Just off Freedom = any questions?

[JanineM]

The first load of laundry is in the washer and the bags are unpacked ... we had a great week on Freedom and I'll post a full review & pix sometime in the next couple of days.

 

In the meantime, any questions?

[M&M Hayden]

Who is the CD and Activities director? And are they good?

We're sailing November 8.

[justjess57]

Did you do Eastern or Western?

[JanineM]

Who is the CD and Activities director? And are they good?

We're sailing November 8.

 

The CD was Allan Brooks. He's very entertaining. We wished he'd done a show instead of the magician ...

 

The Activities Director was an English guy. We didn't do a lot of activities but did see him around a bit. We really only do trivia and go to some of the shows.

 

It seemed like there could have been more activities, but then we had some rainy weather so that meant we were looking for things to do when we couldn't sit on the pool deck.

[JanineM]

Did you do Eastern or Western?

 

Western - got in to all of the ports of call but had quite a bit of rain in Cozumel.

[JM-1972]

Did you go to the Captain's Welcome aboard party? How do they operate drinks as we have to pay for them now. Are they discounted? Is there a big queue to purchase drinks?

 

or perhaps hardly anyone attended.

[JanineM]

Did you go to the Captain's Welcome aboard party? How do they operate drinks as we have to pay for them now. Are they discounted? Is there a big queue to purchase drinks?

 

or perhaps hardly anyone attended.

 

We did go to the party but not in the Promenade - we went to Pharaoh's Palace where the Captain was smiling and not shaking hands (no one shook hands - too much threat of 'flu!) and taking pictures. There were trays of hors d'oeuvres, champagne, rum punch and non-alcoholic drinks. We had no problem getting 2 or 3 drinks each over the course of about 40 minutes. There were quite a few people there - it wasn't empty by any stretch of the imagination.

[OV8]

Welcome back.

The Activities Director is the British bulldog Luke.

 

Question - Were ice show tickets issued or not?

[JanineM]

Welcome back.

The Activities Director is the British bulldog Luke.

 

Question - Were ice show tickets issued or not?

 

Luke! That's it!

 

There were tickets required for the ice show. They were available from 9 to 10:30 on Day 2. We missed getting tickets and were told to go five minutes before the show started to see if there were empty seats. We chose a martini instead ;)

[kfs44]

The first load of laundry is in the washer and the bags are unpacked ... we had a great week on Freedom and I'll post a full review & pix sometime in the next couple of days.

 

In the meantime, any questions?

 

 

Welcome Back! Going on the same cruise in January..can't wait! Are the formal nights on the 2nd and 5th day? Also we are in cabin is 9614...is this a good one? I so want a JS..hoping for a price drop:D

 

What kinds of excusions did you do? Did you eat at Chops or Portofino's? If so which one did you prefer?

[JanineM]

Welcome Back! Going on the same cruise in January..can't wait! Are the formal nights on the 2nd and 5th day? Also we are in cabin is 9614...is this a good one? I so want a JS..hoping for a price drop:D

 

What kinds of excusions did you do? Did you eat at Chops or Portofino's? If so which one did you prefer?

 

Formal nights were 2 & 5. And I didn't realize that they had done away with "smart casual". It was formal or casual. That cuts down considerably on packing for me!

 

We were waaayyy down on deck 3. I hoped for an upgrade also but the price never dropped and the ship was sold out - and this was during the peak hurricane week which usually scares everyone away! Hope you have better luck & get that upgrade!

 

We ate at Chops and loved it. I'm not a fan of Italian so we never eat a Portofinos, although we talked to a couple last night who ate there and they had absolute raves.

 

We did a couple of excursions. One was a real disaster & I'll go into detail in my review (Mahoe Gardens & Cayuga Falls). We're more of the mindset to enjoy the ship on port days, and I think after this trip we decided to spend our excursion $$ on taxis to beaches, and specialty dining.

[bajathree]

How is the ship looking?....is she fresh or does she look like she is ready for dry dock?

[JanineM]

How is the ship looking?....is she fresh or does she look like she is ready for dry dock?

 

The ship looked GREAT. I only saw one place where they needed to do a bit of work, and that was the wooden trim on the side of one single stair step in the theatre. Some of the chairs in the Windjammer could do with a good cleaning, but I'm sure there are enough spills every single week that something needs a deep cleaning ...

[cineroo]

Thanks for the info. We are going on this beautiful ship next week and cannot wait. I have a couple of questions. We are considering doing Chops one night and trying to figure out what the best night would be. Which night did you guys go? Also, do you remember what was served on the second formal night? We don't want to go to Chops on the night they serve lobster but we are getting conflicting information on which night that is.

 

Also, did you guys do My Time Dining and if so what were your thoughts? I feel confident that you will cover this in your review and I look forward to reading it.

 

Thanks for answering our questions!!

[H8mundays]

Formal nights were 2 & 5. And I didn't realize that they had done away with "smart casual". It was formal or casual. That cuts down considerably on packing for me!

 

 

So what is considered appropriate attire for non formal nights now?

[JanineM]

Thanks for the info. We are going on this beautiful ship next week and cannot wait. I have a couple of questions. We are considering doing Chops one night and trying to figure out what the best night would be. Which night did you guys go? Also, do you remember what was served on the second formal night? We don't want to go to Chops on the night they serve lobster but we are getting conflicting information on which night that is.

 

Also, did you guys do My Time Dining and if so what were your thoughts? I feel confident that you will cover this in your review and I look forward to reading it.

 

Thanks for answering our questions!!

 

On the second formal night - day 5 - they have the traditional lobster/"fisherman's plate". But day 4 is "Surf Night" and they have scallops and a couple of dishes with shrimp and other shellfish. I'm allergic to shellfish so can't tell you exactly what was what, but I did see the waiter de-shelling some shrimp for a few people. If you want shellfish then you'll be happy both of those nights.

 

IMO the weakest night is Italian night - which was day 3, and day 7 - which was kind of a mish-mash.

 

We did try MTD for the first time and we actually liked it quite a bit. We were always seated with other people at tables for 8 or 10 unless we asked for a table for 2. The hostess always tried to get us in the same section so we could get to know our servers, but that didn't always work out. Sometimes we were seated with the same people. We went at about 6:30 to 7:15 each night and NEVER had a wait. But last night there was a pretty big wait at about 8 pm - maybe 30-40 people.

 

I did miss knowing the servers and not having my iced tea on the table, but otherwise the service was good. One thing we loved was having the meal last less than an hour on most nights. If we were at a large table and mingling over coffee there was no rush, but on the nights that it was just the two of us we could be in and out in under an hour.

 

Bottom line for us - if we're traveling with friends then we'll do traditional dining, but otherwise we were pretty pleased with MTD. :)

[JanineM]

So what is considered appropriate attire for non formal nights now?

 

Lots of tropical shirts and dockers for men. A few in button-down shirts with or without jackets.

 

Ladies were in everything from short sparkly cocktail dresses to capris or sundresses. There were some jeans and t-shirts in the MDR, and some were pretty grubby, which wasn't exactly appetising.

 

All the Compass says on casual nights is: Please note that bare feet, shorts, tank tops and t-shirts are not permitted in the dining room at dinner.

[Sky616]

Water baby, couple questions:

 

1) We are taking our 8 yr old son in a few weeks. Were there a lot of kids on board even though school is in?

 

2) Did you notice if there were a lot of people at Johnny Rockets or not, especially on sea days? I've been hearing the crowds are less since the coupon for admission is not in the coupon books any longer. Thanks.

 

Shane

[Iluvjo]

The first load of laundry is in the washer and the bags are unpacked ... we had a great week on Freedom and I'll post a full review & pix sometime in the next couple of days.

 

In the meantime, any questions?

 

Ok, First where is the best burger? best beer price if you drink beer and best place you said now that the cruise is over I wish I would have known about this place or that place, and where it might be. We aew cruising in 2 weeks.

p.s. favorite room serivce selection(drinks,or food) did you use.

 

Leo

[JanineM]

Water baby, couple questions:

 

1) We are taking our 8 yr old son in a few weeks. Were there a lot of kids on board even though school is in?

 

2) Did you notice if there were a lot of people at Johnny Rockets or not, especially on sea days? I've been hearing the crowds are less since the coupon for admission is not in the coupon books any longer. Thanks.

 

Shane

 

Hi Shane,

 

There were quite a few kids around, and a real mixture of ages. The H20 zone was really busy yesterday as it was a beautiful sunny day, but there were other activities all week long. He should have plenty of company. :)

 

We walked by JRs a few times on port days and it was pretty quiet. We did go by last night and there were only about 2 tables filled. I think the changes in coupons has really lessened interest in JRs. We normally go there but decided to save a few calories this time around ... those onion rings are killers for the diet! :(

[bajathree]

Lots of tropical shirts and dockers for men. A few in button-down shirts with or without jackets.

 

Ladies were in everything from short sparkly cocktail dresses to capris or sundresses. There were some jeans and t-shirts in the MDR' date=' and some were pretty grubby, which wasn't exactly appetising.

 

All the Compass says on casual nights is: [i']Please note that bare feet, shorts, tank tops and t-shirts are not permitted in the dining room at dinner.[/i]

 

Thats good to hear....I was starting to worry that tanks, t-shirts and shorts were going to become the norm.

 

The ship looked GREAT. I only saw one place where they needed to do a bit of work' date=' and that was the wooden trim on the side of one single stair step in the theatre. Some of the chairs in the Windjammer could do with a good cleaning, but I'm sure there are enough spills every single week that something needs a deep cleaning ...[/quote']

 

Good to hear....THANKS:)

[JanineM]

Ok, First where is the best burger? best beer price if you drink beer and best place you said now that the cruise is over I wish I would have known about this place or that place, and where it might be. We aew cruising in 2 weeks.

p.s. favorite room serivce selection(drinks,or food) did you use.

 

Leo

 

Leo,

 

I don't think I can be much help ... I don't drink beer!

 

If we had more time I probably would have had a few drinks in the pub on the Promenade. They have a good selection of domestic & imported beer.

 

As to burgers ... we always prefer the burgers in Johnny Rockets. The ones in the Windjammer sit in a steam tray for a while (and the turkey burgers weren't so good). Unfortunately there isn't an outdoor grill on this ship - and it's something we always miss. So I'd do JRs even though it's an extra charge.

 

Room Service has a pretty small selection, and we don't usually bother with it since we can go up to Sorrentos and grab a piece of pizza late night. But the chili chorizo dip always used to be good!

 

As to "wish I had known" places - the helipad way up front on deck 4/5 is great and usually very quiet. It's a cool place to be when you're heading in to a port. And On-Air on deck 3 is great for sports. They had the Sunday, Monday and weekend games on tv there all the time.

[cowspotter]

I was on this cruise as well and had a great time. I found out on the last day that they were selling Bud Select Buckets in the Schooner Bar as a special. It was buy 4 bottles, get 2 free (which ended up being $22). Not a great deal when compared to some happy hours on land but it was still better than normal. Margarita Madness in the On Air bar (5:30p - 7:30p) was great. We often picked up 2 margs each to take to dinner.

[Iluvjo]

Thanks for the inside tips keep em coming!!

 

You guys are Great!!!

Leo

[wolfcathorse]

Janine - who was the smiling captain? Did you have Capt Manolis or Capt Erik