Freedom of the Seas question

[buddy11]

We are on the Freedom of the Seas on Sept 18th 2011. What time should we arrive at the port? We are coming from Orlando airport and I believe the drive is about an hour or so. We are travelling my a shuttle service so will be dropped at the port. From reading posts people recommend arriving early so what time should we arrive to check in / board? 10 am. 10.30am?

 

Also, read a post that mentioned you cannot bring an iron on board? Is this correct? I have a travel iron that I was going to bring as EVERYTHING I own has to be ironed. The post said if you need something ironed you give it to staff and it will be ironed at a fee. This will cost me a small fortune :(

[cruiselvr04]

If you arrive before 11:00 you will just be waiting around for the last of the previous cruisers to to leave the area. 11:00 is the earliest we arrive because of this. Sometimes you will not board until 12:00 - depends on the sailing.

 

Your iron will be confasciated. It is stated clearly stated in the "what not to bring" rules as it is a fire hazard. I don't know if Ireland uses these but in America we get our dry cleaning back in thin plastic bags. I pack all my good clothes on hangers in these bags and have no wrinkles. Otherwise try hanging your wrinkled items in the bathroom as you shower and most of the wrinkles will come out. WE have also used the ironing services on the ship and it really is very reasonable, they have done a good job and items were returned the next day.

 

It's a holiday - don't stress!

[PantherFan]

We also get to port around 11 since they generally don't start boarding until 11:30 - 12

 

That is corrrect. No irons allowed. Fire hazard on ship...

 

I will lay out my clothes on the bed, one on top of the other, and make on single fold with the pile. Then into the suitcase it goes. It seems to work well, even on my wifes dresses. I leave the hangers on them as well and use the dry cleaner bags also. Make for an easy unpack once you get onboard.

[Tyler80]

We are on the Freedom of the Seas on Sept 18th 2011. What time should we arrive at the port? We are coming from Orlando airport and I believe the drive is about an hour or so. We are travelling my a shuttle service so will be dropped at the port. From reading posts people recommend arriving early so what time should we arrive to check in / board? 10 am. 10.30am?

 

Also, read a post that mentioned you cannot bring an iron on board? Is this correct? I have a travel iron that I was going to bring as EVERYTHING I own has to be ironed. The post said if you need something ironed you give it to staff and it will be ironed at a fee. This will cost me a small fortune :(

 

Hasn't your entire trip cost you a small fortune? What's a few extra bucks going to matter to have nicely fresh pressed clothes for your close up formal photos? Have them iron your clothing, it's not that expensive. As others have stated, arrive at Port Canaveral between 11am - 12pm. Boarding will generally take place until at least 3pm, so there really isn't a bad time to board. Normally everyone must be onboard by 4pm, or 1 hour before departure. Enjoy your cruise!

[MonkeyTHECruiser]

You can bring a travel steamer onboard. But you don't need it, really.

[griffy116]

No irons allowed. We hang them in the bathroom for a short steam as soon as we get our luggage. If there are still wrinkles, we use Downey Wrinkle Release. You'll see a few wrinkles on the other passenger's clothing, but if it's really a problem for you, you can ask that the clothes be pressed...at a small fee.

[sailingawaysoon]

Hi,

I've been on the Freedom twice leaving Port Canaveral and we always arrive at the port early (9:30) and luckily we've always been onboard and having lunch by 11. This hasn't been my experience w/other ships we've been on, but it has with the Freedom. I guess it depends on a number of things that could cause it to be sooner,or later. The Freedom is our favorite ship to date. Can't wait to go back on the Freedom in August!

[Debbie London]

Hubby and I are on your cruise, the first leg of a B2B so see your there!! We travelled on FOS in 2009 and cannot wait to sail again. As others have answered your questions I shall not comment apart from 'roll on Sept'!! :D

[Lindy Sue]

When traveling with DD in March on Navigator, we actually got to Port at 10; had to wait in line outside the terminal while previous cruisers disembarked, however, were checked in and waiting to board (sitting in waiting area) by 10:30. If you are in a Suite or sometimes if you are Platinum (and up), you will be seated in a "special" area and then allowed to board before the rest of the folks. Just depends on if you want to wait or not. We chose to get there early so DD and friend could snag a chair by the pool and we could get pics on the ship before it was filled with people. All personal preference. As some say, it's the first day of your cruise, get on and get started vacationing as soon as possible. Whatever you decide, Enjoy your cruise! :)

[adamken]

We are on the Freedom of the Seas on Sept 18th 2011. What time should we arrive at the port? We are coming from Orlando airport and I believe the drive is about an hour or so. We are travelling my a shuttle service so will be dropped at the port. From reading posts people recommend arriving early so what time should we arrive to check in / board? 10 am. 10.30am?

 

Also, read a post that mentioned you cannot bring an iron on board? Is this correct? I have a travel iron that I was going to bring as EVERYTHING I own has to be ironed. The post said if you need something ironed you give it to staff and it will be ironed at a fee. This will cost me a small fortune :(

 

I have been on the Freedom 6 times now, last month was the most recent and it was the earliest of all 6 trips on the Freedom, it was 11:00 before we got to even check-in, we are Diamond members now and was on the ship by 11:30 while Gold, Emerald Platinum members had to wait until noon. Iron's will get taken, but we take a small travel steamer and it works great, got it at CVS for $15

[flipflopfun]

Tissue paper also works well while packing. Place a sheet between each item. Works Wonders !!!!

Like everyone has said, don't worry about it!!! We all have packed our clothes and looked pretty good for dinner !!!!

[DBCH911]

Most ships also have laundry areas where irons are provided for free to passengers. I haven't cruised on the Freedom yet but I am sure that they also have an area for this.

[39august]

RCI ships do NOT have laundry rooms! We use Downey Wrinkle Relase sometimes and occasionally send out an item to press. And we can stand a few wrinkles as everyone else is in the same "boat"..sorry, pun intended!

[Capt_BJ]

get to the port at 1pm and in all probability the lines will be gone, you'll walk straight to a check in counter and then straight aboard, your room will be ready for you to drop your carry-ons and you'll still have time for lunch

 

If you arrive at 10, you'll just be standing in a line (or a queue) until they actually start boarding, and some cabins might (will) not be ready yet.

 

 

pressing from the ship is not $$$, but hanging a garment in a steamy shower for a few minutes seems to always work for us.

[Eng23]

Most ships also have laundry areas where irons are provided for free to passengers. I haven't cruised on the Freedom yet but I am sure that they also have an area for this.

Freedom and other RCCL ships do not.

[Esmerelda]

3 words = Downey Wrinkle Release...!!

 

I never travel without it!

 

:D

[buddy11]

Thanks for all replies and information. No point being at port before 11am. I do have some of those thin plastic bags from dry cleaners, I will try that. We arrive in Orlando the night before cruise so I think I will iron everything in the Orlando airport hotel and have a 2nd empty bag to put all ironed clothes into. Airline is only allowing for 1 free checked bag so will not iron them before flying to states and having everything crammed into one suit case. Had a look at Royal Carribbean website on 'whats not allowed onboard'. No mention of hair iron / straightner not allowed so I guess I can bring that. Otherwise I will have wrinkled hair to match my wrinkled clothes :p.

 

What is 'Downey Wrinkle Release'?

[heavenlysea]

Buddy-

Downy Wrinkle Release is a spray that works effectively to get out wrinkles. It's usually found at the bigger grocery stores in the laundry isle. I've used it in the past plus hanging clothes up in a steamy bathroom. Both methods work!

[ROBINBIRDIE66]

We are on the Freedom of the Seas on Sept 18th 2011. What time should we arrive at the port? We are coming from Orlando airport and I believe the drive is about an hour or so. We are travelling my a shuttle service so will be dropped at the port. From reading posts people recommend arriving early so what time should we arrive to check in / board? 10 am. 10.30am?

 

Also, read a post that mentioned you cannot bring an iron on board? Is this correct? I have a travel iron that I was going to bring as EVERYTHING I own has to be ironed. The post said if you need something ironed you give it to staff and it will be ironed at a fee. This will cost me a small fortune :(

 

Buddy,

We just got off Freedom last Sunday and it was wonderful. We got to the port around 10:15 and had to wait a little bit to board (we are Emerald, and Diamond may have had priority boarding). I would say we were on by 11 or 11:15. The hallways to the rooms were all blocked off until 1 pm, so whatever you carry on the ship has to stay with you for a couple hours. I highly, highly recommend that you carry on a swimsuit - you can get on the flowrider with minimal lines the first day, or swim in pool, use hot tubs, etc.

I do believe that RCI will confiscate the iron, but my hair straightener was safe :). I packed things pretty carefully - dresses, suit in a fold over type suit bag, all other clothing was rolled, not folded to minimize wrinkles. I have not had luck with the Downy Wrinkle Release and in fact found that the bottle leaked (lucky for me I had put it by itself in a plastic bag). I haven't used a steamer and found that the small bathroom while showering worked just fine.

Most of all, it's your vacation - relax and go with the flow.

Robin

[buddy11]

Thanks, I will try and pick up a can of it hopefully between arriving in Orlando (sat night) and leaving for the cruise (sun morn). We have a spray can called 'starch'. you spray your clothes with it while ironing them to keep them pristine like mens shirts or linen clothing. After 20 years of travelling I still am pretty bad at packing a suitcase. I will try rolling this time if it helps with wrinkles.

 

Am I correct also in saying I cannot bring bottles of water or mineral i.e coke on board with me? I was going to bring water to have in my fridge in my cabin for convience but I'm not sure if this is allowed. We are not going to buy a 'alcohol drinks package' as we don't drink alcohol and from reading other posts buying a 'mineral drinks package' is not value for money either.