Just off the Nov 11th chartered Freedom

[suamom]

This sounds interesting. Would love to have compasses. stvmom2@aol.com

My DH would love a cruise without kids. We love our kids but it is nice to have adult time.

 

Thanks for posting the information and reviews.

[kmorg1234]

Great review and some interesting facts I did not know. We were on that cruise last year and are booked again for this year, plus the Celebrity cruise. Last year we went with several of our fellow Bubbly Bares, but they are not going this year, so we are flying solo. Did you know anyone before you boarded? We are a little concerned not knowing anyone out of the cage, but knowing the usual types that go on these trips, we should actually come back from the trip with new found ones. Just didn't want to be the losers at the 2-top at dinner! We are not in the lifestyle either, and did not feel at all out of place- people were just friendly, not pushy.

 

Also spoke with Wayne on the cruise- he works so hard putting it all together. Good to see his success. And no, RCI does NOT store the mattresses- Wayne tells me his group brings them all on and takes them off at the end. They stay up all night breaking down the playrooms, decor, banners, etc on the last night so that the ship is ready for normal time boarding for the next group.

 

Hope to meet you on board this year!

 

Kathleen and Chris

[reedl]

Royal Caribbean does other whole ship charters also. They have the 70,000 tons of metal cruise on the Majesty out of Miami every year which is a metal lovers dream cruise. You cannot book it through Royal at all. It is only available through the event organizers.

 

Even though I really am not a major fan of metal music, after reading about this cruise, I am impressed with the way it is run. They have over 40 bands on the ship, and each band performs twice, and is available for meets and greets, and is in general very accessible.

 

They setup a stage on one of the main decks, and have lots and lots of music. From what I have read, the passengers on this cruise are actually better behaved than a regular cruise. They may sell more alcohol, but people know how to handle it.

 

Now if they would just create a techno/electro/dance music cruise, I would be there!

Edited September 13, 2013 by reedl

[Karter]

Great review and some interesting facts I did not know. We were on that cruise last year and are booked again for this year, plus the Celebrity cruise. Last year we went with several of our fellow Bubbly Bares, but they are not going this year, so we are flying solo. Did you know anyone before you boarded? We are a little concerned not knowing anyone out of the cage, but knowing the usual types that go on these trips, we should actually come back from the trip with new found ones. Just didn't want to be the losers at the 2-top at dinner! We are not in the lifestyle either, and did not feel at all out of place- people were just friendly, not pushy.

 

Also spoke with Wayne on the cruise- he works so hard putting it all together. Good to see his success. And no, RCI does NOT store the mattresses- Wayne tells me his group brings them all on and takes them off at the end. They stay up all night breaking down the playrooms, decor, banners, etc on the last night so that the ship is ready for normal time boarding for the next group.

 

Hope to meet you on board this year!

 

Kathleen and Chris

 

We did not know anyone before we went on the Freedom last year but by the end of the cruise we had many new friends. This group for some reason just seems to be more friendly and outgoing than most cruises we take. Do not worry at all if you are not in the lifestyle probably half or more of the people on the ship are not in that category they just want the adult atmosphere and non stop parties.

 

Just a side note - We just returned from the Freedom this morning and had several interesting conversations surrounding the upcoming lifestyle cruise.

 

1. Our female waiter was highly disappointed that she will miss the cruise because she goes on leave one week before the cruise departs. We did not bring the subject up she did when on of our table mates asked about cruising in November. She said that she really wanted to be on that cruise because she missed it last year also and heard some great stories.

 

2. When the chops manager casually asked about our upcoming cruises and we told him we would be on Freedom Nov 10th and December 1st we questioned if we were sure about the November 10th date we said yes and got the funniest expression on is face. I guess since we are diamond plus he didn't expect an average passenger to be going on that cruise.

 

3. We got the same response when the head waiter stopped by to chat about our future cruises and we listed the Nov 10th cruise we also smiled and gave us a thumbs up. We had to make up a quick story because our tablemates were curious what that was all bout. This was before the waiter commented on the cruise. Fortunately she had her dates missed up so we didn't have to explain any further.

 

From what I can tell the crew is looking forward to the cruise as much as we are.

 

Also just so you know Labadee will be clothing optional also just like Coco Cay was last year.

 

BTW - They also cover all the chairs with towels in the play rooms and hand out towels in the main dining room if the dresses are too short.

 

Look forward to seeing you on board. Email me if you have any specific questions and I will try to answer them. karter_ken at yahoo dot com.

 

Ken

Edited September 15, 2013 by Karter

[nolesrule]

We've been trying to book one of these with a Florida home port for the last couple of years but can never seem to get the schedule to work out. We were hoping to go on the Nov 10th cruise, but unfortunately the grandparents were unable to wrangle the kids that week. And one of our kid's birthdays falls during the January cruise every year, so that's an automatic no-go for us.

[Sinppu]

Thank you very much for the information.

 

Having an adult only cruise on Royal sounds like heaven!

[A&L_Ont]

BTW - They also cover all the chairs with towels in the play rooms and hand out towels in the main dining room if the dresses are too short.

 

I wonder, do they forgo the $25 towel fee that week up on the pool deck?;)

[kevinsgirl88]

I'm thinking about booking one of these cruises just to see what it is like and two for the no kids part :)

 

Sent from my MB886 using Forums mobile app

[Karter]

I'm thinking about booking one of these cruises just to see what it is like and two for the no kids part :)

 

 

Here is a link to the same cruise one year later.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1946520

[mikechass]

I just found this thread and wanted to thank you.

What an interesting read...

It sounds like it is such a fun time.

Thanks again for taking the time to inform those of us who wondered about these cruises.

Who knows... maybe in years to come when the kids are grown and out of the house??? It sure is something to think about..

Chass

[LetsGetWet!]

My wife and I just returned from the chartered Freedom of the Seas cruise that sailed on November 11th. Hopefully I can keep this benign enough so it won’t be deleted and anyone who is curious about how the cruise was can get an understanding of what it was really like as opposed to what some may have envisioned. My motivation for going was not to participate but to be in an adults only atmosphere.

 

My observations:

 

1. The passenger mix was just like any other cruise I have been on (70+) - all ages (except kids), weights, nationalities, etc. During the week we met a 21 year old and a 79 old.

 

2. During the day at the pool it was a lot like Orient beach with all states of dress at the pool.

 

3. At night the Promenade was transformed into a mix between Key West fantasy fest and Mardi Gras.

 

4. At night there were more places to dance that stayed open much later than usual. On a normal cruise after 12:00 or 1:00 the only place with music is the disco. On this sailing there were 3 to 4 venues that played dance music until 2:00 to 4:00 in the morning. Everywhere we went the places were very active with dressed up people dancing and having a good time.

 

5. For diamond and diamond plus passengers the diamond lounge and concierge lounges were open as usual. What was eliminated was the special parties for repeat guests and some of the in room amenities. According to the concierge there were no pinnacles, 13 Diamond + and 50 diamond members on board.

 

6. I suspect based on my sea pass bill and others I met on the ship the on board revenue may be significantly higher than usual.

 

7. I was disappointed that they cancelled quest. The charter company cancelled it because the 80’s party that was held prior to the quest game was so crowded (I would guess 2 to 3 hundred people) and popular that they didn’t want to kill the party atmosphere. The party continued to 4:00 A.M.

 

8. It was not unusual to see passengers still up at 5:00 or 6:00 A.M. Most nights we didn’t get to bed until 3:00 or 4:00 A.M. and we are in our 50’s.

 

9. Everyone we met was very nice and the cruise seemed to attract a more laid back crowd that really liked to party.

 

10. The Schooner bar was very popular, standing room only, maybe because the piano player modified many song lyrics into an adult nature and did sing alongs.

 

11. The cruise compass had all the typical shipboard activities plus “special items”. If anyone is interested I will try to find a place to post them. There’s nothing outrageous in them just locations of where passengers could meet and seminars.

 

12. There was a lot of extra crew on board to make sure everyone followed the strict rules on what was acceptable in public places. We had to sign a contract addendum with specific conduct rules before we could board.

 

13. Pharaoh’s lounge and the conference center were converted into meeting places.

 

14. Did not see any excessive drinking or rude behavior all week.

 

15. Unbelievable amount of luggage that was brought on board. We like to watch the dock activities while we are waiting for the ship to sail and I would guess 50% to 60% more luggage than usual. Possibly because of all the theme night parties. The themes were 70’s, Pirate, Mardi Gras, Rock star, white night, blue night, purple night etc. One of the passengers that we talked to said that they had to order additional trucks to accompany the transfer bus from their hotel because the all the luggage wouldn’t fit.

 

16. The cruise was sold out almost a year in advance.

 

Overall impression is it was like Key West Fantasy Fest on the ocean without the drunks. In many ways it was much tamer than I ever envisioned. I think because of the premium price (50% to 150% more than normal) it may have attracted a more upscale crowd but that’s just my observation. I posted this because I like to understand all aspects of cruising and I’m sure there are others who were curious how the cruise really was.

 

If the comments stay noncontroversial I maybe this thread will survive and will try to answer any questions.

Just off the latest one of these last week!

 

Different ship so the venue names changed, but Karter's message above is still an EXCELLENT summary of the cruise!

 

This was our first, had a fantastic time, definitely looking at the upcoming November cruise!

 

And like many - the majority on board - we're not "in the lifestyle" as they say.

 

Sent from my Galaxy S4 via Tapatalk

Edited May 14, 2014 by LetsGetWet!

[elpasocouple600]

My wife and I have gone on 4 Couples cruises and about 10 normal cruises or as we call them now, "vanilla cruises". I have to echo what I have read from the previous reviews. The couples cruise is so much more fun. here are our observations:

 

1. Everybody is friendly. People will engage you in conversation everywhere.

 

2. The bars, lounges and dance club are packed every night until at least 3 am.

 

3. People will not judge you. It doesn't matter whether you are in the lifestyle or not, overweight, skinny, young, old, etc. Nobody cares.

 

4. I have to admit that on our first couples cruise I was in shock for about the first few hours and I wondered if I made a mistake booking the cruise. Everything seemed like a normal cruise until we left the US Territorial waters and they made the announcement that the pool deck was now clothing optional. By the second day it seems somewhat normal and by mid cruise I was totally used to it.

 

5. It seemed like most of the crew really enjoyed it. it was funny watching some of the crew members from conservative countries stare wide-eyed at all of the nude and topless ladies at the pool.

 

6. The parties at the dance clubs are too fun to describe. I spent 16 years either in the military or working for the government mostly overseas. I have been to Las Vegas, Thailand, all over Europe, Central America, South America and I can honestly say that nobody knows how to party like Couples Cruise guests.

 

If you have any particular questions, let me know. The last few couples cruises have been on Celebrity Cruise ships.

[PRgymnast]

Now if they would just create a techno/electro/dance music cruise, I would be there!

 

There are several of these types of cruises already.

 

The most recent was in September 2014 on Carnival Victory. There's a similar one in January 2015 on Carnival Sunshine. Groovecruise from Miami (NCL Pearl) is also in January. Holy Ship is already sold out for 2015, unfortunately.

 

There's even one that's departing this Wednesday!

 

Info: http://www.insomniac.com/news/edm-battleship-which-cruise-would-survive-high-seas

 

http://holyship.com/

http://blogs.houstonpress.com/rocks/2014/01/holy_ship_edm_cruise.php

[Karter]

One thing that is kind of interesting there are 45 cruise critic members on the roll call thread for next weeks couples cruise sailing which is one of the higher participation rates. In addition there are 50+ people signed up for the meet and mingle which is also either about average or a little higher. So maybe the word is getting out that these cruises are geared towards people who just want the adult party atmosphere and are not interested in the other activities.

[elpasocouple600]

Perhaps that is true. One thing I have to disagree with on previous posts is the percentage of non swingers on the ship. One post said only 30% were swingers. I can't say for certain the percentage on the entire ship but from the people we met I would say closer to 70% were in the lifestyle. 20% were nudists and 10% were there to have an adults only vacation. This is just based on the people we met personally so I could be wrong.

[CatgirlNC]

So maybe the word is getting out that these cruises are geared towards people who just want the adult party atmosphere and are not interested in the other activities.

 

That describes us. We just love the all-adult atmosphere. That’s also why we’re trying to get people together to play Cards Against Humanity, sort of an alternative to the playrooms or the dungeon.

[Karter]

Perhaps that is true. One thing I have to disagree with on previous posts is the percentage of non swingers on the ship. One post said only 30% were swingers. I can't say for certain the percentage on the entire ship but from the people we met I would say closer to 70% were in the lifestyle. 20% were nudists and 10% were there to have an adults only vacation. This is just based on the people we met personally so I could be wrong.

 

I'm not sure anybody including Bob who charters the ship knows the real percentages. I have volunteered to be an ambassador on several of the sailings.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1982643

 

Being an ambassador allowed me to meet and talk to a large percentage of the passengers and find out why they chose the cruise. In my estimation only 30% to maybe 50% would consider themselves active in the lifestyle.

 

But that is just an educated guess after being on 6 of these cruises.

[LetsGetWet!]

We're another couple who loves the no kids, all adult, all couples aspect of these cruises. Also the evening parties/dancing & the chance to dress more daring & risqué than normal. But we're definitely not swingers & don't consider ourselves to be "in the lifestyle."

[MrsPete]

Nothing we would ever take part in, ever, but you can't just "book" these cruises (fortunately) without knowing what they are. You have to book through the group that charters the ship. So, anyone who said they were onboard without knowing what it was aren't telling the truth.

Perhaps I'm just being argumentative, but suppose I booked the cruise . . . and didn't mention to my husband it was a "special cruise". He could've been surprised. Very unlikely, but possible.

[Karter]

Perhaps I'm just being argumentative, but suppose I booked the cruise . . . and didn't mention to my husband it was a "special cruise". He could've been surprised. Very unlikely, but possible.

 

Surprised or Thrilled? :)

[KuffMUp]

I guess you could book it with keeping you DH in the dark. He might actually enjoy it. We are not "into the lifestyle" but have found overall that any vacation with these types of folks are fun. We get no kids. A big plus. I love my grandson but like no kids on the vacation. Everyone is super friendly. They really don't care if you participate or not, but are totally unjudgemental. It is great to people watch at night for all the outfits. Other than the pool deck, there is no nudity. I was never approached by anyone on our last cruise. We had a great time and are looking forward to taking of on Saturday on another cruise.

[Karter]

On board the Independence of the Seas couples cruise right now and there are 102 diamonds and 12 D+ on board. A big change from our earlier couples cruises when we were one of a whopping 19 D and D+ cruisers.

[love to have fun]

I personally booked a last minute cruise. It turned out to be a "lifestyle" cruise. It was still a great cruise. People were being people. It may not have been our thing, but it was our choice to have fun or not! :):)