Freedom of the Seas Review 4/21 Eastern

[MrBill923]

Just a short review with some facts and observations. Hopefully it will help others in the future. This was our 30th wedding anniversary cruise. We had sailed in 1983 and 1989, and then in 2009 with our teenage boys. This time, just us. Flew from Chicago to Orlando, did the Fly Snooze Cruise deal with Hampton (Travelynx). All went well no problems. Took taxi from hotel to Fishlips bar and grill. Had nice dinner on patio and waved goodbye to Disney ship. Hotel was nice and so was free breakfast. Shuttle to port arrived at hotel at 10am, and made two stops on way to port. There by 10:40. Thru terminal in about 45 mins, and in Windjammer by 11:45.

 

Cabins were available about 1:15, and luggage was there within the next hour or so. We had Cabin 8610 on deck 8, balcony. Nice cabin, directly mid-ship. Cabin steward Jose, was very friendly. Need to mention, that our RCCL-Meet and Mingle was scheduled for Tuesday at 8:00am. Only about 20 people attended out of about 80 signed up.

 

Nice beautiful ship, never felt really crowded. Sure there were a few things that needed touching up, but who cares. Easy to get around with the computer help screens near elevators. Only real problem we had was that a few times we HAD to walk thru the smokey Casino to get where we wanted to be. It is a really big ship, and I was surprised we could feel the motion. Not bad enough to make us sick, but walking up and down the stairs you could feel it. All crew was friendly, but bartenders. They seemed tired and uninterested. The Captain was funny and Richard Spacey was hilarious.

 

We had dinner in MDR - 8pm. Waiter was Percival. Very friendly and good knowledge of menu. Service seemed slow most nights. The food was good, nothing was very good, nice selection, but some items were missing flavor.

No escargot. Nothing was so good that I wanted it a second time. Did double up a few times on apptz or main course, just to try other things. Sat at table with older couple from Georgia, and newlyweds from Ireland. That was nice, we all got along. Formal nights were Monday and Friday. Jackets and dresses were the norm.

 

For lunch we tried MDR a few times, good not great. Always sat at table with others. Salad bar was good, so were chicken sliders. Windjammers for lunch had plenty of variety. We also grabbed food from Sorrento's or Cafe Promenade on the way on or off the ship for fillers.

 

Breakfast cabin service was nice as wake up call some mornings. Can't tell you enough how nice it is to have coffee (or wine) on the balcony.

 

Shows were good not great. Welcome aboard show and Once upon a time were good, as well as the funny comedian. Marquee was so-so. Ice show was good. Love and Marriage show and Quest was a blast.

 

All of the different bars had entertainment. Late night dancing under the stars was great. We had a full moon which made it better. Went to the Crypt late night once, the DJ played music that was not to our liking, and the dance floor was never crowded, so others felt the same way. One night the same DJ was playing music on deck, he kept interrupting the music with talking and must have done shout outs to the Cruise director about 5 times in 30 mins. What a way to break the mood.

 

There was always something to do on the ship. Too many to try/attend them all. Flow-rider always had a line, same with mini golf. On busy afternoons it was hard to find a chair at the Solarium. Sometimes had to wait for people to get up and leave. Hot tub was nice. You could always find a place to sit, but maybe not exactly where you wanted. Bars were plentiful on the pool deck. Bar waiters constantly walking around and saying "sipping time". They also said "So Nice!". I will remember that always.

 

Fitness center had newer equipment and was clean. Did not try the spa or other services.

 

Islands were nice. Coco Cay was busy but peaceful. Lunch was good, but have to get there earlier, as they were out of BBQ chicken when we got up there. Again, drinks everywhere. St Thomas, was our day to visit Sapphire beach (via RCCL). Nice place, had chairs under shady trees if you want. Walked around and had all kinds of rentals. Got lunch from Banana Cabana, grilled Mahi Mahi sandwich, very good. St Martin was the Golden Eagle Cat. snorkeling and sail (via RCCL). Great times, crew was great and so was the free rum. Snorkeling was fair. It was a beautiful day, could not have asked for better weather.

 

Disembarking was fairly painless, except for the fact that our dream cruise was over. We chose to get off with our luggage as late as possible. Got off about 9:30 and were on shuttle back to Orlando buy about 10:30.

 

All in all, great cruise. Want to go again as soon as possible. Yes we would sail on Freedom again.

 

[Bribrittmom]

Nice concise well rounded review.

[cruzeluver]

Great review and I agree with pretty much all of it. It was nice having breakfast with you and the Mrs. one morning in the dining room. Agree that 8:00AM for an M&M was rediculous!

 

Ryan

[clcurry]

Did you happen to speak to anyone with an inclusive alcohol package?

 

I've heard experiences vary by ship. BF and I are sailing Freedom w/same itinerary as you in 2 weeks. We're considering getting the premium alcohol package but are curious how Freedom bars are servers treat those with the packages.

[MrBill923]

clcurry: We did not talk to anyone with the drink package, but we had the 5 bottle wine package. It was easy, we did some research before the cruise on the wines in the package. I can't say we broke even but it was close. A few nights at dinner we did not finish the bottle and took it back to our cabin for a late night drink on our balcony, or we had it the next day before dinner getting ready. I also can tell that most rum drinks were between $7-$9. I tried about every rum drink, and all had plenty of rum. I think someone posted last month that you have to drink at least 7 drinks per day (each person) to break even on the drink package. I did see lots of people carrying around their 'soda' cup, all I could think was what a hassle.

[KirkNC]

Happy anniversary! That's for taking the time to do a review! Glad you had a good time.

[clcurry]

clcurry: We did not talk to anyone with the drink package, but we had the 5 bottle wine package. It was easy, we did some research before the cruise on the wines in the package. I can't say we broke even but it was close. A few nights at dinner we did not finish the bottle and took it back to our cabin for a late night drink on our balcony, or we had it the next day before dinner getting ready. I also can tell that most rum drinks were between $7-$9. I tried about every rum drink, and all had plenty of rum. I think someone posted last month that you have to drink at least 7 drinks per day (each person) to break even on the drink package. I did see lots of people carrying around their 'soda' cup, all I could think was what a hassle.

 

Thanks for the info! I drink a lot of soda and beer, and usually plenty of frozen foo-foo drinks on a cruise, so for me I think the inclusive package would be worth it.