Royal Caribbean Vacation- Part 1
After our wonderful 1 and 1/2 days at Universal Studios we got up early and got ready to start our Royal Caribbean 7 day Caribbean cruise. As you may have read when you book the Universal Studios and Royal Caribbean Combo vacation, all transfers are included. So we were lucky enough to have a big bus to take us to Port Canaveral where we would get on the Freedom of the Seas. Of course Dakotah and I had to get the mandatory selfie!
When we got to port the driver pointed out our ship to us. It was so awesome to see it peeking out behind the trees. It was A LOT bigger than I thought it would be! We sailed on the “Freedom of the Seas”. It is part of the Royal Caribbean’s Freedom fleet and had just come out of dry dock. I will tell you more about the ship in a later post!
After we parked the attendants helped us put our luggage tags on our bags. The luggage tags have your cabin number on them and your bags are delivered to your cabins later in the day. We were already advised to bring a bag or small suitcase with the items we would need when we got on the ship. We waved bye to our luggage and then proceeded to embark the ship. I have to tell you, Dakotah and I were super, super excited!
Embarkation
Embarkation was nothing like I imagined. We arrived kinda early and that led to a very long line. In the future I know to either arrive really early or later in the afternoon. When we first entered we had to go through security, just like at the airport. We showed our ID’s and had our bags scanned. I thought that was all there was to it and was like “Wow, that was very easy!” Wrong. When we got through security we realized we would have to wait in line to get all of our documents checked and get our sea pass. Your sea pass is something you will need the whole week. You will take it everywhere you go because it acts as a credit card for purchases, your ID to get in and out of port, and will also let everyone know if you have a drink package, etc. It is very important to keep up with it. Anyway, I got off topic. I have to give Royal Caribbean credit though, they moved the line very quickly. Once we got up to the agent, things went very smooth. They checked our documents, I signed a form, and then Dakotah and I had our pics done for the sea pass. After all that we were free to board the ship, YAY!
I have a moderate form of OCD for germs. Anywhere I go, I carry a bottle of hand sanitizer. When we were entering the ship the first thing they did was squirt hand sanatizer in our hands. It was like heaven, lol. You will find that there are sanatizer stations almost everywhere. Especially in eating areas. Also, if the crew see that you don’t use it when entering they will very politely tell you that you need your “washy, washy”. I really loved that because they are very concerned about safety and well being on the ship.
On-Board- Day One
If you have never been on a cruise before you can get kinda confused when you first board. Our room wasn’t ready yet and it seemed like a lot of people’s weren’t either. So everyone was kind of milling around. I took this opportunity to set up my expense account at guest services. You can set up your expense account one of two ways- Cash or Credit Card. We chose cash because it was easier for us. After doing that we went to find out where we could buy the Royal Replinish drink package. The RR is one of the several drink packages you can purchase on Royal Caribbean. It includes all soda ( with a souvenir cup), frozen non-alcoholic drinks, fresh squeezed juice, premium coffee ( Starbucks), water, and tea. They also have a package that includes all alcoholic drinks. After our purchase and getting our little sticker on our pass, we decided to check out the promenade. I will tell you more about that later. Imagine our surprise when music started playing and a flash dance mob started. That was very exciting!
Our Cabin
After a fun time in the promenade we decided to go up to our cabin, freshen up, and rest a little bit. When we arrived we met our AMAZING steward Alfredo. He was awesome and I just adored him. He asked if we needed anything and I had been looking for a pen to write something down. He found me one. I thought that was so awesome. Our cabin had two twin beds (after they separated it), a couch that folded out to a bed, a bathroom with a shower, and a deck. It was quite lovely.
There was also a big closet that you could fit all of your clothes into and also had a safe and life jackets. While we were in our cabin we heard our captain for the first time. His name was Tor Olsen and he was not only very professional but funny as well. He made us feel very comfortable and I liked that.
The First Day ( well half day)
When the Captain spoke to use via the intercom he let all passengers know that we would be having an emergency assembly drill. This drill explains everything you need to do in the case of an emergency. Everyone has to go and no one is exempt. Even if you have cruised before. Your stewards will come around to the rooms and check to make sure you went. We ran into Alfredo on our way out. It only takes about 20 minutes of your time and can save your life, so there is no reason to try to skip it.
Also, they don’t just put you on the ship and leave you stranded while everyone is checking in, etc. They have several events for first time cruisers and even seasoned cruisers. They had a planning event which answered a lot of our questions about dining, excursions, and activities. They also had a first time cruisers event with Casey, our cruise director. They gave you a lot of information about the cruise, things to do, and how to get the most out of the week.
Of course they also had a lot of activities for us to do that day. You could watch “Gaurdains of the Galaxy” in 3D or attend a liquor tasting. One thing you will definitely not want to miss is the sail away party with all of the Dreamworks characters! It was a lot of fun and I don’t want to spoil the whole thing, so here is a little clip to show you!
I have a lot more to tell you, so see you next post!
