A Carnival guy on Freedom OTS, The WOW factor: A pictorial review

[DarthGrady]

Great job Grady, look forward to seeing the rest. BY the way where was that Mojo's Tiki place? John

 

Its right near the ground level station for the Paradise Point sky ride, and also near the Hooters. All are right off that main road that goes from the pier into town.

[DarthGrady]

Grady - The photos are wonderful, and you write a terrific review. As soon as I heard about those cantilevered hot-tubs, I wanted to try them out!

 

Do you think the ship just has too many people on it? Or do you prefer to use facilites when you "almost" have things to yourself?

 

Kathy

 

Well, there are a lot of people but its not really over crowded. With the exception of the Windjammer (which gets insanely packed sometimes), the other stuff was just too crowded for my taste. I'm just not a fan of crowded areas, so I try and use the facilities when the crowds are less.

[DarthGrady]

Day 5, St. Maarten:

Our day in St. Maarten began in the Windjammer again, this time for breakfast. Everything was good, except for the pancakes. I’m not sure how one could make pancakes tough, but whoever made them succeeded. We got a table near the big windows on the starboard side of the dining area, from which we had a great view of both the harbor and the two cruise ships next to us. One was the Pacific Dream and the other was the Carnival Miracle.

After breakfast we got off the ship and went to the little shopping area at the pier. Since we didn’t want to go to the beach, we returned to the ship. The lido deck was near vacant, and we enjoyed a few great hours in the pools and whirlpools before the ship filled up again. Later in the day I played the trivia game at the Schooner Bar and lost as usual.

We watched sail away on deck, which was fairly depressing since our next stop would be Port Canaveral and I would be forced to leave the ship. The three ships had a dueling horns concert as we pulled away from the pier which was a bit of free entertainment.

Before supper we went by the casino and used our free sot machine pull coupons from our Crown and Anchor coupon book. Not surprisingly, I didn’t win. My wife, however, did win a free genuine plastic RCI key chain! We also stopped by Studio B for some ice skating. Actually, my wife ice skated; I put on skates and pulled myself around the rink once by the rail then quit. We had a great dinner, the theme was Italian and the minestrone soup was tasty. The waiters all assembled on the grand staircase and sang to us.

After dinner we attended the main show which was a one time show by Troy Thirdgill. I had seen him on Monarch of the Seas and really liked his show. The show he put on this night was one of the best comedy routines I have ever seen, on a cruise ship or otherwise. What’s even better is that his bit is totally clean, and it is still hilarious.

 

Quite a view from the Windjammer

 

The Carnival Miracle next to us

 

 

The smaller ship is Pullmantur Cruise Line's Pacific Dream (ex. Celebrity Horizon)

 

 

 

 

The Captain's bass boat?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[QTMichele]

Grady - do you plan on writing any more tonight??? Inquiring minds and all... :D

 

ETA: posted this immediatly after you posted St. Martin. Great minds think alike. :) Off to read your latest!!!

[DarthGrady]

How would you like your ship? Small, medium or large?

 

 

 

Dredging for, and construction to the new Oasis Class pier is ongoing

 

 

[DarthGrady]

Leaving port

 

 

 

 

 

[DarthGrady]

Another great sunset

 

 

and so ends another great day

[DarthGrady]

Day 6, At Sea:

We began our sea day with lunch at Sorrento’s for some pizza. Afterwards we went to the back deck and visited the Flow Rider. This was the first time riding one for both of us, but it was a lot of fun. Some folks should have paid closer attention to the instructions on wardrobe, because I saw several unintended nude scenes from people getting washed over the top of the wave. Basically, when they say wear a shirt and snug pants, they mean it. Some of the ladies had good intentions and wore a white t-shirt, but we all know how well those conceal things when they get wet.

After body boarding on the Flow Rider, we decided to give the mini golf course a try. The course was actually pretty challenging, with lots of abrupt corners that require banking off of a rock or obstacle.

In the afternoon we attended the Freedom Ice.com show in Studio B. I can’t remember the last time I saw an ice show, so this one was very impressive. Even more so, since they were doing the skating and stunts on a ship pitching and rolling in fairly rough seas. I highly recommend that anyone cruising on Royal Caribbean ship watch the ice show at least once.

Prior to dinner we went to the main theater for the “Once Upon a Time” stage show. It was themed around fairly tales, but scored with semi-modern music. It was very well produced and executed, although most of the songs were “Golden Oldies” with a few modern songs mixed in. Had there been a greater ratio of newer songs, it may have better held my interest.

Our last night in the Main Dining Room was an excellent one. This was the second formal night, so lobster and prime rib were the menu highlights. The lobster was ok, but the real treat was the prime rib. Whatever was wrong with my prime rib on Sunday night was fully rectified. My prime rib this night was one of the best I have had, including land based restaurants. We said goodbye to our servers, which was sort of sad since they had done such an excellent job during the week.

After dinner we were off to Studio B to watch The Quest. I had never been to one before, so I didn’t know that we needed to get there early. Since we went to the room and changed clothes after dinner, we got to the theater about ten minutes late. By that point, every seat in the room was full and the late comers like us were standing in the aisles and stairs. From what I could see, it looked like a great time. The “Quests” that Richard was giving out were pretty crazy, and the contestants were only too happy to do them. We saw men wearing ladies clothing, women showing off tattoos, and a few stupid human tricks.

We stayed after the Quest for the “I Love the 80s Dance Party” in Studio B. Everyone was invited down onto the floor for 80s dance songs and special guest performers (crew dressed as 80s musicians). They played some great songs and had the corresponding music videos playing on the monitors. As a fan of all things 80s, this was a really fun time for me. We saw some of our Cruise Critic group in the Viking Crown Lounge, so we finished out our night there.

 

The Flowrider was busy this day

 

We played our first and only mini golf round

 

The Pets at Sea room

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[DarthGrady]

Freedom Ice.com ice show

 

 

 

 

The Birdman

 

[DarthGrady]

 

 

 

 

 

[DarthGrady]

They picked kids out of the audience to ride in the little pirate ships

 

 

 

 

 

[DarthGrady]

 

 

 

 

 

[DarthGrady]

A fellow guest gets private lessons on the Flowrider

 

Getting ready for the Miami style Club 20 in the Solarium

 

Richard hosting the Quest

 

The "I love 80s Dance Party"

 

Yes, a very 1980s Whitney Houston

[DarthGrady]

More 80s Party

 

Aha!

 

"Madonna"

 

"Billy Idol"

 

 

[DarthGrady]

Day 7, Last Day at Sea:

Our last day at seas was a decidedly uneventful one. We began in the Arcadia Theater for a back stage tour. This is not something that I have seen offered on any other ship. It began with a Q and A session with the stage crew, singers and dancers. They then escorted through the backstage area which was very interesting. It’s hard to believe they put on such great shows, change costumes, and move props in such a small area.

We then went to the Solarium for a couple of hours; afterwards I visited the Viking Crown for a last time. We relaxed for awhile in the room and started packing up our luggage. Prior to dinner we had a last few rounds of drinks with some of our new friends from Cruise Critic at the Bull and Bear pub.

For our last dinner on board we decided to go to Chops Grill. Our servers were top notch, as was the food quality. We both had the crab cake and French Onion Soup as starters, and both had the 10 oz. Filet Mignon as the main course. My steak was cooked to absolute perfection, and the taste was excellent. My wife’s steak was still raw in the middle and had to be sent back twice. They were every apologetic. Once they got it cooked all the way through, it was fine. Even though everyone had told us to the get Mud Pie dessert, we did not choose this since we both are not huge chocolate people. I got the Apple Pie and my wife got the Cheesecake, which were both delicious.

We have eaten in the Supper Clubs on the Carnival Liberty, Spirit and Glory. The Chops experience measures up almost equally to those we have had on other ships. What is much better though, is that prices at Chops are cheaper than Carnival’s, $25 versus $30 per person. We took one last walk around the top deck before returning to our cabin to put our luggage out.

 

"Freedom Fest"

 

 

 

[DarthGrady]

Backstage tour in the Arcadia Theater

 

Props from "Once upon a time"

 

 

 

 

Little Red Riding Hood's car

[DarthGrady]

Departing cast members sign the wall

 

 

 

Tight quarters!

 

 

The steep stairs up to the dressing room

[snausman]

I have been enjoying this so much. Will hate it when you come to the end.

[DarthGrady]

The dressing room

 

 

 

 

The score sheet, they do check the satisfaction surveys!

 

Entertainment staff schedule

[DarthGrady]

A few more food creations at Freedom Fest

 

 

 

Your guess is as good as mine

 

A sad sight

[DarthGrady]

Debarkation:

Debarkation could not have gone easier. We woke up around 8 am, and had breakfast in the main dining room. They started letting people off at around 6, so by the time we finished eating they had already called all the colored zones for debarking. We simply walked right off the ship, right through customs and into the luggage pick up area. It took a few minutes to find our bags, and then we were right outside. The entire process took all of ten minutes, from being on the Promenade to standing at the shuttle area. Our shuttle pulled up just as we were walking up and we got right on. There were a lot of people waiting for the Radisson’s shuttle, many more than the small parking bus could handle. I assume more people went to them since they don’t charge a $20 fee like Country Inn does.

Final Thoughts:

My wife and I were tremendously happy with this cruise overall. There were a few glitches here and there, but it was a wonderful experience on the whole. We received excellent service from almost all of the staff. The food was very good on average, as were the drinks. As with my trip on Monarch, the overall experience was very comparable to what we have received on Carnival. Although I think the friendliness of the crew is a little more apparent on RCI, while the food quality is slightly better on Carnival. I do wish they would have installed more elevators, as crowding and long waits were a problem throughout the cruise. This is not solely a problem with Freedom; I have had the same issues on Carnival’s Conquest Class ships. Large crowds were a problem at certain times in the Windjammer, Royal Promenade and the lido areas as well, but I suppose you have to expect this on a ship with 4000 passengers.

To compare Freedom to any other ship I have been on would simply not be fair. She is absolutely beautiful, modern and unbelievably gigantic. The entire time I was on board I was awe struck by how much they have included. The crew does a wonderful job keeping her clean and in good repair.

Some have criticized RCI for building floating shopping malls with no visible ties to the ocean. I can see where one could get this idea, if the ship is judged only by the Royal Promenade. Yes that area is fairly mall like, and does not offer any good views of the ocean. But I now realize that this is actually a pretty clever design. Since the life boats are outside, the view is extremely limited and large windows would be pointless.

One only needs to venture to Boleros, the Schooner Bar or to the upper decks to know that ocean views are still readily available, and can be had from fantastic vantage points. The Viking Crown Lounge has some of the best views I have ever seen on a cruise ship, and all three levels of the main dining room are walled on each side by enormous bay windows that extend up the sides of the ship. The Freedom Class ships also feature the cantilevered whirlpools in the Solarium; I have not yet been in a hot tub that offers such a view.

This was another great cruise that we will both remember forever. We met some great people and made new friends. My only regret is that it came to an end long before I was ready for it to. I would definitely cruise on Freedom again, or any other RCI ship for that matter if the price were right.

 

We snuck into the Royal Suite for a few photos after everyone was gone

 

 

 

 

 

[DarthGrady]

Until next time!:(

 

 

[DarthGrady]

As Porky would say, th...th...th...th...thats all folks!

[snausman]

As Porky would say, th...th...th...th...thats all folks!

 

 

Thank you for a wonderful review and picture show. I don't think I have ever seen a better one.

[ilionite65]

With all of your wonderful pictures it's hard to believe, but there is one that's missing, a picture of you and your wife. I would love to be able to put a face to the person that has entertained me with those pictures. I've never enjoyed a review so much! We will be on the Independence, sister to the Freedom, at the end of Jan. and you've made me even more excited about it! THANK YOU for a job well done!