Woke this morning with what can only be described as a chest cold, the chills, and extreme sunburn. Going to be a fun ride home. We did the Self Assist departure. If you can, you must do this. We were off the ship in no time and off to get our rental car since our flight did not leave until 415 pm. As we left the pier by cab, the Freedom just go smaller and smaller. Almost shed a tear. Got to the airport by 830 and were on our way. Rented a car from Alamo and finally had a good experience at the car rental place.
Once we got the rental car, we were off the the forts in Old San Juan. After touring around Old San Juan trying to get to the forts, we finally made it. The fort was much bigger the I expected and had plenty of steps to go up and down. Because it's not like I already get my steps in for the week. But exploring the area and the history was fun. So I put up with the steps.
After the fort we traveled past the Carnival Fascination and their pier. And then off to lunch at a authentic Puerto Rican Restaurant. After searching for a while we found a location establishment to eat call Olive Garden. Okay not local but food was good and plentiful. I handed our waitress my sea pass card and said one Pina Colada please. She said no. I don't get it, it worked all week. Seriously though had a relaxing meal and then off to the airport for the 10 hr journey home.
Once at the airport, I found Southwest to be great again. I was already set for the extra seat and with the expectation of having sunscreen we forgot about in our carry on had no issues.
Final thoughts:
First- THANK YOU to everyone who has followed. I hope I might have given you a little glimpse into our vacation. But more importantly the wonderful ports we visited, the tour companies we traveled with, and RCCL Freedom of the Sea.
Second- We stayed in room 9308. I found the room to be more the accommodating for our needs. With the exception of limited outlets and a tiny bathroom which were really not a problem, the condition of the room was good.
The overall condition if the ship was decent. I know it is slated to head to dry dock for a major upgrade soon and look forward to seeing it refurbished someday. The biggest area of issue was the elevators. Several buttons were missing, buttons did not work and I found one button hanging. Some of the lights did not work as well. But overall minor issues.
Pop machines- the chipped cup was nice but there were only 4 spots on the ship where you could get it. Two were in Windjammer and could not be accessed when closed. One by Sorrentos and one in the arcade. Most of the time the ones outside of Windjammer were missing drink choices. This was a little disappointing.
MDR service was fantastic. Like I mentioned earlier if you have MTD request Dennis and tell him the fat guy for Minnesota says hi. You will not be disappointed with him and his staff.
Royal Caribbean as a whole was great. Having sailed on Carnival multiples, I found that Carnival is not even in the same league as RCCL.
Questions were raised about the rudeness and diversity of the passengers on the ship. I heard people grumble about the rudeness and diversity of the passengers and how it was awful. Having lived in a predominantly Hispanic community before one needs to understand there are cultural differences between us all. I witness maybe two or three instances of what I would term inappropriate behavior. The incidents I witnessed were across the board on ethnicity, from a Hispanic female snapping her fingers at the waiter to a highly intoxicated white gentleman shoving his way into an already full elevator almost knocking a lady over. At the end of the day, I am and was on vacation and while their behavior was inappropriate it was only going to effect me if it allowed it too. Cruise ships are mini cities and like our own towns we live in, has people we do not like staying on them. If focus on you having a good vacation you will. If you focus on what others do, it might be a long week.
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