Freedom Western - 13-Sept-09 - Review

[JanineM]

Here is a shortened review of our sailing on Freedom on September 13th. We had a wonderful time!! I am submitted the full review too CC ... but these are the "highlights".

 

We live in the area of the Port and left home at around 11:30 a.m. and were at Port Canaveral before 12 noon. Surprisingly, the drop off line at the port was very short! We basically drove right up to the porters where DH dropped our four checked bags. I went over to the line for security while he parked the car. We were in line for security by 12:10. Security took several minutes, and when we arrived upstairs at the cruise check in there was quite a long line. Unlike Mariner, Monarch or Sovereign, they have two separate check-in lines - one for the lower decks and one for the upper decks. I told the lady at the line that we were Platinum and we were brought right to the front of the priority check-in line. It took just a very few minutes to check in and then we were on our way to the ship! The only real log-jam was waiting to have our pictures taken for security. They have four different cameras in two locations (one fore, one aft) and it took quite a while to get through the line there - maybe 10 minutes. There are new cameras on top of the “bing bong” box so you no longer have to look down to have your picture taken. We were on board by 12:40 and immediately went to Guest Services to see about an upgrade from our deck 3 OV, but the ship is sold out!

 

Muster Drill was quick and easy, and much more comfortable since we didn’t wear our life vests. After the drill we waited on deck for a very few minutes and then were off - by 4:30.

 

We had My Time Dining, and were assigned to deck 5. That first evening we were seated with three other couples. This surprised me because I hadn’t read that you were seated with others at MTD. But the company was good and were in and out in about 1:15. After dinner we went to the “Welcome Aboard” show, but we were quite late so only caught about 10 minutes of the comedian. After the show we went to the Viking Crown Lounge and had our first evening drink of the vacation.

 

Day two was at sea. The Meet & Mingle was held at 10:30 in the Olive and Twist on deck, 14. I won a door price (woo hoo!) and we met a few people I had conversed with on Cruise Critic. We wandered around the ship that day and, I spent some time in the casino. We also worked out in the fitness center and I checked out the art auction. We had breakfast in the dining room that day. For dinner that evening we asked to be seated on our own, as it was formal night and we were trying to finish dinner in time for the Captain’s Welcome Aboard reception

 

A note about dress. Of the people I saw, the vast majority of women were in cocktail length dresses, with very few in full-length gowns. There were a lot of men in tuxedos or dark suits, a group in kilts (they looked fantastic), and more than a few who were wearing crappy jeans (i.e., not nice, not new jeans) and tee-shirts or golf shirts. In every instance their female partners were dressed FAR better than the men!

 

Day 3 was Labadee, Haiti.

Pool Towels: You have to sign out pool towels and return them, or you will be charged $20 per towel. This seems to be a FANTASTIC solution to the chair hog issue. We hit the Solarium at about 10 am and there were ZERO towels holding chairs. Just a brilliant solution to that problem! I met the wife of the headline entertainer and we talked a bit while I learned about the life of the headliner entertainers when they are on board the ship.

 

We hung out by the Solarium pool in the morning as the tender line was so long. For a change, we ate lunch in the Dining room. It was excellent! That afternoon I went over to Labadee to check things out. As I went over so late in the day (about 1:30 pm), there was just myself and one of the Activities staff on the tender. That was fun. I checked out the straw market and watched the zip liners.

 

For dinner we ate in the dining room again, and were seated at a table for eight. That evening was 70s dance show in the Promenade and we watched the show and parade. It’s cool to see them up dancing on the two bridges.

 

Day 4 - Ocho Rios - we had an early excursion so grabbed a quick breakfast in the Windjammer then headed onshore.

 

We didn't have a great experience on our excursion and I'll give all of the details in my review. But as a quick summary, there wasn't a bus that could hold everyone who had paid, it took forever to find a bus, and then when we got to our location we were really harassed for tips and the videographer and tour guide got into a fight. Needless to say, it wasn't idea. I wound up filing a complaint with the excursions desk and they were wonderfully responsive. Thank you to them for their assistance with this. But we will never again take a tour in Jamaica ... we'll either enjoy the ship or walk over to Margaritaville.

 

That evening we again went to MTD and asked for a table for 2. We were seated in a back corner that was quite nice and out of the way. Our servers in this section were different, but they were great. After dinner we went down to the Schooner Bar and played trivia (did not win), then took a stroll around and were asleep fairly early.

 

Day 5 - Cayman Islands - Our excursion didn’t leave until 11 am so we had a nice breakfast in Windjammer and then headed over to the island early. Took just a few minutes to get on the tender and be under way. We did the Jolly Roger Trolley Tour. The guide (Steve) was great … dressed up in full Pirate’s Regalia, and he growled and hollered appropriately. This tour was great if you want an overview of the island. The guide was excellent.

 

That afternoon it rained & there was a lot of lightning.... We had rain in Ocho Rios in the afternoon, and a terrific thunderstorm on the second evening right at dinner time. I later spoke to people on water excursions and they were told to stay in the water, regardless of the lightning. :eek: I really don't know if that's great advice!!

 

We had a reservation for Chops this evening at 7 pm. The recommended dress at Chops is “smart casual”, but it is formal night and there were a few people really dressed up in tuxedos and dresses, and also at least a couple of tables in really crummy t-shirts and jeans. C’mon Royal Caribbean --- if you’re going to post dress codes, then enforce them!

 

Anyway, dinner at Chops was excellent as always. Ate way too much food so we weren’t exactly ready to go out and rock and roll all night. He stayed in the room to read while I went to the casino. I think the slots turn cold about day 5 ... :confused:

 

Day 6 was Cozumel where we arrived to beautiful weather. Breakfast in the Windjammer then we headed ashore. Nothing particular planned in Cozumel – just a walk down the main street from downtown back to the ship. We wandered down the main drag and I shopped at my favourite souvenir places until the skies opened up. It poured and poured rain! We dashed across the street and grabbed a cab back to the ship. The prices for liquor and chocolates were better at duty frees in town or in Grand Cayman. A note: The ship will honour prices if you take a photo of the prices in a shop onshore.

 

We left Cozumel at 6:15 and had dinner not too long after that. We went to the show & to Quest. I have more details in my full review ...

 

Amazingly we are now at day 7! We had the C&A Platinum/Diamond/Diamond Plus breakfast in the MDR on deck 5. It was a nice event with some interesting breakfasts. This was our first cruise as Platinum so it was a surprise that we enjoyed. After breakfast I did my shopping, spent some time in the casino, did the Slots Tournie (nope – didn’t win!), wandered through the Freedomfest on the Promenade, and finally had lunch in WJ. It was a beautiful day so the pool deck was pretty well full. There were very few chairs to be had, but practically no chairs being held by anonymous towels! I did our packing late in the afternoon and we polished off a bottle of wine that I had bought for the stateroom.

 

Dinner in the MDR with the “goodbye” parade by the staff. Then on to the casino to cash in my vouchers, then to the Farewell Show. We put our bags outside and got a good nights sleep.

 

Sunday morning already! They called for the express disembarkation probably at 6:30 am, and we went up to breakfast in the WJ at 7. No lines! We had brown 1 tags and were called at 7:45 am and waited probably 20 minutes for our luagge.

 

Oh – a note about leaving Port Canaveral. There were two huge tables covered with contraband for pickup by passengers. I saw dozens of irons and bottles in bags …

 

We both agreed that it was a really relaxing vacation and we achieved our goal of allowing DH to get some rest. (He has a really stressful job and travels 5 days a week.) The ship is beautiful and we were impressed with the staff and the food. It seems like there have been improvements to the menus in the MDR.

 

 

As mentioned, I'm posting a full review here, but am happy to answer any questions.

[bajathree]

 

Unlike Mariner, Monarch or Sovereign, they have two separate check-in lines - one for the lower decks and one for the upper decks.

 

 

I have always experienced 2 separate check-in lines at PC for both Sovereign and Monarch....when you got upstairs certain decks would go to the right and others to the left....there was always a sign posting as well as someone asking what deck you were on and headed you in the right direction.

[bajathree]

BTW....THANKS for the review:)

[kfs44]

Hi Janine:

I'll be going on the same cruise in January and seeing you are from the PC area--can you give a some names of hotels that are near the port (flying in a day early).

 

Thank you-Karen

[sailingawaysoon]

Here is a shortened review of our sailing on Freedom on September 13th. We had a wonderful time!! I am submitted the full review too CC ... but these are the "highlights".

 

We live in the area of the Port and left home at around 11:30 a.m. and were at Port Canaveral before 12 noon. Surprisingly, the drop off line at the port was very short! We basically drove right up to the porters where DH dropped our four checked bags. I went over to the line for security while he parked the car. We were in line for security by 12:10. Security took several minutes, and when we arrived upstairs at the cruise check in there was quite a long line. Unlike Mariner, Monarch or Sovereign, they have two separate check-in lines - one for the lower decks and one for the upper decks. I told the lady at the line that we were Platinum and we were brought right to the front of the priority check-in line. It took just a very few minutes to check in and then we were on our way to the ship! The only real log-jam was waiting to have our pictures taken for security. They have four different cameras in two locations (one fore, one aft) and it took quite a while to get through the line there - maybe 10 minutes. There are new cameras on top of the “bing bong” box so you no longer have to look down to have your picture taken. We were on board by 12:40 and immediately went to Guest Services to see about an upgrade from our deck 3 OV, but the ship is sold out!

 

Muster Drill was quick and easy, and much more comfortable since we didn’t wear our life vests. After the drill we waited on deck for a very few minutes and then were off - by 4:30.

 

We had My Time Dining, and were assigned to deck 5. That first evening we were seated with three other couples. This surprised me because I hadn’t read that you were seated with others at MTD. But the company was good and were in and out in about 1:15. After dinner we went to the “Welcome Aboard” show, but we were quite late so only caught about 10 minutes of the comedian. After the show we went to the Viking Crown Lounge and had our first evening drink of the vacation.

 

Day two was at sea. The Meet & Mingle was held at 10:30 in the Olive and Twist on deck, 14. I won a door price (woo hoo!) and we met a few people I had conversed with on Cruise Critic. We wandered around the ship that day and, I spent some time in the casino. We also worked out in the fitness center and I checked out the art auction. We had breakfast in the dining room that day. For dinner that evening we asked to be seated on our own, as it was formal night and we were trying to finish dinner in time for the Captain’s Welcome Aboard reception

 

A note about dress. Of the people I saw, the vast majority of women were in cocktail length dresses, with very few in full-length gowns. There were a lot of men in tuxedos or dark suits, a group in kilts (they looked fantastic), and more than a few who were wearing crappy jeans (i.e., not nice, not new jeans) and tee-shirts or golf shirts. In every instance their female partners were dressed FAR better than the men!

 

Day 3 was Labadee, Haiti.

Pool Towels: You have to sign out pool towels and return them, or you will be charged $20 per towel. This seems to be a FANTASTIC solution to the chair hog issue. We hit the Solarium at about 10 am and there were ZERO towels holding chairs. Just a brilliant solution to that problem! I met the wife of the headline entertainer and we talked a bit while I learned about the life of the headliner entertainers when they are on board the ship.

 

We hung out by the Solarium pool in the morning as the tender line was so long. For a change, we ate lunch in the Dining room. It was excellent! That afternoon I went over to Labadee to check things out. As I went over so late in the day (about 1:30 pm), there was just myself and one of the Activities staff on the tender. That was fun. I checked out the straw market and watched the zip liners.

 

For dinner we ate in the dining room again, and were seated at a table for eight. That evening was 70s dance show in the Promenade and we watched the show and parade. It’s cool to see them up dancing on the two bridges.

 

Day 4 - Ocho Rios - we had an early excursion so grabbed a quick breakfast in the Windjammer then headed onshore.

 

We didn't have a great experience on our excursion and I'll give all of the details in my review. But as a quick summary, there wasn't a bus that could hold everyone who had paid, it took forever to find a bus, and then when we got to our location we were really harassed for tips and the videographer and tour guide got into a fight. Needless to say, it wasn't idea. I wound up filing a complaint with the excursions desk and they were wonderfully responsive. Thank you to them for their assistance with this. But we will never again take a tour in Jamaica ... we'll either enjoy the ship or walk over to Margaritaville.

 

That evening we again went to MTD and asked for a table for 2. We were seated in a back corner that was quite nice and out of the way. Our servers in this section were different, but they were great. After dinner we went down to the Schooner Bar and played trivia (did not win), then took a stroll around and were asleep fairly early.

 

Day 5 - Cayman Islands - Our excursion didn’t leave until 11 am so we had a nice breakfast in Windjammer and then headed over to the island early. Took just a few minutes to get on the tender and be under way. We did the Jolly Roger Trolley Tour. The guide (Steve) was great … dressed up in full Pirate’s Regalia, and he growled and hollered appropriately. This tour was great if you want an overview of the island. The guide was excellent.

 

That afternoon it rained & there was a lot of lightning.... We had rain in Ocho Rios in the afternoon, and a terrific thunderstorm on the second evening right at dinner time. I later spoke to people on water excursions and they were told to stay in the water, regardless of the lightning. :eek: I really don't know if that's great advice!!

 

We had a reservation for Chops this evening at 7 pm. The recommended dress at Chops is “smart casual”, but it is formal night and there were a few people really dressed up in tuxedos and dresses, and also at least a couple of tables in really crummy t-shirts and jeans. C’mon Royal Caribbean --- if you’re going to post dress codes, then enforce them!

 

Anyway, dinner at Chops was excellent as always. Ate way too much food so we weren’t exactly ready to go out and rock and roll all night. He stayed in the room to read while I went to the casino. I think the slots turn cold about day 5 ... :confused:

 

Day 6 was Cozumel where we arrived to beautiful weather. Breakfast in the Windjammer then we headed ashore. Nothing particular planned in Cozumel – just a walk down the main street from downtown back to the ship. We wandered down the main drag and I shopped at my favourite souvenir places until the skies opened up. It poured and poured rain! We dashed across the street and grabbed a cab back to the ship. The prices for liquor and chocolates were better at duty frees in town or in Grand Cayman. A note: The ship will honour prices if you take a photo of the prices in a shop onshore.

 

We left Cozumel at 6:15 and had dinner not too long after that. We went to the show & to Quest. I have more details in my full review ...

 

Amazingly we are now at day 7! We had the C&A Platinum/Diamond/Diamond Plus breakfast in the MDR on deck 5. It was a nice event with some interesting breakfasts. This was our first cruise as Platinum so it was a surprise that we enjoyed. After breakfast I did my shopping, spent some time in the casino, did the Slots Tournie (nope – didn’t win!), wandered through the Freedomfest on the Promenade, and finally had lunch in WJ. It was a beautiful day so the pool deck was pretty well full. There were very few chairs to be had, but practically no chairs being held by anonymous towels! I did our packing late in the afternoon and we polished off a bottle of wine that I had bought for the stateroom.

 

Dinner in the MDR with the “goodbye” parade by the staff. Then on to the casino to cash in my vouchers, then to the Farewell Show. We put our bags outside and got a good nights sleep.

 

Sunday morning already! They called for the express disembarkation probably at 6:30 am, and we went up to breakfast in the WJ at 7. No lines! We had brown 1 tags and were called at 7:45 am and waited probably 20 minutes for our luagge.

 

Oh – a note about leaving Port Canaveral. There were two huge tables covered with contraband for pickup by passengers. I saw dozens of irons and bottles in bags …

 

We both agreed that it was a really relaxing vacation and we achieved our goal of allowing DH to get some rest. (He has a really stressful job and travels 5 days a week.) The ship is beautiful and we were impressed with the staff and the food. It seems like there have been improvements to the menus in the MDR.

 

 

As mentioned, I'm posting a full review here, but am happy to answer any questions.

Thanks for the great review!