LIVE from the Freedom of the Seas * Feb 15, 2015 * Western Caribbean!

[Ocean Boy]

Don't waste your money. Yes, there are dead spots. AIS is strictly line of sight, so anytime the ship is more than about 40 miles from a station, not just land, it won't report. The satellite AIS that they tout as better coverage is limited to one update every 24 hours, so not much improvement, unless you are tracking a TA.

 

But the last reported position was half was between Port Canaveral and Port St. Lucie. And it is usually easy to follow ships along the entire east coast of Florida. Is it really possible for the ship to be out of range of any stations since last night at 7:30 PM?

[micmacmissy]

Yes, exactly. I'd really like to know. We slept in until 9 or so every day, had brunch and then attempted to find deck seating around 11 each sea day. Impossibly vexing. One day we actually gave up and left...nothing but "saved seats" everywhere, all levels. So incredibly off-putting and discouraging. [emoji53]

 

 

So all you have to do is this: approach "saved" chair. Ask nearby person, 'has anyone been sitting here?' 9 out of 10 times the answer is NO. Plop yourself down and enjoy.

 

If someone approaches you immediately, just apologize and move. But once you're there for a good 10 minutes, if you get approached just say, "Sorry, the chair was empty when I arrived."

 

We did this all week on Independence and only once were we approached by people. We had been in the chairs reading for about 90 minutes and some lady came up and yelled at my husband for "stealing" her chair. He told her to take a hike.

[loeytalldog]

Suppose that could be true, but they weren't on the Freedom last October either.

 

They were there last June and July! So they must have gotten taken off sometime between then and October. I'd go down and get a Solarium lounge chair and put it on my balcony! No way would I spend that much money to sit on hard and they are hard because I've laid on them lounge chairs!

 

Keep going Robyn loving the live report! We sail in July!

[DeepFreeze]

So all you have to do is this: approach "saved" chair. Ask nearby person, 'has anyone been sitting here?' 9 out of 10 times the answer is NO. Plop yourself down and enjoy.

 

If someone approaches you immediately, just apologize and move. But once you're there for a good 10 minutes, if you get approached just say, "Sorry, the chair was empty when I arrived."

 

We did this all week on Independence and only once were we approached by people. We had been in the chairs reading for about 90 minutes and some lady came up and yelled at my husband for "stealing" her chair. He told her to take a hike.

Well, that doesn't sound very relaxing, but good tip, thanks. I did try to get a deck hand to help find a couple of seats once, and the people saving the seats damn near came to blows with him. I'm all about asserting myself in the real world, confrontation, etc, but I go on vaca to get away from that crap for a week. Shame it's like this on the ships ... I'm guessing they're all like this nowadays?

Edited February 16, 2015 by DeepFreeze

[mellibee]

Both of our cruises were on FOS and I never had a problem getting a few deck chairs. If there were some that had only towels, I would stand and watch them for a few min then ask a pool attendant to remove the towels. They were always nice and willing to do that. We usually get to the pool area around 830-900 and then leave at 1100-1115 for an early lunch. When we get back, there are chairs available due to people going to lunch. We haven't cruised since 2011 so hopefully, it is just as simple this time as well. :)

[chengkp75]

But the last reported position was half was between Port Canaveral and Port St. Lucie. And it is usually easy to follow ships along the entire east coast of Florida. Is it really possible for the ship to be out of range of any stations since last night at 7:30 PM?

 

Not sure of how many stations are along the FL coast. Some could be down. Maybe they went outside the Gulf Stream for some reason, further from shore. Hasn't the Freeport AIS been down for a while? Sure looks like it, there are no ships of any type showing near Freeport. Maybe West Palm, if there is a station there, as everything that is any distance offshore between Port St. Lucie and Boca are not reporting timely.

[BillOh]

Don't waste your money. Yes, there are dead spots. AIS is strictly line of sight, so anytime the ship is more than about 40 miles from a station, not just land, it won't report. The satellite AIS that they tout as better coverage is limited to one update every 24 hours, so not much improvement, unless you are tracking a TA.

 

Thank you for that info.

[BillOh]

Yes, exactly. I'd really like to know. We slept in until 9 or so every day, had brunch and then attempted to find deck seating around 11 each sea day. Impossibly vexing. One day we actually gave up and left...nothing but "saved seats" everywhere, all levels. So incredibly off-putting and discouraging. [emoji53]

 

Not to hijack Robin's thread, but when I am onboard next and they have a captain's corner (usually other management) I am going to suggest a cubby hole system near the pool where you can have individual spots that can hold a towel and shoes. (gyms do this) Often we go to swim for an hour or so and almost feel guilty putting our stuff on a chair. Or we could use them till chairs open up which is what we did on Freedom at the solarium last time. It seemed solarium chair hoggedness was just a little less than the main pool.

[Canadian Cruiser98]

Not to hijack Robin's thread, but when I am onboard next and they have a captain's corner (usually other management) I am going to suggest a cubby hole system near the pool where you can have individual spots that can hold a towel and shoes. (gyms do this) Often we go to swim for an hour or so and almost feel guilty putting our stuff on a chair. Or we could use them till chairs open up which is what we did on Freedom at the solarium last time. It seemed solarium chair hoggedness was just a little less than the main pool.

This sounds like a fantastic idea!!

[ckrobyn]

Good afternoon from the beautiful Freedom of the Seas! It has been a gorgeous day weather wise - it started out a bit cool early this morning, but turned into brilliant sunshine as the day went on.

Just so we are clear, my DH does not attend the M&M, therefore he is sitting at our deck chairs the whole time. The hogs were out bright and early, towels and sunglasses abounding on all sorts of chairs :cool: I'm not sure what really can be done about chair hogs, other than actually confronting them, or removing their stuff if you know for sure they have been gone longer than 30 minutes. There are signs all over the place stating items will be removed from chairs after 30 minutes.

Today the Captain's Corner was scheduled for the same time as the M&M - I went to the M&M and won a very cool prize for my desk at work

This is the first time I won anything at a M&M! I also won 30 minutes of free internet, but I already bought the unlimited package, so.....:rolleyes:

[bigeagle12]

That was one thing I liked about Celebrity .. their pool staff was highly visible and did a good job freeing up unattended chairs.

[ckrobyn]

I am uploading pics to photobucket, but the internet is a bit sloooooow right now....Anyways, today was the Men's International Belly Flop Contest, as well as the world's sexiest man contest - fan favorites for sure. The box they had to flop off of, is called the "hurt box" :eek:

[FloatMe]

Just curious, Does FOS not have reserved pool seating for suite guests like they do on Voyager class ships?

 

Thanks again for doing the Live report, I may have to consider doing this on AOS in April.

[Clarea]

Just curious, Does FOS not have reserved pool seating for suite guests like they do on Voyager class ships?

 

Thanks again for doing the Live report, I may have to consider doing this on AOS in April.

Freedom does have reserved seating for gold card holders, but it's in a different place than on Voyager class ships. Last I heard it was above the Sky bar.

[ckrobyn]

Someone asked if Chai Lattes are available at Café Promenade/Starbucks? Yes they are. So are Caramel Macchiato's - in fact I may be enjoying one right now :o

Here is another pic from the M&M

Some lucky CC roll call person won a bottle of bubbly! :)

 

Tonight is the first formal night. For the person that asked, I will find out when the formal night's are on the Eastern.

 

Today I had lunch in the Windjammer and although I wasn't wearing my glasses, I could tell that the gentleman sitting across from me was Drew Thomas, the Magician - we are FB friends, so he knew who I was when I went over to say hello. His show "Now You See It" has been a Freedom favorite for a long time. We had an opportunity to chat, and I was able to show him this thread on his smart phone. I think you may just see him pop in here over the next day or so? ;) His show is not to be missed, he is incredibly talented and so approachable and friendly to his many fans. I will be attending tomorrow evening and will definitely post a picture.

 

We had a great first day at sea and I am so excited for Labadee tomorrow! For the person who asked, I emailed the Concierge about 4 weeks before sailing to request an over the water cabana - I think I was first on the list because I got the exact cabana I wanted :) We have invited our friends Jackie and Todd to join us on Barefoot Beach and we are looking forward to a fabulous day on a super beach. I will be taking loads of pictures!

 

I'll be back late tonight for today's re-cap/wrap-up. Hope you are enjoying your cruise with me!

[ckrobyn]

Just curious, Does FOS not have reserved pool seating for suite guests like they do on Voyager class ships?

 

Thanks again for doing the Live report, I may have to consider doing this on AOS in April.

 

Yes, the reserved seating for gold card holders is above the sky bar, it is not the stadium seating like it is on Voyager class.

[Wildcatfish]

Thanks for the updates! Sounds like you're having a great time!

[Ourusualbeach]

Good afternoon from the beautiful Freedom of the Seas! It has been a gorgeous day weather wise - it started out a bit cool early this morning, but turned into brilliant sunshine as the day went on.

Just so we are clear, my DH does not attend the M&M, therefore he is sitting at our deck chairs the whole time. The hogs were out bright and early, towels and sunglasses abounding on all sorts of chairs :cool: I'm not sure what really can be done about chair hogs, other than actually confronting them, or removing their stuff if you know for sure they have been gone longer than 30 minutes. There are signs all over the place stating items will be removed from chairs after 30 minutes.

Today the Captain's Corner was scheduled for the same time as the M&M - I went to the M&M and won a very cool prize for my desk at work

This is the first time I won anything at a M&M! I also won 30 minutes of free internet, but I already bought the unlimited package, so.....:rolleyes:

 

Too funny. We won the exact same 2 things on freedom in December. We didn't have the internet package so DD was super excited.

[Ocean Boy]

Not sure of how many stations are along the FL coast. Some could be down. Maybe they went outside the Gulf Stream for some reason, further from shore. Hasn't the Freeport AIS been down for a while? Sure looks like it, there are no ships of any type showing near Freeport. Maybe West Palm, if there is a station there, as everything that is any distance offshore between Port St. Lucie and Boca are not reporting timely.

 

Quantum and Carival Splendor are showing up in Nassau today.

[Canadian Cruiser98]

Robyn, I would be interested in knowing how the situation with mosquitoes is in Labadee tomorrow, if you have time, as I have heard mixed things about that port. Just wondering how many precautions we should be taking, if we should get the malaria prevention medicine.

Edited February 16, 2015 by Canadian Cruiser98

[Ourusualbeach]

Robyn, I would be interested in knowing how the situation with mosquitoes is in Labadee tomorrow, if you have time, as I have heard mixed things about that port.

 

Didn't see one when we were there in December. The only time we got stung was from a jellyfish.

[chengkp75]

Quantum and Carival Splendor are showing up in Nassau today.

 

I looked at Nassau, but I'm not sure of the Freedom's route. Sometimes the ship's superstructure blocks signal to a particular station, or another ship between the ship and station can block. Also, larger ports have higher AIS towers than smaller ports, so coverage can vary. It is odd that she has been out of coverage, would like to see when she pops up around the T&C.

[Cmx3d]

Robyn, if possible could you save the cruise compasses and scan them when you return from the trip? Going on the April 12th sailing and interested to see how the days activities are planned out. Looking forward to the rest of your posts/pictures, thank you so much for taking the time to do this review! :)

[ckrobyn]

Robyn, I would be interested in knowing how the situation with mosquitoes is in Labadee tomorrow, if you have time, as I have heard mixed things about that port. Just wondering how many precautions we should be taking, if we should get the malaria prevention medicine.

 

I think if it were a big problem, we would be hearing more about it on CC. Mosquitos are typical near pooling and ponding water, and at dusk and dawn - I will be near neither on Labadee :)

[kandj05]

Robyn, would u please tell me the process of using photo bucket to upload pics?