Just back from awesome cruise on Freedom!

[luv2dance2]

Hi everyone! I just wanted to post a review and answer any questions you may have about Freedom. My husband and I and our 3 sons ages 10, 14, & 18 just returned Sunday from a fabulous week on FOS. In the past 5 years we've cruised on Explorer (awesome), Voyager (pretty good), and Mariner (very good), so I may compare to those ships as I go.

 

We flew to Miami on Saturday, May 24th and stayed at Holiday Inn at the Port. This was an okay hotel with an excellent location. There was a very long wait for elevators, so we ended up using the 8 flights of stairs most of the time. The rooms were fine, but walls were thin and we had to turn up the tv in order to cover up the neighbors amorous noise-making. :eek: We could see Bayside and the port from our window. In the past, I purchased rooms on Priceline and stayed at excellent hotels for less, but I was afraid to take a chance with Priceline because it was Memorial Day weekend. That evening we went to Bubba Gump's for supper and walked around Bayside. The Art of God store is really cool.

 

The following morning we awoke to see Freedom outside our window. We got some donuts and a 12 pack of Pepsi at the nearby Walgreens, checked out at 11am and got a taxi to the port. It was $8 for the taxi ($15 with tip~we had a lot of luggage). A porter met us and took our bags ($1 per bag tip) and pointed the way to the embarkation line. On the Voyager class ships I knew to sit in the first two rows to get called first and then we waited up to an hour to actually board the ship, so I expected to wait at least that long to get on FOS. Well, this time we were on the ship in less than 15 minutes! We had registered online and had our SeaPass paper printed out. There was no line and we walked right up to the next available representative. She checked our passports, printed out our seapass cards, and sent us to get our picture taken. We then walked onto the ship at ~11:35am.

I always make sure to pack our swimsuits and evening outfits in a carry-on since you never know when the rest of the luggage will arrive. We had just eaten donuts so we were not hungry to go to Windjammer which was serving lunch. Unfortunately, there were several signs posted preventing us from going to our cabins until 1pm, so our sons went to a bathroom and changed into their swim trunks and we all hung around the pools until 1pm.

 

The ship itself is huge and beautiful. I thought it was quite prettier than Voyager and Mariner, but similar to Explorer. It's hard to compete with the fabulous art collection on Explorer! The layout is just like the Voyager class ships, so it was nice to know where we were going. The rock climbing wall was much bigger with more stations, so there was never a long wait even on at sea days. The Flowrider was terrific. My family and I did that several times. It was 95% men/boys and 5% girls/women who gave it a try. It could be the frequent loss of tops that contributed to the lack of female participation. I always wore a t-shirt for that reason. I still have some large bruises from the Flowrider, but it was worth it. The lines could get pretty long (~30 minute wait) especially on the last at sea day. The first at sea day and port days it wasn't too bad (10-15 minutes wait). My boys loved it. You need to be 52" for boogie boarding and 58" for stand up surfing. The mini golf course was also a hit. We did not ice skate this time, but our tablemates did and had a great time.

 

The promenade seemed much bigger than the Voyager class ships. We went there for pizza and biscotti at Sorrento's and croissant sandwiches, fudge brownies and delicious cookies at the Promenade Cafe. We never had Ben and Jerry's because there were just too many other choices including the free ice cream cones on Deck 11.

 

We have had balcony and porthole cabins in the past and really prefer two connecting inside cabins for our family. I know this is personal preference. For us, we are only there to sleep and shower and have some private time away from the kids. We can leave open the connecting door when we want to, but we can also take an afternoon nap in the dark while the boys enjoy an afternoon movie next door. The cabins were the same layout as on the Voyager class ships. We personally have never needed an over the door organizer, an extension cord, or a night light. There are little compartments everywhere for toiletries, etc., and plenty of drawers, shelves, and hangers for clothes. There were 6 electrical outlets in the two rooms and there was a tiny light on each of the bedside light fixtures if you need a night light.

 

Okay, this is taking much longer than I anticipated and my family is hungry for supper, so I will continue later.

 

Have a great day!

Kasondra

[Lynndpi]

Kasondra,

 

Did anyone in your group do the golf simulator? My son and his girlfriend would like to try it on our cruise on the 21st but they want to know how much it costs.

 

Glad you had a fabulous time! And thanks for any info. you can share.

[MtnBikerFallDown]

Thanks for sharing and tell us more, more, more! We don't cruise until November, but I have no problem living vicariously through other cruisers!!!

;)

 

How was the food in the Windjammer/Jade? My mom isn't interested in the Dining Room in the least (she isn't a schedule person, much more fly by the seat of her pants), so I figure we will eat there often.

 

Oh, and how far was the Walgreens from the HI? I think we are going to stay here, so I was interested. I want to get some soda before we board.

 

Again, thanks for all the info!

[luv2dance2]

My husband and son did the golf simulator. It was $25 per hour no matter how many were in your party. They did not like it for a few reasons. One, it was in a very hot "booth". My husband said it was 120 degrees in there and they were both drenched in sweat after a few minutes. They both said it was very unrealistic and frustrating. That was the only activity they did that was a disappointment on the ship. I hope that helps.

 

Back to the review....

 

The large number of passengers was really only apparent on the first day and during disembarkation. It was difficult to get an elevator on the first day. It was very noticeable in the dining room ONLY on the first evening and it was more difficult to get seats in the first few rows in the Arcadia theater. Otherwise, it was hard to believe there was that many people on the ship. Certainly, no worse than the Voyager class ships. The fitness area was very similar to Voyager class ships and although busy, I never had to wait for a machine. I never saw anyone using the boxing ring, though.

 

The crew was amazing! They seemed to love their job and really wanted to help us have the trip of a lifetime. Every member said hi and smiled when passing. They all went out of their way to help from the sports deck crew to Windjammer. This certainly made the trip phenomenal for us. For example, we always get all you can drink coke stickers for the boys and in the past we have had some crew members get refills for them very reluctantly, but not one hesitation on this cruise. They always got them with a smile. Richard Spacey was the hilarious cruise director. He was even better than the last time we saw him. Our room steward, Reynaldo, was excellent. He created towel animals every night and was always nearby to answer any question happily. Rommel, our waiter, was the best we've ever had. He gladly brought my son 5 lobster tails on Friday night and was constantly offering us more food and checked to see if we loved everything. He offered suggestions to my 10 year old and truly seemed to care if our son didn't like it and happily brought something else. Natalia, the assistant waiter, knew exactly what we wanted to drink after the 2nd night and went out of her way to make sure we had everything we needed. Our head waiter showed the kids at our table a trick every night. The kids always looked forward to seeing her. Anyway, you will not be disappointed with the crew for sure. I could go on and on naming all of the helpful crew members.

 

The food is the dining room was excellent. It was always just the right temperature. Just to give you an idea of our taste, we enjoy Chilis, Panera, Red Lobster, Outback Steakhouse, and those type of restaurants. The food in the dining room was at least that good and usually better. One night my husband got a steak he didn't care for, but otherwise everything was delicious. By the way, they were very lenient about the dress code in the dining room. We enjoy dressing as suggested, but Rommel was always saying, "Tomorrow is formal night, but don't worry if you don't dress formally. Come eat here." We only went to Windjammer for breakfast and it was standard cafeteria fare with a few exceptional items. I loved the Asian rolls in Jade. We never had to wait in line. Tip: sit in Chops or Portofinos for breakfast. They were always open and it was a quieter, more beautiful atmosphere. Johnny Rockets was very good, too.

 

The entertainment was outstanding. The comedian, Carlos Oscar, was hilarious! My kids were laughing hysterically. He was the funniest and cleanest comedian I've ever seen. On Mariner we had to take our kids out of the theater because the comedian was so raunchy. This was not the late night adult comedy show, either. Anyway, everyone loved the shows on FOS. I thought Once Upon a Time was excellent. The Love and Marriage game show was really funny, too, with Richard Spacey as the emcee.

 

Our first port was Labadee. We could not believe how much it has changed since we were there a few years ago. It's still a nice island, but no longer as primitive. Tendering to Labadee and Grand Cayman was a piece of cake. We had to wait 5 minutes once, otherwise we walked right on. In Labadee we just laid on the beach and went snorkeling. The snorkeling was okay. I'm glad we did it. The food at the cookout was pretty bad. I saw many people throwing a lot of their meal away. It was just edible. This was no different from our previous experience in Labadee. I don't understand why they can't serve food as tasty as it is on the ship. Oh well, we just stopped and got some pizza on the promenade when we returned to the ship. A lot of people seemed to enjoy the zip line, the wave runners, and the water park. We did stop by the craft market and let the boys spend $10 each. We let them do their own bargaining. Our 10 year old did the best with a cool necklace and carved wooden sword and scabbard.

 

Jamaica was the best port, surprisingly. My review of our excellent guide was kicked off the board because it wasn't in response to a question, so please ask me who our awesome guide was. We were the first group (12 of us) to climb Dunn's River Falls that day. We do this everytime we go and always enjoy it. We always get the best pictures here, so don't forget your water camera! We then went river tubing, which was amazing, beautiful, and fun. We all loved it. Our guide then took those who wanted to go to Margaritaville. We emailed our guide in advance and arranged to go to a school and bring small gifts for the students (crayons, colored paper, scissors, stickers, etc.). This was unforgetable. The principal gave us a tour. The students were so bright. They sang for us and asked questions and answered ours. Our guide then took us back to the ship even though he was willing to take us wherever we wanted to go. It was a long, fun day and we were ready to relax for a while.

 

Grand Cayman was a blast, too. We went snorkeling at a reef and then to Stingray City. Our excellent tour guides gave us tons of time with the rays. We each got to hold several and kiss them if we wanted. It was very cloudy and some people got bad sunburns thinking the clouds were going to protect them.

 

Cozumel was just slightly disappointing because of the hurricane damage. During our last trip we absolutely loved Chankanaab park for our family. It was still a great time, but it was like a ghost town compared to our previous visit. The snorkeling was outstanding compared to Labadee and even Grand Cayman. The water was crystal clear and the reefs were so colorful. My boys were scared by a barracuda right after entering the water so it took a little coaxing to get them back in, but they had a great time. The staff at the park was working hard to clean up the grounds. I would say it's at 85% of what it was. Next time I think we would go to Palancar Reef for a snorkeling/SCUBA trip. My husband and I dive and Cozumel is by far the best place we've ever been for diving.

 

Our last day at sea was spent at Flowrider, on the rock climbing wall, in the hot tubs, at the pool, playing mini golf, napping, going through our huge stack of pictures, eating, and watching the excellent show.

 

Disembarkation was not as smooth as embarkation. We had a 10:40am flight and decided to skip express checkout and take our chance with white tags. I'm glad we did. We were at the airport by 8:45am. We got to the Windjammer at 6:15, ate leisurely and got in line to disembark at around 7:10. We never heard an announcement for colors, but clearly they had been called. We got off the AFT elevators and got into the line which just passed the elevators. The line quickly grew and spread into the casino. Unfortunately, there were many rude passengers who would get off the elevator and jump into the line instead of going to the end of the line. It was frustrating after such a fabulous week. If they could just rope the line off it would have solved a lot of that. It took maybe 30 minutes to make it to the Customs desk, then another 20 minutes to wait for our luggage at the carousels. All in all it wasn't too bad, but had we come down 15 minutes later we may have had a lot more difficulty.

 

Overall, this was the best cruise we've ever been on (next to our honeymoon). I would definitely go on Freedom again.

 

I hope this helps someone. I so appreciated all of the tips from fellow cruisers on cruisecritic.com. I will be glad to answer questions, although I will be away from the computer Friday and Saturday.

 

Have a great day!

Kasondra

[luv2dance2]

Emily, the Walgreen's is only 3 blocks away from the hotel. We always bring a 12 pack of Pepsi for my dh and put it in the fridge in our cabin.

 

We only ate in Windjammer/Jade for breakfast. It was good to very good, not excellent, but I did see some people bring plates of lunch food to the pool area and it looked delicious. Sorrento's and Cafe Promenade were excellent for pizza, croissant sandwiches, salads, and various other items (including chocolate). Then there's Johnny Rockets and room service.

 

Have a fabulous cruise!

[996turbos]

Ok I'll bite;) My family and 30 other friends are going on FOS in late Sept. on the western tour. Tell me about your excursions. Who did you use? What sort of price did they charge. We want to go to Dunn River Falls and also Stingray city. How was the other stop? Thanks!:)

[Lynndpi]

Thanks for the info. on the golf simulator. I'll let them know. Sounds like they may want to wait and go golfing once they get home.

[kittymom65]

Kasondra

Your review was excellent.

I also would love to know who your wonderful guide in Jamaica was.:)

[AtTheShore]

Kasondra,

 

thanks for the review! Did you happen to do any spa treatments? I'm looking for recommendations on massages and the such...

 

~Rich

[lysolqn]

The food is the dining room was excellent. It was always just the right temperature. Just to give you an idea of our taste, we enjoy Chilis, Panera, Red Lobster, Outback Steakhouse, and those type of restaurants. The food in the dining room was at least that good and usually better.

 

Thanks for your review; glad you enjoyed your cruise.

 

Admittedly, one shouldn't expect gourmet dining on a ship carrying 3000+ passengers. Is it likewise unrealistic to expect meals that do more than simply measure up to chain restaurants? Sorry to say, you've given me cause for concern.

[luv2dance2]

We booked with Marva Shaw and had her son Javier as our guide. They charged us $60 per person which included admission to the falls and river tubing. Marva met us as we got off the ship. We boarded a very nice air conditioned van with Javier and 7 other passengers. He described all of the scenery including the history and answered all of our questions. He gave us tips on bargaining with the vendors and how to avoid them if we preferred. We went to the Falls first and were the first group to climb that day. We were able to leave everything locked on the bus so we didn't need to rent lockers. The vendors knew we were with Javier and never gave us any hassle at all. Javier then took us to a nice market that gave free rum samples and free pop. He told us how to get good prices and my kids loved what they purchased. We did not feel obligated to buy anything, though. We then went river tubing and Javier was waiting for us at the end. The river tubing was so much fun, as much as the Falls. There were some slow parts and some pretty rapid-type areas. We also were able to jump off a ledge about 15-20 feet above the water if we wanted to. It was such a beautiful area. After that, Javier took the 7 other passengers to Margaritaville and took us to the school. He introduced us to the principal and waited patiently in the van for us. He then offered to take us to the beach or to get some authentic Jamaican food. He was basically willing to take us anywhere and stay with us until we had to be back on the ship. He was fabulous.

 

In Grand Cayman we used Moby Dick Tours. It was $35 per person for four of us and $30 for our 10 year old. They were voted best of Cayman 2 years in a row. I was a little leary when we boarded an old school bus. It was a full bus, too. When we pulled up to the boat I wasn't sure that we would all fit, but I was wrong. There was plenty of room for everyone. The guides were so wonderful with the stingrays. We had lots of time to snorkel and then to hold and feed the rays. I would use definitely use them again. We used Nativeway in the past and they were fine, but we didn't get as much time with the rays and felt somewhat rushed.

 

Rich, we did not have time to do any spa treatments. They had a special on Grand Cayman and Cozumel days that included a back and neck massage, aromatherapy facial, foot massage and something else for $99. I didn't talk with anyone who used them, either. Sorry I don't have more info for you.

 

And lysolqn, you may enjoy the food with Celebrity better. Our tablemates had just gone on a Celebrity cruise and said the food was phenomenal.

 

Have a great weekend everyone!

Kasondra

[QTMichele]

Love the review!!! So glad you loved Marva and Javia too (we didn't get to meet Javia - he was in Grand Cayman during our trip)!!! We used her as our guide and couldn't say enough about her. I want to go on the Western again just so we can see her. :) She's called me several times since our trip just to check in and say hello.

[hoop4321]

great review...very informative. Going on Freedom in March, we can't wait:) Did your hubby and you son ask if the golf sim is always so hot? That is one of many things that my family wanted to do.

[lysolqn]

And lysolqn, you may enjoy the food with Celebrity better. Our tablemates had just gone on a Celebrity cruise and said the food was phenomenal.

 

Actually, we've cruised with both Celebrity (30+ times) and RCCL (4 times) and the food is, in fact, far better on X. We'll be on Freedom of the Seas this summer and your review has me concerned that food service on RCCL has taken a significant tumble if it now equals that of chain restaurants.

[zoe girl]

where did you dock in jamica? i've always wanted to hire them however i thought montego bay was too far???

[luv2dance2]

Zoe Girl,

We docked in Ocho Rios. Javier said Montego Bay was 45-60 minutes away on the main road, but I do not know if the Shaw's do tours out of there. You could check with them at knowjamaica.com.

Hoops4321,

My dh did not ask about the heat. They had trouble getting it started and went to one place for assistance, were sent to someone else, and that person sent them to the place they started at, so they were just happy to get it going. They were also in a time crunch for dinner afterwards, so he didn't stop to ask any questions. The more frustrating thing for them was the fact that it wouldn't register some of their good shots and some of the crazy shots (my dh isn't very good at golf) would register as straight 450 yards onto the green. It was their first time in a simulator, though, so maybe someone with more experience would enjoy it.

God bless,

Kasondra