FREEDOM SPRING BREAK trip report with PICS! 3/25-3/31

[kwazi07]

Welcome back! Excited to hear your review. Got a future cruise booked?

 

 

 

Sadly not yet :( we tried using the Next Cruise office last cruise and we weren’t impressed, and plus the dates are pretty far out so we will have to think about it.

 

We’re also thinking of trying another line (NCL or X, or even Carnival again). Not that we had a bad experience!!! Just want something a little different. Might have to make an exception for an Oasis class though...

 

 

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[kwazi07]

Oasis Class will be something completely different to the Nav and Freedom. Harmony could be decent pricing given that she is no longer the new kid on the block. I think that X is probably geared to an older crowd.

 

 

 

I thought that too, about Harmony. Plus they’re moving her to Port Canaveral which is closer to where I live. I really want to do the Eastern Caribbean itinerary because we’ve only done Western. And everyone I talked to onboard raves about Harmony.

 

I’ll have to consider X before we book (obvi) but I’m really considering NCL bc the experience is pretty different. I don’t know that much about NCL but I still want some of the traditional cruise activities (I love trivia, haha).

 

 

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[kwazi07]

 

One last WJ breakfast...

 

 

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[starrcards]

How often do they serve the escargot now?

 

 

 

Thanks. Nice to know. What did they serve the first formal night? Prime rib?

 

If I remember correctly escargot was served on nights 1, 2 and 4. On night 4 I was not liking any of the entrees so I just had 4 appetizers, escargot, onion soup, caprese salad and caesar salad. Prime rib was the entree on the first formal night.

 

If they try to serve you the coconut "pudding", run like hell and never look back.:eek::eek: :eek:

 

On our February Oasis cruise, escargots were only on the menu 2 or 3 nights. We missed escargots night 1 due to FNDR (150 Central Park was worth it) and I asked the next night if they were available even though they were not on the menu. Based on our waiter's reaction, you'd have thought I asked him to jump overboard into shark infested waters. Basically the answer was "NO WAY." Better luck to you on your cruise.

[mwne2nks]

We are sailing on FOTS in 13 days ! Eastern Caribbean for a 8 day. We are going with many friends and have done this trip before, but we enjoy the ports.

 

I wish I had gotten to enjoy cruising at your age, seriously trying to make u for lost time now !

 

Good reviews.

[LadyBeBop]

Andy, I can’t wait to hear more. It’s going to be a long week before we set sail.

[kwazi07]

Hi guys! I meant to start writing on the car ride home, but I was frankly exhausted. I’m home now and mostly unpacked. Just got back from getting some Vietnamese food, where we actually saw a fellow cruiser on our sailing! I saw a Royal Caribbean shirt that looked familiar and the guy looked somewhat familiar, and what are the odds? So we decided to ask them after we finished eating and it turns out that they just got off Freedom today too! Crazy that we get off the same ship, live in the same area, and go to the same restaurant for dinner. I’ve said this multiple times on this thread, but it is SUCH a small world. Anyways, shall we?

 

(Before I start I just want to let you guys know you can chime in with questions or comments whenever you want--don’t wait until the end!)

 

I kind of left us off at dinner, but I need to fill in some gaps before then. I tried to post updates onboard the day of embarkation but I was getting really spotty service.

 

We parked at Park N’ Go near the port. It was pretty efficient--we prepaid online, so we had a printout for them to scan. We pulled in, were given a ticket to hold on to, unloaded the luggage, gave them the keys to the car, and hopped on the shuttle. It didn’t take long to fill up so we were off! The ride to the port was very short distance wise, but it did take a while due to traffic. Terminal 29 is pretty sectioned off compared to other terminals at Port Everglades, so it gets congested, especially with a ship as large as Freedom.

 

We pulled up to the port probably around 10:20, but as we were giving wine to my cousins and their parents, we had to wait until the shuttle from their hotel brought them to the port. While I was waiting I noticed some Autism on the Seas staff waiting near the entrance of the building. I saw them around the ship quite a bit--is this like a group cruise? They were there soon enough (maybe around 10:45?), and as we walked into the terminal there was very little line for security. The line for the check in desk was a little longer, but it moved at a reasonable pace. SeaPasses in hand, we walked through the terminal to the ship. We didn’t have to wait at all!

 

 

Before I knew it, we were on the gangway! The picture above was taken at 11:36, so pretty efficient! You can see all of my family in this pic: my dad and uncle all the way up front, my little sister behind them, then my two cousins and brother, followed by my mom and aunt, and then me in the back (taking the photo).

 

After a little confusion about the safety wristbands for my younger cousin, we were inside the ship! Since we sailed on Navigator barely a year ago, it was very familiar and comfortable. First impressions weren’t as “wow” as I had felt on Navigator, but I still thought the ship was great!

 

I ran up to the guest services deck before lunch to get my card punched. They did it way too close to the corner; I eventually went back to get it repunched with the more secure oval punch instead of a regular hole punch.

As expected the Windjammer was mobbed. I was so excited for the cruise that I wasn’t particularly hungry, I just got a salad and some pasta. We ended up finishing lunch around 1:15 (everything takes longer when there’s more of you). Rooms were almost ready so we figured we should just wait until they let us in the hallways. Clearly others had the same idea. People were gathering around the hallway entrances waiting until rooms were ready.

 

We first all went to my dad and brother’s room, the Ben and Jerry’s “Sweet”. For those of you who don’t know, the “sweet” is a mostly normal promenade stateroom, stateroom 6305. However, due to the obstructed view due to the cows on top of the Ben and Jerry’s, there are some benefits. Most apparent upon walking in the door are the cow themed decorations, which are pretty cute. You also get seven complimentary cups of ice cream per person, so 14 per cruise! By far the best benefit, though, is the gold card. You get concierge lounge access and access to the reserved seating areas by the pool, in the theatre, and in Studio B. They seemed to enjoy the concierge lounge, and the seating in the theatre was convenient.

 

 

 

 

 

 

As you can see, the view wasn’t even THAT obstructed. You had to stand, but you could still see down to the promenade. My dad complained of some noise, but he would still recommend this room. We booked it just short of a year out, so you may have to reserve it early!

 

 

 

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[kwazi07]

Our cousins had a balcony cabin and a promenade cabin midship, so we split up and went to our room, a deluxe balcony cabin, the last on the hump, 7648. This is one of the few hump rooms that fit three, and we had the same (relative) room on Navigator so we decided to book it again. It was pretty much identical to Navigator, same orientation and gap between bed and balcony due to the hump. The balcony did have a small third chair which was nice--do other hump cabins have the same?

 

 

 

 

My cousins met us at the room, so we did our tradition of touring the ship top to bottom, starting up in the Viking Crown. They were wowed by the view, even remarking “how can this be the same ocean up by us?”. We also watched kids on the Flowrider for a little. The line was pretty long, especially for the first day.

 

We eventually made it down to the Royal Promenade. Since we hadn’t eaten in two hours, we were clearly wasting away. So to commence the weight gain, we had a second lunch at the Cafe Promenade. The desserts were just okay, but the roti wrap that was filled with a curry chicken salad was pretty tasty! I saw this again occasionally on the cruise.

 

One thing I noticed in the Cafe Promenade was that the food in the case was display only, they had to grab the food off the cart or go in the back to get your food. Is this new? If I remember correctly, it wasn’t this way previously. Obviously nothing major, but just something I noticed.

 

My cousins needed to thaw from the cold weather up north, so they went swimming before muster. My sister tagged along too, and I sat at the pool deck for a little before heading back to the room to see if our bags arrived. It was VERY busy at the pool, especially for the first day. Maybe the “secret” that swimming on embarkation day is not crowded isn’t a secret anymore…

 

 

Muster was scheduled for 4:15, so I got my sister from the pool at 3:45 so she could dry off before the drill. Muster was pretty normal, except for someone walking up the gangway (whcih was right in front of our muster station), luggage in hand, boarding the ship during muster. Couldn’t imagine how the anal side of me would have coped if I was boarding during muster… Everyone was quiet when the captain (and others) were talking which was a definite change from Navigator last year, where everyone was so loud you couldn’t hear what was said.

 

Once muster was over we went back to the room to get ready for dinner. Our bags still hadn’t come yet. I closed the door, mentioned something to my mom how we were some of the first to drop our bags off but still hadn’t gotten our bags, then heard a thud on the door. Turns out it was our luggage! Speak of the devil (?) I guess. I went up to the pool to return my sister’s towel, and when I was up at the pool I got a glimpse of Allure leaving port, and the sailaway party (featuring Dreamworks characters).

 

 

 

Up next: our first sailaway not spent outside, and dinner with new menus!

 

(I’m exhausted, it has been a long day. Might finish day one tonight, but I might not as well. I will still answer your questions!)

 

 

 

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[Cruisy McGee]

Thank you so much for sharing, Andy. I am sharing this with my kids who are your age. We board Freedom next Sunday for the same itinerary, so we're all interested in your perspective. It will be the teens' first cruise.

[ahill13]

It looks like the Freestyle machines are on the Freedom. Do you recall if it had sparkling water? I am considering a drink package mostly because of it.

[Elerja]

It looks like the Freestyle machines are on the Freedom. Do you recall if it had sparkling water? I am considering a drink package mostly because of it.

We were on this cruise and one of the only things we were disappointed in were the freestyle machines. The majority of the diet sodas weren't working from day 1. In most locations there are 2 machines and one was always out of order. I don't know about sparkling water, but even if it is an option it might not be available your entire cruise.

 

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[Ethelfleda]

Loving this review, Andy.. thank you for sharing your perspective!

[sandc4e]

Great job Andy, we are sailing FOS for the first time in September. Looking forward to your experience.

 

Sheila

[kwazi07]

Thank you so much for sharing, Andy. I am sharing this with my kids who are your age. We board Freedom next Sunday for the same itinerary, so we're all interested in your perspective. It will be the teens' first cruise.

 

I hope they have fun--I sure did!

 

It looks like the Freestyle machines are on the Freedom. Do you recall if it had sparkling water? I am considering a drink package mostly because of it.

 

I did not have a drink package, but what Elerja said is very true. I believe there were two machines by Sorrentos and two in the Windjammer, and one by Sorrentos was always broken. On the plus side, there never seemed to be any lines.

[kwazi07]

Loving this review, Andy.. thank you for sharing your perspective!

 

Of course!

 

Great job Andy, we are sailing FOS for the first time in September. Looking forward to your experience.

 

Sheila

 

Enjoy your cruise!

[tawaik]

Enjoying your review!

[torgotom]

Great report. I am on freedom right now headed for St. Kitts. What superb service. And a fun ship

[hkmom]

This is so awesome. My bf and I are sailing on the 8 day on 4/48.

 

Cruising as a teen is so much fun. I started at age 14 and haven’t stopped. I’m 54, my daughters 22 and 25 and they were on ships as soon as they were pottty trained. They have been on 28 and 26 cruises respectively. When they turned 18 it was very very sad for them.

 

We are all diamond on rccl .

[jdelta]

Many thanks Andy.....

 

Sailing FOTS on 28 April, so we're enjoying the detail of your posts.

 

Joe

Halifax, Canada

[kwazi07]

Great report. I am on freedom right now headed for St. Kitts. What superb service. And a fun ship

 

 

Thank you! I thought the service was very good as well, and I loved the ship :)

 

Enjoying your review!

 

 

Thank you!

 

This is so awesome. My bf and I are sailing on the 8 day on 4/48.

 

 

 

Cruising as a teen is so much fun. I started at age 14 and haven’t stopped. I’m 54, my daughters 22 and 25 and they were on ships as soon as they were pottty trained. They have been on 28 and 26 cruises respectively. When they turned 18 it was very very sad for them.

 

 

 

We are all diamond on rccl .

 

 

Have fun...but when is 4/48? Haha...

Sounds like your daughters are quite the experienced cruisers! I’m definitely looking to take more cruises in the future, my friends and I are thinking about taking one together after college.

 

Many thanks Andy.....

 

Sailing FOTS on 28 April, so we're enjoying the detail of your posts.

 

Joe

Halifax, Canada

 

 

Thank you! Enjoy your cruise!

[GetMeOutOfOklahoma1403]

I am really loving reading this review! We are going on our first cruise January 13 on Freedom of the Seas. It's a Southern Caribbean cruise and we leave from San Juan.

[kwazi07]

Hi guys! Sorry for the delay in posts...senioritis is real and I still have a lot of makeup work to do. I will try to upload an update or two tonight!

[MightyMike]

We saw Love, Simon which I absolutely LOVED. It was so good and was a roller coaster ride of emotions. We laughed, cried and everything in between. I can relate so much to Simon, but it’s a movie for everyone and I would definitely urge you guys to see it if you’re interested! I’m still a little emotional about it, haha.

 

Right now I’m on my way to the mall to get some new cruise clothes [emoji4]

 

 

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Thanks for the movie recommendation. My partner and I finally got a free night to see it. Very nicely done. Glad we got a chance to see it before it leaves the theaters.

 

We are interested in reading more of your review as it becomes available. We will be cruising next year at this time for spring break with our son. We actually are booked on both Royal Caribbean and Celebrity and are deciding which one to cancel.

[kwazi07]

Thanks for the movie recommendation. My partner and I finally got a free night to see it. Very nicely done. Glad we got a chance to see it before it leaves the theaters.

 

 

 

We are interested in reading more of your review as it becomes available. We will be cruising next year at this time for spring break with our son. We actually are booked on both Royal Caribbean and Celebrity and are deciding which one to cancel.

 

 

 

Of course! Glad you enjoyed.

 

And I PROMISE I’ll be posting more...I have both a psych project and a gov one to do tonight. I’d definitely recommend this cruise for your son, but depending on what your son likes Celebrity could work too. For example, even though I like all the activities and such of RCI, it would be nice to be able to chill by the pool on Celebrity without any of the FOMO, haha.

 

 

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[kwazi07]

Okay, I promised an update, so it’s time for our first dinner!

 

Since we chose early seating dinner, and sailaway was scheduled for 5:30, I was worried about missing the sailaway. We usually watch it from the balcony, so this year had to be different. We emailed our travel agent about requesting a certain table and while she was able to do this, the diagram that was sent to us didn’t show if the table to the window. So I was very surprised to see that our tabe 421 was a nice table right next to the huge window on the second floor of the dining room (Isaac’s)! I have a picture of our table, but I took it later in the cruise so I can’t find it. In the meantime, these poor quality screenshots of a video I posted to my Instagram story will show you how great our table was:

 

 

 

That video was taken around 5:50, we had a little late departure. However, it made sure that we were all situated to watch the ship depart!

 

We had heard that new menus were spreading fleetwide and that was the case on Freedom. The new menus were pretty similar to the old, but offered fewer options. Only two desserts changed each night! Here is the night one menu:

 

 

I decided to try the escargots, because I had heard some people say they weren’t available every night. They were exactly the same as they had been on past cruises--pretty good. I used to LOVE dipping the bread (which is now left on the table) in the butter, but for some reason the thought of that now makes me sick.

 

 

We never got a formal introduction from our waiter (whose name turned out to be Gemy), and our assistant waiter was nonexistent. A woman wearing a Cupcake Cupboard uniform was refilling our drinks, but otherwise service the first night was VERY underwhelming. But spoiler alert: it does get better!

 

Our waiter also brought us a few plates of the calamari, which I did not have the chance to sample. I’m not usually a fan of calamari but in this case it was pretty enjoyable. It wasn’t chewy at all, but I do wish it was a little crunchier.

 

For my entree I opted for the prime rib, which is kind of a first night tradition for me. It was tasty, but I ordered it medium rare it it was overdone. It was still super tender, but still overdone. I would have sent it back, but I don’t know, it didn’t seem worth it.

 

 

Dining room desserts (which are now ordered with the appetizers and entrees) are usually either big hit or huge miss. I always order them anyways, hoping for that hit. Tonight, it actually was right in the middle. I had ordered the warm hazelnut chocolate cake. The cake seemed to be a little underdone, but the flavors were there. The nuts on top were good as well.

 

 

Overall, the first night dining room experience was just a little bit below my expectations. The food was pretty much as good as it was on Navigator, but the service tonight left a little to be desired. I was more concerned about my aunt and uncle--it was their first cruise so it had to be perfect (I know it’s not realistic but still)!

 

Up next: our first evening onboard + Cruise Compii (I have the kids and teen ones too)!

 

 

 

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Edited April 4, 2018 by kwazi07