Many Freedom Questions..can you answer any?

[beachbooles]

We are booked on a Spring Cruise on Freedom and I have a few questions to ask those recently cruising. Thanks in advance.

 

1. What food areas are open 24-7? sorrentos has pizza and some cheeses and is open into the wee hours, but not breakfast.

2. Is there a burger cooking area outside by Windjammer? I never saw an outside burger area by the pool. :(

3. Is the Main Dining Room open for lunch all the time or only on sea days? MDR was ONLY open for lunch on Sea Days

4. What time does Winjammer open for breakfast? I never made it up to Windjammer before 6:30 but it was open then.

5. What is best way to wake up on time? Bring a travel alarm? Do they offer wake up calls or is there a clock in the room to use? They have an automated wake up call system for the phone but if you like to look at a clock in the night, bring one. Your phone may change times from ship time. also, bring a watch to keep on ship time always. People were always asking me what time it was, especially off the ship, in port.

6. If you buy bottled wine on the islands can you bring it back to your room? I've heard yes, but I haven't tried it.

7. Just where is smoking permitted. I've read in the Casino and on Port side outside? lots of spots in the casino, an area on deck 4, outside. (deck 4 is nice) we don't smoke but I did find burned butts on my balcony in the morning a few times...proof that the wind really does make them fly and can be a fire hazard. The ones on our balcony had red lipstick. LOL

8. Where is the heli-pad located? all the way forward. deck 4, keep going and up the stairs. Lovely quiet area with benches. Very nice!!

9. How do you pre-register for the Ice Show? Do you do this now or closer to sail time? You can register online or even on board when they announce the time to sign up. It was a super crowded cruise, yet we had no trouble. Keep in mind, they aren't set seats. You will want to get there 30 minutes early if you are pick about where you sit or have a large group you want together...so plan on spending a lot of time for the ice-show

10. Anyone have latest nights for Formal Night? Second to last night for sure and it was a NYE cruise, so not sure the other is reliable info.

11. Is the Italian eating place an up-sale place? Yes, although it seems to off the windjammer, it's separate and very nice.

12. Do the stairs - front and back - go to all the floors or is there one you can't continue on? We were on a ship once where you had to walk from the back stair area to the front area to continuing using stairs. Sounds complicated I know.

Thank you for any help. I believe the stairs are continuous. The one dead end we found was the deck 3 hallway. When you exit the Arcadia theater, it's a huge bottleneck. We tried to get aft by way of the cabin corridor and can not....that was always a problem. We learned to leave before the cruise director said his closing remarks if we were in a hurry or sit in the back.

13. Aren't you glad I've come to an end?

love CC and the questions we can ask and answer!! Have fun!!

[Clarea]

Thank you Jacquelyn and all the others for responding to these questions. You guys really make cruising planning easy and informative. OK, here are some lesser important questions but I'll toss them out there anyway to see if there are any answers.

(Can you tell I'm stuck in the house with these snowy, icy, frozen days? Makes one so happy to think about cruisin. I also wonder and worry about those who might miss their travels during this cold cold weather.

 

1. Is there a time limit on using the coupon for a future cruise?

 

2. On another ships review I've read about some outstanding roast beef sandwich available at some non-Windjammer eating...do you have any thoughts on where these highly recommended sandwiches are?

 

3. Has anyone bought a frozen capachino (sp?) drink. Looks like they are made with ice cream but it's not, it's a powdered something or other that freezes up....delicious, I've had them on a Celebrity cruise and never hear anyone talking about them regarding RC.

 

4. I keep reading about these tiny balcony room bathrooms/showers and wonder if anyone can explain are they really like a tube and very tight. Is there enough room to shave your legs....ok guys, this is for your wife to answer.

 

5. Husband is wearing a dark suit for formal nights but wondering if tuxes outnumber suits?

 

6. We are reserved for "ANYTIME DINING" and wonder if we have to make a reservation for the exact time? If we know that 5:30 or 6:00 is preferred can we just pick one and say it's for the whole week?

 

Again I thank you in advance. Below this I'm suppose to click on "Post Quick Reply and Go Advanced. What's the difference?

2). I don't believe Freedom regularly has the roast beef sandwiches. They may have them for a few hours one day in one venue. I'd ask one of the food servers on board.

 

5). My experience is that tuxes do not outnumber suits.

 

6). You don't need to make any reservations for My Time Dining, you can just show up whenever. Or you can make a standing reservation. Or you can make different reservations each night. Or any combination.

[beachbooles]

Thanks all for your excellent hints and information.

Here are a few more questions if you are up to answering I'd be so appreciative. Cruise Critic people are the best.

 

1. Did you use the electronic interactive screen by elevators to check out MD room menus? Does it help in maybe booking upsell restaurants?love the interactive boards. Used them often...

 

2. What deck is used to exit the ship? 2 in island ports, 4 at home port

 

3. Does the Room Hall Door have anything that a note could be left from someone. Is the door metal, to use magnetic pieces.metal door. We take post its. Someone had a white board on their door and it disappeared after 2 days. Too bad, it was cute. Post it's work great. You can leave multiple ones and the person it's meant for can just grab it and you know they got the message

 

4. What deck is Starbucks on? I can't see it on the "deck plan for the ship".promenade, deck 5

 

5. Any recommendations on paying $100 for a future cruise to get the $100 OBC?to me the benefit of this is having a knowledgable person in front of me to go over the best cabin options. It's fully refundable and transferable to a different cruise too. The once i've booked while onboard, have been the very best cabin locations.

 

6. Still wondering how to register for the Ice Show? in person, the first day they say come and sign up will work. Or you can do it online before you leave.

 

7. What Broadway type shows might be playing now?

Freedom doesn't have the quality of shows the Allure/Oasis has but they had a great illusionist show (not hokey magician) some comedians and two "broadway TYPE" musical numbers. One was called "once upon a time," and went through all the fairy tales, or many of them.

 

Have a great time!!

[DrD]

I believe the stairs are continuous. The one dead end we found was the deck 3 hallway. When you exit the Arcadia theater, it's a huge bottleneck. We tried to get aft by way of the cabin corridor and can not....that was always a problem. We learned to leave before the cruise director said his closing remarks if we were in a hurry or sit in the back.

 

 

Deck 3 is a bit different in that one can't walk its length, from aft one can't go further foward than Studio B, from foward one can't go further aft than The Crypt lower level. So for example if you exit theater and your dining is on deck 3, you will have to go up then back down.

 

As far as the bottle neck, there is a short cut of sorts. There's a small door into the lower level of the Crypt on deck 3, from there you can take the stairs up to 4 and exit from upper level of the Crypt, hopefully ahead of the crowd leaving theater.

[SilverDollarDoll]

There's a small door into the lower level of the Crypt on deck 3, from there you can take the stairs up to 4 and exit from upper level of the Crypt, hopefully ahead of the crowd leaving theater.

 

 

Thank you for this information. Now another question for you. Just what is "The Crypt"?

[Clarea]

Thank you for this information. Now another question for you. Just what is "The Crypt"?

The Crypt is a 2 deck nightclub on Freedom and Voyager (except Navigator) ships. It has different names on all the ships, but it's the same venue.

[mickev99]

Okay, I'm tagging along and have a question of my own. I have only been on one cruise, it was with Norwegian on a fairly small ship, from what I hear. The passenger capacity was 2376, and on the Freedom it ways it is 4370. That seems so daunting to me....did it seem really crowded, or is the ship large enough for it to be distributed nicely? We are cruising in June/July and Carnival and Royal Caribbean (Freedom of the Seas specifically) are the only lines cruising out of the ports that we can utilize. The only thing that worries me about this ship is the size....Thoughts from anyone who's cruised it? Or had more cruising experience than me (which isn't much, obviously).

Thanks!!

[Essexlass2]

We're not on this ship but will be on Brilliance of the Seas, our first cruise on RCI, in July. Will there be ice shows and parades on our ship too? Any advice or tips for us newbies please? Being from UK it will perhaps all be quite new and strange from what we've been used to on British ships but we're really looking forward to the experience, albeit we've found the RCI website a bit of a challenge so far or perhaps its just me!

 

We've always said that the Americans are the very best in the world at putting on entertainment. :D

[bilyclub]

No ice rink, so no ice shows on Brilliance. No Royal Promenade so I don't think there are parades unless they happen in the Centrum.

[orville99]

No ice rink, so no ice shows on Brilliance. No Royal Promenade so I don't think there are parades unless they happen in the Centrum.

 

 

No parades, but Brilliance has amazing Cirque D Soleil type aerial performances in the Centrum.

[pam_1024]

Actually, I believe Sorrento's closes for a few hours early in the morning. Cafe Promenade is always open.

 

And as previously mentioned, the MDR is only open for lunch on sea days.

 

When we were on FOS in May of last year, Sorrentos closed at 2 am.

[Host Jacquelyn]

Deck 3 is a bit different in that one can't walk its length, from aft one can't go further foward than Studio B, from foward one can't go further aft than The Crypt lower level. So for example if you exit theater and your dining is on deck 3, you will have to go up then back down.

 

As far as the bottle neck, there is a short cut of sorts. There's a small door into the lower level of the Crypt on deck 3, from there you can take the stairs up to 4 and exit from upper level of the Crypt, hopefully ahead of the crowd leaving theater.

 

On our cruise in December, most of the time you were unable to exit the Crypt on Deck 3, so I assume you were unable to enter the Crypt that way as well. I only saw it accessible on one occasion.

[setsail]

Here's a form:

 

http://www.creative.rccl.com/Sales/Royal/NextCruise/13033003a_NextCruise_OpenBooking_Form_US.pdf

 

They are also included in your cruise docs. They can be printed off when the LT is printed, also when you do this your info is already filled in

[Host Jacquelyn]

1. Is there a time limit on using the coupon for a future cruise? Nope!

 

2. On another ships review I've read about some outstanding roast beef sandwich available at some non-Windjammer eating...do you have any thoughts on where these highly recommended sandwiches are? My husband had a fantastic roast beef sandwich either at Sorrento's or Cafe Promenade, but he only saw it there that one time

 

3. Has anyone bought a frozen capachino (sp?) drink. Looks like they are made with ice cream but it's not, it's a powdered something or other that freezes up....delicious, I've had them on a Celebrity cruise and never hear anyone talking about them regarding RC. Starbucks sells their Frappuccinos, but other than that I have not seen frozen coffee drinks. Maybe Ben and Jerry's sells something, but I did not notice.

 

4. I keep reading about these tiny balcony room bathrooms/showers and wonder if anyone can explain are they really like a tube and very tight. Is there enough room to shave your legs....ok guys, this is for your wife to answer. We had a tub this past cruise, but I don't remember them being awful on prior cruises. Enough room to shave your legs, for sure.

 

5. Husband is wearing a dark suit for formal nights but wondering if tuxes outnumber suits? I wouldn't say so. My husband has always worn a suit and never felt out of place

[DrD]

On our cruise in December, most of the time you were unable to exit the Crypt on Deck 3, so I assume you were unable to enter the Crypt that way as well. I only saw it accessible on one occasion.

 

I didn't experience that but I only used it once or twice.

 

Was the door locked? Or roped off? I suppose if there's an event they may not want people trekking through.

[daynorhall]

Any info 're future cruise deposit, done one on ncl, how does it work with rci??

[setsail]

Any info 're future cruise deposit, done one on ncl, how does it work with rci??

 

100pp unless booking a suite, then 500pp. Balance paid at final payment

[Host Jacquelyn]

I didn't experience that but I only used it once or twice.

 

Was the door locked? Or roped off? I suppose if there's an event they may not want people trekking through.

 

It's funny, as I was typing the response above I was trying to remember what it looked it. It was clearly unuseable, more than just roped off. I actually thought it was permanently disabled until the last night when it was working. Maybe this was something they did when the club was 'closed'? I used to bring my son into the Crypt to run around on the dance floor when no one was there, as he liked to see himself on the overhead monitor. There was no event going on. Strange.

[SilverDollarDoll]

I used to bring my son into the Crypt to run around on the dance floor when no one was there, as he liked to see himself on the overhead monitor. There was no event going on. Strange.

 

You reminded me of a cruise with a beautiful dancing floor and a live band playing surrounded by tables with people drinking and talking. Not being someone "Dancing With the Stars" is looking for, we enjoyed sitting there watching the dancers and enjoying it all. Then a young mom with several little kids, came in and LET THEM LOOSE. They were running into legs of dancers and just in general causing a lot of people to start grumbling. Mama never lassoed them up. So, what I want to say to you is Congratulations on being such a courteous mom and doing something that let your son enjoy and you probably did too. I can just see him looking at himself in the mirrors. Thanks for sharing.

[bilyclub]

100pp unless booking a suite, then 500pp. Balance paid at final payment

 

 

You only have to put down money for one person.

[setsail]

You only have to put down money for one person.

 

PP:rolleyes:

[Eng23]

I've noticed a few people mention Starbucks on Freedom. There is not a Starbucks on the Freedom of the Seas like there are on Oasis/Allure. On Freedom Starbucks coffee's and products are used but there is not a true Starbucks store onboard. Most of the drinks you can get at a Starbucks are available at Cafe Promenade on the Freedom.

 

 

Sent using the Cruise Critic forums app

Edited January 7, 2014 by Eng23

[Host Jacquelyn]

I've noticed a few people mention Starbucks on Freedom. There is not a Starbucks on the Freedom of the Seas like there are on Oasis/Allure. On Freedom Starbucks coffee's and products are used but there is not a true Starbucks store onboard. Most of the drinks you can get at a Starbucks are available at Cafe Promenade on the Freedom.

 

You are correct - sorry if I mislead anyone. There is a Starbucks counter in Cafe Promenade serving Starbucks products in Starbucks cups and a Starbucks menu, but it is not a Starbucks store per se. The coffee menu appeared to be pretty complete, but I cannot say whether they offer every beverage Starbucks typically offers.

[Host Jacquelyn]

I can just see him looking at himself in the mirrors. Thanks for sharing.

 

Thanks for the kind words :) Yes, he loved it. He is 3 and has a lot of energy to burn. The Crypt dance floor was perfect as it was big, empty and he could watch himself dance! I even played music from my smart phone so he experienced his very own dance club. I was happy that the ship left the area accessible during the daytime. Meanwhile, I am sure security got a hoot out of watching us on CCTV running around in there :p To anyone with little kids - this is a secret gem!

[Essexlass2]

No parades, but Brilliance has amazing Cirque D Soleil type aerial performances in the Centrum.

 

Thank you so much Orville, that's certainly something to look forward to :D