Freedom of TheSeas review 3-2-14

[Kimnjimnkids]

It was our first time with Royal. Saw the documentary on this ship being built and decided...'we've gotta go on the Freedom!' So my family of four (son14 daughter 10) drive to FL and aboarded the Freedom on March 2, 2014!!

The terminal and getting onboard was easy. Nothing to mention here. Same as all our other cruises...smooth and professional. We go early...on by 11am!

Our room was ready by 1...no bags yet...that's ok...room was clean and everything we expected was in place (souvenir cup for soda package, CC Meet and Mingle invitations, CruiseCompass...etc. And our bags arrived no later than 5 so that was awesome!!

What I did miss was: Attendant was nowhere in sight...not in the hall...no sign of any employees actually....that's fine too..just on other cruise lines, we were always greeted within the first hour at least by the room attendant...welcomes us....introduces themselves and reads our names off of their clipboard...goes over some basics...NOTHING here...didn't meet ours until after 3:30...not a complaint...just a comparison and observation. The other thing was there was no amenities packets/samples. Nothing other than the shampoo dispenser and two boxed soaps. Other cruise lines have always left a basket of little samples of toothpaste;lotion;floss;razor or two; and other little things...found it odd that there was none of that?!! I wonder if maybe they just forgot to put ours in our room and other guests got theirs (someone can let me know about that on here).

Muster drill and sail away was so fun! We headed straight for the helipad after the drill ended and that was the BEST most awesome place to be!! My kids had me take 'titanic' pics lol. Looking in the water we saw dolphins...two sting rays,...a baby shark...and I spotted a young sea turtle!!! So exciting!!!! The water is so clear at port Canaveral so be sure to look for sea creatures while you're waiting!!

We went to dinner at 5:30. We opted for MTD and kept a standing reservation for 5:30. We changed it one night to later to catch a show and it was no problem. We were allowed to request same section and wait staff. I can share more details on MTD if anyone has any specific questions..I would be happy to help! Bottom line is we loved that option..making reservations is easy...you can request waiters section if you want..they do their best to give you specific table but can't make promises for exact table...they do their best though!! No complaints for this dining option! I want to give this comment though...we were told by MANY that the food on RC exceeds Carnival and Disney and so our expectations were set high...we were disappointed. The food was NOT better....it wasn't horrible but I would have to say that Carnival is better...the steaks were more tender in Carnival...the options were more things we like with Carnival...the Disney food at dining is OK. I guess I need to point out that all 3 are pretty good...none far exceeds the other...just was bummed that others have told us the food is AMAZING...when it wasn't. Carnival is best in OUR opinion. Don't set your expectations high like we did and then maybe you won't experience disappointment like we did!

Windjammer....ugh. Worst experience ever!!! No tables were ever available I've never experienced anything like it. I don't know what anyone can do to remedy the situation but its so darn packed in there during breakfast and lunch. We went through the line, got our plates filled and searched the whole place desperately looking for a table or even two chairs that we can share w our kids and there was nothing....we actually had to put our plates on the floor and walk out. Terrible experience. We went to Johnny Rockets and it was so incredibly awesome there, we went back 4 other times and never even attempted windjammer for lunch again! I will take a moment now to tell you that we highly recommend Johnny Rockets! The wait staff are the sweetest folks! It's a cover charge but the food is unlimited! Get the bacon-cheddar fries starter and def get the Oreo sundae!!!! No stress there, you can sit against the glass and enjoy the beautiful ocean...and you will NOT regret paying extra to have the experience of awesome food, awesome people and NO CROWDS!! I would've paid $20 per person!!! Glad we went!

For the remainder of our cruise, our eating was as follows:

Breakfast and coffee sent to the cabin ( room service). Doubles as a wake up call too :)

Lunch at Johnny Rockets or pizzeria in Royal Promenade

Dinner in dining room

Extra meal/snack from Windjammer around 7:30 or so. No crowds at that time and the food is really good. Sushi every night and lots and lots of other goodies!! (Ask any questions if I've missed anything)

This was especially handy when they had an evening movie at the pool. We grabbed plates of food, went to the pool chairs, watched HungerGamesCatchingFire, ManOfSteel or another film...dinner and a movie!! Loved that!!

Ports were incredible! Labadee especially!! We just enjoyed a quiet beach day on Columbus Beach. Walked the whole path...not too far or difficult..beat the big crowds...it was amazing!! I absolutely LOVE cruise-owned private islands....this one is our 2nd fav (Disney Castaway is unbeatable)!! But Labadee is breathtaking! Just those beaches and the mountains so lush...beautiful!!! Didn't spend a dime on land there and felt completely fulfilled) Folks who bought the water park bracelets were unable to enjoy more than an hour (so don't waste your money buying an all day access pass) it was difficult to climb the inflatables and your muscles will tire out super quick!! An hour would prob be enough for anyone. Don't take my word for it,....ask around...someone might have different advice??

Falmouth port is clean and completely hassle free (and perfectly safe). Get off the ship to enjoy the port even if you have no excursions booked. We didn't go anywhere here so I have no reviews to give concerning Falmouth.

Grand Cayman...7-mile beach all the way!! (Can you tell we are just beach bums haha) Local food and drink prices are high ($5 for a can of Pepsi). So be prepared. It's easy to catch a can to the beach and then back...easy as pie!

Cozumel. Love that port!! Locals are my favorite!! (W the exception of the store owners...a bit pushy). We take a cab to chankanaab national park (on our own). Buy the entrance bracelet and enjoy the whole place!! That's the easiest way to do it. You can get in the park if you buy a dolphin encounter but we just like a calm beach to snorkel at, to buy food ( they have several restaurants there with very very good Mexican food!!!!!) this is our 3rd visit to chankanaab and our family hates to leave that place! We love it that much!!! Feel free to ask any spec questions about it. I can share pics too! The snorkeling is excellent!! There's a couple underwater statues too. Loads of tropical fish and reefs!!! Bring a go pro!!!

The shows on the FOS are pretty good! The singers are really talented! The illusionist is great! Arrive early (the open the doors one hour before show time) seats will be filled totally by quarter till! I appreciated the fact that the dancers never wore g-strings. Carnival should follow this too! My son is 14 now and we can't even attend a Carnival show due to half naked women! The dancers on the FOS were beautiful women who were just as sexy...without being inappropriate. I appreciated that!

The IceShow, I'm sure everyone has heard, is SO GOOD!!! It really is! We could've seen it over and over again!!! So awesome!! Get in line early for this one too. The line was out of this world and even though we had reservations, it felt like it was not a guarantee we would get seats!! Some ppl didn't!! I can't know for sure if it was ppl without reservation or if they oversold it?? Glad we got in!i want to mention here that they did not allow any skating for the passengers on our cruise. It was on the schedule and something my little girl couldn't wait to do..so it was very disappointing to be told it was 'under repair' the whole week?? At least they had the shows!!

The pools...they're so generous with the pool sizes. And lots of hot tubs! My ONLY complaint is there were rows and rows of pool chairs being 'saved' while passengers went to have breakfast or shopping or whatever....so frustrating!! This happened every single morning and we had to start going out to pool by by 7:30 am to have a chance to have pool chairs The pool patrol did not enforce the 30min rule that is posted all over the decks...disappointing to say the least!! So rude of people too!!

The ship layout is the prettiest we've ever been on! Spacious, clean and the details are immaculate!

Customer service: it kills me to say this....the customer service was not good. I'm not expecting to be 'babied' but I do expect to be communicated to if we have questions or need helped.

RC didn't thrive in this area. The cruise director didn't make regular announcements like all the other ships we've been on. We constantly felt like we never knew what was going in. The Compass was awesome and detailed but the crew and the directors left a lot if the events to be figured out by the guests. I'm not used to that! It seemed line all other passengers are veteran RC cruisers and so they never 'in the dark' about anything! (Just appeared that way I guess) but for the 'newbies'..we felt stupid! It's as if we were 'out of the loop' or something! Has anyone else felt like this?

 

 

 

 

 

Royal~FreedomOfTheSeas 2014

Carnival Glory 2012

Disney Magic 2011

Carnival Triumph 2010

Carnival Victory 2009

Disney Magic 2008

Carnival Inspiration 2008

Carnival Victory 2007

Carnival Triumph 2002

[Kimnjimnkids]

Oh my goodness I hit 'create' before I was done aghh!!!

I should just wrap it up. Here's my grade for the FOS

Ship: A+

Itinerary : A+

The crew: C

Food: B

Cabin: C

Embark/debark: A

Entertainment:A

Communication/help: E

Cleanliness/appearance: B

 

Would I recommend this ship/ itinerary? Yes

Would I rebook the same? No

Did it meet my expectations? No

Was it worth the price? No (for less money I would change my answer to Yes)

I don't know what to include in reviews so if I over explained I'm truly sorry and if I left out details you want to know PLEASE ASK!! I want to help and be descriptive when needed!!

Love to cruise that's for sure!!!!

 

 

Royal~FreedomOfTheSeas 2014

Carnival Glory 2012

Disney Magic 2011

Carnival Triumph 2010

Carnival Victory 2009

Disney Magic 2008

Carnival Inspiration 2008

Carnival Victory 2007

Carnival Triumph 2002

[BillOh]

Windjammer....ugh. Worst experience ever!!! No tables were ever available I've never experienced anything like it. I don't know what anyone can do to remedy the situation but its so darn packed in there during breakfast and lunch. We went through the line, got our plates filled and searched the whole place desperately looking for a table or even two chairs that we can share w our kids and there was nothing....we actually had to put our plates on the floor and walk out. Terrible experience.

 

 

The one thing people can do, at least at peak times is share tables. Maybe not be ideal, but it can be done in many cases at peak times. Usually when we cruise its just my wife and I and I had cases on Freedom where the only tables I could find was a table for 10, or I would find 2 people sitting at such a table. I would always see people searching and say, "feel free to use the rest of the table, especially if I saw a family of 4 with kids. ;) When the shoe is on the other foot I'd ask if we could use the remaining chairs of a large table.

 

You left your plates on the floor? There is space on the pool deck usually. Thanks for posting, I look forward to going on Freedom again next year.

[Kimnjimnkids]

The one thing people can do, at least at peak times is share tables. Maybe not be ideal, but it can be done in many cases at peak times. Usually when we cruise its just my wife and I and I had cases on Freedom where the only tables I could find was a table for 10, or I would find 2 people sitting at such a table. I would always see people searching and say, "feel free to use the rest of the table, especially if I saw a family of 4 with kids. ;) When the shoe is on the other foot I'd ask if we could use the remaining chairs of a large table.

 

 

 

You left your plates on the floor? There is space on the pool deck usually. Thanks for posting, I look forward to going on Freedom again next year.

 

 

Oh what a blessing it would've been if someone offered their extra chairs...I was almost in tears.

Well, we sat the plates next to the cleaning station. Easily grabbed by the dishwashers. Not exactly in the floor. I was particularly bummed bc my fish filet was looking awesome! (My husband was the one losing patience at that moment... I would've been happy to sit on the pool deck. He wasn't havin that lol) But it turned out great bc our JohnnyRockets experience was so great!!

 

 

Royal~FreedomOfTheSeas 2014

Carnival Glory 2012

Disney Magic 2011

Carnival Triumph 2010

Carnival Victory 2009

Disney Magic 2008

Carnival Inspiration 2008

Carnival Victory 2007

Carnival Triumph 2002

[Host Jacquelyn]

At what point did you see the sea creatures? Soon after sailaway? We have never seen any marine life from the ship (to be honest, we haven't looked that hard), I just imagined it would be like trying to find a needle in a haystack.

[Kimnjimnkids]

At what point did you see the sea creatures? Soon after sailaway? We have never seen any marine life from the ship (to be honest, we haven't looked that hard), I just imagined it would be like trying to find a needle in a haystack.

 

 

Right at the terminal looking overboard from the helipad. Yes it was like finding a needle in a haystack. My kids happen to enjoy looking for that sort of thing. So our eyes were glued to the water! Dolphins were easy to spot since they came up for breaths frequently. The other creatures were a complete surprise!!!! I thought the turtle was an illusion but it came up a second time...I was creating a scene by then and when we were all looking for the turtle..we all spotted a ray and a shark. A tiny one...not easily recognized as anything other than a fish but my son studies this sort of thing and knew the species...I forget now.

 

 

Royal~FreedomOfTheSeas 2014

Carnival Glory 2012

Disney Magic 2011

Carnival Triumph 2010

Carnival Victory 2009

Disney Magic 2008

Carnival Inspiration 2008

Carnival Victory 2007

Carnival Triumph 2002

[Kimnjimnkids]

We were moving very slow at that point and hadn't made it far...near the webcam...are you familiar?

 

 

Royal~FreedomOfTheSeas 2014

Carnival Glory 2012

Disney Magic 2011

Carnival Triumph 2010

Carnival Victory 2009

Disney Magic 2008

Carnival Inspiration 2008

Carnival Victory 2007

Carnival Triumph 2002

[DrD]

Thanks for the review.

 

RCCL doesn't provide those in-cabin amenities anymore. Luckily we knew that last year (we read it here) and brought our own, as well as the ones we didn't use from the hotel.

[Host Jacquelyn]

Thanks! I don't think we have that keen eyesight, but I will keep my eyes open next time!

 

Sent from my SGH-T989D using Forums mobile app

[island lady]

Glad to hear you enjoyed my suggestion for doing the "Titanic" thing. ;)

 

Hope to sail with you and your family again some day. :)

Edited March 25, 2014 by island lady

[Arkia72]

I just want to say thanks for such a thorough review! This will be our first RCCL trip. We've sailed with Disney twice, so we're not rookies but we definitely don't have tenure. :-) I am scouring the Internet looking for information.

[Yorkvillain]

Great review, thanks!

[Kimnjimnkids]

I wanted to share with all of you our name banner that I made! It's just some jute rope and cardstock paper with magnets hot glued on the ends. The door is metal and also the walls in your entire cabin are metal too! The banner was for us to find our door fast in the long halls and also I'm really big into family pride (I'm just corny like that :) )

It says ballou family. I was gonna get re creative and make little signs w magnets announcing all the events we were celebrating in this cruise (birthdays anniversary etc) but I ran out of time beforehand :(

Something that came in super handy was, since the walls inside are metal, we brought magnet hooks to hang all our paperwork (compass, forms etc) to free up space on our ONE SUPER TINY counter space. Thought someone might appreciate the little tip :)

Happy cruising y'all!!!

 

 

Royal~FreedomOfTheSeas 2014

Carnival Glory 2012

Disney Magic 2011

Carnival Triumph 2010

Carnival Victory 2009

Disney Magic 2008

Carnival Inspiration 2008

Carnival Victory 2007

Carnival Triumph 2002

[Kimnjimnkids]

Here's our kids 'titanic' moment on the helipad LOL! So funny and fun!

@islandlady thanks for the idea!!!

 

 

Royal~FreedomOfTheSeas 2014

Carnival Glory 2012

Disney Magic 2011

Carnival Triumph 2010

Carnival Victory 2009

Disney Magic 2008

Carnival Inspiration 2008

Carnival Victory 2007

Carnival Triumph 2002

[island lady]

[ATTACH]307311[/ATTACH]

Here's our kids 'titanic' moment on the helipad LOL! So funny and fun!

@islandlady thanks for the idea!!!

 

 

 

Great shot!! Looked like you and your family were having a great time.

It really was a perfect day for sail away! :)

 

Did you remember to wave to the captain? ;)

[beshears]

Thank you for your review. We are to be on the FOTS the end of April, and we have never been on this ship before. Many years ago on was on RCCL and they lost our luggage (3 other couples too) for almost 4 days. As you can guess, it was a BAD experience.:(

 

I have a couple questions. At Johnny Rockets, I understand the charge is now $5.95. Do people tip also?

 

You gave your room a "C." What kind of room did you have? We have an inner room as the other rooms (even this room too) are so expensive. I know Carnival and Princess would be cheaper for an oceanview, balcony or even an inner room.

 

I for one, do like Carnival better, especially the beds and bedding. I felt like a baby when I slept in them. :)

[Kimnjimnkids]

Thank you for your review. We are to be on the FOTS the end of April, and we have never been on this ship before. Many years ago on was on RCCL and they lost our luggage (3 other couples too) for almost 4 days. As you can guess, it was a BAD experience.:(

 

I have a couple questions. At Johnny Rockets, I understand the charge is now $5.95. Do people tip also?

 

You gave your room a "C." What kind of room did you have? We have an inner room as the other rooms (even this room too) are so expensive. I know Carnival and Princess would be cheaper for an oceanview, balcony or even an inner room.

 

I for one, do like Carnival better, especially the beds and bedding. I felt like a baby when I slept in them. :)

 

 

Thanks for the great questions!!!

Yes I heard that the cover charge increased a dollar. Still a great deal! I didn't know beforehand but upon looking at our receipt , that cover charge included the gratuity HOWEVER...we gladly added approx $10 each visit as an extra 'appreciation' tip! But you def don't have to!

We had an interior cabin, deck 10 fwd. I gave the room a 'c' because of our attendant. (Plus a couple other minor things) And I actually feel guilty saying that...he was nice enough...and our room was always clean...he just did something that made a VERY stressful situation for us on the last night and he was virtually unreachable to remedy it so he left us in a real bind!! And other times he was non-communicative and nowhere to be found. I'm just not used to that bc Disney and Carnival have always had the room attendants in open dialogue with the passengers and typically they're the friendliest of all the crew members ( in our experiences they have been) but not on floor 10 on FOS. Also there's absolutely NO amenities (like little sample-sizes of lotion, toothpaste etc)! And there's no ice brought to the cabin (ever!) And they do not 'turn down' the room at dinnertime like Disney and Carnival do. You know how they make your cabin into 'daytime room' and then get the beds ready (with chocolate left there) and turn it into 'nighttime room'? Well we didn't get that on this cruise. So my grade is a C. Those are the reasons. I hate to sound so complain-ey I really do. Let me say something positive..the beds.. OH MY WORD THOSE BEDS!!!!.....So comfortable!! I think there's a memory foam blend or something!! I never got interrupted by rolling seas while laying on those! Magical! Oh and have you ever heard that 'squeaky -shuddery sound in your cabin when the seas are rough? This cabin was silent! We had two rough days/nights and nothing sounded 'loose' like I've experienced on ALL of the cruises I've been on! Don't know how they did it but it would be nice if Carnival and Disney could learn that engineering trick :)

We like Carnival better than this particular RC ship (I can't judge the entire fleet bc they're all ran slightly differently). But honestly...is there a such thing as a 'bad cruise'? Maybe. We've never had one :) I have loved every cruise we've taken and we had an emergency situation once on the Disney Magic that was SO SCARY and I still say that it was an amazing vacation!! Perspective ;)

Hope I've been helpful!!

 

 

Royal~FreedomOfTheSeas 2014

Carnival Glory 2012

Disney Magic 2011

Carnival Triumph 2010

Carnival Victory 2009

Disney Magic 2008

Carnival Inspiration 2008

Carnival Victory 2007

Carnival Triumph 2002

[tidygirl]

At what point did you see the sea creatures? Soon after sailaway? We have never seen any marine life from the ship (to be honest, we haven't looked that hard), I just imagined it would be like trying to find a needle in a haystack.

 

As soon as we left the pier we started watching the water -saw sharks, dolphins, stingrays and some huge jellyfish!

[papaflamingo]

I have been on Freedom 3 times. All were New Years cruises. Very full. I have done 4 Carnival cruises, last one in 2007. I agree about the MDR food, especially meats. But for me RCI more than makes up for it in other areas. I also agree about the Windjammer. We avoid it. We usually eat lunch in the MDR. Very nice. Also breakfast unless we get room service.

As for the Cabin Attendant, we had a similar experience on our last New Years cruise on Freedom. He was nice enough, and efficient enough. But we asked him to do something easy for us and he failed. You do have to ask for ice on all RCI ships. We asked and he brought it. We asked on day 2 and he brought it, then figured it out and we had ice the rest of the cruise. But I will say that is uncommon for RCI. I chalked it up to it being the holidays and he was missing his family. May just be Freedom. We go again in Nov. so I guess I'll find out. But we usually have fantastic cabin attendants who always go above and beyond.

 

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[Kimnjimnkids]

Let's hope it was just unique to our particular cruises!! (The room attendant issue)

Hoping your November trip is incredible!! I will look for your trip review!

 

 

Royal~FreedomOfTheSeas 2014

Carnival Glory 2012

Disney Magic 2011

Carnival Triumph 2010

Carnival Victory 2009

Disney Magic 2008

Carnival Inspiration 2008

Carnival Victory 2007

Carnival Triumph 2002

[southstaffs3]

We were also on this cruise we did not know the name of our stateroom attendant until the last night when he left his card along with a gratuity envelope !! But saying that we had lovley towel animals every night and our cabin was spotless!! Maybe it is to do with pre paid grats ?

[papaflamingo]

I hope so too. Will let you know. Have to say, it is a beautiful ship, and I can put up with some glitches. But I really think it comes down to leadership. Particularly the Captain and Hotel Director. Did Legend in Feb. and the from the Capt. on down everything was superb! The Hotel Director was always visible and remarkably friendly to all, especially the staff. I think that goes a long way in improving service. RCI may need to look at the leadership on Freedom if this is a common thread. Freedom is really a standout in the fleet and needs to really showcase what RCI offers.

[Kimnjimnkids]

We were also on this cruise we did not know the name of our stateroom attendant until the last night when he left his card along with a gratuity envelope !! But saying that we had lovley towel animals every night and our cabin was spotless!! Maybe it is to do with pre paid grats ?

 

 

What floor was your cabin on?

 

 

Royal~FreedomOfTheSeas 2014

Carnival Glory 2012

Disney Magic 2011

Carnival Triumph 2010

Carnival Victory 2009

Disney Magic 2008

Carnival Inspiration 2008

Carnival Victory 2007

Carnival Triumph 2002

[southstaffs3]

What floor was your cabin on?

 

 

Royal~FreedomOfTheSeas 2014

Carnival Glory 2012

Disney Magic 2011

Carnival Triumph 2010

Carnival Victory 2009

Disney Magic 2008

Carnival Inspiration 2008

Carnival Victory 2007

Carnival Triumph 2002

 

We were on deck Severn we had a fab time love the freedom :)

[AandBmom]

Thanks for the great review. We were on this ship a couple of weeks before you and also were trying RCCL for the first time after doing many Carnival and 1 Princess. I agree with everything you said (except for Johnny Rockets which we found the food to be messy and sloppy and gross).

 

 

They didn't forget your freebies in the cabin, I read on here and also noticed myself that they don't do this.

 

I never had trouble finding a place to sit in the windjammer and we were a group of 11 but I did find it boring and repetitive. I sure missed the Carnival lunch options.

 

We also found pool chair hogs to be particularly bad on the Freedom.

 

Beds were great, showers were great but I missed my Carnival robe.

 

Sorry to hear your staff weren't that great, I agree guest services and general announcements weren't as good but our cabin steward and dining room waiter were amazing.