Freedom Review w/Pics: 4/3-4/10/2011, some good, some bad, some meh.

[PhoenixDawgCruising]

I want to say you KNOW you have written a kick a** review when it is still being viewed 2 months later..go you!! Also want to add it iw weird I just saw your pics of the cabin on the above mentioned website today THEN I stumbled onto your review..I knew it was your pics I saw right away because of that handsome guys in the pics..OK ur DH too but I was talking about your little man LOL..This may sound a bit strange to say but here goes..just from reading your post on here I would LOVE to be on a cruise with you guys! I know it's strange (and I promise I am not a stalkinr LOL), but our attitudes just seem so much alike and I bet our families would get alone wonderfully (I have a 7 year old daughter and twin 3 year old boys). I laughed when I read your DH put a quick stop to the "pushing" of the outside vendor to your little one to buy a sword...My DH is 6'1" and 230 lbs. and I could know my DH would be doing the same thing!! Isn't it great to feel protected by our "men" LOL..great review and PLEASE do one on your disney cruise...we are considering for Thanksgiving 2012..toss between GS on LOS or family balcony on Disney..I KNOW a lot of kids but that only means ours don't have to be as quiet:D

 

I can't believe this review is back! I'm glad people seem to like it, mostly. And you can sail with us any time!! I will for sure review my next cruise.:D

[paggerscorvette]

I can't believe this review is back! I'm glad people seem to like it, mostly. And you can sail with us any time!! I will for sure review my next cruise.:D

 

Sent you friend request on fb. Patty....

Loved your review and want to see your pics

[PhoenixDawgCruising]

Great Review. How many square feet was your cabin? How did you get to the airport from the port and where did you spend the day,

 

Thanks, sunrocket

 

Ok, answers:

 

1. I have no idea on footage, whatever the web site says about JSs I guess. They were plenty big enough for 3 people and all of our junk, I can tell you that. And the balcony was huge!:D

 

2. We spent the weekend prior to our cruise at the Universal Orlando at the Loews Royal Pacific so we could visit Wiz. World of Harry Potter.

 

3. We hired some car company with a 9 passenger van to take us to port Sunday morning. It was overpriced and the silly man driving tried to drop us off at the Disney loading area, telling us one area was used for all cruise lines (ha!) We went right from the hotel to the port, so we didn't really spend the day anywhere but on the ship.:)

[PhoenixDawgCruising]

Yes Great Idea! I'm going to see if my husband wants to do this too. Thanks for sharing. Rose Hall may owe you & your family free admission on your next visit for the advertising. ;)

 

P.S. I may look you up on fb also to see more photos.

 

Yeah, I'm pretty sure Rose Hall should at least send me a tote bag or tshirt or something:D

 

And sure, feel free to find me on FB I will add you!!!:)

[Kubanita]

Beautiful family and pictures!! Thank you so much for the great review. Greatly appreciate it :)

 

Bea.

[Sharon Sails]

We have a cruise set up for Jan. 2012 on the Freedom. But your review make she wonder if we're taking the right ship... If the food was that bad - maybe we should try some other ship? I don't want to pay almost $3,000 for a week of horrible food :confused:

[PhoenixDawgCruising]

Beautiful family and pictures!! Thank you so much for the great review. Greatly appreciate it :)

 

Bea.

 

Glad you liked it.:)

[PhoenixDawgCruising]

We have a cruise set up for Jan. 2012 on the Freedom. But your review make she wonder if we're taking the right ship... If the food was that bad - maybe we should try some other ship? I don't want to pay almost $3,000 for a week of horrible food :confused:

 

I've had a few people say similar things to me about the food. As I've already said, we had a great time, and I don't regret taking this cruise, but the food was pretty bad, and the food would cause me to take a minute to consider if I wanted to book FOS a second time.

 

It all depends on how important food is to you.;)

 

And I'm not sure if "bad" is the right word for the food, it was just kinda blah and boring, with little variety. But keep in mind, I'm only speaking of WJ, we never ate in the dining room or any of the specialty restaurants, so there are other options. I was just trying to say that with all of the RCCL cruises I have taken, where we always eat in the WJ, this WJ was by far the worst.

 

I wouldn't not take the cruise, unless the WJ food is super important to you.:)

[PhoenixDawgCruising]

People, please keep in mind when reading this review that this cruise was over 3 months ago, a lot could have changed since then, particularly the quality of the food!!!:)

[andrewabby]

Does FOS use the same pier at Cozumel as the Carnival Ships?

[PhoenixDawgCruising]

Does FOS use the same pier at Cozumel as the Carnival Ships?

 

 

I'm not big on pier info., but I know someone in this review somewhere said which pier it was, if you review the review you should be able to find it.:)

[Scotty G]

People, please keep in mind when reading this review that this cruise was over 3 months ago, a lot could have changed since then, particularly the quality of the food!!!:)

We were on Freedom after you and there was a new head chef who had come from Cunard. We knew that since he came into the MDR every evening and checked out how we liked our meals. So perhaps there was a problem that the line recognized and hired someone that cared. :D

We eat in the MDR for most meals with just a few in the WindJammer. Breakfasts in the MDR are better for me but DW likes the selection in the WJ. I also like lunch in the MDR as seating is never a problem. Food is good to excellent in our opinion.

[PhoenixDawgCruising]

We were on Freedom after you and there was a new head chef who had come from Cunard. We knew that since he came into the MDR every evening and checked out how we liked our meals. So perhaps there was a problem that the line recognized and hired someone that cared. :D

We eat in the MDR for most meals with just a few in the WindJammer. Breakfasts in the MDR are better for me but DW likes the selection in the WJ. I also like lunch in the MDR as seating is never a problem. Food is good to excellent in our opinion.

 

That's good news, maybe the problem has been fixed?:)

[PhoenixDawgCruising]

Just read a review of the Jewel, the way that OP described the WJ food is almost exactly how I felt about WJ on FOS. Wonder if the FOS WJ chef went to JOS????:eek::eek:

[tampabrat22]

Just finished reading your review! Great info, thanks! I'm hoping the food issue has been resolved too!

[sungifts]

People, please keep in mind when reading this review that this cruise was over 3 months ago, a lot could have changed since then, particularly the quality of the food!!!:)

 

Nope! It's still just meh....:rolleyes:

 

We were on the 7/31-8/7 sailing and I thought the food in the WJ was bland and mediocre! I said the same thing about the pork, burgers, pizza and hot dogs - it was like that's all they wanted you to eat! I could've stayed home and spent far less to eat that type food everyday. It was pretty much the same every day - pork, noodles, sauce, rice, burger, hot dog, pizza, and of course, salad.

 

This was our first on Royal and we have always loved cruise food - but I have to say I was very disappointed! Carnival and Princess buffets were so much better. I felt the WJ's lunch was too "heavy", the desserts were bland with most being a "moussey" type and not much variety. Premade glasses of iced tea were sitting out, watered down from the melted ice.

 

We did eat in Chops and it was excellent. We also ate in the MDR for dinner a few nights. Service there was slow but accommodating. They did seem to try and get the kids food out quickly. The prime rib was thick and tough - the steak was overcooked (I asked for medium - got well done), and the grilled shrimp was "fishy" tasting. The dessert was pretty good.

 

As for the kids club - we had the same issues with them not doing the listed activites. Some staff seemed not interested and others were downright rude!

 

We did love the ship (it was the easiest to learn and get around!) and wanted to book again for next year but were hesitant because of the food.

[BettyPC]

I enjoyed your review! Thanks for sharing with us. Love the pictures & you sound like a glass 1/2 full person & I think your honesty helps with planning!

[PhoenixDawgCruising]

Nope! It's still just meh....:rolleyes:

 

We were on the 7/31-8/7 sailing and I thought the food in the WJ was bland and mediocre! I said the same thing about the pork, burgers, pizza and hot dogs - it was like that's all they wanted you to eat! I could've stayed home and spent far less to eat that type food everyday. It was pretty much the same every day - pork, noodles, sauce, rice, burger, hot dog, pizza, and of course, salad.

 

This was our first on Royal and we have always loved cruise food - but I have to say I was very disappointed! Carnival and Princess buffets were so much better. I felt the WJ's lunch was too "heavy", the desserts were bland with most being a "moussey" type and not much variety. Premade glasses of iced tea were sitting out, watered down from the melted ice.

 

We did eat in Chops and it was excellent. We also ate in the MDR for dinner a few nights. Service there was slow but accommodating. They did seem to try and get the kids food out quickly. The prime rib was thick and tough - the steak was overcooked (I asked for medium - got well done), and the grilled shrimp was "fishy" tasting. The dessert was pretty good.

 

As for the kids club - we had the same issues with them not doing the listed activites. Some staff seemed not interested and others were downright rude!

 

We did love the ship (it was the easiest to learn and get around!) and wanted to book again for next year but were hesitant because of the food.

 

So not much has changed huh, too bad.:(

[LK0806]

Here's my problem with Rahul. He wasn't rude or nasty, he just wouldn't fess up to what he was trying to pull, and liars piss me off.

 

If he would have come to me, admitted he gave me the cabana too early, and had made a mistake, I might, MIGHT (probably not) have given the cabana back (even if I didn't give it back, at least I would have respected him for the way he handled the situation).

 

However, instead of admitting his error (and it was HIS error, all I did was ask, he could have easily said "no"), he came at me with "something came up and you can't have the cabana" (sorry buddy, I ALREADY have it, along with a written confirmation) and tried to play me. That kind of dishonesty never works with me, and I will call a person on it every time.;)

 

 

 

 

I'm not sure if he's overwhelmed by his position, or if he's just incompetent. Either way, not a fan.

 

But it doesn't matter, I have a feeling it will be a long time before I'm on Freedom again. I think I'm gonna try Allure next, then stick with the Voyager class.:)

 

 

I feel silly asking this, but who is Rahul?

[Lionesss]

To start with let me take the time to commend you on an excellent review with pictures. You did an awesome job.

We cannot wait to sail Freedom again this July.

Just one side question.

Do you recall when you were at Falmouth and got your private transportation to Rosehall, did you see people waiting for their private tours like the zip line?

Just wondered if you observed anything.

Thanks

Sue and crew

[2manyBagsLady]

This review will be done in segments both because I'm at work and because I can only post pics in small groups, sorry, please be patient.:)

 

So myself, my husband, our 2 sons and my mom set out on a journey from Los Angeles which would take us to Wizarding World of Harry Potter for the weekend, followed by this cruise on the Freedom.

 

 

Hi! We're a family of 4 with teen girls - 13 & 16 yr. traveling to WW of Harry Potter for the first time summer of 2012. Did you enjoy WWHP, did you visit the park one day or two and do you have any tips you can pass along to us to help our time there? p.s. We live in the greater Los Angeles area, too! Thanks!

[PhoenixDawgCruising]

I feel silly asking this, but who is Rahul?

 

When I sailed Freedom last year, Rahul was The Concierge.:)

 

He may or may not still be, I have no idea.

[PhoenixDawgCruising]

To start with let me take the time to commend you on an excellent review with pictures. You did an awesome job.

We cannot wait to sail Freedom again this July.

 

Just one side question.

Do you recall when you were at Falmouth and got your private transportation to Rosehall, did you see people waiting for their private tours like the zip line?

Just wondered if you observed anything.

 

Thanks

Sue and crew

 

It was a year ago, and all I can tell you is that there were lots of tour buses and vans, I have no idea where they were going or what they were doing, since I don't book through the ship I wasn't involved.

 

Sorry.:o

[PhoenixDawgCruising]

This review will be done in segments both because I'm at work and because I can only post pics in small groups, sorry, please be patient.:)

 

So myself, my husband, our 2 sons and my mom set out on a journey from Los Angeles which would take us to Wizarding World of Harry Potter for the weekend, followed by this cruise on the Freedom.

 

 

Hi! We're a family of 4 with teen girls - 13 & 16 yr. traveling to WW of Harry Potter for the first time summer of 2012. Did you enjoy WWHP, did you visit the park one day or two and do you have any tips you can pass along to us to help our time there? p.s. We live in the greater Los Angeles area, too! Thanks!

 

We did the park in one day, we are theme park maniacs so we are pretty good abut getting in and out quickly.

 

Biggest tip: stay in one of the Universal Hotels so you can cut to the front of the lines in the park!!;)

 

Have fun!:)

[PhoenixDawgCruising]

This review will be done in segments both because I'm at work and because I can only post pics in small groups, sorry, please be patient.:)

 

So myself, my husband, our 2 sons and my mom set out on a journey from Los Angeles which would take us to Wizarding World of Harry Potter for the weekend, followed by this cruise on the Freedom.

 

 

Hi! We're a family of 4 with teen girls - 13 & 16 yr. traveling to WW of Harry Potter for the first time summer of 2012. Did you enjoy WWHP, did you visit the park one day or two and do you have any tips you can pass along to us to help our time there? p.s. We live in the greater Los Angeles area, too! Thanks!

 

 

I just thought of another tip, kinda. Are you aware that we in LA will have our own WWHP in the next 2 years?? My next visit will be in LA, not Orlando, thank goodness!!!:)