Freedom of the Seas Questions

[Shay228]

Few questions as I have been seeing mixed reviews. I have been on Oasis & brilliance and both were Great. Booked a cruise on the Freedom in January

 

Are the pool areas in and outside the Solarium more crowded than other ships? Is it hard to get a pool charge at 9/10 am?

 

 

Is the food in the MDR & Windjammer not as good on this ship compared to others ships?

 

 

Does Freedom feel much more crowded in general around the ship than the Oasis & Brilliance?

[Clarea]

Not sure what a "pool charge" is, but if you are asking if it is difficult to get a lounger near the pool on a warm sunny sea day at 10am, the answer is yes.

[Shay228]

Thanks and sorry for the typo. Meant pool chair.

[dplusd]

Thanks and sorry for the typo. Meant pool chair.

No problem getting a chair on deck 12, overlooking the pool...just not poolside.

[Shay228]

Thanks. So do you know if this ship feel more crowded than Oasis or Brilliance? And do you have insight on my other question?

[leaveitallbehind]

Thanks. So do you know if this ship feel more crowded than Oasis or Brilliance? And do you have insight on my other question?

 

IMO it may feel more crowded at certain venues than Oasis as even though there are a lot more passengers on Oasis, the overall size of the ship and different venues balances the numbers well. Probably on a par with Brilliance, although with the exception of the elevator banks at dinner time and the main pools during sea days, I don't find crowds to be an issue on any of them.

[blackshirt]

I've been on all 3 of those. I didn't feel any more crowded on Freedom than those other ships. Yes, the pool area is packed on sunny sea days but that has been my experience on every Royal ship. As for the MDR and Windjammer, no significant difference to either of those other ships.

[Clarea]

Thanks. So do you know if this ship feel more crowded than Oasis or Brilliance? And do you have insight on my other question?

"Feel crowded" is a very subjective thing. It will to some, and it won't to others.

[Big_G]

Thanks. So do you know if this ship feel more crowded than Oasis or Brilliance? And do you have insight on my other question?

 

"Feel crowded" is a very subjective thing. It will to some, and it won't to others.

 

...and subjectively speaking ;), we never felt crowded on Freedom as well as Brilliance but we felt even less crowded on Oasis. Hope that helps. :D

[Shay228]

Thank you all. Appreciate the info.

[ronandannette]

Just disembarked the Freedom this morning. Due to the extremely port-intensive itinerary, I suspect our experience wouldn't be typical, but we certainly wouldn't say the ship was crowded anywhere, anytime, except the Windjammer at breakfast {{shudder}}. And with practically everyone off the ship all day, every day, pool-side deck chairs were there for the taking. The main pool and solarium were very quiet, even into mid-evening. H2O Zone was a ghost-town as there seemed to be very few children on-board.

 

As for food, I am not a WJ fan - never have been, and the food quality seems to get progressively worse each year we cruise, regardless of the ship. It was pretty lousy this time and the noisy, crowded atmosphere makes it even less enjoyable, if that's possible. I will say that the service on FOS in the WJ was very good - maybe the best we've ever had. Service in general in the dining venues was very pleasing. Perhaps they've increased crew levels a little? The attention was better and demeanour of the crew members seemed much less harried than our two most recent past cruises on the Radience and Liberty respectively.

 

MDR food was actually quite good - no complaints at all about anything except the hideous "always available" strip steak. I must confess that the dinner menus are getting pretty boring though. There was only one sea day during which the dining room served lunch. It was great; can't miss with the tutti salad and pasta bar. Promenade Cafe offerings were extremely good this cruise and I tried Sorrentos for the first time but the pizza we had in Rome and Naples was a pretty hard act to follow - LOL.

 

Let me know if I can answer any other specific questions.

[waterlegs]

I am also just off Freedom. Now it was my first cruise so I can't compare it to other ships. I think many of your questions are subjective too. January is in the Caribbean I presume, when you are going. This was only week two on the Med and not school holidays here yet so may have been one of the quieter times on board. Only places I found crowded were the Wj, the cafe promenade and the Bull and Bear pub and Schooner bars. Deck loungers may have been difficult to get for initial sailaway but no problem any other time any time of day. again being a port intensive cruise may have contributed to this. I didnt feel the ship was crowded generally speaking. I thought the food great everywhere. We mainly ate in the MDR and althhough there is little variation in the menus, the food was excellent. Great variety in the WJ. Obviously not quite as nice as MDR but was certainly good enough for us and balanced out by the need for a more informal atmosphere for dinner one evening. Will be doing a review as soon as I get a chance.

[BillOh]

Thanks and sorry for the typo. Meant pool chair.

 

 

Freedom is my favorite ship, I love the solarium pool. If chairs are hard to get, we will sometimes take a stool inside the pool and sit there for awhile.

 

[shay1]

Does the Freedom Solarium have the café where you can get great sandwiches etc during the day?

[Dan-P]

Does the Freedom Solarium have the café where you can get great sandwiches etc during the day?

No.

 

Dan.

[FOXTROT]

We did the TA, the food in the MDR left a little to be desired. The food in the Windjammer for dinner was great. The service was also better.

[aidanlana]

We did the TA, the food in the MDR left a little to be desired. The food in the Windjammer for dinner was great. The service was also better.

 

I would agree with this observation. I didn't think the MDR provided enough variation in the menus. Service in the windjammer is fantastic and during our cruise last week they had new crew in as well to supplement the existing ones.

[Sailor_Sally]

We were also on the transatlantic . The Windjammer service and food especially deserts were better than the MDR . On the last night they had all you can eat lobster and shrimp in the Windjammer . The MDR was better for lunch than dinner . I discovered a nice outside area on deck 4 that was more relaxing than fighting the crowds at the pool.