LizzieandLuke

I requested a table for four for my family by emailing the rcldining@rccl.com and was disappointed to be seated at a table for eight (the other family never showed the first night). The dining room manager said that they don't always get the requests and I should have checked with her earlier that day. We were seated in the same spot the next night but the table for eight was changed to a table for four. No harm done and every effort was made to make sure I was happy but, next time I will make it a point to check in the afternoon the first day. It would have been awkward if that family showed up.

I do the same things when I'm getting ready to go on a cruise. I become obsessed and read every review I can find. You would have though I had never been on this class of ship before based on the amount of reviews that I read prior to this cruise.

 

I was on the Freedom last summer - Eastern - Going next summer - Western - and I still read like I am a newbie:rolleyes::rolleyes:

We live between the Doubletree and the Hilton, about a mile south of 520. I don't get insurance on the trips out of FL. Laura is doing a Med and the TA in October of 16. Once we have an idea on airfare, we may add insurance.

 

Luv living on the beach

 

 

I would get it for the Friday the 13th Cruise. My sister got married Friday the 13th - bad wedding - worse marriage :eek:

I am sorry, but I honestly don't remember. The Ship was always in view though if that helps.

We took the water taxi over from port (roughly $20 for the four of us if I remember) Got 2 beach chairs $10 (kids don't need chairs) and a bucket of beer $20. We had a great day!

There are 2 different aspects to the travel insurance. Medical coverage and trip cancellation beforehand.

 

I can buy a medical insurance policy that covers out of country travel multiple trips of up to 15 days that is valid for the year for the 4 of us for $175. It would be crazy not to travel without this. As someone who has been hospitalized suddenly and racked up over a $250,000 hospital bill in Canada (fully covered) I cannot fathom travelling without insurance.

 

We do not buy trip cancellation insurance. Prices I have received were over $500 per trip. We don't fly and always arrive at our destination early so there is not much chance of missing the ship. If something ever did happen with what we have saved we have covered the cost of that trip.

 

I usually buy full trip insurance but do think it is wasteful (of course I have never needed it.) I would be interested in just purchasing medical insurance. Would I purchase that through a travel insurance company?

I have no answers but just wanted to 'wish' you the time of your lives. :):):):):)

I brought my kids 9 and 11 on the Freedom last summer. Great service on a cruise (and it is also very true on land) makes a meal. My children are well behaved, but a good waiter, room attendant, etc. knows that kids do need special attention.

 

I know the OP asked a simple question and the simple answer is yes, full gratuities. The actual answer is if your kids have a great cruise, you have a great cruise and it is hard to put a price on that (but we did :p and our staff was happy!)

None of the shows last more than an hour and most are run twice a day as well. The other show they had while we were on was a Bon Jovi tribute band which we had no interest in seeing and I heard I didn't miss much.

 

You should try to find a compass - I think there are several on the boards from Freedom - and it will help you plan a little better.

Once Upon a Time was traditional fairy tales with modern songs and a twist. I know it doesn't sound great but it was really well done. Even my husband liked it;)

 

The highlight of the ice show is the hula hooper. She skated while hula hooping with roughly twenty hula-hoops.

 

I missed Quest, Love and Marriage, and the late night comics cause our kids were too young to leave in the room by themselves. That's why we needed to book another trip next summer when they will be old enough:D

I missed the Welcome show and thought the farewell show was pretty good.

 

The ice show was OK. It had great reviews on Cruise Critic though so maybe I was expecting something more, but it in my opinion it didn't live up to the hype. It is shown at least four times throughout the cruise though, so you should definitely try to catch it and make your own opinion.

 

Once Upon a Time was a pleasant surprise and I am glad I saw it.

 

My husband and I were both disappointed by the magic show as we love America's Got Talent and magicians.

 

You will love the Freedom. :D

We were on the Freedom last summer and loved it so much have it booked again for 2016. My Daughter was 11 (will be 13 next trip) son was 9 (will be 11).

 

Your boys will love the flow rider. There was always sports going on (soccer, basketball, etc) if they like that. My kids are not sports lovers but always found something to do. My kids loved Freedom better than any trip to Disney.

We drive to Florida all the time from Philadelphia (17 hours). Started when my son was 5 and daughter was 7. (4 trips under our belt and 1 more scheduled)

 

Plan an overnight stay halfway there at a place with a pool and portable DVD player ($30 at Walmart) and you are good to go.

 

You can afford to go anywhere if you drive.

We did Freedom Aug 2014 and liked it so much doing it again Aug 2016.

 

My kids at the time were 11 and 9.

 

My son is 9 and only drinks milk and juice of which there was plenty of free in the windjammer and MDR so we didn't get the Freestyle cup for him and he didn't miss it. There is Hawaiian Punch (or similar) in the freestyle machine and free water everywhere.

 

I let my 11yo daughter get the Freestyle soda cup. She is a soda drinker and on vacation and got her money's worth.

 

The Kids club usually closed at 5 PM and opened back up at 6 or 6;30 and was free with tons to do till 10 - after 10 you pay $8(?) an hour. My kids loved it and it was full of kids and well managed.

 

I told everyone not to forget to pack pants and of course I forgot so I didn't get to skate but the family did. They had a great time. It was usually open roughly an hour or two a day different times for family skate. Miniature golf was always open and never busy.

 

We did the breakfast when it was free. It was good and I would do it again for free. I wouldn't pay to have the same breakfast as someone eating for free across the room just with the characters. The characters are everywhere all week - just pay attention to your compass. They also showed up the kids clubs and played games with them there.

 

My kids loved the Freedom better than Disney World. You will have a blast.

Thanks for the review.

 

Quick question - we were on the Freedom last summer and the kids (11 and 9 at the time) loved the Kids Program.

 

We are going on again my daughter will be 13. She is a little apprehensive about moving up to the teen group. Was it fairly organized? Did a decent amount of kids participate? Was it supervised? Did it run past 10? (I guess that is more than a quick question :rolleyes:)

 

Thanks>

I really enjoyed the Once Upon a Time Show and so did my husband.

The ice show was pretty good, however, I heard nothing but great things before hand so I was a little let down as it didn't live up to the hype. Definitely worth seeing but don't know that I would see it again.


The Drew Thomas show was just OK. My husband is crazy about magicians and we saw him on America's Got Talent. The tricks weren't that impressive and it was a little slow.

On formal night most men had on a suit and tie and the women had on a dress - very few tuxes and gowns. On casual nights it was mostly sun dresses, Dockers and collared shirts. Hope that helps.

We were on Freedom Eastern Caribbean last summer and such a great time we are going on Freedom Western next summer. Last summer we had a balcony and this time around I couldn't justify the $1600 for my morning coffee with a view so we are doing an inside cabin. I will miss it but feel like that money will much better spent on excursions etc.

 

Food was great, service was great and my kids had a blast. We ate in the MDR every night and hubby had the drink package and got his money worth.

 

There was a hurricane the week we went so the captain had to sale on the other side of the Bahamas and we missed Castaway Cay but had sunny skies the entire trip.

 

We did a snorkeling excursion at St. Thomas which was pretty good. At St. Marten we took the water taxi to the beach got 2 lounge chairs and bucket of beer. I think we spent $60 for the 4 of us total - it was awesome.

 

The week flew and we were never bored even with 4 days at sea. The shows we saw were pretty good. The only negative of the trip was pizza but thighs were grateful that it wasn't very good.

 

I would be happy to answer any specific question.

I was on the Freedom last summer and told my hubby he had to wear pants to dinner every night. The second night was formal night and the third night he was wearing slacks. He counted 20 men in shorts from the time we entered the dining room until we were seated 5 tables from the door. I could not get him in pants the rest of the of the cruise and 90% of the men were not in pants. They all looked great in their collared shirts and 'dressy' shorts.

 

I thank the OP for posting this because we are planning another return trip on the Freedom and I will make sure he packs at least one pair of just in case pants. ;)

Our kids loved the Freedom. I could never justify the difference in price for a Disney cruise.

On our August Cruise the MDR seemed to be empty on many evenings. We requested a table for our family of 4 and received it. However, the table to our left was a table set for 8 every night and only 1 couple ate there every night. The table behind us was set for 2 large families and they both only showed the first night. The rest of the cruise only one family showed. The table to our far left wasn't seated the whole week. Other than the first formal nights, the MDR was extremely casual with most of the men in shorts.

 

Many evenings I felt our servers didn't have enough to do. Although we relished in the extra service, it seems silly to prepare a dining room for 3,000 knowing only 1/2 will show up.

 

I think DD will solve many problems currently on the ships. I do think service will suffer ever so slightly only because our MDR servers were so much better than the rest of the service we received all week (and we showed our appreciation with a monetary reward) I do think it is a shame for those who want the traditional experience and those looking to make new friends on a cruise. However, I am excited for the new experience and think it will be great.

We did it on the Freedom in August. We had all Madagascar characters. Food was OK. Alex the Lion, Gloria the Hippo and the Lemur (name escapes me). It was pretty good and food was OK.

 

I would never pay extra for it.

Some places only take cash or have a minimum for credit cards (esp. on the islands).

When we were on the Freedom in August my 11 daughter told everyone in the kids club we were from Miami (we are from Philadelphia). I asked her why and she said, because she wanted to be from Miami. I really didn't understand but hey, she was having fun.