Come Sail Away with Me
“Not only are bloggers suckers for the remarkable, so are the people who read blogs .” - Seth Godin
Come Sail Away with Me
First I will start with the ease of getting there. If you can find a sailing you like out of a port that you can drive to instead of flying that is a huge money saver right there. From the Philly area, it was about 1hr 45 min. I left at 7:15 a.m. and arrived just around 9 a.m. I was among one of the first passengers in line, as we lined up just as if we were sailing that day. They began taking passengers in for security around 9:15. Once through security, you can check in and stay in the holding area until you can line up to board the ship. Boarding started around 10 a.m. The ship doesn't sail until 4 p.m., so you have all day to enjoy the ship and start your vacation. You have the use of certain areas of the ship to enjoy while waiting for your room to be ready.
The ship is beautiful. She is part of the Freedom Class ships, and she began service in May 2007 and was refurbished in 2016. There are 18 total decks with 15 of them being passenger decks. She holds 3,364 passengers and a crew of 1,360.
There are many styles of staterooms available. We got the pleasure to see the Royal Suite, the Owners Suite, a Villa Suite, a balcony, Oceanview, a promenade view, and inside rooms. They are very spacious and comfortable. The promenade view rooms are inside rooms with windows that overlook the promenade, The ocean view has beautiful windows that are either round or panoramic views of the ocean. The balcony rooms are situated with either 2 twin beds or 1 king bed. Some have pull-down berths or sofa beds to be able to accommodate 4 passengers. The suites, although have more space in the room overall, hold 4-8 passengers. You can find accommodations for up to 14 in the Villa Suites.
Outside of every elevator, you can find an interactive guide that will tell you where to go on the ship to find what you are looking for.
You can even categorize what you are looking for by filtering out certain things, for instance, if you want to find out where you can eat but don't want to do specialty dining, you can filter to complimentary dining, and the board will tell you what's available, where it is and how to get there.
Adventure Ocean Kids Club: If you are traveling with kiddos big or small, there is a place for everyone on this ship. If you want to go to an adults-only dinner one night, no problem, the kids' club is the perfect place for your littles to enjoy and make new friends.
Royal Babies & Tots starts at 6mo., next is the Aquanauts for kids ages 3-5. 6-8 yrs of age is in the Explorers Club, 9-11 move on to the Voyagers Club, then for the tweens and teens, they have Fuel. Complete with a "bar" of mocktails, Video games, sofas, music, and their own outdoor deck. All of this including an arcade is what completes Adventure Ocean Kids Club. The staff here is well trained, educated, certified, and have completed background checks.
Autism Friendly Program:
Royal Caribbean offers an autism-friendly initiative for families living with autism, Down Syndrome, autism-friendly, and other developmental disabilities. This includes sensory-friendly films and toys, dietary menu options, and overall autism-friendly training for Adventure Ocean staff and more. I also as a Travel Advisor have completed a course to become an Autism Travel Professional. Royal Caribbean offers autism-friendly products and services, and they include:
Priority check-in, boarding and departure
Special dietary accommodations including gluten-free and dairy-free
Adventure Ocean flexible grouping by ability for children 3 to 11 years old
Adventure Ocean toilet-trained policy exception
Pagers/phones for parents of children in Adventure Ocean program while signed into our care (subject to availability) Availability: These Autism Friendly products and services are available on all cruises
Entertainment: The entertainment on this ship is incredible. You have things from bars to nightclubs, to movies under the stars, and everything in between. There is a theatre that holds Broadway Shows as well as Royal Caribbean Exclusives.
There is also an Ice Rink that hosts an Ice show, as well as free skating when the rink is not in use. Just make sure that you are in pants and have your socks with you. Some of the bar/lounge areas can be made into private event areas. Some events that have taken place on the ships are weddings, cocktail parties, business meetings, and incentive trips with special parties. Are you a gambler?? Head to Deck 4 and hit the Casino where you can find nearly 300 slot machines and 19 gaming tables.
Food: On this ship, you will have an amazing amount of food to choose from when it comes to complimentary dining. The Main Dining Room will make you feel like royalty, where you have 3 decks worth of tables and exquisite decor. You can go here for breakfast, lunch, and dinner each day. Windjammer is the buffet where you can go for a quick breakfast, lunch, and dinner each day and have choices from a global cuisine. The Cafe Promenade is open 24 hours and is a great place to grab a snack or something light and quick. Sorrento's is an authentic New York-style pizzeria with traditional pizzas as well as rotating specialties. And of course, Room Service that is available 24hrs. Now as far as specialty dining goes, you have the choice of Chops Grille, a Chicago Style steak house. Giovanni's Table is an authentic Italian restaurant. Sabor is a traditional Mexican cuisine. Vintages Wine Bar, Johnny Rockets, Ben & Jerry's and Cake Cupboard. In the Main Dining Room, you can experience the Chef's Table, which is both experiential and educational, as the Chef de Cuisine specially prepares and presents each course, while explaining its cooking techniques, ingredients, and flavors. Then a sommelier pairs every course with wine chosen to enhance your enjoyment of the dish. If you have littles with you, the sommelier will mix up something virgin for them to pair with the meal.
Outside: Here is where you can find me all day every day. There are 4 pools and 7 jacuzzies of which 2 are cantilevered. You can find this area on Deck 11. There is a splash zone for the kiddos complete with their own mini waterslides.
The main pool has entertainment with music and a band and movies at night. There is an adults-only area called the Solarium that is separate from the main pool area. In the main pool area, you can also have soft-serve ice cream all day long!!!! There is an area to become PADI certified. On Deck 13, you can find the Sports Court. Here you will find a Rock Climbing Wall, a basketball court, 3 water slides, and Flowrider, a surfing simulator where you can show off your surfing skills or boogie board the waves.
Spa: Vitality Spa is full-service. You can have a mani/pedi, facial, massage, hair, body treatments, and even Cool Sculpting in their Medi-spa.
They use Elemis as their skin care, CND nail products, and a personal favorite of mine Kerastase as the haircare. If you have any onboard credits, this is the perfect place to use them.
Gym: On Deck 11, you will find Ship Shape Fitness Center, which includes weights, cardio equipment, a room for classes, changing rooms with steam and saunas, as well as Nutritional Coaches and supplements.
The Key Program: Benefits of The Key are subject to change by ship and sailing and are not available on all sailings. This is something that you need to price shop, the prices can go up and down because of the internet package that is included in this. If you are going to be using the internet package it is definitely something to consider.
Priority access during The Key designated arrival time (to be communicated via email). Other benefits may apply at specific ports.*
Carry-on bag drop off with delivery to your stateroom. **
Exclusive welcome lunch in the Main Dining Room featuring The Key signature menu.***
Access to the fast lane at onboard activities (activities vary by ship)and private time at the Flowrider.
Priority departure at tender ports of call from ship-to-shore.
Dedicated seating at shows in the Main Theater, Aqua Theater, Studio B, and Two70.****
VOOM® Surf & Stream 1 of Device high-speed internet per person who purchases the package.
On debarkation day, enjoy an exclusive á la carte breakfast and choice departure.
Now that you got to know the ship a little bit, I have some suggestions for you as sailors
Check-in EARLY, and enjoy all that the ship has to offer for as long as you can.
On your check-in day, stay away from the Windjammer, everyone is racing there and it gets crazily crowded, and since it is a seat-yourself buffet, you have to wait for others to get up to find a seat.
Check out Sorrento's in the Promenade or other areas of the Promenade to grab a quick bite.
If you are going to do a spa service, I would suggest utilizing that on a port day, depending on how long your sailing is and what ports you are going to, it tends to be a little cheaper on those days.
And lastly, use me as your Travel Advisor, I can sometimes get you onboard credits or other amenities that you can't get by booking on your own!
