Freedom of the Seas

[Snookum]

Getting ready to book Freedom. We are Diamond members but never been on this particular ship. I seem to be reading a lot of negative reviews which is worrying me now. I'm obviously familiar with all food that Royal has but so many are saying it's just plane not good. If it's like the food we have all the time on ships we can deal. I thought it was just drydocked last summer so rooms should look pretty good. We were getting a promenade room and yes I'm familiar with those rooms. Is the ship really failing that much in so many areas? Appreciate any realistic incite you may contribute before I confirm booking! TIA

[Clarea]

I've not read a lot of negative reviews. Do you have some links?

[ryano]

. I thought it was just drydocked last summer so rooms should look pretty good.

 

They didnt touch the cabins that I know of. At least not the Promenade cabins anyway. Same curtains, same carpet, decor etc. A little worn but certainly not bad. Lots of bad reviews lately on the new mattresses it seems though.

 

The food was ok but as pointed out around here so many times, that is so subjective. I actually found the Windjammer to be as good or even better than the MDR for dinner. I was surprised. Our MDR experience could have been clouded by service that was off. I only had one "bad" dish in the MDR and that was more me than it was the dish. I learned I am NOT a fan of MDR lasagna lol :o It was very quickly and easily replaced by our waiter.

Edited February 22, 2016 by ryano

[DrD]

I can let you know in a few weeks.

[Badgertr]

We were on Freedom last March and we booked again for this November.

[Pitbull1130]

We were on the Freedom last year and it was in great shape, our next cruise in August is back on the same ship. We haven't had any major issues with this ship. I did like that in the Diamond Lounge they weren't letting people wear shorts during happy hour. I actually got busted on night 5 night...........

[pitz0005]

We were on in January. The ship itself is in good/very good shape. FOS is still a beautiful ship. The rooms are a bit outdated, but more than acceptable. Some of the carpets in the rooms could use a refresh, but nothing too bad. We were in connecting promenade staterooms and they were the same as always. The food IMO is slightly worse than before, but mostly the same. A lot of that could be the day or the time. If you thought the food was acceptable before, I don't think you will have much issue there.

 

For us, the main issue was with the service and the crowds. Maybe this was just a bad week, but everything was always crowded (much more so than the same week last year) and the service was very hit or miss. The one exception to this was the room steward. She was just a fabulous as always. The dining room service was poor. Room service never showed up. Windjammer was much more crowded than before. There were several times where the 4 of us would walk the entire way around the windjammer twice without being able to find a seat. Maybe it was just an off week, but based on some of the things I have read since, it seems like a trend.

 

I personally would not be book a cruise on FOS. There are too many other options out there. Maybe one of the newer RCCL ships. NCL has some nice newer ships if you are going with a family. If you are not going with kids, take a look at Celebrity or Princess. Many of the weeks I have looked at, the prices between NCL, RCCL, and Celebrity are pretty close. In addition, NCL and Celebrity offer various "free" perks.

 

I know a lot of people disagree with me, but that was my experience. We will be back on in March (booked almost 2 years), so hopefully it will be all squared away by then:).

[Eriksgarden]

I take a lot of what I read, especially negative comments, with a grain of salt. People are quick to complain and make the smallest things seem like they are the burning of the Hindenberg.

 

We absolutely loved Freedom. We loved everything about it. The service was phenomenal as were the accommodations and the public spaces of the ship. Is it perfect? No, I'm sure it is not. What other ship or city or resort is?

 

Vacation is what WE make it. And we go for a good time. Haven't been let down yet.

[Nado44]

Was on the Freedom in January 2016 for two weeks (B2B).

 

Ignore the negative reviews. The Freedom is a fantastic ship that's in great shape and has a wonderful, attentive crew. We thoroughly enjoyed ourselves and would rank the experience as being one of our top five.

 

As Diamonds, expect the DL to be crowded. Our way of handling the crowds was to get drinks and/or food and bring them out to the outdoor seating area or to Olive & Twist in the Viking Crown Lounge. Concierge actually encouraged it despite signage saying otherwise.

 

Fair winds and following seas.

[cruisinfanatic]

Just off Freedom and I thought the food was fine. Same as any other Royal cruise in the last few years. Service in the dining room was a bit slower than the norm, but not too bad.

 

The issue I had was the lack of things to do at times. Because there was a large group on board (700) that had their own show at least once a day, times were rearranged for the rest of the ship to accommodate them. The Star lounge was rarely used at all. Many game shows were held in On Air which is ridiculous because of the size. Love and Marriage was held very late. If you went to the skating show early in the cruise in the afternoon, there would be no show to see on 1 other night of the cruise because the skating show was then.

Don't let the complaints about the hard beds detour you. They were great! Both of us liked.

Why there is 5:30 early dining on that ship bugged me. There was no reason for it at all.

[cruisinfanatic]

The Diamond lounge had no overflow and was crowded 10 minutes before happy hr started. Lines started for drinks and when finally waited on the concierge made a point to tell me that "in the future drinks were to be consumed in the lounge". That would be great I told him, but my wife and I are not standing. This is while he held the door open (had 2 drinks in my hands) so that I could escape the crowd to the Royal Crown Lounge. Two others with their drinks followed me out as he held the door.

[fletch1027]

Getting ready to book Freedom. We are Diamond members but never been on this particular ship. I seem to be reading a lot of negative reviews which is worrying me now. I'm obviously familiar with all food that Royal has but so many are saying it's just plane not good. If it's like the food we have all the time on ships we can deal. I thought it was just drydocked last summer so rooms should look pretty good. We were getting a promenade room and yes I'm familiar with those rooms. Is the ship really failing that much in so many areas? Appreciate any realistic incite you may contribute before I confirm booking! TIA

 

We loved both of our cruises on Freedom. We were just on Allure last week and while we were on there, we booked a NextCruise back on Freedom for next February. After she re-positions to Port Everglades there is an awesome 8 night Eastern itinerary that we are doing (Labadee, San Juan, St, Kitts, St. Maarten)!

 

[cjdixon4]

I haven't read any negative reviews about Freedom or the food lately, and I prefer not to since I'll be sailing her in May! Although I'm trying to steer clear of anything discouraging, I realize that sometimes the meals can vary in quality. If I don't enjoy what I'm served, I simply order something else. All is not lost on a ship the size of Freedom; there are too many options. Stay positive and enjoy your cruise! :)

[GTO-Girl]

The Freedom is one of our favorite ships!! We are so sad she is leaving Port Canaveral...:(

 

I know the Oasis is a great ship and we will enjoy it too, but still love the size of the Freedom class ships!

[HillBilly Bob]

Vacation is what WE make it. And we go for a good time. Haven't been let down yet.

 

Me either. Even the Ritz Carlton has a bad day. One thing I do know...the staff and management of ANY RCL ship are Ladies and Gentlemen taking care of Ladies and Gentlemen. It's a pity that some guests do not comprehend they should remain Ladies and Gentlemen.

[Eriksgarden]

Me either. Even the Ritz Carlton has a bad day. One thing I do know...the staff and management of ANY RCL ship are Ladies and Gentlemen taking care of Ladies and Gentlemen. It's a pity that some guests do not comprehend they should remain Ladies and Gentlemen.

 

Love that Hilton motto. And it is true. The crew have always been the best and make us feel like we are part of something bigger and very special.