REVIEW: Freedom of the Seas Feb. 2012

[cape51]

The family decided to take a cruise out of Port Canaveral on Freedom of the Seas 19 Feb - 26 Feb 2012. Here is my thoughts:

 

Port Canaveral

I really like this port because it is easy to get in and out of and they have a parking garage adjacent to the terminal. http://portcanaveralwebcam.com/ and http://www.portcanaveral.com/index2.php. The terminal itself is relatively new and I didn't have a problem with the porters of the security staff upon entering. I arrived at 1100, early by most standards, and checked in and was aboard the ship by 1130.

 

I flew into Orlando International (MCO) and chose to rent a car, because I wanted to head down A1A after the cruise. I suggest that you get the transfer, it is almost an hour to the port from the airport. If you fly in early like I did (landed at 0906) the buses were not cramped.

 

Stateroom and attendent

Our stateroom was on deck 10, cabin #1260 (foreward and starboard). This overall was a great room. I tend to spoil myself and pay extra for a little more space. There was a double balcony with a little bump out because my stateroom was almost right below the starboard jacuzzi. I had three loungers and a small table with a couple of chairs. Half of the glass on the balcony had tinting on it. I wasnt a big fan of that because you had to look through it while sitting, so I ended up standing most of the time while out there. There was a problem with the bathroom floor drain, it was letting up sewer gases, we told our stateroom attendant and it was fixed within an hour.

 

Our attendent was Gregorio Taylor, this guy was the best, not only did he do a fabulous job at his duties, but he was personable and made some interesting towel characters. We ended up giving him a tip above the pre-paid tips and gave him a WOW card.

 

My Time Dining

The food on Freedom was good, this was our first time at MTD because we had a family of 8 this time and a child so we wanted to be flexible. The menu seemed to be the same as every other cruise, so you kind of know what to expect. My only criticism of the dining room experience was that it seems the RC has gotten slack on the dress code for the dining room. I remember when I first started cruising, the head waiter used to stand at the entrance and make sure that everyone was properly dressed. On several occasions I saw people dining in shorts, even someone walked in in sweaty gym clothes...yuck.

 

Fitness Center

This, in my opininon, has been the best set-up of all the fitness centers on ships that I have seen, the equipment is just organized very well. Freedom does have a boxing ring, but not sure it is needed, I never saw anyone using it....they could add a few my ellipticals and treadmills if they got rid of the ring.

 

Labadee, Haiti

The wife and I, from a reccomendation from a family member, booked the zip line. This was very cool and you fly over the island. Once you are on top there is a fabulous view of the island and the ship. I recommend this "excursion" but book early. I like Labadee because it is man-made and groomed, my wife; however, didn't like that for that reason...ha ha. While we were waiting for the food to open at 1130, we found this area up and above to the left of the first food pavilion that had a bar and a decent overlook...and it was empty. Food for thought next time I go. I did notice that Labadee seemed a lot less crowded than I remember. Worth a mention, if you have a suite, there is a seperate area for suite guests and they will actually cart you to it from the ship.

 

Falmouth, Jamaica

Brand new port that was created. All the shops are arranged in the port, typical things you see in most ports. We didn't do an excursion on this port day, but we ended up taking a trolley ($15USD) that drove around the first few miles outside of port to show us the area. This was the first time my daughter has seen that kind of poverty, needless to say she was shocked. Open air trolleys; however, they have assigned seats, I got stuck in the middle seat. It wasn't too bad though. You got to see several churches, the police station, rich side of town, and the poverty stricken side of town, and the hospital (believe me you don't want to have to use this). I thought it was worth the money and only about 40 mins.

 

Grand Cayman

This port we decided to do an excursion with our daughter to do the "push, pull, and Swim" with the dolphins and the turtle farm in one excursion. We got of the boat about 45 minutes prior to our meeting time and because it was a tendered port, we arrived about ten minutes prior to the time and checked in.....We waited, and waited, and waited. 45 minutes after we were supposed to meet we finally headed to the buses. Once we got to the dolphin encounter and turtle farm, they told us we only had 15 minutes at the turtle farm....the group was not happy. The process in getting life vests and getting set up for the dolphin experience was a cluster at best. My child loved it though. The area where they actually do this expereice is somewhat far from the area where you watch from so I suggest you have a high powered lens...if you don't, lucky you, you can buy photos of your child from them, but they are more expensive. The port itself had everything that you see in every other port. There is a Margharettaville there for some good drinks.

 

Cozumel, MX

We didn't do an excursion this day, but decided to some window shopping. We took a taxi ($2.5USD) to the Forum shops and then sarted window shopping. I cannot remember what street it is on because it was off the main strip just past the 7-eleven, we stopped and had lunch at a place called Wet Wendys. We were told it was highly rated and owned by Americans so we thought we would give it a try. The frozen drinks are huge and every meal comes with a shot of tequila...bonus! The chips and salsa is authentic. I had the blackened chicken burrito....very good and a lot of food. We made another stop at Margharittaville for drinks. We didn't have food but the burgers sure looked good! The port itslef had all the stuff that every port has. Cozumel does have a Ron Jons Surf Shop as well.

 

Entertainment

The entertainment onboard the ship was mediocre at best. I felt like walking out withing the first five minutes of each show, with the exception of the comic. Freedom had a magician/illusionist Drew Thomas...Not a big fan...he spent the first 20 minutes boosting his ego and showing clips of America's Got Talent. All the other entertainment was just as you would expect on a cruise, bingo, night parades, poolside entertainment. The cruise director on this ship did a daily video that you could watch from your stateroom to tell you about the daily happening and let me tell you, he was not afraid to show himself in a t-back bikini...eww.

 

Disembarking

We chose to carry our luggage off the ship and left the ship at 0730 with out any problems or crowding. There was a little big of a line at customs but that is kind of expected.

[LBumb]

good job

[BecciBoo]

You mean, you did not see the ice show...I would never describe this as "mediocre".

[cape51]

I saw the ice show on Oasis, it was the same show, so I didn't go see it again

[cape51]

There were a couple last things that I wanted to mention

 

For whatever reason (President's Day Weekend) there was a lot of kids on the ship this time, and they seemed to congregate in the library of all places. I had to tell kids to quite down on a number of occations as I was trying to read or doing work. They also like to ride the elevators, like a game, I even caught some of them sitting and laying down in the elevators...

 

Strangely, I didn't see the number of security personnel on Freedom as I did on Oasis. I would suggest that RCCL have more roaming security for situations where there is a higher population of kids.

 

Adventure Ocean

I have to give 100% kudos to Adventure Ocean staff and program. I loved this and my daughter loved this program.

[CMurph]

Thanks for the review. We are going on the Freedom for the second time in less than 3 weeks, although a different itinerary from yours. I saw the magician, Drew Thomas, on another RCCL ship before his America's Got Talent spot aired. He was very good on the ship and did very well on the show until the end, when he blew it!! Sounds like he let his TV time go to his head and he shouldn't have.

 

Sorry to hear about the kid situation, we encounter the elevator games on almost every cruise. I enjoy some quiet time in the library, so I would probably complain & ask for something to be done about it.