Freedom 1/23 West...my comments ****

Simply put this cruise was excellent from beginning to end. This was our 19th cruise(RCCL, Princess, Carnival) and...

- food (quality/selection),

- ship appearance/condition, MAGNIFICENT!!

- crew( Cruise Director and Master (Captain) very sociable and approachable,

- crew... cabin, wait staff and all were helpful, friendly and personable

- entertainment (RccL singers and dancers and Osmond Brothers)

- embarkation/debarkation...very fast and efficient

.....all above EXCELLENT and exceeded our expectations.

- Cabin 9404 starboard aft corner, excellent views w/2 chairs, lounger and small table.

- Children under 16 - 18, not many and not an issue!(some people make it sound as if there are unsafe decks or corridors with marauding kids...not true.

- Ports of call, all typical cruiser trappings. Cozumel is fun( shopping, Mex culture and of course, bars (look up Mr. Chili's for good food and $1 beers), Ocho Rios is a pit (be careful) hopefully Falmouth well be better, Labadee exceptional investment by RCCL to make this a great private "island" w/beautiful beaches, zip line and coaster.

If you are booked or considering a booking on the Freedom you have made an excellent choice. Wish I was still on board!!! Questions, just ask. I have on board bottle liquor pricing if needed. Ship pricing beat most port pricing though the selection is more limited.

Simply put this cruise was excellent from beginning to end. This was our 19th cruise(RCCL, Princess, Carnival) and...

- food (quality/selection),

- ship appearance/condition, MAGNIFICENT!!

- crew( Cruise Director and Master (Captain) very sociable and approachable,

- crew... cabin, wait staff and all were helpful, friendly and personable

- entertainment (RccL singers and dancers and Osmond Brothers)

- embarkation/debarkation...very fast and efficient

.....all above EXCELLENT and exceeded our expectations.

 

- Cabin 9404 starboard aft corner, excellent views w/2 chairs, lounger and small table.

- Children under 16 - 18, not many and not an issue!(some people make it sound as if there are unsafe decks or corridors with marauding kids...not true.

 

- Ports of call, all typical cruiser trappings. Cozumel is fun( shopping, Mex culture and of course, bars (look up Mr. Chili's for good food and $1 beers), Ocho Rios is a pit (be careful) hopefully Falmouth well be better, Labadee exceptional investment by RCCL to make this a great private "island" w/beautiful beaches, zip line and coaster.

 

If you are booked or considering a booking on the Freedom you have made an excellent choice. Wish I was still on board!!! Questions, just ask. I have on board bottle liquor pricing if needed. Ship pricing beat most port pricing though the selection is more limited.

Thanks for the comments! I'm going in August. Can't wait! :D

I do have a couple of questions, if you don't mind:

1. Who is the Cruise Director and what are your opinions of him/her?

2. Did your children use the Teen Rooms on the ship? If so, how did they like it? My son will be 14 by the time we sail.

Thanks again!

- ship appearance/condition, MAGNIFICENT!!

This may sound like a silly question, but did you play the mini-golf? This was my only disappointment with Freedom. We were on her 100th sailing, so she was just shy of 2 years old. It remains my favorite cruise and ship so far, but the minigolf was a disaster area and falling apart. Its the only bad memory from a great cruise. The putters were all in bad shape and needed replaced. I remember one shot went between holes and ended up under a piece of carpet that had come loose. When I lifted the carpet to retrieve the ball, the ball fell down in a hole and went into the superstructure of the ship. I remember the sound of it bouncing down at least 2 decks. I guessed it might have sounded loud in some of the aft cabins on deck 10 and 9. (Silly memory from a great cruise) Hopefully its been repaired.

Mibarron...Cruise Director was Graham Seymour. He is excellent. Between Princess and RCCL we have had him 3 -4 times as CD. He is involved and entertaining.

No teens with us on the cruise but there appeared to be areas and activities for a wide age range. They did have an arcade w/many games and air hockey in an area dedicated for teens.

BillOH.....did not get to play mini golf. We did see the "course" when we first arrived but actually though we wanted to, we never made it to play a round. I can't comment on the condition. It was a windy cruise and there is lots to do. Don't miss the ice skating show.

I was on the same sailing with bildoug and completely agree with his comments. Graham actually got off the ship with us for vacation but is going back to Freedom after his break and should be on the ship in August. He was great!

The ship goes into dry-dock in March, so if the mini-golf hasn't already been fixed, it should be fixed in March. The captain also said they were supposed to get a better PA system in dry dock.

We were on the same sailing. Will be writing review when I get caught back up with all the paper work I have yet to do!!

Our opinion of the cruise was not magnificent, but rather a bit of a disappointment. Nothing horrible, just not the RCI product we remember from 5 years ago. Also, we have learned that big "mall" ships, are not for us. STAFF was great.....Graham was the best.

This may sound like a silly question, but did you play the mini-golf? This was my only disappointment with Freedom. We were on her 100th sailing, so she was just shy of 2 years old. It remains my favorite cruise and ship so far, but the minigolf was a disaster area and falling apart. Its the only bad memory from a great cruise. The putters were all in bad shape and needed replaced. I remember one shot went between holes and ended up under a piece of carpet that had come loose. When I lifted the carpet to retrieve the ball, the ball fell down in a hole and went into the superstructure of the ship. I remember the sound of it bouncing down at least 2 decks. I guessed it might have sounded loud in some of the aft cabins on deck 10 and 9. (Silly memory from a great cruise) Hopefully its been repaired.

DH & DD played minigolf on FOS during our 1/9/11 sailing. They said it leaves much to be desired.

Simply put this cruise was excellent from beginning to end. This was our 19th cruise(RCCL, Princess, Carnival) and...

- food (quality/selection),

- ship appearance/condition, MAGNIFICENT!!

- crew( Cruise Director and Master (Captain) very sociable and approachable,

- crew... cabin, wait staff and all were helpful, friendly and personable

- entertainment (RccL singers and dancers and Osmond Brothers)

- embarkation/debarkation...very fast and efficient

.....all above EXCELLENT and exceeded our expectations.

 

- Cabin 9404 starboard aft corner, excellent views w/2 chairs, lounger and small table.

- Children under 16 - 18, not many and not an issue!(some people make it sound as if there are unsafe decks or corridors with marauding kids...not true.

 

- Ports of call, all typical cruiser trappings. Cozumel is fun( shopping, Mex culture and of course, bars (look up Mr. Chili's for good food and $1 beers), Ocho Rios is a pit (be careful) hopefully Falmouth well be better, Labadee exceptional investment by RCCL to make this a great private "island" w/beautiful beaches, zip line and coaster.

 

If you are booked or considering a booking on the Freedom you have made an excellent choice. Wish I was still on board!!! Questions, just ask. I have on board bottle liquor pricing if needed. Ship pricing beat most port pricing though the selection is more limited.

Did you miss Grand Cayman?

This was our first time on the Freedom but have been on 6 other cruises, all with RC.

Not up to par as other cruises. The ship was great, don't get me wrong, but the wait staff needs to kick it up a notch. I am not one to nitpick I just go with the flow, but our waiter was awful for dinner and breakfast in the main dining room took well over an hour and half one morning. The first night at dinner our waiter got the orders wrong (a table of six). Let that go thinking she was new. The third night crab cakes were ice cold. By the time I got her attention or anyone elses for that matter the main course was on its way. Again cold. Of course they offered to bring warmer food, but by then, forget it. Lost my interest. The assistant waiter wasn't much better. The food overall would have been decent if it had at least been warm. She said she would try to bring me hot food every night but fell short. Head waiter was elusive. Overall cruise experience wonderful. They really need to address the situation in the dining room though. We would go to the main dining room for breakfast to meet other people which we enjoyed doing, but again, how hard is it to get an order of one egg over medium and wheat toast wrong?! One morning we were at a large table and after three times of bringing her an omlette and it still wasn't right, she gave up, don't blame her. It was a three ingredient omlette and they couldn't even do that. We did eat at Chops one night and it was wonderful.

We are scheduled to go on Freedom (Eastern) in 3 1/2 weeks. However, after reading so many mixed reviews I'm worried I made a mistake booking this one. We've not done one of the larger ships and was really excited about it.

I've read that Graham Seymour has gone on vacation and will not be on my sailing. :(

That the food and service have not been very good. :(

That kids have overrun the ship :(.

That Chops and Portofino have changed their menus and don't have the favorites anymore and are not as good as they were. :(

St. Thomas will have 7 ships in port while we are there and will be very crowded :(

Did I make a mistake booking this ship and cruise?

We are scheduled to go on Freedom (Eastern) in 3 1/2 weeks. However, after reading so many mixed reviews I'm worried I made a mistake booking this one. We've not done one of the larger ships and was really excited about it.

 

I've read that Graham Seymour has gone on vacation and will not be on my sailing. :(

 

That the food and service have not been very good. :(

 

That kids have overrun the ship :(.

 

That Chops and Portofino have changed their menus and don't have the favorites anymore and are not as good as they were. :(

 

St. Thomas will have 7 ships in port while we are there and will be very crowded :(

 

Did I make a mistake booking this ship and cruise?

Hi Val

We will be sailing at Eastern in April...

I am same as you worry but I wait and see how things get on... as we often sailing with Disney so first times with RCCI... I believe 6 ships will be at St Thomas...

Just wait and see and as I read lots of positive there and very few negative... You will cruise before me perhaps you let me know how you get on?

Scottishwee35

That kids have overrun the ship :(.

I believe this ship, and expecially after dry dock with the whole movie screen and dream works/shrek, is geared towards kids and families. I'm thinking this ain't the ship for those who don't want to see too many kids on board possibly. ;)

For us at least in early January, it did not seem overrun with kids at all. And I notice throngs of irritating children!! Not the case for our week at least. We had a wonderful experience on the ship.

we love the freedom and are looking to go back late summer early fall

Thank you for sharing your experience with us.

We are scheduled to go on Freedom (Eastern) in 3 1/2 weeks. However, after reading so many mixed reviews I'm worried I made a mistake booking this one. We've not done one of the larger ships and was really excited about it.

 

I've read that Graham Seymour has gone on vacation and will not be on my sailing. :(

 

That the food and service have not been very good. :(

 

That kids have overrun the ship :(.

 

That Chops and Portofino have changed their menus and don't have the favorites anymore and are not as good as they were. :(

 

St. Thomas will have 7 ships in port while we are there and will be very crowded :(

 

Did I make a mistake booking this ship and cruise?

My prediction? You will go and LOVE it! We sailed FOS twice last year and LOVED it both times. Graham Seymour was great but so was the cruise director we had earlier in the year (although I can't remember his name...he was younger and bald but very funny and personable). The FOS is a family-type ship so you should expect kids to be there! We went in May and Nov (so not really high season for kids) and we didn't feel like there were too many. When we were in St. Thomas there were also 7 ships and it didn't seem that crowded to me. I was a little worried about it myself but everyone seems to spread out once they are off the ship and it wasn't that bad. Our food was fabulous (and hot) so no complaints there...both sailings! In fact, we enjoyed our food and company so much in the dining room, that we never did make reservations for the other restaurants so I can't really comment on that.

We did have crappy weather most of the week in Nov (missed CocoCay and had HUGE waves - they actually had to close the pool area because of the waves IN the pools) and we still had a blast. SO much of your cruise experience depends on your attitude really. Remember that ANY day spent on a cruise ship is better than a day at work or home! :) Enjoy yourself immensely!

Kathy

I was on the same sailing with bildoug and completely agree with his comments. Graham actually got off the ship with us for vacation but is going back to Freedom after his break and should be on the ship in August. He was great!

PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE say that's not his rotation. Off 6 months? Someone else had said they 'thought' he his rotation was work 4 months, off 2 months. IF that's the case, wouldn't he be back on the ship right after Dry dock?

We are SO keeping our fingers crossed he's on our sailing the beginning of April.

Thanx,

Erika

Anyone have any compasses or menus to post? What about smoking...was it a problem at all. I believe the bars in the promenade are now smoke free, it that correct?

Thanks.

Anyone have any compasses or menus to post? What about smoking...was it a problem at all. I believe the bars in the promenade are now smoke free, it that correct?

 

Thanks.

No Compass, Menu I may be able to find on net as I can remember what i read each night...give me some time on that.

Smoking. Oliv or Twist (Vicking Lounge) but not at the bar and only at a few high top tables that are not comfirtable. Sky bar by the pool. One side of ship on exterior promenade ...and part of the casino but not at the bar.

We are scheduled to go on Freedom (Eastern) in 3 1/2 weeks. However, after reading so many mixed reviews I'm worried I made a mistake booking this one. We've not done one of the larger ships and was really excited about it.

 

I've read that Graham Seymour has gone on vacation and will not be on my sailing. :(

 

That the food and service have not been very good. :(

 

That kids have overrun the ship :(.

 

That Chops and Portofino have changed their menus and don't have the favorites anymore and are not as good as they were. :(

 

St. Thomas will have 7 ships in port while we are there and will be very crowded :(

 

Did I make a mistake booking this ship and cruise?

I just got off FOS from 1/23 sailing.

I'll post a proper review when I have a little more time, but here are my thoughts on your concerns...

I loved Graham, but all the CDs I have had were good. And, I just read that Graham told the 1/9 sailing that it was his last before vacation too, so who knows.

Our service was great. Better than our other 2 cruises.

The food was exactly the same as our cruises last year.

We definitely saw some kids, but for the most part they weren't annoying. The only time I saw them "running around" was when we went back to our room after 2nd seating dinner. It calmed down pretty quickly. And, we were right beside the elevator, so I suspect we saw more kids than most rooms.

We didn't eat at Portofino. The Chops was NOT as good as on the Enchantment of the Seas, but still worth the upgrade charge. The food was pretty much the same, the service was not as good. Our MDR head waiter said that the Chops manager had just taken over, so he probably has a few kinks to work out.

Grand Cayman had 6 ships when we were there. It didn't seem any busier to me than the other ports. I think the ports get used to the volume and adapt accordingly.

Have a great time! FOS is an amazing ship!!

Anyone have any compasses or menus to post? What about smoking...was it a problem at all. I believe the bars in the promenade are now smoke free, it that correct?

 

Thanks.

I probably have compasses (Western) and menus, but it will take me a while to get them scanned. I actually found menus in another thread. I posted the link below. Go up to "food" in the menu bar. The menus on my FOS trip were the same, just a little out of order... Our waiter recommended that we go to Chops on Wednesday night, it was Italian night.

http://www.cruisegoers.com/mariner/

I was on this cruise and had a great time. The ports were great and we had sun all week long !

Our service in the dinning room was pretty good no complaints. Only problem was our assistant waiter was always alittle slow bringing the bread to us at the beginning of the dinner.

The shows were pretty good, I have had better on other sailings.

Someone asked about the mini golf. My wife and I played a round on the first day we got onboard and we found it to be perfectly fine. We didn't notice any problems.

I thought Grayham was funny as a CD but he is not my favorite, I still like Dennis on the Serenade the best. I also heard that Grayham was getting off after our sailing (not sure for how long).

Ship didn't feel crowded at all, and I didn't really notice to many kids.

We meet a great bar tender in the On Air club area, he was great, we went each night before dinner there.

I believe we have the Compass' from our 1/23 western. Should have them scanned and posted tomorrow am.

Someone asked about Grand Cayman. Been there several times. Very nice "upscale" shopping compared to other ports on this sailing. We don't snorkel/scuba and have done sting ray city (recommend) in the past. Of course there is no shortage of places to get a drink.

We did eat at Chops and Portofino during the week. Both service and food were very good, though not exceptional. Much better than the mass produced food in the MDR

For those seconding guessing a decision to book on this ship, I would book a sailing on this ship in a heartbeat. If the worst issue is the assistant waiter being slow at bringing you bread.....then I'd say you had a dam good cruise.

As always, you should be mindful of school holidays, spring break etc if you are looking to avoid a high percentage of children.

We don't look for issues and don't sweat the small stuff. Magnificent Ship, good food, good entertainment and plenty to do what more could you ask for?...... Go Cruising, Enjoy.

going on Freedom in april for first cruise ever with husband and 2 teens, ages 13 and 15. Thanks for your review - heard only great things about the ship. Do you know about Mr. Sanchos, an all inclusive in Cozumel? What about the stingray/snorkel excursion in Grand Cayman? I am thinking about bringing my own bottle of vodka in my suitcase - we are driving, not flying to port, so wondering if this will be a problem. You mentioned prices of bottles on board...didn't realize you can buy alcohol by the bottle. Would love the price of top shelf vodka if you have that. Also, what's your take on bringing my own bottle with me? Trying to save some money as we are already over budge! Thank you.

I just got off Allure; all 6,000 of us. We were in St. Thomas last week; along with five other ships; port was not crowded.