GaDawgFan.....Kelly 799 Posted May 1, 2014 Author Report Share Posted May 1, 2014 Thank you for sharing your wonderful trip with us! Your pictures and descriptions were great, very helpful in planning.If I can ask, how did the tipping work? Did you have to prepay with My Time Dining? But what about when you went to the other restaurants? Do you then tip there too? Did you have to do the drink package for the entire week? I could totally see it working for me on the days at sea. Not sure if we're in a port all day, though, how much I can possibly drink, ha!I really do have to go back and reread this report. When you started it I had no idea I would have booked this cruise by the time you finished it.Hope Jason will lift the Disney ban for you! My husband is a bit of a Disney crank but I talked him into two nights at VWL before we get on the cruise. No parks but that's okay, just happy to be there. You said you're going January 2015 right? Check out the thread I posted about the new sale. You can probably save some cash by getting a price adjustment. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
dvccamper 32 Posted May 1, 2014 Report Share Posted May 1, 2014 You said you're going January 2015 right? Check out the thread I posted about the new sale. You can probably save some cash by getting a price adjustment.Thank you for letting me know. I got in touch with my TA and unfortunately this promotion would actually raise our cost. She explained that we started out with a really good base rate. To get this promotion it starts out with a rack rate base rate so it didn't work for us. She said she will check each promotion that comes out though.So happy it worked out for you! Getting a good deal is always so exciting! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
GaDawgFan.....Kelly 799 Posted May 1, 2014 Author Report Share Posted May 1, 2014 Thank you for letting me know. I got in touch with my TA and unfortunately this promotion would actually raise our cost. She explained that we started out with a really good base rate. To get this promotion it starts out with a rack rate base rate so it didn't work for us. She said she will check each promotion that comes out though.So happy it worked out for you! Getting a good deal is always so exciting! Too bad it didn't save you money. I was hoping. I thought we had a good rate before... basically what we paid for spring break, especially because of the holiday. But this was even better for us. The new higher first person rate wasn't that different, perhaps because not much of the ship has sold yet. Your cruise is a lot sooner. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
AC in A2......Aaron 693 Posted May 1, 2014 Report Share Posted May 1, 2014 Finally caught up Kelly. What a great TR! It looks like you all had a great time and a return trip is already booked?! And I saw on the other thread that you are getting a reprieve from your Disney exodus too! It is good to be GDF! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
GaDawgFan.....Kelly 799 Posted May 1, 2014 Author Report Share Posted May 1, 2014 Finally caught up Kelly. What a great TR! It looks like you all had a great time and a return trip is already booked?! And I saw on the other thread that you are getting a reprieve from your Disney exodus too! It is good to be GDF! Yes, it is! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
dvccamper 32 Posted May 1, 2014 Report Share Posted May 1, 2014 And I saw on the other thread that you are getting a reprieve from your Disney exodus too! It is good to be GDF! Really?!? That's awesome, yay Jason! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
GaDawgFan.....Kelly 799 Posted May 2, 2014 Author Report Share Posted May 2, 2014 Really?!? That's awesome, yay Jason! Fort trip... April 2015! I like 2015 already! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
DaveInTN 3,247 Posted May 2, 2014 Report Share Posted May 2, 2014 Over 6000 views and 450 replies. Epic! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
GaDawgFan.....Kelly 799 Posted May 2, 2014 Author Report Share Posted May 2, 2014 Woot woot! I'm almost famous! Who knew a TR that wasn't about camping or Disney would be my most popular?!?! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Big Kahuna aka John 71 Posted May 2, 2014 Report Share Posted May 2, 2014 Thanks for the great trip report, and give Z a huge hug for me... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
GaDawgFan.....Kelly 799 Posted May 2, 2014 Author Report Share Posted May 2, 2014 Thanks for the great trip report, and give Z a huge hug for me... Will do! Thanks for reading along! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
dvccamper 32 Posted May 15, 2014 Report Share Posted May 15, 2014 You said you're going January 2015 right? Check out the thread I posted about the new sale. You can probably save some cash by getting a price adjustment. Well I was just on cruise critic for my daily dose of excitement for our trip and I saw that all of the Freedom cruises for January have been cancelled! The amazing thing is that when we cruised a few years ago this happened, we're two for two on cancelled cruises (are they trying to tell us something?). They did give us onboard credit and a price guarantee on another cruise so we'll see what they offer this time. But it just stinks because I had already gotten our airfare and booked VWL for a couple of nights. If there's any silver lining I did call my husband at work and he said to check out DCL. We'll see... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Katman1356...Jason 1,140 Posted May 15, 2014 Report Share Posted May 15, 2014 Well I was just on cruise critic for my daily dose of excitement for our trip and I saw that all of the Freedom cruises for January have been cancelled! The amazing thing is that when we cruised a few years ago this happened, we're two for two on cancelled cruises (are they trying to tell us something?). They did give us onboard credit and a price guarantee on another cruise so we'll see what they offer this time. But it just stinks because I had already gotten our airfare and booked VWL for a couple of nights.If there's any silver lining I did call my husband at work and he said to check out DCL. We'll see...Wow that stinks. I hope you get a very nice apology offer for this. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
GaDawgFan.....Kelly 799 Posted May 15, 2014 Author Report Share Posted May 15, 2014 Well I was just on cruise critic for my daily dose of excitement for our trip and I saw that all of the Freedom cruises for January have been cancelled! The amazing thing is that when we cruised a few years ago this happened, we're two for two on cancelled cruises (are they trying to tell us something?). They did give us onboard credit and a price guarantee on another cruise so we'll see what they offer this time. But it just stinks because I had already gotten our airfare and booked VWL for a couple of nights.If there's any silver lining I did call my husband at work and he said to check out DCL. We'll see...What?!?!?! That totally stinks!!!! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
MicknMin...Holly 54 Posted May 19, 2014 Report Share Posted May 19, 2014 Great trip report, Kelly. We sailed on the Freedom back when it first came out, and then on her sister ship, the Liberty two years later. Great ships! I don't normally have the time to read trip reports, but I decided to read yours because Dylan keeps saying he wants to go on "the Disney boat". After pricing it out, I don't think it's going to happen. If we took both daughters and their families next Spring break, Disney was going to cost us over $15,000 (6 adults and one child total). I priced the Freedom, basically the same itinerary, and it was around $8500. Much better price! Do you think Z enjoyed the Freedom as much as Disney? By the way, the zip line was added to Labadee in 2008, just before our Liberty cruise. I don't think they had those toboggan things back then though. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
GaDawgFan.....Kelly 799 Posted May 19, 2014 Author Report Share Posted May 19, 2014 Great trip report, Kelly. We sailed on the Freedom back when it first came out, and then on her sister ship, the Liberty two years later. Great ships! I don't normally have the time to read trip reports, but I decided to read yours because Dylan keeps saying he wants to go on "the Disney boat". After pricing it out, I don't think it's going to happen. If we took both daughters and their families next Spring break, Disney was going to cost us over $15,000 (6 adults and one child total). I priced the Freedom, basically the same itinerary, and it was around $8500. Much better price! Do you think Z enjoyed the Freedom as much as Disney?By the way, the zip line was added to Labadee in 2008, just before our Liberty cruise. I don't think they had those toboggan things back then though. Thanks so much for reading! You are considering RCCL for the exact same reasons we did. Z LOVED the cruise. He knows that Disney has cruises because of the commercials and big ad at Costco, but he never was upset about not having Disney characters around. He already had one of the Madagascar movies, and I got him Shrek and Kung Fu Panda so he would know who all the characters were. If it tells you anything, several weeks after the cruise he told me he really missed the cruise but was happy because we'd do it again next year with Grammy. If you have any specific questions that I didn't address, just let me know! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
dvccamper 32 Posted May 22, 2014 Report Share Posted May 22, 2014 Wow that stinks. I hope you get a very nice apology offer for this. I figured I would come back and let you guys know what they offered in return. They offered five alternative sailing dates on the Freedom, with $200 onboard credit per cabin and $150 pp airline change fees. Unfortunately for us, none of the dates worked for us as my oldest is starting college and we planned the trip during her winter break. I think we're going to end up on the Explorer of the Seas (no flow rider, boo!, but it does have the rock climbing wall which the kids want to do), original sailing date, but only 5 nights, and still getting the onboard credit. At least we will save some money as it is a shorter cruise. We're already going a couple of days early so we can spend one day at Disney. We may stay an extra day after the cruise and hit Universal. So while extremely disappointing as I really wanted to have the great trip Kelly did, I think it will all work out fine in the end. Thanks for letting me hijack! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
GaDawgFan.....Kelly 799 Posted May 22, 2014 Author Report Share Posted May 22, 2014 I figured I would come back and let you guys know what they offered in return. They offered five alternative sailing dates on the Freedom, with $200 onboard credit per cabin and $150 pp airline change fees. Unfortunately for us, none of the dates worked for us as my oldest is starting college and we planned the trip during her winter break. I think we're going to end up on the Explorer of the Seas (no flow rider, boo!, but it does have the rock climbing wall which the kids want to do), original sailing date, but only 5 nights, and still getting the onboard credit. At least we will save some money as it is a shorter cruise. We're already going a couple of days early so we can spend one day at Disney. We may stay an extra day after the cruise and hit Universal. So while extremely disappointing as I really wanted to have the great trip Kelly did, I think it will all work out fine in the end. Thanks for letting me hijack! What about the Oasis or Allure? One of them sails the same itinerary every week. I will tell you that we met people from the Explorer on 2 islands, and they were also having a blast. I hope it works out. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
dvccamper 32 Posted May 22, 2014 Report Share Posted May 22, 2014 What about the Oasis or Allure? One of them sails the same itinerary every week. I will tell you that we met people from the Explorer on 2 islands, and they were also having a blast. I hope it works out. Funny you mention that because I asked my TA about the Allure. She inquired and said they would give us the onboard credit but would not price guarantee for us, and added that RCCL was not very nice about it. Hearing that, I didn't want to pay the increase. With this cruise I am saving 40% over the original cruise, plus over $400 in onboard credit (we have two rooms). We've been on the Navigator which is the sister ship to the Explorer, so we know we will like it. We were just hoping for something a little different. But glad to hear you met people who were having a good time! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
GaDawgFan.....Kelly 799 Posted May 22, 2014 Author Report Share Posted May 22, 2014 Oh actually it was the Navigator. Oops! They should price match on the Allure IMO. But you will have a good time either way! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Katman1356...Jason 1,140 Posted May 22, 2014 Report Share Posted May 22, 2014 I figured I would come back and let you guys know what they offered in return. They offered five alternative sailing dates on the Freedom, with $200 onboard credit per cabin and $150 pp airline change fees. Unfortunately for us, none of the dates worked for us as my oldest is starting college and we planned the trip during her winter break. I think we're going to end up on the Explorer of the Seas (no flow rider, boo!, but it does have the rock climbing wall which the kids want to do), original sailing date, but only 5 nights, and still getting the onboard credit. At least we will save some money as it is a shorter cruise. We're already going a couple of days early so we can spend one day at Disney. We may stay an extra day after the cruise and hit Universal. So while extremely disappointing as I really wanted to have the great trip Kelly did, I think it will all work out fine in the end. Thanks for letting me hijack! Glad they gave you something but wish they would have allowed the discount on the Allure Quote Link to post Share on other sites
LWQuestie 0 Posted May 26, 2014 Report Share Posted May 26, 2014 Thanks for the great trip report! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
GaDawgFan.....Kelly 799 Posted May 26, 2014 Author Report Share Posted May 26, 2014 Thanks for the great trip report! Thanks for reading! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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