Just back from Freedom of the Seas – Western – April 29-May 6, 2012

[happicruzer]

Overall, a very nice trip. We traveled with my Dad, who is 88, and I mainly stayed near him for the majority of the trip but do have a few observations. My husband and my brother were part of our family group. We booked two side-by-side cabins so someone could always be near my Dad.

 

Please note that water and sodas must now be carried onto the ship (assume if you packed them in a suitcase, they would then process your luggage normally).

 

Embarkation – very smooth. Parked the car around 10:30 and had to run to catch up with my party, who were already checking in. It did help that we were in a JS as I did walk past a small line. I believe we were on board around 11:10; do know we had to wait for the Windjammer to open at 11:30.

 

We had the 5:30 sitting and noticed any and all attire prevailed from coverups over swimsuits, torn shorts to dressy clothing with a bit more formal wear on the two formal nights.

 

Mo, our super cabin attendant, couldn't do enough for us. Our dining attendants, Fabian & Estelita, were also very attentive and made sure we enjoyed our dining experience.

 

Dining - We ate dinner in the MDR every night. The only real failure we noticed was the prime rib; served almost raw (ordered medium rare) and the second one, arrived as ordered, had no taste.

...Loved the lunch (sea days only) and breakfast buffet in the MDR and ate there several times; a menu is offered.

...Windjammer was fine but a bit crowded on embarkation and debarkation (to be expected).

 

Rained the first sea day - there were no chair hogs!

 

Labadee was beautiful; we opted for a cabana so my Dad could enjoy the beach (translate sleep) while we enjoyed floating on a raft. Very attentive butler, but we couldn't keep him busy.

 

Falmouth – my brother took an excursion to Dunn's River Falls with lunch and a dolphin encounter. He got snagged by a pushy vendor; he's handicapped and would have been left behind by the group if he hadn't purchased something. (Heard one lady broke her foot/ankle at the falls.)

...Next time around, we probably won't even get off the ship, unless we do a (snorkel) tour. The new port is a mecca of shops (the usual jewelry, t-shirt/hat, bar areas, etc.) and we've been there, done that and don't really need to do it again – but can enjoy the ship activities, as there were many options.

 

Grand Cayman – the tenders worked very well, usual shops. My brother enjoyed his eco tour of the native saltwater forest.

 

Cozumel – we did debark and walk the shops, Dad purchased a t-shirt and we were all ready to return to the ship. Pushing a wheelchair around in those crowds helped us keep our money in our pocket! My brother took an island tour and enjoyed it.

 

Shows/Entertainment – enjoyed the ice show. The 7PM shows were fairly empty of attendees, heard the 9PM shows were crowed/standing room only. Movies were offered; however, Dad wanted to sit on the balcony and watch the water and I was more than happy to do the same.

 

Disembarkation – we had a 7:15 departure. Once we got to the exit, they were going to stop folks from exiting the ship due to crowd control. It helped that Dad was using a walker as we were escorted past the long line to the elevator and down to customs. Retrieved the luggage, the car, picked up my passengers, stowed the luggage and were on our way home by 8AM.

[jensue1]

Pleased you had an enjoyable cruise. We will be on her this Christmas and I wan't wait!

[Wildcatfish]

Thanks for the nice review! Sounds like your family had a great cruise.

[10717]

Thanks for the info, we are on next week (13th). Who is the piano player in the schooner bar???

[vivavegas]

Nice review... thanks for sharing! Sounds like you had a good time!:)

[PathfinderEss]

Thanks for a review of your cruise. Glad you had a nice time and you took dad with you, very nice.

[DrSeuss]

Thank you for taking the time to write the review. Can ask ask what nights were formal nights and also what time were the shows? Were they really early if dinner is so early now?m

[Hans Solo]

Thanks for the FYI on carrying the bottle water onboard. I was going to check it but now will adjust. Did you see anyone using the softside cooler to carry the water onboard ?

[happicruzer]

Thank you for taking the time to write the review. Can ask ask what nights were formal nights and also what time were the shows? Were they really early if dinner is so early now?m

 

The shows were 7PM and 9PM. We had a table for four (fixed dining 5:30) and usually finished by 6:45 in time to walk down to the show. Again, the 7PM was only crowded the first production show, after that the theater was nearly empty. My brother went to some of the 9PM and that was crowded to standing room only.

 

This was a repeat cruise for my husband and myself; the shows have been updated a bit but worth watching (too loud, but that's always the case). The production staff performed the magic show for the first time; don't know how he does those tricks.

 

We did get our cards scanned at the ice show (first afternoon) so don't know how crowded the remainder of the ice shows were.

[happicruzer]

Thanks for the FYI on carrying the bottle water onboard. I was going to check it but now will adjust. Did you see anyone using the softside cooler to carry the water onboard ?

 

No to seeing any coolers loaded; however, we were there early when dropping off luggage.

 

However, think 'coolers' will be considered the same as boxed water/drinks. The attendant stated the cruise line told them they were not to load anything but luggage items. If we hadn't had my Dad's walker, we'd have left the water/soda in the car.

[larka]

Wife and I were on this cruise also. We really love the Freedom. Embark was a breeze. Checked a case of water and soda in luggage. Arrived at 1045 on the ship by 1110. Denys from Ukraine was the bartender at the Sky Bar. Awesome. Rain first sea day. Great weather the rest of the trip. Ate in MDR each night. Food was good a few meals excellent. Labadee beach day and Dragons tail coaster. In Falmouth we went to the Rose Hall Hilton. Awesome. All inclusive and has a small water park with lazy river, swim up bar. Food was great and service impeccable. Grand Cayman did wave runner tour to Stingray City and Rum Point. Found our favorite rum - Mt. Gay Extra Old at Blackbeards for $19/liter. Sells for $45/fifth in US. Brought back 5 litres. In Cozumel we did the Fury Catamaran and had a blast. Highly recommend this tour. At dinner we requested a table change since other parties didnt show up. Finally found Head Waiter Wellington and her put us with 8 other couples. Had a blast. Assistant waitress Petya from Bulgaria was wonderful. She is also the omlet girl at Windjammer. One of our most relaxing and favorite cruises. Spent way too much on beer. Prices keep going up. Ready to start planning our next one!

[Natitude61]

We were also on this sailing. Did dragon tail coaster in Labadee and also rented the floating mats. Coaster was great, but we didn't get much use out of the mat since it was overcast and breezy, and it was downright chilly floating on the mat in the ocean. Did a little shopping, bought a cute pareo and wooden bowl, then went back to the ship early to just lay by the pool. Went to Sunset Beach in Jamaica through Jamaica For A Day tours, and I must say it was a waste of time and money. (Rose Hall was full, and Sunset Beach was offered as an alternative.) It was in Montego Bay, about an hour bus ride, and not much to do besides sit by the pool or the beach. They offered kayaks and snorkeling, but in a roped off area so you couldn't venture too far off. Beach was tiny, too. Only redeeming quality was the food -- great jerk chicken -- and free drinks. Next time we'll stay on the ship in Jamaica or just stay in the port and shop (the new port area is really nice). Went kayaking and snorkeling at Cayman through the ship's tour, and had a great time. Best tour, though, was at Cozumel, where we went to Adventure Park for ziplining, rapelling and rock climbing followed by snorkeling. The tour guide was fantastic, knew where the fish were and led us right to them. We were able to stay as long as we wanted and, when it was time to leave, the guide would call a taxi (we didn't have to leave as a group).

 

This was our first cruise, so really don't have a lot to compare it to, but we LOVED FOS! We had cabin 9340 right on the hump, which was a great location (thanks to all the recommendations I got from this site!). Second seating for meals, which gave us plenty of time to do what we wanted during the day and get cleaned up for dinner. Food was actually much better than I expected, and even DH, who's very particular about his food, enjoyed his meals without complaint. My only complaint was when I got home and got on the scale -- who knew you could gain so much weight in 1 week! Unfortunately, we only had two other tablemates at our table for 8 -- we never saw our other 4 tablemates. Ketut was our waiter, and can't say enough about him and his team. We ate at the MDR every night except for one, where we ate at Portofinos (yum); and ate breakfast and lunch at Windjammer when we weren't in port.

 

As for the shows, anything with Graham was a surefire hit! I even found myself looking forward to turning on the TV in the am to catch his morning show. Only show that we felt was a waste of time was the "Now You See It" show...just wasn't our cup of tea and we weren't fond of the magician at all. Never had a problem getting a seat and didn't encounter any seat-savers. We did prefer sitting in the first row of the back section however (with the tan seats); there was a shelf for drinks right in front and didn't have to worry about someone tall sitting in front of us. The only show that filled up was the ice show since the venue was small.

 

Embarkation went smoothly for us as well. Dropped off our rental car at Budget at about 10:00 am, but they wouldn't operate the shuttle until they got the go-ahead from RC that the ship was open for boarding. Got there about 10:45 or so and just a short line to get our seapasses. We hung out at the pool and ordered a couple of drinks (also from Denys at the Sky Bar!) until our room was ready, then went and grabbed lunch at the Windjammer. We were on the 7:15 list for disembarkation, but took our time since we had a late afternoon flight. Grabbed one final breakfast at Windjammer before we sadly left the ship around 8:00 or so. The line to disembark was long, but once it got moving the wait wasn't too bad. Budget shuttle was waiting for us, and, through some miracle, there was no line when we picked up our car. Spent the rest of the day in Downtown Disney and caught a movie at the AMC's Dine-In theater before heading to the airport.

[4bythebeach]

Sounds like a great trip. My son was on the same sailing and had an excellent time also!

[BillOh]

This was our first cruise, so really don't have a lot to compare it to, but we LOVED FOS! We had cabin 9340 right on the hump, which was a great location (thanks to all the recommendations I got from this site!).

 

Great first choice, I had that room back in 08. Great view from that balcony and easy to get to anywhere.

[ping1]

Wife and I were on this cruise also. We really love the Freedom. Embark was a breeze. Checked a case of water and soda in luggage. Arrived at 1045 on the ship by 1110. Denys from Ukraine was the bartender at the Sky Bar. Awesome. Rain first sea day. Great weather the rest of the trip. Ate in MDR each night. Food was good a few meals excellent. Labadee beach day and Dragons tail coaster. In Falmouth we went to the Rose Hall Hilton. Awesome. All inclusive and has a small water park with lazy river, swim up bar. Food was great and service impeccable. Grand Cayman did wave runner tour to Stingray City and Rum Point. Found our favorite rum - Mt. Gay Extra Old at Blackbeards for $19/liter. Sells for $45/fifth in US. Brought back 5 litres. In Cozumel we did the Fury Catamaran and had a blast. Highly recommend this tour. At dinner we requested a table change since other parties didnt show up. Finally found Head Waiter Wellington and her put us with 8 other couples. Had a blast. Assistant waitress Petya from Bulgaria was wonderful. She is also the omlet girl at Windjammer. One of our most relaxing and favorite cruises. Spent way too much on beer. Prices keep going up. Ready to start planning our next one!

 

 

Regarding the checked-in bottled water: you mentioned that you put the water in luggage. Can I assume that you can't check the water in with just a luggage tag (no suitcase)? Thank you

[ping1]

We were also on this sailing. Did dragon tail coaster in Labadee and also rented the floating mats. Coaster was great, but we didn't get much use out of the mat since it was overcast and breezy, and it was downright chilly floating on the mat in the ocean. Did a little shopping, bought a cute pareo and wooden bowl, then went back to the ship early to just lay by the pool. Went to Sunset Beach in Jamaica through Jamaica For A Day tours, and I must say it was a waste of time and money. (Rose Hall was full, and Sunset Beach was offered as an alternative.) It was in Montego Bay, about an hour bus ride, and not much to do besides sit by the pool or the beach. They offered kayaks and snorkeling, but in a roped off area so you couldn't venture too far off. Beach was tiny, too. Only redeeming quality was the food -- great jerk chicken -- and free drinks. Next time we'll stay on the ship in Jamaica or just stay in the port and shop (the new port area is really nice). Went kayaking and snorkeling at Cayman through the ship's tour, and had a great time. Best tour, though, was at Cozumel, where we went to Adventure Park for ziplining, rapelling and rock climbing followed by snorkeling. The tour guide was fantastic, knew where the fish were and led us right to them. We were able to stay as long as we wanted and, when it was time to leave, the guide would call a taxi (we didn't have to leave as a group).

 

This was our first cruise, so really don't have a lot to compare it to, but we LOVED FOS! We had cabin 9340 right on the hump, which was a great location (thanks to all the recommendations I got from this site!). Second seating for meals, which gave us plenty of time to do what we wanted during the day and get cleaned up for dinner. Food was actually much better than I expected, and even DH, who's very particular about his food, enjoyed his meals without complaint. My only complaint was when I got home and got on the scale -- who knew you could gain so much weight in 1 week! Unfortunately, we only had two other tablemates at our table for 8 -- we never saw our other 4 tablemates. Ketut was our waiter, and can't say enough about him and his team. We ate at the MDR every night except for one, where we ate at Portofinos (yum); and ate breakfast and lunch at Windjammer when we weren't in port.

 

As for the shows, anything with Graham was a surefire hit! I even found myself looking forward to turning on the TV in the am to catch his morning show. Only show that we felt was a waste of time was the "Now You See It" show...just wasn't our cup of tea and we weren't fond of the magician at all. Never had a problem getting a seat and didn't encounter any seat-savers. We did prefer sitting in the first row of the back section however (with the tan seats); there was a shelf for drinks right in front and didn't have to worry about someone tall sitting in front of us. The only show that filled up was the ice show since the venue was small.

 

Embarkation went smoothly for us as well. Dropped off our rental car at Budget at about 10:00 am, but they wouldn't operate the shuttle until they got the go-ahead from RC that the ship was open for boarding. Got there about 10:45 or so and just a short line to get our seapasses. We hung out at the pool and ordered a couple of drinks (also from Denys at the Sky Bar!) until our room was ready, then went and grabbed lunch at the Windjammer. We were on the 7:15 list for disembarkation, but took our time since we had a late afternoon flight. Grabbed one final breakfast at Windjammer before we sadly left the ship around 8:00 or so. The line to disembark was long, but once it got moving the wait wasn't too bad. Budget shuttle was waiting for us, and, through some miracle, there was no line when we picked up our car. Spent the rest of the day in Downtown Disney and caught a movie at the AMC's Dine-In theater before heading to the airport.

 

Is there a charge for the Dragon Tail coaster? Was there a long line?

Thank you.

[Natitude61]

Charge for the coaster was about $20; two can ride in one car and passenger is free. No line to speak of since tickets are timed.

[MERCE4]

Regarding the checked-in bottled water: you mentioned that you put the water in luggage. Can I assume that you can't check the water in with just a luggage tag (no suitcase)? Thank you

 

We were on the FOS Eastern on 3/11/12. We had a case of water with luggage tags attached. Porters would not take the water. We were allowed to carry on the case, but did not have a rolling cart or piece of luggage in which to lug it. Will know next time to put it in luggage and leave it with the porters, or pack a collapsible rolling cart to lug it around until the staterooms open.

[ilgander]

We'll be on this cruise 5/27, can't wait! Can one of the recent returnees say which nights were formal nights? Thanks!

[happicruzer]

We'll be on this cruise 5/27, can't wait! Can one of the recent returnees say which nights were formal nights? Thanks!

 

For the Western - first sea day and the last port day (Monday and Friday).

[ping1]

We were on the FOS Eastern on 3/11/12. We had a case of water with luggage tags attached. Porters would not take the water. We were allowed to carry on the case, but did not have a rolling cart or piece of luggage in which to lug it. Will know next time to put it in luggage and leave it with the porters, or pack a collapsible rolling cart to lug it around until the staterooms open.

 

Thank you for this very important update.

We will bring a rolling suitcase to hold the water.

 

:)

[ping1]

The shows were 7PM and 9PM. We had a table for four (fixed dining 5:30) and usually finished by 6:45 in time to walk down to the show. Again, the 7PM was only crowded the first production show, after that the theater was nearly empty. My brother went to some of the 9PM and that was crowded to standing room only.

 

This was a repeat cruise for my husband and myself; the shows have been updated a bit but worth watching (too loud, but that's always the case). The production staff performed the magic show for the first time; don't know how he does those tricks.

 

We did get our cards scanned at the ice show (first afternoon) so don't know how crowded the remainder of the ice shows were.

 

On the Freedom of the Seas, did you need reservations for the ice show and production shows online (before the cruise)?

 

thanks