Freedom B2B Trip Review 4/28/13 - 5/12/13 (picture heavy)!!!

[AZAficionado]

Do you happen to know if the Freedom has a hairdryer available?

As counsdr said, there is one, but you have to hold the "kill" switch down constantly and if you have lots of styling to do or have thick hair, it will take a while. Of course, the tropical climate doesn't help anything.

Awesome, awesome review which I just finished. :)

 

I was thinking back almost 25 years ago when we took our first cruise. We went with a group of entertainers from Branson, Missouri who were part of the entertainment on the ship. I remember one of the men saying on the "last day" of the cruise, "Well back to Campbell's soup." This is so true. How much more spoiled could a person get then on a cruise??

Glad you enjoyed it. I agree on the spoiled part. Especially when you compare cruise vs land and consider relative price - really no contest.

[AZAficionado]

Upcoming Review Alert:

 

After some serious thought and numerous requests, I've decided that I will write a review of my upcoming back-to-back on Allure. While it will probably be similar to this review (similar itinerary, etc.), I'm going to try something that I don't think anyone has done before. So, stay tuned... The cruise ends May 18th and I will start the review a few days later. Naturally, I'll include a link to it in my signature and try to make the title stand out, so you can find it.

[SeaWatch]

There is a hair dryer in the desk/bureau draw, but it's not very strong. If you need to use it a lot, either bring your own, or be patient.

 

Cheryl

 

Thanks!

[beshears]

In my book you are TOP DOG in reviews. I don't think you could have done better than anyone else. I have read (still do) reviews, and have never come across one as GREAT as yours.:)

 

I agree with you. Looking out over the balcony, and seeing them loading, and loading is not my cup of tea.:(

[AZAficionado]

In my book you are TOP DOG in reviews. I don't think you could have done better than anyone else. I have read (still do) reviews, and have never come across one as GREAT as yours.:)

 

I agree with you. Looking out over the balcony, and seeing them loading, and loading is not my cup of tea.:(

Thank you so much for the kind words and support. Let's hope my upcoming review of Allure will live up to this one...:D

[FromSea2ShiningSea]

Bravo! What a great review! It took me about a week but I was spellbound. I just finished and knew I had to sign up and register on CC so I can comment. This is my first post so I hope it works.

 

First of all, thank you so much for your effort and hard work and for your wife's understanding and support of your hard work. You are kind, honest, generous and humble. I love your sense of humor, too. I appreciate all your thought, time and energy that you put into this project. Your hard work has helped and benefited so many people. You are our Rick Steves of cruises.

 

I was a little sad when I got to the last day for it meant the end of the two week journey and had to say goodbye to a friend.

 

We were on the FOS Western Caribbean two years ago and will be sailing on 5/4/2014 FOS Eastern Caribbean in a few weeks. We will have to read that portion of your review for tips on beaches to go to, etc. I think that is the same time that you will be on the Allure.

 

Again, thank you for your fantastic work!

[AZAficionado]

Bravo! What a great review! It took me about a week but I was spellbound. I just finished and knew I had to sign up and register on CC so I can comment. This is my first post so I hope it works.

Welcome to the Cruise Critic boards! Looks like you typed and hit enter without a problem.;)

First of all, thank you so much for your effort and hard work and for your wife's understanding and support of your hard work. You are kind, honest, generous and humble. I love your sense of humor, too. I appreciate all your thought, time and energy that you put into this project. Your hard work has helped and benefited so many people. You are our Rick Steves of cruises.

 

I was a little sad when I got to the last day for it meant the end of the two week journey and had to say goodbye to a friend.

 

We were on the FOS Western Caribbean two years ago and will be sailing on 5/4/2014 FOS Eastern Caribbean in a few weeks. We will have to read that portion of your review for tips on beaches to go to, etc. I think that is the same time that you will be on the Allure.

 

Again, thank you for your fantastic work!

Thanks for the awesome feedback. I really appreciate it. I will be on Allure then, just heading the other direction. Enjoy your cruise and say hi to Freedom for me.

[MouseGirl]

Yay! Can't wait to read your upcoming Allure review. We just booked a cruise on Freedom and your review is already proving to be incredibly helpful in our planning process. It's one of the best that I've read, with lots of detail, and your sense of humor is wonderful.

 

Have a great trip in May,

MouseGirl

[kahcarre]

I wanted to second MouseGirl - THANK YOU for this review and for bumping it! It is perfect for me right now as I'm doing the Eastern leg on the Freedom in June and all the pictures made my planning-loving self very very happy. We are also planning on spending a lot of time in the Champagne Bar ;) Did you happen to take a picture of that menu? Also, one more question (I may have missed it in your review) - did your Eastern leg have a "White Night"?

[AZAficionado]

Yay! Can't wait to read your upcoming Allure review. We just booked a cruise on Freedom and your review is already proving to be incredibly helpful in our planning process. It's one of the best that I've read, with lots of detail, and your sense of humor is wonderful.

 

Have a great trip in May,

MouseGirl

Thanks for the kind words. I'm glad my review is helping people out.

I wanted to second MouseGirl - THANK YOU for this review and for bumping it! It is perfect for me right now as I'm doing the Eastern leg on the Freedom in June and all the pictures made my planning-loving self very very happy. We are also planning on spending a lot of time in the Champagne Bar ;) Did you happen to take a picture of that menu? Also, one more question (I may have missed it in your review) - did your Eastern leg have a "White Night"?

I did not take pictures of the Champagne Bar menu (it is a 8-10 page booklet), but you might be able to find pictures somewhere online. Can somebody help me out with a link? Someone? Anyone? Bueller?

 

As for "White Night", I'm guessing you're referring to the Black/White party. If so, there was no Black/White party on Freedom at that time (not sure about now, but I'm guessing not). The only "special" event was Twenty, which was well worth it, as was the after party.

[beshears]

OK, I'm curious. Someone just ask if you had a "white night" on the cruise. What is that?:confused:

[AZAficionado]

OK, I'm curious. Someone just ask if you had a "white night" on the cruise. What is that?:confused:

I think they might have meant the Black/White party that is on Allure and possibly other ships (I can't recall if Oasis or others have it too). The Black/White party is a party where everyone is supposed to wear only white or black (or both).

 

Alternatively, they could be referring to a party that Norwegian and some other lines are doing where everyone is supposed to wear all white to the party and they setup black lights, etc. But, I'm just guessing.

 

The upshot for this thread is that Freedom didn't have a White Night or a Black/White party or any kind of special event other than Twenty (which is not clothing specific) when I sailed.

[jules815]

Just reading this great review again. My husband and I will be doing a B2B on FOS in September, and can't wait.

 

Noticed you've got another one coming up, and hope you'll do another great review with pictures! :)

[SAD]

:):)

[AZAficionado]

Just reading this great review again. My husband and I will be doing a B2B on FOS in September, and can't wait.

 

Noticed you've got another one coming up, and hope you'll do another great review with pictures! :)

I do. 4 days, but I'm not counting. ;). I have already started the prep for a review of Allure. I plan to use a similar format as this review and it will be another photo bomb. I'm hoping to be able to give a better review of St. Maarten since the weather was not "so nice" for the Freedom trip - Does anyone know if the "so nice" guy is still on Freedom?

 

Anyway, I'm glad people are still enjoying this review and hopefully you guys will like the next one. Enjoy your B2B!

[beej]

AZAficionado, it's a year later and still on page one. Needed a Freedom fix. (Janine, we'll see you on the Freedom on the 19th for the start of our B2B.) Now that I've reread your wonderful review, it will really be a long time until Oct rolls around. Thanx for the Freedom fix.

[AZAficionado]

AZAficionado, it's a year later and still on page one. Needed a Freedom fix. (Janine, we'll see you on the Freedom on the 19th for the start of our B2B.) Now that I've reread your wonderful review, it will really be a long time until Oct rolls around. Thanx for the Freedom fix.

You are most welcome and I'm glad you enjoyed it.:)

 

As for page one, it only takes one person to perform thread necromancy to put a thread back on the top. I'm am kinda proud of how popular this has been and not once did I engage in "shameless bump" posts or even "shameful bump" posts. It probably doesn't hurt that I threw a direct link in my signature - it seems I did learn something from that marketing class I took...:cool:

[jayblue]

Thank you for sharing your experience with us.

 

jayblue RCCL cruiser

[AZAficionado]

Thank you for sharing your experience with us.

 

jayblue RCCL cruiser

You are most welcome. :)

[jayblue]

Thank you for posting this. I haven't cruised since 1997, and thought they'd done away with the "midnight" buffets. Those were the only reason I would stay awake beyond 11 PM.

[scd_cosprgs]

Great Review!! You sidetracked me from my Alaska research as I'm on the Radiance in a few weeks. Which is probably something I needed after non-stop Alaska for the last 6 months. Haven't been on the Freedom or done a B2B, but they will now be on the list.

[AZAficionado]

Thank you for posting this. I haven't cruised since 1997, and thought they'd done away with the "midnight" buffets. Those were the only reason I would stay awake beyond 11 PM.

For the most part they have. However some ships still do a special buffet now and again.

 

Great Review!! You sidetracked me from my Alaska research as I'm on the Radiance in a few weeks. Which is probably something I needed after non-stop Alaska for the last 6 months. Haven't been on the Freedom or done a B2B, but they will now be on the list.

Glad I could help side track you.;)

[10th Anniversary]

Thank you writing such a WONDERFUL Trip Review. We have sailed on Freedom once before in 2009... We are doing our first B2B cruises in August 2015 and back on Freedom! We are super excited about doing B2B and this review was perfect. We are doing Eastern then Western... so I hope we aren't worn out by the end of our 2 weeks. ;)

[AZAficionado]

Thank you writing such a WONDERFUL Trip Review. We have sailed on Freedom once before in 2009... We are doing our first B2B cruises in August 2015 and back on Freedom! We are super excited about doing B2B and this review was perfect. We are doing Eastern then Western... so I hope we aren't worn out by the end of our 2 weeks. ;)

You are most welcome and thank you for the very kind words. Enjoy you cruise! I think that is after her drydock, so you may get to experience all kind of new goodies.

[jules815]

Just read your review again in preparation for our first B2B on FOS in September.

 

This morning I upgraded from a D2 balcony to a JS, so enjoyed seeing the pictures of your stateroom. I think we're really going to love the extra space.

 

I noticed you said there's a coffee maker. Do you recall if there was a pot for making tea as well?

 

Thanks again for your excellent review and pictures. :)