Cruising on Freedom of the Seas
In just under a month we’ll be on our next cruise. And time just seems to be going slower and slower each day. This time we’re going to be sailing on Royal Caribbean’s Freedom of the Seas to celebrate our 40th wedding anniversary. We’ve already booked, and there is supposed to be champagne and chocolate covered strawberries in our cabin waiting for us on day one.
I’ve already been in contact with their media department, and I’ll be blogging from the ship every day like I did on the Oasis of the Seas, and hopefully interviewing someone on the bridge. My husband wants to join me in that interview, guess he’s hoping we’ll get a tour of the bridge. That would be fun!
We’ve sailed on Freedom of the Seas before, a few years ago. You can read my review of her here. Before that we had always sailed on Carnival, and all I remember as I walked down the Promenade on Freedom of the Seas was thinking “Wow, this is what I always thought a ship should look like.” It was grand. And we had such a nice cruise, making new friends along the way. To top it off, for that cruise we got a $300 on board credit, so we got to do excursions at each port.
First time in Fort Lauderdale
This is our first time out of Fort Lauderdale Port Everglades. We normally sail out of Port Canaveral, which is closer for us. But we wanted to do something special for our anniversary and we found a balcony cabin on the Freedom for a good price, so we’ll drive the extra distance. We would normally stay at a Park, Cruise, and Snooze motel, but we’ve been trying something different.
The prices at the above mentioned motels have gone up so much, and we do love a bargain, so last time we booked a motel on Hotwire, then stayed at a Cruise Parking lot nearby. That worked out so well for us that we’re going to do it again this time. We already booked a motel in Fort Lauderdale for the night before on Hotwire, but we still need to book a parking lot. We won’t do that till a bit closer to the cruise since you have to pay in advance to get a discount. We’ve bought our cruise insurance from InsureMyTrip.com. I don’t feel comfortable going on a cruise without it. If you buy it you won’t need it, right?
Packing
We haven’t started packing yet. I need to pack too many of the things that I wear every day. And even after I pack I worry a lot about what I’ve forgotten to pack, like the kitchen sink! We’re going to Grand Cayman, Cozumel, and Costa Maya, so I’ll be packing summer clothing.
And I don’t want to forget the sunscreen and insect repellent, just in case. I need two outfits for the elegant nights also. We love dressing up for dinner, we don’t go out much when we’re not on a cruise. Plus, that’s a good night to get photos taken. We usually try to buy one photo each cruise, if any of them come out okay. I’m pretty picky on pictures, I don’t like them taken, but I love that I can get a ton of pictures taken on a cruise, see if anything comes out good, and only pay for the ones I like. I’ve been pretty lucky in finding one I like on every cruise. Cruise photographers are usually pretty good.
Onboard Credit
Somehow, when we booked, we managed to get $200 in onboard credits. It was kind of strange, because on Chrome when we booked on the Royal Caribbean site, it showed $100 in onboard credits for our balcony room, but when we checked on Internet Explorer that same hour on that same site, it said $200 in onboard credits, so I guess it helps to check prices on different browsers. I have no idea on why it would be a different amount on a different browser, but I’ll take it.
And then I got a $50 onboard credit with our Royal Caribbean credit card, so we’ve already booked an excursion in Cozumel because we’ve been to Cozumel too many times and wanted to do something different there. I’ve been wanting to see the Dolphins, so we’ve booked a Dolphin Encounter excursion at Dolphinaris. It’s got pretty good reviews, and comes with lunch, so I think it will be enjoyable.
Grand Cayman
We haven’t decided what we want to do in Grand Cayman yet. Last time we went to Stingray City on Moby Dick Tours and that was fun. I did okay with the Stingrays, the water there is very shallow, but I’m not a swimmer at all, so I have to admit that I chickened out with the snorkeling. I don’t think that I’ll ever feel very comfortable in deep water.
I think that we may just explore the town, we didn’t have much time for that last time, and it looked like a nice town. Last time I was in Costa Maya I was sick so I didn’t get to see it. I think that I had managed to pick up the dreaded Norovirus. This time we’ll probably just stay in the port area and shop and hopefully I won’t pick up a bug somewhere.
Pre-Cruise diet
And now the pre-cruise diet has started. I’ve got to stop fooling around and get serious or I’m really not going to be happy after this cruise. I know that I’ll be eating too much, and all the wrong things. I have absolutely no willpower on a cruise. Even if I try to be good and watch what I eat (while it’s going into my mouth), use the stairs, and walk a lot, I’ll still gain 3 to 5 lbs, at the very least. Something about the ocean must just go to my hips. Yeah, that’s it. I have chronic back pain, but I’m still trying to walk on my breaks and lunch time. May as well get used to it now. But oh, no….Easter isn’t far away, hope my will power holds up.
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The Quiet Cruiser 