One month til our cruise on Freedom of the Seas - tips please!!

[janiss815]

Hi, so so excited!!  We are now only one month away til our sail away.  I can’t seem to find the “secrets” thread and I’m desperately looking for hidden secrets on FOTS.  On NCL a few years back, there were hidden food venues like fish and chips and on Celebrity sushi, etc.  I’m looking for stuff like this and other things to do around the ship that are not very well know.  They don’t have to be free but reasonable as far as cruise pricing go.

 

So far I remember from reading the elusive secrets thread are: Cafe Promenade is free and has good coffee and snacks, we can access the helipad through some secret door.  Ugh I can’t believe that’s all I remember.

[broadwaycam]

44 minutes ago, janiss815 said:

Hi, so so excited!!  We are now only one month away til our sail away.  I can’t seem to find the “secrets” thread and I’m desperately looking for hidden secrets on FOTS.  On NCL a few years back, there were hidden food venues like fish and chips and on Celebrity sushi, etc.  I’m looking for stuff like this and other things to do around the ship that are not very well know.  They don’t have to be free but reasonable as far as cruise pricing go.

 

So far I remember from reading the elusive secrets thread are: Cafe Promenade is free and has good coffee and snacks, we can access the helipad through some secret door.  Ugh I can’t believe that’s all I remember.

Make sure you try Johnny Rockets. It is a charge but so nice sitting at a booth on the water. They have great chili.

[EeyoreRN]

I haven't sailed on her yet (nor until May) so I can't help you out.  But please do write a report with some tips when you return!  There don't seem to be as many trip reports on Freedom as compared to other ships.

[DISFANS3]

9 days left for us. Going on the Freedom also. Tip 1, you pay for the first day, get there early...

[Clarea]

7 hours ago, janiss815 said:

Hi, so so excited!!  We are now only one month away til our sail away.  I can’t seem to find the “secrets” thread and I’m desperately looking for hidden secrets on FOTS.  On NCL a few years back, there were hidden food venues like fish and chips and on Celebrity sushi, etc.  I’m looking for stuff like this and other things to do around the ship that are not very well know.  They don’t have to be free but reasonable as far as cruise pricing go.

 

So far I remember from reading the elusive secrets thread are: Cafe Promenade is free and has good coffee and snacks, we can access the helipad through some secret door.  Ugh I can’t believe that’s all I remember.

 

Too many people have asked for secrets, so unfortunately nothing is secret anymore.

[smilz]

5 hours ago, DISFANS3 said:

9 days left for us. Going on the Freedom also. Tip 1, you pay for the first day, get there early...

Please report back!! We have 32 days!  I agree with the previous poster that there doesn't seem to be much chatter about FOS. I have never sailed that class before so I too would like just some "tips". 

[janiss815]

2 hours ago, Host Clarea said:

 

Too many people have asked for secrets, so unfortunately nothing is secret anymore.

That’s not true, it’s still a secret from thousands of people who don’t do research before their cruise! 😉

[janiss815]

7 minutes ago, smilz said:

Please report back!! We have 32 days!  I agree with the previous poster that there doesn't seem to be much chatter about FOS. I have never sailed that class before so I too would like just some "tips". 

Agree. Haven’t seen new trip reports lately. I think we are on the same sailing. Also our first cruise on FOS. Actually fist ROyal cruise. We’ve been on NCL, Celebrity, Carnival and HAL but haven’t been on a cruise for about 5 years. So we are excited. 

[WisconsinFan]

9 hours ago, janiss815 said:

Hi, so so excited!!  We are now only one month away til our sail away.  I can’t seem to find the “secrets” thread and I’m desperately looking for hidden secrets on FOTS.  On NCL a few years back, there were hidden food venues like fish and chips and on Celebrity sushi, etc.  I’m looking for stuff like this and other things to do around the ship that are not very well know.  They don’t have to be free but reasonable as far as cruise pricing go.

 

So far I remember from reading the elusive secrets thread are: Cafe Promenade is free and has good coffee and snacks, we can access the helipad through some secret door.  Ugh I can’t believe that’s all I remember.

Are you on the April 21 sailing? If so, come join our roll call

 

[janiss815]

6 hours ago, EeyoreRN said:

I haven't sailed on her yet (nor until May) so I can't help you out.  But please do write a report with some tips when you return!  There don't seem to be as many trip reports on Freedom as compared to other ships.

Will do. Let me know there’s anything in particular you want to know. 

[WisconsinFan]

11 minutes ago, smilz said:

Please report back!! We have 32 days!  I agree with the previous poster that there doesn't seem to be much chatter about FOS. I have never sailed that class before so I too would like just some "tips". 

Are you on the April 21 sailing? Please join our roll call 🙂

[WisconsinFan]

10 hours ago, janiss815 said:

So far I remember from reading the elusive secrets thread are: Cafe Promenade is free and has good coffee and snacks, we can access the helipad through some secret door.  Ugh I can’t believe that’s all I remember.

Freedom is one of our favorite ships. We do enjoy going out on the helipad to watch the world go by. My goal this trip as we will be much further south than ever before is to go out there in the dark and look at the night sky. It is about the only place that is completely dark where you can see the night sky. Deck 4 is the promenade deck and you can walk completely around the ship on this deck if you like. It is a nice, quiet place to sit and read in the shade if you would like.

[EeyoreRN]

1 hour ago, janiss815 said:

Will do. Let me know there’s anything in particular you want to know. 

Regarding airfare, I watched for a long time...Fares never went down.  If JetBlue is an option for you, their schedule opens Sunday.  Lowest fares are available when they first come out.  The biggest problem is the Sunday afternoon return, very pricey.  If you can be flexible on times, maybe fly home early Monday morning you can find cheaper rates.  Good luck!

[Eldaph]

26 minutes ago, EeyoreRN said:

Regarding airfare, I watched for a long time...Fares never went down.  If JetBlue is an option for you, their schedule opens Sunday.  Lowest fares are available when they first come out.  The biggest problem is the Sunday afternoon return, very pricey.  If you can be flexible on times, maybe fly home early Monday morning you can find cheaper rates.  Good luck!

I'm currently watching airfare for November.  Although we are closest to Newark, so far it's about $600 cheaper to fly out of Philly on United, which is totally worth the drive for us.  I'm anxiously awaiting JetBlue and SouthWest to release their flight info.  

[janiss815]

12 hours ago, DISFANS3 said:

9 days left for us. Going on the Freedom also. Tip 1, you pay for the first day, get there early...

 

Nice!  Please come back and tell us if you discover any new secrets!  😉  

 

[EeyoreRN]

4 hours ago, Eldaph said:

I'm currently watching airfare for November.  Although we are closest to Newark, so far it's about $600 cheaper to fly out of Philly on United, which is totally worth the drive for us.  I'm anxiously awaiting JetBlue and SouthWest to release their flight info.  

We are from the NYC Metro area and also watched and waited for months.  We were also considering driving to Philly and even BWI for the nearest non-stop Southwest flight. Southwest was pricey from NYC because there's nothing non-stop, and their model is you pay for both legs.  So it's like paying 2 RT fares.  Frontier flies direct from Philly and maybe Islip?  But their fares come out kind of last minute and ended up not being all that cheap when we analyzed.  They also have limited flights so if there's a problem with yours you can be in trouble. 

 

We found JetBlue the best combination of price and convenience. We ended up paying about $367 pp RT for non-stop flights from JFK.  Could have paid less if we could have taken a red-eye on the home-bound flight late Sunday or wee hours of Monday but that wasn't an option for us as we have to work Monday.  Hope it works out for you.  Check Sunday between noon and 2pm for new schedule, and good luck!

[mayleeman]

@janiss815 Thread title: "One month til our cruise on Freedom of the Seas - tips please!!"

 

Hope you get some, but we must remember that a lot of people withhold tips until the cruise is over.

 

Okay, I couldn't resist.

 

Actual tip: I would get a USB extension cord. You can get them as long as 12 feet. Makes using a device while plugged in easier. And security will just see it as a USB cord, especially if you wind it up and have it in a ziplock with the plugs showing--doesn't look like the cords they will be looking for. (I will report on my try during my voyage starting 4/12 on X.)

 

Also, I seem to recall (and others should correct me) that our room on FOS had a plug hidden either inside the bedstand or on a panel behind the bed. Worth looking, at least.

[SG65CB]

12 hours ago, WisconsinFan said:

Deck 4 is the promenade deck and you can walk completely around the ship on this deck if you like. It is a nice, quiet place to sit and read in the shade if you would like.

 

I enjoy walking laps around the promenade deck. On the Freedom, 2.25 laps around the ship on the promenade deck is one mile. You can walk but no jogging. At the front of the ship you actually go up a set of stairs, around past the helicopter pad, then back downstairs. 

[Ashland]

We did a B2B on Freedom this past September. If you have breakfast in the WJ it can be crowded so note that you can sit in Giovanni's...this isn't usually posted as an option. It usually takes people several day's to realize this...so the first few days of each leg we had it to ourselves.

[Ashland]

3 hours ago, mayleeman said:

@janiss815 Thread title: "One month til our cruise on Freedom of the Seas - tips please!!"

 

Hope you get some, but we must remember that a lot of people withhold tips until the cruise is over.

 

Okay, I couldn't resist.

 

Actual tip: I would get a USB extension cord. You can get them as long as 12 feet. Makes using a device while plugged in easier. And security will just see it as a USB cord, especially if you wind it up and have it in a ziplock with the plugs showing--doesn't look like the cords they will be looking for. (I will report on my try during my voyage starting 4/12 on X.)

 

Also, I seem to recall (and others should correct me) that our room on FOS had a plug hidden either inside the bedstand or on a panel behind the bed. Worth looking, at least.

We looked for this plug and our midship JS had none.

[jacobtsf]

6 hours ago, Ashland said:

We did a B2B on Freedom this past September. If you have breakfast in the WJ it can be crowded so note that you can sit in Giovanni's...this isn't usually posted as an option. It usually takes people several day's to realize this...so the first few days of each leg we had it to ourselves.

 

Yes, this is one of the tips I was going to say. They won’t always open it until most of the tables in WJ are full, but when they do sit there, quiet and you will almost always get a window seat. 

[janiss815]

17 hours ago, Ashland said:

We did a B2B on Freedom this past September. If you have breakfast in the WJ it can be crowded so note that you can sit in Giovanni's...this isn't usually posted as an option. It usually takes people several day's to realize this...so the first few days of each leg we had it to ourselves.

 

 

Thank you for this!  I am putting this on the list!!

[janiss815]

21 hours ago, SG65CB said:

 

I enjoy walking laps around the promenade deck. On the Freedom, 2.25 laps around the ship on the promenade deck is one mile. You can walk but no jogging. At the front of the ship you actually go up a set of stairs, around past the helicopter pad, then back downstairs. 

 

Do you know if the jogging track goes completely around?  The deck plan doesn’t show that it does.  I love that we can walk around the ship on the promenade deck.

[Clarea]

2 minutes ago, janiss815 said:

 

Do you know if the jogging track goes completely around?  The deck plan doesn’t show that it does.  I love that we can walk around the ship on the promenade deck.

 

Yes, the jogging track goes completely around on deck 12.  It's shorter than it used to be because of the staterooms added on deck 12 forward.

[SG65CB]

4 hours ago, Host Clarea said:

 

Yes, the jogging track goes completely around on deck 12.  It's shorter than it used to be because of the staterooms added on deck 12 forward.

 

It should be noted that you can't jog during the day because there are lounge chairs all along the track and many people walking around where the track is located. You can jog early in the morning like 6:00 - 7:30 a.m. but then people start arriving on the deck. During the day you can jog on a treadmill in the fitness center.