Back from Freedom aug24-31st

[rance]

Hi,

Just got back from a FOS...myself 43 DS9 DD6 and my mom 68. we had 2 balcony cabins beside each other. I have been on 8 cruises...Disney, carnival,msc,celebrity and 4 on RCCL.

Any questions please ask.

 

embarkation: 0/10 worst ever. Power went out before security and for whatever reason no generator. Everyone was kicked out of the terminal by security into the 38 degree parking lot w no shade or washrooms. No update from RCCL, no water no food. not fun w 2 little kids.

 

ship 8/10. In great shape. We were last on oasis so preferred that ship but fos is very nice. great layout and great pool facilities which is important to our family as kids love it.

 

Cabin 8/10: balcony seemed huge compared to the newer ships and room was great size.beds were very comfortable also.

 

service 9/10: this is where RCCL blows other cruise lines away. especially msc. room stewart was great, main dining room service was great and staff always seemed friendly.

 

main dining room food: 7/10...desserts were amazing. salads and apps were a bit disappointing and entrees seemed to have dropped in quality. MTD was a bit disappointing as times were either 5:45 or 7:30 unless u wanted to wait 30-40 minutes each night.

 

windjammer was a solid 8/10. good selection and good quality.

 

chops:9/10...what a difference in quality compared to mdr. Caesar salad was amazing compared to mdr salads.

 

entertainment 4/10 : was pretty disappointed compared to oasis. headliner was a bon jovi cover band...huh? could see them free in a bar im sure. comedian was horrible and production show seemed pretty lame.

 

kids club 7/10: this is where Disney was way better. RC has time divided into a morning session 9-12, afternoon 2-5 and evening 7-10....wher we as Disney was more flexiable w drop offs allowed anytime. for example if we went rock climbing in the am till 10 it was no use putting them in club for an hour...where as Disney we could drop kids off any time and pick them up anytime if I wanted to work out in gym. but kids enjoyed the actual club even though they weren't in it much

 

one comment I would make is the automatic tipping policy. since it was myself and 2 kids we tipped over $240 automatically but it felt weird not handing the service staff a physical envelope.felt like I was stiffing them...especially since they still give u envelopes on the last day for more tipping.

MTD makes u automatically tip but next time I would rather personally hand them the $250.

 

all things considered it was a great cruise and glad I have tried other cruise lines...but in the future will be sticking w rccl. great product and great service.

[SRQfireman]

Hi,

Just got back from a FOS...myself 43 DS9 DD6 and my mom 68. we had 2 balcony cabins beside each other. I have been on 8 cruises...Disney, carnival,msc,celebrity and 4 on RCCL.

Any questions please ask.

 

embarkation: 0/10 worst ever. Power went out before security and for whatever reason no generator. Everyone was kicked out of the terminal by security into the 38 degree parking lot w no shade or washrooms. No update from RCCL, no water no food. not fun w 2 little kids.

 

ship 8/10. In great shape. We were last on oasis so preferred that ship but fos is very nice. great layout and great pool facilities which is important to our family as kids love it.

 

Cabin 8/10: balcony seemed huge compared to the newer ships and room was great size.beds were very comfortable also.

 

service 9/10: this is where RCCL blows other cruise lines away. especially msc. room stewart was great, main dining room service was great and staff always seemed friendly.

 

main dining room food: 7/10...desserts were amazing. salads and apps were a bit disappointing and entrees seemed to have dropped in quality. MTD was a bit disappointing as times were either 5:45 or 7:30 unless u wanted to wait 30-40 minutes each night.

 

windjammer was a solid 8/10. good selection and good quality.

 

chops:9/10...what a difference in quality compared to mdr. Caesar salad was amazing compared to mdr salads.

 

entertainment 4/10 : was pretty disappointed compared to oasis. headliner was a bon jovi cover band...huh? could see them free in a bar im sure. comedian was horrible and production show seemed pretty lame.

 

kids club 7/10: this is where Disney was way better. RC has time divided into a morning session 9-12, afternoon 2-5 and evening 7-10....wher we as Disney was more flexiable w drop offs allowed anytime. for example if we went rock climbing in the am till 10 it was no use putting them in club for an hour...where as Disney we could drop kids off any time and pick them up anytime if I wanted to work out in gym. but kids enjoyed the actual club even though they weren't in it much

 

one comment I would make is the automatic tipping policy. since it was myself and 2 kids we tipped over $240 automatically but it felt weird not handing the service staff a physical envelope.felt like I was stiffing them...especially since they still give u envelopes on the last day for more tipping.

MTD makes u automatically tip but next time I would rather personally hand them the $250.

 

all things considered it was a great cruise and glad I have tried other cruise lines...but in the future will be sticking w rccl. great product and great service.

 

38 degrees huh?? I'd love that.......but my guess it was slightly warmer than 38 degrees out......or did they have you wait in one of their walk-in coolers?

That would be a real cool idea :D my guess is RCCL had no control over the power loss.......so you can hardly blame them for that.

Glad some thing went well

[rhuntington3]

38 degrees Celsius is 100.4 degrees Fahrenheit.

 

 

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[Canadian Cruiser98]

Did you hear any talk while onboard about any upgrades the ship will be undergoing in january at it's next dry dock? There are rumors that it will be getting dynamic dining, but right now they're still just rumors...

[Carrie70]

Where did you disembark from? If it was FL than there's no way it was 38* in August. What itinerary was it?

 

 

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[GonnaSailtoo]

I was on the Freedom last week, and my waiter told me Dynamic Dining will replace the MDR after dry dock in Jan. 2015

[njmomof2]

We were on this sailing also and we walked on immediately after getting through security and getting our SeaPass cards. Not sure what time you got to the terminal, but we were there around 11:20 or so (it was definitely before noon).

 

We also didn't like the Bon Jovi cover band (I'm sorry, but Jon never prances like this lead singer did) and didn't bother with the other shows. I've seen them enough times that I wasn't missing anything.

 

We had MTD and had a standing reservation for 7:15 each night. We booked after final so that was the only time available, and it actually ended up working out fine. We finally got to enjoy the Diamond Lounge (either up in the Seven Hearts lounge or Pharoah's Palace) and got to meet Berty, who was wonderful. My mom is D+ and got the invitation to do one of the tours around the ship but she's not really able to walk a lot of stairs. So we asked Berty if it were possible for me to take my 16.5 yo to the galley tour, as he's interested in attending culinary school.

 

He worked it out with Rahul, the Concierge, and I was able to go with both boys. What a treat to do the galley tour and how hard so many people behind the scenes work. It makes you appreciate mealtimes that much more knowing how much work goes into each meal.

 

Our only glitch was when we were out, through customs and waiting for our car service to arrive, only to look down and realize that my mom's suitcase had a group 14 tag while we all had group 10. Of course, because it was not my mom's bag. Identical one, same make and model, colors, but not hers. So I had to go back to the door, be directed to the door for incoming passengers, wait for someone to get me, go through security, into the terminal, put the wrong bag back on the carousel, and luckily, only a minute later, mom's bag comes riding around on the belt. Went back through customs (albeit abbreviated) and got out just as the driver was putting the other bags in the car. This was at about 8:30 or so in the morning.

[rance]

Hi Again,

 

the 38 degrees was in Celsius so I think that converts to around 100 degrees far.

I agree that RC does not own the terminal, but they can still make sure their guests are taken care of....bottles of water, updates, washroom facilities, but obviously not a regular occurrence.

 

Our waiter at chops said that Portofino's is either being removed in dry dock or modified to make way for another restaurant.

he also said the café promenade would be either removed or again modified to make room for a Mexican restaurant.

Not sure if they would modify the main dining room...I hope not it was beautiful!

[Creepella]

There are bathrooms outside, near where you get taxis and shuttles to go home.

[mac_tlc]

Hi Again,

 

the 38 degrees was in Celsius so I think that converts to around 100 degrees far.

I agree that RC does not own the terminal, but they can still make sure their guests are taken care of....bottles of water, updates, washroom facilities, but obviously not a regular occurrence.

 

Our waiter at chops said that Portofino's is either being removed in dry dock or modified to make way for another restaurant.

he also said the café promenade would be either removed or again modified to make room for a Mexican restaurant.

Not sure if they would modify the main dining room...I hope not it was beautiful!

 

According to Captain Tor on the 8/10 cruise, Portofino's will become Giovanni's Table, Sabor will go on deck 4 where the Crypt now resides, The Cupcake Cupboard and Ben & Jerry's will be combined in one of the present spaces, and some new retail will go in the other spot.

[dancinman66]

Great review

I appreciate the time and detail that you've put into

Nice reading

 

Bummer about check in man 38 degrees and stuck in that in a crowd

 

 

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[rance]

thanks dan,,,cant wait to hear about your quantum cruise....looks amazing.