My cursory review of Freedom Med cruise (10/15-10/23)

[CruisinShips]

I'm going to do a real quickie list of random thoughts...there are some other really great and more detailed reviews but I thought I might just add another take. It was our first cruise as Diamonds, and my first time on the Freedom. Been on the Oasis a couple of times, the Allure, the Liberty, Navigator, Sovereign, and Majesty, Radiance, and Vision. We are a couple in our mid 50s, traveling just the two of us.

 

Overall impression of the ship was very positive. It's my take that when you have done several cruises in the Caribbean like I have, those cruises are more about the ship. On a cruise like this one where the ports are the stars (for us at least), it's less about the ship. That said, I had read some less than flattering comments on the condition of the ship, but we thought it looked great. Absolutely nothing negative there.

 

We have been fortunate enough to stay in suites on many of our cruises, and we had a GS on this one (deck 10, 1578). Loved it. Great central location, very clean room. Bed was a little hard, but not worth complaining about from my perspective. Long days on tours followed by dinner and cocktails = good nights' sleep for me! Our attendant Corina was delightful.

 

I know people aren't supposed to watch much TV on cruises, but for the life of me I can't understand why the programming is so horrible and limited on these ships. We typically have the TV on when we are in our cabin, and usually like to fall asleep with it on. I know that's weird to some, but what can I tell you. Same shows over and over for a week. By the end it feels like torture.

 

Internet (Voom) was absolutely horrible. Biggest complaint of the whole experience for me. Often couldn't connect, connection dropped, speeds torturously slow. Maybe it's the itinerary/location...maybe it's better on the Caribbean itinerary, but I actually considered asking for a refund (didn't ask).

 

Food: MDR food was really bad for me. I am not one who goes with gourmet expectations...in fact I have come to expect the food to be just fair, but this was pretty bad. I had ordered eggplant parm the first night and it came in a little cassarole boat and it looked like soup with oil and sauce. Prime rib was kind of gray and rubbery. We ended up eating at Chops and Giovanni's twice each, and all four of those meals were very good and with very good service. We did a galley tour on the final sea day and were very impressed with the behind the scenes operation. Very clean, very organized and they seem to really care and want the food to be good. The chef who led the tour was very impressive and it was unfortunate to see that he really believed the quality was better than we found it to be.

 

Room service (we had for breakfast early in the mornings before the ship docked) was very good and was always delivered on time. They do an excellent job in that area. We also had breakfast in Chops (suite perk) twice and it was very good.

 

Suite/Diamond stuff: Having been on the Oasis and the Allure on our last two cruises with the wonderful SL and Coastal Kitchen on them....something that honestly defines our cruise experience on Oasis class ships...the CL on this ship is a joke. It had the feel of a depressing windowless room. The espresso/cappochino machine was broken for the entire week, and thanks to being Diamond for the first time, we rarely went there (in spite of choosing Deck 10 for that convenience). The Diamond Lounge was expanded out into the Olive n Twist lounge because of all of the diamonds on board (soooo many were doing the b2b with the repositioning cruise) and we enjoyed that room very much. That became our evening hangout.

 

Crew/Staff: While there are some wonderful "WOW!" level staffers, there are also plenty of them who seem disinterested, tired, short, and not on their games. But generally we find the bartenders, wait staff and attendants we gravitated towards were nice and were happy to engage and help.

 

Itinerary: Spectacular. Weather was absolutely perfect. We booked independant tours at 4 of the 5 port days and loved each one. Days were long, but we wouldn't change a thing. Barcelona, Provence, Nice/Monaco, Cinque Terre, Rome/Vatican, Amalfi Coast/Positano, Barcelona....what could be bad?

 

Fellow Cruisers: Older crowd than a Caribbean cruise, way fewer kids (good for us mid-50s types), and significantly European blend of cruisers. Again, it was amazing how many people were doing the b2b.

 

Shows: Didn't see a single one! Tours from 7:30 to 5, cocktails in the DL from 6:30-8, Dinner from 8-10, walk around a little and maybe another drink. Sleep; repeat.

 

Overall we loved the week. Positives made it great, negatives didn't matter that much.

 

Hope that helped someone out there!

[easyboy]

Glad the negatives didn’t affect your great week. Appreciate the feedback.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[CruisinShips]

The negatives were relatively insignificant compared to the wonderful time we had. If that was somehow lost in my comments...this cruise was one of our best ever!! I'd 100% recommend it to anyone considering it.

 

The itinerary alone was amazing.

[mac_tlc]

Thank you for your review -- We were originally booked on this cruise but had to cancel. I am surprised about the internet. Must be the location. When we cruised the Freedom in the Caribbean, the internet was excellent -- as fast or faster than the Oasis.

 

mac_tlc