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| Labadee, Haiti ~ Royal Caribbean Private Beach |
We absolutely love to cruise.
My husband and I go every year. This year we went on a Royal Caribbean cruise to the Caribbean aboard Freedom of the Seas.
Freedom of the Seas is my very favorite ship so far and Royal Caribbean is really rockin' out with their on board entertainment. We visited Labadee, Haiti (RC's private island); Falmouth, Jamaica; Grand Cayman; and Cozumel, Mexico.
One of the after dinner shows featured a contestant from America's Got Talent. An illusionist that stole the show! He joined the RC singers and dancers for a superior show. They also have an ice skating rink featuring the best ice show at sea we have seen. They hired Olympic skaters that do amazing tricks on the ice considering it is on a ship in the middle of the ocean.
Did I mention the Flowrider overlooking the back of the ship? I sat on the sidelines 10 minutes before I HAD to try it myself. I saw people of all ages getting out there and I couldn't just watch and longer. I did it, and I was really good at it. I could remain steady on the board (no fancy tricks or anything), but I couldn't figure out how to get off. I literally had to try to wipe-out.
We had a relaxing afternoon in the theater watching Shrek 4 in 3-D. They had real 3-D glasses and everything. The addition of the Dreamworks Experience features throughout the ship were outstanding. We saw Shrek and Fiona all over the ship joining in on the activities. The penguins even danced by the pool.
The day we visited Falmouth, Jamaica, we booked a Chefmakers Academy Class on board instead of doing an excursion. We had been to Dunns River Falls before and was more interested in the class. This is the first ship we had been on that offered these classes. We didn't just do one dish, we got to prepare an entire meal with a small class of 12 students. The chef walked us through every recipe and took us behind the scenes to the galley to use the stove. After all the food was ready, the table was set and wine was poured for everyone to relax and enjoy a great meal, great company and to top it off chocolate molten cakes. YUMMMM!!! It was by far the BEST thing we've ever done on a cruise ship (other than the Flowrider, of course).
Stingray City. You can't go wrong with this excursion in Grand Cayman. The stingrays aren't caged or in a tank, they are really in the wild and come right up to you so you can feed then squid from your hand. Very up close and personal. You don't even have to use the snorkel equipment provided because the water is very shallow and the boat is right over the sand bar. Only two negatives, it's a very popular excursion and draws a huge crowd and the price of the CD they want to sell with your picture holding the stingray. You can take your own pictures. Yes, I did buy the overpriced CD. I'm a sucker for more pictures.
I can't forget about Cozumel, Mexico. We took the water taxi over to the main land and our excursion for the day was swimming with SEA TURTLES!! This was more surprising than the sting rays. We took a shuttle bus to a very private resort and beach (only a group of 8). The guide showed us how to use the snorkel gear and we went to the ocean. Just right off the beach and there were the turtles. It was amazing that they were that close to shore. This was the most coral reef I had ever seen. Sooo beautiful. At one point I had to stop moving my flippers because I was so close to the reef. The turtle were so mellow and calm. It was such a small group that they were able to go about their business and ignored us. The guides said the water wasn't usually as cloudy as it was and there were usually more turtles.
I really don't know why this one was extra special considering we have been to the Caribbean several times, but we absolutely had the best time. Royal Caribbean ROCKS and I can't wait to be aboard Freedom of the Seas again!
