Carnival Freedom 2017 7-Day Caribbean Cruise Review
Day 1 Part 2 July 8, 2017 Galveston, Texas
Scheduled Departure: 4:00pm
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Day 1 Part 2 July 8, 2017 Galveston, Texas
Scheduled Departure: 4:00pm
Click Any Photo To Make It Larger!
My previous part of Day 1's review left off with me walking around the Carnival Freedom's Promenade Deck (5). The Carnival Freedom's Promenade Deck is home to several of the ship's main public areas. At the front of the Promenade Deck is the uppermost level of the Victoriana Theater. The theater was used for production shows, bingo, and other high profile events that took place during the cruise. The Promenade Deck is also home to places such as the Fun Shops, casino, Cherry On Top, Skybox Sports Bar, Shopping Desk, 70's Disco, Taste Bar, Alchemy Bar, and the International Lounge.
It was slightly raining outside, so many people were hanging out inside the Promenade Deck (5). Due to the seating areas and lounges in the Promenade being crowded I was unable to get good pictures of these areas. Day 2's review and several other parts of the review will include numerous pictures of the Promenade Deck (5).
It was slightly raining outside, so many people were hanging out inside the Promenade Deck (5). Due to the seating areas and lounges in the Promenade being crowded I was unable to get good pictures of these areas. Day 2's review and several other parts of the review will include numerous pictures of the Promenade Deck (5).
Atrium - View From Deck 5
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Sitting On The Promenade Deck - Looking At Arcade's Entrance
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Fun Finds Shopping Desk Located On Deck 5
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Victoriana Theater - Deck 5 Level
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Seating Along The Sides Of The Victoriana Theater's Deck 5 Level
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Atrium Elevators - View From Deck 5
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After walking around the Promenade Deck (5) I walked down one deck to the Atlantic Deck (4). This deck has the mid-level of the Victoriana Theater, upper level of the Chic Dining Room, upper level of the Posh Dining Room, the Habana Bar, Circle C, and Club 02.
As I walked around Deck 4, I saw Club 02 was open for touring. I walked in to take a few pictures. Club 02 is the youth program for 15-17 year olds. The Club 02 lounge is located around the middle of the Atlantic Deck between the middle elevator area and the Habana Bar. The Club 02 lounge had a dance floor, screens for video games, and several areas to sit.
As I walked around Deck 4, I saw Club 02 was open for touring. I walked in to take a few pictures. Club 02 is the youth program for 15-17 year olds. The Club 02 lounge is located around the middle of the Atlantic Deck between the middle elevator area and the Habana Bar. The Club 02 lounge had a dance floor, screens for video games, and several areas to sit.
Club 02
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Seating In Club 02
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Seating Area By The Windows In Club 02
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After peeking in Club 02, I walked through the upper level of the Chic Dining Room and came across Circle C. For those that do not know, Circle C is the youth program for 12-14 year olds. Circle C is located before the entrance to the Chic Dining Room by the Pixels Photo Gallery. The lounge for Circle C is not as large as Club 02, but there are several video game stations, a mini dance floor, and places to sit.
Circle C - View Of Video Games & Dance Floor
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Circle C
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Booth In Circle C
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The Carnival Freedom's library, known as the Monticello Library, is also located on Deck 4. The library mainly had board games and very few books available (that I saw).
Monticello Library
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Monticello Library
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Two Seats In The Monticello Library
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My Stateroom:
My stateroom was an Interior room located close to the front of the Upper Deck (Deck 6). The stateroom was located midway between the front elevator area and the very front of the ship. Most of the staterooms on Deck 6 were balcony or interior staterooms. I do not think any suites were located on our deck, but I could be mistaken. When I first entered my stateroom, our steward had messed up and left the beds together from the previous cruise. He came within 60 seconds of us coming to our stateroom and we asked him to move the beds apart. By dinnertime, our beds were moved apart.
The stateroom contained two twin beds, a flat screen TV, small vanity area, trash can, three closed closet spaces, and a fridge. The room was a good size and had plenty of floor space. Here are a few photos of our stateroom and bathroom:
My stateroom was an Interior room located close to the front of the Upper Deck (Deck 6). The stateroom was located midway between the front elevator area and the very front of the ship. Most of the staterooms on Deck 6 were balcony or interior staterooms. I do not think any suites were located on our deck, but I could be mistaken. When I first entered my stateroom, our steward had messed up and left the beds together from the previous cruise. He came within 60 seconds of us coming to our stateroom and we asked him to move the beds apart. By dinnertime, our beds were moved apart.
The stateroom contained two twin beds, a flat screen TV, small vanity area, trash can, three closed closet spaces, and a fridge. The room was a good size and had plenty of floor space. Here are a few photos of our stateroom and bathroom:
Stateroom - View Before Beds Got Separated
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Stateroom Vanity Area - The Safe Was In The Cabinet
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View Of The Stateroom's TV
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Our travel agent sent our stateroom a jar of cookies from Cherry On Top. Other staterooms in our group received chocolate covered strawberries. This was a nice gesture from the travel agent to show her appreciation for using her!
Cookies From Cherry On Top
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Refrigerator Located In Cabinet In Our Stateroom
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Chocolate Covered Strawberries
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The stateroom's bathroom was the exact same as almost every other Triumph and Conquest Class ship that I have sailed on. The bathroom contained a toliet, shower, sink, two bars of soap, 4 large towels, 2 washrags, and 2 hand towels. Extra toliet paper and tissues were stored under the counter.
Stateroom Bathroom - View As You Step In
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Sink In Stateroom Bathroom
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Shower Area In The Stateroom Bathroom
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Others traveling with my family stayed in balcony staterooms that were also located on Deck 6. I went over and took a look at one of the balconies. Their balcony contained two chairs and a mini outside table. In the interior of the balcony stateroom, the room also had additional cabinet storage and a sofa that could be made into a bed.
View Of Galveston From A Deck 6 Balcony
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View Of The Gangway From Deck 6 Balcony
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Two Chairs & A Table On The Balcony
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After touring my stateroom and a balcony stateroom, I decided I wanted to step outside on Deck 6's front area. However, when I opened the door it was raining hard. I immediately went back inside. Instead, I walked down one deck the Promenade Deck (5). I took a few pictures of areas that were not crowded.
Atrium - View From Deck 5
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Looking Up At The Higher Levels of The Atrium
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View Of The Skybox Sports Bar's Entrance
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Promenade Mini Stage - Located Near The Casino Bar
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International Lounge
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International Lounge - View From The Stage
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After The Rain - Walking Up To Deck 10's Observation Deck Area:
Thankfully, the rain moved through quickly and the sun came back out for the rest of the afternoon. After spending some time inside, I walked from the back of the Promenade Deck (5) to the very front of the Panorama Deck (10). At the very front of the Panorama Deck (10) is an area of the ship that allows you to look down at the front, but also down each side of the ship. This area was one of my favorite outside areas on the ship because it was never too crowded. Here are a few pictures I took from this area:
Thankfully, the rain moved through quickly and the sun came back out for the rest of the afternoon. After spending some time inside, I walked from the back of the Promenade Deck (5) to the very front of the Panorama Deck (10). At the very front of the Panorama Deck (10) is an area of the ship that allows you to look down at the front, but also down each side of the ship. This area was one of my favorite outside areas on the ship because it was never too crowded. Here are a few pictures I took from this area:
View Of The Terminal & Galveston From Deck 10
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View Of The Ship's Front
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View Of The Ship's Side & Harbor Area
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Touring The SPA & Gym:
After looking outside, I headed up one deck to the SPA Deck (11). The Carnival Freedom's SPA is located at the very front of Deck 11. SPA staff members were standing around the entrance to give guided tours and discuss different services the SPA offered. Instead of taking a guided tour, I walked back to the gym to have a look. On the Carnival Freedom, in order to get to the gym you have to walk through locker rooms. The locker rooms are gender specific, so men and women must walk on separate sides to get to the gym. I came back to the gym a few times throughout the cruise during port of call days in the late afternoon. In the early mornings and late evenings, the gym would be a crowded place. Here are a few pictures of the gym:
After looking outside, I headed up one deck to the SPA Deck (11). The Carnival Freedom's SPA is located at the very front of Deck 11. SPA staff members were standing around the entrance to give guided tours and discuss different services the SPA offered. Instead of taking a guided tour, I walked back to the gym to have a look. On the Carnival Freedom, in order to get to the gym you have to walk through locker rooms. The locker rooms are gender specific, so men and women must walk on separate sides to get to the gym. I came back to the gym a few times throughout the cruise during port of call days in the late afternoon. In the early mornings and late evenings, the gym would be a crowded place. Here are a few pictures of the gym:
Gym
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Gym
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Gym
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Gym
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Gym
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Hottub Area Located By the Gym
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As I was walking out, I saw the men's steam room and sauna. Here are two pictures:
Steam Room
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Sauna
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After spending some time touring the gym, it was almost time for the required Safety Briefing (muster station drill). I had just enough time to walk up one more deck to the Sun Deck (12). At the very front of this deck is the Camp Ocean youth club facilities. The Carnival Freedom's Dr. Seuss Bookville is located right by the entrance to Camp Ocean. Here are some pictures of Dr. Suess Bookville:
Dr. Seuss Bookville
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Tons Of Sitting Area For Kids
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Entrance To The Dr. Seuss Bookville
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I entered the Camp Ocean facility to take a quick look. Camp Ocean divides young cruisers into three groups by age: Penguins (2-5 yr. olds), Stringrays (6-8 yr. olds), and Sharks (9-11 yr. olds). Here are a few pictures of Camp Ocean:
Looking Inside Camp Ocean
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Looking Inside Camp Ocean
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Looking Inside Camp Ocean
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Looking Inside Camp Ocean
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Looking Inside Camp Ocean
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Low Level Lighting Turned On For Safety Briefing
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Muster Station Drill / Safety Briefing:
The Muster Station drill is always a required event for every passenger on the cruise ship. My muster station was "B" which was located on the starboard side of Deck 4. The drill was scheduled to begin at 3:30pm and began nearly on-time. Announcements were made prior to the start of the drill to inform guests and crew what would happen when it was time for the drill to begin. All muster stations are located on the ship's outside areas on Deck 4. Each muster station has 3 or 4 lines of cruisers packed facing the lifeboats. For this muster station drill, we were told to bring our Sail & Sign cards so the cards could be scanned. During the drill, crew members walked around with tablets to scan cards. During the drill we learned about wearing lifejackets, what to do in an emergency, and received some other general information about onboard safety. Typically, guests do not make much effort to listen during the drill. That was no different for this cruise. However, crew members did not try as hard to get guests quiet like on other ships. When people were told to be quiet, they almost immediately continued talking. |
Sail-A-Way From Galveston:
When the muster station drill ended the port side was allowed to go back inside first. Unfortunately, I was on the starboard side so I had to wait. When my side was allowed to go back inside, I immediately headed up to the Panorama Deck (10) and went to the back of the ship. By the time I reached the Panorama Deck the Carnival Freedom was already pulling away from the cruise terminal. I was shocked that we began moving so quickly. Here are some pictures of sail-a-way:
When the muster station drill ended the port side was allowed to go back inside first. Unfortunately, I was on the starboard side so I had to wait. When my side was allowed to go back inside, I immediately headed up to the Panorama Deck (10) and went to the back of the ship. By the time I reached the Panorama Deck the Carnival Freedom was already pulling away from the cruise terminal. I was shocked that we began moving so quickly. Here are some pictures of sail-a-way:
Looking At Cruise Terminal #2
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Looking At Terminal #1 As We Sailed Away
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Zoomed In View Of The Pier
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View Of Terminal 1 and 2 With Coast Guard Boat In Front
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View Of Terminal 1's Gangway
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Tip of Cruise Terminal
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View Of Galveston As We Sailed Away
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View Of Galveston As We Sailed Away
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View Of Galveston As We Sailed Away
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Off-Shore Oil Rig Museum
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View Of Galveston As We Sailed Away
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Looking Back At Where We Had Just Left
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View Of Galveston As We Sailed Away
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View Of Galveston As We Sailed Away
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View Of Galveston As We Sailed Away
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View Of Tractors On A Pier
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UTMB Galveston In the Background
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Pilot Boat
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Galveston
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View Of The Pelican Island Side
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Looking Back At Pelican Island
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Marina
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Two Coast Guard Ships Escorting Us From The Back
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Ferry Leaving The Galveston Side To Head To Bolivar
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Passing The Galveston Ferry Dock
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Ferry Returning To The Galveston Side
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Seawolf Park
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Seawolf Park
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View Of The Galveston Side - Near A Coast Guard Station
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Looking Back As We Began To Enter Galveston Bay
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Getting Closer To The Tip of Galveston
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Galveston
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The Ship Had Officially Entered Galveston Bay
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Deck 10 Level Of The Buffet
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Drink Station On The Buffet's Second Level
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Looking Down From The Deck 10 Level Of The Buffet
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View Of The Buffet From Deck 10
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Looking Down The Stairs To Deck 9
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Statue Of Liberty In The Buffet's Center
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Table Setup For The First Night's Dinner
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Dinner #1 In The Chic Dining Room:
I had Your-Time Dining which means I could dine in a specific dining room from 5:45pm until about 9:00pm. My assigned dining room was the Deck 3 level of the Chic Dining Room. The Carnival Freedom's Chic Dining Room was located around the middle of Deck 4. The entrance for cruisers with Your-Time Dining was in the Carnival Freedom's atrium. Around 5:45pm, the doors to the dining room opened. Prior to being officially open for dinner, a hostess took our stateroom numbers and asked how many would be seated at our table. When the doors opened we were lead by a waiter to our table for the night. Since I was on the Carnival Valor only two weeks earlier, I remembered what food items were good from that cruise. The food and service were excellent for this evening's dinner! |
Here are pictures of the menus for the night. My camera does not like taking pictures of text, so some fonts may be a little hard to read.
To read the menus, click any of the photos to make it larger.
To read the menus, click any of the photos to make it larger.
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Here are some pictures from the first night's dinner:
Bread Basket
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Appetizer - Corn Chowder Maryland
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Appetizer - Smoked Chicken Quesadilla
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Appetizer - Shrimp Cocktail
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Appetizer - Strawberry Bisque
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Appetizer - Caesar Salad
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Main Course - Honey Glazed Pork Loin?
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Main Course - Grilled Mahi Mahi
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Main Course - Barbequed Beef Brisket
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Main Course - Grilled Chicken Breast
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Main Course - Fried Shrimp
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Dessert - Carnival Melting Chocolate Cake
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Dessert - Pie A La Mode (Peach Was The Night's Flavor)
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Dessert - Chilled Strawberry Parfait
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When dinner was over, we headed to the Victoriana Theater for the Welcome Aboard Show. Since it was too early before the show, the theater's doors were closed. About 30 minutes prior to the show, the doors opened and we were allowed to get seats. As the show approached, the screens played clips of towel animals talking as pre-show entertainment.
Doors To The Victoriana Theater Closed
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Victoriana Theater Stage
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Towel Animal On The Screen
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Welcome Aboard Show Set
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Welcome Aboard Show:
The Welcome Aboard Show began promptly at 7:30pm. The show began with the dancers coming up to the front of the stage to lead a mini-dance class. This lasted a few minutes and then our cruise director, Malcolm, took the stage. He talked about the cruise, entertainment highlights, and got some people from the audience up on the stage for a game. After Malcolm's portion was over, the dancers performed to several modern songs. Following the dancers' portion, the Welcome Aboard Show was over. I enjoyed the Welcome Aboard Show. This was the first time I had seen the show performed like this. |
After the Welcome Aboard Show, I headed up to the Sun Deck (14) to try to get a glimpse of the sunset. After having to wait a few minutes for my camera lenses to unfog, I was able to get a few good sunset pictures.
Sunset - View From Deck 14
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Waterslide Entrance - Sunset In The Background
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Deck 14
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Before the evening got too late, I wanted to head down to my stateroom to make sure the beds were separated. Our steward had come by and he separated the beds. He left a towel animal, Fun-Times Activity Newsletter for Day #2, two bottles of water that were complimentary from the VIFP Club, and two VIFP Gold Level pins.
Towel Animal & Fun-Times Left In Stateroom
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Beds Turned Down For The Evening
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Bottled Water & VIFP Gold Level Pins
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After visiting my stateroom, I went up to the jogging track on Deck 11. I walked for a little while, but since I was tired I did not stay out too late.
Looking Up From Deck 10
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Ship's Funnel
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Deck 11 - Jogging Track
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Following my jogging track walk, I headed down to Deck 6 to go to my stateroom. The first day of the cruise was busy, but most importantly very fun and enjoyable. I slept well on this night of the cruise, but was woken up a few times from noisy hallway neighbors.
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