Miami & boarding ship – Cruise Departure

It’s funny what a great nights sleep will do for the mind, body, and soul. It was nice to get the needed sleep we lacked and I looked forward to the vacation which had been on the books for months. It may be a little bit of a working vacation but not one to disrupt the fun and relaxing days ahead.

Embassy Suites always has their wake up breakfast in the atrium every morning. The sounds of the birds and the waterfall give the feeling of being outdoors with the smell of bacon cooking close by. The place is crowded with people heading to the football game in town. We have met several people from Dallas and Memphis who are here for the game. There is a party atmosphere as everyone wants to eat and head to the stadium. I just wanted to head to the ship to relax.

We arranged for our transportation to the dock but needed to return Scott’s rental before we left. He found out the car rental place was only about three quarters of a mile away from the hotel. We laughed all the way back as we could have walked back and not taken their shuttle. Who knew it was that close.

The van came to pick us up and everyone loaded the luggage into the trailer that was pulled behind our ride. The kids were excited as we made our way into downtown Miami and seeing all of the large buildings as we drove to the Port of Miami and the Royal Caribbean embarkation area. Our first view of the ship came as we drove up on the bridge to the causeway leading to the dock. It was big . . . we have sailed on some of the largest cruise ships before but the Freedom of the Seas beats them all. It was noticeably larger with the top several stories higher than the bridge as we made our way around to board.

This check-in and boarding was really nice as we dropped off our bags curbside which will be brought to our staterooms shortly. Going inside of the Embarkation center was easy with little crowds as we wanted to board early. The system with our internet completed Set Sail Pass was easy and quick. A quick look at our passports and the needed swipe of a credit card was all that was needed to get your ID card.

Almost everything you do aboard ship for the next 8 days is done with your pass-card. You buy things with it and are linked to your picture so as you leave the ship and re-board after shore excursions they will know who is onboard. You need no cash to carry around and provide the card as you find things to buy or order drinks during your voyage.

As we approached the gangway to board the ship there was a Latin film crew who were taking videos of people boarding and giving their narration of the ships interior. It reminded us of Samantha Brown in Spanish. The man being filmed was funny as he did several re-takes just inside at the entrance to the Grand Promenade.

We walked briefly on deck four through the casino to the elevators close to our stateroom. A quick trip up on the glass elevator to the eighth floor put us just a few feet from our room. The stateroom is arranged differently than our other ships with the bed area next to the door leading to the balcony. Other ships we have cruised on had the ‘living room’ closest to the balcony which had worked well as I could wake up and enjoy the living area or the balcony while my wife slept in. We will see how this works on this trip as I know she will not change her desire to sleep late and order room service for her morning meal.

We spent time relaxing while Scott and Kim settled in above us on the ninth floor getting the kids into their room. They were ready to explore this extraordinary floating city that will be our home for the next little while.

Everyone met up and we walked around the ship before we headed up to the Windjammer Café on deck 11. There were three different restaurants in the aft part of this deck. Windjammer is the main casual buffet with Chops on one side and Jade on the other. Chops is the 5 star steak house and Jade is the Far Eastern cuisine that you must make reservations to dine there.

The buffet for lunch had a nice selection and the presentation of food was nicely done. As you walked into the Windjammer there was a display table of carved fruit with the centerpiece a “Welcome Aboard” greeting carved into two watermelons. Nice touch with an assortment of many fruits to be picked out on your way back to the stateroom or cabin.

We found a large table overlooking Biscayne Bay and you could see the city outside the windows of the dining room. Miami has grown since my last visit with many new high rise buildings in the downtown area and many more out on South Beach a few miles away.

Lunch was nice with everyone finding something to eat. Many varieties for everyone to choose from were presented on the aisle sides and the three warming tables at the aft turn area. Drinks were served on either side and deserts were on display in the center area.

Full we left to explore for a bit and walk off the meal. It was hot outside on deck with the humidity about 95%. We strolled around the track area with four laps equaling the distance of a mile. We could see down on the different swimming pools and the H20 Zone, a kiddie area with several pools and water splashing on the kids playing before we set sail.

Walking along the Grand Promenade with many shops on either side gave everyone many choices to find that one special item to take back home. There were several kiosks set up selling the ‘special of the day’, and the crowds of people milling about doing the same exploring that we were. It was funny watching the reactions to questions being asked or hearing the ‘oohhs & ahhhs’ as new things were discovered by everyone.

First day impression of the lunch buffet was a good one overall. The variety was nice with selections of meat, vegetables, and fruits. There was a nice soup bar with two choices to pick from. I tried the clam chowder and it was delicious and thick with plenty of seafood chunks. I added a small amount of bacon bits and it hard not to go back for a third bowl, lol.

I can see that our casual eating will find us eating in the same area so we can find a table large enough to handle our group. With seven people we were somewhat limited to large tables but the different dining areas were scattered with them. None were right next to the windows but still close enough for a great view. The waiters and waitresses were attentive to our needs bringing drinks or clearing the table as needed.

We took a stroll on the deck for a short time exploring many areas and decks before heading back to our stateroom to see if our luggage had been delivered. There was a nice view of Miami from the upper deck but it was quite hot so we decided it was time to rest up a bit before the mandatory emergency muster drill. The group was almost into a heavenly nap time but then there was ship’s muster being called over the intercom and ships outside loudspeakers. The herd of ‘cattle’ made its way to the many designated muster station where everyone was aware that the life jackets were not a fashion statement! The announcements were read and the crew showed everyone how to properly put on the emergency gear before spreading the ‘all clear’ and dismissed everyone.

We headed up to the main deck for the Bon voyage party just before the ship left the pier and headed out to sea. As we slowly started moving along the causeway the cars below were blowing their horns and waving to everyone aboard ship. We passed several people who were fishing but took the time give us a nice sendoff.

I headed down to one of the outdoor pool bars to get everyone a drink but found myself trying to get the bartender to make one of them the ‘proper way’ with whipped cream on top but was told “NO” that he could not do it that way. Being taken back a bit I left with the drinks and suffered the wrath of my wife’s not getting what she wanted. Scott went and tried for a different drink and found himself with the same results, “NO” he was told.

How many ways can the crew say NO! We had made several small requests when booking our staterooms but found out after boarding that they were not carried out. Minor things probably but things we had been able to do on other cruise lines we had sailed with before. Kim drinks only Miller Lite beer so Scott had asked for a six pack to be waiting cold when we arrived onboard but they told us that they could only do ‘wine gift packages’. My request was to have the two chairs on the balcony swapped out for two lounge type chairs so we could be outdoors away from the crowds if we wanted to. We were slightly disappointed not having our requests handled before we boarded. We sailed into our first sunset . . .

We met Matthew, our cabin steward who had worked for 5 years with Royal Caribbean and when asked about the lounge chairs did not exactly say no, but did not sound all that promising that it would happen. So much for our first day requests onboard this beautiful ship.

We met up for dinner at the Windjammer Café where we had a fun time watching the kids hit the buffet and the desert bar. They had discovered the room service menu and wanted to give that a try soon. The possibility of unlimited pizza made us laugh as they described what they may want to be delivered to the room later while they watched a movie.

We were cruising the night away heading into the night as we all spent time on the upper deck looking for shooting stars in the darkness above us while watching thunderstorms off in the distance. It was nice as the breeze made things feel more comfortable than we had been all day. Watching the lightning flash on either side of us miles away from the ship made for a mini ‘fireworks’ show for those who took the time to watch. I have missed that about living in Alaska so was not in a hurry to leave to do something else.

The kids wanted to swim again so it was time to head back to the pool area where the girls had more swim time while Bob found the arcade and spent time playing all of the games.

Deb and I headed back to the cabin so I could try to keep up on my writing before Scott and I head down to the casino for a few rolls at the craps table later. When we returned and brought up the cabin lights it was awfully bright so we tried to get Matthew to pull out the bulbs to two of the fixtures so it was not blinding us. One light switch had five different lights that came on. It was decided we had heard enough ‘NO’s’ for one night so I removed several lights to make things more livable. It was almost a quick fix as we stashed the light bulbs in one of the cabinets so I could replace them once we were back in Miami. Our fear was that Matthew would replace them everyday and by the end of the trip there would be 15 different bulbs stashed in drawers, cabinets, and counter tops.

Deb watched Narnia on her DVD player as I made my way to meet up with Scott for some much anticipated rolls of the dice. The table was not real crowded so we decided we would make our own luck and played with just the two of us at the table besides the pit crew. We played for awhile and at the end of our session both of us were up slightly for night,

We wanted our ‘normal’ (late night) snack of steak and eggs so wandered from deck to deck looking for somewhere we could find the right place open to serve us. We were shocked that there is no coffee shop on board that was open which served meals. All we could find open at 4 am was the pizza place, a latte type coffee shop, and no normal restaurants open.

We grabbed a cup of coffee and headed for our staterooms to get a few hours sleep. Tomorrow is a day at sea so we hope everyone wakes up with excitement for the day ahead.

* Note - all times in the picture are still Alaska Time so what is shown is 4 hours earlier than Eastern time.

Ice