Carolina Hurricanes fan

I was expecting the suggesting on layering but did you really need gloves?  May I ask when you wore them?

Going on a transpacific from Hawaii to Australia.  I prefer the bed by the bath layout.  Any thoughts on bed arrangement or balcony size for 1229 or 1231?  Any thoughts on port vs starboard (hence the 1122 choice)?  I wasn't thinking that side of the ship would matter, but I see a lot of comments that the side of the ship matters significantly on a TA cruise, so wondering if anyone had thoughts about a TP? 

I really want to be close to those elevators to be able to pop down for a drink and I don't want Aqua class because of the pool deck right above us. 

Any suggestions?

Yes, that confirms my thinking that they may be more causal than I am used to. Thanks!!

Hope that helps. Please ask if you have any more questions about this cruise - happy to share.

I was wondering about formal nights on a Greek Isles cruise. I have sailed on several Caribbean cruises, and the dress code varies but is generally dresses/jackets. Are Mediterranean cruises about the same?

We have sailed out of San Juan twice, and both times the ship left late because they were waiting for some late passengers who had booked their flights through RCCL. Both times, we worked on Friday and then left around 5pm and arrived super late the night before, and then were one of the first to board. If you absolutely cannot fly the day before, I would book flights through RCCL so they will wait for you.

My husband and I were also on the 5/12 Freedom sailing.

Yes, there were a lot of Spanish-speaking fellow cruisers, but that didn't bother us. A few of the Karaoke songs were in Spanish, so I didn't recognize those songs, but honestly, there were a few country songs that I hadn't heard before because I don't usually listen to country music. It was still a fun time.

We ate in the specialty restaurants on the BOGO offer, did the Chef's Table and then ate in the MDR the rest of the nights. We found the food to be very good and our waiter in the MDR was fantastic. I was surprised that the Chef's Table was not our favorite meal. The Windjammer was a bit too chaotic for us, so we were glad to eat in the MDR for breakfast and for lunch on the sea day.

FWIW, the bed was much softer than the bed at the Hyatt House that we stayed at the night before the cruise. I slept well on the cruise, including a few midday naps.

When we sailed on Adventure earlier this year, the persistent pushing of drink and dining packages on the Promenade (loudly, via a microphone) was very annoying and I was glad that we didn't experience this on the Freedom.

I was even surprised that we found chairs by the pool on the sea day.....I was expecting far more empty chairs with the towel placeholder than we encountered.

Overall, we had a great time. Yes, the carpet isn't brand new, but that didn't impact our vacation. The ship was clean, the staff was friendly, the food was good and our fellow cruisers were lots of fun.

We recently sailed on the Adventure of the Seas, and I loved the martini selection in the Champagne Bar. In fact, I'd grab one and take it with me to the Schooner bar.

On Freedom, I see a Champagne Bar, R Bar and Oliver Twist. Can I get some info on those three bars and their menus? I'm hoping that more than just the Champagne Bar does specialty martinis!

We sailed on Feb 19th and we did the BOGO dining. Izumi was not eligible for the BOGO.....only Chops and Giovanni's. We ate at Izumi for lunch, though, and it was good. A little pricey, but good!

We walked around, got Belgian chocolates, and looked in the shops.

 

LOVE the Belgian Chocolate Shop!!

We are trying to decide which nights we want to eat in the MDR and which nights we want to go the speciality dining route. Are the menus rotated the same way during each cruise, which will allow us to anticipate what would be served each night of our cruise? If so, can someone post MDR menus from a recent cruise? If it matters, we are sailing on Freedom OTS in May to the southern Caribbean.

I appreciate you taking time to do this because we are on Freedom for the 8 night cruise in December. Any chance you can tell me the order of the Main Dining Room menus? Just wondered because we have been on the 6 & 7 night cruises but not 8 night. Thanks!

 

 

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I was just going to ask for the same thing! I was hoping to see the MDR menus so I could plan out our speciality dining. Does anyone know if the menu rotation stays the same cruise after cruise, or does it vary?

I emailed my CVP with Royal, and he advised me to call the loyalty desk for C&A members. I asked, and received a no cost upgrade from a hump balcony to a junior suite.

So I just called C&A and they said that upgrades are super rare and you can't call in to get one. He said they select who to offer upgrades to and send those members an email to let them know they are eligible. So odd that the answer was SO different. :-(

There is a thread about everything on the Freedom, and I will be writing a trip report on the thread in my signature.

 

Congratulations on the upgrade, we got a great one too.

I keep reading about upgrades. Did they upgrade you because of your Diamond status or did you call and ask for any free upgrades?

MTD has to be selected in advance of the cruise. You can have first seating main dining, second seating main dining or MyTime. With the latter you can go anytime you want during dinner hours, although if you show up an hour after the dining room opens there may not be any seats available (same as a restaurant on shore). If you select MTD you can usuallymake reservations in the cruise planner (time when this becomes available before cruise varies with ship and sailing), but reservations are not required.

 

Sailing out of San Juan you will have more locals than usual. These folks tend to eat later in the evening. They also tend to dress a bit more formal than other Caribbean cruises, but your husband will likely be in top dressed 30% with his usual outfit.

 

Specialty restaurants are not officially formal on any night.

Thanks so much for the info. If I make reservations thru the Cruise Planner for MTD, will there still be a wait, or only if we don't make any reservations?

We may just go the specialty dining route to avoid the whole thing.

We are sailing on the May 12th Freedom OTS and I have a few random questions.

I saw the muster drill is normally at 5:00 or 5:30, so what is the latest we can get to the ship without causing ourselves undo stress?

What is typical formal dress for men for the Caribbean cruises? DH is not looking forward to tux or suit, so I'm trying to see if a sport jacket/button-down/pants will be sufficient.

On formal night, are all of the dining options formal or just the MDR? As in, if we ate at Chops, is the dress code the same?

If we selected MTD, do we sign up for that in the Cruise Planner (when dining opens up) or once we get on board?

TIA for the help!

Bluegirlum - so the clamshells can be moved around to provide shade as the sun moves? My husband hates the sun. Are they able to be lifted and turned, or rotated on their base, etc?

 

Thanks in advance!

We rented a clamshell and I was rather disappointed. We were not able to move them around so our legs were in the sun. I would have preferred an umbrella because the clamshell blocked the breeze better than the sun so it was stuffy under there, and the beach was slanted, so our chairs were leaning forward. They seem to be more for privacy then sunblocking because they are mostly behind the chairs rather than over the chairs. The location is wonderful, though. Right near the swim up bar and a beer truck stops by regularly. Bottom line - I loved the location but not the clamshells.

 

All that for $50?

I'm trying to rent two chairs for our Majesty excursion and it says $90.....I thought it was $45 for two, not $45pp.

Does anyone know?

How did Nassau and Coco Cay fair during the hurricane? Any update on whether everything is back to normal?

 

- If you eat at the Mexican restaurant, do NOT get nachos. They do not have a salamander (broiler) up there so they use liquid cheese. But the rest of the food is quite good. it is $18 a person, but worth it if you like Mexican food. If you like spicy food, ask for cut up peppers to put on your food. It makes it even better. The Guac was wonderful and made right there!

 

Where is the Mexican restaurant? I haven't seen any information on Mexican. If you pay the $18pp, can you still use your drink card for alcoholic beverages?

BTW, welcome to Cruise Critic. You have found the source of great information for your first cruise.

 

When is it?

 

If you are thinking about buying a drink package, you should know that it DOES work on CocoCay. :)

 

Everything tastes better on the beach. :D

We are going on the 3 day sail on November 11th. Already bought our drink package....that was an easy decision!

There are hundreds and hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of loungers on CocoCay. IMO, a bungalow is entirely unnecessary.

 

But if you want one, book it today. There is a 20% discount, good only through today. (if your cruise is before December 16 and isn't during Thanksgiving)

Thanks for the info.....we'll just grab a free lounger!

Bungalow was 156.00 on coco cay yesterday

Thanks Cool Cruiser.......can I ask a few questions?

Do you think the bungalow was worth it? Did you buy it ahead of time or once you got there? If you hadn't purchased the bungalow, would there have been loungers available?

I'm a first time cruiser. Can previous cruisers help us decide what excursions we should book?

At both ports, we really just want to lounge on the beach at a nice spot with an umbrella and drinks. How do we do that? Do we need a booked excursion or when we get off the ship, will it be obvious where we should go?