A quick Freedom review

[S.A.M.J.R.]

We are back from our Freedom sailing (W. Caribbean). DW & I were on Oasis last year, this is the first cruise for our kids.

 

I don't have any pictures. I did take some, but I focused more on video because I want to put a video together. Once I do, I'll put it up and post the link.

 

Embarkation

I was going to try to log each step of the way so people would have an idea how long things took. I didn't have time. What I do know... we got on the rental car (Budget) shuttle at 10:45AM. We had about a 30 second wait outside the terminal (after leaving our bags with the porters), and next thing I know, we're in the Windjammer with plates at a table at 11:30. There was no wait anywhere. We later learned they had the shipped emptied at 9:15 that morning (normal is 9:45).

 

Food

We did no specialty restaurants. We are by no means "foodies" and enjoyed all the food. DD(8) especially liked the Double Chocolate Espresso Brownies at Cafe Promonade.

 

Activities

DS(10) said before the trip he was worried he was going to be bored on the last couple days. It wasn't a problem. There was always something to do. He (and I) did the boogie board on the Flowrider (he had no interest in doing standup). DD(8) loved the rockwall once she got on it on Friday. DS also took part in the open play soccer, and of course enjoyed the pool. DD(16) roamed around on her own and made friends with other teens.

 

Adventure Ocean

DS & DD spent some time in there, if not every night, five of the seven nights. They elected to do that instead of doing the shows. They made friends and had fun which is important. We did not take advantage of the "Family Time Dining" and the kids didn't partake in the pirate parade. DD did get 3rd place in the dance contest with King Jullian.

 

Shows

We saw Freedom Ice, Once Upon a Time, Marquee, the Headliner (Drew Thomas), and the Farewell Show. I was really impressed with the singing, dancing and staging. We did not do any late night shows (Quest, Love & Marriage, etc). We just crashed in the room. Keeping up with kids wears you out.

 

Cabin

The cabin was slightly smaller than our cabin on Oasis, but I liked the layout on Freedom better. However, the bathroom on the Oasis is (at least seems) larger. We had D1 Ocean View Balconies on both ships. While we didn't have an 'aft' view, we were the last two balconies on the starboard side on deck 10. We did feel the rumble of the engines 10 decks below us, but it wasn't enough to worry about.

 

Staff

The staff was very very good, but I thought Oasis staff were just a slight bit friendlier. We did the pre-paid gratuities on both ships, but did not notice any slacking of service. My one disappointment is when our cabin steward left empty tip envelopes in our rooms on the Day 7, he had filled in his name on one of them. That just rubbed me the wrong way, especially since he knew we had pre-paid our tips. Every time we ran into him during the week he asked if everything was fine, and we told him yes. We did leave him a tip, but not as much if he hadn't "put his hand out".

 

Excursions

DS & I did the Aquapark in Labadee, and we all had a cabana. DW used it more than I did since I spent more time in the water with the kids. I think they messed up our drink order (charged us for 'virgin' Labadoozies when the kids had the drink package), but it wasn't worth arguing about. We did 3rd party excursions in Grand Cayman (Stingray/Snorkel & Hell/Turtle Farm with Captain Marvins) and Cozumel (Chankanaab Dolphins, Snorkel, and Sea Lion Show).

 

Ship Amenities

I liked the big screen at the pool (which Oasis didn't have), but wish there was more variety in 'free' food. I understand at least one complimentary restaurant will be added to Freedom when she goes to dry dock in January, so that might help.

 

Disembarkation

On Oasis, we were able to select what "off time" we wanted. On Freedom, it was just assigned to us. Unfortunately, we were given tag #2 with an off time of 7:15. We got out of the room shortly after 7 (waking up kids is not easy) and went to eat in the Windjammer. They called #1-3 right at 7:15, we left around 7:30 and they had called up to #7 at that point. We stopped by Cafe Promonade for some last Double Chocolate Espresso brownies, but they didn't have any. At that point, they called #10. Disembarkation was as quick as embarkation. Off the ship, down stairs to the baggage carousels, find our bags, then hand our passport & custom forms to Immigration, then out to the rental car shuttle. We probably were out of the pier ~7:45-8p, and we were at our hotel in Melbourne around 9-9:15.

 

Oasis vs. Freedom

If Oasis is a 9/10, then Freedom is 8.5/10. There are things we liked on both ships and I wouldn't hesitate to sail either again.

 

Sorry this is so long. If you have any questions, I'll try to make up answers. :D

[BillOh]

How long did it take you to tender in Grand Caymen?

[DonnaK]

Nice review! Thanks for sharing your thoughts with us.

 

What hotel did you stay in pre/post cruise?

 

Generally, if you receive a disembarkation time that is not convenient for you, you can swap it out for a different time by visiting the customer service desk. Did you try this?

[S.A.M.J.R.]

How long did it take you to tender in Grand Caymen?

About 15-20 minutes. We left from medical (checkup on DD's stitches), and a tender was boarding, so we got right on.

Nice review! Thanks for sharing your thoughts with us.

 

What hotel did you stay in pre/post cruise?

We flew in Orlando Friday evening at stayed at Spring Hill Suites @ Sea World that night. We drove to Cocoa Beach on Sunday and stayed at the Comfort Suites.

 

Post cruise we stayed at Courtyard by Marriott in Melbourne. Spring Hill and Comfort Suites get 8/10 each, the Courtyard 6/10.

 

Generally, if you receive a disembarkation time that is not convenient for you, you can swap it out for a different time by visiting the customer service desk. Did you try this?

We did not know that was an option, so we did not try. I wish we did. Since we didn't have a flight to catch, I was hoping to get an 8:30-9am off time.

[flossieB]

Hi There

 

Not sure if I am posting in the right place but hope some of you can advise. We are from the UK and sailing on the Freedom of the Seas 7th December 2014. We are wondering if to do the Space Centre tour on day of departure as our flight is not until the evening and do not want to spend hours at the airport. Any info appreciated

[S.A.M.J.R.]

Hi There

 

Not sure if I am posting in the right place but hope some of you can advise. We are from the UK and sailing on the Freedom of the Seas 7th December 2014. We are wondering if to do the Space Centre tour on day of departure as our flight is not until the evening and do not want to spend hours at the airport. Any info appreciated

I'd say it is possible. But a lot will depend on what time your flight is. IIRC, check in for international flights is 3 hours before the flight. The drive from Kennedy to Orlando International (assuming that's where you're flying out of) is ~1 hour. According to the Kennedy website:

Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex

March 31 – September 1: 9 am – 7 pm

September 2 - December 31: 9 am – closing time varies

 

DW & I toured Kennedy last year and we were there from 9-5 and left a lot to see.

[Clarea]

Hi There

 

Not sure if I am posting in the right place but hope some of you can advise. We are from the UK and sailing on the Freedom of the Seas 7th December 2014. We are wondering if to do the Space Centre tour on day of departure as our flight is not until the evening and do not want to spend hours at the airport. Any info appreciated

We did just that thing once after a Mariner cruise. Royal has excursions that take you to the Space Center, let you stay there a few hours, and then take you to the airport. Your bags are stored in the bus. We enjoyed the visit to the Space Center very much.

[njmomof2]

It was interesting to read your report of Freedom after having sailed on Oasis. We have sailed on Freedom 3x and did Oasis this past April, and we decided to book Freedom for our August trip instead of Allure.

 

I felt that the cabins on Freedom were bigger than on Oasis. I thought the staff was friendlier on Freedom than Oasis. Both of which are exactly opposite of your views.

 

I don't think I would be offended by the cabin steward writing his or her name on one of the envelopes. Sometimes, their names are not ones that we are familiar with, or have an interesting spelling, so perhaps he was making it easier on you. They work hard, and tips are their lifeblood, so I don't think I would lessen any additional amount I was giving for that.

 

As previously mentioned, you could have gone down to guest services and swapped out your departure tags for a later time. Also, some time mid week, they usually leave paperwork in your cabin asking you to fill in your preferred departure time, which would allow you to pick a later time at that point. Perhaps you missed that. But for next time, you can definitely get it changed.

 

My family is so excited about getting back on Freedom. We think of her as a second home.

[descotes]

Thanks so much. We leave on the Freedom this Sunday!!! YIPPEE! Can't wait. DH and I sailed the Oasis last year so it'll be interesting to see the comparison. DS (14 & 12) will be with us this time. It'll be interesting as it's our first time crusing with the kids. Did you see your teen at all? I'm hoping they make friends but would still like them to experience as much as the ship as they can with the shows and stuff.

[KirkNC]

Thanks for the report!

[S.A.M.J.R.]

Thanks so much. We leave on the Freedom this Sunday!!! YIPPEE! Can't wait. DH and I sailed the Oasis last year so it'll be interesting to see the comparison. DS (14 & 12) will be with us this time. It'll be interesting as it's our first time crusing with the kids. Did you see your teen at all? I'm hoping they make friends but would still like them to experience as much as the ship as they can with the shows and stuff.

Our teen went with us on excursions, to dinner, and to some shows. Other than that, she was on her own. She'd find a group of teens and hang out with them. Sometimes they'd walk the track, other times they'd hang in the teen club or at the helipad.

 

Just so you know, as I understand it, the teens were all together (13-17) for part of the night, then they split up into younger (13-14) and older (15-17) groups.

[sml3]

Thanks for the review!

What new free restaurant will be added after dry-dock?

Edited July 1, 2014 by sml3

[CS-RN]

Ship Amenities

I liked the big screen at the pool (which Oasis didn't have), but wish there was more variety in 'free' food. I understand at least one complimentary restaurant will be added to Freedom when she goes to dry dock in January, so that might help.

 

Where did you find information about what they doing during the dry dock in January? From staff on the ship or another source? I'm curiously waiting to hear since we are in the 2/1/15 sailing, the first one after the scheduled dry dock. I'm excited to see what is added/changed!

[Keith1010]

Thank you for taking the time to write and share your trip report.

 

Keith

[S.A.M.J.R.]

Ship Amenities

I liked the big screen at the pool (which Oasis didn't have), but wish there was more variety in 'free' food. I understand at least one complimentary restaurant will be added to Freedom when she goes to dry dock in January, so that might help.

 

Where did you find information about what they doing during the dry dock in January? From staff on the ship or another source? I'm curiously waiting to hear since we are in the 2/1/15 sailing, the first one after the scheduled dry dock. I'm excited to see what is added/changed!

We heard about the drydock at our Meet and Mingle (announced from the event staff) and from our MDR waiter. Since the M&M was day 2 and the waiter talked about it on day 7, I remember more of what the waiter said. According to him, they're taking out one level of the MDR and adding three restaurants. I think he said two were going to be specialty and one free.

 

I believe the event staff said something about adding some more rooms, and vaguely remember him saying something about some of the rooms being up on deck 13 or 14(?) and they would have floor to ceiling windows.

 

I wanted to take notes, but don't carry pen and paper around;), so I may not have the facts straight.

[Mrs_Tiki]

Thanks for your review. DD and I will be on FOS in a few weeks. It's a new class ship for us, so I am soaking up all of the info that I can!

 

Glad to hear that your child's medical issue was handled so well. No fun to get stitches on vacation, though. :(

[sml3]

Anybody have any guesses as to what the additional complimentary restaurant might be??

[lv2bcruzin]

Thanks for the review. We will be in an aft balcony on the Freedom for a B2B in September. Can't wait!

Edited July 1, 2014 by lv2bcruzin

[beffiegirl]

Going on the Freedom this Sunday, and I'm wondering do they still supply soap? I read the thread about shampoo:) but wondering do they still have soap(shower gel dispenser)? Also I booked captain Marvin's tour, did you do the morning tour at 8:30am? Wondering if that was to early. Didn't hear back from them yet, hope their not booked up. Thanks!

[anandaindonesia]

Thank you for the review.

... ... and now waiting for your videos! :)

[S.A.M.J.R.]

Going on the Freedom this Sunday, and I'm wondering do they still supply soap? I read the thread about shampoo:) but wondering do they still have soap(shower gel dispenser)? Also I booked captain Marvin's tour, did you do the morning tour at 8:30am? Wondering if that was to early. Didn't hear back from them yet, hope their not booked up. Thanks!

 

We had shampoo in a dispensor and two bars of soap. One in the shower, on at the sink.

 

The ship stayed on EDT so we were an hour ahead. Aside from I thought our tour was at 9 (Cayman time), 830 was perfect. Walk out of the pier to tje left and Marvin's is across the street caddy-corner.

[descotes]

Our teen went with us on excursions, to dinner, and to some shows. Other than that, she was on her own. She'd find a group of teens and hang out with them. Sometimes they'd walk the track, other times they'd hang in the teen club or at the helipad.

 

 

 

Just so you know, as I understand it, the teens were all together (13-17) for part of the night, then they split up into younger (13-14) and older (15-17) groups.

 

 

Thanks. Hmmm I thought the breakdown was 12-14 and 15-17??

 

 

 

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[S.A.M.J.R.]

Thanks. Hmmm I thought the breakdown was 12-14 and 15-17??

 

 

 

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You're right. That's what I get for using my memory. :p

[descotes]

You're right. That's what I get for using my memory. :p

 

 

Oh good. You scared me. I am going on the freedom on Sunday and have one DS who is 14 and one DS who is 11 and will be 12 in a couple of weeks. Hoping they can stay together. Hopefully chances are better if the age group starts at 12 and not 13. :-)

 

 

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