but there is no doubt peurto ricans know how to have fun and enjoy themselves. The poolside was turned into one big party atmosphere with their own band playing while sitting in hottub. 

Formal night corresponded with St Andrews day so the kilt was worn, must admit most made the effort, however one woman turned up in the sportswear she had worn 7hrs earlier while doing poolside zumba in 28c sunshine. Noticed her again next day still wearing same outfit, must be the only woman who packs only a toiletry bag for a vacation. 

Next stop  St Maartan by far the best island on this cruise, we booked bernards tours after reading reports about them on here, and they Didnt dissapoint!

Our driver The Mailman delivered a great tour full on facts regarding the places we visited and also kept us laughing with his stories. 

Forget about the damaged buildings, this island is rebuilding and deserves eveyones support

For those that know the docks at st maartan the mailman made An interesting point, that being that RC are building a new pier on the land where bernards tours currently occupy for a ship to be homed there. 

back to San Juan and we disembark this wonderful ship very soon, Without doubt this is the first of many cruises 

Next stop new york 

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Well made it home from the Big Apple with my Bank Account still having some money in it  ?

As a first time cruiser reading these threads or listening to Matts podcasts helps but in no way can it prepare you fully for your maiden voyage. 

So here's my own conclusions on everything from start to finish in order of my experience

(1) Sleeping In JFK Airport - NEVER AGAIN!! Now offically No1 in worst Airports i have visited, only one dunkin Donut stall to cater for 6 terminals during the night. Lesson Learned Next time i will ensure flight times are better and book a hotel

(2) Peurto Rico - Fantastic Island, Having stayed at The Courtyard by marriott beach resort in Isla Verde this time, if i was to cruise from San Juan again next time i would look at Old San Juan. Reason for this is simple, the beach is good, relaxing and peacfull but you are only there for a day or two and there is so much to see and do in old San Juan. 

Uber is a great cheap way to get about

(3) Freedom Of The Seas - For a first time cruiser i believe i made the correct choice, not to big not to small. Sure it doesnt have waterslides or Broadway shows but for a first cruise when you are still finding your bearings and sealegs its great. There's not a second you will be bored or tryng to find something to do. 

Room - Outside Oceanview was spacious and in good condition

Staff - cant fault any of them

Entertainment - Overall good, a few minor issue's with regards Entertainment staff. CD ( Drew ) and AM ( dont know hisname) only really saw them on the TV, and when they did appear it wasnt for long. The real stars of the Entertainment crew were Rhaiann and some mexican guy who was just naturally funny, anyone can be funny by telling a joke but this guys quick one liners without thinking were hilarious. At the finish the lyric quiz, a contestant looked at card  to see answer, after a retake the next contestant came up and was quickly informed NOT to peep at card by mexican guy who knew exactly what he was saying!  after everyone had stopped laughing the contestant who had white stick in hand and needed a guide onto stage was allowed to continue. 

Food - My expanded wasteline says it was good ? ( even the Pizza ) We ordered room service breakfast at no additional cost each day to save time

Ports of Call - Here's where i let myself down! In Hindsight i should have booked more excursions even if only to a beach for 4hrs. The area's around every port are built the same, same shops, bars etc. Yeah it's good to hang out and do nothing but next time i will book excursion for mornings then walk around cruiseship port before rebaording ship. Noticed that Duty free was cheaper in St Kitts, Antiigua and St Lucia  than Peurta Rico, Barbados and St Maarten. eg: Carton of Malbora $20 - $24 in first 3 ports $34 in others and $45+ in Peurta Rico ( JFK $49) 

AWARD FOR FUNNIEST MOMENT ONBOARD

Each Night after our evening meal my wife and myself would go to the Schooner Bar for an hour or so ( sitting at bar not on sofa's) to have a drink and watch the guy play the piano singing songs by Elton John, Billy Joel etc, every night there was an American couple sitting on sofas ( the woman was from Philly) this couple were obviously seasoned cruisers and were enjoying themselves as much as anyone else. On the first night every song played was met with shreiks of delight by the slightly intoxicated female, the second night was the same as the first, HOWEVER on the third night while signing along to Lionel Ritchie the intoxicated woman who was unaware that we were sitting behind them leant forward lifted herself up, removed her underwear and tucked them into her husbands breast pocket of jacket. If said person is reading this you were seen and thank you making my night, havent laughed so much in ages ?

Embarking - Easy 

Note for anyone Embarking from San Juan, we left hotel for port which is a10 min drive away at 10:20 am and took over an hour due to there being two ships leaving that day so traffic in and out was busy. 

Disembarking -  Recieved a time to disembark of 10:30am went off at 9am, luggage was waiting, had arranged RC transfer to airport, was concerned about luggage as you dont take it with you, you go on bus luggage is in a truck. Luggage arrived at airport about 20 mins after we did. 

Delta Airlines - Upgraded from Comfort to Comfort+ for flight down to SJU, never again. COMPLETE WASTE OF MONEY. legroom is ample in comfort, priority boarding want an issue as your only one group in front of everyone else and the added free alcohol is 1 drink during flight due to cabin crew vanashing for basically whole flight. Snacks i received more on the lesser grade flight than than the upgraded one. 

New York was good, shopping during the sales is always an advatage, my wife ticked off ice skating in new york from her bucket list and the John Legend Concert was great, all i can say is if you ever get the chance to see him do so, his concerts are not just him sitting at a piano and should come with an 18 rating ?

i left Aberdeen on the 22nd of Nov believing this would be my one and only cruise due to my wife's dislike of water, at JFK while waiting on our flight home, my wife used the free internet to catch up with facebook while i on the instruction of my wife searched the RC website to look for our NEXT cruise. 

Hopefully any new cruisers will find this helpfull 

 

Ray 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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1 hour ago, Ray said:

ABC Islands if possible

Ray,

We are booked on the Adventure of the Seas 4/35/2020-5/30/2020 out of Ft.Lauderdale. Itinerary is Curacao, Bonaire and Aruba. We were on those islands last year and they were GREAT! Trip includes four sea days, 2 day to Curacao and 2 days back to Ft. Lauderdale. Hope to see you on board! :27_sunglasses:

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Thanks for a fun and very entertaining blog, @Ray! I was sipping my stout when I read about the woman at the Schooner Bar; had to fight back a spit take! ? Guess the full moon came a little earlier than usual?

Awesome to hear how much your wife enjoyed it and that you'll be having more adventures in the coming years!

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6 hours ago, Nay said:

Was your bed comfortable? We will be on 9th deck in Feb. Wondering how beds are

Must admit i sometimes have difficulty sleeping even in my own bed due to bad back pains however on this trip i had no issues what so ever. 

This was probably down to a number of factors, Being tired at the end of a long day, having had a few beers and the bed not being uncomfortable all helped.

 

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7 hours ago, JLMoran said:

Thanks for a fun and very entertaining blog, @Ray! I was sipping my stout when I read about the woman at the Schooner Bar; had to fight back a spit take! ? Guess the full moon came a little earlier than usual?

Awesome to hear how much your wife enjoyed it and that you'll be having more adventures in the coming years!

Im just glad they wasnt staying in a GS! Can you imagine her getting concierge to do it for her? ? 

I did wonder if they had an upside down pineapple on their door though. 

 

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9 hours ago, rjac said:

Ray,

We are booked on the Adventure of the Seas 4/35/2020-5/30/2020 out of Ft.Lauderdale. Itinerary is Curacao, Bonaire and Aruba. We were on those islands last year and they were GREAT! Trip includes four sea days, 2 day to Curacao and 2 days back to Ft. Lauderdale. Hope to see you on board! :27_sunglasses:

Sounds like a great trip, may be a month to early as its for my wifes birthday and of course shopping in NYC has to be included ? 

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18 hours ago, Ray said:

(1) Sleeping In JFK Airport - NEVER AGAIN!! Now offically No1 in worst Airports i have visited, only one dunkin Donut stall to cater for 6 terminals during the night. Lesson Learned Next time i will ensure flight times are better and book a hotel

Some credit cards allow you to have airport lounge access.  More comfortable seating, food, drinks and free wifi included.  Some lounges even had showers.  Came in handy when we travelled to Asia.   

I enjoyed reading your blog.  Thanks for sharing!

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6 minutes ago, jurrjurr said:

Some credit cards allow you to have airport lounge access.  More comfortable seating, food, drinks and free wifi included.  Some lounges even had showers.  Came in handy when we travelled to Asia.   

I enjoyed reading your blog.  Thanks for sharing!

I would normally book a lounge, but guess what? They were also shut lol 

They didnt open until 5am which wasnt any good for me 

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  • 4 weeks later...

Thank you so much @Ray for your great blog.  So glad that you enjoyed your first cruise and happy belated 50 (I joined that club last September not on a cruise lol)!  Just a warning....my first cruise was 4 years ago and cruise 5 and 6 will be this year...the cruise bug hits you hard!  Really enjoyed your humor and can’t wait to read your next one!  Jane

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