Freedom review 9/5/10 - more info than you can stand!

[Tony1865]

Well, hi, all.

 

Thought I'd share with you some thoughts after a Western Caribbean cruise on the Freedom of the Seas back in September. This was our 30th anniversary, and we'd been wanting to check out RCCL for some time. Our last two cruises as a couple were on Disney, which is a great product, and we're unrepentant Disney fanatics. So going on the Freedom felt a little like cheating on a spouse.

 

But, know what? We had a great time. So what follows is an obscenely detailed account of our week on the Freedom. And it is a REVIEW, which means it's gonna be really, really subjective.

 

I'll post in bits and pieces. I'm one of those unfortunate types that has to work for a living, and I'm taking a little time during work hours to patch all this together. Hopefully the Powers That Be at work will cut me a little slack.

 

I'll throw in a photo or two, also. I'm hoping that this thread will be especially helpful to newbies to cruising and/or RCCL. You veterans will find a lot of this pretty routine.

 

Off we go!

[Tony1865]

First, here we are ... Tony and Teresa. This photo was on an excursion in Grand Cayman, and we'll get around to that eventually:

 

 

We're in our early fifties. Two kids, both of 'em out of the house and gainfully employed. We were blessed with two great young'uns.

 

Other details that might help you get where I'm coming from ... I'm the adventurous eater of the pair. I like, well, everything. Teresa, God bless her, is more, um, selective. She doesn't eat seafood, avoids any exotic sauces, and struggles with stuff like mushrooms, olives, some veggies. She will eat very basic ethnic ... Tex-Mex, Italian, etc. Me - well, I'm borderline foodie, and really appreciate good food well prepared. All of it.

 

We're sort of RCCL's worst nightmare in that we don't avail ourselves of two of their biggest profit centers - we neither gamble nor drink. Sure don't have any "issues" with others that do, but we simply don't. It's not like some big moral thing. Just a choice, that's all.

[Tranquil Waters]

So far so good.:) Now about this working thing interfering with our review...... ;):D

[Tony1865]

I'm the planner, so I'd researched and obsessed and stalked these boards before settling on the Freedom. It seemed a great match for us and what we wanted to experience. We booked in December of '09. Our actual anniversary was in July, but we waited until September to actually cruise. Of course, I knew it was the heart of hurricane season, but dang, it was SO much cheaper ... I am not one of those "money is no object" folks.

 

DAY ONE - Sept. 4

 

We drove to Walt Disney World, which is a 12-hour drive for us, and spent the night at the Boardwalk Resort. We're Disney Vacation Club members, Disney's version of a timeshare, and so used our point holdings for that first night. That way, we'd get up midmorning on Sunday, the 5th, and leisurely head over to Port Canaveral. A great plan. So we had a terrific meal Saturday night at the Wilderness Lodge, got up and pulled ourselves together and headed East.

 

DAY TWO - Sept. 5

 

OK, gonna state the obvious. That Freedom of the Seas is one big honkin' boat. For you Oasis vets, I know that big has been redefined for y'all, but I'm saying ... when we got close to the port and saw the Freedom berthed there, I thought, Lord have mercy, there's a hotel parked at the dock. Jaw dropping, I tell ya. And the Disney Wonder, right alongside, seemed dwarfed by comparison.

 

Because the Freedom is so big, it does have sort of a "boxy" appearance ... not really the clean, classical lines of the liners from the glory days of transatlantic sailings. But it was pretty in its own way. I won't post a photo here. You've seen it before.

 

Embarkation was seamless. We parked at the terminal, sort of cringing at knowing how much it would cost for the week, but, whatever. Porters met us right outside the terminal to claim our luggage, and one guy was quick to point out "we customarily receive tips for our services." OK, sure, not a problem. They have to make a living too.

 

At the terminal itself, we waited in line perhaps 10 minutes, even though the line stretched out of the building. A harried older gentleman was herding us through. After passing through security - again, no big deal - we were called to the desk to present paperwork. The ladies that checked us in were charming and not at all frazzled, but I'm guessing having all our documentation in order helped.

 

We were photographed and given our Seapasses. Again, it was all orchestrated and efficient.

 

The actual ship boarding was really, really understated. Basically, we were directed toward a portal on Deck 4 or 5 - can't remember which - and unceremoniously found ourselves at an elevator. I got the sense we were kinda on our own, but there were some crewmembers scattered about to help us get our bearings.

 

More later, OK?

[snwbnnyinoz]

Looking forward to more of your review. We sail on her in December and can hardly wait.

[Wildcatfish]

Thanks for the review! We've also done DCL, and are looking forward to Freedom next year. We're curious to hear your thoughts on how Freedom compares to the Magic.

 

Don't you just hate it when work gets in the way of a good review!

[Iggipolka]

Woo! Great start and looking forward to reading the rest of your review. We are Disney fans and DVC members too! Our first cruise on the Freedom is in March, so I'm eagerly waiting to read about your experience.

;)

[vegasgirl702]

Hello! Planning on using our points to stay at DW too. How did u get to Port C? Please relay cost? We did Disney last yr & forgot how much we were charged. Did u do their shuttle service?

 

Thanks for answers, we are a family of 3.

[Tony1865]

Vegasgirl, from where we were at Boardwalk, it was a straight shot from there to Port Canaveral. Go east on I-4, exit onto Highway 528, and stay on it. Tolls were perhaps $6. Parking at the terminal was $15/night, I think. If you're lucky, you might score and get some covered parking. We had our own car.

 

Here are a couple more photos. This is the crowd seen from the ship as we left Port Canaveral:

 

 

The Disney Wonder was "parked" next to us. It's a beautiful ship, but nowhere near as large:

 

 

 

The Carnival Sensation was also docked next to us. No photographs ... honestly, it looked a little forlorn sitting there.

[Tony1865]

Just to keep things clear, I'm calling this Day 1, so it'll correspond to any Cruise Compasses you might use on your own cruise.

 

So, we'd boarded the ship. One thing of note to any DCL veterans - know how you are announced by name as you board the ship, and crew members applaud as you enter the atrium? RCCL doesn't do that, so don't expect anyone to fuss over you.

 

The first thing I wanted to do was to check out the Royal Promenade. I was suitably impressed:

 

 

Our stateroom, Deck 7, was just to the right of that "Winged Victory" column. We were right over the lighted bridge, above guest services, and just a few steps away from the elevators and the library. It sure did make getting to meals easy, since we were closer aft than midships.

 

I know the promenade is pretty, but it was something of a technical marvel, too ... the lighting changed as the day progressed. In the mornings, you had the sense of sunrise, with a mellow white light washing over the whole space, and by evening it was much darker, with purples and blues predominating. During parades and parties there were strobes, mirror balls, fog machines, and other lighting effects. Way cool.

[Tony1865]

Time to eat!

 

So we visited the Windjammer, which was pretty packed ... it was about 12:30 by this time.

 

Gonna tell you, the selection was more than ample. Unlike a lot of other buffet venues you've visited, instead on one long line before one or two long counters, the area was divided into "stations", so you might finded carved meats in one spot, veggies and sides in another, desserts in another, and so forth. I never felt like congestion around serving areas was an issue.

 

We filled our trays (and I, of course, had to get the legendary honey-stung chicken, among other items), and while we stood there surveying the crowd, a couple gestured for us to join them at a 4-top by the window. This sweet couple were veteran RCCL cruisers, lived less than an hour away, and were all too happy to offer some suggestions on managing our week. That's one huge plus for us about cruising - it seems so natural and easy to strike up conversations.

 

The aforementioned chicken was quite good, but in the end, it was still chicken tenders. The sauce was a sweet-and-sour concoction, not at all heavy or cloying. There were some other goodies I sampled - a baked fish entree was good, too. And I tried some of RCCL's flavored water. I drink a lot of water with just a squeeze of lemon or lime, and the Freedom saved me a step by having the water already flavored. It was just the faintest hint of a flavor, not like drinking a soft drink. Worked for me. And I thought the desserts were pretty good. Disney fans, I'll tell you that buffet cruise dining is where RCCL beats DCL. (Heresy, I know, but just trying to keep it real.)

 

We strolled around on deck some. I loved the Solarium pool:

 

 

The H20 Zone is a kid's splashpark dream:

 

 

And it turns out I had a photo of the Sensation after all. It's just miniscule alongside the Freedom:

 

 

More later. I need to at least pretend like I'm being productive.

[mgm61]

ok sneak em in when you can!;)

[jdbmga]

I am loving your review. I am looking forward to the rest.

[birdylady]

Keep it coming. We're schedule for April and that's a LONG time from now. :mad:

 

Erika

[tammymacb]

Thanks for the review. We'll be on the same cruise in January. We were originally booked on the Disney Magic for the week but 13 yo DD had other plans. I think we'll have a great time.

 

We're DVC members too!

 

Can't wait to read more..

[cruisinmon]

Birdylady,

 

Do you think his review will go on until April?

[Tony1865]

Birdylady,

 

Do you think his review will go on until April?

 

At this rate, probably. :rolleyes:

[Poorplaya]

Great so far, keep the pictures coming.

[MelissaE1]

If you backed things up a couple of years to when your kids were still at home, you could be writing about DH and I. Ours are 12 and 16, so not so long before we are cruising solo (although not to hear them talk, they think they are going with us forever ;)).

 

We are "cheating" on DCL with Oasis in a few weeks, so really looking forward to your impressions of RCCL.

 

Thanks for taking the time! :)

[cruisingbajan]

Great review so far. Love the pics and your writing style.....awesome:)

[Tony1865]

Good morning! It's a glorious day in my neck of the woods. Hope y'all are well.

 

Still our first day. We got in our cabin about 1 p.m. or so. We had a Promenade room. I know a couple of you are DCL people. There are some differences.

 

- This particular stateroom was quite smaller than even a standard interior on Disney, but not so small as to feel cramped. There was a curved bay window overlooking the Promenade, and that made things feel a lot bigger.

 

Teresa test driving the window seat:

 

 

That's me, upper center, looking out on the Promenade. Yeah, I know, I can't see me either. But I'm there:

 

 

On the Promenade itself, at Sorrento's pizza. Sorry for the blur - I'm usually better than that:

 

 

Sorrento's is routinely dissed here on Cruise Critic, I've noted. Well, a dissenting voice ... I thought it was perfectly acceptable, comparable to most any of the national chains. Not as good as your neighborhood Manhattan joint (and I prefer NY style pizza crust to the thick, dough-y Chicago style - fun debate there for another time, perhaps), but it was just fine. They also had paninis, and some afternoons had a nice little antipasto selection. We snacked here a lot. One note: I found crewmembers on the Freedom to be uniformly splendid. But the older gentlemen who "bartended" at Sorrento's was the only person I found to be a little grumpy. He had a world-weariness about him that was kind of endearing, but he still looked like he had been weaned on dill pickles.

 

More later. We still haven't even left port yet. Being concise is not a gift I have.

 

ETA: Melissa, where in NW Florida do y'all live? We lived in Panama City and Marianna for years.

[Tony1865]

The muster drill came along at 4. This was absolutely painless, and I sure appreciated not having to deal with life preservers.

 

The sail away party came next. One of the DJ's from the Scratch DJ Academy provided the music (and if you get a chance, google Scratch DJ Academy. I fount that intriguing). The party itself was pretty much what you'd expect, with folks being invited to join in the electric slide, the macarena, etc. I was slack-jawed when my normally conservative bride hopped up and joined in the dancing ... I thought she'd mutated into that dad on the Carnival commercials. There's a backstory to her dancing, but I'll let it pass. Didn't get a photo of this happening, which is a shame. It'd make for some nice blackmail material one day.

 

The Disney Wonder followed us, as did the Sensation eventually. We were like the mama duck:

 

 

And we checked out the FlowRider:

 

 

This is something I would have loved to have tried. I'm pretty confident I could have at least wakeboarded (I wouldn't attempt to actually surf.) But for me, it was more an issue of a secure swimsuit than anything else. We saw our share of plumber's cracks during the cruise, and I didn't want to traumatize any spectators. I mean, who wants a bunch of women running around screaming, asking their husbands "why can't you look like that?", etc. Just trying to be considerate, y'know.

[RCFan60]

Tony1865,

 

Enjoying your review ... thanks for sharing. Looking forward to reading more. As you can see by my countdown clock I sail on her in 93 days!:p

[sunnydaygirl]

I'm planning a 60th birthday party for my best friend and I(3 days apart) we have all age groups going on our cruise with us(no kids) all women. We wanted Oasis from the first, but Sept. 2011 is basically full. So now we look at Freedom. I DO NOT WANT TO DO CARNIVAL!! So hopefully your review and great pictures will convince them this is the ship..I haven't been on RCCL since 2004, but many Carnival(I was forced:D) My memory has me remembering great food, so much better than Carnival. Hope someones agrees with me. Please help me talk my friend out of Carnival Dream. All their ships look the same, no matter how new or big. I saw pictures and knew it was a Carnival ship without checking name.

 

PS. I didn't get a Crown number so they have no record of me ever cruising before. Can I correct that?

[frommichigan]

Loving the review. You are a hilarious writer, makes reading the review fun.:)

 

Amanda