louv2000

Just got off the Oasis. We had reserved MTD on deck 4. We had varied times between 6pm or 6:30pm. Table for 2, sitting alone.

Our longest wait was maybe 5 minutes? and they apologized profusely for it.

We sat at a different table each night and had different wait staff. No issues at all.

We did Chops one night, Sabor one night and Johnny Rockets another--so were only in the dining room for 4 nights total.

Does anyone have an updated page with links that work?

I can't get the links on the page to work. Anyone? I've tried 2 different computers and browsers with no luck. Can anyone else post? thanks.

We've had good and bad experiences. Last February we were in a huge line to get off--this was around 9am. It probably took an our to get off and we walked off with our luggage.

Thanks for the heads up! Called my TA today and we've saved $620 on our March 7 Oasis cruise, and she threw in a free speciality restaurant certificate. Very happy!!

Allan Brooks just posted on Facebook that he has resigned from Royal Caribbean. :(:confused:

We had a huge balcony on FOS--2 loungers, 2 chairs and a table. Tons of room.

We enjoyed the service and the ambience. The food--not so much. It's been a couple years--but if I remember correctly our biggest thrill was the bread. We like meat--but it was too much and oddly seasoned. We won't be going back.

How does the pool area work? Are there spots available in the suite section in the mid morning/early afternoon or do the suite chair hogs gobble them up early like the regular chairs? We have a morning activity planned one sea day so we won't get to the pool till 2ish. Will we be able to get a chair (technically 2 chairs)?

 

 

There is a section for gold card suite holders located on either side of the Pool Bar that go up the stairs (red velvet ropes) to the Sky Bar with loungers with gold towels.

 

You will easily be able to secure the loungers that you want.

Sorry, that's been changed. No special towels---we had to sign our blue ones out. No special section around the pool--just on top of the bar.

I have read the fanciful little blurbs online, but in reality what are the true suite perks on Freedom? We were booked in a JS, so I never researched the suite perks, but now that its less than a week before sailing, the price on the GS dropped so we grabbed it. Now I am scrambling to figure out what we actually bought! :eek:

 

Where is the seating in the theater? Can we really just show up a minute before a show and get good seats? What about the ice show? Do we get seats there? How early do we have to show up for that? The seating is the centre of the balcony (upper level of theatre) and you need to get there about 15 mins before the start of the show or else the seats are released to all. The ice show has a similarly designated central area.

 

How does the priority tender thing work? Never used it!

 

What about Labadee? We are not renting a cabana since we plan on doing a lot of the "stuff", but we would still like a little beach time. Are there loungers just on the sand on Barefoot like the other beaches? How do we flag down the golf carts to get there? Do we get floaties included? How does the special BBQ work? Where is it?Never felt the need to rent a cabana. There are plenty of loungers available. You're escorted in, there are towels available. They ask if you want sunny or shady and they set you up. Take some small bills for tipping if you like. We never took a golf cart--its not a far walk. Never used the floaties either. I found the sand rather course--recommend water shoes. The BBQ is set up behind all the loungers, near the wall. Runs mid-day (11--1?) and features fly covered food! My husband enjoyed the steak and shrimp. I just picked at my food. Nothing special really.

 

What about room service? If we want to eat a full dinner on our balcony, how do we get the menus? Will the food still be hot when it arrives?As has been said, menus in the room daily. You may have to ask though--we did. Food is warm--hot. Not as hot as the MDR. It all comes at once and you have to serve yourself. Ask for a table cloth! On windy nights, we brought the table in from the balcony and used the 2 chairs in the room. Very nice--especially on formal nights (if you don't want to dress up).

 

What about the daytime meals in the specialty restaurants? Is there a fee to eat lunch in chops? Are both open on all sea days or only one at a time? How do we find out? Is the lunch menu the same as the MDR lunch one? On Freedom, we could eat in Portofino's. They have a great breakfast menu and its quiet and relaxing. Free of charge. There is no organized lunch, but you can bring your tray from the Windjammer in there to eat in peace. There are other options on board for lunch, but nothing specifically for suites.

 

I read that there is a special suite reception with the captain. If so, when/where/how? You'll be sent invitations to events--they'll be left in your suite.

 

How does the pool area work? Are there spots available in the suite section in the mid morning/early afternoon or do the suite chair hogs gobble them up early like the regular chairs? We have a morning activity planned one sea day so we won't get to the pool till 2ish. Will we be able to get a chair (technically 2 chairs)?The designated suite area on Freedom is above the Sky Bar. Great place to be windblown! or watch the big screen. Not handy to the pool. We go up there about once a cruise and its always deserted.

 

How does the lounge work? Is there a suite lounge and a diamond lounge or are they the same place? Outside of the cocktail hours, anything else go on in there?2 separate lounges. Suite lounge is on deck 10. Interior room, no windows. Comfy chairs. We pick the Diamond lounge over this though--nice view from Deck 12 (?). Its inside Olive and Twist. You can go there for breakfast (continental style) and coffee/lattees etc are always available. There's also 2 computers in there. Nice and quiet during the day---we use it often.

 

What about special requests? Can I ask for fresh fruit to always be in the room? What about chocolate covered berries? I don't want to be "those people" that ask for too much, but it would be awesome to get some special snacks.Fruit is brought the first day. Goodies arrive a few times throughout the week. We never asked for anything so don't know.

 

On the last day how does disembarking work? Do you hang out in the lounge? Do you get numbers like every one else? Can you just leave whenever you want? (We want to get off pretty early to head to disney world)

We do our own luggage. We hang out in the suite til the last minute and then walk off.

Anything else I am missing?

have a great time!!

I'm glad we did it for the week. We paid the same as an inside and honestly that's about all its worth. I did find it hot. Some pool noise (we were on 11) and we could hear the pool band quite well when they played. Loved the evenings the best--listening to classical music and sipping wine. Definitely missed my OV!

2 for $15? IMHO its not worth the time or trouble calling or heaven forbid trekking it back on another cruise! just get another.

Amy Fickert is an aquired taste. I haven't aquired it yet. :cool:

Nice clothes = Good manners ?? since when? I've seen plenty of 'people' (what's with the quotes?) dressed up on formal night and their manners were no better than anyone else. The clothes do not make the man.

My kids wouldn't wear co-ordinating outfits EVER. I see it all the time on cruises and have a bit of a chuckle. Definitely not a Canadian thing.

I'm so over formal nights-- so this sounds like a great idea to me. I don't agree with an extra charge though. Just give them one floor of the dining room nightly to dress up--every night if they wish. Same menu though.

Keep the other 2 floors as 'smart casual' for the full cruise.

We weren't able to find any snacks at the bars--used to be you could get trail mix if you asked. THey didn't seem to have it.

I hate the linens on board and my husband loves them. So I pull mine all the way back and sleep with my own lightweight airplane blanket only and we're both happy. :) lol I like to be cool and I agree--the rooms just never get COLD . Most people should be comfortable though. I swear it got warmer at night--but can't prove it.

My fav perks--in no particular order:

eggs benedict in Portofino's

quiet atmosphere in Portofino's

capuccino machine in the lounge

2 loungers on the balcony--so relaxing

MDR menu in the room--loved this on formal night

and the space! no more shuffling past each other to navigate the room while getting dressed, etc. Fantastic!

First time we went a couple years ago as a party of two and yes, we were seated with another couple. We didn't know any better and had to share food with them family style. It honestly wasn't a big issue and I'm a complete germophobe. Just use some utensils to serve and eat from your own plates.

Second time we went as a party of four, showed up early (we were first in line) and requested and got a table to ourselves.

My tip--show up early!!

My fav lunch is to grab a yogourt parfait and granola bar from the spa on 6 and take it over to the diamond lounge. I enjoy my lunch overlooking the promenade and then make myself a latte. Heaven!

I agree about Rita's. We started our last cruise with the fiesta and it really kicked off the cruise. Loved the food and the atmosphere. We even returned later in the cruise for afternoon nachos and margarita's. They really treat you well.

Hello,

 

we will cruise on the Freedom of the Seas in November, 7 Night Western Caribbean (Labadee, Falmouth, George Town, Cozumel) and 7 Night Eastern Caribbean (CocoCay, Charlotte Amalie, Philipsburg) as a B2B, departing from Port Canaveral.

 

We would like to book private excursions and are not sure if we have to consider different times (ship time vs. local time) in the ports. Because there are different time zones during the cruises, does the Freedom change time or not? If not, which ports of call have different times than the ship?

 

Many thanks in advance.

We stayed on ships's time for our recent (Feb 2) Western cruise on Freedom.

I agree that a suite for what you pay on Freedom should be better than Disney. However, a 2 day pass for 4 adults & one child cost us almost as much as our 7 day Freedom cruise in an interior room, something I kept pointing out to my husband!:D And I think we spent more money in the park for food & one souvenir for the grandchild than we did for the entire week on Freedom. And the food was pretty bad in the parks, in comparison the MDR was gourmet!

 

Sherri:)

really?

We paid $2444 for the week at Disney for 2 of us: hotel, 4 days at the parks and all our food.

We paid $4429 for our suite on Freedom for the week with my time dining.

Food is very subjective, but I'd have to suggest you likely weren't eating at the same places as me at Disney. Best food ever, by far. IMHO.

Disney isn't perfect--waiting in lines for buses and attractions, crowds, etc. But this past cruise just hit us that its 'not all that' either.

My husband flow rides a lot and he noticed that the ''unit' itself was showing wear--all discoloured, etc. The mini-putt was a mess--torn up turf. Looked awful. Hallways were dirty, carpets in need of cleaning. I guess Freedom is showing its age at last.

The activities and shows haven't changed in years. We found that we spent most of our time lounging on our balcony (not complaining!) sleeping and reading. You can't beat the weather in the Caribbean, but the same old ports are wearing thin too.

I'd rather have paper coupons. Do they give you a list so you know what coupons you have?

Yes, you get a list in your stateroom at the start of your cruise.

You can ask for a print out of your remaining coupons from any cashier on board at any time. I only found that out on the last day though!

We used to do Disney a lot. They were perfection for many years and then it got too big. Quality slipped big time and we stopped going as often and upgraded to more expensive resorts when we did go.

We did not spend big bucks for our time last week. It was a 'moderate' resort. I was really impressed.

I still think that a suite on Freedom should be better than Disney. Just looking at the $$ it should have been twice as good.

We travelled in suite 1248 on Freedom 2 weeks ago. We travelled in the same suite back in December 2012.

I was shocked to see that the same damaged t.v. was still hanging on the wall (darkened circles on the flat screen?). The remote was now held together with tape.

Balcony furniture was in a state of disrepair.

Mold in the tub.

And the room smelled like a swamp. This was remedied on the 2nd day of our cruise after maintenance was called--water was pooling in the a/c (?).

We paid big bucks and were a bit disappointed to say the least. No chocolates at turn down either ;)

Followed our cruise with a week at Disney. Moderate resort (Port Orleans) and were awed by the clean rooms, new bathrooms, etc. The housekeeper was a marvel and only visted our room once per day and had many, many rooms to maintain.

We spent the week at Disney--did a package deal with tickets and free dining. Spent about 1/2 of what we did for the cruise. We didn't have to line up for over an hour to get out of the hotel either and they didn't lose my luggage. :D

We're cancelling our upcoming December cruise.