Freedom Of The Seas Review 10/14/07-10/21/07

[funcruisecouple4u]

We were on the Freedom at the same time as jerseygirl3.

The Solarium area was kid free every time we were there, and we were there every day. The lounge chairs at the Solarium have additional padding over the mesh. We thought it was kind of nasty that we would have to lay on those after someone else left a wet spot on them. We removed them every time we used the lounge chairs in that area.

 

As far as self debarkation. We had an early flight out also. We used the luggage valet service offered by RCI. We left our luggage outside our room at 11pm Saturday evening and didn't have to touch it again till we arrived at our home airport. We were off the ship and on the bus to the airport by 7am. Well worth the $20 fee.

[rpclmc]

We were on the Freedom at the same time as jerseygirl3.

The Solarium area was kid free every time we were there, and we were there every day. The lounge chairs at the Solarium have additional padding over the mesh. We thought it was kind of nasty that we would have to lay on those after someone else left a wet spot on them. We removed them every time we used the lounge chairs in that area.

 

As far as self debarkation. We had an early flight out also. We used the luggage valet service offered by RCI. We left our luggage outside our room at 11pm Saturday evening and didn't have to touch it again till we arrived at our home airport. We were off the ship and on the bus to the airport by 7am. Well worth the $20 fee.

 

Now that sounds like the thing to do. Will they do this with any airlines? We (3 of us, 2 adults, 1 kid) are on American and my parents (elderly) are on Airtran. Is that $20.00 per person or $20.00 per set of luggage?

 

If we went with self debarkment, we (my husband and I) would have to help (not take all) out with the child and my parents. It probably wouldn't be too bad, my parents are still pretty good, but who knows.

 

Linda

[wolfcathorse]

Now that sounds like the thing to do. Will they do this with any airlines? We (3 of us, 2 adults, 1 kid) are on American and my parents (elderly) are on Airtran. Is that $20.00 per person or $20.00 per set of luggage? If we went with self debarkment, we (my husband and I) would have to help (not take all) out with the child and my parents. It probably wouldn't be too bad, my parents are still pretty good, but who knows. Linda

 

I was on 10-14 too, the information I kept from the ship says the Luggage Valet service is only available with American, Continental, and Delta.

[paladinpride]

Great review. I will be sailing Western on Freedom in January.

[funcruisecouple4u]

Hi Linda,

Its $20 per person, limit two bags of luggage per person.

 

Wolfcathorse is correct, Luggage Valet service is only available with American, Continental, and Delta.

[rpclmc]

Hi Linda,

Its $20 per person, limit two bags of luggage per person.

 

Wolfcathorse is correct, Luggage Valet service is only available with American, Continental, and Delta.

 

That is o.k. We could do the valet for the 3 of us and then be able to help my parents with self debarkment (they leave very soon after us on their flight).

 

This was great information.

 

Thank you OP for the review. I am soooo excited.

 

Linda

[cot427]

Thanks for the review. As for the anytime dining, I am suprised that they did it on both of the balconies. I was on it a week before you, the 7th. They only had 1 side of the 5th floor reserved for anytime dining, so I don't think they would go from that to 2 floors, I would like at most all of the 5th floor.

 

As for the rude passengers, they stayed from my Eastern cruise to your Western cruise, because they were the rudest fellow passengers I've ever had, most of them foreign. Americans were most definetly the minority, or at least it seemed like it.

 

The debarkation on my cruise was a mess to. They started at 6:30 with self debark, and then the others, in about 15 minutes. We were called at 6:45, where we were supposed to be called at 7:30-8:00. Customs was the easiest thing ever, we went through in 5 minutes total. Then, down to the mess. Grey was the first carousal in the port, after white. Well we must have seen white tags from 7:00-8:20. Then they started to put grey out. By that time, half or more than half of the ship was waiting for their luggage in the port. It was the worst debark in the world with the exception of customs. BTW, the people who work in the port are also very rude. Once we got out of the building, we were fine.

 

Those are some comparisons from your cruise to mine.

[Arkansas Cruise Family]

Our TA is in Arkansas....we LOVE her!! Linda Allen is a gem!

[Annieeee]

Thanks for the review. May I ask which are the small, elegant ships you and your husband prefer?

 

Annieeee

[jerseygirl3]

We were on the Freedom at the same time as jerseygirl3.

The Solarium area was kid free every time we were there, and we were there every day. The lounge chairs at the Solarium have additional padding over the mesh. We thought it was kind of nasty that we would have to lay on those after someone else left a wet spot on them. We removed them every time we used the lounge chairs in that area.

 

As far as self debarkation. We had an early flight out also. We used the luggage valet service offered by RCI. We left our luggage outside our room at 11pm Saturday evening and didn't have to touch it again till we arrived at our home airport. We were off the ship and on the bus to the airport by 7am. Well worth the $20 fee.

 

We, too, didn't have any problems with kids being in the Solarium area. Only one time did a woman come right up to the sign that very clearly states "no children." She stood there reading all the rules on the sign and then proceeded to walk into the pool with her approx. 2-year-old toddler (in swim diapers, no less). Without missing a beat, one of the pool attendants went directly over to her and told her she would have to remove her child from the area. She did so without incident, but I just wondered why she did it in the first place. Other than that one incident, I never saw a child there the entire week, and we spent plenty of time there. WE also liked that there was no covering over the solarium. Although the coverings are great in the event of inclement weather, they tend to make the area very muggy feeling. With the openness at FOS solarium, it always felt very airy.

[jerseygirl3]

Thanks for the review. As for the anytime dining, I am suprised that they did it on both of the balconies. I was on it a week before you, the 7th. They only had 1 side of the 5th floor reserved for anytime dining, so I don't think they would go from that to 2 floors, I would like at most all of the 5th floor.

 

As for the rude passengers, they stayed from my Eastern cruise to your Western cruise, because they were the rudest fellow passengers I've ever had, most of them foreign. Americans were most definetly the minority, or at least it seemed like it.

 

The debarkation on my cruise was a mess to. They started at 6:30 with self debark, and then the others, in about 15 minutes. We were called at 6:45, where we were supposed to be called at 7:30-8:00. Customs was the easiest thing ever, we went through in 5 minutes total. Then, down to the mess. Grey was the first carousal in the port, after white. Well we must have seen white tags from 7:00-8:20. Then they started to put grey out. By that time, half or more than half of the ship was waiting for their luggage in the port. It was the worst debark in the world with the exception of customs. BTW, the people who work in the port are also very rude. Once we got out of the building, we were fine.

 

Those are some comparisons from your cruise to mine.

 

Actually, I was incorrect about this. My husband told me that Deck 3 and 4 were traditional, and the only deck that was open seating was Deck 5.

[jerseygirl3]

We were on the Freedom at the same time as jerseygirl3.

The Solarium area was kid free every time we were there, and we were there every day. The lounge chairs at the Solarium have additional padding over the mesh. We thought it was kind of nasty that we would have to lay on those after someone else left a wet spot on them. We removed them every time we used the lounge chairs in that area.

 

As far as self debarkation. We had an early flight out also. We used the luggage valet service offered by RCI. We left our luggage outside our room at 11pm Saturday evening and didn't have to touch it again till we arrived at our home airport. We were off the ship and on the bus to the airport by 7am. Well worth the $20 fee.

 

We considered doing the luggage valet, but we wanted to try and upgrade to First Class when we got to the airport and when I inquired about this at the Purser's Desk, they said if we did luggage valet we would already have boarding passes so they didn't think we'd be able to still upgrade. They said that we wouldn't check in at all at the airport and that we'd go immediately to the security line. I'm not sure if that is correct or not, but we didn't want to take a chance.

 

Also, friends of ours did the luggage valet and were told they had to meet by 6:30 a.m., even though their flight wasn't until close to 2 p.m. I wouldn't have wanted to get up that early to meet by 6:30 a.m. when my flight was so much later. We like not rushing too much the last day; it's bad enough they make you get off the ship, period!!!LOL We usually vacate our rooms by 8 a.m. and go have a nice, leisurely breakfast in the dining room. It's usually the only time all week we have breakfast in the dining room. So much more relaxed than dealing with the crowds at the buffet.

[jerseygirl3]

Thanks for the review. May I ask which are the small, elegant ships you and your husband prefer?

 

Annieeee

 

 

When I made that comment, I didn't mean it to sound like we cruise Seabourn, Radisson, Windstar, etc. What I meant was we like the more "premium" mainstream lines, such as Celebrity, Princess, and HAL. Our favorite ships were probably Celebrity Century and HAL Westerdam. Compared to some of our previous cruises (i.e., Carnival), we prefer the more elegant decor and sophistication of Westerdam and/or Century. Our sons (who are in the early to mid-20's) like the "fun ships", but as we've gotten older, we prefer the others. We did more on the FOS because we were with a group and we had a great time. But especially when we take our winter cruise to just relax and get away from the cold Northeast winters, we want to be more pampered and just chill out in pleasant surroundings and we find that HAL and Celebrity fit that bill.

[rpclmc]

We considered doing the luggage valet, but we wanted to try and upgrade to First Class when we got to the airport and when I inquired about this at the Purser's Desk, they said if we did luggage valet we would already have boarding passes so they didn't think we'd be able to still upgrade. They said that we wouldn't check in at all at the airport and that we'd go immediately to the security line. I'm not sure if that is correct or not, but we didn't want to take a chance.

 

Also, friends of ours did the luggage valet and were told they had to meet by 6:30 a.m., even though their flight wasn't until close to 2 p.m. I wouldn't have wanted to get up that early to meet by 6:30 a.m. when my flight was so much later. We like not rushing too much the last day; it's bad enough they make you get off the ship, period!!!LOL We usually vacate our rooms by 8 a.m. and go have a nice, leisurely breakfast in the dining room. It's usually the only time all week we have breakfast in the dining room. So much more relaxed than dealing with the crowds at the buffet.

 

Getting upgraded to first is not a concern for us. After spending all that money on the cruise and getting our onboard bill that day, we wouldn't even think of spending another dime:rolleyes: . Seriously though, with 3 of us, we don't try for the upgrade, a row of 3 seats isn't so bad with the little butt in between us. Plus they seem to frown on trying to upgrade with a child. Although, I can guarantee she is much better behaved than most adults (well, I said say in public she is much better behaved).

 

Also, our flight is leaving before noon and even with valet, it sounds like we might get there early and have a wait, but I am one of those nervous nillies and just don't take anything relaxed on days of travel.

 

Linda

[eisco17]

Hi Linda,

Its $20 per person, limit two bags of luggage per person.

 

Wolfcathorse is correct, Luggage Valet service is only available with American, Continental, and Delta.

 

When do you book the Luggage Valet? Before your cruise or while on the ship?

[funcruisecouple4u]

When do you book the Luggage Valet? Before your cruise or while on the ship?

 

 

We did ours while we were on the ship. I believe there was a Friday cut off time. The ship will contact the airlines and get your boarding passes. I would much rather sit around the airport than be standing in a line to get off the ship and get my luggage an hour or so later.

[rpclmc]

We did ours while we were on the ship. I believe there was a Friday cut off time. The ship will contact the airlines and get your boarding passes. I would much rather sit around the airport than be standing in a line to get off the ship and get my luggage an hour or so later.

 

I agree.

 

Linda