newbie just back from FOS

[calmmerritt]

we just got back from our first ever cruise and it was AWESOME!! we arrived at the port at 11:30 and we were on board by 12:30 not bad, got a little nervous when getting our sea pass when the lady giving them to us said oh all 5 of you are staying in the same cabin and i replied it says it fits 6 and she laughed. so until we finally got to our room i kept telling my husband and kids im sorry if it is really tight quarters. well turns out the lady knew NOTHING! we were in room 7607 Family Promanade room and were very happy to see that upon walking in there was a small room to the right that had a set of bunkbeds night stand and small closet with a curtain to close, bathroom had a full tub with curtain and the main room had 2 windows and window seats, a foldout couch that my 14 year old slept on and opposite that was a king size bed and a walkin closet oh and a wardrobe closet next to the foldout couch.there was also a curtain that closed off next our side of the room.

we had first seating and it was ok loved the wait staff but next time will go for MTD just think it would work better for us.

kids clubs were great the boys 7 and 10 were in seperate clubs and most days went from 2-10 or 11pm. we usually spent the morning as family time swimming and such. found out on the second day that kids club eats in JR everynight for free so thats where the boys were happiest.14year old girl loved teens club they had several games and such and she won 3hats and a cloth bag all very nice and she loves them. staff was great for all 3 clubs. most nights ended with a dance by 1am.

loved all the shows quest was an experience need i say more on that.

we did a snorkel/hike/kayak tour in St.Thomas with the whole family it was nice and in St.Marteen my husband and i did a kayak/snorkel tour also very nice until i got seasick from the ocean waves next time we will stick to the calm waters vs the open ocean.

we did the 2 formal nights and 2 other nights in MDR and the others were usually pizza or the coffee shop great little crossiants and the chocolate chip scones were soooo good! any questions are welcome and we are now looking to cruise again in the near future, it was the easiest vacation we have ever done!

[Sarahs_mom]

We had to cancel our trip on Freedom, it is sailing right now. It broke our hearts, but I am so glad to here that you had such a lovely time. I lived for a short time vicariously through you. Thank you.

Pat

[schmeed]

Glad you had a great time on Freedom! We will sail her for the first time in April 2011. Just after the dry dock. :)

[bigeagle12]

Sounds like you are HOOKED!!!

 

My wife was sick on her first cruise too .. had to get a shot from the doctor. Has not stopped her .. she takes Bonine .. and has still been sea sick at least once on all but one cruise.

[calmmerritt]

only was sick on the one snorkel day, but the whole time on the boat i was fine although i did take Bonnie everyday just in case :) and yes we are hooked!

[jty1220]

Sounds like you had a great time

[cspryor]

Thanks for posting!!! Leaving on FOS in 5 days, so I hope you left her in good shape for us!!!

 

Just curious what are the formal nights?

Did you go to the shows? Any good ones? That is something we did on Mariner in 08...there was an awesome comedian, so I hope the shows are good on Freedom as well!!!

 

Thanks in advance....I am getting SOOOO excited!:D

[schmeed]

Just curious what are the formal nights?

 

For a 7 day cruise there are normally 2 formal nights. They are usually the 2nd night aboard the ship (or first day at say) and then the last full night on the ship.

 

This link has more details:

http://www.royalcaribbean.com/findacruise/experience/html.do;jsessionid=00004M8uOJnPcHCFGh37OykQ4Tk:12h3g0fq2?exCode=702&shipCode=FR

[teaysvalley]

Glad you had a great time on Freedom! We will sail her for the first time in April 2011. Just after the dry dock. :)

 

Just curious, what's up with the dry dock? Are they refurbishing her? We're booked in June 2011, so maybe it will be a "freshened" ship:)?

 

Is there a place that lists when ships are being refurbished?

[schmeed]

Just curious, what's up with the dry dock? Are they refurbishing her? We're booked in June 2011, so maybe it will be a "freshened" ship:)?

 

Is there a place that lists when ships are being refurbished?

This thread shows when all RCI ships are going into dry dock:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showpost.php?p=24667251&postcount=67

 

For sure, they are adding the Dreamworks experience:

http://www.royalcaribbean.com/contentSitelet.do?pagename=dreamworks_main

 

They are also adding the cupcake station from Oasis. I'm not sure if they are refurbishing any cabins, but I'm sure they will spruce up public areas of the ship that are showing any wear.

[Poorplaya]

we just got back from our first ever cruise and it was AWESOME!! we arrived at the port at 11:30 and we were on board by 12:30 not bad, got a little nervous when getting our sea pass when the lady giving them to us said oh all 5 of you are staying in the same cabin and i replied it says it fits 6 and she laughed. so until we finally got to our room i kept telling my husband and kids im sorry if it is really tight quarters. well turns out the lady knew NOTHING! we were in room 7607 Family Promanade room and were very happy to see that upon walking in there was a small room to the right that had a set of bunkbeds night stand and small closet with a curtain to close, bathroom had a full tub with curtain and the main room had 2 windows and window seats, a foldout couch that my 14 year old slept on and opposite that was a king size bed and a walkin closet oh and a wardrobe closet next to the foldout couch.there was also a curtain that closed off next our side of the room.

we had first seating and it was ok loved the wait staff but next time will go for MTD just think it would work better for us.

kids clubs were great the boys 7 and 10 were in seperate clubs and most days went from 2-10 or 11pm. we usually spent the morning as family time swimming and such. found out on the second day that kids club eats in JR everynight for free so thats where the boys were happiest.14year old girl loved teens club they had several games and such and she won 3hats and a cloth bag all very nice and she loves them. staff was great for all 3 clubs. most nights ended with a dance by 1am.

loved all the shows quest was an experience need i say more on that.

we did a snorkel/hike/kayak tour in St.Thomas with the whole family it was nice and in St.Marteen my husband and i did a kayak/snorkel tour also very nice until i got seasick from the ocean waves next time we will stick to the calm waters vs the open ocean.

we did the 2 formal nights and 2 other nights in MDR and the others were usually pizza or the coffee shop great little crossiants and the chocolate chip scones were soooo good! any questions are welcome and we are now looking to cruise again in the near future, it was the easiest vacation we have ever done!

 

Glad you had a great time and glad the room was a good size for you and your family.

[KMagz]

Sounds like a great time.

 

That Family Promenade Stateroom sounds unique. Anyone know if RCCL has a minimum numbers of passengers in your party before they'll allow you to book that cabin class?

[mikeblum]

yes you have been bitten by the rccl vacation bug...i don't like to think of cruising as being HOOKED...but cruisng is a sickness...you experience it 1 time and you have to have more of it...we all work hard at our jobs and this is the way that we say thank you to ourselves and our loved ones...IT IS A SICKNESS...but a very healthy SICKNESS

[chachi]

Glad to hear you enjoyed your first cruise! Sounds like you had a great cabin!

[schmeed]

Sounds like a great time.

 

That Family Promenade Stateroom sounds unique. Anyone know if RCCL has a minimum numbers of passengers in your party before they'll allow you to book that cabin class?

Normally, the minimum is 5 people, but I would recommend calling RCI. I have heard of times where they let 4 people book those.

 

Good luck!

[calmmerritt]

ok lets see our formal night was on the second night we did Coco Cay during the day and formal that night and the other was second to last night. we sailed on Sunday so formal was Monday night and Friday night, the rest was casual. as for the room we couldnt book it online had to go through travel agent/RCCL and they said 5 were needed and they only had 4 of those type rooms. we loved all the shows kids really enjoyed the ice show and the magician was a guy named Drew Thomas he was on the show Americas got Talent really good, and the comedian dont remember his name but had been on King of Queens, we enjoyed everything but those i just named were our favorites.