Hi Jean and Jeff!
Jean, I was on the Wind at the same time you were! It was my first cruise and the ship rocked more than I expected. Have you cruised before? Do you think all the movement was because of the weather or do you think it was because of the ship? I figured it was both, but my parents took a RCL cruise and my mom said their ship was rock solid even in high seas. Just wondering...maybe I need to pick larger ships from now on as I was fairly seasick. Didn't stop me from having a great time though! Pete, the juggler, was so funny! Jeff, I am not sure if he will be there when you are, but if he is, do not miss him! The shows put on by the Jean Ann Ryan company were great. We liked the Country Gold show the best, followed by the Sealegs, Circus at Sea show. Their first show started slow but got better, I can't remember the name of it. The lobster dinner was Thursday night, but I think that the choc. buffett was Wednesday night. I can say this with some certaintly because I am a chocolate freak! We went cave tubing on Wednesday and while I paddled like crazy (we had to make up time because of the tendering delay in Belize) all I kept thinking was that I was working off the chocolate I planned to eat! I thought the Buffet was yummy, but I would suggest sharing everything with someone else. The have huge slices of all the cakes and pies precut, so it is hard to just have a taste. I ended up with some things on my plate that I didn't like, and I couldn't remember were to get more of what I liked! Oh, well. It was yummy. Oh, Jeff, Le Bistro was 50% off on Thursday night when lobster was served. That is also the night that the ship is in Cozumel until 8:00pm (you need to be back on the ship at 7:30). I have all the Freestyle daily schedules, so let me know if there's anything else you want to know.
Jeff, I remembered that you had questions about deck 7, so I made a point of checking it out. Like Jean said, I couldn't see into the rooms during the daytime, but could see more at night. You will have the railing to contend with when you look out the window...probably the bottom half of the window will look out at the rails, but you should still have a pretty good view. Also, not to worry you, but just so you know...I did encounter a sewage smell on deck 7, but only outside. I didn't go in any rooms, but I didn't smell it in the interior halls. Also, the smell is only on the starboard side, iany only in the middle of the ship around muster stations G and F. We investigated and found that there were two large vents above deck 7 that force out stinky air. All the ship's toilets operate on a vaccuum system, so our guess is that this spot is where the ship's plumbing system vents that air. It might be a problem if you had a balcony above that spot. I doubt that it would be a problem inside on deck 7, but I'm not certain. If you are in the middle of the ship, you might want to check with a good travel agent or other cruisers to see if there's any problem in those rooms.
Oh, I never saw $3 blackjack, but they did always have a $5 table. We played some blackjack and a lot of roulette. I ended up winning about $450 total...not bad considering I paid about $475 for the cruise!!! I hope you have the same luck or better!
My boyfriend and I are 25 and 26. There were a few other couples in their 20-30's, but not a lot. It seemed like the majority on the ship were 40-60, but very active. We chose to share several meals and usually got put with couples in their 50's...everyone we met was really nice though. We were somewhat dissapointed that we didn't get to know any couples our age super well, but there was 1 or 2 couples that we spent some time with.
I am going to write a detailed review, but I've been really busy since I've been back and I haven't had time yet! I'll try to post it in time for you to read it, Jeff. Let me know ifi you have any more questions...I'd be happy to answer them! I found the boards tremendously helpful in answering my questions before I left. You can send me an email at robinfrutchey@hotmail.com.
Oh, if you take wine, I recommend triple bagging it with ziploc bags or something similar in case of breakage. We had a spill on the way home, but it only make it through the first bag...thankfully!
Robin (travelin'parrothead on cruise critic)
