Luckyprincess' Freedom of the Seas Review

[luckyprincess]

I woke up super early (9:00, lol) and threw back the balcony curtains to see the rain and O.M.G. - it was SUNNY! I laughed like a loon out loud, realized Andy was still asleep and threw on a bikini, grabbed a book and seapass card and made my way to WJ. After a breakfast and some stretching on my balcony, I went up to the sports deck. We have a pool to lie around at home and I can't swim anyway, so I headed up to the area opposite the Sports Deck, I think it's off of 12, where you climb a set of stairs and it's just lounge chairs with some bar servers strolling around. I found a lounger in the sun, ordered an early Corona and let the sunshine in. It felt so great to have hot, sunny weather! I was out there until about noon, I guess, flipping at the perfect times, getting a little color to at least prove to my co-workers that I wasn't holed up in a submarine this whole time and then headed back to see if my sweetie had woken up yet.

We wanted to hit the volleyball but never got to it. Since my bf got up at the crack of noon, he was already starving by 2:00. So, to shake it up, we went to Johnny Rockets today! How fun! When you walk in they all yell 'hello' at you, so cute. Then our awesome server explained everything - they work really hard to make sure you understand that you are paying a cover charge for this place and that the shakes are extra. He repeated our order back for us, and the charges and gave us some nickels for our jukebox. Well, suddenly, the music cranked up and:

Whoo Hoo! Singing and dancing! Yay! And I don't care if you are a burly macho man, if you say my server wasn't completely adorable dancing (he was so clearly into it) then you are a liar!

We went to the casino afterwards and won $300 (woot) and headed back to our room. Throughout the cruise, we would laze around in our cabin and kept catching the end to Star Trek. We both really wanted to see the beginning, so we planned on catching it at the screening room at 7:00, then leaving when it got to the part we saw and head to the MDR for formal night. Well, we got to the screening room (deck 2 but you can't just walk through - something that annoyed us on this ship - I guess because of the promenade, there were areas we couldn't just walk to, but had to go to different elevators or walk up or down and then over - annoying) and wasted some time checking out the empty conference rooms ;).

We got caught up watching Star Trek when my bf turned to me and said 'I guess we better go get dressed for dinner'. I told him forget formal night, the MDR wasn't up to par of what Radiance had been and the great wine fiasco made it worse, so we decided to skip it. After 7 years together, we have plenty of pics of ourselves dressed to the nines - no big deal. Well- slight problem. We got out of the movie and WJ was already closed for dinner! We HATED the soggy pizza in Sorrento's (sorry, but we resided in both NJ and Brooklyn, so whaddyawantfromme?) so we called the MDR and explained our predicament. She said at 9pm it wouldn't matter if we weren't dressed up for formal night - to come anyway. Well, we got dressed in more of an elegant casual, decided we didn't really care since we're at a table for two, anyway and went to the MDR. This was the evening that they still had no idea where our red wine is and my bf had to take control of the situation in that charming but effective way of his. So, we had dinner and then headed to the Quest - another favorite.

On FOS you are in a huge stadium seating room and are just split up in teams with an employee in charge of running stuff over. We preferred Radiance, where we were both captains and you picked your own team, but this was still super fun and funny! I won't ruin anything for you newbies reading, but I will post just one of the many pics I have:

So fun! afterwards, we went to the Twenty party on the pool deck til about 2 am. It was super fun, mostly because we got to go up a deck and watch some of the drunken spectacular moves going on on the dance floor! We were crying, we were laughing so hard. We weren't being mean spirited at all - just enjoying others having a good time. They played some good Jersey songs (Bon Jovi, anyone? lol) and it was really great. They then moved it into the Olive or Twist lounge at 2am, but that just turned in to a club scene, so we skipped.

We were able to then grab a hot tub for another hour or so, just talking and enjoying each other. Very romantic!

[QTMichele]

Melody - I'm so glad you loved St. Martin. We honeymooned there and found it to be a truly special place. We loved almost everything about it (minus the poverty :( ). I would highly recommend a land vacation there. :D

 

I love reading your review, keep it up! :)

[luckyprincess]

Yay! Another craptastic weather day! And I mean craptastic! It was almost cold out there! So, since we stayed up til 4am the night (morning?) before, we got up a little late - aorund 10 am. We hit WJ, and brought it back to our balcony, as is our custom and I packed up to go home - siiiggghh. Actually, we were pretty ready to head home. Not only because of the weather -as my bf put it -'it's only going to get worse from here':rolleyes: - remember how I said I'm an eternal optimist? He's the opposite.... Plus, we have a furbaby that totally rules our world, Hazel Nut and we missed her so bad!

They had lots to do today that interested us, which was awesome. We strolled over to the sports deck so my bf could take part in the Crew vs. Guests dodgeball and - he was the last guest standing!! Yes, I'm so proud!

It was hilarious because they went into overtime and he rushed the crew member and tried to dive under him where he would have to hit himself in order to knock Andy out! Too funny and everyone was laughing! He lost, but damn - he tried! You can tell by the treacherous, slippery court how lovely the weather was, no?

After that, we headed over to the Schnooer Bar for 'Name That Movie Tune'. Boy - we suck! I figured since he is 6 years younger than me we would cover a wide base of movies but um...no. I think we got 13 out of 20 right, lol! But it was really, really fun!

After, we headed out to watch the flowrider competition. It was really good - I can't swim so figured I should stay off of it but we had a good time watching folks wipe out! Sadly, they had to shut the rock wall down because of how bad the weather was - of course we kept putting it off and didn't get to do it! Then - you guessed it - Football Time! We spent a few hours at the ON Air lounge watching the game and it was fun because all of the diehards were there. Great time!

Around seven we hit the WJ for dinner again and I got outvoted (how is that even possible with only two people) for watching Race to Witch Mountain. So we went to the casino - see a theme here? I told my sweetie that I had a feeling we were going to win big tonight and we did - well, for what we were betting! We won $400! So fun! Then, I got the ill fated call about my Airboats and Alligators tour for Sunday in Port Canaveral. This was also an airport drop off tour, which was the main reason for booking it. But we were really, really looking forward to it! I totally understand why it was canceled, but it sux! Luckily, I over plan with the best of them (who'd laughing now?) and had ALSO booked a rental car from Budget, just in case. So that was easy!

We went to the Finish That Lyric Game Show in Pharaoh's lounge and it was great! Very fun. After, we grabbed a cigar I bought in St. Maarten and went to the Connoisseurs Club and talked and smoked. Very pretty room with great air filtration!

We then went up to the room and finished packing our carry on bags and passed out.

[luckyprincess]

Ahhhh....Florida. Isn't it great visiting in the winter from the North? Just slipping down the coast to catch some sunshine and some warmth? Yes - it is - so where the he** did I wake up on Sunday morning? It was about 40 degrees - maybe. Yes, you read that right! I felt sooo bad for the Floridians - I know your blood gets pretty thin after a while and that seems like below freezing to them!:D

We got up, made sure we had everything and headed to the WJ for one last breakfast. We were still Beige #2 luggage tags, even without the excursion, so we were going to get off early. The problem is that our flight wasn't til 2:30.... Oh well. We figured we would head to the airport, get there around 10 after dropping the car, check in and grab some food and not have too long to wait.

We heard them call Lavender and Beige #1 luggage tags to exit. Then, they moved on to other colors. So we figured we would inquire as to what we should do and braced for the mob scene. On Radiance, they may as well have yelled 'fire - everyone grab your family and luggage and head to deck 5!'. You couldn't get down the stairs because of all the genius' sitting on them with luggage. You couldn't get on or off any elevators because there was wall to wall people crushing the doors - it was a terrible end to an awesome cruise!

But on Freedom, they actually controlled the crazies! It was orderly and we honestly didn't see too many people leaving when we did. It seems we were to infer our beige#2 went with beige#1 and they told us we could leave. So after about 10 minutes of some lines (not bad) we got to the shady, back alley looking luggage room (what is that about?:p) and actually found our stuff pretty fast. Then we stood in the freezing cold (I seriously needed gloves - no joke!) for our Budget shuttle. It only took maybe 10 minutes but it seemed longer, lol. Our shuttle driver was a sweet older guy that talked about meeting manatees and his life in Florida and I really liked him. Then he says 'wow - look at all of that ice on the road!'. My bf looked at the road and said to me 'it looks like someone spilled a soda and left some ice cubes on the road!':p It was enough to make someone hit a power pole though, and knock out the power to Budget - which meant hand written slips but still awesome service, as usual.

It took about 30 minutes to get to the airport, unload the car and get to our Jetblue kiosk. Which put us roughly one hour early to be able to check in....of course. We also noticed something odd about MCO. Don't get me wrong - its pretty, clean, well run, safe, lots to do. But why - dear God, why- do they have the security screening areas split up between gates 1 - 59 and 60 - 140? Really? Really? The long lines at both (as in only two) gate entrances was six lines wide and lots of people long for our gates. And we still had an hour before we could even get over there. Ah well..... that's the way it goes I guess.

So we decide to walk around, with all of our luggage, and I suddenly realize - it's not just an airport - it's. a. mall. Yes! So, off I went, passing the time when I happened upon a dog store near Brookstone. It had the cutest stuff, and for anyone else with a spoiled dog, it was a great place to pick something up for her. We went with a lovely and squeaky bottle of 'Grrrobert Slobbery' for our girl....

Anyway......we finally check in and get through the huge lines and find our gate. Not bad - due to all of the setbacks, we only have two hours to go! At 1:00, we found a t.v. with the GB / Arizona game (WOW, huh?) and I decided to grab a glass of wine to wash my dramamine down with. As my eyes grazed our departure board, I saw 'scheduled 2:48, Now 4:38'. Sigh.

Yes, we were flying into Newark on the day that that plane had an accident and had to land without all of its landing gear. So, instead of getting home at 5:30, we got home around 8:00, but at least we were home and safe!

We had a good cruise - not great, like our last - but good. I think the weather played a really big part and the constant rocking of the ship, too. I will say that the rooms and balconies on FOS surpassed the Radiance and I loved the decor and art. However, there were areas that seemed 'dark' and I really missed the light, pretty, ocean views you get from almost everywhere on Radiance. I didn't like having to find the right bank of elevators to get where I wanted to go and I would have loved outdoor seating at WJ.

Chops was a complete let down on FOS for us, but I would book it again on another ship expecting more of a Radiance experience. In the MDR, our 2 top table's order was taken as if we were a big table of the other two tops surrounding us, and our food all came out at the same time, regardless of who finished when. As well, twice they grabbed silver, napkins and place settings off of tables WHILE OCCUPIED to give to us. If a server in my club did that I would fire them right away. No excuse for that at all.

Also, we noticed that on Radiance, our balcony glass was washed by a crew member in a big contraption at every port. On Freedom, it had a very thick salt coating and was not washed any day we were aboard. We also noticed that the rail on our balcony was unfinished - that was really weird. I just felt that maybe since they are going into drydock that they didn't really bother doing some things? There were lots of water stains on some of the carpets, which were very noticeable and some dark staining on our rug in our cabin. I wouldn't say it impacted my cruise AT ALL, but we did notice it in stark contrast to the constant cleaning going on on Radiance.

I loved all of the rooms and how they were decorated and they had lots more nightlife on this ship. We're pretty active people, but I feel like this ship is better for families - if I had kids I think it would be a different experience on board.

Anyhow - ask away. Don't bother complaining to me about what I complained about - I'll cover my ears, shut my eyes, stick out my tongue and yell 'nananananan I can't hear you!'. :D Thanks for reading everyone!~

[amybeth4]

I decided to grab a glass of wine to wash my dramamine down with.

 

I knew I liked you! ;)

[lcguy]

Awesome review and so very well detailed... thanks for the pics. Although everything didn't go right... I'm sure it beat another week in the tri-state.

 

Thanks again for the review and welcome back... or not. :D

[jonbgd]

Around seven we hit the WJ for dinner again and I got outvoted (how is fun. After, we grabbed a cigar I bought in St. Maarten and went to the Connoisseurs Club and talked and smoked. Very pretty room with great air filtration!

Did you buy a cigar from the girl hand rolling for the Andi the little cigar company over near the taxi's

BTW great review with photos

[luckyprincess]

St. Martin is one of my favorite places in the world. It's definitely worth staying for more than a day! Sorry the weather didn't hold up. Can't wait to see the rest.

 

Thanks bluegirlum! It was so pretty when we arrived and I definetly want to see it again for a longer visit sometime!

 

Melody - I'm so glad you loved St. Martin. We honeymooned there and found it to be a truly special place. We loved almost everything about it (minus the poverty :( ). I would highly recommend a land vacation there. :D

 

I love reading your review, keep it up! :)

What a great spot for a honeymoon! The poverty was bad but I'll say that they still seemed pretty happy. My yoga teacher always says that in a true yogic lifestyle, you could have only one nickel to your name and you can still be a happy person. :)

[luckyprincess]

Did you buy a cigar from the girl hand rolling for the Andi the little cigar company over near the taxi's

BTW great review with photos

Yes!! It was a great one, too! Thanks for the compliment!

[luckyprincess]

Awesome review and so very well detailed... thanks for the pics. Although everything didn't go right... I'm sure it beat another week in the tri-state.

 

Thanks again for the review and welcome back... or not. :D

Thanks Icguy! yeah, it was way better than 12 degrees and going to school!

[luckyprincess]

Its a shame you had such crap weather, I love most of those ports, ESPECIALLY Magens Bay. I went there a few years ago and it was roughly 350 times nicer than any beach I've ever seen in Miami. Oof.

Lol - yeah, that's what I figured. I mean, there must be a reason it's always in the top 10 beaches lists, right?:D

[bluegirlum]

Thanks bluegirlum! It was so pretty when we arrived and I definetly want to see it again for a longer visit sometime!

 

 

What a great spot for a honeymoon! The poverty was bad but I'll say that they still seemed pretty happy. My yoga teacher always says that in a true yogic lifestyle, you could have only one nickel to your name and you can still be a happy person. :)

 

You guys look really happy together--a very cute couple! Sorry for the bad weather, but it seems like you made the best of it.

 

I've only stayed on the French side, and yes, they do seem pretty happy overall. It's like most Caribbean islands, unfortunately and fortunately. There are so many parts that are stunningly beautiful and have amazing houses and resorts, then there are the really poor parts. But we have that in the US too, I guess. We just don't usually travel through it.

 

Anyway, thanks again for the review. Glad you guys got the chance to get away!

[luckyprincess]

Thanks for the great review. Sorry to hear about your bad weather, I can relate, happened to us on Celebrity. Where did you get that key card for the door? CUTE! We will have cabin 9342 on deck 9 April 18th, 2010..the one right next to yours..looks great! Did the shower have a door or curtain? How was the closet space? Is the Safe in the closet? Is there a fridge anywhere? Thanks

Hi Mousy! Just realized I didn't answer you about the key card for the door! Just do a search for 'balcony pledge' and you'll find the thread! Someone (can't recall who!) made it and then further down the thread someone else put it into the exact dimensions and you need only print it out! I wish I had a camera on the other side of the door to see people's expressions! But I was a little busy.....;):D

[jonbgd]

Yes!! It was a great one, too! Thanks for the compliment!

Good I wanted to get another persons opinion to make sure i wasnt wrong

I even brought home a bag of seconds for giveaways and tried one It was better than most I get at home

[luckyprincess]

Good for you. My turn in 3 & 4 weeks. :p

Just 2 cabins below yours.

Gotta luv the hump cabin. :D

Good luck gettin warm now that your back.

Ahem....try out the nature trail and take it to the very end - it's like your own private island ;) Just sayin'.....

[MAZANDSTEVE]

Great review, really enjoyed reading it. Say it as it is girl!! :D

[luckyprincess]

Great review, really enjoyed reading it. Say it as it is girl!! :D

Lol - thanks! I've never been much of a shrinking violet, in case you didn't notice....:D

I always make sure to praise just as much when things are good as I would comment on things that are not good. I'm also one of those silver lining folks.....but as stated on a great Demotivators poster:

“Every dark cloud has a silver lining, but lighting kills hundreds of people each year who try to find it.”

:p

[MAZANDSTEVE]

Lol - thanks! I've never been much of a shrinking violet, in case you didn't notice....:D

I always make sure to praise just as much when things are good as I would comment on things that are not good. I'm also one of those silver lining folks.....but as stated on a great Demotivators poster:

“Every dark cloud has a silver lining, but lighting kills hundreds of people each year who try to find it.”

:p

 

 

 

I would never have noticed, LOL.:p

And Im pretty much the same.;)

[Debde]

Loved it LuckyP!!

Great job callin it as ya see it!! :D

 

I may have said this once before but-another person I'd love to see while on vacation.

[luckyprincess]

I would never have noticed, LOL.:p

And Im pretty much the same.;)

 

Loved it LuckyP!!

Great job callin it as ya see it!! :D

 

I may have said this once before but-another person I'd love to see while on vacation.

Thanks you two!! I always appreciate an honest review that includes the good and the bad:)

And I'm sure we'd have a great time on board ANY ship!!

[mehitabel]

You guys are so cute, and your review is just charming. Thanks so much for sharing--I'd cruise with you any day!

 

I have a question about the Labadee nature walk. That looks like something my husband and I would really enjoy. Do you think I could make it with sturdy water shoes, or should I plan to wear my running shoes? Thanks in advance for your advice.

[SliderNc]

Thanks for the great review. I booked our Freedom EC cruise on 10/24 a few days ago and are really looking forward to it. Honest reviews are hard to come by on here most of the time.

 

BTW, being a "yankee" in the southerner's world and traveling to NYC for work and to see family often, I'd be interested in knowing what place you guys work as well and would definitely come visit as well. I'm a foodie and miss all of the great food up north (good italian is hard to come by down here) and would love to sample some of your man's cuisine.

 

notsocleveremail at gmail dot com

[amybeth4]

Thanks for the great review. I booked our Freedom EC cruise on 10/24 a few days ago and are really looking forward to it. Honest reviews are hard to come by on here most of the time.

 

BTW, being a "yankee" in the southerner's world and traveling to NYC for work and to see family often, I'd be interested in knowing what place you guys work as well and would definitely come visit as well. I'm a foodie and miss all of the great food up north (good italian is hard to come by down here) and would love to sample some of your man's cuisine.

 

notsocleveremail at gmail dot com

 

Hey Slider, she sent me the name of the restaurant, and I looked at the menu. I'm dying to go there, but I'm not working at the moment. I'll send you the name of the place in exchange for you taking me there for lunch. Lunch is a bit cheaper of course. I don't want to come across as greedy...

 

;)

[shellyclark]

Thanks so much for taking the time to do this. We are leaving 1 month from today on Freedom and we can't wait! I know I am driving DH crazy always researching and talking about it. I am sorry the weather wasn't so good for you but at least you made the best of it. Do you happen to have the compasses?

 

Thanks again!

 

Oh, I love the room key things. I am going to print some for sure!

[Promisekeeper]

Hi, Luckyprincess, we were also on this cruise and were at the Meet & Mingle and the cabin crawl. LOTS of fun...

I am loving your review and all the pictures. We were on the port side in cabin 9644, just aft of the hump in a JS and loved our view as well.

We had the most horrible experience on this cruise with our wine that we have ever had. It started with the two bottles we ordered for sailaway. I have posted my experience on the RCI threads about wine packages but I'll try to condense it here.

We ordered online from Gifts and Gear for a bottle of red and a bottle of white to be in our stateroom when we boarded. In 20 cruises, it has ALWAYS been there. Not this time. We immediately called guest services, they said it would be delivered that afternoon. Three o'clock, no wine. I went down to Guest Services, and they informed me that they didn't deliver wine until after dinner. I was astounded, and insisted that wouldn't do, we were having guests for sailaway in our cabin and had to have it. GS called the Bar Manager and he was told it would be delivered in an hour. Four pm, no wine. Called GS, they said they'd check on it and call back. Went to the drill, got back, no wine. My husband called this time and was not very nice. This time, they called us back and said the bar manager having it brought right away. Five pm, no wine. Called again to GS, asked could I call the Bar Manager myself, but they said no, it was already delivered, but I insisted it wasn't. Sailaway came and went, no wine. Our guests left. A little after 6 pm there was a knock on the door. THE WINE!! It was our next door neighbors, from Denmark, who were on their way to dinner and had just stopped by their cabin after being gone all afternoon. They asked if we had ordered wine--there were two bottles in their cabin and the card had our cabin # on it. Yeah! Called our friends to come back and we had wine, with no thanks to GS or the Bar Manager, but to our honest next door neighbors. I reported the outcome to GS.

Then, at dinner, we had pre ordered the Wine & Dine package. The asst waiter informed us that they were not offering it anymore and they had been instructed to refund our money but we could order from the wine list. I said no. The waiter came by, repeated the explanation and added that the wine package was not available on our sailing. I said no, I want the wine package. The head waiter came by, said the same thing, but if I insisted he'd go to the Bar Manager with our response. He said the wine stock was low and they might not be able to provide us with our selection. I told him I'd pick from whatever they had and I wanted the wine package. Finally, we got permission to keep our wine package and every bottle we ordered was available.

I don't know what is going on with customer service or the Bar Manager but getting our wine on this cruise was hard work!! We persevered and drank every bottle we had ordered!!

Other than this experience, we had a wonderful cruise, even with the weather, and met some great people. We manage to have fun no matter what!

Annette (& Wayne)