Freedom Of The Seas Eastern - Oct 5 2014 - Review - AFT balcony and hammock EXPOSED!

[mtsublueraider]

I'm hoping to have some fun with this review. I've got cruise compasses, photos, port reviews, and a ton of cruise critic research to share. Heck, I even WON a good prize at our Meet and Mingle. All in all a great experience but it was certainly the most different of any of the three prior cruises I've taken.

 

Background

 

This was my fourth cruise and they have all been on Royal Caribbean. The first was Monarch, the second was Freedom Western, the third was Navigator Western out of New Orleans, and then this one was Eastern on Freedom out of Port Canaveral. My DW and I booked the coveted aft corner balcony on Deck 7. My parents were also on Deck 7 aft but they weren't on the corner.

 

Let me pause and say that I'm risking life and limb by EXPOSING our great and wonderful balcony. Its with great reservations that I tell everyone about this magical land and :::GASP::: SHOW HOW TO HANG THE HAMMOCK!!!! :eek:

 

I searched far and wide on how to achieve this luxury and could only find a few pictures.... so..... without further dilly-dally.... let's get to it!

 

Let me know if you have any specific questions. Thanks for riding along!

 

Edited October 14, 2014 by mtsublueraider

[Jiffymom]

come on MORE!!!! What did you do on port days.

[MrBanana1240]

Very excited for this review. Great start! Thanks for taking the time to share!

[mtsublueraider]

Hummm.... REALLY having trouble figuring out how to insert pictures from IMGUR. is that site allowed on CC? :confused:

Edited October 14, 2014 by mtsublueraider

[mtsublueraider]

 

ALRIGHT... I think i've got it now. Can anyone confirm? See the balcony?

[mtsublueraider]

We arrived into Melbourne airport (for the first time I might add) on the Saturday before the sunday sail away. GREAT airport if you can get a good rate into it. Avoids the hassle (and tolls) of the orlando airport. We landed and were picked up by the free airport shuttle to stay the night at the Hilton Rialto Place. Had a GREAT stay here. Got to spend some time at the bar watching football but then made it up to my strategically picked balcony for the MAIN EVENT!

 

 

The USAF Thunderbird Demonstration Team was doing a show at the Melbourne airport and we had a front row seat! The team used the hotel as home base and we even saw members of the crew in the parking lot below us. I was guessing that they were using their cars as a marker point for the jets to use when doing their show. Lucky us!

 

[mtsublueraider]

That night we just stayed at the hotel and enjoyed their happy hour, football, and dinner. As an alabama football fan, I've got to say that it wasn't the outcome we had hoped for but it was a heck of a game... but hey... no time to be sad about the Tide, we were needing to get to bed because we had a SHIP to catch!

 

I ended up waking up EARLY... imagine that.... it was like a kid on christmas morning!

 

So what did I do? Pulled up the port canaveral webcam of course to make sure I could see if the ship had arrived yet. YUP! There she was! Not much sleep came after that.

 

Our family enjoyed breakfast and got ready to leave the Hilton. It was about a 45 minute drive and we decided this time to park at the port and not worry about a shuttle. Yes, it's $120 but with a parking spot like we got it was worth every penny!

 

We walked to get in line at about 10:15 and by 10:30 the line was already moving. We were getting our sea pass pictures by 11 and with no wait (I'm only Gold) we were on the ship in no time. EASYYYYYYY.......

 

Decided to grab a seat for pizza on the promenade instead of fighting for space in the Windjammer and while we loved the pizza, the star of the show were the desserts they served. We didn't remember it being this good from prior sailings!

 

The cabins were open right at 1pm and we were on the coveted balcony. So what did I do? Pulled up the webcam of course and took a picture of me watching it? Isn't that what everyone does?

 

[mtsublueraider]

We were even more impressed than our first crew at the efficiency of the on-boarding process. The people at the port are great at their job and we really had no complaints at all. (except for the family of 8 in front of us who only had half their party with them at security and half the set sail passes printed.... sigh...)

 

 

 

We felt it was good luck during sail away when a trio of dolphins put on a show off the aft.

 

 

Sail away was the BEST sunset we had all trip. Not to say the weather wasn't good (It was) but you just couldn't beat watching the sun drop into the ocean like it did on the first day.

 

Edited October 14, 2014 by mtsublueraider

[cant_w8_2_cruise]

OMG! That balcony looks amazing!! More!!! :) I'm on Freedom Eastern Itinerary for the first time in March. Can't wait to hear more about your trip! Thanks for sharing!!

[cruisinmamma]

Yes

[mtsublueraider]

The Ship

 

After getting onto our balcony I really had no complaints. The first thing we did was make sure we got that hammock up! I'd been trying to figure out how to do that for a while now and while the pictures i've seen were ok, you really dont know how to do it unless you try it yourself.

 

I looked on RCI's website and saw that you can have 3 inch scissors so that helped. And I used 500 pound parachord to secure the hammock with two D-Rings. If you need any help with that just PM me, I'm happy to explain.

 

(PRO TIP) We used our luggage to WEIGHT test the hammock before sitting in it ourselves! :D

 

The ship was simply beautiful. EVERY public space was clean and continued to be cleaned throughout our trip. You could see some places that were a little tired but that'll no doubt be fixed during the dry dock.

 

The only thing we thought was weird was that they replaced the carpet in the elevators but kept the old carpet on the "day of the week" signs that they change in and out. You'ld think that'd be something simple they could do since it garners so much attention.

 

[NewCruiser77]

Wow, the balcony is amazing and your photos are stunning! We're going to be on the Freedom the last week of September next year so I'm excited for your review :)

[beerman2]

I was on the other side of ship aft corner and will totally agree with mtsublueraider IT'S no longer a secret the corner aft's are FANTASTIC.

 

There was a slight vibration but NOTHING to worry about . You could easily have 10-14 people on the balcony.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[mtsublueraider]

I was on the other side of ship aft corner and will totally agree with mtsublueraider IT'S no longer a secret the corner aft's are FANTASTIC.

 

There was a slight vibration but NOTHING to worry about . You could easily have 10-14 people on the balcony.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

 

Hello neighbor! Glad to have seen you. We had a fun meet and mingle! I'm slowly getting into the review. Having some photo problems! Ugh!

 

It was a great week. You are right, there is a vibration but i didn't find it to be too much. We enjoyed the heck out of it and are AFT cruisers for life!

[mickev99]

Holy cow, that balcony ROCKS! Is that more expensive than a "regular" balcony?

[beerman2]

Not really that much more expensive. Around 1600.00 for the two of us. You could put about 2 1/2 regular balconies on the aft.

 

It was a great sight watching the wake morning , noon, or night.

[E23NK1]

Great review and Pics..thanks for sharing?

Did I miss what cabin # you had?...we booked our first aft balcony for April 2016 on Freedom..1702...not the corner but one over...am looking forward to it.

[cruiserdudebobby8]

I can't wait to go on freedom

 

Sent from my SCH-I545 using Forums mobile app

[beerman2]

Ours was 7408 corner aft, I believe mtsublueraider was 7708.

[ciera123]

Great start - looking forward to more. I can't get enough Freedom info. We sail on her May 17th!!!!

[kebhouse]

Noticed your screen name so I clicked on your profile. While you're a blue raider in Memphis, I'm a Tiger in M'boro!

 

We have our first aft coming up, corner too, but in Splendour where they aren't as large. Still looking forward to it!

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

[kayehall]

Holy crap on that balcony!!!

 

And holy crap on the picture of those 2 planes!!!!:eek::eek:

[cant_w8_2_cruise]

Am I the only one anxiously awaiting more of this review?? Hope you are still planning on sharing more about your trip! :D

[APDMOM]

Am I the only one anxiously awaiting more of this review?? Hope you are still planning on sharing more about your trip! :D

 

I'm anxious to see more too. Our cruise is only 7 weeks away! :D

[mtsublueraider]

Sorry everyone about the delay! My review came to a hault when the PESKY JOB got in the way... HA HA!!!!

 

I hope to crank it up a little more in the next few days. I've got tons to share from the ports of call...

 

We played golf in St Thomas and did an AMAZING SAIL boat tour "Lord Sheffield" in St Maarten. I didn't want to RUSH though it and leave out any of the good details. Thanks for your patience. I'm glad to hear people are looking for more. I hope to deliver! :D