#12

 .  .  .  and beyond
  At sea

This was our second full day at sea, which meant the trip was soon coming to an end.  It also meant the second formal dinner night and another day of trying to find a vacant lounger away from the kids and the smoking.   One of the most pleasant spots on the ship had been locked for the last couple of days. There was a great protected area with coloured glass on the bottom of the wall and open ribs on the top.  It was right near the front of the ship.  As a matter of fact there were two similar places, one on each side of the hull. The gym was at the very front on this deck and these two corridor areas were access points.  They had seating, foot rests and solid glass doors that provided a quiet, relaxing place to read or rest or just sit and chat with friends.  Wish they were still available.

Today we attended a pasta making class that included lunch in one of the little restaurants on board and a tour of the galley.  Now you're talking.  We love to see the "behind the scenes" stuff so this is right up our alley.  The pasta class was okay, (I mean, really?  We're Italian , well 3 out of 4 of us were born there! ) The tour of the ships food prep area was really cool.  I've never seen so much stainless steel in one place.

       

                                   

This is our last evening on board, and in the theater that night the stage featured the captain and staff smiling and waving a big farewell.  We even managed to slow down our busy dining room staff for a quick pic.

Thank you Freedom of the Seas.  This has been a great cruise but we probably won't go on another ship this big again.  I can't imagine how it would feel on the Oasis with even more people on board. Too many bodies, a lot of activity, tons of small kids and not enough lounge chairs to go around. Tomorrow morning we have to leave and head back to Orlando and our flight back to Syracuse.  It's going to be a long, lethargic, late drive home.