Freedom of the Seas Sept 27 review

[Eileen G]

We were able to book a great price for a balcony guarantee on the Sept 27^th Freedom cruise that did two stops at Coco Cay and one in Nassau. We received a Royal up offer for a Grand Suite for a minimum bid of $150 and we bid $200. We won the bid and had our first ever suite.

We live in Kissimmee so we drove to the port on Monday morning and parked at the parking garage which is attached to the terminal. This was super easy. There is a new tunnel which makes getting there easy. When you get out of the parking garage elevator you are right at the terminal entrance. Our arrival time was 1:30 and we arrived at 12:30 and had no trouble getting on the ship. We went to the suit line and had all out papers checked then were taken to the elevator to the suite lounge where we were checked in and on the ship in no time. As we walked to the front elevators and past our muster station there were crew members who quickly demonstrated how to put on a life jacket and scanned our sea pass to show we had completed the drill. So easy!!

Stopped at the WJ for lunch. Every other table was unavailable and only one side was open but it wasn’t too crowded. Went to our suite and there was a nice fruit arrangement and about ten chocolate covered strawberries. We had a great location on deck 10 near the forward elevators. I wasn’t sure I would like being on deck 10 but we really loved it. Only one flight up to the pool deck and WJ, it was very quiet and we never felt the ship move. Really nice balcony with padded lounge chairs and a nice table with padded chairs. We could really get used to the suite life.

We had two stops at Coco Cay and we really enjoyed that. We didn’t rush to the beach and easily found lounge chairs in the shade of palm trees with an umbrella. We only had 1100 on board so there was plenty of room. Even on the second day when we were with the Mariner there was plenty of room. We really loved the pool. It is beautifully landscaped with islands in the middle which give you shade. There are concrete benches in the water in the shade which make it perfect to sit back with a pina colada and people watch.

There are two buffet areas which serve the same food, Chill Grill and Skippers Grill. We walked along Chill Beach as far as Coco Beach Club. South Beach was not opened. We went back to the ship to have lunch in the WJ but found out it wasn’t opened. Our choice on the ship was Loco Fresh, Café Promenade or Sorrentos. We headed back to the island and had a really good cheese steak sub. We went snorkeling the second day and it was OK. We saw a couple of sting rays in the water that was knee deep.

We stayed on the ship is Nassau. You needed to take your vaccination card and wear a mask all the time or face a $250 fine or one month in jail. The weather was still pretty hot so wearing a mask all the time didn’t appeal to us. There was plenty to do on the ship with the rock climbing wall, miniature golf, water slides, shuffle board, flowrider, just to name a few. There was even trivia every hour in the Schooner Lounge.

We were told to make reservations for the shows but we really didn’t need to. Two nights there were a comedians at ten. One night a female singer who did a Whitney Houston show at ten. Another night there was the production show ‘Once upon a time’ at 8 and 10. There was also the ice show one  night at 7 and 9. It was repeated on the last night at 9.

We really enjoyed the ship. It has a great promenade outside deck that goes all around the ship and up to the heliport. The theater is nice and large with good seating. There are plenty of hot tubs but the two in the solarium close at 8 so we never got to go in them. The service in the dining room was very good and the head waiter stopped by the table twice every night. We would definitely cruise on the Freedom again.

[homedepot124]

We were on the same cruise as the original poster.   We had a spacious balcony on deck 8 just behind the hump rooms.  The ship looks great.  We hung out around Oasis pool on CocoCay both days we were there.  They really were Perfect Days at CocoCay.  Did not get off the ship in Nassau.  We went to the ice show on Tuesday night and the production show on Wednesday night and both were good shows.  Like the original poster, I would definitely cruise on Freedom again.  My only regret was that we did not do back-to-back with a three day weekend cruise before or after the four day cruise. 

[alexgtp]

We are just off her last week. Have to say how much we loved Coco Cay. We had about 1100 also. I wonder if that is the magic number for Freedom? I see alot of ppl using the 1100 number.

[boggtclubb]

Do you recall if masks are required in the casino?

[alexgtp]

 

On 10/4/2021 at 7:48 PM, homedepot124 said:

We were on the same cruise as the original poster.   We had a spacious balcony on deck 8 just behind the hump rooms.  The ship looks great.  We hung out around Oasis pool on CocoCay both days we were there.  They really were Perfect Days at CocoCay.  Did not get off the ship in Nassau.  We went to the ice show on Tuesday night and the production show on Wednesday night and both were good shows.  Like the original poster, I would definitely cruise on Freedom again.  My only regret was that we did not do back-to-back with a three day weekend cruise before or after the four day cruise. 

OMG I wonder if we were your neighbor's. We were in one of the hump room's! Floor 8. Hope I did not snore too loud 😁

[island284]

19 minutes ago, boggtclubb said:

Do you recall if masks are required in the casino?

Masks were not required IN the casino. 

[Bogg]

When did you receive notification that your Royal Up bid was accepted?

[Biker19]

24 minutes ago, Bogg said:

When did you receive notification that your Royal Up bid was accepted?

It can come at any time between bidding and boarding -though more likely inside the week before sailing.

[vegascruiser1]

We were on this same cruise and also got the Royal Up to a Grand Suite. We found out 4 days before the cruise. Everything was wonderful and we are looking forward to our cruise on the Freedom next month. 

[Eileen G]

We booked this cruise last minute on Sept 8th. received the Royal up on Sept 22th. Cruise was Sept 27th.