Freedom from the Mouse! Our first non-Disney cruise, and we LOVED it!

[SUNNYGIRL45]

Okay I'm back! Great cabin you had! I have to say, our cabin on Liberty was very nice - and our cabin steward was fantastic! We loved having a king sized bed right next to the balcony. Cute cupcakes! What a fun addition to the Promenade area. How did you like the "Sidewalk Sales" every night? I had to laugh at your photo of all the guys in the hot tub! You are so funny. We loved that cantilevered tub, but it was hard to use, because it was always so crowded - same with the teeny tiny ones on DCL though. You are right, they really did pools right on these ships! We loved the ice show, too - it is amazing they can do so much with such little space! Looking forward to reading more from my fav author!!! (hey, if I butter you up, will you come back and write some more??):p

[Buckeye State Cruisers]

We LOVE the FOS also. Lots of WOW factor on her. Last year we decided to try the Oasis (very apprehensive due to the sheer volume of people :eek:) I had read many reviews on cc about how the OOS didn't feel as crowded as the FOS, and they were right! But the thing that made us book OOS again this year is the eating venues. On FOS we ate most breakfasts and lunches in the WJ which to me is like eating at a Golden Corral (or any other buffet) and to me that gets boring. On OOS there are so many places to eat we never ate in the WJ all week. If you wanted to try the OOS there is a great deal for Oct 27, 2014. Interior rooms are $609 pp and all the other categories are deeply discounted. It is only a 5 night (straightening out the schedule after a transatlantic voyage from England). The ship is the destination to me. Enjoying your review.

[TwinPrincessMermaids]

Carnival ships have been fine for us. For the price we get plenty, as we are fortunate to take any Vacation we can. After a few of them though and with the recent events and cutbacks we wanted to compare for ourselves. We are not overly difficult to please, but I have found Carnival's Entertainment pretty dull our last 2 cruises as well as cutbacks in the MDR has slowed service. We went on the Breeze and loved it. Tons to do for Kids, lots to do for Adults and the complaints we had were not major but more hastle type stuff. If you do try Carnival do their more popular ships like Breeze, Magic, Dream, Liberty, etc...

 

I was bored on our 2/28-3/2 cruise on the Dream. We had cruised Carnival plenty and were happy until last year's Conquest but tried Dream this year, and 2 mediocre ones have me Carnivalled out. (Despite Gold VIP.) I wouldn't tell anyone to cruise on the CCL Dream. I couldn't wait to get home. We could never get to comedy on time because desert hadn't even been served (And you know those meltings cakes!) so sometimes we even took our desert to go (not a nice way to finish the dinner with a cup of coffee etc.) and we couldn't communicate with them, but we tried. We got apps we didn't ask for and didn't ones we did ask for. It would take 20 min to get tea or water filled. I was shushed by our main waiter. Couldn't even tell you his name, they didn't give us their names. Normally we get quite attached to our servers! All the entertainment was black lights and popping and locking, so watch America's Got Talent and you will be good. The Entertainment CMs were very funny though, enjoyed the Legends try outs, super hilarious. But I'm stick of the smokey casinos, the constant drinks sales being pushed on us, the bingo in the main theater that we had to sit through before the show started. Last year on the Conquest, we could play volleyball with our crew. This year, they made us wait until it showed up on the schedule which was ridiculous. It was like hurricane force winds and we had to BEG them to give us a net and a ball and even though all of us were over 25, we had to play with a CM. (I say beg because I literally had to call down to there to get them to come up and let us play volleyball.) It was NOT a fun ship! The shrimp apps were so tiny, most of the apps were a bite or two. The food was either butter or tomato sauce although I love the thai soups. I waited in line for everything from a hot dog to checking out of the gift shop. The ports as always were nice. But I have never experienced the "are we getting off the ship yet?" feeling (from cruising from age 11), and I was just pleased as I could be to disembark. The only good thing about that cruise was that our friends picked PC and my honey knew I couldn't bear to drive by Orlando, so the only good thing about our Carnival cruise (besides the ports) was the Disney!

 

I told my friend "I'm cruised out. I don't care if I get on a boat again." And then 4 weeks later, we were on the DCL Dream to surprise crash our parents' 45th anniversary! See, the CCL Dream had gotten stuck 1.5 weeks after we got off of it and my Mom is a worrier, so Dad knew she would never take a CCL so he booked a 3 day DCL for them. Even though we had been off for work, we knew we could swing a 3 day and so I coordinated all the kids and we went with them! (Would have been awful for them to see all those nice families and just wish the kids were there for their 45th anniversary cruise!)

 

I am so in love with DCL after that, it was my first DC after growing up on RCCL and cruising CCL for the last 10 yrs. I know that sometimes Disney gets old, but one 3 day cruise is JUST getting me started with them. I am over the moon for the service and food we had. We had the best day at Castaway. Saw hundreds and hundreds of fish. Maybe the most I have seen. Loved the food and picnics and water slides and ship detective games and hiliarous and fun family entertainment, no smokey casino, Aquaduck, and incredible live shows with very high level (like Lion King broadway segments) acting and singing. I was blown away.

 

I just can't imagine telling anyone to cruise the CCL Dream. And I remember getting suckered into one of those ridiculous 'everyone show up and shop for this bracelet, they are having a raffle!' promotions at the gift shop and several women behind me said that it was the most awful cruise they have ever been on too. Again, we got off of it in Mar so not that long ago.

 

I realize that repeat DCers are prob a lil ready to move on, and I do get that, but main, I had the BEST stateroom I've ever had (as OP describes the bathtub- i have never had a bathtub on a cruise or a separated commode and shower) I had the best service I'd had in years, the best dinner show at Animator's with amazing technology, the best shows we have ever seen on a cruise ship (even my attention def husband was there early and stayed through all of them!) and great family karaoke and dance parties not to mention fireworks, live action deck shows, and the nicest CMs I've met in years. I want to spend my next $$ on DCL as soon as I can (prob next spring again) and from what I read, with the incidentals that the other lines add (got borderline food poisoning on the Dream, oh yeah forgot to mention that, the Indian buffet on the 3rd day, maybe they kept the food for 3 days since I hit it every day and loved it but that was an AWFUL night for me!) and I ordered a coke to try and help my stomach and I got a can for just less than $2.50 and they added a tip to my can of coke... Basically I think I would rather cruise a day or two less (like a 5 day next) for a similar price of a 7 day and be able to bring whatever drinks I want with me and enjoy the incredible family atmosphere and pleasant people everywhere. Those 3 days were THE best cruise I've ever been on (and I've cruised Hawaii, which of course was great, but I couldn't tell you anything about the ship which was RCCL and my honey complained because the soups were broth with a few chives in it, that's like all I remember..)

 

Ok sorry for hijacking the thread. I wouldn't ever in good conscience tell someone who has cruised DCL to get on the CCL Dream. That's like a horrific joke...

 

Also I should add, NONE of us have Kids, so the clubs etc never factored. This is just comparing the cruise experience one Dream to another. We were all 31 or older.

Edited June 10, 2013 by TwinPrincessMermaids

[jules815]

I was bored on our 2/28-3/2 cruise on the Dream. We had cruised Carnival plenty and were happy until last year's Conquest but tried Dream this year, and 2 mediocre ones have me Carnivalled out. (Despite Gold VIP.) I wouldn't tell anyone to cruise on the CCL Dream. I couldn't wait to get home. We could never get to comedy on time because desert hadn't even been served (And you know those meltings cakes!) so sometimes we even took our desert to go (not a nice way to finish the dinner with a cup of coffee etc.) and we couldn't communicate with them, but we tried. We got apps we didn't ask for and didn't ones we did ask for. It would take 20 min to get tea or water filled. I was shushed by our main waiter. Couldn't even tell you his name, they didn't give us their names. Normally we get quite attached to our servers! All the entertainment was black lights and popping and locking, so watch America's Got Talent and you will be good. The Entertainment CMs were very funny though, enjoyed the Legends try outs, super hilarious. But I'm stick of the smokey casinos, the constant drinks sales being pushed on us, the bingo in the main theater that we had to sit through before the show started. Last year on the Conquest, we could play volleyball with our crew. This year, they made us wait until it showed up on the schedule which was ridiculous. It was like hurricane force winds and we had to BEG them to give us a net and a ball and even though all of us were over 25, we had to play with a CM. (I say beg because I literally had to call down to there to get them to come up and let us play volleyball.) It was NOT a fun ship! The shrimp apps were so tiny, most of the apps were a bite or two. The food was either butter or tomato sauce although I love the thai soups. I waited in line for everything from a hot dog to checking out of the gift shop. The ports as always were nice. But I have never experienced the "are we getting off the ship yet?" feeling (from cruising from age 11), and I was just pleased as I could be to disembark. The only good thing about that cruise was that our friends picked PC and my honey knew I couldn't bear to drive by Orlando, so the only good thing about our Carnival cruise (besides the ports) was the Disney!

 

I told my friend "I'm cruised out. I don't care if I get on a boat again." And then 4 weeks later, we were on the DCL Dream to surprise crash our parents' 45th anniversary! See, the CCL Dream had gotten stuck 1.5 weeks after we got off of it and my Mom is a worrier, so Dad knew she would never take a CCL so he booked a 3 day DCL for them. Even though we had been off for work, we knew we could swing a 3 day and so I coordinated all the kids and we went with them! (Would have been awful for them to see all those nice families and just wish the kids were there for their 45th anniversary cruise!)

 

I am so in love with DCL after that, it was my first DC after growing up on RCCL and cruising CCL for the last 10 yrs. I know that sometimes Disney gets old, but one 3 day cruise is JUST getting me started with them. I am over the moon for the service and food we had. We had the best day at Castaway. Saw hundreds and hundreds of fish. Maybe the most I have seen. Loved the food and picnics and water slides and ship detective games and hiliarous and fun family entertainment, no smokey casino, Aquaduck, and incredible live shows with very high level (like Lion King broadway segments) acting and singing. I was blown away.

 

I just can't imagine telling anyone to cruise the CCL Dream. And I remember getting suckered into one of those ridiculous 'everyone show up and shop for this bracelet, they are having a raffle!' promotions at the gift shop and several women behind me said that it was the most awful cruise they have ever been on too. Again, we got off of it in Mar so not that long ago.

 

I realize that repeat DCers are prob a lil ready to move on, and I do get that, but main, I had the BEST stateroom I've ever had (as OP describes the bathtub- i have never had a bathtub on a cruise or a separated commode and shower) I had the best service I'd had in years, the best dinner show at Animator's with amazing technology, the best shows we have ever seen on a cruise ship (even my attention def husband was there early and stayed through all of them!) and great family karaoke and dance parties not to mention fireworks, live action deck shows, and the nicest CMs I've met in years. I want to spend my next $$ on DCL as soon as I can (prob next spring again) and from what I read, with the incidentals that the other lines add (got borderline food poisoning on the Dream, oh yeah forgot to mention that, the Indian buffet on the 3rd day, maybe they kept the food for 3 days since I hit it every day and loved it but that was an AWFUL night for me!) and I ordered a coke to try and help my stomach and I got a can for just less than $2.50 and they added a tip to my can of coke... Basically I think I would rather cruise a day or two less (like a 5 day next) for a similar price of a 7 day and be able to bring whatever drinks I want with me and enjoy the incredible family atmosphere and pleasant people everywhere. Those 3 days were THE best cruise I've ever been on (and I've cruised Hawaii, which of course was great, but I couldn't tell you anything about the ship which was RCCL and my honey complained because the soups were broth with a few chives in it, that's like all I remember..)

 

Ok sorry for hijacking the thread. I wouldn't ever in good conscience tell someone who has cruised DCL to get on the CCL Dream. That's like a horrific joke...

 

Also I should add, NONE of us have Kids, so the clubs etc never factored. This is just comparing the cruise experience one Dream to another. We were all 31 or older.

 

I found this post while reading older posts about FOS. This is EXACTLY how we felt about our last cruise on Carnival Dream! Our service in the MDR was horrible...and not just one off night. The ship also seemed run down and a little dirty. Our first cruise on Dream in 2008 was great, but something is up with that ship, and it's not good.

[DisneyKidsDad]

I shall return soon!!!!! Just got a job handling some travel so I'm taking tests and get my feet wet. I'll be back soon!!!

 

Please come back and finish this great trip report. :(

[hellsop]

As I was saying, the port is very nice inside, nothing like the "overgrown warehouse" I had heard it would be.

 

 

Maybe they meant "overgrown greenhouse"...

Edited July 17, 2013 by hellsop

[lrn2cruise]

We went on FOS in 2011. My son was 11 at the time! He is 13 now. I am enjoying your review!

I was so excited to see that you got the infamous "pole" AFT room on deck 8. We were just a few cabins down from you in 8412. The "pole" cabin can be tough to book but you managed!

My son LOVED H2O Zone too! 1st day, we ate at the WJ, then I found my deck chair right by the H2O Zone and let my son play. I loved the waterfall wall and that far pool. A bit scary for parents with tiny ones though. That pool is deep. Grateful that I didnt hve to keep my eyes so peeled on my son.

I will keep reading

[lrn2cruise]

Now since this was our first RCCL cruise, I can't comment on "new" vs "old" menu, but I do love me some good food porn in a trip report.....

 

Tonight's dinner theme is MOJO and it is considered Casual. At first I was somewhat appalled when I saw people wearing shorts and flip flops to dinner! But as the week progressed, I realized that it really was "casual" and I attributed it to the first night and some may not even have all their luggage yet. So I cut them some slack.......

 

We met our server Glen and our assistant server Vuk. I was NOT happy at all with our servers this first night. Glen was very stiff and formal. Vuk was inefficient.

 

It didn't dawn on me until after dinner that FIL was about 15 minutes late to dinner and that throws EVERYTHING off when they are trying to serve their whole station at the same time. And I just think that Glen was very stressed and rushed this first night, because after that, we was the BEST server we've ever had! I guess we all have rough nights, and for whatever reason, he had his on our first night.

 

Reading the menu, I noticed escargot was available each night. So after Vuk got our wine order, Glen came around to take our food order.

 

"I'd like to start with the escargot please."

 

Glen: "I'm sorry we don't have any escargot due to a worldwide shortage."

 

Hmmmm, yes, I see that it says on the menu that it may not be available for that very reason but I was bummed anyway. I love me some snails!!!!

 

I asked Glen what he recommended and he assured me he'd bring me something good.

 

Ok?

 

He ended up bringing me bay scallops prepared as escargot. Not the same, but good effort......

 

For my entree I had the Mojo Marinated Grilled Pork Chop.

 

 

Jeff had the Slow Roasted Prime Rib

 

 

Both were good but here's where DCL wins. The food on Freedom was never bad. But it was very basic. PapPap called it "corporate banquet" food and I think that is spot on. Disney does a lot more with presentation and sauces. The food is more elegant, rich, and adventurous. For us this give an edge to DCL, for some that prefer the basics, they might prefer RCCL. But I'm giving a point to DCL for this.

 

Ally didn't even attempt to be adventurous this first night, her BIRTHDAY night!!!!!

 

 

Ally had begged me all day NOT to have them sing to her. She does not like to be the center of attention. She was so nervous and actually asked if she could leave early to meet her new friends Jenna and Colby (who had my-time dining and ate earlier). We allowed her to head out early and gave her the "talk" - you know, curfew, use your head, don't go below decks, stay in public areas, etc......

 

And she was off!

 

After dinner Nana and PapPap decided to call it a night. The first day is so full and exhausting! So we said goodnight and Jeff and I decided to enjoy our quiet evening to ourselves.....

 

 

We stopped for a drink and just chatted about how the vacation had begun. We were already convinced this was going to be a GREAT cruise!!!!

 

Point for DCL for food.....

 

Total:

 

DCL 6

RCCL 6

 

OMGoodness!!!!! We were one of the groups that looked like, well? Not good at the MDR the 1st night! I was very embrrassed!:o We did NOT have a luggage by dinner time! Bless the Stewards hearts though, they were working HARD. We would walk by and see our luggage but were not able to take it.

Next cruise, I will pack shampoo/extra clothes, etc OR......Just go to the WJ for dinner. We had pool hair (cant miss the pool!!!!!) sweaty clothes from all day. I did pack our swimsuits, but more clothes need to be packed in the day bag

Thanks for not judging our "No lugges by dinner time" group:)

[SherriZ366]

Enjoying your review (am at page 10). We cruised with our Only daughter from the time she was 15 so can relate to your family. We have done Freedom about 8 or 9 times and are booked 3 more times.

[teacher34]

PLEASE finish this review!! We will be sailing on the Freedom next spring for the first time and I am loving your review. Please don't stop writing !

[Mom.to.2]

Yoo HOOOO! Karajeboo!! Where are you?!!!! Please come back! Pretty please????

 

I stumbled across your review/thread and spent the last several hours reveling. Come to find: You're. Not. Finished.

 

Please? Come back? And finish your review? I'm LOVING IT!

[dforeigner]

Awesome review, thanks!

[RhondaC]

Anxiously waiting for Tuesday! :)

[cruisebabe50]

More please!

[CruisingDaddy]

Love your review. Reminded me of my first non Celebrity cruise and it was also interested the FOS.

[karajeboo]

I'm very embarassed to leave you hanging! I PROMISE to finish! I have been in travel agent training so I got very busy for awhile. But I'm official now and just booked my first trip to WDW so I'm VERY excited! I will be back this week with another update or two!!!

[Blue Line]

Thanks for sharing your review on FOS... I can't wait to read more when you finish it...

 

And, i'm glad that you were finally able to get off the Disney hamster wheel :-)

[TheRealJSki]

Loved Freedom!! My Best friend took his family on it in leiu of a Disney cruise and not only the kids but the adults are glad they did!! you posted a great update/review!!

[Hozhoni]

You crack me up.....we are cruising on sister ship liberty in Nov. So looking forward to that WOW myself...taking our four daughters....they all love cruising too, we live close to Disney here in FL...come on down.

 

Hope your review gets posted/published somewhere...you are a great writer

Dawn

 

Sent from my DROID4 using Forums mobile app

[CruisinW8]

Looking forward to the rest of the review. We sail on Freedom at the end of October and will be traveling down from SC as well.

[travln1234]

Thoroughly enjoying this review, thank you!!

[vrock]

Can't wait to read the rest of your review. We will be on the freedom for the first time in October.

[atlgants]

Subbing! :)

[TiffJ]

I would love to hear more as well. I am a certified Disney nut & have been on 6 DCL cruises. Kids are older so don't care as much for the characters. I just priced the DCL Fantasy 5/31 vs. FOS 6/1/14 and DCL is $3600 more for a balcony room. Yikes!!!! I just can't justify that difference. It is really hard for me to book another cruise line but hearing your comparison is helpful, and the first line of your post is exactly how my husband feels. He would be thrilled if we did something NOT Disney related.

[alaska_planner]

I would love to hear more as well. I am a certified Disney nut & have been on 6 DCL cruises. Kids are older so don't care as much for the characters. I just priced the DCL Fantasy 5/31 vs. FOS 6/1/14 and DCL is $3600 more for a balcony room. Yikes!!!! I just can't justify that difference. It is really hard for me to book another cruise line but hearing your comparison is helpful, and the first line of your post is exactly how my husband feels. He would be thrilled if we did something NOT Disney related.

 

we too are certifiable.....disney nuts that is...

 

we're about to embark on our first RCCL cruise - on the allure of the seas...

 

i'll try to remember to post back here what our conclusions are!!

 

can't wait....6 days to go and we sail away.....weeeeeee....!!!!!!