Just off the Freedom - quick thoughts.

[amzgirl]

I just came off a fantastic 7 day Eastern Caribbean cruise on the Freedom, with a group of a total of 40 people celebrating my parent's 50th anniversary. We had a FANTASTIC time, and I will try to post a full review in the next few weeks, but here are a few observations:

 

This was the biggest ship I have sailed on, and I do not need anything bigger! It has all that the Oasis has except some specialty restaurants, and it is almost bordering on "too big", so I have no desire to cruise the Oasis/Allure class anytime soon. What a beautiful ship! The interior promenade area is just amazing, and I kept finding new pieces of art everywhere I looked. LOVED the kids splash area, especially the "whirlpool", the rock wall was huge (compared to the Sovereign class I had previously climbed), and the dining room was just stunning.

 

I don't know what happened, but we had Graham Seymour as our CD, I thought he was going on vacation. I was so excited when I got on board and saw that he was on! His late night comedy show is not to be missed, he is such a talent. Thank you Graham!

 

I had a more forward cabin and will choose a more midship or aft cabin next time, much closer to everything we use, like the Windjammer, kids pool, and dining rooms. Lesson learned, study the deck plans, knowing where you will go most often, before choosing a cabin.

 

Deck 6 was awesome, a quick hop downstairs to Deck 5 first thing in the morning for a coffee or late at night for a snack. If we hadn't been traveling with my elderly MIL I think we would have used the stairs exclusively between decks 3 and 6 and the elevators for going up to the pool deck/Windjammer only. I really think the only more convenient deck would be Deck 10 aft for it's proximity to the Windjammer.

 

OMG the entertainment was just amazing. My husband and I had skipped most of the shows when we last cruised several years ago, because we had not enjoyed the big-band music and lip syncing that seemed to be the standard before then, but these people were incredibly talented, the shows were first class, not at all dated or cheesy, and I was sorry I missed some of them. The ice show is not to be missed. We also loved the 80s dance party, it took me back to my high school days, and my MIL liked the 50s and 60s night. I was not as taken with the magic show because I like magic shows with less "fluff" like dancers and singers, but it was well done with great special effects. Next time we cruise we will be attending as many shows as possible. Even the "assistant" activities staff were wonderful and very talented.

 

No more escargot. :( No more chocolates on your pillow at night. :( No more showing us the dessert tray so we can see what we are ordering. Little cutbacks that even us only-every-few-years cruisers noticed. Nothing too terrible though, I just like my escargot and chocolate.

 

My large group proved that rum runners work well! The only ones sent to the "naughty room" were the one couple that used plastic flasks in their luggage. My brother carried on a case of water no problem.

 

The food and service were excellent in Portofino, as we had remembered. MDR food was just okay, not terrible but nothing really memorable either. Honey stung chicken? What is the deal with all the fans, it was breaded chicken with a slightly sweet taste, did I miss a sauce or something? And I never saw the famous roast-beef sandwich. MDR for breakfast was not as good as the Windjammer, the buffet food was stone cold there, we ate there for breakfast once and never again.

 

I was terribly disappointed with the quality of the baked goods. The cookies were all very hard and crunchy, like they were overcooked, and most of the baked goodies were dry. Even in the MDR I was not thrilled, I love cake and didn't really experience any really well-done cakes all week. Cupcake Cupboard was just okay too. Very sad, I do love a quick cookie or piece of cake/brownie for a snack, and they were just subpar.

 

What happened to the juice/tea/water service in the pool area? I know they are emphasizing the soda package but there was no area set up with these free drinks like there used to be in the pool area. There was water at the soda station but no cups. Maybe I just missed it, but the lack of hydration in the pool area seems to me to be a bit of a problem on hot "at sea" days, you can't just drink alcohol all day and not get dehydrated! Another cutback I am sure, one that I missed, I like drinking lots of water, especially at sea, and it was a bit tough to find. Yes, I could have gone up to a bar but that was a lot more trouble than the juice/tea/water machines they used to have. Great ice cream in the pool area though.

 

Disembarkation was a mess, my father (diamond status) had arranged for the group to leave with priority exit, we had the correct luggage tags on everything but found our luggage on three different conveyors. We were off the ship by 730 but did not leave port until 10 am because we could not find all our luggage, and we were not the only people to have problems, my sister's families' luggage was on three conveyors as well. Thank God for the very persistent porter that spent over an hour with us tracking down everything, including running back to our hired van with the final piece of luggage we had given up on, she got a very nice tip!

 

You can have a great time with no advance reservations at St. Tomas and St. Martin, we had two awesome tours for great prices. Further details in the review but I will say there will be two tour operators in St. Tomas that will get very nice letters from me they can show to prospective customers. We will see them again for sure, two just wonderful guys. Do not miss the beach in St. Martin with the airplanes! Fun for all!

 

Balcony cabins are awesome. FIve cabins in our group had the balconies open to each other. Our cabin steward did a great job without being overly intrusive, I asked for ice once and got it all week, lovely towel animals all week, I had pulled some clothes out of the hamper to look for a Seapass card once and found them folded on the bed when we returned. They need more outlets though, two outlets by the desk and none by the beds made an interesting daily juggle between the 2 CPAPS at night and the camera/phone charging during the day. Smuggling on a power strip would be helpful.

 

I figured out how to ice skate! I am a Florida girl and have ice skated ONCE, fifteen years ago, the ice was soft and the skates were flimsy, I had an awful time. This time I was skating without holding on within 20 minutes, having a great time, the skates were quite supportive of my weak ankles and the ice was super hard. Why did I not skate till the last day?? My daughter and I will be taking lessons in the fall, we both loved it. And the stars of the ice show work the rink! A great chance to meet the talent!

 

I can't think of anything else right now. It was easily my best cruise, probably because I had my whole extended, liking-to-party family on board, so I loosened up and had a great time! I can't wait to plan my next cruise, I am hoping for a Radiance class ship this time, hopefully it won't be too long.

[PathfinderEss]

Thanks for the nice review of your cruise. Glad you had a good time.

[silentbob007]

Some have never liked the honey stung chicken, but the form it is in now is worse than it once was ... I no longer eat it. Also ... FYI ... the roast beef sandwich is on ships with a Park Cafe. I would also respectfully disagree with your statement that specialty restaurants are all that set Freeom and Oasis class apart ... it is a whole different ship layout and entertainment concept ... not for everyone, but much more than just eateries.

 

Thanks for your review.

[gcvt]

Enjoyed reading your review - glad you had a good time! We can't wait to get back on that ship again.

[allie3490]

You can have a great time with no advance reservations at St. Tomas and St. Martin, we had two awesome tours for great prices. Further details in the review but I will say there will be two tour operators in St. Tomas that will get very nice letters from me they can show to prospective customers. We will see them again for sure, two just wonderful guys. Do not miss the beach in St. Martin with the airplanes! Fun for all!

 

 

I'd love to hear about the tours you did on the islands!! Please come back and tell us. Thanks so much!:)

[BillOh]

This was the biggest ship I have sailed on, and I do not need anything bigger! It has all that the Oasis has except some specialty restaurants, and it is almost bordering on "too big", so I have no desire to cruise the Oasis/Allure class anytime soon.

 

I've been on both, and I encourage you to do the same. Freedom may be my favorite, but Allure is my wife's favorite and either a tie or close second for me. Not knowing more about you, my may enjoy either more. Definitely worth a try and for the most part doesn't feel any more crowded. I'll probably go on Freedom, or a similar ship in that class in 14, just to refresh my memory and to validate the comparison.

[BobbyD]

Will be on the same itinerary in August. Disappointed to hear about no more escargot. Was always one of the highlights of the MDR for us! Oh well. Looking so forward to our second visit to the FOS and glad you had a great time! We just were upgraded today from outside to a balcony! Can't wait!

[nicki_momof3]

I am going to the same ports. I would love to hear what operators you used, places you went, price. Can you reserve ahead of time?

 

More info. Please

[BillOh]

Some have never liked the honey stung chicken, but the form it is in now is worse than it once was ..

 

 

Bob, recognizing your experience in the matter, since when? And how is it different? I didn't notice on Jewel last spring, but I had so much good food on Jewel, I may have forgot. My son-in-law is in the Restaurant supply business and is familar with RC's supplier of Honeystung and I'll ask him about it. (unless RC changed providers since I saw it being loaded on pallets in Miami back in 2008. (or was that 2010, I can't remember which cruise I saw that, but I do remember it was Miami.

[disneyfan68]

Thank you for your review. We will be on freedom in a few weeks.

 

I planned to bring a power strip. Are they banned?

[jennmaybe]

 

This was the biggest ship I have sailed on, and I do not need anything bigger! It has all that the Oasis has except some specialty restaurants, and it is almost bordering on "too big", so I have no desire to cruise the Oasis/Allure class anytime soon. What a beautiful ship! The interior promenade area is just amazing, and I kept finding new pieces of art everywhere I looked. LOVED the kids splash area, especially the "whirlpool", the rock wall was huge (compared to the Sovereign class I had previously climbed), and the dining room was just stunning.

 

 

We were on Oasis last year and doing Allure next year, with Freedom in-between. Going on her in December.

 

Even thought I haven't been on Freedom yet, I do know that there are more things that set Oasis/Allure apart from the Freedom class ships, other than the specialty restaurants.

 

I have also asked several cruisers, who have stated they believe Oasis & Allure to be too big, what exactly they mean by that and I haven't seen where anyone has responded. What exactly makes a ship too big? It is the walking distance to get from one place to another? That is the only thing I can think of and can't imagine using that for my reason for not wanting to sail either of those ships. Besides, the walking is good for a lot of us who tend to eat more while on a cruise than at home.;):)

[jennmaybe]

Thank you for your review. We will be on freedom in a few weeks.

 

I planned to bring a power strip. Are they banned?

 

They are prohibited (last time I checked anyway), but a lot of folks can get them on through their luggage.

[HB Cruiser]

Bob, recognizing your experience in the matter, since when? And how is it different? I didn't notice on Jewel last spring, but I had so much good food on Jewel, I may have forgot. My son-in-law is in the Restaurant supply business and is familar with RC's supplier of Honeystung and I'll ask him about it. (unless RC changed providers since I saw it being loaded on pallets in Miami back in 2008. (or was that 2010, I can't remember which cruise I saw that, but I do remember it was Miami.

 

Not Bob but will chime in here.

 

We were on Freedom May and I am a honey stung chicken fan. What I got was a decent piece of chicken but it in no way resembled what we used to get as honey stung chicken. The look and texture reminded me of a piece of shake and bake chicken, but with a much better taste.

 

I thought maybe they had made a mistake on the embarkation menu so I ordered it once from room service. Again, same chicken.

 

I'm not bashing it however. It is not the same nor does it taste the same but it was good, just not what I was expecting.

 

Tim

[Rlwadsworth]

We are doing our second Freedom cruise in September, Western Caribbean. We were not too crazy about St. Thomas (did a beach/snorkel Sapphire Beach & Island Drive - STF5). The resort was a dump and the food served/sold came from a guy with his grill next to the resort. The water was beautiful though. St. Maarten was great. Our excursion was cancelled by clarity of the water. A hurricane had passed by earlier (12 ft seas one night). So I DW and I went shopping, me for beer her for jewelry. Warning, the jeweliers will serve you "free" beer. I say "free" because I ended up buying my DW an anniversary present. At least I remembered! Our girls (6&8) stayed on the boat and had a great time. We are looking forward to September again this year. One thing I didn't like about the boat was of my choosing. We had adjoining interior rooms on the aft portion of the 8th deck. I need some sunlight in my room and the further back and higher up increases the motion of the waves! No one got sick though no one took any seasickness medicines!

[Marie51]

I am just off the Freedom on the June 17th-24th eastern cruise. I thought everything was wonderful and we (family of 5) found the food in the dining room and Windjammer to be quite good.

Just a note about St Martin......we took a taxi to Dawn beach which was full of seaweed so we had the taxi driver take us to Orient beach instead which was perfect as always.

[sailingawaysoon]

Thanks for your overview regarding the Freedom. We've sailed on her several times and can't wait to go again in August. I would love to hear more about the tour companies you used while on your excursions. I am having a hard time figuring out what we are going to do and would love to know who you recommend. Thanks again for your post. I never get tired of reading about the Freedom.

[ryano]

Not Bob but will chime in here.

 

We were on Freedom May and I am a honey stung chicken fan. What I got was a decent piece of chicken but it in no way resembled what we used to get as honey stung chicken. The look and texture reminded me of a piece of shake and bake chicken, but with a much better taste.

 

I thought maybe they had made a mistake on the embarkation menu so I ordered it once from room service. Again, same chicken.

 

I'm not bashing it however. It is not the same nor does it taste the same but it was good, just not what I was expecting.

 

Tim

 

Did honeystung chicken use to be a real piece of chicken (not processed) with a sweet sauce coating on it maybe? The reason I ask is I watched a show about Freedom of the Seas during its first year and it was a New Years sailing.............they showed in the galley HUGE racks of real pieces of chicken and someone brushing a sauce over them.

 

Now, its just a breaded piece of processed chicken "pattie" with a little bit of a sweet taste........think chicken mcnuggets LOL! Im not bashing it either as I always get a piece in the Windjammer the first day as its a sign that I am finally on my cruise and kind of a tradition.

[SpeedGeek]

Disembarkation was a mess, my father (diamond status) had arranged for the group to leave with priority exit, we had the correct luggage tags on everything but found our luggage on three different conveyors. We were off the ship by 730 but did not leave port until 10 am because we could not find all our luggage, and we were not the only people to have problems, my sister's families' luggage was on three conveyors as well. Thank God for the very persistent porter that spent over an hour with us tracking down everything, including running back to our hired van with the final piece of luggage we had given up on, she got a very nice tip!

 

This is sad to hear that they haven't fixed the mess on the Freedom since I sailed on her last October. We had #2 luggage tags on all of our bags, and 2 bags ended up coming out with #18. :mad: Like you, we spent an additional 2 hours standing in the luggage area because of this. Port workers stated that the Freedom was regularly disorganized like this, and I guess they were right.

 

Do not miss the beach in St. Martin with the airplanes! Fun for all!

 

This is Maho Beach for anyone who is looking to grab a taxi when they get off the ship. There's a bar with burgers and such right next to the beach so you can get a good view from the shade of the umbrellas. The larger jets tend to arrive between 11AM and 3PM, but there are plenty of 'puddle jumpers' that arrive throughout the day.

[jennmaybe]

 

Disembarkation was a mess, my father (diamond status) had arranged for the group to leave with priority exit, we had the correct luggage tags on everything but found our luggage on three different conveyors. We were off the ship by 730 but did not leave port until 10 am because we could not find all our luggage, and we were not the only people to have problems, my sister's families' luggage was on three conveyors as well. Thank God for the very persistent porter that spent over an hour with us tracking down everything, including running back to our hired van with the final piece of luggage we had given up on, she got a very nice tip!

 

 

This is sad to hear that they haven't fixed the mess on the Freedom since I sailed on her last October. We had #2 luggage tags on all of our bags, and 2 bags ended up coming out with #18. :mad: Like you, we spent an additional 2 hours standing in the luggage area because of this. Port workers stated that the Freedom was regularly disorganized like this, and I guess they were right.

 

 

 

 

Ouch! Guess that falls into the category of "not booking an early flight because anything could happen":)

[DrD]

so sad to hear no escargots!!!! My son was going to try to break his record of 3 plates. I don't think I'll tell him in case they change back.

 

Too big for me means I can't see everything in a week. So far not been on a ship that's too big.

 

Thanks for review, sounds great.

[Sunshine-lady]

This is sad to hear that they haven't fixed the mess on the Freedom since I sailed on her last October. We had #2 luggage tags on all of our bags, and 2 bags ended up coming out with #18. :mad: Like you, we spent an additional 2 hours standing in the luggage area because of this. Port workers stated that the Freedom was regularly disorganized like this, and I guess they were right.

 

 

 

This is Maho Beach for anyone who is looking to grab a taxi when they get off the ship. There's a bar with burgers and such right next to the beach so you can get a good view from the shade of the umbrellas. The larger jets tend to arrive between 11AM and 3PM, but there are plenty of 'puddle jumpers' that arrive throughout the day.

 

DH and I are going on the Freedom next May. Maho Beach is one of the places DH has always wanted to go to. Is it hard getting there, and is there enough time to see the planes and enjoy the beach, and enough time to get back to the ship? Thanks in advance.

[SpeedGeek]

DH and I are going on the Freedom next May. Maho Beach is one of the places DH has always wanted to go to. Is it hard getting there, and is there enough time to see the planes and enjoy the beach, and enough time to get back to the ship? Thanks in advance.

 

Not hard at all, there will be plenty of taxi vans waiting near the dock, and you can just walk up and say you want to go to Maho Beach. There's usually a taxi van sitting right next to the bar at Maho Beach too so you can get back to the ship. We actually slept in a little bit, went to Marigot, then to Maho Beach and still had time to get a bite to eat, get some pictures of planes on approach, and get back to the ship. No trouble at all. :) Enjoy!

[silentbob007]

Did honeystung chicken use to be a real piece of chicken (not processed) with a sweet sauce coating on it maybe?

 

Yes, it used to be whole pieces of chicken (there would be white and dark). Now it is a pressed piece of processed chicken.

[silentbob007]

so sad to hear no escargots!!!! My son was going to try to break his record of 3 plates. I don't think I'll tell him in case they change back.

 

I think it is a worldwide shortage ... though once it is gone, I wonder if it will ever come back.

[disneyfan68]

They are prohibited (last time I checked anyway), but a lot of folks can get them on through their luggage.

 

Rats! Guess I will skip it then. Need to charge a phone, 2 iPods, 1 iPad and camera battery. Yikes!