Just off Freedom of the Seas

[mshight]

My mom, sister, 10 year old nephew and I had adjoining balcony rooms 6382 and 6384 on the January 17th Western Cruise. I will share some of the things we liked and didn't like.

 

Embarkation was easy! We stayed at the Residence Inn, parked our car and took the shuttle over to the port around 11 am. We checked in and got a group number but never even had time to sit down before the number was called. They were adamant about not getting into the rooms until 1 pm. We found a seat, had a cold drink and waited.

 

I walked down to guest services to inquire about the internet and was told you open a browser and set it up yourself -- easy! We sprung for the 2 devices because my nephew is quite attached to his iPad. The thing they did not tell us is that you have to open a browser and type in logoff.com in the address bar to completely log off so someone else can log on.

 

MATTRESSES: I had requested toppers through special needs with RCL and had BEEN ASSURED that was noted on my reservation and taken care of. I also requested the beds be separated. NEITHER of these things happened. According to our cabin attendant Dale (who by the way was wonderful) my mattresses was a new one and my mom's mattress was an old one. She had a topper because the mattress was old and no one was able to get a topper for the new mattresses. That being said, my sister and mom had a somewhat lumpy old mattress with a topper and Dale placed some mattress pads under mine and my nephew's sheets.. I like a softer mattress but I must say I was prepared for the mattress to be a lot harder than it was (after reading posts on CC). I did not have a problem sleeping at all.

 

When we got off the ship, I saw new mattresses being loaded on so they are working to replace them all -- though there does not seem to be any rhyme or reason to the order they do it in.

 

Since my mother is older, we did not take part in everything the ship had to offer but there was something going on most of the time. The only time the ship seemed crowded was when they put stuff out for "big sales" in the promenade and when you were trying to find a chair by the pool on a sea day.

 

The 2 shows we attended were fantastic -- Drew Thomas, an illusionist, and Once Upon A Time, production show. Best I have seen on a cruise ship. Unfortunately we never made it to the ice show.

 

The pool area is nice. There is one heated pool, several other unheated pools and a separate pool for kids -- along with all the water statues that they can play under. Sprinkles self-serve ice cream machine is near the pool and it got a lot of business! You have to check out towels with your sea pass and take those towels back and exchange for dry ones. If you do to turn in the towels you have checked out before the end of the cruise, you are charged $25 for each.

 

My nephew loved the Ocean Adventures program. He was in there almost every evening for a couple of hours.

 

My sister bought the $19/day beverage package so she could fill up her special Coke cup from the machines where you can mix flavors. They are in several places throughout the ship including in the Windjammer Buffet. She also enjoyed chai tea and some non alcoholic frozen beverages as well as bottled water --seemed a good value for her.

 

FOOD: We only ate in the dining room once and the food was good. We ate almost every meal in the Windjammer/Jade. They had sushi and a wide variety of different foods so it was not difficult for us to find something we could enjoy. The food was not fantastic but I did not have to cook it and it tasted pretty good for the most part. There were hotdogs, hamburgers, salads and sandwich fixings every day in addition to the other hot foods. If anything was lacking, I would say it was the desserts.

 

We ate pizza in Sorrento's which was just ok. They had cheese, chicken/potato and pepperoni -- along with some small sandwiches.

 

As for ports, when we arrived in Labadee there were several boats full of people singing, shouting and playing music. I thought they were welcoming us but my sister said she did not think they were happy people. Sure enough, the captain came over the loud speaker and said they were protestors (over the local election) and they were trying to negotiate with them to move their protest elsewhere. After the second announcement to that effect, he then announced that they were not willing to move the protest and he felt it was a safety risk for us to get off the ship. I for one was glad he made that decision..

 

We did not do any shore excursions and just spent a little time in each port shopping. Falmouth had a nice shopping area. Getting on and off the tender in Cayman was a little treacherous because of the wind. It was extremely windy in Cozumel on Friday. The ship docks about 3 miles from downtown so if you want to go to any of the ship recommended shops, you have to get a taxi, which we did. There are some shops right where the ship docks if you do not want to venture further and those are not recommended by RCL.

 

We rode in a horse and buggy back to the ship and that was far more pleasant than the taxi. The wind was so bad that on the walkway back to the ship, it whipped my glasses right off my head and to the bottom of the ocean! It happened so fast there was not retrieving them -- made me sick! Fortunately I did nave another pair with me.

 

The Captain was Ron Holmes and he was fantastic. Never had a ship captain keep us that well informed. He was also seen quite often around the ship interacting with the passengers.

 

One thing I found very interesting was that unlike other cruise lines I have been on, no one ever "stalked" me near the pool to try to get me to buy a drink. Quite the opposite...if you wanted drink, you had to go find it. OK by me!

 

I attended the Lafite wine tasting and the Italian wine tasting. Well worth the money to me! I learned a lot, taste great wines and the food parings were excellent.

 

Debarkation started at 7:30 am for those taking their luggage with them. We were in group #20 and were off shortly after 8:30 am. We grabbed a porter with a large cart and that was the best move we made...took us right through an area of customs where there was no wait at all. The officer barely looked at our declaration forms and passports. By 9:30 we were in the car and back not he road to reality (North Carolina).

 

Will definitely cruise with Royal Caribbean again -- with my husband next time:)

Edited January 25, 2016 by mshight

[Keith1010]

Great review. Thanks for sharing it with us.

Keith

[mshight]

I forgot to mention that our cabin attendant opened the partition between our balconies -- no problem there. His supervisor had the only key to open the door between cabins so that was done later in the afternoon. Our rooms seemed more like one larger room which was nice. I must say the cabin seemed a little more roomy than the balcony cabins on Princess -- not sure why.

 

Dale also created several towel animals to amuse us throughout the cruise!

[sarahkslp]

Did the kids club seem to have enough to keep the kiddos entertained?

[poncho1973]

Bravo. I was on this trip with you... that wind in Cozumel was epic!! I chased my sea pass card like 200' down the pier. Finally caught it.

[KirkNC]

Welcome home, thanks for the report.

[Clarea]

Enjoyed the review.:)

[GTO-Girl]

Did the kids club seem to have enough to keep the kiddos entertained?

 

Everyday you will get a planner for the kids club so you can see all the activities for the day.

 

My 8yr old granddaughter loved it and wanted to go every day and a lot in the evenings too.

Edited January 25, 2016 by GTO-Girl

[mshight]

Did the kids club seem to have enough to keep the kiddos entertained?

 

Yes. Each evening had a different theme like "survivor night". They colored bandanas one night and pillowcases one night (to keep as souvenirs). There was a movie night and everyone wore pajamas.

 

We did not participate in the daytime programs because we took my nephew with us when we got off the ship but he went almost every night and loved it.

[breezy_carol]

Great review. Thank you.

[SoALcruiser]

Enjoyed your review. Freedom is my favorite ship.

Kaye

[Russ Lomas]

Sounds like you enjoyed your trip on the Freedom with RCCL. Glad to hear it. We sail her 48 days from now and again in March 2017.

 

Parents of friends of ours, who are regular Princess Cruisers, just finished a B2B on the Freedom the week you got off. Their take on the cruise (from the limited amount of info I got from our friends) was that they did not enjoy it. They thought there were too many kids, too noisy, did not enjoy the food in the dining room either.

 

We have done 4 RCCL cruises and loved every one of them, so we always try to persuade others to try RCCL. Guess everyone has their own expectations. As for us, we are always happy to return to any RCCL ship.

[mshight]

Sounds like you enjoyed your trip on the Freedom with RCCL. Glad to hear it. We sail her 48 days from now and again in March 2017.

 

Parents of friends of ours, who are regular Princess Cruisers, just finished a B2B on the Freedom the week you got off. Their take on the cruise (from the limited amount of info I got from our friends) was that they did not enjoy it. They thought there were too many kids, too noisy, did not enjoy the food in the dining room either.

 

We have done 4 RCCL cruises and loved every one of them, so we always try to persuade others to try RCCL. Guess everyone has their own expectations. As for us, we are always happy to return to any RCCL ship.

 

I was a little surprised that there were so many kids in January. We were taking advantage of the Monday holiday and 2 teacher work days so my nephew would not miss a lot of school. I am sure there are a lot more on board during the summer.

 

People who cruise a lot probably have more to compare their experience with than me who was just happy to be on the seas for the first time in several years--and have someone else do the cooking and cleaning! I am looking forward to sailing on the Allure in the fall:)

[Lvscruzn]

Thanks for the review. My daughter and I will be on FOS in December, 2016. Looking forward to it.

[Luvnlyfagain]

We were looking to book the FOS for January, 2017. Two years ago we cruise the Western Caribbean in January and it was soooo windy and cool. Is it always that windy in and cool in Cozumel in January? Just curious if I need to check out a different itinerary.

[Clarea]

We were looking to book the FOS for January, 2017. Two years ago we cruise the Western Caribbean in January and it was soooo windy and cool. Is it always that windy in and cool in Cozumel in January? Just curious if I need to check out a different itinerary.

No, not always windy and cool. We've been there many times in December, January, and February, and had nice sunny days in the 80's.

[MLAW]

Thanks for the review. Do you remember any of the movies that were playing by the pool or in the 3D movie theater?

[mshight]

Thanks for the review. Do you remember any of the movies that were playing by the pool or in the 3D movie theater?

 

The Intern, Southpaw, Penguins of Madagascar, Everest, Frozen, Minions, and Ant Man

[serene56]

Debarkation started at 7:30 am for those taking their luggage with them. We were in group #20 and were off shortly after 8:30 am. We grabbed a porter with a large cart and that was the best move we made...took us right through an area of customs where there was no wait at all. The officer barely looked at our declaration forms and passports. By 9:30 we were in the car and back not he road to reality (North Carolina).:)

 

 

is that a long time-- from 7:30 til 9:30 to be in your car? two hours to get off the ship and through customs etc?

I am trying to figure out what time to tell the car service to be there to pick us up. Hoping to get off with the first wave of people since we are traveling with an elderly person.

[Scott2va]

The Intern, Southpaw, Penguins of Madagascar, Everest, Frozen, Minions, and Ant Man

 

And Martian in 3 D :)

[DrD]

Thanks for the review.

 

They don't push drinks anymore because most people get the all you can drink plan, so they make money by giving out fewer rather than more drinks.

[Sunshinern1]

Loved your review!!! Quick question I have booked room 6390, appears like you were in the area? How was your room and balcony? How were the seas and did you feel it , i.e. Wondering about sea sickness , this is only our 2nd cruise in ten years ,! Thanks , any pic of your cabin? Thanks again

[mshight]

is that a long time-- from 7:30 til 9:30 to be in your car? two hours to get off the ship and through customs etc?

I am trying to figure out what time to tell the car service to be there to pick us up. Hoping to get off with the first wave of people since we are traveling with an elderly person.

 

We put our luggage out the night before so we were assigned a group number which was on our luggage tags -- a green #20. They let the people carrying their own luggage off, go at 7:30 am. We had to wait for them to get to #20 -- beginning with group #1. We got off around 8:30 am, went through customs and loaded onto the shuttle (waited for it to fill up) back to the hotel to get our car, load up and head down the road.

[mshight]

Loved your review!!! Quick question I have booked room 6390, appears like you were in the area? How was your room and balcony? How were the seas and did you feel it , i.e. Wondering about sea sickness , this is only our 2nd cruise in ten years ,! Thanks , any pic of your cabin? Thanks again

 

You are just a few doors down from where we were. I liked the location though we were further from the aft elevators than I thought from looking at the deck plans. There was very little movement even when it was kind of rough though my sister said she woke up and the ship was rocking and rolling that last night when the cold front went through. I slept right through it:)

 

I do not have pictures but really liked the room -- large sofa and plenty of storage for all your things. As someone pointed out before we left, there is storage in the corner of the bathroom behind the mirror and on either side of the mirror over the desk. One thing I found extremely helpful was magnetic hooks. We hung up swimsuits, compasses, etc.. The balcony was not huge but a good size with 2 chairs and a small table. I took clothespins to fasten towels to the plastic straps of the chair so they would dry faster. If you have any other questions I will try to answer them.

[cincicruisers]

Thanks for taking the time to post your review.