Just off FOS 05/18/2015

[Susie51]

Sorry so many things weren't good for you on the cruise. Once I was on a cruise that had so many things I didn't like, I started looking for the positive things and now I have good memories of the cruise.

[ttnc4me]

Departure process is the norm as with other cruise lines. Just remember to print out the complete ticket booklet and go through it page by page. Complete your paper documents that are included in the printed packet. Also remember to pre-fill out documents that are also online.

 

One problem I noticed the first day is that this is a very large ship....with elevators ONLY in the forward and aft of the ship. There is usually a wait for the elevators because of the amount of passengers and the size of the ship. Same for stairs either end of the ship except for a couple stairways from one deck to another in certain areas. Otherwise there is a LOT of walking no matter where you go. If you enjoy a show before or after dinner, be prepared to walk the length of a football field to get from one place to the other.

 

We are Crown & Anchor members and have also cruised on many other cruise lines in the past. DH and our friend, that is a Diamond member, have commented on how the "little things" are missing. The chocolates were a nice touch and how costly were they to give each night? We noticed there were no more nice amenities in the bathroom outside of a shampoo dispenser and 2 foul smelling bars of soap. Friend's comment "is that is what happens when financial experts step in." Squeezing every penny and fleecing the passengers after they have come aboard.

 

Activities used to have so many listed for each time period that a passenger had a hard time trying to decide what to do. Now there are big 'holes' in the activity schedule. Quite a few activities now cost $. Then when popular activities are held, they are located in small areas. Such as Trivia, which draws a big crowd, being held in the Schooner Bar. Karaoke being held in an area that draws such a large crowd it spills out into the area that needs to be free for others to walk by.

 

The liquor prices are the same as on land or a little more expensive. Spirits and beer are purchased directly from the company at a huge savings but yet the passengers are gouged with the pricing. I know the company needs to recoup the expense to build and operate these huge ships but do not inflate the alcohol prices to the point that DH and I only ordered occasionally.

 

The pool area is nice but passengers place towels on chairs/loungers around the pool starting at 7:30 AM. You never see those passengers again as they never occupy the saved chair/lounger. The Deck Patrol is of no help enforcing the 'saved' but unoccupied loungers.

 

The outside big screen is a waste as it is not fully utilized. Trivia is posted on it most of the day. Another suggestion, why not offer fairly recent movies on the in cabin television for those that would like to see a movie in comfort?

 

As for the food, I have to agree with another reviewer. Carnival food on long cruises is much better than RCI. (The Carnival menus on the 3-4 day cruises are much different than the longer cruises) Yes, the Carnival portions are smaller but you can always ask for another portion. The variety is good on both lines. On NCL, the buffet food was really hot and not lukewarm like on RCL. At the omelet station DH's eggs were always too well cooked and never over easy as requested. In the main dining room, it did not matter if you had early/late seating or my time dining. Both meals took approx. 2 hours. No quick meal service in the main dining room. I did note that on the bottom right corner of the evening menu, they had specialty items you could order for $ like in the specialty restaurants.

 

Sorry this is long winded, just typing as things popped into my little brain.

 

Don't you just love those Phantom reviews!

I love the little tidbits personally.

 

What ticket booklet should be printed out?

Are the elevators really only at the front & back of the ship?:eek:

I've seen some of the dailies posted and it appears we will be plenty occupied with activities.

Sad that the deck patrol wasn't effective as I thought I read previously that things were getting better at being enforced?

Sad also if movies/shows aren't being shown on the big screen outside as that is one of the bigger draws for us. That, and on our last cruise our son got sick & could do nothing but watch TV in the room. If movies aren't shown in the room, that's just ridiculous.

Food is too subjective so I always reserve judgment for my own experience.

[Princess1965]

Mike45Orlando,

 

Do you know the names of the Loyalty Ambassadors on the Freedom? Did they have decent hours?

[mickev99]

On the sailing as well and also opposite thoughts of OP for the most part BUT vacations can vary greatly from one person to the next.

 

We actually found elevators not crowded with very little wait. In fact, when you think there would be waits, like after the dreamworks parade, we walked right on. We also never had more than an hour in the dining room (we ate between 5:30-6).

 

I'll post a review soon. The ONLY bad part of my trip was the NORO that started 6 hours after getting home.

 

I am cruising in less than a month and hope to see your reveiw before I leave! I can't wait!!

[mike45orlando]

Mike45Orlando,

 

Do you know the names of the Loyalty Ambassadors on the Freedom? Did they have decent hours?

 

Do to the changes in the program we didn't visit with them this time...

[beshears]

Thetrail, you must be a "Elite" member.

 

We just got off the FOTS less than a month ago, and never had all those kind of shampoos, etc. Even chocolates on your bed? We never had that either.

[cello56]

You honestly think that people should print out all 18 pages of their documents? Seriously? Why not just read them on your computer at home. There is zero need to print them out. Do you own stock in paper companies? Ink jet cartridges?

[PathfinderEss]

Sorry your cruise didn't go so well.

[matj2000]

Departure process is the norm as with other cruise lines. Just remember to print out the complete ticket booklet and go through it page by page.

 

 

You honestly think that people should print out all 18 pages of their documents? Seriously? Why not just read them on your computer at home. There is zero need to print them out. Do you own stock in paper companies? Ink jet cartridges?

 

That's funny, I just caught it..

You don't need to print that stuff.

I've never even read it before........

[NYGirl1002]

I was on the same cruise. Our cabin was close to the forward elevators. We never had a problem with crowding on the elevators and/or steps.

 

It was my first RCI cruise and I have to say I found the food delicious. We especially enjoyed the tutti salad in the MDR on sea days!

 

However, I wasn't crazy about the selection in the WJ..not to much variety.

 

My only complaint is that there is no pen or paper in the cabins. On the last night I had to go down to get a pen in the Michael Kors shop...

 

There was plenty of activities and don't forget there were 4 port days! The deck patrol was just as useless as any other cruise ship on any other cruise line. I even saw a woman bring her two young kids..wearing swimmies...into the solarium pool. Nobody said a word.

 

The staff on this ship is fabulous!