FREEDOM OF THE SEAS Day at Sea: Ice Skating, Duck Exchange & Formal Night

Our third day on the Freedom of the Seas was our first sea day and our only formal night. Rider and I started off the morning, by attending a Duck Exchange that was organized by one of the members of our sailing Facebook group. This was something new for us to attend and we had a lot of fun attending and exchanging som cruise ducks (among other things). After that, we headed down to Studio B for Open Skating. Reservations are required (all slots did fill up) to ice skate and you must complete a waiver. Rider and I brought our our ice skates and all skaters are required to wear a helmet, regardless of skating ability. They scheduled the sessions in 10 minutes increments, but each group had 30 minutes on the ice. I really liked the way it was set up, as there wasn't a mad rush on and off the ice. The ice was very rough by the time we got on which was towards the end of the open skate session. If you prefer smoother ice, I would recommend trying to go early on. After that, we headed to the pool deck and spent our time mainly at Splashaway Bay. I had purchased Reuseable Water Balloons on Amazon and we brought them to the pool with us. These were amazing to have and my only regret was only purchasing a bag of 8. These helped Rider to "break the ice" with other kids and the kids at the pool loved them. After that, we took a break and rested before getting ready for dinner. Since this was a 6-night sailing, there was only 1 formal night, which also meant no lobster night. I did want to get some family photos before dinner which we did and then we took Rider to Adventure Ocean. The line for My Time Dining Reservations was extremely long. We waited about 40 minutes and then Ray went to the line without reservations and we were then brought to Deck 5 to have dinner. This did cause a little bit of an issue with my gluten-free allergy pre-order. However, the head waiter on Deck 5, quickly resolved it. While I have enjoyed My Time Dining in the past, the last few cruises, the wait WITH a reservation has been extremely long, so I think we may try traditional dining next cruise. After that, Ray and I went to the Schooner Bar to enjoy the live piano bar before calling it a night. We had another early morning excursion the next day. Reuseable Water Balloons: https://amzn.to/4lvXFuJ https://amzn.to/4ihe4jN 🌟My Linktree: https://linktr.ee/mrsshannonford 🌟Shop My Favorites: https://shopmy.us/mrsshannonford SUPPORT ME: My Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/shannonford Follow Me on Social Media: https://www.instagram.com/mrsshannonford https://www.tiktok.com/@mrsshannonford Beauty Related Content: https://www.youtube.com/@shannonlovesmakeup https://www.instagram.com/shannonford.beauty Visit me at: https://shannonford.com/blog 🌟Business Inquiries only contact me at shannon@shannonford.com Disclaimer: Some affiliate links used. If links are affiliated, they will be marked with a *