freedom of the seas - Stuff Parents Need

I attended a press trip hosted by Royal Caribbean. All thoughts and opinions are strictly my own, as always.

I have had so much fun over the past few months sharing with you about my first experience on a cruise ship, and giving you an insider’s look at Royal Caribbean’s Freedom of the Seas. The ship is remarkable to say the least, and I learned so much about how family-friendly cruising really is, as well as how completely indulgent it can be, and at a surprisingly affordable price!

But one of my very biggest takeaways from the experience was just how critical it is as parents to take time away from your home, and away from your children, as a couple. When Tim and I traveled on Freedom of the Seas back in November, it was the very first time we had been away TOGETHER, without our children, since our oldest was born in August 2009. And now that I have experienced a child-free vacation, I really and truly regret that we didn’t take the plunge sooner.

You see this? This is the sunrise. I watch the sun rise EVERY SINGLE DAY because my children wake up around 5 am. But this is a sunrise that I watched of my own free will. There’s a difference! This one was glorious and peaceful. I sipped my coffee, enjoyed breakfast in my room, and just enjoyed the quiet moment. Tim was actually still asleep; we were both exactly where we wanted to be!

And speaking of coffee, Freedom of the Seas has a Starbucks on board, so I was able to get my beloved iced coffee any time I wanted. It was such a treat for me, and it didn’t involve loading the kids into the car. I was able to have a coffee date with the hubs, instead, right there on the ship.

We also had date night, every single night on the boat! You guys, we are doing REALLY REALLY good to get one date night a month. One date night every 3 months is closer to the average for us, though. 🙁 But not during our vacation! Honestly, it was like we were on a really fun date the entire time. We even got to be out and about after the sun went down, which is a super rare treat for anyone with young children.

From a cupcake shop, to Ben & Jerry’s, to near-constant entertainment opportunities on board, there was SO much to do and see and so many ways to get to spend time with my spouse. I had the time and space to get dressed up and do my hair and makeup because I wasn’t having to deal with the kids at the same time. I’m telling you, you only really grasp how much time your kids take up in your day-to-day life when you get a break from them for several days. You guys, we had LEISURE TIME! REMEMBER THAT?!?!

Tim is pictured above during one of my favorite memories of the entire trip. We found a little solarium on one of the decks, sort of tucked away and under-used (read: totally empty!). We sat down together, each with a book in hand, and read for a few minutes before we both fell asleep. Spontaneous nap?! This happens NEVER EVER in my home. This may sound like a rather sad “highlight” of a cruise, but if you have little ones in your home, then I think you can imagine the exhilaration you might feel when you are so relaxed that you can actually fall asleep spontaneously without worrying that a child will be put in any risk. Do you feel me on this one? It was PURE BLISS.

On-Shore Excursions

Speaking of pure bliss, do you ever daydream about getting magically transported to your own private beach for some swimming and relaxation? Well this is something entirely possible during your time off the boat, friends! When we were at the U.S. Virgin Islands, we enjoyed a little trip to a private beach with a small group of folks. We partied on a smaller boat all the way over to the beach, and then we partied all the way back! 🙂 We even enjoyed a little mid-afternoon rain in the midst of it all.

We also spent a bit of time at Coki Beach, which is known for its outstanding snorkeling opportunities. Tim and I never get the chance to swim on our own since we are normally with our children and need to be watching out for them, and snorkeling? Oh please! We’ve never even had the opportunity to do something like that! So imagine our joy and delight when we rolled up to this:

We played and played in the water, and saw some amazing fish and coral! We also took a bit of time to just take in the incredible scenery.

We snapped this shot of ourselves just a few minutes before we left the cruise ship to head back home to our kids.

We were SO relaxed, and we wanted to remember what that looks like, so that we would remember to make time for ourselves as a couple. It makes us a better team, and it makes us better parents, too. And of course we gave our children HUGE hugs and kisses when we got back home. We missed them terribly, but we know we made a good choice to go away for a week and recharge our personal batteries, and get reconnected as a couple.

If you haven’t traveled without your children yet, and you have people in your life who you would trust to watch over your little ones for a week, or even for a few days, I cannot stress enough just how great of an investment it is to get away as a couple. I honestly wish I could go back in time a few years and force myself to take a vacation sooner. But now that I’ve experienced it, I’m already planning the next one. And for me, cruising with Royal Caribbean is an excellent choice because I don’t have to worry about a single thing; all my entertainment, food, and fun is right there waiting for me. I just have to show up! 🙂

If you want to read more about my experience, you can check out my review of Freedom of the Seas, my thoughts on Royal Caribbean cruise food, and my review of the family-friendly opportunities on board if you want to cruise with kids.

Friends, I have so many things I want to tell you about my very first experience going on a cruise. In November, I went on a press trip with Royal Caribbean, and explored all that there is to do on one of their truly remarkable ships, Freedom of the Seas.

In particular, I want to talk about how easy Royal Caribbean makes it to be gleefully entertained, how fantastic the kids programming is, how memorable all the meals really are (the food is every bits as good as they say it is!). And I want to talk about the most important thing that I learned: how critical it is for parents with children to spend time away from home AND away from their kids, together.

I’ve got separate posts headed your way over the next few months dedicated to each of these topics. For today, though, I want to introduce you to Freedom of the Seas, and if you have never cruised before, to give you a taste of what Royal Caribbean has to offer. We were told that cruising would give us an opportunity to feel pampered and to be very entertained, but we never could have imagined how a vacation could so easily provide wow after #Royalwow.

Accommodations

We stayed in a Deluxe Ocean Stateroom, which offered two twin beds that easily become a king, a small sitting area, private bathroom with shower, and most importantly, a small private balcony. The couch also converts to a bed to accommodate extra guests. The room was quite spacious for 2, and we could have squeezed in our two kids here, though it would have become decidedly less comfy if we had done that. When we cruise with our kids later (and we totally will…can’t wait to tell you about what they have on board for kids!), we will likely spring for a larger room.

The Ship Interior

The interior of the ship was, in a word, magnificent. It honestly felt like a floating city; very easy to forget that you were actually on a boat as opposed to at a resort complex on land! Freedom of the Seas has a main thoroughfare with what feels like a small, beautiful mall inside of it, with shops, specialty bars and places to eat.

It also has countless “tucked away” spots just like this one, where you can relax, have a drink, and just enjoy your surroundings. When we set sail, every single stateroom on the ship was booked, which means that we had somewhere around 3,000 passengers on the ship, not counting the 1,360 crew members. And yet, Tim and I were able to find place after place to steal away and be by ourselves, or at least not in a huge crowd. I have no idea how that was even possible, but I have been told that it is by design. The ship is overflowing with little nooks for people to find and enjoy in peace and quiet. This was one of the things that surprised and delighted me the very most about cruising. I assumed before going that it would feel like going on vacation with 3,000 strangers. But it doesn’t!

This is where we ate most of our meals. I mean, c’mon! The dining room was nothing short of spectacular. I felt so very spoiled just getting to dine here night after night. And the food. YOU GUYS. I have a whole future post dedicated to the topic, because it is just that worthy! 🙂

Entertainment

The Freedom of the Seas is a gorgeous ship, and it is perfectly appointed to encourage relaxation and pure enjoyment. But if you want to be entertained as well as to be relaxed, then don’t you worry: Royal Caribbean is ready for you!

Every single night they have amazing shows in their theater. We saw a Broadway review, incredible live musical performances, dancers, and a comedian (admittedly, he was offensive and I didn’t like him, but I guess that’s sort of the deal with comedians…). We even caught an afternoon 3D movie (The Croods! I’ve been wanting to see it for a while but I NEVER get to go to the movies!). I thought that the level of talent we got to enjoy on the ship was absolutely astounding. And as you can see, the theater can hold a lot of people, yet it still feels intimate. We had a great seat for every single performance, because there’s no such thing as a bad seat in the house!

We also got to try our hand at ice skating. That’s right, Freedom of the Seas has an ice skating rink. And as you can see, I was a total natural. I took one lap around the rink, gave myself a killer bruise on my arm (see picture above), and then retired my skates and decided to let the professionals take the ice.

Did you know that Royal Caribbean is one of the largest employers of ice skaters in the world? Their performers put on an incredible show for us. The house was totally packed for their shows; it was the most “crowded” I felt during the whole trip, and even then, it felt like no big deal. We were seated quickly and it only took a few minutes to get out of the theater afterwards. And best of all, no traffic to deal with to drive back home! In fact, we walked from the show straight to a fabulous dinner. What a vacation, people!!!

If you want something a little more “low key” then just play some board games with other folks on the ship. We took part in a really fun organized game of Apples to Apples. Evidently we aren’t the only fans of this game, as about 100 people showed up to play! In addition to organized group games, they also have a special room on the ship just for playing games at your leisure! Tim and I played a quick round of scrabble, and there was a fierce game of rummy happening one table over from us. Those ladies looked serious!

Arts/Culture

Or maybe art is more up your alley. TheCEO of Royal Caribbean is a huge fan of art, and his love really shows on the ships, which are full of beautiful pieces you can enjoy. There’s even an art auction on board so you can take home a treasure! We sat in on a very interesting art lecture while on the ship, too. See? Something for everyone!

I even managed to stumble upon a cooking demonstration, happening right in front of one of the main buffets on the ship. I watched the highly skilled chefs on board, I learned a few new techniques, and I got to sample the yummy end result. It really blew me away how many exciting and fun opportunities were waiting around every corner.

Work It Out

For those of you who like to work on your fitness, the views from these treadmills are quite spectacular. The workout facility also has a boxing ring (!) and an aerobics room for classes like yoga, pilates, and step aerobics. I almost got on one of those treadmills just so that I could workout in such a beautiful setting.

Almost….

Instead, I spent some very relaxing time in the sauna and steam rooms available in the fitness center. That’s got to be the best way EVER to work up a sweat. Seriously though, this was one of my very favorite moments on board: quiet, calm, warm, and relaxing. Growing up, I actually had a sauna in my house. It is SOOOOOO random, and not at all indicative of my income bracket. It just so happens that the person my parents bought the house from was “that guy” (you know, the upper-middle aged bachelor with a hairy chest, a gold chain around his neck, and a sauna in his master suite). I haven’t been in a sauna in 15 years (my parents use the space as storage! Ack!). It felt like going home, honestly.

Quantum of the Seas

While on the ship I also got to learn more about the ship that Royal Caribbean is currently building. It is called the Quantum of the Seas and I want to vacation on it SO BAD!!!!

So that would be bumper cars that you are seeing in this rendering. Bumper cars at sea. I think I could hang with that a bit better than the ice capades “incident” I had on the rink. Run into someone else on purpose? I got this!!!

That same area will also transform into a full basketball court. And I cannot WAIT to watch folks dribbling the ball on the high seas! Hee hee! Seriously though, the sports and fitness center on this ship is going to be second to none. Just imagine what the rest of the ship is going to look like!

What I Love About Cruising

I was so impressed with the Royal Caribbean staff, and the thoughtfulness behind the design of the ship. I spend 4 nights and 5 days without a care in the world, and without feeling like I was part of a big crowd. My experience on the ship was one of luxury and leisure. “Freedom,” indeed, is what I felt on this ship. Free to do as I pleased, when I pleased, and to always BE pleased. The staff made sure every moment was a #RoyalWow, and I had a blast. It was my first cruise, and there’s no way it will be my last!