So, now that we are back from our vacation, I can post about it! Sorry this took so long, I was being lazy! As we visited 4 stops, this will be a 5 part mini-series!

We went on a 7 day Eastern Caribbean cruise on the Freedom of the Seas, visiting the cruise line’s (Royal Caribbean) private island in Haiti (Labadee); Ocho Rios, Jamaica; Grand Cayman; and Cozumel, Mexico. So here’s the break down:

Day 1: The first day we spent on the ship exploring as we headed to Haiti. And by the way, it was awesome! We got a free upgrade from the smallest, lowest cabin to one with a window overlooking the Royal Promenade. At first, I was worried about the noise and lights, but the room was soundproof (or at least I hope it was) and the curtains shut out all light (when I remembered to close them… ) Our cabin was right over the pizza shop, poor Keith.

But it was really cool to grab a slice before bed and only need to go up one flight of stairs (or one stop on the elevator, depending on how tired we were). And there was a Ben & Jerrys. And a wave rider and mini putt-putt golf course. And an ice skating rink. And a casino (of course). I learned how to play craps! Of course, I watched Keith the whole time. I lost all my gambling money at black jack. The cards hated me!

We also found out that there was a mini movie theater on the ship. I finally got to see Dark Knight. Kinda disappointing, actually. There were really great shows, including the ice skating show, and the food was awesome! Well, the pizza was ok…

And did I mention the hot tub? OMG! IT was soooo cool. For all my friends afraid of heights, ignore this picture…

on each side of the ship was a hot tub, big enough for about 15-20 people, that extended out over the sides of the ship! You look out the windows and straight down!
We obviously enjoyed the ship very much. Not only the chance to rest and get away from the world for a while, but the food and people and entertainment were great. As we expected.

Side note: Before we left on Sunday, we got to see the local sea turtle. One of the crew members said he always comes out to see the ship off. Then, about an hour later, we were still standing on the deck watching the water pass and we saw another one! He went under real fast and We didn’t get a picture, but he was sooo cute!

and go here if you want to see the rest of the pictures of us on the ship!