ChicAgo_Cruiser43

I love the Sandy Collins which is served at the Schooner bar, it's a whiskey drink but is very light and summery.

Like everyone else has said, Miami Vices are great. To the person above me, it is not an off menu drink, they often times feature it on their daily specials but any bar around the pools will make you one any day. Another great frozen drink are Mudslides which are essentially a chocolate milkshake with alcohol. 

I've enjoyed ordering White Russians at the English pubs they have, though you can get them anywhere as it is a pretty well known cocktail.

Lastly, our secondary waiter on my last cruise on the Freedom introduced us to a Tropical Old Fashioned which again is a twist on the whiskey drink but with a beachy flair. Very easy to drink, but I'm not sure if it's well known on the ships or night. We had them every night at dinner, and I plan to see if they are on the Harmony when I go next month.

If you really want to get bang for your buck, ask for a Texas Tea, though they aren't for the faint hearted. They have 5 different types of liquor in them topped off with a splash of coke. It's not your typical long island. We were going all in with those for my spring break trip the year I graduated college a few years ago, which I wanted to note since were the same age. On my last cruise we used them as punishment anytime someone lost a bet 😉

Andrew-

Enjoy living vicariously through you so much that I moved onto your live of your March sailing on the Harmony. I'll be on at the end of November so these help pass the time while I should be working.

Since you clearly enjoy a good drink or 6, try out the Sandy Collins at Schooner. I've yet to be on an Oasis class but it is a staple of mine on the Freedom and Voyager ships so I'm hoping it has found its way to the Harmony. It's Crown, maple syrup (eh?), and ginger beer- a very refreshing drink on a hot afternoon or before dinner

Cheers,

Brad

Did you happen to notice if they have the Bay scallops on the menu for the main dining room, I used to get them on The Allure and Oasis. We are going on the Harmony in November.

The menus for all 7 days of the Eastern sailing are some of the most recent posts in our November 25 roll call. You can check in there, I imagine it will be almost the same menu even if you are on a Western sailing

Harry,

After all the time I spent reading through your report, I felt compelled to enlighten you with some knowledge after returning home from my sailing on 12/3 on the Freedom.

If I recall correctly, you were rather disappointed that there was no prime rib or duck offering in the MDR while you sailed. You may be pleased or upset to learn that on my sailing, not only were both offered, but they offered the prime rib twice.

The first prime rib was actually the first night of the sailing on Sunday the 3rd. The duck was offered as an entree the next night on day 2 I believe, along with a couple duck appetizers on days 3 and 4. Prime rib was then offered again on day 5, the second formal night, in addition to the lobster.

I had initially thought the second prime rib was offered solely because they had a lot left over from the first night, but I was surprised to find that I enjoyed the second round significantly more. I found the first night's prime rib to be average, the duck entree delicious (my first time having duck), and then the second rib to be very tasty.

Thought I'd let you know,

Brad

I was on the Navigator OTS as a college senior in 2016, probably the same week of March as OP on her different ship. Obviously I'm pretty biased but I like to think I am extremely self-aware of my actions and I believe our ship was completely different than your experience. Yes we made good use of our drink package, but it's not like we were going completely wild the entire time, because with the atmosphere of being surrounded by families and people of all ages, you just don't do that as much.

We had about about 16 people from our group, and I'd say there was only about 100 "college kids" on the entire boat (yes it was obvious who else was our age group). Sure it sounds like a lot, but when you factor in that they don't know each other and are hanging out within their own individual groups instead of the masses, combined with the fact that 100 out of roughly 4000 other people on the boat is a pretty slim margin, I imagine we blended in relatively well.

Obviously experiences can vary based on so many different variables, but I think you probably just had an exceptionally large group who didn't care about any of their actions or the people around them which is not the case for everyone. Trust me, a cruise is not the first thing that will come to mind when college kids think of booking spring break trips. That being said, we had plenty of positive encounters/conversations with the other cruise passengers and for the most part everyone seemed perfectly okay with us being there. If you're worried about 2.5% of the demographic on your cruise ruining your trip, skip March, but as we all know- rude passengers can come from any age group.

If you want drinks and internet that’s a relatively good price for a bundle

Definitely a good price for bundling the drinks and internet, I haven't seen this package offered until today and I've been booked for 8 months for my cruise that leaves in 6 days.

On the other hand, the deluxe beverage package by itself has been marked at $44/day (with gratuities then added on at checkout) on my sailing for at least the past 3 months, probably even longer. It's advertised as 20% off onboard prices, so if you are definitely going to buy a package I would think ordering online would be the way to go.

As a frame of reference- I sailed during March (spring break time) of 2016 and they bumped it up to $55 (again with gratuities at checkout) a day. I believe I was monitoring it and was disappointed because at one point it was in the 40s pre-tip if I recall correctly. I had to wait regardless because I was planning on using OBCs to partially pay for it, and my understanding was at that time I couldn't use OBCs to pay for booze through cruise planner, only on the ship. Whether that was an actual policy at the time or not I don't know (just covering my butt in case I get corrected, I'm pretty sure it was) but I believe I ended up paying $65 a day total on board but it was worth it due to the OBCs. It was my understanding that they bumped up the prices because it was spring break time. I imagine non-sb timing it will end all be $55 a day.

Too long; didn't read: Good price no bundle, great price with bundle.

Following along here as well. I'm on the December 3rd sailing so it helps get me extra excited to be leaving in 6 days.

As someone else mentioned, that Leto looks delicious and I'm very curious as to what's in it. The last cruise I was on a year and a half ago, I discovered the Sandy Collins at Schooner and absolutely loved it. Haven't had one since and it will definitely be the first drink I order with my package. It's an extremely summery and refreshing whiskey drink for anyone interested. Of course with the ingredients posted I could have easily made it at home, but there's nothing like having one while walking around the decks.

Harry,

Even though it's been just under a year since you began this thread, I have just gotten to it and loved reading along. I will be on the Freedom on the December 3rd sailing with a couple friends and this thread has really helped me get my fix in for cruising and get even more excited about my trip.

As so many other posters have said, it feels like we know so much about you and your family and now it was as if we were alongside you for your cruise! It's so strange that there's hundreds, possibly thousands of people out there who know you so (relatively) well and yet you barely know us! I feel compelled to say that I am in tax accounting with half of my CPA completed and will actually be taking an exam the day before I leave for Ft. Lauderdale.

Just wanted to pop in and say I really enjoyed reading everything you had to say, especially with all the time you put in posting and all the time we spent reading!

My regards,

Brad

Newer to the forums- what are these casino deals/certificates that multiple posters are referencing?

 

If there's another thread that highlights ways savvy CC members use to find their deals, a nod in the right direction for that would be appreciated as well.

 

Thanks!

A quick google search got me to some CC threads that helped explain the Casino Royale program. Easy enough to understand the concept.

Newer to the forums- what are these casino deals/certificates that multiple posters are referencing?

If there's another thread that highlights ways savvy CC members use to find their deals, a nod in the right direction for that would be appreciated as well.

Thanks!

Thank you for the welcomes, looking forward to getting out there in 3 weeks!

You will enjoy Freedom. We are on Freedom the week after you are cruising. We went on Indy in 2013 and so far it was the best cruise we have been on. That cruise was my hubby, my DD (daughter, 24), her girlfriend (23), and two of my best friends kids (28). My DD has since been able to cruise on Oasis (2015), and two Carnival cruises (never again she has said). You and your friends will fit right in. My DD said she prefers Freedom class because of the solarium, multiple bars (lol), and just overall food and the vibe. My DD is the pickiest person and if she prefers Freedom size ship you should have an excellent cruise. One thing, since DD is picky, she liked the pizza at Sorrentos and she ordered steak a couple nights on main dining room for extra charge (cheaper than eating at Chops). One thing you all might consider is to do a specialty restaurant. Our first two cruises we never did a specialty restaurant. The 3rd cruise on Indy we tried Chops and loved it. The atmosphere added to the entire dinner. This cruise we are doing the BOGO for the first two nights in a specialty restaurant. We also have always had a balcony cabin which to us is way worth the extra cost. Hope you have great weather! Enjoy your cruise!

 

 

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Appreciate the info Trihawk, good to know we may not be alone out there! My last RC cruise was my spring break in 2016. As a 23 year old without too crazy of a fine-dining palate, I'm more than happy eating the steak/beef option in the MDR just about every night! It especially helps having a few cocktails beforehand ;). That being said, if a bogo comes along and lets me pair my steak with some scallops I may not be able say no to Chops

Hello All,

Yes this is my first time posting on here. I popped in a few days ago just because I was excited about my upcoming cruise, and became astounded/enamored/scared of how much content and dedication there is to cruising on here.

Not wanting it to appear as simply a "first time posting" kind of thread, I gave a little double entendre withing the title since I am also first encountering the Freedom of the Seas on December 3rd this year. While not lacking in experience, I am an absolute novice relative to many other posters as this will be my third cruise, all with RC (after reading dozens of threads I feel that I've been on many more though). That being said, I may not oblige to all the proper CC etiquette/phrasing right away (or ever), but I'll always be respectful.

Now I really don't have a point for drawing anyone in here, but I just got to page 15 out of a 75 page thread for Cheapo Dad's (man that guy can write) trip report of the Freedom and I had this certain appeal to post. I am a little interested in who will be on my ship, but I already have a strong foundation for the demographic. I can say with about 99% certainty that my group will fall outside 97% of this sailing's demographic as I am among a group of four 23-year olds.

Some people may immediately be put off by this but, along with the fact that there will be 4000+ people on the ship, I believe the majority of people on here will be more than welcoming. Furthermore, we're not the type to be out causing mayhem across the pool decks, but we're going to enjoy our time.

As is said across many threads, everyones' cruise should be exactly how they want it to be. It just so happens that my group finds more value within an inside cabin coupled with the ultimate drink package, but to each his own. Pair that combo with the accountant that I am, and you can expect me to have tempered fun. I find just as much enjoyment at the bottom of a whiskey on the rocks as I do a margarita, and I may be more your cup of tea with my cup of tea as a nightcap.

Stated earlier, I have no reason to be posting here other than just getting my name out. I'm not trying to find where the party is at, so please don't take the above paragraph as an interpretation that I intend to ruin your cruise if we happen to be on the same ship. If you feel otherwise, I'll refer you back to the final 4 words of my second paragraph. On the contrary, if you see someone strolling the deck wearing a crooked Captain's hat and a pina colada in hand, feel free to say hello.

Happy Cruising

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