Freedom from the Polar Vortex... The GDF family sails RCCL

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

Everything looks nice so far.  I loved Z's buffet choices.

 

I've been to Labadee a couple of times.  It's been a long time, though. I will be interested to see what it's like now.

 

The choose your own dining time is a new concept to me.  RCCL didn't offer that option on our previous cruises.  That means you won't have the same servers or tablemates for the duration of the cruise.  I've never been on a cruise like that. 

 

The "free" soda on DCL is a relatively new offering.  I think they just started it in 2004 or so.  Before that, they sold soda cards.  I like it that DCL doesn't nickel and dime you for sodas.

 

The alcohol packages do seem expensive.  But, I'm sure individual drinks are expensive too.  DCL's generous carry-on policy solves that problem for me.

 

The splash park looks perfect for kids Z's age. 

 

Were the pools fresh or salt water?   On our previous RCCL cruises, they used salt water, pumped from the ocean, for the pools.  They drained them every night and refilled them when needed.  They would always have the pools drained and closed when in port.  DCL uses fresh water, it looks like perhaps RCCL now does too.

 

TCD

[EnchantedSurprise 2]

I have only cruised once, a short 3 nights on DCL so I am happy to read along about RCCL from a Disney fan's perspective.

 

Looks like your little guy had a great birthday, fat lip and all :)

[AC in A2......Aaron 693]

Looks really nice.

I look forward to pics from balcony and of the private peninsula.

[Helmsey......Todd 134]

Glad to see things weren't too serious with Z's incident and you guys were able to carry on as planned.
I'm curious to see how the drink packages work out... I'm quietly working on a cruise for the wife and I at some point and getting as much knowledge as I can from this and other cruise TR's.

[Seals 111]

To help me plan my imaginary cruise, is the soda $4.50 unlimited soda per day or for the whole cruise? And do they use the Disney age of 9 and under for child? I like the idea of name your own time dining.

[momof3kids-Yvonne 596]

When we went on our RC cruise we did the standard dining rather than the My Time Dining. One thing DH did not like about it is they had us at the earlier dining time. We normally don't eat as early as 5:00. The reason they did this is that both of our girls were under a certain age (12 I believe was the cutoff). If you have children under that age and want to eat later I would definitely recommend getting My Time Dining.

[GaDawgFan.....Kelly 799]

The curved bed made me laugh. I don't know why but I found it amusing.

 

Get your mind out of the gutter. 

 

Great pictures, Kelly!  Glad Z recovered so quickly.

 

Thanks! We were too!

 

Everything looks nice so far.  I loved Z's buffet choices.

 

I've been to Labadee a couple of times.  It's been a long time, though. I will be interested to see what it's like now.

 

The choose your own dining time is a new concept to me.  RCCL didn't offer that option on our previous cruises.  That means you won't have the same servers or tablemates for the duration of the cruise.  I've never been on a cruise like that. 

 

The "free" soda on DCL is a relatively new offering.  I think they just started it in 2004 or so.  Before that, they sold soda cards.  I like it that DCL doesn't nickel and dime you for sodas.

 

The alcohol packages do seem expensive.  But, I'm sure individual drinks are expensive too.  DCL's generous carry-on policy solves that problem for me.

 

The splash park looks perfect for kids Z's age. 

 

Were the pools fresh or salt water?   On our previous RCCL cruises, they used salt water, pumped from the ocean, for the pools.  They drained them every night and refilled them when needed.  They would always have the pools drained and closed when in port.  DCL uses fresh water, it looks like perhaps RCCL now does too.

 

TCD

 

From what I've read, Labadee has changed A LOT since back in the day. Of course, like any change, some people like them and some don't. 

 

With My Time Dining, you can still have the same servers, we did. You could also have the same tablemates potentially, for example some people just don't like the set times of 5:30 and 8:30, so they make a set time for 7:00. We ate alone. We don't get to do that enough at home, so I enjoy our conversations. We have plenty of other places to meet people. 

 

I think they should offer free fountain soda. It's cheap. And I like Disney's carry-on policy for sure.  Royal allows 2 bottles of wine which we brought and then carried home. With the package, we never opened them. 

 

The pools were fresh water. 

 

 

I have only cruised once, a short 3 nights on DCL so I am happy to read along about RCCL from a Disney fan's perspective.

 

Looks like your little guy had a great birthday, fat lip and all :)

 

I WILL do a Disney cruise someday. And he sure did!

 

Glad to see things weren't too serious with Z's incident and you guys were able to carry on as planned.

I'm curious to see how the drink packages work out... I'm quietly working on a cruise for the wife and I at some point and getting as much knowledge as I can from this and other cruise TR's.

 

Let me ruin the surprise, the drink package as far as Jason and me was perfect. I would and already have plans to do it again. It's really only $43ish dollars a day plus tips at $55 a day. All you have to do is have 2 sodas, a couple bottles of water, and a few drinks to make it worth it. 

 

To help me plan my imaginary cruise, is the soda $4.50 unlimited soda per day or for the whole cruise? And do they use the Disney age of 9 and under for child? I like the idea of name your own time dining.

 

$4.50 per day. Kids are under 18. We enjoyed My Time Dining. 

 

When we went on our RC cruise we did the standard dining rather than the My Time Dining. One thing DH did not like about it is they had us at the earlier dining time. We normally don't eat as early as 5:00. The reason they did this is that both of our girls were under a certain age (12 I believe was the cutoff). If you have children under that age and want to eat later I would definitely recommend getting My Time Dining.

 

Hmmm... I don't think they have that cut-off anymore. You do have to do early if you want the staff to come get your kids and take them to the kids club. We just walked Z ourselves. 5:30 was waaaaaaaaaaay to early for us, but 8:30 is too late. That and the flexibility were the reasons we chose My Time. 

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

Is there an extra charge for the My Time Dining option?

 

Are there other dining options?

 

You said that you could have the same servers- does that mean you go to the same place to eat each night?

 

How do you tip the dining room servers?

 

TCD

[GaDawgFan.....Kelly 799]

Is there an extra charge for the My Time Dining option?

 

Are there other dining options?

 

You said that you could have the same servers- does that mean you go to the same place to eat each night?

 

How do you tip the dining room servers?

 

TCD

 

No extra charge for My Time. You can do one of the seatings or My Time in the Main Dining Room which is 5 stories. There are other dining options both free and pay that I'll cover. As far as I know Disney is the only one that has guest rotate dining rooms, most rotate menus. But Royal must like that idea because they're moving to a hybrid of that on their newest ship they're building.

 

The servers are tipped through the standard daily tips. You can add additional if you wish. 

[GaDawgFan.....Kelly 799]

Sunday 3/30 continued

 

Are you ready to see the beauty that is the balcony of cabin 7708 on the Freedom of the Seas? You might be disappointed because it’s considered an obstructed balcony. And there is what they call the super structure behind you. But let me tell you…. We loved it!

 

Here it is….

 

 

 

After some rearranging

 

 

 

View out the side

 

 

Hi, Dream!

 

 

HUGE balcony, right? We LOVED our obstructed view. We also enjoyed seeing out the back and side. We spent a lot of time out there. So much so that we decided we had to have the same cabin for the Thanksgiving 2015 cruise that my mom is taking us on.

 

We decided to get dressed and do some exploring, including the Adventure Ocean, the kids club.

 

Here’s the library that was on our floor near the elevator.

 

 

Bad picture entering the Aquanats area. No surprise here, I’ve seen pictures of Disney’s kids areas. They’re AMAZING, right Troll? They win, but I will say that Z enjoyed Adventure Ocean very much. He went from not wanting to go to never wanting to leave.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

They gave Z a birthday present. He was excited it really worked.  The lady who gave it to him was named Leticia from the Dominican Republic. She was the lead in Z’s area and also ended up being there for our muster drill and disembarking. That was a coincidence that turned out great because he got lots of extra attention.

 

 

That’s almost the photo limit, so we’ll continue next time. 

[CCIntrigue...aka Gwen 547]

Kelly, that is an awesome balcony!  Some people complain that the aft balconies are too far away from everything.  But they are so worth the walk!

 

Last time I had a corner aft balcony, I slept on it some nights.

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

Wow, that's a nice balcony.  And you got your own lounge chairs?  Nice.

 

What are those clothespins for?:

 

 

The kids area looks fine.  Sure, it's not themed like the Disney ones, but it looks clean and spacious.  Good enough.

 

How do they handle keeping track of your kid?  Disney has some kind of bulky wristband.  And they provide Wave phones that can be used on the ship.  Is there a way for the kids club to communicate with parents?

 

TCD

[GOBA Mom Lynn 18]

Kelly, that is an awesome balcony!  Some people complain that the aft balconies are too far away from everything.  But they are so worth the walk!

 

Last time I had a corner aft balcony, I slept on it some nights.

Yes! Sleeping on that balcony was the first thing I thought of when I saw that picture.  And come to think of it....it looks like you could tie a nice hammock up on those supports and such, don't you think?

[CCIntrigue...aka Gwen 547]

Yes! Sleeping on that balcony was the first thing I thought of when I saw that picture.  And come to think of it....it looks like you could tie a nice hammock up on those supports and such, don't you think?

 

I never even thought of a hammock.  I slept in a lounge chair.  It was so wonderful being lulled to sleep by the sound of the waves.

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

I never even thought of a hammock.  

 

I already have a hammock.

 

TCD

[CCIntrigue...aka Gwen 547]

We used to have a Pawley's Island hammock until it rotted away.

[GaDawgFan.....Kelly 799]

Kelly, that is an awesome balcony!  Some people complain that the aft balconies are too far away from everything.  But they are so worth the walk!

 

Last time I had a corner aft balcony, I slept on it some nights.

 

Sooooooooooooo worth it for the size and view. The walk to the elevator isn't that far, and we needed to walk with all we were eating! Plus, with Windjammer, the specialty restaurants, Adventure Ocean, and the main dining room all being aft, we found the location to be great!

 

Jason napped on it a few days. 

 

Wow, that's a nice balcony.  And you got your own lounge chairs?  Nice.

 

What are those clothespins for?:

 

 

The kids area looks fine.  Sure, it's not themed like the Disney ones, but it looks clean and spacious.  Good enough.

 

How do they handle keeping track of your kid?  Disney has some kind of bulky wristband.  And they provide Wave phones that can be used on the ship.  Is there a way for the kids club to communicate with parents?

 

TCD

 

You notice everything. I'm not sure if the clothespins were from our steward or a prior guest. I guess they were used for drying things?

 

For the kids club, they scanned our cards that were connected in the system and showed our pictures when we dropped off and picked up. He did have a thin fair type plastic band that had our muster station on it in case of emergency. There were phones in the kids club for us to take, so they could call us. 

 

Good questions! Keep them coming!

 

Yes! Sleeping on that balcony was the first thing I thought of when I saw that picture.  And come to think of it....it looks like you could tie a nice hammock up on those supports and such, don't you think?

 

I've seen pictures of the camping style hammocks strung on that balcony. Our plan was to bring ours, but Jason worked out of town the week before we left, didn't come home until Friday, and we couldn't get to where we store our RV in time. We will have our hammock next time for sure. I even tried to find a place to buy one in Cocoa Beach.

 

I never even thought of a hammock.  I slept in a lounge chair.  It was so wonderful being lulled to sleep by the sound of the waves.

 

We wished we had it, but it was great either way!

 

I already have a hammock.

 

TCD

 

It would have been AMAZING. 

 

We used to have a Pawley's Island hammock until it rotted away.

 

Those are expensive. They shouldn't rot. 

[momof3kids-Yvonne 596]

I wonder if all the RC ships have the phones to contact the parents. When we went on the Jewel of the Seas 2 or 3 years ago they did not have them. They are a great idea.

We could have given our girls permission to come and go from the kids clubs as they pleased. We didn't feel comfortable with that at all.

[rm0530 5]

 

How do they handle keeping track of your kid?  Disney has some kind of bulky wristband.  And they provide Wave phones that can be used on the ship.  Is there a way for the kids club to communicate with parents?

 

TCD

 

We were on the Dream last month. The kids are now using yellow magic bands instead of the previous style. They have a scanner like the touch-to-pay ones in the parks and the band was scanned on arrival/exit of the clubs.

 

We were told we could keep it at no cost at the end of the trip as a souvenir but they will reuse if you decide not to take. The bands did not serve any other purpose on the ship.

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

We were on the Dream last month. The kids are now using yellow magic bands instead of the previous style. They have a scanner like the touch-to-pay ones in the parks and the band was scanned on arrival/exit of the clubs.

 

We were told we could keep it at no cost at the end of the trip as a souvenir but they will reuse if you decide not to take. The bands did not serve any other purpose on the ship.

 

Whoa!

 

I haven't seen a post from you in a long time!

 

So that son of yours must be a year and half old now, right?

 

I didn't know they were using MB's on the DCL ships.  It would be great if they did away with the KTTW cards and gave everyone MB's.

 

I hope that all is well with you and your family.  Are y'all Gold Castaway Club members yet?

 

TCD

[rm0530 5]

Whoa!

 

I haven't seen a post from you in a long time!

 

So that son of yours must be a year and half old now, right?

 

I didn't know they were using MB's on the DCL ships.  It would be great if they did away with the KTTW cards and gave everyone MB's.

 

I hope that all is well with you and your family.  Are y'all Gold Castaway Club members yet?

 

TCD

 

Haha, I'm still here, just lurking around! You're right, he's 16 months. Sure does keep us on our toes! We would love to plan a Fort visit soon. We were at WL during Princess 1/2 weekend and came over to get a GAG but that's been the extent of our Forting in two years No Gold yet, this was our 4th.

 

I agree, it would be nice to ditch the keycards, especially since the bands are waterproof. It would help eliminate the need to search for your photos on the walls since the facial recognition system isn't 100%. Would also have helped prevent DH from forgetting little man's keycard in the light slot when trying to meet me on the island after the 5K. Got down to the gangplank and had to trek back up to deck 9...ouch!

[GaDawgFan.....Kelly 799]

I wonder if all the RC ships have the phones to contact the parents. When we went on the Jewel of the Seas 2 or 3 years ago they did not have them. They are a great idea.

We could have given our girls permission to come and go from the kids clubs as they pleased. We didn't feel comfortable with that at all.

 

I'm not sure if they all have them. I would think they do. Yes, I'm surprised at the ages where kids are allowed to check themselves out. At 9 I think. And isn't a 9 year old technically old enough to enter Disney alone. Crazy. 

 

We were on the Dream last month. The kids are now using yellow magic bands instead of the previous style. They have a scanner like the touch-to-pay ones in the parks and the band was scanned on arrival/exit of the clubs.

 

We were told we could keep it at no cost at the end of the trip as a souvenir but they will reuse if you decide not to take. The bands did not serve any other purpose on the ship.

 

The only problem with that was that Z took his MB off when we were at Disney. What happens then?

 

Whoa!

 

I haven't seen a post from you in a long time!

 

So that son of yours must be a year and half old now, right?

 

I didn't know they were using MB's on the DCL ships.  It would be great if they did away with the KTTW cards and gave everyone MB's.

 

I hope that all is well with you and your family.  Are y'all Gold Castaway Club members yet?

 

TCD

 

I'm not sure which I'd prefer. I don't want a Magic Band tan line. 

Haha, I'm still here, just lurking around! You're right, he's 16 months. Sure does keep us on our toes! We would love to plan a Fort visit soon. We were at WL during Princess 1/2 weekend and came over to get a GAG but that's been the extent of our Forting in two years No Gold yet, this was our 4th.

 

I agree, it would be nice to ditch the keycards, especially since the bands are waterproof. It would help eliminate the need to search for your photos on the walls since the facial recognition system isn't 100%. Would also have helped prevent DH from forgetting little man's keycard in the light slot when trying to meet me on the island after the 5K. Got down to the gangplank and had to trek back up to deck 9...ouch!

 

Oh yes they do! (As seen at the beginning of this TR.)

[GaDawgFan.....Kelly 799]

Let’s continue exploring the ship…

 

Next we headed to the main dining room to check it out. Pictures don’t really do it justice… WOW, it’s elegant!

 

 

 

Then, we decided to check out the promenade.

 

Looking up at the elevators

 

 

Light up bridge

 

 

Champagne bar that serves wine and varies champagne cocktails

 

 

You can see some rooms looking over the promenade. They’re a good option for budget conscience that still want a window. Those are the only inside rooms I’d really consider on Royal.

 

 

 

They have a car outside the wine bar. Jason was impressed because it’s some kind of rare one.

 

 

Z got to meet his first character, Kung Foo Panda!

 

 

Back up and outside, here’s the main pool area. You can see the 2 pools and 3 big hot tubs as well as the screen that they use to show things, including movies.

 

 

On the sports deck there’s a basketball court.

 

 

Mini golf

 

 

The Flowrider… we decided with Jason’s recent knee surgery and the fact that the other knee has a torn meniscus that doesn’t need surgery yet, we’d skip this one. We had plans to come watch later, but we could never get Z out of the pool. That said, Jason and my little brother already have big plans for this in 2015.

 

 

We headed back to the room. I like these touch screens where you can pull up what’s going on and where things are. It will even map a destination for you. I think I’ve seen that other lines have these too. They’re a great idea for these huge ships!

 

 

Back in the room, Z’s cake had been delivered!

 

 

In the next update, we’ll head to the sail away party! 

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

The ship looks great.  Those public spaces are just as nice as what you'll find on a DCL ship.

 

The touch screen directory is a great idea.  They don't have anything like that on DCL.

 

The Flowrider, and ice skating and rock walls, and all that stuff they put on cruise ships does nothing for me.  All of these activities are available at various locations around where I live. 

 

I'm interested to hear about the sail away party.

 

TCD

[CCIntrigue...aka Gwen 547]

Beautiful ship.  Looks very similar to the other RCCL ships I've been on.  

 

Does having access to the cruise compass on the touchscreen mean you don't get one delivered to your cabin each day?  That would be a bummer.