Freedom Frenzy Begins -- Cruise Critic Will Be On Board, Will You???

[WatchHill]

Today I stopped by my TA's to make final payment on an NCL cruise and asked if she was going on the FOS as my DH and I had been invited for the two nighter in Boston. She replied that she had been invited, but it was her understanding that many other TA's were receiving phone calls and cancelled at the last minute due to an RCI computer problem.

 

Bugbook53 is correct about RCI's actions. Maybe those CC's who have commented that the FOS is too big are right. It seems RCI lost count of how many passengers fit on their new ship.

 

I feel sorry for those TA's who sell RCI's product only to be "rewarded" in such a unprofessional manner. Yes, they have altered their plans, made air and hotel reservations to visit Boston, and now they don't have the opportunity to sail on the FOS. The scary thing is some TA's won't find out they are off the manifest until they walk into Black Falcon.

 

Darcy

[LDinCT]

Any update on this. Have already purchased tickets, boarded dogs, got a babysitter for the weekend. I will freak if I get to the port and I can't get on?

[PortugueseLady]

Hi all,

 

I need a nice size pic of the Freedom for my desktop at work.

 

All I find are resized or small pic...

 

does anyone have one or a link to one??

 

thanks...:)

[Bookbug53]

Any update on this. Have already purchased tickets, boarded dogs, got a babysitter for the weekend. I will freak if I get to the port and I can't get on?

 

They have a final manifest now. Call RCCL and asked for 'special events'. they can tell you your status. Generally they are saying that if you have not received a call by now you are good to go but I would still check.

[cruzing4me]

yes, the FOS has Johnny Rockets, deck 12 aft starboard side

 

:rolleyes: Just wondering if Johnny Rockets is on the FOS? My kids loved it and the shakes are a meal in itself! I haven't seen anything that indicates or has shown that it is on this ship.

[SecretAgent]

Wow, even though mine was only a 1-day, I would have been extremely disappointed had I gotten the boot. I wouldn't have lost money, and I would have just gone to work as usual, but thankfully that didn't happen. My one day out of Bayonne was terrific!! She's a gorgeous ship and hopefully tonight I'll upload some pics. Everything was spectacular. I drank myself into oblivion!! There are enough bars on this ship to serve a million! (just kidding.) There's about 12 or 15 of them, though! Surfing was fun to watch as they had professionals doing it and doing tricks to boot. Didn't use the pools or hot-tubs but they did look inviting. One night wasn't enough and NY weather wasn't cooperating. 60degrees really isn't pool weather, even if it can be hot tub weather.

 

I didn't find the presidential family suite to be all that terrific. The owner's suite and grand suite were, though!!!

 

The ice show was excellent and we didn't attend the regular show, but heard in the morning that it too was excellent. (spent our time gambling...hehehe) Dinner was good, but not great, deserts were very good. Lunch in Windjammer was typical (in my opinion, not very good.......again, just my opinion.) Breakfast in the dining room was also typical, pretty good.

 

Having never been on any of the Voyager class ships, Freedom was really special. I really liked all the outdoor activities geared to the kids. The spaces on this ship were really nicely done. The halls of the cabins were adored with pictures and there seems to be artwork everywhere you go. Maybe this is the way Voyager ships are also. I went on Legend and it wasn't like that at all.

 

Overall, free was terrific and I really enjoyed myself!!!:) :D

 

So all drinks are free? Including beer, wine and liquor?

[cruisecastle]

So all drinks are free? Including beer, wine and liquor?

 

 

Yes on the preview cruises. Mine is on May 29 everything included all drinks all tips all everything but Casino and spa

[Sail With Me]

I can assure you that this is the planned action. If you are on the bumped list you will NOT board. The fact that they are notifying 'invited guests' that they are no longer invited is more than enough cause for disgust. People have purchased plane tickets, planned vacations around this, altered their work schedules, etc only to be told that they can no longer be 'accommodated'. They are now claiming it is an IT problem. When all else fails blame the computer. I guess someone over there forgot to tell the computer that while the ship is big it is not infinite. This is ridiculous and shameful. And please do not use my name and the word lying in the same sentence.

 

You are 100% corrrect. I am a TA and we were invited in October of 2005. This week many from our company were called and told they were bumped. They had pruchased airline tickets and some were already in a hotel in Boston. The IT department is taking the fall for this but that is ridiculous.

 

We are on the 3 night May 26 sailing over Memorial Day and are going as Diamond Plus members and not TA's. I called RCL and was assured that we can safely fly from San Diego to Miami and that we will not be bumped.

[WatchHill]

Sail With Me, what does the management of your company say about all of their TA's being bumped from the Boston sailing? If it's just your company that's being targeted, it would appear that its managment screwed up, especially since you knew about this since last October.

 

We're off to Boston in the rain and hope we don't run into any irate TA's who are just finding out they are bumped from the FOS.

 

Darcy

[SecretAgent]

Cruise Castle

 

Ours is May 29 as well. Since drinks are included, you will probably see me singing at Karaoke!

 

Yes on the preview cruises. Mine is on May 29 everything included all drinks all tips all everything but Casino and spa

[Sail With Me]

Sail With Me, what does the management of your company say about all of their TA's being bumped from the Boston sailing? If it's just your company that's being targeted, it would appear that its managment screwed up, especially since you knew about this since last October.

 

We're off to Boston in the rain and hope we don't run into any irate TA's who are just finding out they are bumped from the FOS.

 

Darcy

 

It is not just our company, it is across the board. As we were not going on that sailing I have not had any contact with management about it. Apparently everyone who was bumped was notified by Thursday and will not be bumped at the pier.

 

I called RCCL and we are fine for May 26, but we are going as Diamond Plus Members so that may make a difference.

 

All I know is that they had overbooked 500 people and there are alot of upset agents out there. I am sure that some of the 500 are not agents.

[smrtypnts]

As others mentioned. EVERYTHING is included (including parking) except spa and casino. I did tip the casino people bringing me drinks, but I did not tip the bartenders, for some reason. I had drinks from the moment I boarded until I went to bed at 3am! Heck it was only 1 night........had to get it all in in under 24 hours! :D :p

[snoopy_leogirl]

The thought of Freedom Of The Seas guests waiting in line to get professional pics taken on formal night scares me. :eek: Anyone had the same thought? I know not everyone wants those nice pics but still...the line!

[Bookbug53]

The ship is, in a word, 'JAWDROPPING'. Every where you look there is just something a little more amazing. I have pictures we will be posting in a day or so after we get some sort of arranging done. It just seemed as if we were snapping constantly. How I ended up with over 200 pictures in just two days I will never know.

 

MszKitty,

Your bar crawl is off to a good start. Cielo and Terra have signs outside of their respective entries that say 'dining room'. They were never open so I could not get look inside.

Seven Hearts and The Diamond club were being used for meetings when we saw them during the day and at night were empty and we found no bar in them. They may be used for over flow(?) from Olive or Twist. There is also a walk up bar next to the flow rider called Wipe Out. The Crypt is an awesome nightclub but gets very crowded very quickly. The Schooner Bar was a nice place to end the evening with a piano sing along. The entertainer (sorry forgot his name!) is very funny and gets the crowd going. the band in Pharoah's was quite good. Other than that we did not find any you missed.

 

Pools

H2O Zone is fresh water as are the other pools. One employee made the strange comment 'they may change that' but I really do not know that RCCL would do something so dumb. It is designed to be a water park for young kids so fresh is definitely the way to go.

 

We only had two evenings to enjoy the dining room. We were in Galileo's. All three dining rooms are actually open to each other in a three deck open arrangement. They are simply stunning in the decor and the staff was superb. Unfortunately the food (other than the lobster bisque) was just fair. Of course they are just starting out. Give them time. We took pictures of the two menus and they will be posted.

 

No words can adequately describe the Royal Promenade. We enjoyed sitting at Vintages with a a glass of wine and just enjoying the people watching. It was hard to imagine that you were on a ship at these times. They actually have a circus parade in the early afternoon down the promenade and the area gets crowded very quickly. Only two places have 'outside' seating and the tables go fast. Vintages and Bull and Bear Pub have a couple of tables and they were taken by 12:30. The parade started at 1:30. You can stand along the sides and almost any place is good.

 

the night time entertainment shows were the best I have ever seen! 'Once Upon a Time' and 'Marquee' are not to be missed. Stylish, imaginative, and energetic. The singers are top notch.

 

The ice show was good but they are, of course, limited by the small size of the rink.

 

The flow rider looked to be fun (though smaller than I thought) but I can't imagine what the wait would be like with a full ship on a hot day. We were just cruising for two days with over cast weather and very few people used it. The one time the weather was clear and the sun peaked out they were not letting people on because it was being used for one of the challenges of the 'Ultimate Race'. Somethinig modeled on the the Amazing Race. It sounded fun but would have taken far more energy than I was willing to expend at that time. I don't think this will go over very well in the hot Caribbean sun with a full ship!

 

My first inside cabin. No, I won't be booking one. I at least need a window! Fair size and well laid out but too small. The new beds and bedding (due soon on all ships) are wonderful and offered a great nights sleep. We left ours apart because putting them together made the area too crowded to move around the beds. I liked the circular shower with the glass doors as I hate shower curtains. Bathroom was too small for my taste.

 

Best bar tender on board was Nadia. She works in Vintages, the wine bar on the promenade. On just our second visit she already knew what we liked.

 

The ship is relatively easy to get around despite the size. They have put a lot of thought into this layout and I did not find any of the annoying dead ends.

 

Please let me know if you have any specific questions and I will answer as best I can.