This is a standard balcony cabin.  However, the balcony has a bonus room.  This is the forward most balcony cabin on the port side.  The balcony has a clear windscreen allowing a forward view.  This windscreen is curved and the space for it adds about 50% more room to the balcony.  As for the room itself, it is well laid out, however, I think it could use more shelf space.

See my full review for photographs and other details.

This is my sixth time at St. Maarten.  I’ve been to Maho Beach to watch the planes land twice.  I’ve been to Orient Beach twice.  I is time to do something different.  So I decide to mix it up and take a tour to the butterfly farm.  I take over 200 photographs of the butterflies.  The ones not moving are easy.  I tried taking photos of the butterflies in flight.  Unfortunately the camera cannot focus that quickly, so that didn’t work out too well.  But I did take a few short videos that turned out nicely.  
The stop in Marigot (the French capital) was a shopping stop.  Spending more time in the heat and humidity was not something I was looking forward to.  I just went to flea market.  No, I was not in the market for a flea.  I bought a couple of Caribbean shirts for $20 and a bottle of water for $1.50 and headed for the air conditioned bus.  The rest did me some good, as I felt good when I got out of the bus at the last stop for a photo opt.  Nothing really interesting, but the view is great if you want to build a house there (prices start at $200,000).

See my full review for the photographs

The ride on the BOSS unit lasts about 45 minutes at depth of about ten feet (three meters).  It is like riding a very slow moving motorcycle (it only moves at about two miles per hour) with the helmet at a fixed height.  It drives like a car (you turn a wheel) not like a motorcycle (where you push the right handle bar away from you to make a left turn).  You have to keep your right thumb on the power button to move and to turn.  It has two speeds, slow and stop.  It is powered by a battery in the lower housing and of course there is air coming into the helmet so you don’t have to hold your breath the entire 45 minutes.  The unit is designed to sink.  However, there is a button (which we are not supposed to touch) which adds air to a swim bladder and the unit rises (just like a submarine).  You have to hold your breath a few seconds to get into the unit, then they let it sink.  It can’t sink more than ten feet because it is attached by a rope to a flotation buoy.  Once it reaches the end of its rope that is it.  There are about two BOSS units per safety diver.  The safety diver will take your underwater camera and take pictures of you.  They also sell under water cameras on the ship.  However, they are limited to 27 photographs.  I took over 150 pictures underwater, so you’ll have to decide if it is worth getting your own underwater camera or purchasing a single use underwater camera.

Full review for photographs

This private island is bigger than Labadee and I believe offers more.  Since it was my first visit I walked around the entire public area taking pictures (see my full review).  Then spent the afternoon feeding the fish, which was a lot of fun because of the kids.

See my full review for the photographs

Perfect Day at CocoCay

This is the third time I've taken this tour.  The last time was about six months ago.  I told the tour guide I was going on my own and would meet up with her at the large granite ball / red umbrellas at 11:20am.  This allowed me a self guided tour that was better than the guided tour, which I have been on twice.

It has never worked out that I would get one free if I came back another day, so I order two, one now and one to go.However, everyone ahead of me went to the left card reader and I went to the right one, and thus became the first person to leave the ship that was not carrying his own luggage (and no, I was not carrying someone else’s luggage).

Freedom of the Seas Review

Freedom OTS - Eastern Caribbean

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Superior Oceanview Stateroom with Balcony

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