New- Just Off Freedom (Aug 12th) Review & Thoughts

Just back from Freedom. Here are my thoughts/review. Kind of rambling and hodgepodge . . . but hopefully it will help a few folks. Happy to answer any questions that I can. I will try to finish it in a day or two. :D

A quick preview:

1. Park N Cruise

2. Rooms 9328 (Junior Suite) and 6615 (Inside promenade accessible)

3. Labadee Nellie’s Beach cabana

4. Falmouth – never left the port :)

5. Grand Cayman – Island tour and sting ray city through Native Way

6. Cozumel – Tulum Express through RCI

7. MDR 5:30 seating

8. Johnny Rockets

9. Ice show, Once Upon A Time, Farewell show

Freedom is a great ship and as one of my daughters pointed out, everyone can have their own special vacation. Do everything or do nothing.

This was our 5th RCI cruise, the last one was over 6 years ago. The largest ship we had been on before this was Vision (panama canal cruise a long time ago). It was myself, DW and two daughters (18 & 21). Two rooms: Jr Suite and an inside promenade.

A few pics along the way . . .

Others have posted menus (thank goodness! I kept forgetting to take pictures).

Here are the options for appetizers and main courses available every night:

[/img]

[/img]

Didn't take many food pics - but here are what I have.

My favorite main course was the artichoke crepes. OMG to die for!

[/img]

Beef Medallions, Chicken Caesar, Shrimp Goya Dumplings, Shrimp Ravioli, Duck, and escargot

[/img]

[/img]

[/img]

[/img]

[/img]

[/img]

Did I mention we found the food to be delicious?

We live in southwest Florida, so we headed out Sunday at 7:30 am towards Port Canaveral. We arrived at Park N Cruise at 10:45 am. It is very easy to find and right off the interstate. At first it looks a bit sketchy – a big old Quonset hut in a gravel field. We pulled right into the “hut” and were immediately greeted by several friendly guys. They grabbed the luggage out of the van and as my wife paid the bill ($5.99 per day), they showed me where to park. Our shuttle left within 5 minutes – it was just us and our luggage.

It is a quick ride to the ship and the driver told us where to meet him when we get back. There was already a healthy line outside the terminal. It took awhile to get inside the building, but once inside we moved through quickly. We were directed to the priority line (gold status), but all the lines looked about the same.

At 11:50 we were sitting in the Windjammer eating lunch! Pretty hard to beat! My daughter said, “that was stressful” at the same time I was saying to my other daughter, “That was so easy!” Different perspectives, I guess?

Our first taste of Freedom’s Windjammer food was not the greatest experience. It was pretty much “ok” at best. My girls said it reminded them of the food at their college and high school. We promised to give it another try later in the cruise. (it got better)

We also were starting to notice the “Bickersons” – these are the families that seem to be constantly bickering or the people that were just outright nasty. I think you always get some of these, but we saw and heard many on the cruise! It just brought us closer together. No matter what, we were NOT going to be the grumpy Bickersons!

We walked around the ship a bit and at first we were overwhelmed by the size and thought it was complicated to figure out where we were, etc. This quickly passes! By Monday afternoon we felt like we were “old pros.” The rooms were ready at 1:00 and we went to the girls’ room first. They were in 6615 – promenade inside. I was able to get them upgraded from the cheapest inside cabin at no charge when the prices started to drop about 6 weeks prior to the cruise. They ended up in an accessible cabin (handicapped) and it was fantastic. It was a really big room and huge bathroom. I guess if they don’t have a person that needs the accessible stateroom they put anyone in it. Unfortunately the beds were not separated as requested, but the girls decided it was fine the way it was. They also didn’t have the strawberries I had pre-purchased for them or their gold coupon books. This stuff showed up later that evening.

They didn’t really have any contact with their room steward the first few days, which was unfortunate. They left a note and asked for ice and extra towels to be left in the room. The note disappeared but nothing happened. I finally called housekeeping on Tuesday night and asked if they could let the steward know about their requests. It didn’t help. Now – after I SAW their cabin and how MESSY it was (clothes everywhere!) I decided to give the poor cabin steward a break! Too bad, though, because having a great steward and relationship with him/her is so special. Ours was wonderful . . .

Now to our cabin: We paid an extra $220 (total) and upgraded to a Junior Suite from a balcony D3 and it was awesome. We had 9328. The room was very large, great big closet, big bathroom with a tub and large balcony. It was money well spent. Our cabin steward was Xiomara and she was awesome!! A few things I had pre-ordered for our cabin (champagne and strawberries) were missing but they showed up later. The bed was soooooo comfortable! This was the first time I could call a cabin “roomy.”

Our first night in the MDR (5:30 seating) was also wonderful. We had a table for 4 (#362) as requested and met our fantastic wait staff (Coleen-waiter/Deshan-ass’t waiter). Coleen knew our names by the end of our first meal and was genuinely friendly and just great. We miss her!! The waiters have their hands full and seem to have more tables these days, but were still excellent.

You do need to be patient, though. It took my daughters a couple of meals to understand that dinner on a cruise is not a 30 minute in-and-out. Sometimes it was 2 hours. The night we went to a 7:00 pm show I told Coleen when we sat down and she had us out – with dessert – by 6:45.

Love the pics, thanks for posting. What did you think of the overall food quality?

Awsome pics...can't wait for more!!

Room 9328 on Freedom of the Seas

[/img]

[/img]

[/img]

[/img]

[/img]

Great review so far. The Freedom is one of my favorite ships. I have been lucky to sail her twice once with my Dad and the other time with the rest of the family. Great memories.

Looking foreward for the rest of the review.

A couple more of 9328 (can you tell it tool me a minute to realize the camera lens would fog when going in and out of the balcony?):D

BIG closet & Bathroom!

[/img]

[/img]

double post

Love the pics, thanks for posting. What did you think of the overall food quality?

We thought the food in the MDR was great. There were 2 desserts we didn't care for (kind of moussey stuff - yuck). One was a peach dessert I thought was awful, but I saw the little girl at the table next to us eat 2 of them! So?? Oh --- And there was a raspberry cake that was kind of like a hockey puck, but . . .

The steak my daughter got the last night had a lot of fat and wasn't the best, but she said it tasted good. Everything else was awesome IMHO.

Baileys & Banana Creme Brulee is available every night. I could fill a hot tub with it and graze the whole cruise away. But that's just me . . .

Thanks for sharing. Looking forward to reading the rest.

A few of 6615

[/img]

[/img]

[/img]

Wow, love it! Can't wait to see more!

The rest of Sunday night we just explored and tasted the first of many cocktails . . . Well, at least I did. And our 21 year old . . .

Monday was a sea day and the girls hit the pool for quite awhile. They said it was packed, but they found chairs up on deck 12 by the rail and had a great time. We spent time in the casino, our balcony, shopping on the promenade and generally just relaxing. We had lunch in the Windjammer and it was better, but not great. The girls did the same thing and had the same experience. We ate lunch in the MDR on the last sea day and it was very good. The salad bar is really, really good and should not be missed! You do need to growl at the lettuce [insert Seinfeld reference] and make him put extra lettuce in the bowl. If not, you will end up with lots of great stuff mixed with 3 leafs of lettuce.

Promenade shops & food:

Nice people but sometimes a bit pushy. We really don’t need people approaching us while walking down the mall. Your best defense is to give it right back to them (in fun, of course) and badger the heck out of them. We ended up with guys that knew our names and were always having fun with us. It helps to have cute daughters.

I bought 2 bottles of Sheridan’s for $41.99 the first night and also a bottle of Hennessy Black for about $50. The Hennessy was certainly cheaper than home, but I saw it for about $40 in Jamaica. I should have waited, but what the heck. They are delivered to your cabin the last night of the cruise.

There are 2 “$10 sales” during the week, so if you miss one don’t fret. My oldest bought a watch and 2 interchangeable bands ($20 total) and loves it. T-shirts go on sale the last sea day, so hold off if you can. They are $10 and are up by the pool on deck 11. Get there early for the best selection and to avoid the Bickerson's fighting over shirts! I think it started at 9:30 am. At the same time they are selling the Make-A-Wish T-shirts for $10 at the Sky Bar on deck 12. 100% goes to Make-A-Wish, so BUY ONE, damnit! You don’t have to go on the walk-a-thon, just buy the shirt.

Other shops include a logo store, jewelry stores, Britto store (artist – very fun stuff but not cheap).

Sorrentos Pizza is open every day until 3:00 am. It’s good pizza, not great, but sure hits the spot at times. Get it fresh from the oven and it helps. They have other things like a few salads and some desserts. My DW was confused the first time and tried to pay with her seapass card. Everything at Sorrentos is included in the cruise fare, so you don’t pay extra. The young lady told my DW this and then added, “but we take tips.” That made it kind of awkward from then on. There is no tip jar…. Doesn’t seem right to hand over a few bucks….. surely these folks are included in the tips we pay? My wife just sent me in and I didn’t tip. But I did eat lots of almond cookies!

Promenade Café has some small sandwiches and a few pastries and cookies. Also coffee. This is also included in your fare. They serve Starbucks drinks at an extra charge (the same as on land – no gouging). Don’t forget you can get milk and chocolate milk here at no charge! I had our fridge stocked with chocolate milk.

Cupcake Place (whatever the name was??). Good, but you really don’t need to spend $2.50 on a cupcake with all the other goodies that are included.

Johnny Rockets

We ate here twice. One lunch and one dinner. The food is excellent and the guys & gals are very nice and seem to be having fun. They will dance occasionally and turn the music up LOUD, so be prepared. Make sure Melvin shows you his tricks and does a table dance for you!

It never seemed to be busy. There is a $4.95 cover charge per person and you can order as much as you want from the menu. Drinks are extra. When my DW and I ate lunch, she just wanted fries and onion rings so they only charged one cover charge. I had a boca burger :D.

We ended up here for dinner after a long day in Mexico. We didn’t make it back in time for the MDR, were dead tired and just plopped down at an outside table and ate. We all thought the food was great. Used our 2 for 1 coupon for shakes, too.

Labadee

We rented a Nellie’s Beach Cabana ($200 – over the water) at Labadee. Money well spent if you just want a “beach day.” You walk down the pier past the excursion center to the Information Center. Show them your ticket and they get a golf cart right over to take you to your cabana. I tipped Mickey, our driver, $5 and he was at our service all day if needed. Nice guy. We also had a cabana attendant (Freetz) that was very attentive. But – his English wasn’t the best.

Me: Please bring us 2 labadoozies and 2 virgin strawberry daiquiris.

Freetz: 2 labadoozies with alcohol. 2 labadoozies none alcohol.

Me: No, 2 labadoozies with alcohol, 2 strawberry daiquiris – no alcohol.

Freetz, as he is turning away: OK. 4 labadoozies all alcohol.

Me: Uh, no . . .

Repeat.

We got 4 labadoozies – 2 with alcohol, 2 without.

His heart was in it! His English is a helluva lot better than my Creole/French! A very nice young man. I tipped him $20 at the end of the day and he seemed very happy.

I would get to your cabana as early as possible. The day goes very fast. You can always nap in the morning when you get there. It is very comfortable for four people. There were steps right by the cabana that led to the water. They will bring you as many floaties as you want (we had 4). The beach is sandy, so no water shoes were necessary. When you want to leave or explore, just tell the cabana attendant to call your driver.

Lunch was a short walk over to Barefoot Beach and with the Suite guests. The food was very good. No – really!! Steaks, shrimp kabobs, chicken, etc. We all found something we liked (did I mention my youngest is a pescetarian - eats seafood but no meat - and I do not eat beef or pork?) We went early and the line moved quickly and everything was fresh. There are a limited number of tables so you may have to move some chairs around. We found many, many of the Bickersons over there living the Suite life and were glad to make it out of the gated area and back to our we-be-junior-suite-and-inside-cabin-folks cabana.

Pics of Labadee will come tomorrow. Got to go sit on the couch!

More to come tomorrow . . .

Great review! Waiting for more.....:)

great review! wow, $220 for a JS upgrade, I'd do it! waiting for pictures from Nellie's cabana, we'll be there in 3 weeks and have one reserved!

thank you for the great review so far:)

Love your review, looking forward to more!

Thanks for taking the time to do this... I'm anxious for more :)

The Hennessy was certainly cheaper than home, but I saw it for about $40 in Jamaica. I should have waited, but what the heck. They are delivered to your cabin the last night of the cruise..

Great review so far!

For future reference, if you find a price cheaper on the island on alcohol, take a picture of it and the ship will match it :)

Great review and pictures. Thanks for sharing.

Very enjoyable review. Looking forward to how you spent time in the ports.

Great review so far!

 

For future reference, if you find a price cheaper on the island on alcohol, take a picture of it and the ship will match it :)

I had no idea they would do that. Thank you for that tip!:)

Wonderful review so far!