Day 16 - New York

We had a typical NY breakfast this morning in our hotel - beautiful fresh bagels with cream cheese, donuts (plain, jam, iced), pastries and coffee.  We hit the streets for a walk around around our surrounding area on 32nd St and walked towards Times Square (amazing) up to the Theatre Distict to join our half day tour with "On-board" Tours to familiarize ourselves with this very busy city.  Our tour was 5.5 hours in total and encompassed the following areas in NY - Greenwich Village downtown to Wall Street, Sea port pier where we boarded a boat which took us out to view the Brooklyn Bridge, NY skyscrapers, Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty. We also visited Chinatown, Hells Kitchen, Battery Park, Chelsea, Central Park, drove
down 5th Avenue and received any "tips" from our tour guide (and local Brooklyn lady), Faith. Our tour finished at 7.30pm so we set off to have dinner at the Soup Nazi's kitchen (from Seinfeld show) and we all enjoyed our soup even though Nick was told "no soup for you" when he first ordered his soup!  We walked home taking in all the lights at Times Square and stopped and purchased a cupcake each from a local bakery shop named "Crumbs".  We were fairly exhausted after our first day in the "big smoke".

Day 14 - Orlando

We docked back at Cape Canaveral at 5am on Sunday morning but we slept in until 7am. We had our last on-board up in the Windjammer Restaurant before disembarking for the final time at 9am.  Our transition through Customs went extremely well and quickly and within 20 minutes we were boarding our white stretch Hummer for our return to the car rental company and the Embassy Suites Hotel at Lake Buena Vista.

After checking in, Nick, Jonathan together with the Careys and Patmans went for an "extreme" airboat ride through the swamp lands and everglades for a few hours.  They saw heaps of wildlife including gators,snakes,eagles and bird life and they all said that it was a fantastic tour.  Allie had a return visit to the Florida Mall for some last minute bargain shopping.

In the late afternoon and evening we sat around in the bar of the hotel and had many of the free drinks and nibbles duing happy hour.  Needless to say, none of us felt like a large meal so we decided to stay at the Embassy for dinner rather than drive out to a restaurant.

Day 13 - Freedom of the Seas - Day 7 - at sea

Just love this ship and never want to leave!

Nick and I had breakfast with three Negro ladies from New York in Leonardo's restaurant this morning and we learnt alot about New York from these ladies.  It was a relaxing day of sitting by the pool for a few hours and reading our books even though we forgot to attend the animal towell figure making and the male belly flop competition!  I think I was in the spa or the steam room and Nick was making headway with his book!  Jonathan had a busy day of collecting/exchanging names with new friends and attending the ship "prom" at night to enjoy an evening of dancing.  Not much was said about the evening except that it was awesome!  A late night for Jonathan, he woke us when he came back to the room just after 1am!

Day 12 - Freedom of the Seas - Day 6 - Cozumel, Mexico

The Ship didn't dock til 10am this morning so we decided to have breakfast in the Silver-Service dining room, Leonardo's. Nick and I had bircher muesli and eggs benedict whilst Jonathan had Chocolate Waffle. After breakfast we disembarked and caught a taxi to downtown Cozumel.

We enjoyed all the souvenir shopping and also bought some jewellery. The weather was really sunny and hot just like our whole trip has been so far. We met up with Daf and Wendy and sat in Senor Frogs Margarita Bar where Allie and Wendy had "Sex on the Beach" Shots. Luckily, they were able to walk back along the pier to the ship and indulge in a bit more shopping.
 

We enjoyed all the souvenir shopping and also bought some jewellery. The weather was really sunny and hot just like our whole trip has been so far. We met up with Daf and Wendy and sat in Senor Frogs Margarita Bar where Allie and Wendy had "Sex on the Beach" Shots. Luckily, they were able to walk back along the pier to the ship, after a bit more shopping. We managed a few 2for1 Magaritas in the Ship's bar, before enjoying another wonderful meal in Galileo's, whilst Jonathan, Ryan and James with Olivia and Teagan enjoyed their night eating in the Windjammer, and participating in the Teen Feud night. Ryan and James didn't make it back to their staterooms until 2am, so I was glad that Jonathan was back in the stateroom earlier!

 

Day 11 - freedom of the Seas - day 5 - George Town, Grand Cayman Island

Our ship docked at George Town at 8am this morning.  We had decided not to do any tours today but just to explore this tiny township.  Jonathan, Nick and I had breakfast together in the Windjammer (buffet) Restaurant.  I am so glad that I had managed some time at the gym yesterday, just 30 minutes on the treadmill but with all this wonderful food, the weight is just stacking on! Anyway, Nick and I ventured into George Town on our own as Jonathan has hurt his foot on Tuesday on a rock whilst at the beach at Labadee and his foot was hurting him so he opted to stay on the boat for a leisurely day.  Nick and I puchased a couple of small souvenirs and looked around the town and then headed back on the tender boat to our ship, just in time for lunch.  Afterwards, Nick had a quiet afternoon reading in the library whilst I spent a couple of hours in the steam room at the gym and the spa pool - lovely and relaxing.  At 4pm Nick and I met with Glen for afternoon tea and then time for a quick "nana nap" before heading for the "on Air" bar for happy hour!  It's our second formal night on-bord so we need to get dressed up for our dinner in the Galileo Restaurant. It was also lobster night in the restuarant which Nick thoroughly enjoyed - Broiled Lobster Tail and Garlic Prawns. Jonathan had dinner in the Windjammer with Ryan and James, then headed off for a Teen night, and DJing class.

Day 10 - Freedom of the Seas - day 4 - Falmouth, Jamaica

We docked at Falmouth at about 10am and left the pier to join a bamboo raft ride down the Great River.  Candy was our tour guide and she was a local lady with a wicked Jamaican laugh and attempted to teach us some local language.  Needless to say we learnt "common mon" like a local.  We travelled for an hour in an airconditioned mini bus before touring down the river on the rafts.

 Along the way, our guides give us pedicures from the limestone rocks tht they dug out from the river's edge.  The limestone was just like pumice stone but only better.  Have lovely smooth feet now!  After the very peaceful raft ride we were taken around a banana plantation on a jipney (tractor and wagon) and given a very informative talk on the history of bananas and other quirky information.  We then had a Jamaican BBQ lunch consisting of tender (partly spicy) chicken, coleslaw with pineapple and rice and beans cooked in coconut milk - all delicious!  We then learnt how to make Pina Colada's from scratch, using coconuts, pineapples and rum.  Great tasting Pina Colada's and can't wait to get home to make them in my Thermomix! The adults had another wonderful meal in our restaurant for dinner followed by entertainment in the auditorium by the lead guitarist from Foreigner (can't remember his name) - he was dynamic, played the clarinet and guitar and entertained us magnificently.  Afterwards, we went to the Casino for a bit of a "flutter" but left due to the cigarette smoke! Not to worry worry, mon, it was after midnight so we headed back to our stateroom and shortly followed by Jonathan who had been at a table tennis tournament for teenagers followed by free arcade games!

Day 9 - Freedom of the Seas - day 3 - Labadee, Haiti

We left the ship after a leisurely breakfast to explore this peninsula that Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines have leased from Haiti for 20 years. A beautiful tropical island, extremely hot but the ocean water was extremely refreshing.  Jonathan went on the "zip line" which was a 500m zip line ride from the top of the mountain right down over the entire bay.  He said it was awesome!

I had a luxurious hot stone massage, facial, scalp massage and foot and ankle massage in the day spa - just too gorgeous and felt like a million dollars! We had our first "formal" night on-board with some ladies really looking exquisite and some men in tuxedos!  At least our husbands had long pants packed for the occasion!  The meals served in our dining room at night are "silver service" and the quality of the food is amazing - so fresh and tasty and beautifully presented, all melt in the mouth food!  By this time, we have sorted out the kids with their dining - they are happy to eat in the buffet restaurant each night so we are happy to "fine dine" each night without them!  We love happy hour from 4.30 - 7.30pm each day, buy one margatita for $6.50 and get another one free!  Needless to say we take them up of this offer!  Loved the "Marquee" show after dinner, great way to end an evening!  Slept like babies, must be the fresh ocean air!

Day 8 - Feedom of the Seas - Day 2

OMG - this ship gets better by the minute.  I just want to stay here forever.  Everything on this ship is beautiful, the glass lifts, the leather sofa chairs in the library, all "adults only" spa pools hanging over the ocean and the margarita's are just too divine!  Today was a day at sea to familiarize ourselves with the ship.  Our kids are having a ball - have no idea what Jonathan has been doing all day as the teenagers have their own (supervised) area and adults are not permitted. We do catch up with our children at breakfast and some lunch and dinner times.  Entertainment is never ending with always something to do for us adults and our children.  We caught up with our children today as we all watched the ice skating show - marvelous!

Day 7 Freedom of the Seas - Cruise

We had a leisurely breakfast for ourlast morning at the Embassy Suites followed by packing our bags and returning the rental cars to Orlando Airport.  Karen, Wendy and I had a treat for our husbands and children as we had hired a Hummer limousine to transport us from the airport to the cruise terminal.  The Hummer had seats for 20 guests so there was plenty of  room and we had a great one hour drive. Casey our driver really got the Hummer moving swiftly along the highways!

We were all breathless when we sighted the Freedom of the Seas - it is such a magnificent and huge boat! We skimmed through customs and boarded the boat.  OMG!  This boat is just stunning. Our stateroom was beautiful and exceptionally clean, the staff everywhere are so attentive and courteous, and the food is divine.  No sea sickness encountered by any of us, the boat is so huge that it just devours the waves and the only gentle "rock" is felt up on the top deck restaurant (but nothing to bother us).  We enjoyed a relaxing afternoon exploring the boat, shopping at the ship's promenade deck, checking out the gym, day spa, pools, ice rink, rock climbing wall, flow rider,pools, library, all the restaurants and the bars!  We also enjoyed the opening night "welcome on board" show in the ship's auditorium.  Had a wonderful night's sleep in an extremely comfortable king size bed even though it is a late night!

Day 6 St Augustine - 15.9.12

The others were today visitng Anmal Kingdom. As we had already been to Animaln Kingdom on a previous visit, we decidede to visit the quaint old town of St Augustine, built in 1565. We went directly to the visitor information centre and bought our "Old Town Trolley Tour" tickets then went around the old spanish town by open air trolley cars. St Augustine was actually the first settlement in the USA. Jamestown, which was settled by the British, was settled 42 years later, the Spanish therefore wre the First settlers of the USA. We saw the Fort, cbblestne streets, the oldest wooden building in the USA, oldest schoolhouse building, went into the old jail house where they used to hang criminals, and just had a fun time walking around this historic town. We'd go back there in a heartbeat.

 On the ay back to Orlando, we phoned Margaret and had a quick chat and luckily we got back to our hotel just ij time for the nightly manager's reception of free alchoholic beverages.

Day 5 Shopping Day - 15.9.12

The Careys and Patman's visited the Kennedy space centre whist we had a "free day" of shopping. We decided to stop at another super Walmart on our way to the Florida Mall which proved fruitful.
Florida Mall is just awesome. There is at least 5 department stores and hundreds of specialty shops. Allie reckons it is the best shoppng she has ever done, mind you, she shopped the whole day at Sears Department store! The sales were fantastic.We stayed there until late and even had dinner tere before heading back to the htel. The Patmans and Creys said they really enjoyed their dqay at Kennedy Spce Centre/NASA.

Day 4 Magic Kingdom - 14.9.12

Today we had a full day at Magic Kingdom. We took the hotel shuttle and started our day in Tomorrowland having quite a few rides in Space Mountain. Its a Small World was open for Allie and she thoroughly enjoyed viewing all the dolls from around the world together with Glen, Lvy and Teagan.

 

 The boys spent some time together on Tom Sawyer Island in Frontier Land. It was a really hot day so we really enjoyed water spray from Splash Mountain. We were so exhausted that we left before the fireworks display, and went for dinner to the Olive Garden Italian Restaurant, after having the free drinks at the nightly Manager's reception at our hotel.

DAY 3 - Universal Studios 13.9.12

Universal Islands of Adventure

Today was our day at Uuniversal Islands of Adventure. We started by visiting Harry Potter World which was amazing. Itwas just like stepping into the book. The ride called Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry was exactly like being in the movie, or having a private tour of the famous School. The roller coasters we enjoyed the most were "The Tri-Wizard Tournament" and the "Flight of the Hippogriff" in Harry Potter World, and the "Hulk" and "Jurassic Park" in the rest of the theme park.

 
 We definitely enjoyed eating at the Golden Corral Buffet Dinner - All you can eat for $12!

Day 2 Shopping - 12.9.12

We all set or alarms for 9.30am so as not to miss out on our first breakfast at the Embassy Suites. It was a "free day" to recooperate from any jetlag. We went shopping at a super Walmart on Turkey Lake Drive (but it wasn't a very good Walmart). We then headed to the premium Outlet centre where we had plenty of frenzied shopping. We all enjoyed our afternoon at the Outlet centre buying plenty of Bargains.

Later we went for a walk around Downtown Disney and went to the Rainforest Cafe for Dinner. The Rainforest Cafe is a jungle setting wth Thunder, lightning and jungle animals. A big night for us all.

Day 1

We left home at 6am collected by a luxurious mini-bus and stopped for the Patmans at 6.15 and the Carey's at 6.30am. We enjoyed a really quick trip to Brisbane Airport enhanced by the Champagne and OJ along the way. No waiting for us at Brissie airport, straight into the group booking office to check in, have our bags checked through to Orlando and collect our boarding passes. Then we were off to the Qauntas Club for breakfast and to "test out" the Admitals Club passes that Karen and Wendy had purchased. All good and we enjoyed cereal, fruit, toast and pancakes but no champagne probably due to it being too early in the morning.
Had a good flight (QF517) into Sydney which served morning tea along the way and then we were transported to the International Terminal for our next flights. All smooth sailing through customs and quick with no time to spare to board our Dallas Flight. The 747 had been fitted out internally as an A380 so we were very comfortable in our seats (53ABC). The Patmans were 2 rows in front of us with the Carey's in the middle row of 4 next to them. We were served a fabulous lunch followed by a hot chocolate. It took us about an hour to get through customs at DFW we all were happy to have showers in the Admials Club Longe, a quick bite to eat, then boarded our flight from DFW to Orlando. Once at Orlando, we collected our Kia Souls and headed off to the Embassy Suites Hotel, Lake Beunavista for the real start of our holiday.