My first cruise

On our first date, trying to impress Jan, I was bragging about the places that I had visited prior to knowing him. I remember how he pulled out his phone and showed me a map of the world completely covered in green little dots. There were so many of them I couldn't even see the names of the cities. The dots represented, of course, the places he has travelled to, therefore making me feel completely embarrassed. However, he promised to take me on a cruise, his favorite type of traveling, and swore I will absolutely enjoy it.

Back then, cruising was something I never payed any type of attention to. I thought, as many others do, that in order to board a cruise ship you either need to be a millionaire or to work for a cruise company, so I've ignored it completely, and focused on the more common types of voyages, the ones I like to call the 'Go-to-a-place-and-lay-there-for-two-weeks-until-you-get-bored'. Boy, I was wrong!

On the 4th of February 2013, I boarded the beautiful Royal Caribbean ship named 'Freedom of the Seas'. Driving into the port and seeing that ship for the very first time, is a memory that will stay with me until I die. Despite the fact that Jan had described the Freedom of the Seas to me countless times, mentioning the Titanic has nothing on the modern cruise ships, I never truly believed it. But there it was, docked in Port Canaveral, this gigantic floating city, that can accommodate 3,634 passengers and 1,300 crew members on 15 decks. This magnificent ship measuring almost 339 meters was ready to sail the Caribbean seas for seven nights, a short journey that will take us to four breathtaking destinations : Haiti, Jamaica, Cozumel and Grand Cayman.

Ok, so far so good. But what do you do on a ship for seven days? No need to worry. Freedom of the seas offers everything you need so you can feel even better than on shore, from fast foods, speciality restaurants, a miniature golf course, a full sized basketball court, a FloRider surf simulator, three swimming areas, a rock climbing wall, shops, a casino, an ice skating ring and a three-deck-high broadway style theatre. I don't know about you, but that's more than what we have as entertainment in old, rainy Dublin. 

How about the rooms? If you imagine the cabins as something similar to the one Jack Dawson was sleeping in, you can't be more wrong. All staterooms are equipped with interactive flat screen Tvs, comfortable beds that can be configured either in a king size or as twin beds, a small bathroom and even a dresser. The cheapest category is the Inside cabin (140 sq. feet), which comes with two twin beds (also can be converted in a queen size bed), a vanity area, and a private bathroom.

Sadly, this type of cabin does not feature an outside window, hence the name. But there are other options available for those of you who prefer to have access to the gorgeous views. Starting with the 'Oceanview Stateroom', and finishing with the five types of suites : Junior, Grand, Royal, Owner and Presidential. Of course, the better the stateroom, the bigger the prices. It is hard to give you an exact price, since they vary from season to season, from ship to ship and from destination to destination. If you have a look on the Royal Caribbean website http://www.royalcaribbean.com/home.do, for the same cruise that we took, an inside cabin starts from 649$ per person and the best suite of the ship, the Royal Suite would cost you 4600$. We chose a Junior Suite ( priced now at 1600$ per person), which provided all we needed in terms of space, comfort and luxury. My favorite part? The private balcony, an ideal spot to have breakfast in the morning, while we sailed into the beautiful Caribbean ports.

Ok, so far it might seem more expensive than your 7 day stay on Sunny Beach, but you couldn't be further from the truth. If you opt for an inside cabin, the 1300$ you are going to pay include of course, the state room for you and your significant other, entrance to 4 Caribbean ports, and, most importantly...all the food you can eat. The buffet (known as the Windjammer) offers a wide range of options, starting from sandwiches and finishing with Indian, Chinese or Italian dishes. It is basically an ultra all inclusive (excluding the drinks that you can pay for, or opt for an all inclusive drink package). The only difference being that the food is 100 times better.

The amount also covers the entry to the Main dining room, a more intimate and luxurious setting than the Windjammer, Normally, you have the choice between early and late dining ( you choose them when you book the cruise) but you can also select 'My time dining' which allows you to either make a different time reservation each night or to just go eat at your leisure and wait for the next available table. 

Not included in the price of the cruise are, to start with, the two speciality restaurants. In the case of Freedom of the Seas, we had Portofino and, our all time favorite Chops.

Portofino, named after a small fishing village in Italy, is the right choice for those who prefer Fine Italian dining. Bright and spacious, this restaurant has a cover charge of 20$ per person, which includes a complete four-course meal, but not the drinks. If you are a fan of italian cuisine, you can choose Portofino without being afraid you'll make a mistake. As far as I am concerned, if I had to choose just one speciality restaurant, I would opt for Chops. Why? Well, for starters, I am extremely pretentious when it comes to food. And I am not referring to being a snob or something. I just don't eat a lot of things, such as veal, carpaccio, lamb or duck. Which makes it really hard for me to find a restaurant to fit my taste. Jan, however, enjoyed it enough to recommend it. I have to mention that I had the pleasant surprise,when booking a table, of finding out that the manager of Portofino is a Romanian man, originally from Constanta. He was extremely excited to finally have a client from his own country, so excited that he made us feel as royalty, and gave us two cocktails on the house. I was proud to discover a hard working compatriot, especially someone who, through hard work and commitment, got to a top position, and was not ashamed of his origins. 

Chops is the second restaurant, and we like it so much that we actually considered using it for our wedding reception.:) An exquisite steakhouse, one of the few places that can prepare Jan's blue steak, and that can convince me to eat spicy tuna. There isn't one thing on the menu that tastes less than extraordinary. We returned to Chops even on our European cruise, and we will do so every single time we are on a Royal ship. For four nights in a row this was the only place we ate in. We were there so often that we had our own waiter, who become a friend by the end of the cruise, who knew exactly what we wanted and how we wanted it. The service is impeccable -on our Mediterranean cruise we even had a demonstration on how to correctly decant wine, done by a wine expert- not to mention that this is the kind of place where the Chef - who, by the way, deserves a standing ovation- comes and thanks you for choosing his restaurant. I recommend the barramundi and Jan will of course tell you to choose the fillet mignon. Oh, and the pimento sauce ( just try it!). When it comes to deserts, do what we always do. We ordered the red velvet cake and the mudpie and ate them on our balcony while enjoying the warm caribbean breeze. I could write one hundred posts about Chops, and I still won't be able to describe everything this restaurant is. You just have to try it and I promise you, you will shout 'Shut up and take my money'.:)

When it comes to on board entertainment, in the beginning of this post I talked about the numerous options you have on a cruise ship, so that you never get bored. There is always something to do. Let's start with the pool area, a place where you can relax and get that perfect tan, on sea days. Royal Caribbean always has a live band by the pool that will provide the ideal musical background while you sit on your lounge chair and sip your Pina Colada. The drinks you order at the pool-side bar cost extra. 

And speaking about payments, I have to add that on a cruise ship you do not carry cash. When you board you are given a sea pass that functions as a credit card. Everything you spend on the ship will get charged on that sea pass, that is of course associated to your bank account. The pass is very important, as it is also your ID, the only thing that gives you access on and off the ship, therefore, you should have it with you at all times.

For on board shopping, have a walk on the Promenade, and you will find everything from cafes to jewellery and souvenir shops. For gamble enthusiasts, have a look at the Casino. Sure, it is not the size of a, let's say Vegas Casino, but it will do the trick in those nights when you are feeling lucky. 

For anything else, always consult your compass, a small booklet you will find every night in your room, which contains the programme of all the activities that will take place on and off the ship, one day in advance. This way, you will be able to plan your day so you can make sure you take full advantage of what the ship has to offer. 

A lot of people have asked me how safe cruising actually is. For me, it is the safest way to travel after airplanes, of course. Do not pay attention to horror movies and please, stop thinking that you will end up like the passengers on the Titanic. Just pay attention during the emergency drill - done before you start sailing- and you will notice how prepared and organized the crew is for whatever calamity you think might happen. Modern cruise ships are massive constructions designed to keep you safe and floating at any cost:). Don' t even worry about sea sickness..I am the perfect example, since I always get sick on a small ship, like a ferry, but never on a cruise ship. And if, by any chance you get injured or you feel a bit under the weather, there is always an on call doctor ready to assist you. However, make sure you get a travel insurance that includes treatment on the US territory, as the prices are according to the US healthcare system -hence huge, a consultation will otherwise cost you several hundreds of euros-.

One more advice would be to join the Royal Caribbean Crow and Anchor loyalty program, which rewards frequent travelers. As a member you will get to choose upgrades and enjoy special discounts. Luckily for me, I got to take Jan's status as a Diamond Plus member which allowed me to dine at the same table with the Captain, take part in a special ceremony that celebrates and awards frequent cruisers and enjoy the benefits of the Concierge Lounge - free drinks and snacks-.

There are a lot of things to be said about cruising, so many that it will probably take me about a week of constantly posting on this blog. Sadly, I do not have enough time to do so, but you can always use the comment section to ask me whatever you like regarding this subject. I would love to see more people experience cruising, because it is, in my opinion, a unique opportunity of visiting places on this Earth that you would never even dream to see. It is a unique opportunity to discover the beauty of sailing and to relax and get pampered like nowhere else. 

In my next post I will be writing about the ports we have visited during our Caribbean cruise, starting with..Labadee, Haiti! Stay tuned !