LIVE From 10/15 Freedom of the Seas "Crown & Anchor" Cruise

[glgolfer]

Finally got on when everything is working fairly well. Finally got a chance today to explore the ship and take pictures. I have all of Huntster Chris's sexy legs performance recorded for posterity. If he pays me enough I won't post a streaming video on the internet.

As everyone says the internet is very slow. Almost painfully so.

In a D1 cabin that is a little smaller on the inside than on Voyager class ships and there is less actual storage. The balcony is bigger abd the new bedding is very good. More later.

[Murphy]

Anne,

 

I'm really hoping Abe is going to the Liberty, too!

 

And last question (I promise), have you happened to hear whether Cindy, the Loyalty Ambassador is going to the Liberty? She wasn't sure when we were on the Freedom, but I would be thrilled to see her again, too.

 

Now I promise, promise, promise to stop bothering you! Can you tell how excited I am to finally be booked for an inaugural cruise?

 

Lynn

I was on the Freedom last week and the Diamond Club Loyalty Ambassador was Dianne and the future cruise sale Loyalty Ambassador was Jean. No Cindy that I was aware of...

[Michelle!]

This will be very brief for me too! This ship is so great! I can't wait to rebook...

 

The cruise critic Freedom Lovers enjoyed a wonderful excursion yesterday arranged by Jan (whit). Thank you Jan! If anyone is ever thinking of booking the reef snorkel/stingray/rum point excursion through nativeway, I would not hesitate to recommend!

 

The pink boas are everywhere on this ship, and really add so much to the environment!

 

Our little group of friends also had dinner in Chops last night, it was the best meal I have had onboard so far. We had the pleasure of Al Katz the ship's comedian as one of our tablemates. Other than his Canadian bashing (eh:D :rolleyes: ) it was alot of fun. But the highlight was Ladylawyer's husband Bill, bringing light and laughter as he has every night to our table.

 

That's all for this kiddo right now! Take care...

[emmy]

This will be very brief for me too! This ship is so great! I can't wait to rebook...

 

The cruise critic Freedom Lovers enjoyed a wonderful excursion yesterday arranged by Jan (whit). Thank you Jan! If anyone is ever thinking of booking the reef snorkel/stingray/rum point excursion through nativeway, I would not hesitate to recommend!

 

The pink boas are everywhere on this ship, and really add so much to the environment!

 

Our little group of friends also had dinner in Chops last night, it was the best meal I have had onboard so far. We had the pleasure of Al Katz the ship's comedian as one of our tablemates. Other than his Canadian bashing (eh :rolleyes: ) it was alot of fun. But the highlight was Ladylawyer's husband Bill, bringing light and laughter as he has every night to our table.

 

That's all for this kiddo right now! Take care...

 

Hi Michelle~

While you were enjoying dinner at Chops last evening we were enjoying Portofino along with a table of Hosts From cruise critic.. dinner was totally awesome and service excellent..thanks Joselito:)

 

DH Rick had fun on the flowrider with Huntster ( Chris)..I have pictures and video to proove it

 

ICe skating show was very good..missed the quick change act though as they have a new act..still excellent... Pink Boa Power :)

 

Today just stayed on the ship in MoBay..great lunch at Johnny Rockets and need to get ready for formal night...

 

Oh yes Host Dan also did very well on the Flowrider..I have Pictures Dan:) :)

[emmy]

Good afternoon, everyone! Today is Thursday, I believe you are in Montego Bay, Jamaica! I will never forget the warm welcome we received there on Freedom's inaugural!

 

How was Rum Point and the weather yesterday? Hope all you who went had a great time!

 

Emmy, if you check out this thread, we have some news regarding an old dear, dear, friend...:p

 

Hope the time goes reeeeeeaaaaallll slow the rest of the week for you!

 

Hi Mary...oh news..good cause I have some too re our Friend to tell you:)

 

Also have a date tomorrow late afternoon with the Loyalty Ambassador:)I am bringing along a new friend there

 

Rum Point was excellent..perfect perfect weather, the drive went great ..no wrong turns

 

Yes when Carol B and I got off the ship in Jamaica we remarked how we missed the red carpet they had for us on June 4 sailing and Shaggy..

 

Okay coming by the Explorer thread to say hello now

[Terfer]

Evening All ~

 

It's Thursday, 7:00p.m. Toronto time...so you must either be having or getting ready for Formal Dinner # 2. May you all have a fantastic time.

 

Your posts are terrific - keep them coming - they're the next best thing to being there...well, almost. :p

 

Emmy, Chris, Carol, Roberta, et al...looking forward to your wonderful stories and pictures upon your return.

 

Em & Rick - thanks for the excellent Anniversary Card - perfect timing and so thoughtful.

 

Hope the rest of your cruise is everything you're hoping for.

 

Lots of Love,

Teri & Tony

[dougnewmanatsea]

Laura,

 

Glad that all is going well. Please say hello to all the other Hosts for me!

 

Things are OK here aside from the server troubles. Clearly one of our servers knows that you're gone and is acting up. I guess they do not realize that Kim is a very good substitute Laura :) .

 

Anyhow, keep having FUN, and be glad I'm not there to whine and complain about how awful mega-ships are and they can't do proper tea and the enrichment lecturers are no good and they shouldn't use plastic cups at the buffet and ;) ...

 

PS: If I were Dan I wouldn't just give you permission to share that video, I'd want you to share it! He's great! How on earth do people do that FlowRider thing? I don't think I could even surf on land (No, not "land"... I mean not on a ship... Well, you kow what I mean!) let alone on a ship. I have awful balance - maybe this is why I never get seasick ;) ? (If so, since I love storms, I'll take the non-seasickness over good balance!)

 

PPS: Yes Anne, the cabins are great (for a mass-market ship), assuming they're similar to the VOYAGER-class ones, which were designed by Yran & Storbraaten who also do the cabins for Silversea, Regent, Seabourn, EUROPA and so on.

[NAHA]

Emmy, great to hear from you! Sounds like Coz was a blast! Was it as hot as when we were there?

 

Who might your new friend be who is booking Explorer? Hmmmmmm? :D

 

When you said you had three bottles of wine at Portofino's, I became concerned that you were there for a real long time again...but I see service went great!

 

Can't wait to talk to you! But I hope the time goes slow for you and all the Freedom lovers!

[NAHA]

Emmy glad to see you are having a good time and that the weather is good!

 

Who could be your new friend that you escorted to the Loyalty Ambassador? Hmmmm?

 

Having problems posting here all week, they disappear, my password got messed up, had to get a new one....

 

Looking forward to talking to you, but I hope the rest of the week goes by verrry slowly for all the Freedom Lovers! :D :cool:

[NAHA]

There you see!

 

My original post did not show up after I submitted it, now it is there! :confused: :)

[seamour]

fairly new to CC, we are sailing on FOS next August, so I am loving this thread. Thanks to all who are posting, it's great to read. I would love to hear more about the pub crawl. And I have to ask, what exactly IS the pink boa society ? (besides some people who have alot of fun ! )

TIA

Mic

[ladylawyer]

Greetings from the Freedom!

 

First off, BPS is not a "what"; it's a "who." And there are a lot of us on board! I wore mine tonight, for 2nd formal night. Be looking for our Holiday Card, which will be a picture of DH and me in front of the beautiful Morgan that is parked in front of Vintages.

 

I honestly have to say that my concerns about overcrowding were, for the most part, unfounded. There are the usual crowds entering/exiting venues, such as shows, and I won't even go into the nightmare they call embarkation, but there are a lot of nooks and crannies where you can be totally alone. I really like this ship ... a lot!

 

BTW, I have previously posted that the best Mojito I'd ever had was in Boleros on the Monarch. Well, there's a new champion ... Adrianne, from PI, at the Boleros on the Freedom. He's my new best friend! ;) We have a standing "date" every evening, before dinner. It's OK, I introduced Bill to him tonight.

 

I'm having a great time with Mimikens and Michelle!, as well as other BPS folks. I watched Emmy's husband, Rick, and Chris "Huntster" on the FlowRider, today. Rumor has it that Mimikens will take a shot at it tomorrow (... uh, today ... looking at my clock). Not me, baby! I'm happy to sit in the shade and take pix! :D

 

Despite my trepidation, I swam with the stingray in GC. I can recommend NativeWay, for their great excursion ... and have to thank Jan (Whit53) for putting the trip together.

 

I can't believe this trip is nearly over ... after anticipating it for 16 months! I'll post more when the internet connex is faster and cheaper! LOL!

 

Chat later! ~ Lorna

[wrp96]

Greetings from the Freedom!

 

First off, BPS is not a "what"; it's a "who." And there are a lot of us on board! I wore mine tonight, for 2nd formal night. Be looking for our Holiday Card, which will be a picture of DH and me in front of the beautiful Morgan that is parked in front of Vintages.

 

I'll send you my address. I want pictures.

 

BTW, I have previously posted that the best Mojito I'd ever had was in Boleros on the Monarch. Well, there's a new champion ... Adrianne, from PI, at the Boleros on the Freedom. He's my new best friend! ;) We have a standing "date" every evening, before dinner. It's OK, I introduced Bill to him tonight.

 

Ooh, they must be really good as the mojitos on Monarch are tops!

[Barnisdad]

Emmy,

 

We are all dying to hear who your new friend is who might be joining us on the Explorer. I hope I have to add a few new names to my "hat list". Anybody else who might be interested in finding out what the "PBS' is all about is welcome to join us too. We are going on the Explorer on April 25, 2008. Of course, there is already a very active thread.

 

Mr. Sexy Flamingo Legs

[zodiacman]

I have read reports from fair to excellent re. food quality on Freedom. Before I make final payment for Jan 07 i wish to be sure the food quality is at least good. I went on carnival Paradise 18 months ago and could not eat any of the meals . I went on Princess Saphaire 9 months ago and it was good to exellent . 8 of ten dishes were great. If we got a bad one we got something different and that was great. I read that the meat on Freedom was tough (N.y. steak) , and Roast Beef Fatty. Some passengers said the deserts were great and others said bland.

Thanks for your reply .

[Host Anne]

Hello again ~ I’m sorry for the infrequent posts but the internet service is extremely slow and pretty unreliable. That’s how it goes with internet service on ships so don’t let it frustrate you. I think I spent the last $20 of my packaged minute time just trying to load pages after I was connected. Couldn’t get email to send at all last night (could receive but not send). It appears to be working fine this morning so I’ll try posting once again.

We had a terrific day in Jamaica yesterday. Docked in Montego Bay and we were supposed to do a tour (arranged privately) that took us to do river tubing. However, they’ve had a lot of rain recently and our guide discouraged us from the tubing. We instead chose to go to Mayfield Falls instead. The trip there was an adventure in itself. A beautiful ride deep into the mountains (took about an hour to get there) where we learned a lot about the people who live in the mountains along with all the things they grow (have you ever smelled all-spice leaves (actually pimento leaves that they use to make all spice – what a wonderful smell).

When we got to Mayfield Falls, we walked down to an area where there was a restaurant and several shops where we met our guide to “walk the river and water falls.” There were changing facilities and lockers. Our guide, Dave, was fantastic and he navigated the river and falls with us, taking special care to accommodate the four of us. It took about 90 minutes or so to walk the entire river to where it starts. It was far better than our trip up Dunns River Falls several years ago. It was uncrowded, personal, quiet, and less strenuous. I’d say most people could do this tour with a good guide like Dave.

We then drove back to town and ate at the Pig Pit, a local place that had great jerk chicken, pork, sausage and shrimp (we were the only tourists here). It was exactly what we like to do when visiting a port. It was very reasonable, too -- $9.00 for both Amanda and me. Our final stop was at the Jamaican Bobsled Café where Amanda wanted to get a t-shirt. They have lots of photos and the actual team bobsled from the Olympics. A fun spot (and their food looked pretty good too).

Last night we dined in Chops. A great meal….much thanks to Laura for treating the hosts to a delightful evening.

News on Abe (Cruise Staff) ~ We just learned that Abe has been promoted to Cruise Director and will be moving to Rhapsody in a couple of weeks. Amanda and I were just talking about the fact we thought he’d be a cruise director before too long and then we heard the announcement. I’m sure all of you who asked and enjoy Abe will be happy for him.

Jimmy Blakemore – every time I’ve gone past the pub he wasn’t playing but I promise to make an extra effort tonight to get in there while he is playing and ask him how long he’s going to be here.

Ken Rush – haven’t seen Ken to ask how long he’ll be here but we are staying onboard today so we’ll probably have a chance to run into him somewhere. I’ll post when I know (or I’ll try to post).

Can’t believe we’re down to two days. I have to admit that I have enjoyed Freedom much more than I thought (I much prefer smaller ships). There are many great things about this ship – if it just weren’t so big. For me you lose the feeling of being on a ship. But it has been terrific and we have enjoyed every moment so far.

I’ll do a complete review upon our return. To all those sailing soon, you’ll have a wonderful time!!!!

More to come……….

P.S. A special thanks to Jan (Whit3) from us as well for the wonderful tour in Grand Cayman with Nativeway. Rum Point was terrific and I'd go back there to spend the day anytime!

[barnismom]

Thanks so much for rubbing in it that we are not with all of you? WHAT IS BPS did you mean PBS? For the person thinking about FOOD, if that is your main criteria then do not book THE FOS.

 

Although we loved the ship and everything about her the food to me was somewhat disappointing. In my review under "barnismom" I did not ding her on that aspect as I look at the total picture. However, in the big scheme of things everything about FREEDOM is wonderful.

 

Emmy, Rick, Carol, Bob, Kathy, Chris, Diana and Rick, enjoy the last days on Freedom and we hope to see some of you in three weeks and the others in 5 months in Las Vegas.

 

Ciao bella!

Janice

[barnismom]

Hello again ~ I’m sorry for the infrequent posts but the internet service is extremely slow and pretty unreliable. That’s how it goes with internet service on ships so don’t let it frustrate you. I think I spent the last $20 of my packaged minute time just trying to load pages after I was connected. Couldn’t get email to send at all last night (could receive but not send). It appears to be working fine this morning so I’ll try posting once again.

We had a terrific day in Jamaica yesterday. Docked in Montego Bay and we were supposed to do a tour (arranged privately) that took us to do river tubing. However, they’ve had a lot of rain recently and our guide discouraged us from the tubing. We instead chose to go to Mayfield Falls instead. The trip there was an adventure in itself. A beautiful ride deep into the mountains (took about an hour to get there) where we learned a lot about the people who live in the mountains along with all the things they grow (have you ever smelled all-spice leaves (actually pimento leaves that they use to make all spice – what a wonderful smell).

When we got to Mayfield Falls, we walked down to an area where there was a restaurant and several shops where we met our guide to “walk the river and water falls.” There were changing facilities and lockers. Our guide, Dave, was fantastic and he navigated the river and falls with us, taking special care to accommodate the four of us. It took about 90 minutes or so to walk the entire river to where it starts. It was far better than our trip up Dunns River Falls several years ago. It was uncrowded, personal, quiet, and less strenuous. I’d say most people could do this tour with a good guide like Dave.

We then drove back to town and ate at the Pig Pit, a local place that had great jerk chicken, pork, sausage and shrimp (we were the only tourists here). It was exactly what we like to do when visiting a port. It was very reasonable, too -- $9.00 for both Amanda and me. Our final stop was at the Jamaican Bobsled Café where Amanda wanted to get a t-shirt. They have lots of photos and the actual team bobsled from the Olympics. A fun spot (and their food looked pretty good too).

Last night we dined in Chops. A great meal….much thanks to Laura for treating the hosts to a delightful evening.

News on Abe (Cruise Staff) ~ We just learned that Abe has been promoted to Cruise Director and will be moving to Rhapsody in a couple of weeks. Amanda and I were just talking about the fact we thought he’d be a cruise director before too long and then we heard the announcement. I’m sure all of you who asked and enjoy Abe will be happy for him.

Jimmy Blakemore – every time I’ve gone past the pub he wasn’t playing but I promise to make an extra effort tonight to get in there while he is playing and ask him how long he’s going to be here.

Ken Rush – haven’t seen Ken to ask how long he’ll be here but we are staying onboard today so we’ll probably have a chance to run into him somewhere. I’ll post when I know (or I’ll try to post).

Can’t believe we’re down to two days. I have to admit that I have enjoyed Freedom much more than I thought (I much prefer smaller ships). There are many great things about this ship – if it just weren’t so big. For me you lose the feeling of being on a ship. But it has been terrific and we have enjoyed every moment so far.

I’ll do a complete review upon our return. To all those sailing soon, you’ll have a wonderful time!!!!

More to come……….

P.S. A special thanks to Jan (Whit3) from us as well for the wonderful tour in Grand Cayman with Nativeway. Rum Point was terrific and I'd go back there to spend the day anytime!

Hello Anne!

 

Can you congratulate Abe for us? I think he might remember MR. SEXY Flamingo Legs from the maiden voyage (June 4) and I won the first bingo session on the last day!

 

Way to go ABE!

 

Janice and Patrick

[csk]

thanks for the great reviews, we are on the sailing on Sunday, does anyone have there lap top with cybercabin, and if so it is very slow also, thanks and you guys have a great last couple of days.

[redcat72]

Who is the main entertainment on the ship? Is it still Charo? Thanks!

[Murphy]

I have read reports from fair to excellent re. food quality on Freedom. Before I make final payment for Jan 07 i wish to be sure the food quality is at least good. I went on carnival Paradise 18 months ago and could not eat any of the meals . I went on Princess Saphaire 9 months ago and it was good to exellent . 8 of ten dishes were great. If we got a bad one we got something different and that was great. I read that the meat on Freedom was tough (N.y. steak) , and Roast Beef Fatty. Some passengers said the deserts were great and others said bland.

Thanks for your reply .

I was on the Oct 8th sailing. We never had a problem with the quality of food, but I thought selection was very limiting. Prime rib was offered 2 nights, sliced beef was offered 2 nights; no chocolate desserts at all until night 3, things like that. But all food was good tasting and I especially thought the side vegetables were above par.

[Borat]

Hello again ~ I’m sorry for the infrequent posts but the internet service is extremely slow and pretty unreliable. That’s how it goes with internet service on ships so don’t let it frustrate you. I think I spent the last $20 of my packaged minute time just trying to load pages after I was connected. Couldn’t get email to send at all last night (could receive but not send). It appears to be working fine this morning so I’ll try posting once again.

We had a terrific day in Jamaica yesterday. Docked in Montego Bay and we were supposed to do a tour (arranged privately) that took us to do river tubing. However, they’ve had a lot of rain recently and our guide discouraged us from the tubing. We instead chose to go to Mayfield Falls instead. The trip there was an adventure in itself. A beautiful ride deep into the mountains (took about an hour to get there) where we learned a lot about the people who live in the mountains along with all the things they grow (have you ever smelled all-spice leaves (actually pimento leaves that they use to make all spice – what a wonderful smell).

When we got to Mayfield Falls, we walked down to an area where there was a restaurant and several shops where we met our guide to “walk the river and water falls.” There were changing facilities and lockers. Our guide, Dave, was fantastic and he navigated the river and falls with us, taking special care to accommodate the four of us. It took about 90 minutes or so to walk the entire river to where it starts. It was far better than our trip up Dunns River Falls several years ago. It was uncrowded, personal, quiet, and less strenuous. I’d say most people could do this tour with a good guide like Dave.

We then drove back to town and ate at the Pig Pit, a local place that had great jerk chicken, pork, sausage and shrimp (we were the only tourists here). It was exactly what we like to do when visiting a port. It was very reasonable, too -- $9.00 for both Amanda and me. Our final stop was at the Jamaican Bobsled Café where Amanda wanted to get a t-shirt. They have lots of photos and the actual team bobsled from the Olympics. A fun spot (and their food looked pretty good too).

Last night we dined in Chops. A great meal….much thanks to Laura for treating the hosts to a delightful evening.

News on Abe (Cruise Staff) ~ We just learned that Abe has been promoted to Cruise Director and will be moving to Rhapsody in a couple of weeks. Amanda and I were just talking about the fact we thought he’d be a cruise director before too long and then we heard the announcement. I’m sure all of you who asked and enjoy Abe will be happy for him.

Jimmy Blakemore – every time I’ve gone past the pub he wasn’t playing but I promise to make an extra effort tonight to get in there while he is playing and ask him how long he’s going to be here.

Ken Rush – haven’t seen Ken to ask how long he’ll be here but we are staying onboard today so we’ll probably have a chance to run into him somewhere. I’ll post when I know (or I’ll try to post).

Can’t believe we’re down to two days. I have to admit that I have enjoyed Freedom much more than I thought (I much prefer smaller ships). There are many great things about this ship – if it just weren’t so big. For me you lose the feeling of being on a ship. But it has been terrific and we have enjoyed every moment so far.

I’ll do a complete review upon our return. To all those sailing soon, you’ll have a wonderful time!!!!

More to come……….

P.S. A special thanks to Jan (Whit3) from us as well for the wonderful tour in Grand Cayman with Nativeway. Rum Point was terrific and I'd go back there to spend the day anytime!

 

wow thank you for your efforts...it really is nice of you to report back like you are doing...i really appreciate it.

[NAHA]

Thanks so much for rubbing in it that we are not with all of you? WHAT IS BPS did you mean PBS? For the person thinking about FOOD, if that is your main criteria then do not book THE FOS.

 

Although we loved the ship and everything about her the food to me was somewhat disappointing. In my review under "barnismom" I did not ding her on that aspect as I look at the total picture. However, in the big scheme of things everything about FREEDOM is wonderful.

 

Emmy, Rick, Carol, Bob, Kathy, Chris, Diana and Rick, enjoy the last days on Freedom and we hope to see some of you in three weeks and the others in 5 months in Las Vegas.

 

Ciao bella!

Janice

 

Janice, unfortunately, I would have to agree with you about the food...not bad, just not great. Not very creative, not much flavor...

 

I also agree, in most other aspects ~ superb!

[LauraS]

Some random thoughts as we sail away from Labadee (where we had another gorgeous Caribbean weather day -- perfect each day so far).

 

Food: I'm enjoying the food but it isn't knocking my socks off. It has been awhile since my last RCI cruise and I can't be sure if other lines do this but since when do we LUMP the Appetiser Soup and Salad courses into one huge category on the menu. It really does interfere with the service especially in a large table like ours (12) plus I end up missing items in the long list they present. Also it seems they are more apt to FORGET to bring you courses, as they have in the dining room (my soup), and in Chops -- many soups on the table and my son's salad. That is really unacceptable.

 

Chops redeems iteself with the food, though. My filet was perfectly done -- cannot find a complaint about that. Also as I mentioned Portofino was a shining star.

 

MOBAY: My day went a bit different than Host Anne's...and I would recommend folks follow her lead and book a shore excursion here - either through the ship or on your own. We didn't, but I wanted to shop a bit for a few trinkets.

[ChristieNJ]

I just got off the Freedom two weeks ago, and the food most certainly DID knock my socks off!! I thought it was the best on a ship so far, everything was outrageous!!! Even my husband and a couple of my friends, who are VERY picky & hard to please, were extremely happy with the food! It was wonderful!