By the time we got on our room was ready and we went and dropped our bags in and then went off to the windjammer for a buffet lunch! There was so much to choose from! We had a lovely lunch and then went back to our cabin to await our luggage and plan our evening. We had the emergency drill at 4pm where we are shown where we go in a emergency and all about the life jackets etc. we then went up on deck to see the ship leave dock! Carnival went first, then us and disney last.
On the way out of port there were a few fishing boats coming back, one with a lady holding her catch of the day! We waved to all of them! We saw many sting rays, we saw a whole family very close to the ship! We saw fish and loads of birds flying into the water to catch the smaller fish! And then we were very lucky to see a mum and baby dolphin! We couldnt believe our luck ! It was so cute! I thought it was a big fish at first and then they came out of the water! We were pleased with all our sitings leaving port. Just as we left the port into the big blue ocean we passed a beach and in the shallow part of the water we saw a manatay! We could not believe our eyes! We were so lucky to have spotted all of these wonderful creatures what a great sailaway.
There was a welcome aboad show at 7pm so we got ready and went to that, it was just a short show giving us a taster of what to expect with the ships entertainment it was great :) we then decided to go for dinner, we had picked my time dining so just went along to our restaurant galileos. It was a lovely dining room. We sat and looked at the menu....so many things to choose from! And all sounded lovely, i had a aubergine and spinach tart to start and luke had a seafood cocktail, and then i had vegatable wraps and luke had steak! It was all lovely. And for pudding i had orange sorbet and luke had BBB creme brulee, it was a baileys, bannana and creme brulee pudding! Which he said was lovely! After dinner we decided to go back to our cabin we felt quite tired and wanted to have a early one.
The next day we had a lay in, got up at around 9.30 and went for breaky in the windjammer stopping on route to get 2 tickets for the ice show on day 4 as todays tickets had sold out! When we got to the buffet there was so much to choose from! The site of it all was making me feel a bit sick! The amount of food people put on there plates really is ridiculous! Also there is this dish that americans seem to have for breaky called "biscuits & gravy" it look vile! And there gravy is white and really not nice! I fail to see how this is a breakfast food! I just had half a breakfast muffin with a spoonful of scrambled egg and a yogurt! Luke had a full english! We then found a lovely spot on top deck facing the sea to relax in.
We went for lunch a few hours later and it was then i realised i had got burnt :( quite badly burnt :( i had put sun screen on but only about 1.5 hours after getting there and i had clearly forgotten how bad the sun, sea and wind in combination can burn you! I dont think i have been on one carribean cruise that i havnt got burnt on! I was so annoyed! Luke had got a bit burnt to. So when we had eaten our lunch we decided not to go back to sunbathing but to go to the hot tubs that hang over the edge of the ship :) it was really nice but so bloody hot! We then went back to our cabin to have a shower and aftersun ourselves! We had a little rest before we dressed up for our formal night :)
There was a show on tonight and a speech with the captain at 7pm and we got there just in time to grab some champagne and grab a seat :) the captains toast was good but the show really wasnt :( we watched most of it but left before the end because it was awful! There was just no meaning, story or point to the show it was all over the place, not the cruise standards i am used to! Or that luke is! We decided to head for dinner at galileos we were quite hungry but once there we had to wait 20minites for our table so we wondered the royal promanade having our pics taken with the photographers! It was great i cant wait to see them.
We then went to galileos for dinner and we had two great waiters "ARUN" our main waiter and "DENNIS" the assistant waiter, they were great and chatted to us a lot. For dinner this evening we had a chicken salad with walnuts, i didnt have the chicken! And for main luke had steak and i had vegatable stir fry and potato grattin it was so srummy and we had strawberry cheesecake for pudding :) we loved eating out at this great restaurant as at home we wouldnt get the chance to eat at such a nice formal restaurant very often ! We decided to have a walk on the top deck after this let our food go down, and then decided on a swim and a relax in the hot tub it was the perect end to a great day on board freedom.
Today we docked in to labadee in haiti, we got up early to see the ship dock, and then went for breakfast. It was a hot day already and the temp today would reach in the 90's with the humidity being high. This part of haiti royal carribean owned so everything was very westernized. The up side of this part being owned by the ships company was the fact we got sunloungers free and a buffet lunch! We hadnt booked a excursion as we practically walked straight onto a beach! We was going to do the dragons breath flight line which was the longest zip line over water in the world, it was $99 each tho, and we just didnt want to spend that much on it and i dont think it was really worth that much, we were pleased with our decision and when we saw the zip line we realised it would of defo been a waste of money, i mean it was high and looked fast but was over so quickly and we had experienced so much of the world and done some amazing things that this infact didn't look so exciting now!
When we got off the ship there were two things that stood out to us....the heat and humidity and the lovely clear blue colour of the sea. We couldnt wait to get in that sea and do some snorkelling. Due to us both getting burnt yesterday we found sun loungers in the shade, the staff offered to put the chair somewhere for us for a tip!! But we only needed to lift them off the pile and place them down! Why would we tip someone to do that!?the first beach we sat at was very rocky and the water wasnt as clear as it was when we got off the ship which was odd! Bit then We found a lovely beach that was nicer and the waters were clearer and when you swam out a bit you could see the ship..
We decided to go for a snorkel, we had already bought a snorkel from walmart before we came on the cruise, which was good as the snorkels here were $50 each! You couldnt snorkel out very far as it was roped off! But we just went under the rope! Luke had got some bread rolls and he began to feed the fish! And loads of lovely tropicals came out the coral! I got the water proof camera (which i mentioned in fiji had broke!) well it now seemed to turn on and off when it felt like it! So i thought i would take it out and give it a go it was already broke and we were already planning on getting another one so why not!? We both had a snorkel and fed the fish and then luke stood on some of the coral to just sort of hand feed them and when i tried to join him i grabbed on to some coral for support without thinking and unfortunately as coral is live it stung me and left some of itself in me :( it didnt sting at first and then i realised that there were actual pieces of coral in my wrist and hand and i could not get them out. I began to swim back, luke closely behind me and now it was begining to really sting me :( and it was getting red and angry we quickly dumped our stuff and then went to the first aid, they werent to worried and said it wasnt poisonous but it will sting, they sprayed my hand with vinegar and told me to soak it in vinegar & hot water twice a day and that the coral would eventually disintagrate! If i didnt do that or if i tryed to pick them out it would get infected. I couldnt believe it! Typical me! Very accident prone! I couldnt believe how much this was stinging i hoped it would go away soon. We went to get buffet lunch and then headed back to the ship to relax by the pool.
We found a couple of sunloungers by the adult pool in a shaded area and just relaxed there with a ice cream and ended up falling asleep for a couple of hours! We had to drag ourselves up to have showers otherwise we would have stayed there all evening! After showering we were going to do some ice skating! Luke had never been before so i was super excited for him! We put our skates on, our knee and elbow pads and helmets and off we went, after luke had a wobbly start he was really good at it and was soon flying round the ice rink! We had a great time ice skating and will defo be going when we get home..
We saw a show that night called "the vegas tenor" it was a group of three guys who had there own show in vegas and who sang together! And they were really good. We then went to our restaurant for dinner and we had requested the same waiters and same table as we loved the service we had the night before and tonight didnt disappoint the waiters were just great and chatted away to us! Tonight we had a spinach and cheese dip with tortilas for starter and luke had lamb with parsnip mash and i had a spinich pasta and they cooked me a potato gratin! It was great they were so accommodating with my vegatarian needs :) for pud luke had a warm chocolate cake and i had a praline finger :) the whole dinner was so scrummy.
We was tired after this so went back to our room to relax and ended up staying there and not going out again! Believe it or not a cruise is tiring! Which i think is mostly down to the amount of food you consume! We started to go through our video footage to edit it and do some of the blog, i also needed to soak my hand and wrist. We dock into jamaica tomoz and couldnt wait.
So the next morning was a disaster! We thought we would have a lay in so didnt set our alarms but woke up at 9am, had a drink, brushed pur teeth etc and decided we didnt want to get up yet we would have a late breaky and then go off the ship to explore the shops and get back early afternoon for a swim. Well apparently the time went forward an hour! And we had no idea this happened so we competely missed breaky and the plan just went out of the window! I called reception who told me the time hadnt gone forward an hour! Which was odd as my phone was saying one hour behind what the time actually was! It was so annoying and just disorientated our day!
So we went for a early lunch and then out to take some pics of the port and where we were! The port in falmouth jamaica was gated off from the public so was "safe" and we werent going to venture outside the gates as we had read many disturbing reviews about it and it just wasnt safe. We got off the ship and at the port were many many shops all over priced for us tourists! So we didnt buy a lot just a few cheapy bits that we wanted. And while we was out our bag that luke was carrying got opened! It was only the front pocket which had nothing in it but it just goes to show that it wasnt as safe as we thought! Although we didnt leave the port luke was dissapointed at how westernised it was, he likes to see a country as it is not how its been westernised for us ! However it was our choice not to leave port so we cant complain! When we go on holiday we like to get a feel for the country and see there culture and unfortunately we didnt get this. We was going to do a excursion here to the dunns river falls but we looked at it over and over again and it just didn't look to special to us, the problem is we have been to so many places and seen some really wonderful things that spending nearly £100 to see a waterfall and climb up it wasnt really something we looked for anymore we would not rule it out in the future but on this trip it just didnt appeal to us, we did however book ourselves on a excursion in mexico which we were looking froward to :)
We got back on the ship grabbed some pizza from sorrentos and cookies from the cafe and found a shady spot on top deck to relax in. We had a dip in the hot tub and listen to some reggae :)
We hadnt booked to have dinner in the main dining room tonight as we were booked to see the ice show at 9, so we decided to have a buffet dinner in windjammers :) it was really tasty and relaxing. We then had a lovely wonder around top deck in the lovely breezy air before going down to see the ice show. We got there only a few minutes before it started as we were looking at all the sale stalls! But we got really good seats :) the ice show wasnt really lukes thing but i thought it was really good, much better then the theatre show we had seen. We was pretty tired after this but wanted to see the game show "love and marriage" so stayed up for that and it was really funny! Especialy the older couple who had been married 58 years! They were so cute. There was also a dancing under the stars party on deck which we went up to be nosey at ! But wasnt really our thing so we went back to our room with the intention of going to bed but ended up staying up until gone 2am! Freddie kruger came on the tv and i had never seen one of his films! So we stayed up and watched that!
The next morning we was so tired ! We aimed to get up at 8am but could not drag ourselves out of bed ! So we got up at 8.40! And went up for breaky :) today we were going to grand cayman, you couldnt get off the ship until 10am anyway so there was no rush. We hadnt booked a excursion here so was just going to get off and explore on our own. We decided to not take our swimmers as we didnt know what we were going to do and didnt get to the land until around 11.30 and the last tender was coming back at 3.15 so it wasnt really a lot of time.
The first thing we noticed about grand cayman was when we were being tendered over to the mainland....it was the turquoise blue sea! It was so so beautiful probly one of the most beautiful colours we had seen the sea ! And it was so clear...on the way over we saw some tropical fish and also some huge fish ! We were begining to wonder if we should have bought our snorkels! We got to the port and got off to explore......we walked to this small platform so we could look into the water and to our amazment we looked in and saw a family of huge tarpon! They were litrally at our feet and we just couldnt believe the size of them right there in front of us ! We wanted to snorkel but realised that this wouldnt be possible ....number one as we hadnt bought our stuff! And also because there was local tour boats coming in and out of that area and it wasnt safe so we continued on and walked further up the road we stopped at various points to look at the fish. At one point we stopped on some rocks and we saw two huge lizards walking around on the rocks they looked like bearded dragons! And one had a stripey red and black tail.....
....it was quite a sight! We was going to walk further but it was so humid we were both sweating so bad! There was actual drips of sweat on our heads! So we walked back and had a browse in the shops, luke found a lovely xmas ornamant he wanted so we got that and then headed back to the ship, it was over cast and started spitting but so bloody humid! We didnt book a excursion here because they were all water based and very over priced, we enjoyed a little stroll around and have many tips for next time we come, you can easily get a taxi to the beach and snorkel yourself we didnt know that before we went but feel happy thats what we would do next time.
We got back on the ship and had some lunch and then went on deck to swim and sun bathe, we originally sat in the sun but soon realised it was to bloody hot! so we found a very secluded spot in thr shade on top deck looking back at grand cayman :) we was here when the ship left, it left a little late as the last tender came back at 15.45 instead of 15.15! I found myself thinking theres always one! The people that were late were very lucky as the ship normally doesnt wait for you! After we left me and luke fell asleep ! And then decided that we would go back to the room....chill and go through our video camera before getting ready for dinner :) what a great day.
It was formal night tonight so me and luke dressed up as much as we could with the clothes we had! And then went to see a show it was "ralph harris"! In the main atrium theatre! And us being us (well me being me!) thought it was ralph harris the artist! we did laugh at ourselfs (well luke laughed at me!) as obviously it wasnt him it was a commedian! Who was bloody funny! We walked through the royal promanade after this and headed for dinner, we had reserved a table in galileos and had our fave waiters again :) they were so accomodating and everynight the head chef would come and show me the menus for the following day so i could order what i wanted and they offered me other things as a substitute :) today we had a mushroom pastry for starter and i had 3 cheese tortolini and luke had beef steak we also had vegatable stir fry. We could not eat it all! As when we came back from swimming/sleeping! We had gotton a snack a small sandwich from the promanade cafe and now we were realising that we simply could not eat that much food ! And we were full! We went for a walk after this on top deck for some fresh air and to help our food go down! Luke then watched the NBA finals....miami heat vs san antonio spurs, and i soaked my hand in my white vinagar concoction for my coral ridden hand and wrist! There was one piece of coral that would not disintagrate and everytime i knocked it or accidently lent on it, it would bloody hurt like it was releasing more poison, i couldnt wait for it to heal. We wanted an early one but as i am writing this it is 23.00! Tomorrow we are going to cozumel in mexico and we had booked an excursion here to the myan ruins so we were very excited about that :) we had also been invited to our second event for crown and anchor society members only ...a seminar about future cruises and destinations, news ships etc, so we were wanting to go to that :) another day ahead we couldnt wait for the adventure.
Today we are off to cozumel in mexico we woke up nice and early ....07.30 and headed to the buffet for breaky, we didnt have to meet for our tour until 9.40 but we had been invited to another crown and anchor seminar at 9am so wanted to go to that, we were in the middle of trying to decide what cruise to take next ! Luke loved cruising so i was so pleased that he really wants to book more! Top of the list is europe....venice, pisa, florence etc etc and this seminar spoke about european cruises so we wanted to go! It was good and very informative. We then went down to studio B to meet for our tour. The ship hasnt docked yet so it was a lot of waiting around infact it was very unorganised and i found it the worst time ever getting off the ship for a excursion ! There were hundreds of people and after waiting for 50minutes we were then led down the staff staircase which was quite steep and then taken off the ship! The rationale was that we were priority to get off first as we all had excursions, however when we got off the rest of the ship was aswell! And had i not been so hot and bothered i would of taken a pic! The crowds on the port were ridiulous! The line we were once in was now a mass of people! And no one knew where to go! There was no one with those boards they hold up to tell you where to go! It was not what we expected! However we eventually got on the coach and then were off to the myan ruins. These ruins were smaller then the ones you picture in your head when you think of mexico, but where very nice none the less, we had been warned that there would be mosquitos and i had read on reviews there was loads so we took our insect repellent but nothing could prepare us for the amount of mozzies we would encounter! We got there and we had the usual "lets take you picture so we can sell it to you later!" And the little shops wanting you to buy stuff, we were quite use to this now so it didnt really bother us, the people that hadnt bought insect repellent ....which was everyone but us then had to buy insect repellent there and spent god knows what buying some really cheap and nasty insect repellent! That we just think attracted them! And then we began our tour....our guide was really good, but we failed to hear anything he was telling us due to the amount of mosquitos! This was the most mozzies we had seen in the whole of our travels, one girl in particular had sprayed herself 3 times and was getting eaten alive litrally, at one point she had about 6 mozzies on each foot and ankle! You could litrally see 5-10 mozzies on each person it was horrible, we sprayed ourselves silly with our really good repellent so we didnt get bitten...luckily....but they did follow luke and we kept having to keep moving and shoo them away it was a joke! However we got some good pics....
We noticed as we got back onto the bus that the entry price was £2 ! So we had paid around £24 each just for the coach which really irratated us! However had we not done the tour we would of forever been thinking what if! We started the scenic journey around this small island, and once we got to the coast line it was beautiful the sea was so blue, but it was rough this side of the island, the side we docked it was calm as the main land was very close and protected the island but the other side had no protection so was quite rough, it was still so beautiful tho....
After this we started heading back to ship and me and luke fell asleep! And when we arrived back to port we felt so dissorientated from napping and it was so hot ...we had a little browse in shops but just went back to ship to have some lunch, luke had a headache and we were both sweating like crazy.
We were pleased we had done a excursion but annoyed at the same time at how much they over charge you when you get to these ports it is so easy to do tours yourself, we could have just rented a moped and done it ourselves for cheaper but the bottom line is we didnt know but we will for next time, its all experience and we enjoyed the ruins despite the mozzies, so all in all a good day :) after lunch we went back to our cabin, luke watched a game in the world cup and i wrote the blog and went through some pics.
Luke had a headache during the day and it got much worse as the afternoon went on, i think it was a combination of the heat and breathing in the mosquito repellent! It was defo the worse headache i have ever seen luke have, it could have been a migraine, so i spent the rest of the evening looking after my poor lukee. I left him to sleep for a bit whilst i went to see the evening show, i got him water and hot drinks and massaged his head, we cancelled our reservation for dinner and much later we went up to the buffet, he started to feel better by the late evening, and we just chilled out and watched a film.
The next day was our last day and it was spent at sea, we had a lovely lay in and didnt leave the cabin until 12! We walked through the royal promanade and there was a "fest" going on! Demonstrations by the staff of how to fold the table cloth, making animals out of big fruits etc etc and there was lots of different foods :) we went up to windjammer for a early lunch and then chilled up on deck, it was super windy! Just trying to get the towel on the sun lounger was very difficult but we eventually did it! We relaxed here for a couple of hours then moved down to the adult pool where they had comfy chairs and it was less windy! I went to get us a drink in windjammers as they did some really nice juices and whilst here i witnessed some serious platefuls of food that people were shoverling down there gullets! Seriously the amount of food people eat on these cruises is ridiculous! I went back with our drinks and stopped at sprinkles to get a ice cream :)
Tonight was our last night and we were sad we loved cruising and all the luxuary :) next year we will defo be going on another one :) we are just trying to plan which one and where! We had our last dinner in the dining room and said our sad goodbyes to our waiters :( they really were amazing :) we then went to deck 13 to play some crazy golf! It was pretty hard with the wind ! But I won by one point! We then went back to our room to finish packing, we had decided to carry our own luggage off the ship to make things easier and quicker and also seeing the way they treat your luggage when we arrived was awful so we was keen not to have that experience repeated!
We slept well and got up the next day at 7.30 i had woken up with quite a awful headache but there was sod all i could do about it as we had to get up and leave! We had a quick breaky and then started to get off the ship, a process that took longer then it should of! But before we knew it we were on our shuttle back to orlando :) the headache just got worse as the journey went on i just couldnt wait to Get to our hotel.
We had such a amazing time on this cruise and just loved the luxuary! We had forgotten what that felt like! We love royal Carribean and will defo be cruising With them again :) the food was amazing, the cookies and cakes scrummy and all the staff were great, what a great week for us during our travels and a good choice to go on a cruise near the ending of our travels it was very needed. What a great week :))
Heres a few pics of some of the lovely food we ate....
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