Royal Caribbean has opened a brand new noodle shop aboard Quantum of the Seas that is themed to the hit DreamWorks Animation film "Kung Fu Panda".

The Kung Fu Panda Noodle Shop is a new family eatery on Quantum of the Seas and its introduction coincides with the ship's arrival in China.

The Kung Fu Panda Noodle Shop will offer guests four-piece dim sum, noodle bowls, such as Taiwanese spicy beef noodles, and desserts including sesame balls and custard tart. Guests also can strike a pose with Po and the Furious Five for a keepsake picture.

Menu items are priced a la carte, ranging from $2 to $5. 

Royal Caribbean Vice President, Food and Beverage, John Suley commented, "We’re very excited to continue building on our relationship with DreamWorks Animation and offer our guests new dining experiences onboard Quantum of the Seas as she debuts in her new home in China. A creative collaboration amongst our team of chefs to create the menu for our Kung Fu Panda Noodle Shop is another example of how we continue to ensure that our on board options reflect what today’s food-conscious traveler and our Chinese guests expect from their vacation."

It's our last day onboard Freedom of the Seas and the last day is always bittersweet.  

Yes, it's another day on a cruise and one less day at home but the end of this cruise is looming over us like a dark cloud approaching shore.

Today we mostly ran around and got things done, like paying down our SeaPass account and making some last purchases onboard.

Here are some photos from around the ship...

Jimmy Buffett tribute at Schooner Bar

A look down deck 4 

We hit the Guest Services desk early to avoid the lines later

Starbucks menu at Cafe Promenade

Trivia in Schooner Bar

Souvenir cups for sale

Looking up at the decks in the Atrium

Cake in Windjammer

Parade preperations in Royal Promenade

Typical last day lines at Guest Relations.  Get it done early or before the last day!

Me with the ship's officers

Photos from FreedomFest

Tutti Salad on the menu at Main Dining Room for lunch

Slot tournament in Casino Royale

Rather than describe my various stops around the ship, I wrote up some conclusions and observations from this cruise to share.  I think it will provide more insight into the Freedom of the Seas experience.

• To begin with, I really enjoyed this cruise.  Freedom of the Seas is a wonderful ship and our family had a great time onboard.  Even with this being our third time on her, it's still a pleasure to take a cruise on her.
• The refurbishment earlier this year added some nice touches.  We loved Sabor and R-Bar.  Other guests we spoke to and overheard also echoed their love of these newly added venues.
• Our fears of last week's fire affecting the cruise experience were greatly exaggerated.  I have gotten A LOT of questions about the fire and its effects but it may as well never have happened.  If you have an upcoming sailing, do not worry one bit about it.  I've often said, if you had no idea there was a fire last week, you would not have known it based on the condition of the ship.
• Maybe it is just me, but I do not recall feeling so much motion with so little waves or wind.  The motion is NOT anywhere near the level of getting sea sick but I just felt the motion the entire cruise.  Based on my experience on other ships, it seems rather odd.  Again, maybe I am just sensitive.
• Kids programs were great.  Our kids did really well with Adventure Ocean and the Nursery.  If you ask me, the key to a positive experience in either is setting the right expectations with your kids.  Letting them know about it, telling them about the activities and even hyping the experience a bit all contribute to having fun.  Granted, with my 6 month old there was much more luck but the entire experience is a testament to the staff.
• Cruising in July, there were a lot of kids.  The Nursery staff told us over 1000 kids on this sailing.  It did not bother me at all but compared to sailing in September and February, it is a noticeable difference.  
• Speaking of July, it is really, really hot in the Caribbean. CocoCay and St Maarten were exceptionally warm and being outside for more than a few minutes lead to lots of sweating.  Be prepared for plenty of wardrobe changes.
• I'm really impressed by the crew.  They go out of their way to help and make a better experience.  Does Royal Caribbean get everything right off the bat? No, but if you ask or inquire, they are very accommodating.  The worst thing you can do is not say anything and "suck it up" and let it sour your cruise.  Ask in a nice way and you will be amazed by the results.
• I am always disappointed in how little I do onboard in terms of activities but we did have a great time.  I always wish we did more events onboard but at the end of the day, I had a great time.  Royal Caribbean cruises are what you make of them and if you go 6am to 3am doing all the events or just sit by the pool, ultimately it is your choice and Royal Caribbean does provide a lot for folks to see and do.
• I like second seating dinner for its time but I have to admit it makes seeing the shows more difficult.  It seems like we were always getting ready for dinner around those times.  I think that means we have to get ready earlier but then it seems like there is no benefit of second seating dining.  Having said all this, I do not think we will change our dining preference.
• Best onboard entertainment: Once Upon A Time, Karaoke at On-Air Club, Live music
• The internet onboard was mostly acceptable. It's slow and I cannot wait for Voom to arrive but it was tolerable.  I think speeds get worse as the week goes on and more and more people buy packages.
• The main dining room was what I expected and we had a good time there.  Food is very subjective but I found the food to be somewhere between okay and excellent.  Most were between good and very good.  Service was outstanding.
• Best dining experience: Sabor
• Best bar: R-Bar for drinks. Schooner Bar or Pub for experience.  Honorable mention to On-Air Club
• Places I never went: Ice skating rink, mini-golf (or anything in that vicinity not counting the FlowRider), Solarium (unless you count walking through it), Johnny Rockets
• Stateroom we had was great and splurging for 2 rooms was the best idea ever.  Having 2 bathrooms and the extra space was important.  It was not as much space as I thought but I cannot imagine what would have happened if we had just one room.
• It is really easy to meet the Dreamworks characters onboard.  There is rarely a line and if there is a line, it is just one or two people usually.  That being said, each character's set is usually quite short (about 20 minutes max).
• There is no question I saved money by not getting an unlimited alcohol package.  Speaking with folks who did get it, by about day 4 or 5, many were telling me they were simply ordering drinks for the sake of ordering drinks.  
• Things I miss from not being on a cruise ship: high speed internet, full use of my phone, access to more of my wardrobe.  Otherwise, let's keep sailing!

I also wanted to make sure I thank all of you that have been reading and commenting here, on Facebook, Instragram and Twitter.  Having your feedback and questions has been wonderful and it made my cruise much more interesting.  THANK YOU for letting me take you on a virtual cruise with me and I cannot wait to do this again!

Live Blog Index

• Live blog introduction
• Day 1 - Embarkation Day
• Day 2 - CocoCay
• Day 3 - Sea Day
• Day 4 - Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas
• Day 5 - Philipsburg, St. Maarten
• Day 6 - Sea Day
• Day 7 - Sea Day

You know what they say about the best laid plans? That's what happened this morning.

Yesterday evening my wife and I stopped by the Vitality Spa to schedule a massage for her.  It is a cruising tradition for my wife to forget many months of woes by indulging in a massage.

With just two sea days left, there were not many spots available but they did have an early morning spot at 8am.  We thought she should book that because it will be early enough for the kids to sleep through it and even I could get some extra shut eye.

What ended up happening was the spa called with a wake up call (that we did not schedule) and that woke up the baby and there went my sleep and her sleep.

Nonetheless, my wife went to get her massage while me and the baby sat in bed with the baby toys for a while.

Eventually my 4 year old daughter woke up and we got dressed up and went up the Windjammer for breakfast.

My wife met us up there and we dropped my 4 year old off at Adventure Ocean while the rest of us went back to our stateroom for the baby to sleep and my wife and I to take a nap too.

We got back up around 11:30am and went to get my daughter for lunch.  We decided to try Giovanni's Table for lunch today based on some positive reviews from others onboard.

My ever picky daughter wanted to eat at the Windjammer so we got her a plate of food to eat there and then went to Giovanni's Table.

We showed up a few minutes after 12pm and were seated (no prior reservations).   Giovanni's Table replaced Portofino's and there were probably three other tables of guests inside.

The menu at Giovanni's Table was similar to other Giovanni Table restaurants I have been to and we placed our orders.

What seemed odd is it took a good 20-30 minutes for our appetizers to show up.  Luckily, the entrees did not take as long for them to arrive.

My favorite dishes at Giovanni's Table were the lasagna and Caprese salad.  My wife seemed to like her food more than I did but for $15 per person at lunch, it's a good deal.

Following lunch, my wife and 4 year old daughter went to the theater to watch the Dreamworks film, "Home" while I took the baby around the ship for some photos and then back to the stateroom for her to play.

Interestingly, we received this certificate delivered to our stateroom today.  I'm happy to get it but it was completely unexpected.  Anyone else get these? 

We all got dressed for dinner early as it was formal night and we wanted to get some family photos taken onboard.  Royal Caribbean cruises are our defacto place to get good family photos.

Before it was time for photos or dinner, we were invited to the Top Tier Crown and Anchor Society welcome back party.  

On my way, I met up with a fellow that enjoys eating on cruises as much as me!

This was the first of these parties on the cruise that I saw or was invited to. Usually there is one large event for everyone and then the top tier event later.  Unless there is one for tomorrow, guess only one.

The reason to go to these events is for the free alcohol and recognition for being Loyal to Royal.  I really enjoy them and on this one, the hotel director divulged that all the new build ships coming out will have water slides, including Ovation of the Seas.

There was also more food than I remember having at the event.  

It was held in the Star Lounge and the loyalty ambassador, hotel director and Captain all spoke. 

After the party we headed to take photos.  We timed it well because we went on the tail end of first dining so the lines were quite small.  We will go tomorrow to see how they all came out.  I think we will order a few.

For dinner, half the Windjammer was closed for some odd reason so we brought my 4 year old daughter to Sorrento's for dinner.  She has likely consumed 94% pizza on this cruise.

My wife went to our stateroom to grab something around this time and we were pleasantly surprised to have a voicemail indicating that there was an opening at the nursery for our 6 month old. Huzzah!

As you may recall, guests can only reserve time for one formal night and we picked the first formal night.  Luckily there was availability tonight and we could enjoy our dinner kid free!

After consuming mass quantities of pizza, we brought the kids upstairs to be dropped off and the wife and I headed back to the Royal Promenade.

We picked to go to R-Bar for drinks and it was a great choice. 

We sat at the bar and tried a few new drinks out.  Between the great bar service and the people watching, we had a good time in our pre-dinner entertainment.

Dinner tonight in the main dining room was formal night and we had another good meal.  Our waiters are quite nice and they have been very attentive.  

Following dinner, we played a little bit at the casino and then took in some drinks at the pub.  As per usual, 10pm hit and we started feeling tired so we got the kids back and headed to bed.

Stray Observations

• The second most depressing thing to see on your cruise (tomorrow night is the worst):
  

• The chapel and one of the card rooms are closed for the air scrubber upgrades 
  
  

• I do not recall this piece of art having lights and/or lighting up
  

Tomorrow is our last day and a sea day.  It may be the last day but it is still better than not being on a cruise!

Live Blog Index

• Live blog introduction
• Day 1 - Embarkation Day
• Day 2 - CocoCay
• Day 3 - Sea Day
• Day 4 - Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas
• Day 5 - Philipsburg, St. Maarten
• Day 6 - Sea Day
• Day 7 - Sea Day

Toay we are visiting one of my favorite spots in the Caribbean, St Martin.

We set our alarm for 7:30am to get ready but getting ready seemed to take longer than we anticipated so we decided to skip breakfast on the ship and have it on the island.

For our tour of the island, we hired a local driver that we have used 3 or 4 times now, Leo Brown.  Leo is a taxi driver we found by chance one cruise to St Martin and he has proven to be extremely nice, reliable and knowledgeable.

We met up with him right at 9am and he was waiting for us where we had planned.  We told him about our breakfast "problem" and he asked if we wanted local cuisine or American food.  Knowing my daughter and wife, I said American food and off we went.

After a 5 minute car ride, Leo brought us to the Devis Resort, which is a time share resort on the Dutch side right on the ocean.  Leo brought us to the restaurant and we had a fabulous breakfast buffet.

There was fruit, omelette station, hot foods, yogurts, juice, cereal and some bread to choose from.  I was impressed by the variety and the quality of the buffet.  

The price was $18 per person and I thought it was a great choice.

We packed into his van and off we went to our next stop, Le Galion beach on the French side.

Le Galion beach is an ideal beach for kids because it is a small bay that has rocks that not only protect the bay from waves but it is extremely shallow too.  

My 4 year old spent the entire time in the ocean and my 6 month old fared better today than yesterday (thanks to a long nap on mommy).

The beach has no fee but it is $5 per chair or umbrella.  You can also rent things like kayaks or wind surf for an additional fee.

New since our last visit is a large floating platform that allows swimmers a spot to jump.  The locals tell us it was built for kids to learn to swim but it's there if you want to use as well.

Here's an example of why we love having Leo as our guide.  At the beach my wife realized as the baby was screaming her head off that she had forgotten the bottles back on the ship.  Instantly Leo shot up from his chair and without accepting any money from me, drove to a nearby pharmacy and got us a bottle.  

We spent a few hours here and as lunch approached, we decided that we would get my 4 year old daughter a burger at the beach and then venture further into the French side for something else to eat for us.

Once the burger was eaten, we drove to the town of Grand Case and Leo brought us to a place that offered fresh Caribbean food.

I had the Mahi Mahi and my wife opted for chicken.  Both tasted great and it was right on the beach too!

I wish we had a little more time but we had to get back to the ship, so Leo brought us to the port with a small tour of the French side along the way.

We said goodbye to Leo, hoping to see him again soon, and got back on Freedom of the Seas.

My wife took the baby back to the room for a nap while I took my 4 year old daughter to the H2O Zone for a quick swim.

Afterwards, it was back to the room for showers and getting dressed for dinner.

Tonight we have our "big night out", or at least we hope for a big night out.  We reserved time for both kids to stay until midnight at their respective clubs while my wife and I enjoy dinner at Sabor and some time  around the ship.

Quick tip, we had a reservation at Sabor at 8 but wanted to eat earlier.  If you are in a similar situation, feel free to go to the restaurant and ask if you can be seated now.  It never fails to work, especially since there seems to be open tables.   Granted, this tip probably works best with smaller tables.

Sabor tonight was quite impressive and I really enjoyed my meal there. Tonight's experience re-affirmed my love of this specialty restaurant.

As may you recall, we had Sabor for lunch earlier this cruise while it was really good, it was not quite what I remembered on Navigator.  Clearly, I did not order the right food.

This time around I asked for extra guac with extra lime juice (let's call this the Matt special) and opted for the ahi tuna tacos and red snapper.  The good was amazing and I wish I had just ordered the tacos a few times.

We asked for our same waiter, Juan, and when he saw us he commented, "Are you the guy that posted a photo of me on Instagram?".  Busted!

I also tried the horizontal tequila flight, which was phenomenal.   Add some hand crafted margaritas and you have a really, really good experience.

Essentially the food at Sabor is really good and if you try their drinks, I think you will find one of the better Mexican meals out there.   My wife and I really enjoyed our time there.

Following Sabor, we did a bit of bar hopping between Schooner Bar, R-Bar, Pub and Viking Crown Lounge.  

Proving we are older than we think, we got to about 10:30pm and decided to call it a night early.  The drinking caught up with us and we wanted to be rested for a full day tomorrow.

I am hoping to get a lot done tomorrow on our second to last day, so hoping for a great day!

Stray Observations

• Someone asked about the new staterooms on deck 12. I stopped by and took some photos.  There is a door that lets out directly on deck 12 and there is access to the elevator lobby.
  
  

Live Blog Index

• Live blog introduction
• Day 1 - Embarkation Day
• Day 2 - CocoCay
• Day 3 - Sea Day
• Day 4 - Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas
• Day 5 - Philipsburg, St. Maarten
• Day 6 - Sea Day
• Day 7 - Sea Day

We began today much like our other days, with a wake up around 8am and then subsequently getting the kids ready to get going.

We ate breakfast at the Windjammer, which was packed today.  I think everyone had the plan to sleep in given our noon arrival in St Thomas.

We dropped off our 4 year old daughter in Adventure Ocean and then went to the helicopter pad to watch Freedom of the Seas pull into St Thomas.  

As it turned out, we got in early and were cleared to go ashore by 10:30am.  That's an hour and a half early!  Thanks Captain Ron!

Our early arrival presented a small problem because we had just left our daughter in Adventure Ocean 30 minutes or so ago and if we went to pick her up now, she would have a mini-heart attack.

We decided to give her the choice of coming with us or staying and sure enough, she did not bat an eye about wanting to stay in Adventure Ocean.  She absolutely loves it in there and everytime we pick her up, we are the bad guys. 

With one less child, we headed back to the stateroom to get ready and then went ashore.  

Our first stop was the Sky ride to Paradise Point.  It is a gondola-style cable car ride up a mountain to the top of a mountain that overlooks the port area.

We booked the excursion through Royal Caribbean (About $20 per adult and $10 per kid. 6 month old was free).  It is really close to the port and is about a 5-10 minute walk.

We got to the base of the sky ride and got our wristband (your admission allows you to go back as many times as you want during the day).

I will have a more in-depth review of the sky ride in another blog post but we really enjoyed it.  It was a fun ride up the mountain and the view is quite lovely.  The whole thing took about 30 minutes, unless you spend time at the top at the bar or shopping more than we did.

Next up we took a taxi to downtown Charotte Amalie to do some shopping and have lunch.  

We walked by a few shops and found a nice pearl necklace for my wife.  I have been promising my wife jewelry for a few cruises but we never find anything we like.  This time, we found a nice piece at a good price and we bought it.

By now it was 12:30pm and we were getting hungry.   Since we had cell service in St Thomas (it is part of the United States), I took my cell phone out and pulled up the Yelp app to find a restaurant.

The #1 restaurant in our area was Cuzzin's Caribbean and we went there.  As the name implies, it serves up Caribbean food but there were also burgers and sandwiches. And it has air conditioning!

I ordered the curried chicken while my wife ordered the cheeseburger.  Her burger was good and freshly made but my curried chicken was really, really good.  The meat was falling off the bone and I really like it.

On top of that, a blog reader Michael from Tampa, recommended the lambada boomer drink and let's just say my day got a lot better very quickly!

Next up we took a cab to the beach.  I wanted to go to to Lindquist Beach on the east end of the island but the taxi driver we found convinced us to go to Emerald Beach instead.  He had a good point: Both beaches are quite lovely but this one is closer and cheaper.  He offered to let us scope it out first so I obliged and off we went.

Emerald Beach is about a 5 minute drive from downtown and there is a Best Western Plus hotel.  Once you get there, you can walk straight to the beach and there is no fee for the beach, chairs or anything.  Granted, there is no service either in terms of waiters.

The beach and water were beautiful and it was a quiet piece of beach to enjoy.  

This would have been perfect if not for my 6 month old losing her mind because she was over tired and refused to nap.  We fought it for a while but ultimately we had to leave and go back because if the baby was screaming, no one is having fun.

Overall, it was a fun day and we got a lot done in my opinion.  We spent far less money than I thought we would and it was good seeing a few different spots on the island.  I just wish the baby would have cooperated a little bit more.  C'est la vie!

You can see the piece of the top of Freedom of the Seas missing due to the fire

Back onboard, we rested up and got ready for dinner.  The kids went to Adventure Ocean and the nursery and we headed to the dining room.

Dinner was good, unfortunately not as good as last night but we enjoyed our time there and it was a pleasant evening.

After dinner we got out early enough that we got into the Once Upon A Time show in the Royal Theater.

This was the first evening show we managed to see and it's a mashup of classic fairytales to contemporary music.  

I really enjoyed it and thought the songs they chose were spot on and overall it was a really good performance.

Tomorrow, we are going to St Martin with all the kids and hoping they both can work in some naps!

Live Blog Index

• Live blog introduction
• Day 1 - Embarkation Day
• Day 2 - CocoCay
• Day 3 - Sea Day
• Day 4 - Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas
• Day 5 - Philipsburg, St. Maarten
• Day 6 - Sea Day
• Day 7 - Sea Day

Our newest podcast episode is out to help give you a quick "audio escape" to a Royal Caribbean cruise!

Episode 104 is available for downloading, where Matt discusses everything you need to know between when you arrive at the port to when you actually board your ship.

Matt and Michael talk about what guests can expect when they arrive at the pier for embarkation day and share tips for parking, porters, check in and more.

Here’s the podcast page for Episode 104. And don’t forget to subscribe to the podcast via RSS, Stitcher or on iTunes!

Take a listen and as always, let us know what you think! Please rate and review the podcast on iTunes and leave your comments below!

Royal Caribbean senior vice president of sales, Vicki Freed, is asking the help of travel agents to name the arms of the robotic arms that "work" in the Bionic Bar aboard Anthem of the Seas.

Freed posted the contest on her Facebook page and is offering the winner of the contest a chance to win a stateroom on an Anthem of the Seas inaugural sailing from New York.  

The contest is open from July 27 through August 3.  

Each travel partner is limited to one submission for one arm. The winner will be awarded a stateroom on an Anthem Inaugural sailing for the 11/8 sailing.

Vicki will announce the winners the week of 8/10 on Facebook as well as Loyal To You Always. 

The contest is only open to travel agents but what would you name the robotic bartenders?

Our first sea day was today and we did not want to miss too much of it, so we set the alarm for 8:30am and started to get ready.

Except for my 4 year old, who got up, turned off the light my wife had turned on and went back to bed.  Clearly she is 4 going on 17.

We headed up to the Windjammer for breakfast and had a lovely table next to the window at the aft of the ship.  It provided us with an excellent view while we had our food.  My choice for breakfast today was build-your-own miso soup from the Jade section of the Windjammer.  Very tasty and something I have only ever seen on Royal Caribbean.

After breakfast I dropped my 4 year old off at Adventure Ocean for the morning and then my wife and I headed up to deck 14 to the Viking Crown Lounge for the Cruise Critic meet-n-mingle.

For those unaware, Royal Caribbean partners with Cruise Critic to offer a meet up onboard the ship, provided at least 25 people register for the event prior to your cruise.  Once registered, you will get an invitation to attend the event, which is usually on the first sea day.

We arrived right at 10am and found about a dozen or so people there.  It was by far the least populated meet-n-mingle we have been to.

The event is about meeting other folks onboard who cruise and there is also a raffle for some prizes, such as bottles of wine, Royal Caribbean keychains, pens and more.  We won a Royal Caribbean highlighter and box 'o office supplies.  Hey, it's free!

We enjoyed speaking with others about their cruising experience and it was a nice little event.

Next we headed down to deck 5 to take care of some "business".  

Our first stop was Guest Relations, where we confirmed our onboard credit amounts (it was not displaying on the televisions) and we also had them refund room decorations we had purchased that had never showed up.  Everything was quick and prompt.

Next, we went to the Shore Excursions desk and booked the Skyway Ride in St. Thomas.  My 6-month old was free and 4-year old qaulified for the kids rate, so the price overall was not terrible.  I was surprised the line for Shore Excursions was so short but was happy to get my tickets and be on my way.

There was also no line at the Next Cruise office so my wife and I decided to book a random cruise in 2017 so we could take advantage of the onboard booking credit.  

I doubt we will actually take this particular cruise that we booked but by booking it onboard, we can transfer the reservation to another sailing if we like and retain the onboard booking credit.  Essentially, it is free money.  

We also elected to save the onboard booking bonus for the upcoming cruise rather than take it on this sailing.

Around this time my wife and I started thinking about lunch and we decided to try and see if we can get reservations for our absolute favorite restaurant, Sabor.  

For lunch, adults only pay $15 per person for lunch and we figured why not go more than once this cruise.

I had no trouble making a reservation and we spent some more time back on the Royal Promenade doing some window shopping.  Did not buy anything but we do enjoy seeing what is on sale.

After a bit of walking around the Royal Promenade, we headed back up to deck 12 to collect my daugher. Adventure Ocean closes at noon for a quick break before reopening at 2. 

I had made our reservation for lunch at Sabor at 12:30pm but we were running ahead of schedule, so we stopped by Sabor at about 12:05pm and the staff were happy to take us in.

You may be wondering why I love Sabor so much and it is because we tried it on Navigator of the Seas last year and thought the food and experience were terrific.  

This time around for lunch, it was more of the same in terms of that great food, flavors and ambiance.

I will say if nothing else, go to Sabor for the chips, salsa, guacamole and hand crafted margaritas.  it is simply the best!

We ordered a few things off the menu and my wife and I enjoyed all of it.  My 4 year old picked at her food and we ended up going to get her pizza from Sorrento's.   As a parent, I'm frustrated at how she has regressed in her willingness to eat different foods. 

Despite my daughter, I can say Sabor on Freedom of the Seas lived up to my expectations and there really does not appear to be a difference between lunch and dinner.  We will be having dinner here later this cruise, so I can give a better comparisson at that point.

It was getting close to 2pm, so I took the 6 month old back to the stateroom for a nap and my wife took my 4 year old to Adventure Ocean and then she went to see the ice show onboard, known as Freedom-Ice.com.

I think the ice shows are quite good but my wife loves them, so I decided to let her enjoy the show sans kids while I let the 6 month old nap and I had a chance to connect with folks in #CruiseChat.

My wife reported the ice show was as good as she remembered and she also commented it is the same songs too.

Up next we went to the main pool to relax and enjoy the view.  I was happy to find the live band playing at the pool.  I really love Royal Caribbean's live music onboard and at the pool it is the best.

Drink of the day

Following the pool, we came back to the stateroom to get ready for dinner.  The girls got ready and I took a quick nap while most of this was happening

Our pre-dinner were the same as "usual" now.  I took my 4 year old up to the Windjammer for dinner and then dropped her off at Adventure Ocean (it was superhero night tonight).

Then I returned to the stateroom to pick up my wife and 6 month old, and we took the 6 month old up to the Nursery.

Once we were kid free, we went to the casino where I briefly won some money and then subsequently lost it all on a "double or nothing" bet.

Right before dinner we went to the Royal Promenade and my wife picked out a nice ring that she wanted to wear.  Husband of the year right here folks.

At dinner it was "Italian night" and I have to say the best food of the cruise so far in the main dining room.  Even better than last night's formal night dinner in my opinion.

After enjoying dinner (and lamenting that I did not wear stretchy pants), we headed to the Schooner Bar for 80's trivia.  

We didn't win but it was a lot of fun and the host was terrific.  I was proud of myself for being the only person to get one of the bonus question's correct (What is the name of the little boy on Alf).

After trivia, we grabbed a quick drink at R-Bar.  Tonight's drink was the Texas Collins, another solid choice and tasty too.

We collected both children and headed back to the room for the evening.

Tomorrow we are in St Thomas and we get to do some exploring.

Stray observations

• Here is a photo of the phone you get after dropping kids off at the Nursery
  
• Internet speeds have remained constant and I am okay with them.  I feel like staying connected around the ship is better than previous cruises.
• I asked a bartender today at R-Bar if he prefers guests with the drink package or without and he said to him it is the same and there is no difference.
• Royal Caribbean did not offer tickets to the ice show but it is smart to arrive at least 15 minutes early.  30 minutes would be ideal for a good spot.
• The trivia games are incredibly popular.  Schooner Bar was overflowing tonight.
• Vintages Wine bar does offer a handful of bottled beers.

Live Blog Index

• Live blog introduction
• Day 1 - Embarkation Day
• Day 2 - CocoCay
• Day 3 - Sea Day
• Day 4 - Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas
• Day 5 - Philipsburg, St. Maarten
• Day 6 - Sea Day
• Day 7 - Sea Day

Behind every masterpiece there is a unique and innovative vision. Take a glimpse at the creative process through the eyes of Royal Caribbean's Vice President of Architectural Design, Kelly Gonzalez.

Today we are at Royal Caribbean's private island of CocoCay for a day filled with swimming, the beach, a wedding and tenders.

Freedom of the Seas anchored off the coast of CocoCay around 7:30am or so.  I am not exactly certain because I was fast asleep, as was my entire family.  The kids slept through the announcement and around 8am my wife and I got ready and then woke up the kids and got them ready.

After getting our clan dressed, we headed up to the Windjammer for breakfast and had another classic Windjammer meal.  While breakfast is my least favorite of the meals served there (the selection never changes), I still enjoyed my custom made omelette.

We headed downstairs to meet our wedding group at 10am to head over to CocoCay.  After waiting a little bit for everyone to arrive, we were on our way to CocoCay.

As you may or may not know, guests take a tender to CocoCay

Once on the island, we were escorted via trams to the wedding location, which is a small spot on the top of a "cliff" overlooking the ocean and Freedom of the Seas.

It was a nice spot for a small wedding but there was absolutely no shade so we were all sweating profusely.  Royal Caribbean gave us bottles of water to help relieve the heat a little bit.

Despite the the heat, it was a lovely ceremony and as soon as it was over, we hopped back in the tram to head to the beach.

My 4 year old daughter wanted to go to Adventure Ocean so we dropped her off there.  

The Adventure Ocean facility is a small "compound" where kids play in the sand in the shade.  While it did not look like something I wanted to do, my daughter had a blast there and was upset she had to leave.

My wife, 6 month old daughter and I headed to the beach and we ended up near Barefoot Beach.  We managed to snag two beach chairs and placed them in a shady spot.

Shade on CocoCay is at a premium and oddly enough, they do not rent umbrellas. 

It was fun in the ocean, which was barely deep on any adult, but it was so incredibly hot I think my wife and I did not enjoy ourselves as much as we usually do at these private islands.  We did grab some Coco Locos to help cool us down.

At around 12:30 there were some scary looking clouds coming so we decided to head back to the ship.  Evidently so did the rest of the ship.

We eventually made our way back and yes it took a while because of the crowd heading back but I refuse to let a line for tenders ruin my day.  My daughter, however, had no such problem.

We got back to the ship, showered and changed and then headed to the Windjammer for a late lunch.  I really enjoyed the selection available today.

At this point my kids needed naps really badly so we went back to the stateroom.  I opted to head up to the main pool to enjoy the ambiance (in the shade).

I then took part in a time honored tradition of mine by taking a nap by the pool and it was glorious.

After waking up, I headed back to the stateroom and everyone got ready for formal night.  I took my 4 year old up to the Windjammer for dinner and then dropped her off at Adventure Ocean.

Afterwards I came back downstairs as my wife finished getting ready and we brough my 6 month old to the nursery.  My wife and I were hopeful both kids would do well.

For our pre-dinner activity, we went to R-Bar, which is a favorite spot of mine. When we were on Navigator of the Seas I really enjoyed R-Bar and Freedom of the Seas was no different.

I was informed by the staff that the R-Bar menu is different for every ship, so the drink that I had on Navigator was not available here but the staff at R-Bar was happy to help pick out a new one for me.  Between the decor and drink options, it is my favorite spot for drinks.

Tonight is formal night in the main dining room and it is also one of the better menus of the cruise. We both really enjoyed the offerings and my favorite part had to be the coffee ice cream, which I natually ordered as much as they would serve me.  Love it!

They also had some wonderful live music in the main dining room.  I think the live music for dinner is such a nice touch.

After dinner we went to the casino and I promptly lost money so we cut our losses and went to the Pub for some drinks and music.  I love the live music and cold beer available in the pub so it was a nice end to my evening.

We picked up both children without incident and things turned out to be a great evening!

Tomorrow is our first sea day and we do not have any firm plans but hoping we can do more exploring and enjoy everything the ship has to offer.

Stray observations:

• I know some people like tenders but I really do not enjoy them because of the extra time required to get back and forth compared to docking. Luckily, no more tenders this cruise!
• In the Cruise Compass, Royal Caribbean is offering a dining package deal that we reported earlier this year. $20/person/day for the duration of the cruise.  There is also rates for kids at the specialty restaurants
  
• The drink of the day comes with a 25% discount

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Live Blog Index

• Live blog introduction
• Day 1 - Embarkation Day
• Day 2 - CocoCay
• Day 3 - Sea Day
• Day 4 - Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas
• Day 5 - Philipsburg, St. Maarten
• Day 6 - Sea Day
• Day 7 - Sea Day