By: Craig Engstrom, a Marvelous Mouse Travels agent
If you have never been on a cruise before, read on. I had the pleasure of taking my first cruise with my wife and two agent friends aboard Royal Caribbean Cruise Line’s, Freedom of the Seas. It was one of the most amazing experiences I’ve had in my lifetime. My expectations were lower than I expected and was blown away by the attention to detail. Of course, like many of you, We had many questions about cruising. What to pack, how was I going to get to the terminal, what do I do once I’m there, did I pack my swimsuit, and what do I wear! So much to prepare before we departed on the blue waters of the Atlantic Ocean.
I found out, it wasn’t that hard to get prepared at all. I needed some nice dress clothes for dinner, my swimsuit, some casual clothes for the excursion, my toothbrush, and of course lots of suntan lotion. Umm, really important...Don’t forget your passport! They won’t allow you on the ship without it. Most importantly, if you are a wine drinker, you are allowed one 750 ml bottle of wine per person up to two bottles per stateroom. It is nice at night when you return to your stateroom after a day of fun in the sun, dancing, and eating to sit on your balcony overlooking the ocean enjoying a glass of your favorite wine...Very romantic!
Getting to and from the RCCL terminal is something to plan ahead. When you decide to book with Marvelous Mouse Travels for any cruise you will have the opportunity to sign up for a round trip shuttle that will pick you up right from the Miami International Airport to the RCCL terminal. How easy is that. You don’t have to worry about finding a taxi or another mode of transportation. When you return to the terminal after the cruise the bus service will be waiting to take you back to the airport. One important note to consider is that some of the cruises return to the port pretty early. We were up and off by 9:00 AM. The process to get off the ship is pretty quick. Unless you have plans to stay overnight in Miami, there really isn’t anywhere to go when you get your luggage so you will most likely be returning to the airport right away. Unless you have other plans before you return home you will want to try and book flights that will accommodate you in a timely manner. We had a later flight and ended up waiting for about five hours before we even boarded the plane. Lesson learned.
Okay, now that you know what to do when you get there and when you leave, let’s talk about the cruise itself, shall we? Once you arrive you are not only overwhelmed by the amazing terminal adorned by two giant ship propellers but some of the nicest people you will ever meet. You are escorted all the way through the customs services, security stations, escalators, hallways, and gang plank. At this time because of COVID, you are asked to show proof of vaccinations. If you have the vaccine, you receive an armband that allows you into everything on the ship. Those that are not vaccinated or parents that are vaccinated with children that are not vaccinated are not allowed in some of the ship areas. These are clearly marked throughout the ship. I’m sure these protocols will change as time goes on but for now, that is how they are handling it.
My wife and I walked on the ship and couldn’t believe the sites in front of our eyes! (Can you hear it? The sound of angels in the air. AHHH!) Brass rails, glass elevators, beautifully sculpted carpeting, and so much more. Of course, another crew member welcomed us, helped us find our way to our deck, and even pushed the elevator button for us. I knew right then that we were in for an experience of a lifetime. We continued to our room where we were greeted by our steward. He actually welcomed us by name. “Hello Mr. Craig, Hello Ms. Denise”. Really? Again, that attention to detail. Okay, now I must be royalty, right? We found our luggage outside our stateroom and then, “wah lah” we opened the door to a spacious stateroom with a balcony facing the skyline of Miami. My wife and I were pretty much speechless. We immediately walked over to the balcony and opened the door and walked out of our 9th deck room. WOW, it was a long way down to the water. Step back for a minute, then back to the railing. Looking around the port we saw yachts, mansions, and many great sites of Miami. What a beautiful Skyline.
After we closed our jaws and got more settled into our stateroom we had time to explore the ship before we set sail. We were going to explore what the Bahamas had to offer, enjoy RCCL’s own private island, watch a professional musical review, and party everywhere we could on the ship. Boy, there are a lot of places to party and hang on this ship. This trip we had two days at sea, one day at Nassau, and one day at their private island, cococay. During our ocean days you could find my wife and I relaxing on the pool deck enjoying the pool and some yummy tropical goodness. Oh, did I forget to mention the taco bar just down from the pool. Yup, all day taco’s...I love tacos.
Speaking of food. If you enjoy food as much as I do, you better bring some stretchy pants. Every day we had an abundance of food choices at our fingertips. Besides tacos they had everything from hamburgers and hotdogs, ice cream, all the way to gourmet steaks and fish. We certainly ate like royalty. You’d have to wheel me off the boat if I tried everything there is to offer. As we’d say up here in the north, “uhf dah”.
We had the opportunity to spend a day in Nassau, Bahama. We were able to choose from several excursions throughout our visit for an extra charge. Excursions were anything from snorkeling to sightseeing. We chose to do an historic tour of the island. We were picked up by a native gent and proceeded to show us all of the important historical locations throughout the city. It was truly wonderful. I’ve always thought of the Bahamas as this tour only destination with white sand beaches and Mai Tais by the gallon. The history of this island is something to behold. From the invasion of Christopher Columbus to the reign of Queen Victoria, chocolate factories, cigar rolling companies and wineries. There were so many breathtaking moments within the city. Oh, did I mention the Rum distillery...yum! I highly recommend a stop there! Delicious. When you take this tour you see the true island. Not the hyped up tourist version. You see how the people really live. I love history, so this was right up my alley. We also had time to shop around the streets of Nassau. Unfortunately, due to our best friend COVID, most of the shops such as the famous straw markets were closed. However, we did manage to spend a few bucks on t-shirts for the family and food. I had my first conch fritters. Umm... delicious. Again, walking around the town was educational. There is a level of poverty that is amazingly apparent on this island. Truly a magical day to not forget. Back to the ship for more food, fun, and memories to make. Good day Nassau.
Our last day was Perfect Day at CocoCay. This is RCCL’s own private island. OH MY GOSH! My wife and I along with our two agent friends had a blast. There is so much to do there. There are pristine beaches, swimming pools, swim up bars, shopping huts, restaurants, snorkeling, jet ski rentals, floating cabana rentals with their own slide, and believe it or not a huge water park! It has the highest waterslide in the Atlantic. It’s fantastic. If you have families that get the opportunity to go to this island, you will definitely want to take in the water park. It has a wave pool, a splash pad for the little ones, waterslides galore, and other great amenities that you will enjoy. We decided to park it at the beach. While at the beach we were able to enjoy the warm waters of the Atlantic and swim up to the floating bar; truly a highlight of the day. While we were swimming a small vegetarian shark swam past my feet. Is there such a thing as a vegetarian shark? A minute later a small crab scooted past, my wife found a large starfish and a giant stingray with its little one swam through. Can you imagine? This is stuff you usually only see in an aquarium. I definitely found my happy place. I know I mentioned this earlier but DON'T FORGET THE SUNSCREEN. I got a little toasted. Keep in mind, you are closer to the equator and you are there all day. Even if you park it under an umbrella, you are surrounded by the ocean. Take the sun seriously! We had a wonderful day. Not only enjoying the island and it’s amazing amenities, but spending time with two agents from MMT that have become good friends.
We had this opportunity to experience something truly spectacular. I’ve shared my experience with so many people since I’ve been back and now with you. It was a game changer for me. Cruising is a culture of people that have found a different niche in traveling. Most of the people that I talked to on the ship were avid cruisers. This is their thing. They have traveled with many different cruising companies but all they had to say was the Royal Caribbean has their act together. They keep coming back to RCCL. Most have gone on several of the ships that RCCL has to offer. They rave about the service, food, and amenities. I concur. If you are looking to find a cruise experience, look at Royal Caribbean. I know, I know, It sounds like a commercial. But really, I can’t wait to go back!
Please reach out to Craig, an agent with Marvelous Mouse Travels to plan your next vacation or you may contact Marvelous Mouse Travels.
