Just off FOS 5/13/12 Western Caribbean Sailing

[Chris4424]

This was my first cruise in over 10 years, and first ever on RCCL. All in all, I would say my girlfriend and I had a great vacation. Both relaxing and tiring all at the same time, with some definite high points and a few not so high points, but nothing that would ruin our trip. I won't give a full review, but below are some positives, negatives, and my thoughts on some of the hot button topics we see discussed here all the time, after finally seeing for myself.

 

• First of all, the Freedom is a great ship. I haven't sailed other RC ships to be able to compare, but I imagine it would be hard to top this ship for me. Big enough that I really never felt crowded, but still easy enough to navigate once you've been on it for a day or so. We had no problems with embarkation (so quick and easy), no issues with our room or luggage, and no issues with debarkation. We stayed in a balacony room on Deck 7 and loved it.
  
• I actually found the food on the ship to be quite good. Of course it wasn't gourmet food, but for the amount they are expected to churn out on an hourly basis, it's pretty good. We ate in the MDR 6 out of 7 nights and never left hungry or dissatisfied. We loved both Sorrento's and the little sandwiches in the Cafe Promenade. Also loved Johnny Rocket's, and also ate at Portofino one night and thought it was excellent. I did not think the Windjammer was very good - typical buffet, and quite frankly I don't understand why some people would choose to eat there over the MDR. The one negative experience we had with the food was the room service we ordered one morning for breakfast. The scrambled eggs couldn't have been more than one full egg, were practically cold, and the toast was legitimately stale as it broke into 10 pieces when I tried to eat it.
  
• There is lots to do on the ship. From the bars / lounges, casino, pools, restaurants, to the Flowrider, Rock climbing wall, fitness center, etc. I tried the rock climbing on the last day and am proud to say I made it to the top. Used the fitness center once and found it to be very nice although it was crowded and some of the machines were not working.
  
• Had a good time in all four ports. Labadee is beautiful and relaxing. Falmouth was not our favorite, but then again, we took a tour to DRF in Ocho Rios so we didn't spend much time in Falmouth. Grand Cayman was nice and tenders ran very smoothly. Cozumel may have actually been our favorite. We took two ship-sponsored excursions and enjoyed both very much (DRF in Jamaica and Dolphin Swim in Cozumel). Weather was spotty in Grand Cayman and Cozumel, but we made the most of it.
  
• For all the fuss made on this board over the MDR dress code, I can honestly say that I was surprised by what a moot point this was on our cruise. I rarely, if ever, saw anyone come to the MDR in what I would consider to be inappropriate attire. On formal nights, I think almost everyone was dressed semi-formally at minimum. I did not see people blatantly ignoring the code. On casual nights, I did see a few in shorts, but not many, and even most of them still had on a nice polo shirt or something. Even though I believe in following the dress code on these ships, I can honestly say that no one's failure to adhere effected my cruise experience in the least.
  
• For all those that complain about tipping, I suggest on your next cruise you take some time and talk to your server or other staff about their cruising experience. For anyone who thinks working on a cruise ship 10 months out of the year is a glamorous job, you are dead wrong. They do not eat the same food or stay in the same accomodations that you do, and I am certain that their earnings are based largely on the tips they receive. They go out of their way to make sure you have a wonderful vacation (most of them do at least), and they absolutely deserve your thanks and appreciation.
  

A couple small negative points that I would say about the cruise:

• I already mentioned it above, but the room service breakfast we had was truly shameful. I hope that was a one-off thing and not the norm, because I can't imagine how anyone could enjoy that.
  
• Not important to me at all, but I read a lot on here about how great the Cafe Promenade cookies are. Yuk. I'm not sure what kind of cookies you have to like to consider those to be good. The few I tried were hard and may have actually been stale. Maybe this was just our cruise? Who knows, either way, I found plenty of other delicious desserts to eat.
  
• The one area of service I think was lacking was the bar staff. There were some good ones, but I thought the the bar staff in general was noticeably less friendly and accomodating than the wait staff or housekeeping staff. Not a lot of smiles, and they were VERY slow. Ordering a drink usually meant you had to stand at the bar at least 5 minutes waiting while they took their time making it. Maybe this is because their gratuities are already built in to every drink order, so the incentive for them is not there to work hard. Also, my girlfriend tried on 3 separate nights to order a mojito (at different bars) and was told they were out of mint leaves. Other bars had them - surely on a ship that big, they could make sure to restock the bars that were out of mint leaves each day? Weird.
  
• We only made it to a couple of shows, and all the ones run by the cruise director Graham we enjoyed very much, especially Quest and the Love and Marriage show. We saw Marquee and found it be boring, but it may be your thing. Didn't see the magician or Once Upon a Time, but did also see the Ice Show and thought that to be very good. But my main issue with the entertainment was the live music in the bars/lounges. Admittedly, I only really checked out the Bull and Bear (with Lace Walker) and the Schooner Bar (Ed something), and actually, the first night or two, I enjoyed both of them. They are talented. However, I realized after the 2nd night that each time I went back, they would play the same set of songs I had already heard. After a while, I was so bored by it that I stopped going each night. I just think that if you're going to ask someone to play for 7 nights straight as the sole entertainment in a bar, they should have a big enough repertoire that they aren't repeating songs every single night. It would keep people more engaged.
  
• On that last thought, I was surprised at the lack of activity on the ship later at night. The Bull and Bear and Schooner bar are my kind of scene, but after 11PM, you could hardly find anyone there. The entertainers would shut it down early most nights because the places were empty. I'm a bit of a night owl, and would have loved to sit and listen until 1 or 2 am each night, but most places were completely dead after midnight. Even the casino was not very crowded. Maybe this was just an issue with the demographic on this particular cruise? I'm not sure, but it was a little disappointing. Still, that's not really something that RCCL can control, although, if their entertainers weren't so repetitive like I mentioned above, maybe people would be more interested in checking them out each night.
  

I suppose that looks like quite a few negatives, but really, none of these things really effected our vacation very much and I would say we had a fantastic time. I don't really think I'm the type of person that could cruise every year or multiple times a year, because I do think I'd get bored with it, however, I think a cruise is a unique kind of vacation that is fun to take every so often to mix things up. I would not hesitate to sail with RCCL again and certainly wouldn't hesitate to sail the FOS again.

 

Be happy to answer any questions about the cruise or ship if anyone has any.

 

Chris

[LOCVP1]

Thanks Chris nice review. We are sailing on the FOS in July. It has been a few years since we have been on a RC ship. We have been on the Navigator twice and that was our complaint about the pub on that ship too, the singer was great the first few nights but then it was the same music over and over. Hopefully in the summer there is a bit more activity after 11 did you have late seating? We never seemed to get out of the dinning room much before 10 so hopefully!

[Chris4424]

Thanks Chris nice review. We are sailing on the FOS in July. It has been a few years since we have been on a RC ship. We have been on the Navigator twice and that was our complaint about the pub on that ship too, the singer was great the first few nights but then it was the same music over and over. Hopefully in the summer there is a bit more activity after 11 did you have late seating? We never seemed to get out of the dinning room much before 10 so hopefully!

 

We did have the late seating and were usually out by around 9:30, unless we chose to stick around longer. I will say that a couple times I went to the pub or schooner bar around 10, they were quite busy (I assume with a lot of the early dinner crowd), but once they cleared out between 11 or 12, it never got busy again. Just a little disappointing to me, but again, that's probably more of a crowd issue than anything RC can control.

 

You could find people in The Crypt after midnight, but I am a few years past that type of scene (even though we are only in our late 20s).

[cruzegurl104]

Thanks! This is interesting, as I'm looking to do this same trip. Any pictures that you can share?

 

~*Jenny*~

[ryano]

Excellent job! I would have to say I agree 100% with both your positive and negative experiences :) It was pretty much the same way on my 4/22 - 4/29 cruise.

 

The cookies were truly not that good. The Piano man was coined as "a man of 1000 songs" but I think he only played about 30 of those 1000 :p The only entertainment I found after midnight was the Crypt and honestly, it was too loud and too smoky in their for my likings.

 

Wonderful trip though all in all though and I miss Freedom and some her staff dearly!

[Chris4424]

Thanks! This is interesting, as I'm looking to do this same trip. Any pictures that you can share?

 

~*Jenny*~

 

We have lots of pictures, but will have to get them loaded onto the computer, and then figure out how to upload a few onto here. Hopefully sometime this week I can share some!

[ksmdcruisin]

Hi Chris!

Loved your review and your attention to bringing up detail like the cookies. There are things that pop up here, stay stuck in your mind and then you try them. In your case the cookies. In my case the honey whatever chicken. I just didn´t get it but taste buds are different! And that´s a good thing.

 

It sounds like you enjoyed your cruise and weighed everything up nicely.

 

Thanks for taking the time to share your thoughts. Appreciated!

[HB Cruiser]

In my case the honey whatever chicken. I just didn´t get it but taste buds are different!

 

I really like the honey stung chicken IF:

 

1) it is HOT

2) it is not dry.

 

Personally, I think the big thing about the honey stung chicken is the fact that it is served during your first meal on the ship so it signifies YOU ARE ON A ROYAL CARIBBEAN CRUISE! :)

 

NOTE: The honey stung chicken is MUCH BETTER from room service.

 

Tim

[poopbag28]

• I actually found the food on the ship to be quite good. Of course it wasn't gourmet food, but for the amount they are expected to churn out on an hourly basis, it's pretty good. We ate in the MDR 6 out of 7 nights and never left hungry or dissatisfied. We loved both Sorrento's and the little sandwiches in the Cafe Promenade. Also loved Johnny Rocket's, and also ate at Portofino one night and thought it was excellent. I did not think the Windjammer was very good - typical buffet, and quite frankly I don't understand why some people would choose to eat there over the MDR. The one negative experience we had with the food was the room service we ordered one morning for breakfast. The scrambled eggs couldn't have been more than one full egg, were practically cold, and the toast was legitimately stale as it broke into 10 pieces when I tried to eat it.
  

Chris

 

I couldn't agree more! Buffet food? Really? Over full service food? It's old,cold, mass produced food clumped together in an aluminum pan that I have to wait in line for while people pick around it! Glad to say that I don't set foot in that place. To each their own. I simply avoid buffet food at all costs.

 

They should convert them into smoking lounges.

 

Match, meet gasoline :D;)

[HB Cruiser]

I couldn't agree more! Buffet food? Really? Over full service food? It's old,cold, mass produced food clumped together in an aluminum pan that I have to wait in line for while people pick around it! Glad to say that I don't set foot in that place. To each their own. I simply avoid buffet food at all costs.

 

They should convert them into smoking lounges.

 

Match, meet gasoline :D;)

 

In all our cruises, we have chosen the windjammer over the MDR once because we really did not want to change our clothes from what we were wearing. While I agree it is a buffet, the food for dinner is the same as the MDR. It was very tasteful and not dried out.

 

I WILL NOT go back to the windjammer for any other dinners as the kids were running around like chickens with their heads cut off while we were trying to enjoy our dinner. Evidently the parents let the kids go to the windjammer that night while they were in the MDR. Will not make this mistake again.

 

Tim