Loved the Freedom!

I am writing about our cruise on the Freedom April 5-12. What an incredible vacation! I was with my husband (we are mid 40s), our daughters (11 and 13) and my parents (mid 70s). We are from the Seattle area so we flew to Orlando 3 days before the cruise to see the mouse. I love Disney and we usually just hit Disneyland so it was a treat to see the Mothership down in Florida. Out hotel was right in Downtown Disney and we spent 3 fully loaded days in the parks. After that I was ready to relax on the ship. I was wiped out!

Michael from Executive VIP Limo picked us up on Easter Sunday right on time at 9:30 and we were on our way to Port Canaveral. Easy one hour drive to the port and we were quickly in the terminal getting checked in. Check in was a breeze and we were on the ship having lunch in the Windjammer by 11:00.

This is the first cruise we didn't try and cram all 4 of us into one stateroom. We had connecting balcony rooms on Deck 7 and my parents had the room next door so we had one giant balcony for all 3 cabins when the dividers were opened up. It was pretty cool! We loved our cabin and had no issues with our attendant taking care of our needs. My daughters immediately filled out their paperwork of preferences and they were getting their ice delivered daily. They only drink water (they don't like soda or juice) so it was perfect for them.

We had MTD and ended up at the same table at the same time every night so it was basically traditional dining. I couldn't tell the difference! Our waitstaff was great and took care of all our needs. My husband had the beer/wine package and there was never a shortage of wine. They constantly kept bringing him glass after glass without him ever having to ask! I had the soda package and they did the same for me with my diet coke. My parents didn't have a drink package but they knew their needs and were always readily available to serve them.

We did only one pay venue for dining and that was Giovannis on night 6 (the formal night) and dinner was fabulous! It was $25/person except for my 11 year old they only charged $8.

The ship itself was beautiful! We all had our favorite areas to hang out and we explored most of the ship to see what it had to offer. This was the first cruise I spent in the Solarium and had such a great time. Since it's such a small venue, I ended up meeting a lot of people just talking by the pool. Everyone was so friendly and that made it fun. I also spent the day by the main pool and that was fun with the lively action and the belly flop contest going on. It had a completely different feel than the Solarium but equally fun. My husband is not a lay in the sun kind of guy so he'd often spend time up in the Viking Crown Lounge where he met people and enjoyed his sea days. My parents preferred the action pool so they were always at the main pool taking it all in.

My kids were in their own world! This was the first cruise where they had outgrown the Kids Club. Well my 11 year old is still technically Adventure Ocean but they let her be part of the Teen Club. They both showed up the first night and met some friends. Kind of awkward at first but then they all got to know each other and I never saw my kids again! They were with their pack of 10-15 kids every day and night doing their own thing. I'd find them by the pool swimming, or they'd be in the arcade, or on the Flowrider, Rock Climbing, you name it. In the mornings, I'd ask them if they were ready for breakfast but they already had plans to meet up in the Windjammer with friends. They always had dinner with us each night and spent port days with us. Otherwise, they were on their own! They do have a 1:00 AM curfew for all kids under 18 but I asked them to be back by 11:00 to check in and if they were still out having fun and not ready to come back, they could have another half hour.

With no kids to entertain at night, I'd go to the casino with my mom. :) We had a blast in there every night. The dealers were so nice and we really got to know people since the same people would come in night after night. My husband would pop in also every now and then. Or he'd be hanging out in a bar watching the action. So much to do on a ship! My dad would often hit the shows after dinner and then come find us later in the casino. My kids also knew were to find me in there.

Our first port was Coco Cay and I was not impressed with it. We had been to Labadee twice before on other cruises and I guess I kind of expected it to be like that. It wasn't. The beach seemed dirty. I know dirty isn't the right word but it needed to be raked or something. You couldn't walk around barefoot because of all the twigs, sticks, branches or whatever. It was crowded and we ended up way down on the end in no mans land to get lounge chairs. The first 2 we found were broken and just felt cheap there. We had pre paid for an hour at the water park and the unlimited slide for my kids and they got bored after 20 minutes in the water park. It was too crowded with a lot of younger kids with their parents. The water slide was fun and they did that a few times and were done with it. We did the BBQ on the beach and that wasn't very good either. Most of the food looked picked over and dried up. This was the only meal the entire week that I didn't like. On Labadee, the BBQ was my very favorite meal of the week.

Our second port was St. Thomas and we just took a taxi into town. We had fun shopping there. It was a cross between a flea market and a high end jewelry stores! Kind of odd but we loved it! We also stopped in an alley bar for a bucket of beers. They offered free wi fi to customers there and my 13 year old was so excited to get on her phone to check her Instagram!

Our third port was St. Maarten. We took a taxi to Orient Beach for the day. We rented chairs with umbrellas for $10/each. My kids had fun on the beach in the water and we just kicked back and relaxed. We got there early so we were in the front row of the beach. It was pretty windy that day so it wasn't too hot. You really don't realize how much sun you're getting when the weather is like that so we all noticed sunburns when we got back to the ship.

Disembarkation was simple. We had a number and waited in the theater until it was time to go. We walked right off the ship and then just had to wait about 45 minutes in the Customs line. No biggie. Marlene from Executive VIP Limo was waiting for us and took us to the airport in plenty of time for our flight home.

Had a fantastic vacation! Loved both the front end at Disney and the week long cruise. It was perfect combination of two of my favorite things! Both of my kids said it was their best spring break ever. They keep in contact with their friends they met online. Such a different generation from when I was a kid!

Great Review!! :)

THX

Good review for families, and yes, the Freedom is our favorite ship.

After 37 cruises, Freedom Class is still my favorite!

Thank you for the review. Glad the entire family had a good time.

I enjoyed your review. Since we live one the east coast, we have been able to combine our loves of Disney and cruising a couple of times. We always do Disney first also. In January, we found cheap flights to LAX and loved visiting Disneyland for the second time. We spent three wonderful days there.

Great review! So glad you had such a fantastic time. Can't wait to try the Freedom class. It's the only one I haven't been on...oh and the Quantum. :)

BTW, my first cruise was also on the Jubilee back in 1991. Perfect for my best friend and I just out of college.

 

 

 

Great Review!! :)

 

THX

Thanks! Have fun in October on the Freedom!

Good review for families, and yes, the Freedom is our favorite ship.

Freedom up there with me as a favorite too. It was perfect for all 6 of us!

After 37 cruises, Freedom Class is still my favorite!

37? Wow, that's a lot of cruises! It looks like you've checked out just about everything. I can see how the Freedom can be up there in your rankings!

Thank you for the review. Glad the entire family had a good time.

I love it when we can find a vacation where everyone loves it! It's too bad that our favorite trip is also the most expensive type of trip. I'm already planning for our next one. :)

I enjoyed your review. Since we live one the east coast, we have been able to combine our loves of Disney and cruising a couple of times. We always do Disney first also. In January, we found cheap flights to LAX and loved visiting Disneyland for the second time. We spent three wonderful days there.

I think you have to do Disney first so you can relax on the cruise afterwards. If you go in the opposite order, you need a vacation from your vacation! Disneyland is pretty easy to cover in 3 days and basically see everything. Isn't it nice how close everything is and walking distance between the two parks? If you stay on site, it's really convenient! We have been going there every other year since our kids have been born.

Disneyworld was impossible for us! We had these great intentions of hitting all 4 theme parks within the 3 days and then do things in Downtown Disney. Um, we didn't even come close. That place is huge! I need to plan another trip to Orlando and have more time to see more things. I also would love to see Universal down there. It's a lot bigger than the Hollywood one (like everything in Orlando).

Great review! So glad you had such a fantastic time. Can't wait to try the Freedom class. It's the only one I haven't been on...oh and the Quantum. :)

 

BTW, my first cruise was also on the Jubilee back in 1991. Perfect for my best friend and I just out of college.

Awww, I loved the Jubilee! So many great memories from that ship. I graduated from college in 1991 too and we bounced around the idea of going on a cruise at that time with a whole group of girls but it never happened. It would have been a blast though!

Great to hear you had a great cruise. We also love the Freedom and we are about 5 weeks from our 4th cruise on her.

Thanks for the review!

Great review! Question - how much did the car service cost you from a Disney to the port? I am going on Freedom 8/30, but first we are doing Disney for 4 days. Thanks!

Thanks for the review! If you still have your compass could you check if they still offer the silent Disco night and if so which night it was? We will be on Eastern in the fall. Did you prebook the water slides on coco cay or can you book it there? TIA :)

Great to hear you had a great cruise. We also love the Freedom and we are about 5 weeks from our 4th cruise on her.

I'm so jealous! It's so hard to be back from a cruise and not have another one booked! I need one to look forward to! Have a fantastic time on the Freedom again.

Thanks for the review!

You're welcome! I always loved reading everyone's reviews before I left.

Great review! Question - how much did the car service cost you from a Disney to the port? I am going on Freedom 8/30, but first we are doing Disney for 4 days. Thanks!

We paid $150 from our hotel in Downtown Disney to the port. It was a dedicated car (SUV) from Executive VIP that took all 6 of us. We paid $135 for the return from the port to the airport after the cruise. I loved having a dedicated car and having them pick us up exactly when we wanted to head to the ship without having to wait on others. Plus, Michael and Marlene (our two drivers) were so nice and accommodating. Would use them again in a heartbeat.

thanks for taking the time to post a review. :rolleyes:

Thanks for the review! If you still have your compass could you check if they still offer the silent Disco night and if so which night it was? We will be on Eastern in the fall. Did you prebook the water slides on coco cay or can you book it there? TIA :)

Silent Disco was on Day 5 at 11:30 PM. What is Silent Disco? I've never heard of it!

I did prebook the water slides and water park in advance but you can also book it no problem on the shore. In the past on Labadee, we've always waited and just bought it on the shore, but the lines were long and I was trying to avoid that this time. If I had not precooked it, my kids probably would have just did the waterside and skipped the water park.

Silent Disco was on Day 5 at 11:30 PM. What is Silent Disco? I've never heard of it!

 

I did prebook the water slides and water park in advance but you can also book it no problem on the shore. In the past on Labadee, we've always waited and just bought it on the shore, but the lines were long and I was trying to avoid that this time. If I had not precooked it, my kids probably would have just did the waterside and skipped the water park.

Thank you.... all I know about the silent disco is what a friend of mine told me from a trip from years ago.. she said they give you head sets and everyone is listening to the music that way and dancing, said it was the funniest thing to watch.. just sounds fun lol.....

So glad you loved FOS. In June we will board FOS for the THIRD time. It's our favorite ship too. Since we live on the east coast it was easy for us to go to Universal Studios this past fall and we came home exhausted. Smart to do Disney first. Great review. FOS really does offer something for everyone. We were able to get my Grandson (21 year old) to join us, during his summer break from college, by telling him he could take a friend along. I'm sure they will enjoy the FlowRider and a few buckets of beer. They are going to join us for dinner. They have their cabin, and this will be the first time that my daughters and I will be rooming together on a cruise. It's going to be our own PJ/Summer camp experience. YIKES!!! They've both had a stressful year so we are in need of time to just veg out. It's truly a rest and relax cruise for my daughters and I so they are planning to take advantage of the spa and I plan to spend some quality time doing nothing but sitting and enjoying the breeze (and a fruity drink).