Quick Freedom Review 9/20 eastern

[Gators86]

Just going to give a quick review of th ship and some highlights of the boat. We are a young couple who enjoy drinking, relaxing, and eating good food! We are both experienced cruisers. We purchased the premium drink package which worked out great for us. Unless your looking for something off the wall or odd drink, all the drinks are under the 12-14 dollar range. Stayed in a simple ocean view cabin on deck 3.

 

Arrival was quick and easy. 15 min from curb to on board. Gotta say, I think we snuck in the wrong line! We are gold members, not gold card (pinnacle) members. So we saw a sign that said, gold diamond etc express line. I flashed my card with gold written on it, and boom! We are in the front. Pretty sure I should have waited in line. Walked rt into windjammer and grabbed some quick lunch. Then off to explore the ship and do sail away.

 

We ate at all the speciality restaurants this cruise. We were stuck with some unfortunate table mates at the late seating dinner. So we only did 3 MDR nights. Chops, sabor, and Giovanni's twice.

Chops was fabulous as always. We are steak people and it was very very well cooked and seasoned. Shrimp cocktails, and crab cakes for apps. Followed by a couple filets. Fabulous.

We weren't going to try any other speciality places, but as I said, table mates were horrible.

With that said, we walked by Sabor and looked at menu, and the hostess offered us 20 percent off. We gave it a shot. I thought it was decent/ok. The girlfriend thought it was great. I hate guacamole, and yet I was enjoying theirs. It's awesome being able to really customize how it's made. Margaritas were also good. I would only do it at lunch, as it's not worth the dinner price. So it can be your call.

Never tried Giovanni's, but the girlfriend is a huge Italian food lover. So what can I say, I like to make her happy. It was very good, however I'm not a big Italian fan. Although, their Cesar salad is the best on the boat. And their filet rivaled chops. Try the prosciutto wrapped mozzarella bruschetta.

A little tip, we were going into windjammer for some pre dinner snacks on the last night, we ran into one of the servers from Giovanni's. He offered us buy one get one free if we ate there that night. So haggle a little bit with the places. If you see not many people going into the speciality eats, they might be begging for your business. Like I said, I like to make the gf happy, so we went in again later that night. Crab stuffed pasta was tasty. So enjoy!

 

As far as MDR, I must say, we were very disappointed in the quality of the MDR food. Usually it's good/pretty damn good. A lot of food was bland, over/undercooked, or just way to small. I'm a big escargot fan. And Fter 2 orders of it, I gave up. Way to oily, and it had a crunch/sand taste. Ugh. Bar service was horrible in their also. We would usually drink 2 drinks while at dinner. It would be dessert before we could finally get the bar waiters attention.

 

As far as the bars go, we mostly stuck around the schooner bar be cause it was right by our stairs and a quick trip up to grab drinks. Piano bar music with Kelly was decent. However, the more ya drank, the better he got. If you wanna meet the best bartenders, check out schooner and visit with Hassan and JR. They both do awesome bar tricks and magic acts. These guys are funny and always in a great mood. Willing to make you anything. Each new bar has its own "speciality" menu. Since its brand new, they don't yet have all the stuff for all the drinks. So don't be disappointed. Hassan will make some off the walls martini mixtures. The girlfriend loved those. Most bars you go to, will give you a heavy pour of booze. Except the pool bars. You get measured alcohol in each drink. Which is fine if you have the bar package. Also, I noticed the auto dispensers with Stella were nowhere to be found. They were unplugged and put behind the bars. Never could find anyone with a story of what happened.

 

Our room was always clean and fresh. However, I've noticed on my past royal cruise and this one, that your room steward is more distant than usual. I always enjoyed seeing your steward on the way to dinner or breakfast and making small talk and such. From what I've heard, royal is wanting them to be more discreet. And since their tips are now pooled, they arent really encouraged to stand out to you. But hey, fine by me. I'll save my extra tip.

 

Also, if your a crown and anchor member, you'll get 2 wow cards to give to people who do awesome service or goes above and beyond. Word of caution to you, these cards aren't that great and the people on royal aren't to thrilled when they get one given to them. If they get a certain number in a week, they might get one free hour of Internet, or allowed to go to chops (but they still gotta pay). So if your person wowed you, give them the wow card with a 20 inside it. They value an extra tip a lot more.

 

The boat was extremely clean and well kept. You never saw cups laying around, spills, or anything like that.

 

Pools were good and entertainment was funny. As most sea days go, it's hard to grab seats rt by pool. Just go up top and grab a seat. It's easier.

 

Also, my God at some of the rude people. Some of the older diamond and pinnacle members were just rude to the bar tenders and other people. Yes, I understand you've earned a little more because you cruise regularly. But that doesn't mean you can't be cordial and understanding when the bar gets busy. Your on vacation, just chill and relax.

 

Sorry for the length of the post. Got longer than I thought. Ask any questions you wanna know about. I'll do my best to answer. Don't be to harsh on my review, never tried my hand at this before! Next up, waiting till 17 to jump on harmony!! Enjoy

[casinostreer]

Awesome! Thanks for the review. We'll be on Freedom in 3 weeks and this review has kicked the excitement into overdrive! We're already planning on Sabor and Giovannis - but thought we might avoid Chops as we did not enjoy it last year on Freedom. (Maybe we'll give it another try.)

 

Sorry to hear about the rude people. There's never an excuse to be rude to a worker who makes very little.

 

Glad to hear that you all enjoyed yourselves. And thanks for sharing!

[cajuncowgirl13]

Awesome review!!! I'll be on the freedom in December!!! I'm still up in the air with speciality restaurants!!! Did you find it hard to make reservations on the ship for the restaurants or excursions on cocoa cay ???

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[Gators86]

No we didn't have any problems grabbing a table at any time we needed. I believe that's why they were willing to do some deeper discounts than normal. Also, we didn't do any of them, but they started having some awesome deals for the spa by mid week in cruise. And they were still offering the beverage packages all the way to the last day. Maybe we just got with a bunch of cheap people in the boat. Lol.

[wecamp]

We are cruising in 3 weeks and our cabin is an ocean view on 3. Hour was your room? Any noise from the floor above? How was being on 3?

[Gators86]

No problems with noise level. We were in 3246. Front of the ship. When we would dock at ports you'd hear some noise, but nothing that would wake you up. You'll be fine.

[ksuds]

I think we were only sailing on the Freedom that the Stella machines were actually out and running. That was the September 6th sailing.

 

We tried it out. It was a waste. You put the card up to the screen and it gives you 18 seconds from the time you swipe the card, not pull the tap. In 18 seconds you get about 3/4 full beer in a small cup. The rest is all foam. You run out of time before you can get rid of the foam.

 

They gave anyone with the drink package a Stella card if you asked. I think I might have seen it used once or twice between the pool and promenade. By the last sea day, they took the machines off line and removed them.

[NunyaBiz]

I heard Freedom no longer has the Crown and Anchor welcome back party or the top tier exclusive event. Is that true?

[RAYMORRA]

I heard Freedom no longer has the Crown and Anchor welcome back party or the top tier exclusive event. Is that true?

 

I've heard this as well...hoping they can give us the answer!

Edited September 28, 2015 by RAYMORRA

[Gators86]

Interesting about the Stella machines. And your correct about the crown and anchor welcome back party. Never saw any mention of it when we got on ship.

[BamaGuy44]

Thanks for the review! Now, I'm gonna need to hear more about these table mates. Who doesn't love a good table mate horror story? ;):p

[casinostreer]

Thanks for the review! Now, I'm gonna need to hear more about these table mates. Who doesn't love a good table mate horror story? ;):p

 

You all seem very laid back, they must have been a handful if they kept you away from the MDR. Please share!

Edited September 28, 2015 by casinostreer

[ckb523]

I heard Freedom no longer has the Crown and Anchor welcome back party or the top tier exclusive event. Is that true?

 

There was no welcome back for C&A, but there was a top tier event on Friday. Since it was formal night, the invitation said 'Formal Attire'. So, I just went to the lounge instead. ;)

[Susie51]

Thank you for sharing your experiences. I didn't understand what the Wow card was in March on Navigator.

[karen&roy]

Just going to give a quick review of th ship and some highlights of the boat. We are a young couple who enjoy drinking, relaxing, and eating good food! We are both experienced cruisers. We purchased the premium drink package which worked out great for us. Unless your looking for something off the wall or odd drink, all the drinks are under the 12-14 dollar range. Stayed in a simple ocean view cabin on deck 3.

 

 

 

 

As far as MDR, I must say, we were very disappointed in the quality of the MDR food. Usually it's good/pretty damn good. A lot of food was bland, over/undercooked, or just way to small. I'm a big escargot fan. And Fter 2 orders of it, I gave up. Way to oily, and it had a crunch/sand taste. Ugh. Bar service was horrible in their also. We would usually drink 2 drinks while at dinner. It would be dessert before we could finally get the bar waiters attention.

 

Agree completely. The escargot was so greasy I couldnt eat it. MDR food was just ok and we hit Chops twice which we loved!

 

As far as the bars go, we mostly stuck around the schooner bar be cause it was right by our stairs and a quick trip up to grab drinks. Piano bar music with Kelly was decent. However, the more ya drank, the better he got. If you wanna meet the best bartenders, check out schooner and visit with Hassan and JR. They both do awesome bar tricks and magic acts. These guys are funny and always in a great mood. Willing to make you anything. Each new bar has its own "speciality" menu. Since its brand new, they don't yet have all the stuff for all the drinks. So don't be disappointed. Hassan will make some off the walls martini mixtures. The girlfriend loved those. Most bars you go to, will give you a heavy pour of booze. Except the pool bars. You get measured alcohol in each drink. Which is fine if you have the bar package.

 

We also hung at the schooner bar because the bartenders were so entertaining and JRs magic tricks were the best! I must say though we got heavy poured pool drinks from the lower pool deck but measured shots at the casino bar

 

Our room was always clean and fresh. However, I've noticed on my past royal cruise and this one, that your room steward is more distant than usual. I always enjoyed seeing your steward on the way to dinner or breakfast and making small talk and such. From what I've heard, royal is wanting them to be more discreet. And since their tips are now pooled, they arent really encouraged to stand out to you. But hey, fine by me. I'll save my extra tip.

 

Our room stewardess was amazing and always around to chat.Might have been that extra $20 I handed her when boarding..lol

 

 

 

 

 

Also, my God at some of the rude people. Some of the older diamond and pinnacle members were just rude to the bar tenders and other people. Yes, I understand you've earned a little more because you cruise regularly. But that doesn't mean you can't be cordial and understanding when the bar gets busy. Your on vacation, just chill and relax.

I agree about the rude cruisers. I was going into my cabin when I heard a cruiser say to a steward..dont bother me unless you are giving me something for free..real nasty like! Unreal. Also, now there is a special line at the help desk just for the diamond and above members now.I was kind of mad when after standing there for 10 min a pinnacle member can just walk in front of me. Maybe they should just lock us lowly gold and below cruisers in the belly of the ship..lol

We were on the same cruise with you and I plan on writing a long review this weekend since I liked reading everyone elses before I went.