Recent Freedom of the Seas trip...new improved review

[rjjjcj]

Thank you so much for the awesome review! Love the photos. We were on FOS last March, right after drydock. It was our 1st RCL cruise, after 13 on Princess. We are going again in 2 weeks & look forward to experiencing the boat on a non spring break week! Thanks again, looks like you had a wonderful time!

[vickykay]

Just wondering about the dress on formal nights (men). My husband usually wears a tux on Celebrity but seems that less and less are wearing them so he may just want to wear a suit or jacket. I think I have read on these boards, that men are less formal on RC cruises - did you see any men wearing tuxes on the FOS?


Thanks again.

Vicky

[Sunebeach]

[quote name='vickykay']Just wondering about the dress on formal nights (men). My husband usually wears a tux on Celebrity but seems that less and less are wearing them so he may just want to wear a suit or jacket. I think I have read on these boards, that men are less formal on RC cruises - did you see any men wearing tuxes on the FOS?


Thanks again.

Vicky[/QUOTE]

Saw a few tuxes, but mostly nice suits and ties...if you saw our formal night photo, that's about what everyone else wore. Some were dressed to the nines and others were just "Sunday' type clothes...it's whatever you are comfortable with, some didn't go the the dining room at all and just did the windjammer...

[kiedl14]

[quote name='Sunebeach']the DH was the one to convince me to try the aft...not sure I'd like it...It was fabulous, would love to book the same room again...spoiled now...

The room was so much larger than other balconies we saw and have stayed in...I encourage everyone to sign up for the meet and greet on your ship and if someone organizes a 'cabin crawl' go along...it gave us great insight into future cruises as to what cabin category to avoid or to book...we saw a junior suite that was actually two doors down from our room that was a bit wider and the only difference was they had a chair and ottoman, otherwise it was the same!! Not worth the extra money in my opinion...we had the better room...of course we also got to see the Royal Suite, which to me would have been a huge waste of money, unless you were in a large group, even then you'd have to sleep on couches or roll away beds? The inside cabin was really tight, but if it meant cruising or not cruising...I'd still want cruising...but I sure would miss the balcony and an ocean view...[/quote]


I have a question.. We are thinking of doing the FOS in Nov and I have never booked anything other than midship (mind you this will be our first RCL cruise as we have only ever booked Carnival).
1. Did noise from the Windjammer disturb you at night?
2. Was the boat/loc of the room rocky?

Thanks!

PS. LOVE THE PICTURES!!!

[kiedl14]

[quote name='Sunebeach']A D1 'Superior ocean view balcony"...room 1702... a full aft balcony is a room on the 'butt' end of the ship...not on the sides, like most balcony rooms...ours was extra large and just as nice as the junior suite down the hall from us, I actually liked our room better and it was cheaper...the 'regular' balconies are smaller, just room for a straight back chair or two and a tiny table, but this one had those along with the loungers..not much for sunbathing, but great for relaxing...

[IMG]http://i1089.photobucket.com/albums/i341/Sunebeach/DSC03800.jpg[/IMG]
[IMG]http://i1089.photobucket.com/albums/i341/Sunebeach/DSC03943.jpg[/IMG]
the view if you look straight down from our balcony, the balcony of the person under us, a family suite I believe...and not very private...we were directly under the windjammer so very private, no one looking over on to our deck unless they were right next door to us...
[IMG]http://i1089.photobucket.com/albums/i341/Sunebeach/SANY0135.jpg[/IMG]

AND I'll add a fabulous view...great pictures of the ports as we were docking or setting sail...[/quote]


Hi, I have a question.. We are thinking of doing the FOS in Nov and I have never booked anything other than midship (mind you this will be our first RCL cruise as we have only ever booked Carnival).
1. Did noise from the Windjammer disturb you at night?
2. Was the boat/loc of the room rocky?

Thanks!

PS. LOVE THE PICTURES!!!

[cruzinisgood]

What did you think of the shows if you went to them.
Ice Show, etc...

[Sunebeach]

[quote name='kiedl14']I have a question.. We are thinking of doing the FOS in Nov and I have never booked anything other than midship (mind you this will be our first RCL cruise as we have only ever booked Carnival).
1. Did noise from the Windjammer disturb you at night?
2. Was the boat/loc of the room rocky?

Thanks!

PS. LOVE THE PICTURES!!![/QUOTE]
never heard anything...from windjammer or anything else...only 'gripe' was that our neighbors smoked like freight trains and at times the wind was blowing it back onto the ship...others it was not a problem...hate cigarettes smoke...
the ship did have some movement at times, but not any worse here than anywhere else on ship...after all we are 'floating' on the open sea...
If you've only ever done carnival then you are in for a great treat!!! I've never gone back to carnival after experiencing Royal...even though the prices are better at carnival, you also 'get what you pay for' and I was not impressed with Carnival...
Did not do the parades or character stuff as we traveled without kids and our 'kids' are 18,19 and 23.. we did enjoy the shows in the theater, we really liked the ice show, it's a small rink so I was amazed at the stuff they could pull off in such a small space..the acrobats were fabulous, the comedian was okay, wish I could have stayed awake to hear the 'adult only' show, I'm sure it was hilarious...

[luv2cruiserccl]

[quote name='Sunebeach']Wedding Chapel... an interest for some?

[IMG]http://i1089.photobucket.com/albums/i341/Sunebeach/DSC03827.jpg[/IMG]

[IMG]http://i1089.photobucket.com/albums/i341/Sunebeach/DSC03826.jpg[/IMG]

[IMG]http://i1089.photobucket.com/albums/i341/Sunebeach/DSC03825.jpg[/IMG]

[IMG]http://i1089.photobucket.com/albums/i341/Sunebeach/DSC03824.jpg[/IMG]

It is handicapped accessible by a rail/chair lift installed on one stair well leading to the chapel...

The layout of the room is rounded, so it's more like a pie shaped area. I assume one could change the back drop between the plants? The one that was there was on a curtain rod and appeared to be a
prop similar to the ones the photographers use on formal nights for photos and could possibly be changed out if you don't care for the rather 'modern' art back drop that was there...I'm sure you could ask the wedding coordinator for RCI if you are planning a wedding on board, there were a few brides an grooms seen on board this cruise...[/quote]


I know that well got married on the freedom back on 2008 was a great time and very glad we did it. The photos bring back some good memorys

[terpfan101]

Nice review...it makes me want to try this class after my cruise on Allure.

[kiedl14]

[quote name='Sunebeach']never heard anything...from windjammer or anything else...only 'gripe' was that our neighbors smoked like freight trains and at times the wind was blowing it back onto the ship...others it was not a problem...hate cigarettes smoke...
the ship did have some movement at times, but not any worse here than anywhere else on ship...after all we are 'floating' on the open sea...
If you've only ever done carnival then you are in for a great treat!!! I've never gone back to carnival after experiencing Royal...even though the prices are better at carnival, you also 'get what you pay for' and I was not impressed with Carnival...
Did not do the parades or character stuff as we traveled without kids and our 'kids' are 18,19 and 23.. we did enjoy the shows in the theater, we really liked the ice show, it's a small rink so I was amazed at the stuff they could pull off in such a small space..the acrobats were fabulous, the comedian was okay, wish I could have stayed awake to hear the 'adult only' show, I'm sure it was hilarious...[/QUOTE]

Thank you! Well that settles it.... I am looking forward to trying this ship and a new cruise line!!!

[3DBeach]

Thank you for such a wonderful review as well as the price lists and compass'. We leave in 10 days and CANNOT wait!!!

[Sunebeach]

[quote name='3DBeach']Thank you for such a wonderful review as well as the price lists and compass'. We leave in 10 days and CANNOT wait!!![/QUOTE]

You are very welcome, glad you enjoyed it...hope you have a great cruise and come back here to share it with all of us on CC, so we can cruise vicariously via the net until we can actually get on board for our next great adventure!!

[Buckeye State Cruisers]

You mentioned that your husband liked the Bull and Bear. Did you listen to Scott Perham? He is a favorite of ours and we have had him on 2 different cruises. We even bought his CD. He actually remembered us from last year and treated us like old friends. What a great guy. and so talented.

[smedley_odwin]

Just wanted to thank you for posting such a fabulous review and pictures!

We are looking to book our first ever cruise at the weekend, for FOS in November (although it will be Eastern not Western) but all the shots of the ship and the interiors have me really excited, much better than the brochure ones ;)

Your cabin looks amazing, bit outside our budget though, we're going E1 :)

[sunsetswizzle]

We just came back from Western Carib. on FOS!!!! Such an awesome ship!
Drew Thomas, Magician was the best entertainment - Labadee night...I hope you saw it! :)

[pipeye1]

100 more days..............

[egill]

[quote name='sunsetswizzle']We just came back from Western Carib. on FOS!!!! Such an awesome ship!
Drew Thomas, Magician was the best entertainment - Labadee night...I hope you saw it! :)[/QUOTE]

Drew is awesome. He was on the freedom 2 years ago too. Really nice to talk too as well. Hoping he's still on in April!

[sunsetswizzle]

Yes! Drew is nice to talk to!! We saw him a year ago also. I asked him how long he would be on FOS ... I believe he said he would be on FOS for the rest of the year ('12), then he would be leaving. You will get to see him! Have fun!!

[FightingIllini]

Is it possible to see the dinner menus on the Freedom in advance? I'd like to make a reservation at Chops but I don't want to miss my favorites in the main dining room.

[2ndlov]

Thanks for all the great pictures! We are considering this ship for a cruise this coming May. It's wonderful to see the ship "in" person :-)

[SPacificbound]

Thanks so much for taking the time to post all these pictures and all the great info! :)

 

We have yet to take our first cruise so this is all new. :D

 

It is also so great to have all this positive information! :)

[KuffMUp]

It was great to see all the pics. I looked today at a booking on the Freedom but the pics RCI has on their sight are lacking. Definately made up my mind to go.

 

Our only cruise with RCI so far has been on Rhapsody in Alaska but it converted me from Carnival. We had a reservation for a B2B on Adenture (guess we can't just say AOS with Allure out there!) for our 25th anniversary but sadly I had an accident with my eye and needed surgery one week before we were set to leave and I couldn't fly. We are booked on Brilliance next year but I am itching for another getaway!

[Buffettphan1]

Great Review Sunebeach!!!!!!!

Love your pictures. Im such a picture nut anyways, i just love looking at what other folks take for pictures when they travel.

Im still not clear on what this cabin crawl is, is it to see the other cabins, like the bigger suites?

 

Im sailing on the AOS in April and have a Jr Suite on 9. Im not wild about the balcony and how it is closed, not having the glass to the floor. Can someone who has been on the AOS let me know if it would be a deal breaker for them. I have been on the NOS and like how the glass goes to the floor.

 

Anyway, great job.

Check out my review on the Monarch from 1992!

 

A Monarch review from 1992!!!!

[Sunebeach]

Is it possible to see the dinner menus on the Freedom in advance? I'd like to make a reservation at Chops but I don't want to miss my favorites in the main dining room.

 

I don't have a photo of the menu's but some threads might have them...I found a thread that someone posted the MDR's menu for each night of the cruise so I knew in advance what night the MDR would not have anything the DH and I would mind missing so we booked Portofino's for that night, and I could have lobster two nights during the cruise ;)

[Sunebeach]

"still not clear on what this cabin crawl is, is it to see the other cabins, like the bigger suites?"

 

A "cabin crawl" was organized by someone on our meet and greet here on CC, we met for the M&G then when we left we started a little 'tour' of the different room categories available on the ship...depending on the activity of the meet and greet boards you might get to see all the different types of rooms available on that particular ship. On our 'tour' or crawl we got to see an inside cabin, a promenade view cabin [which on FOS is an inside room with a window that looks over the 'street' area shops etc of the promenade] we saw a "hump" balcony room. our D1 AFT balcony and a junior suite, one of the CC members 'REV" allowed us to come check out her "Royal Suite" which was kinda awesome, as the pics I posted here show...Don't know why:mad::confused: I didn't take pics of all the other rooms, I guess I felt a little weird about taking pics of other peoples cabins but Rev gave us permission to do so, so I did. :D