My trip report: Freedom of the Seas Western 10/2-10/9/11

[outtoseacruise]

Crown and Anchor benefits

 

Tours

 

Captain Rob chats with guest on tour by cmong, on Flickr

 

Beyond the $150 all-access tour, D+ and suite guests also have access to special behind-the-scenes tours of the galley, theater, and bridge. I chose to go on the bridge tour on the off chance that Captain Rob would be there because I find him hilarious. While he did not start the tour, he appeared on the bridge about 10 minutes into the tour and stopped to chat with our 15-person group for about 15-20 minutes. It was great to have face-time with the Captain, who also volunteered to pictures for the group. This was my second time with Captain Rob, with the last time being years ago on the dented Grandeur of the Seas (which I'm sure he would be glad to stop hearing about).

 

Chris and Captain Rob by cmong, on Flickr

Chris, where or how do D+ Members signup for the bridge tour? Online, Onboard, or do you get an invite? We will be sailing on Oasis next month and want to do it.

Capt Rob is one of the best in the fleet, we met him for the 2nd time last April on Freedom. Super nice guy that will approach guests and just start talking to you.

Once again a good review from you, thanks.

[silentbob007]

For the tours, you should get a letter one day in your cabin giving you the option to select which tours you want and asking you to return it to the Loyalty Ambassador. As an FYI ... specifically on the bridge tour, you will be patted down and/or wanded. You can bring a camera, but no video recording equipment.

[silentbob007]

The Weather

 

We were blessed with mostly great weather for the cruise. Captain Rob mentioned he had made a "deal" for sunshine, but that we might end up paying the last day.

 

Boy was he right.

 

On our way back to Port Canaveral, we hit the building storm that was situated off the coast. There was quite a bit of rain as well as high apparent winds (as high as 50-60 MPH across the deck) during the day. That night, those winds increased even more as we hit the teeth of that storm. To say that the Freedom was rocking would be an understatement. It was one of those nights where you were glad that the sheets were tightly tucked in because, if they weren't, there was a good chance the movement would roll you out of bed. As it turns out, the next cruise got the worst of it, but this was the most movement I've felt on cruise since my very first with the Premiere line.

 

Debarkation

 

Through all fo the weather, the Freedom was docked early in the morning. Self-assist passengers were invited to start disembarking at 6:15 AM. We had tag 2 (1 and 2 were first tagged passengers off) and were scheduled to debark at 7:15 AM which was pretty close to when we were called.

 

Once we got off the ship and through customs, it was time to wait for luggage. The rest of the people in my party got theirs very quickly on the belt, but mine insisted on being a recluse. 45 minutes, with other numbers starting to populate the belt, it finally appeared. It seems that since my cabin was right by the stairwell, it was taken early and might have been the very first bag in the bin, making it the last out. What a pain, and the reason I hate putting bags out.

 

By the time my bag came out, it was pouring outside with sheets of near-horizontal rain. Umbrellas would have made no difference (too windy) and there are some large gaps between covered areas outside. Navigating the pickup area was also a pain in that, of course, everyone was trying to huddle into a protected space. Because of the rain, shuttle drivers and personal pickups were using spaces under cover that they were not supposed to (and there was not anyone directing traffic in that weather), so when the Budget shuttle arrived, there was no place for it to park except 20 yards out in the open, which lead to a sloshy and very damp sprint with luggage in tow.

 

Final Thoughts

 

Sometimes when I read through my reports, I feel they come off overly negative. Please know that I had a great time and, while there were a few more mis-steps on RCI's part this cruise than I'd of liked, they would't be enough to even cause me to hesitate booking on RCI again. I think that this is perhaps the burden of bias with a loyal cruiser ... I could be super-sunny and overlook every flaw. That doesn't make sense to me, as the point of these reports it to talk about my experiences in the hope that others might take away useful information. As a frequent cruiser, I'm not as often blinded by the shininess of the product, but I am not so far gone that I can't enjoy something that is not "perfect."

 

I had a good time on the Freedom, but I found her a bit underwhelming in terms of expectations. This is almost certainly due to my previous cruise on Oasis and the newness of her design and offerings. Due to my personal preferences, the Freedom and Voyager-class ships are on pretty much equal footing in terms of what I would book in the future. I'll be heading out on the Voyager at the end of December, so that hypothesis will be tested.

 

If anyone has any further questions, please ask and I will answer them to the best of my ability. Thank you all for reading and the positive feedback you have offered.

[maxs mom]

Nice job, Chris! I always enjoy your reviews! I agree with you whole heartedly about the dancing waiters and twirling napkins!

[QTMichele]

Great job! I love your honest approach. Thanks for sharing. :)

[outtoseacruise]

For the tours, you should get a letter one day in your cabin giving you the option to select which tours you want and asking you to return it to the Loyalty Ambassador. As an FYI ... specifically on the bridge tour, you will be patted down and/or wanded. You can bring a camera, but no video recording equipment.

Chris, thanks for the info on the bridge tour and your latest review it was great.

Our favorite ship has been the Freedom and her sister ships, we will have to see if it remains our favorite after Oasis next month?

What people have to understand is every once in a while the seas are going to be rough. I have been lucky and only had 1 cruise that was rough enough to get me sick and that was on the out of business Cape Canaveral Cruise Line where they put the hatches down on all the port holes prior to leaving Freeport in a storm very similar to the one the Freedom went through. The only other bad one I had was on the JOS leaving Mexico in a storm. Outside of that 1 or 2 days of rough seas in all my days at sea is not bad. It happens. The rest of the days at sea for us have been great. It just like every day on a cruise is not going to be sunny.

[silentbob007]

One story I forgot to include ... on the last night, we were sitting in the DL overflow, the Cloud 9 lounge. A gust of wind picked up and WHAM! ... a deck chair flew up and hit the glass of our lounge (2 decks above the deck chairs). Luckily it was pouring so there was nobody below, but that was a first.

[SilentDad]

I wanted to "add" some things to what Silentbob said-- I call him Chris.:)

The Stingray tour in Cayman was exactly what it was billed as-- a trip to have an encounter with the stingrays with a bit of snorkeling thrown in afterwards. It cost $40 each and was worth the one time experience. Native Way did an excellent job of taking care of us and provided what they said they would. I would use them again with no hesitation.

I also was a bit underwhelmed by the Freedom. I like the "boulevard" down the center of the ship. But I've seen that before and I guess I was expecting something new out of this class of ship. Still, as Chris said, I enjoyed the cruise and the ship. The one thing that irritated me-- that Chris didn't talk about-- was the scheduling of trivia. Personally, I enjoy trivia ( insert joke here) but I think we only got to go to 2 or 3 the whole week because of the scheduling.

Now I have to concentrate on getting to D+ which means----- more cruises!!:D

[silentbob007]

Trivia was definitely a bit odd. Beyond morning trivia, there might be one or two more throughout the day and they were all "special" (tribond, where in the world am I, who am I, etc). Most days there seemed to be only two, with one at 5:15, effectively removing us as we needed to prep for dinner and visit the DL for pre-dinner socializing.

[Lionesss]

Thanks for your information.

Question.

Do you know if the Freedom, has docking stations in the cabins (suite) for I phones...............

One place I found a mention says yes and another said no.

and

Is there an alarm clock or such in cabins.

Cant remember from 2 years ago.

Thanks

[silentbob007]

I did not see a docking station, but I was in a balcony and not a suite. I was under the impression that the Allure was the only ship with iPod docks and that they were not added in any refurbs either.

 

There is not an alarm clock. You have to either use the phone in the cabin, your personal phone, or bring your own.

[nikki303]

Singing Waiters and Napkin Twirling

 

Just because I feel I have to include it on every review .... ;)

 

Just like any other ship I've been on the past few years, cleanliness was stressed by dining room staff and even the captain in one of his announcements. Yet, it still happens ... passengers (spurred sometimes by crew) twirling their napkins in the air in the dining room, polluting the general area with bread crumbs, saliva, and miscellaneous food particles. I don't like it and try to get done with dinner before the dancing starts .... which I also hate on its own merits.

 

The wait staff works hard. They have a lot of people to take care of. I do not appreciate the occasional dinner show on two fronts. First of all, I don't think that the hard working service staff should be forced to dance for me. It seems demeaning to me. Secondly, I dislike that service has to halt while the dancing takes place. If I'm waiting for dessert and/or coffee, I'd rather the staff serve me and go about their business, not rush like mad to get things done before the show, then rush like mad to catch up after. I know this may not be a common or popular view, but it's how I feel.

 

 

AMEN!!!

 

I thought I was the only one that felt this way!

[Buckeye State Cruisers]

Thanks for your information.

 

Question.

 

Do you know if the Freedom, has docking stations in the cabins (suite) for I phones...............

One place I found a mention says yes and another said no.

and

 

Is there an alarm clock or such in cabins.

 

Cant remember from 2 years ago.

 

Thanks

 

We were in Grand Suite 1298 and yes there was a clock with an iphone/ipod charger on the desk by the bed. The sound was not bad for the small speakers. But we usually hooked ours up behind the TV and played through the Bose speakers :cool:

[silentbob007]

Ah ... good to know. Guess I need more suite experience. ;)

[rugrat]

Thanks for the great review, your pictures are wonderful.

What kind of camera were they taken with?

[silentbob007]

A few were taken with my iPhone 4. Most of the rest were taken with my Pentax K-X DSLR.

[green eyed lady]

Chris,

Regarding the D and D+ internet coupons you mentioned...were they good for FREE minutes with NO purchase required? Reason I'm asking is b/c we were on the same cruise as you and the Emerald and Platinum coupons require you to purchase a pkg to get the discount. This is something new - we were on Allure in June and the old coupons were just for free minutes - no purchase required. :rolleyes:

[gelo7]

Great review.

[yj2cute]

Ports

 

 

Grand Cayman

 

<snip>

 

Tendering in GC is a hassle. Those on early ship tours met in the theater and were taken to their own tenders. Others lined up in the aft for the trip. It was first-come, first-serve with no tickets required. RCI suggested heading out early or late, noting that "rush hour" would be 9-11 (with a 3:00 last tender).

 

<snip)

 

Chris, don't D+ members have priority tender embarkation?

[Buffett fan]

Loved your review - thank you!!

[LBumb]

great review

[silentbob007]

Chris,

Regarding the D and D+ internet coupons you mentioned...were they good for FREE minutes with NO purchase required? Reason I'm asking is b/c we were on the same cruise as you and the Emerald and Platinum coupons require you to purchase a pkg to get the discount. This is something new - we were on Allure in June and the old coupons were just for free minutes - no purchase required. :rolleyes:

 

D and D+ were free minutes. There was also a discount package coupon besides those.

[silentbob007]

Chris, don't D+ members have priority tender embarkation?

 

I specifically asked the D Concierge and he stated there was no priority leaving the ship. Evidently after 1 PM when there are lines to return to the ship, D+ and suite guests have a priority line.

[Catamount on the Seas]

Hey i've sailed on a few ships and we are going on one next May (Freedom of the Seas), what do you mean when you say D and D+? This is my first time on this website and I am totally lost. It took me a good ten minutes just to figure out how to reply....

[UPSer]

what do you mean when you say D and D+? ..

 

That mean Diamond and Diamond Plus status. Once you have sailed on Royal you can sign up for their Crown & Anchor program which provides discounts, perks, etc. based upon the # of days you have cruised with them.