Mini-review - Freedom of the Seas (mini-cruise!)

[birdlord]

It's been awhile since I've been able to write a little review.... I didn't for our last cruise in November on Oasis, so I wanted to take a few minutes to do a mini-review on our cruise this past weekend on Freedom.

First time ever on a Freedom-class ship.  I loved it, although had little time to see it all since we had no full sea day.  This was a 3 night cruise out of Miami to Coco Cay and Nassau and then home again.  As much as we love the Oasis-class, I thought Freedom was more "manageable" and easier to navigate especially when we just wanted to run to Windjammer for a quick bite from the Solarium area or to wander from one end to the other for whatever reason.  We miss the running track on these ships, but that's not a deal breaker.  Also, it's a BEAUTIFUL ship.  

We, for the first time, had an aft cabin (Stateroom 9406) and we loved it.... the walk to the elevator wasn't really as far as I thought it would be and the balcony was awesome.  Since it's only the two of us, the room (which seems a bit smaller ... maybe by inches) was sufficient.  Our stateroom attendant was awesome, but we're pretty easy going (no special requests).  It took me a day to figure out we weren't getting paper Cruise Compass anymore - but that was not our attendant; apparently they don't do this anymore (though they did on Oasis in November).  We both loved this cabin and would definitely grab it again if we booked on an Freedom-class ship.  There may have been slightly more vibration or movement, but hard to really tell since this cruise didn't have any "high speed" sailing necessary since the Bahamas are so close to Miami.

We had the Ultimate Dining Plan and so no review on the MDR.  I am undecided if I would do this again on a short cruise.  We simply didn't have the time to take advantage of everything.  The service was typical in the venues we ate at (Giovanni's, Chops, Johnny Rockets) - perhaps a bit slow but nothing frustrating.  Chops was somewhat disappointing - the crab cake was really fishy smelling/tasting and I couldn't finish it.  I was underwhelmed overall, which is disappointing.  We've enjoyed Chops in the past.  Also, the UDP has one drawback for us -- people who buy just one night of dining online pre-cruise can reserve, and of course, we are unable to until we board (which we do FIRST thing) but there's never any sweet spot times left - so we miss a lot of opportunities to see a show or participate in an activity that's either before or after a time slot we get.  I think we will pass on it for our next cruise (in May).

The ship was definitely more crowded (assuming close to full capacity - I didn't ask) and I owe that to Spring Break, but even more so, MANY bachelor/bachelorette parties.  Although there were a lot of young people in the crowd, we did not experience any foolishness or obnoxious behavior (more so than normal ! ha) but the hot tubs were INSANELY full -- sometimes looking like twice the capacity.  We stick to the Solarium for the most part, and it too was crowded, at times hard to find seating, but we managed.

The most noticeable thing on this cruise (and I know from chatting online we weren't alone) was the bar service.... obviously they were overwhelmed but they also seemed understaffed - the lines were quite long at times and there weren't nearly as many remote servers as usual.  I think we might have been approached a handful of times the entire cruise, including on Coco Cay.  On Coco Cay, it was nearly impossible to get a drink at the bar if you didn't want to wait a very long time.  I think I had 3 drinks the entire day.  Honestly, drinking less is never a bad thing, but paying for the DBP - I felt this was the first cruise I didn't get my money's worth.  I chose relaxing at the beach over standing in line all day.  I think I would have been better off paying out of pocket per drink this time around.

Embarkation and Disembarkation were flawless.  We opted to fly in the day of the cruise (I know, I know) but everything worked out and when we got to the terminal (2:30 ish) there was virtually no line to get through until we went up for final health check - but even that wasn't bad at all.  We self-assist on disembarkation and that was smooth and fast and easy.

We stayed an extra day in Miami, this time staying at the Downtown Hilton.  It was a nice change, but I do think we prefer the Brickell (north) area.... no complaints though.  

All in all, I wish we had more time to investigate the ship and do more -- 3 nights is not really long enough for us since we fly from Philly, but I was doing it to get the double-points which will bring us to Diamond after our next cruise (in May).  I wasn't sure if we'd like Freedom class, but I would definitely do it again if it were the right situation.  

[pasodancer]

Thank you for sharing your review with us.  It sounds like it was a much-needed relaxing long weekend cruise.  

 

 

[jcarter4551]

Thanks for sharing. We did Freedom 3 night March 4 weekend and our experience was the same as yours with respect to bar service. There weren't servers roaming around the pools asking if you wanted a drink like on prior cruises post-COVID (We did Adventure 7 night, Freedom 4 night - tons of servers and quick bar service). In the casino, you had to go to the bar to get a drink which was a long wait. This killed the vibe of the casino if you were playing and can't get a drink. And, Perfect Day was also a long wait at the swim up bar. We definitely felt that they were seriously understaffed for the increased (or normal) capacity on the cruise ships. 

 

I am happy to see normal capacities and love the vibes on the ships now, but hope they start increasing their staffing. 

[birdlord]

1 hour ago, jcarter4551 said:

I am happy to see normal capacities and love the vibes on the ships now, but hope they start increasing their staffing. 

EXACTLY -- I 100% agree.  It was very noticeable and also disappointing.  It was actually a relief to get to dinner and order a drink and not stand around and wait so long.  I did mention this in my post-cruise review, but not sure Royal will notice.