No expectations makes for a great FREEDOM cruise! My Story:

[tribefan]

WOW!!! what a great review!!! Thanks so much for writing, can't wait for 4 weeks to pass and we are on the Freedom! Only one question and I might have missed it, did you have early seating? If so, what time was dinner? We have early and our docs state it is 6pm, but if you look at the reservation on line, it's 5:30. Keeping our fingers crossed for 6pm!!

 

Thanks again!

[cruiseluvingirl]

We are going on the same cruise and are looking forward to it. We also have been on the Mariner and loved it. Looking forward to meeting you at the meet and greet onboard!!

[QTMichele]

WOW!!! what a great review!!! Thanks so much for writing, can't wait for 4 weeks to pass and we are on the Freedom! Only one question and I might have missed it, did you have early seating? If so, what time was dinner? We have early and our docs state it is 6pm, but if you look at the reservation on line, it's 5:30. Keeping our fingers crossed for 6pm!!

 

Thanks again!

 

You are going to have such a great time!!! :D Thanks for the nice compliment and for taking the time to read my review.

 

We had early seating - it was at 6. I've read a few posts about the 5:30 dining- will be interesting to see if that's the case. Please post when you return and let us know. :)

 

Have a great cruise!!!

[Mollypuss]

Loved, loved, loved your review. You are an excellent writer. We were on the Freedom in June 09 for our 10 yr anniversary and had the best vacation. Service was spot on.

 

We are traveling on the Liberty in April with a large group of my husbands family. Our daughter will also be turning 6 on the cruise. Was there a problem with your daughter and the AO club with regards to which age group she could join? I've heard that the age you are when you board the ship is your age all week, so I'm afraid they won't let her go w/the 6-8 year group...where her cousin will be. How did you approach it? My sis in law will also be traveling with her 9 month old twins. (she is 47 years old and single..wanted badly to have a baby so she adopted embryos...had four implanted and 2 developed....bit off topic..sorry!) Is the in-cabin babysitting policy still over 12 months of age only?

 

I'll give you a quick opinion on the Disney cruiseline. We are Disney Vacation Club members and are so pro Disney it is crazy. We average a trip to the World 2x's a year. Love it and consider it our home away from home. With that said, we did not enjoy the cruise we took last spring break. Our daughter was almost 5 at the time and didn't really enjoy the kids club all that much. She is an only child and is always jumping at camps or kids clubs so she can be around other kids. The food was ok, at best. It wasn't awful, but we paid the same amount for the 3 night Disney cruise as we did our 7 night Freedom cruise. It is very expensive for what you get. Some people love DCL and while we so badly wanted to love it, we thought it was ok and will stick to the parks from now on.

[QTMichele]

Loved, loved, loved your review. You are an excellent writer. We were on the Freedom in June 09 for our 10 yr anniversary and had the best vacation. Service was spot on.

 

We are traveling on the Liberty in April with a large group of my husbands family. Our daughter will also be turning 6 on the cruise. Was there a problem with your daughter and the AO club with regards to which age group she could join? I've heard that the age you are when you board the ship is your age all week, so I'm afraid they won't let her go w/the 6-8 year group...where her cousin will be. How did you approach it? My sis in law will also be traveling with her 9 month old twins. (she is 47 years old and single..wanted badly to have a baby so she adopted embryos...had four implanted and 2 developed....bit off topic..sorry!) Is the in-cabin babysitting policy still over 12 months of age only?

 

I'll give you a quick opinion on the Disney cruiseline. We are Disney Vacation Club members and are so pro Disney it is crazy. We average a trip to the World 2x's a year. Love it and consider it our home away from home. With that said, we did not enjoy the cruise we took last spring break. Our daughter was almost 5 at the time and didn't really enjoy the kids club all that much. She is an only child and is always jumping at camps or kids clubs so she can be around other kids. The food was ok, at best. It wasn't awful, but we paid the same amount for the 3 night Disney cruise as we did our 7 night Freedom cruise. It is very expensive for what you get. Some people love DCL and while we so badly wanted to love it, we thought it was ok and will stick to the parks from now on.

 

Aw, thanks so much for your generous compliments!!! :) I really appreciate the time you took to read my review - thanks!!!

 

First, congrats to your SIL and her babies!!! Now I'll try to answer your questions...

 

Since my oldest DD turned 10 and that's right in the middle of the age group she was in, there wasn't an issue with her being in one age group or another. I've heard that they can be pretty strict with ages, but I've also heard that if there aren't a lot of kids on your sailing, then you may have a better chance at getting a child like yours into the older group. I'll keep my fingers crossed that they allow your DD get into the older group since her b'day is that week.

 

As for the in-room babysitting... yes, it's for babies 12 months and older. Hopefully your SIL's babies will sleep in a stroller. If so, then it's not a big issue unless you want to go to a club (loud and smokey). I was able to take my son to a few shows without a problem - he'd either fall asleep while there or be asleep before we got there.

 

Thanks for your opinion on DCL. I've been a Disney fan most of my life - I've been going since I was 5 years old. :D I took my girls several years ago, then my DH and I took them in 2007. We're going again this year - cannot wait!!! My uncle is a DVC member as well - will be staying on his points this trip. Where is your home resort? Your favorite resort? We haven't decided where to stay - going to try for one of the resorts my uncle hasn't stayed in yet - Bay Lake Towers or Animal Kingdom Lodge. I've stayed at the Beach Club (hotel) and Boardwalk (villas) - would love to go to either of those - just love the location. Anyway, I'm not sure if I'm up for the Disney cruise... as you said, it's pricey for one, but I'm not sure that a Disney cruise is really the right thing for us??? We've really enjoyed our experience with Royal Caribbean, but maybe we'll give Disney a try one of these days???

 

Anyway, I could talk about Disney all day too - sorry! :o Thanks again for reading. Let me know if I can answer any more questions for you.

[Mollypuss]

Our home resort is Boardwalk villas. Right now we have 200 pts a year but are considering adding 50 - 100 more. Right now we have a comfortable assessment and more pnts means more money annually. The good thing about DVC is that we can use points all over the world, not just at Disney. I'm sure that is the way we'll go in another 10 yrs or so.

 

It is hard to say which resort is our favorite. We usually decide which park we will be visiting the most and then choose the resort. We have stayed:

 

Old Key West-4x's (largest rooms)

Saratoga Springs 1x(least favorite)

Boardwalk 1x

Beach Club 1x

Wilderness Lodge 2x's

 

We enjoy the Magic Kingdom and usually do the deluxe dining plan so the last visit and the one coming up in March will be Villas at Wilderness Lodge. A 7 min boat ride to the park and a 5 min boat ride to the Contemporary hotel where we pick up the monorail. Great restaurants in that area also. But, you gotta love the back entrance to Epcot from the bc/bw hotels. So much fun to be had, so little time!!! THen of course you have to fit a cruise in here or there!

[QTMichele]

Thanks for sharing, Molly. :) I agree with you about the International Gateway at Epcot... BW/BC are great places to be for that. :) The only problem I have with all of this is... there's just not enough money in our bank account to go to Disney, on a cruise, to the beach, then fit in mini vacations that we like to do each year. Something has to give, or we have to win the lottery. ;) Not complaining though - we are fortunate to have what we have, and look forward to the time we spend together as a family.

 

Thanks again for reading and your nice compliments & thoughts.

[eljayel66]

Michele - LOVED your review and pictures and I even started to tear up while reading the end because the last night of a cruise for me is the worst - I'm always so sad it's over.....your children are beautiful - like their mother -and more power to you for doing this without your husband...glad you weren't afraid to use the programs so you could get a little "you" time - it sounds like you really had the formula for a perfect cruise...thanks again for taking the time to write such a great review - really has me looking so forward to my first cruise on Royal - and now REALLY can't wait to board Freedom of the Seas....thank again !!

[QTMichele]

Michele - LOVED your review and pictures and I even started to tear up while reading the end because the last night of a cruise for me is the worst - I'm always so sad it's over.....your children are beautiful - like their mother -and more power to you for doing this without your husband...glad you weren't afraid to use the programs so you could get a little "you" time - it sounds like you really had the formula for a perfect cruise...thanks again for taking the time to write such a great review - really has me looking so forward to my first cruise on Royal - and now REALLY can't wait to board Freedom of the Seas....thank again !!

 

Thanks so much! :) I hope you have a great time on the Freedom too. I'd love to hear your thoughts after your cruise, especially a comparison between Freedom and other cruises you've done. As of now, we're only planning on Royal cruises, but I'd be open to trying other lines to get a taste of what's out there.

 

Thanks again!!!

[BDMom]

HI Michele I'm Michele too! Same spelling.

 

We are taking our daughters on Freedom in May they will be 7 and 9. We took them on DCL when they were 4 and 6. We really loved it. So we will be comparing our experience on the Freedom to what we had on Disney. We happened to get a really great deal on Disney as a last minute thing so it's just about the same cost as this cruise. I'll let you know what we think. I really enjoyed your review like everyone else.

 

Have never taken them to Disney World, guess that is in the cards in the next couple of years. Been to Disney Land with them twice when they were little.

 

Did you notice any places to get hair braided near the port at St. Maarten or St. Thomas? They both really want that done.

[QTMichele]

Hi, Michele! Thanks so much for reading my review and taking the time to post. :)

 

I'd love to hear your comparison between DCL and RCCL. :) We're huge Disney World fans, but haven't quite gotten the bug to try DCL yet. Just not sure the "value" is there compared to WDW, but who knows what's in the future???

 

You must take your girls to Disney WORLD. There is nothing like it, really. My girls love it and can't wait until our upcoming trip. Me either! :D

 

You won't have a problem finding someone to braid your girls hair - there were women offering all over the place in St. Martin (mainly at the shops in Philipsburg). Have a great time!!

[Clio1610]

Hello Michele !

 

Just wanted to say that I have thoroughly enjoyed reading your review - I felt just like I was back on FOS !!!!

 

As you can see from my signature, our 1st Ever Cruise was on FOS in Apr 09, and we loved everything so much that we booked for Oasis for Apr 2010 - and we have just paid the final balance so now we are Serious Countdown !!!

 

Also we have just this week booked our first Med Cruise on Adventure of the Seas to celebrate our 25th Wedding Anniversary and our Son's 14th Birthday in Oct 2010 !

 

We are also DVC members since 1994 and have stayed at most of the WDW Resorts. Old Key West is our Home Resort and still our favourite because the rooms are a lot bigger that the newer resorts and also because it really does feel like we are home !!! In April we are staying 2 nights pre cruise at OKW and then 5 nights post cruise at the AKV...

 

Anyway Thank You again for transporting me back onto Freedom !!!

[ArkieCruisin]

Thanks so much for sharing your trip with us. Almost felt like we were there :) Loved the pictures and the wonderful review.

[QTMichele]

Hello Michele !

 

Just wanted to say that I have thoroughly enjoyed reading your review - I felt just like I was back on FOS !!!!

 

As you can see from my signature, our 1st Ever Cruise was on FOS in Apr 09, and we loved everything so much that we booked for Oasis for Apr 2010 - and we have just paid the final balance so now we are Serious Countdown !!!

 

Also we have just this week booked our first Med Cruise on Adventure of the Seas to celebrate our 25th Wedding Anniversary and our Son's 14th Birthday in Oct 2010 !

 

We are also DVC members since 1994 and have stayed at most of the WDW Resorts. Old Key West is our Home Resort and still our favourite because the rooms are a lot bigger that the newer resorts and also because it really does feel like we are home !!! In April we are staying 2 nights pre cruise at OKW and then 5 nights post cruise at the AKV...

 

Anyway Thank You again for transporting me back onto Freedom !!!

 

Thank you so much for your nice compliments and taking the time to read my review. :) It's great to see another Disney fan on the boards too!! :D Have a wonderful cruise on Oasis, and please report back to us so I can drool over the details! Would love to hear about AKV too - that may be a possibility for us to stay on our October trip.

 

Thanks so much for sharing your trip with us. Almost felt like we were there :) Loved the pictures and the wonderful review.

 

Thank you for reading!!! :D

[newcrew42]

Thank you for your wonderful report! We are cruising for the first time in March, different ship, and different ports, but your report really helped build my excitement about our trip.

 

Another Disney fan here! We usually go to "The World" once a year but are skipping this year to try cruising.

 

BTW - Your report reminded me of reports I usually read about Disney world! Loved your report. It was just my type of reading!!!

[QTMichele]

Thank you for your wonderful report! We are cruising for the first time in March, different ship, and different ports, but your report really helped build my excitement about our trip.

 

Another Disney fan here! We usually go to "The World" once a year but are skipping this year to try cruising.

 

BTW - Your report reminded me of reports I usually read about Disney world! Loved your report. It was just my type of reading!!!

 

Welcome to Cruise Critic!!! :D This is where my cruising obsession started too. I only have two cruises under my belt, but I'm obsessed - just love it! It's just a great vacation and can be as relaxing or active, planned or spontaneous as you want it to be. As a mom, I just LOVE not having to worry about anything. I just Show Up. :)

 

I'd love to hear details about your upcoming cruise - which ship/itinerary? Do you have children? If so, will they cruise with you?

 

Finally, thank you so much for your nice compliments. It was so much fun getting this review together, especially adding the pictures. We're going to Disney this year also... should do the same for that trip on the Dis Boards (do you frequent them over there? I'm QTMichele over there too. ;) ) Hopefully I'll win the lottery one of these days so we can vacation whenever we want (Disney, cruise, exotic beach... repeat).

[planogirl]

Great review. We are going on the Freedom on March 14th. Do you have any copies of the cruise compass. My eleven year old wants to see some of the offered activities. Thank you and great review

[QTMichele]

Great review. We are going on the Freedom on March 14th. Do you have any copies of the cruise compass. My eleven year old wants to see some of the offered activities. Thank you and great review

 

Thanks so much! Yes, I have the Compasses, but I have not scanned them in and probably won't have the chance to do so (I have three kids, a husband and a dog that keep me quite busy! lol). I would suggest you do a search (upper right corner in the menu bar). Also, Crusinmama06 has a great site with compasses, including the Adventure Ocean Compasses (do a search for her username, then check her signature for a link). The entertainment may have changed, but, all in all, there will be a lot of similarities. I hope this helps. :)

[DarthGrady]

Awesome review, thanks for posting it! Seeing the pictures makes me really wish these next 7 months would go by FAST!!!:D I loved Freedom, and cannot wait to get back on board.

[QTMichele]

Awesome review, thanks for posting it! Seeing the pictures makes me really wish these next 7 months would go by FAST!!!:D I loved Freedom, and cannot wait to get back on board.

 

THANKS! :) Gotta laugh because I was just reading a post where you just commented. ;) By the way, I've really enjoyed your reviews in the past... keep it up!

[scottishwee35]

Many thanks for showing the photos and write a story of it...

 

I booked for next year April 2011 and I hope I don't regret it as I love disney cruises and I change over to RC Freedoms for my special birthday...(as I always want go on Freedoms ship)

 

My kids will be 14 and 11 so I hope we enjoy it but I see your photos and I am sure we will have the fun...:)

 

Scottishwee35

[QTMichele]

Many thanks for showing the photos and write a story of it...

 

I booked for next year April 2011 and I hope I don't regret it as I love disney cruises and I change over to RC Freedoms for my special birthday...(as I always want go on Freedoms ship)

 

My kids will be 14 and 11 so I hope we enjoy it but I see your photos and I am sure we will have the fun...:)

 

Scottishwee35

 

I'm so glad you found my review and enjoyed it! Thanks so much for taking the time to read it.

 

I've never tried a Disney cruise, but we love Disney World. :) Having said that, a Royal Caribbean cruise was right up there with a Disney vacation. I really hope you feel the same! I can't imagine that you won't have a good time. Please let us know upon your return next April. :D

[tmm249]

WOW- what a great review!! We are looking at booking for a cruise in May and just have another question about the babysitting.

Do they only offer "in room" babysitting. We have 2 children, 3 and 1, and would hate for them to have to stay in the room while we were at a show or something.

 

Thanks for any help!

[QTMichele]

WOW- what a great review!! We are looking at booking for a cruise in May and just have another question about the babysitting.

Do they only offer "in room" babysitting. We have 2 children, 3 and 1, and would hate for them to have to stay in the room while we were at a show or something.

 

Thanks for any help!

 

Thanks so much! I appreciate you taking the time to read and comment. :) I would highly recommend booking the cruise - it was WONDERFUL and great for families, including for kids ages 3 and 1. The "in room" babysitting is just the generic term for the type of babysitting you'll have to reserve at guest relations; however, with your permission, the babysitters can take your child out of the room on walks throughout the ship. It is a great option for those of us with kids under 3. :) Your 3 year old can go to Adventure Ocean, or you can leave him/her in the room with the 1 year old - it's up to you. :)

[Quixotic]

Tomorrow, I'm calling RCCL to officially book an FOS 7 day eastern caribbean thanksgiving sail (11/21/2010), and your review has got me so excited! You wrote a wonderful and comprehensive review. As a mom of a 7 and 6 year old, I am so appreciative that other moms have written such great reviews that I can read and learn from.

 

I hope to return the "favor" when it's our turn to cruise. :)