Just got off Freedom, any questions?

[Beardface]

Had a great time, with a few hiccups here and there. I will say, knowing that she was in dry dock for refurbishment last year, I was a bit disappointed to see her showing her age more than I was expecting. Not so much in the way of rust, but she is in desperate need of a fresh coat of paint, especially to the roof of the formerly known as Viking Crown up through the smokestack, which is now more of a light brown than the white it should be. She also has developed quite the shimmy, which I suspect is because the timing of the engines aren't exactly spot on anymore, as I felt it while we were still at port on the first day. Normally, to feel my bed vibrate like that, I need to stick a quarter in a slot somewhere, but I digress.

 

Overall, it was a great trip. The weather stayed good for the majority of the time (though, the 2 sea days were windy and cold, making the pools an adventure for who was the most dedicated to floating), well... except for the storm in Grand Cayman that produced a large water spout about a mile from the ship.

 

That said, my wife and I booked a stay at Universal Resorts beforehand through Royal Caribbean.... Someone completely dropped the ball at RC's side, and our booking never linked up on the systems. We had to fight every step of the way for tickets to the parks, transportation to/from the airport, resort, and pier, and even then we had to pay for a $45 taxi ride after we got off the plane in Orlando. Mind you, all of those are covered in the booking. We were lost in the system, and seemingly nobody had any clue what to do about it. I love both Universal and Royal, but I do not recommend anyone to do that booking until these issues can be resolved. That in itself was a bit of a nightmare throughout the trip.

[swoopy2110]

Had a great time, with a few hiccups here and there. I will say, knowing that she was in dry dock for refurbishment last year, I was a bit disappointed to see her showing her age more than I was expecting. Not so much in the way of rust, but she is in desperate need of a fresh coat of paint, especially to the roof of the formerly known as Viking Crown up through the smokestack, which is now more of a light brown than the white it should be. She also has developed quite the shimmy, which I suspect is because the timing of the engines aren't exactly spot on anymore, as I felt it while we were still at port on the first day. Normally, to feel my bed vibrate like that, I need to stick a quarter in a slot somewhere, but I digress.

 

Overall, it was a great trip. The weather stayed good for the majority of the time (though, the 2 sea days were windy and cold, making the pools an adventure for who was the most dedicated to floating), well... except for the storm in Grand Cayman that produced a large water spout about a mile from the ship.

 

That said, my wife and I booked a stay at Universal Resorts beforehand through Royal Caribbean.... Someone completely dropped the ball at RC's side, and our booking never linked up on the systems. We had to fight every step of the way for tickets to the parks, transportation to/from the airport, resort, and pier, and even then we had to pay for a $45 taxi ride after we got off the plane in Orlando. Mind you, all of those are covered in the booking. We were lost in the system, and seemingly nobody had any clue what to do about it. I love both Universal and Royal, but I do not recommend anyone to do that booking until these issues can be resolved. That in itself was a bit of a nightmare throughout the trip.

 

We have also booked the Universal Trip for 4 nights with RCI in May

Our 'My Cruises' page shows that the Post Cruise Hotel is "4 nights Univ W/Trfs Royal Pacific Resort" or similar. Did yours say this too?

 

Worrying how they can take your money for something and lose all details of the reservation in their systems

 

Looking forward to going on the Freedom for the first time though. Been on the Liberty a couple of times and loved her, so will be interesting to see how Freedom differs.

 

Glad you had a good cruise regardless

[handbellplayer]

Was the VOOM internet available yet?

[Beardface]

We have also booked the Universal Trip for 4 nights with RCI in May

Our 'My Cruises' page shows that the Post Cruise Hotel is "4 nights Univ W/Trfs Royal Pacific Resort" or similar. Did yours say this too?

 

Worrying how they can take your money for something and lose all details of the reservation in their systems

 

Looking forward to going on the Freedom for the first time though. Been on the Liberty a couple of times and loved her, so will be interesting to see how Freedom differs.

 

Glad you had a good cruise regardless

 

Yes, we stayed at Cabana Bay and it showed something similar on our details. I would call up Royal Caribbean and make sure its all aligned behind the scenes. Apparently we were supposed to get some kind of email verification of the booking, which we never got, and we were supposed to get some kind of voucher to use for transportation and tickets, which, again, we never got. When we called RC a couple weeks before the trip, they explicitly said we should easily find the transportation at the airport, the hotel would have information on how to get to the ship, and the ship would have information on how to get to the airport. None of this happened.

[Beardface]

Was the VOOM internet available yet?

 

No, but they were installing 2 large domes on the pool deck yesterday as we were debarking, which they were spending the whole week preparing the supports. My guess is that this was the VOOM receivers.

[ddebaets]

No, but they were installing 2 large domes on the pool deck yesterday as we were debarking, which they were spending the whole week preparing the supports. My guess is that this was the VOOM receivers.

 

That would be awesome! Hopefully it'll be up and going by ours on the 3rd of April :-)

[Powersboyee2]

She also has developed quite the shimmy, which I suspect is because the timing of the engines aren't exactly spot on anymore, as I felt it while we were still at port on the first day. Normally, to feel my bed vibrate like that, I need to stick a quarter in a slot somewhere, but I digress.

 

 

She has had this "shimmy" for quite some time now. Before her dry dock last year it was already evident. The ship blamed it on the bad azipod that ended up being removed and then replaced.

 

Quess what, shimmy still there after the fix. For us it was most evident only in the aft lower decks such as the MDR. Didn't affect our trip at all but it was noticeable.

 

 

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[KirkNC]

Welcome back, glad you enjoyed your cruise.

[Beardface]

She has had this "shimmy" for quite some time now. Before her dry dock last year it was already evident. The ship blamed it on the bad azipod that ended up being removed and then replaced.

 

Quess what, shimmy still there after the fix. For us it was most evident only in the aft lower decks such as the MDR. Didn't affect our trip at all but it was noticeable.

 

 

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It can't be the azipod... As I said, I noticed it in the Viking Crown before muster when we were still in Port Canaveral.

 

But yeah, I mean it wasn't so bad after you got used to it. We did MTD and one night we were forced to a 6pm dinner because everything else was taken, and still being in port, we actually missed the shimmy.

[audome78]

No, but they were installing 2 large domes on the pool deck yesterday as we were debarking, which they were spending the whole week preparing the supports. My guess is that this was the VOOM receivers.

 

I am onboard now and Voom, according to the captain, don't be functional until May.

 

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Edited March 7, 2016 by audome78

[kbowen7872]

Did you need reservations for the ice skating shows, how was the food in the MDR and Windjammer. Our first time on FOS in May...Any info and hints welcomed...Thank yoiu

 

 

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[Beardface]

Did you need reservations for the ice skating shows, how was the food in the MDR and Windjammer. Our first time on FOS in May...Any info and hints welcomed...Thank yoiu

 

 

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No reservations needed on Freedom for the shows, but for the ice shows I would highly recommend showing up early, because that venue fills up fast, and there aren't really that many seats, especially considering they're only doing about 3 shows over the entire week.

 

MDR food was really good, and the Windjammer was pretty good. I found the WJ food on the Oasis in 2014 overwhelmingly greasy, and didn't have that issue this time. The scrambled eggs were still pretty bad, but that's what you get when they make it from the powdered mix instead of real eggs.

[SuzD123]

We were on Freedom in Jan 2011 and are booked again for Feb 2017. Every ship since Freedom has had to be compared to her. We are looking forward to it being a reunion of sorts and curious how she is holding up.

 

We were just on Oasis in Aug and the VOOM availability helped my husband relax, so having VOOM on Freedom will be enjoyable indeed. He owns a business and simply knowing that he could be in contact with his employees if needed was very helpful. Since both of our parents are elderly and in poor health, it also gave us both peace of mind knowing we/they could reach out as needed. It worked great for both FaceTime and our VoIP phone service...never skipped a beat!

[Russ Lomas]

Had a great time, with a few hiccups here and there. Overall, it was a great trip.

 

Glad you enjoyed your trip. We head out on the same route on the Freedom this Sunday and are excited about it.

 

I am hoping you still have the Cruise Compasses from your trip. I would like to know what hours the flowrider was open each day for stand up surfing (or if you could post that page of the Compasses if you have them...even better). I want to make some plans, but flow time has to take priority;) (I have seen a recent copy of the Compass, but it had the flowrider closed for maintenance work on many of the days in the Compass).

 

You mentioned waterspouts when you were near Cayman. I assume you still managed to tender to Grand Cayman that day?

[Beardface]

Glad you enjoyed your trip. We head out on the same route on the Freedom this Sunday and are excited about it.

 

I am hoping you still have the Cruise Compasses from your trip. I would like to know what hours the flowrider was open each day for stand up surfing (or if you could post that page of the Compasses if you have them...even better). I want to make some plans, but flow time has to take priority;) (I have seen a recent copy of the Compass, but it had the flowrider closed for maintenance work on many of the days in the Compass).

 

You mentioned waterspouts when you were near Cayman. I assume you still managed to tender to Grand Cayman that day?

 

Still haven't fully unpacked, but I'll check about the Flowrider when I can. We have all the Cruise Compasses with us, so I'll just have to track them down.

 

And yes, the tenders were operating in full swing the entire time. Between both the Freedom and the Carnival Dream I think there were 8 tenders in constant motion throughout the day.

[Russ Lomas]

Still haven't fully unpacked, but I'll check about the Flowrider when I can.

I am in quite the opposite boat...I still haven't fully PACKED :eek: yet. That would be awesome. I have made MTD reservations for each evening and am hoping that they do not coincide with the stand up times. I know I can still change dining times when I board but would like advance notice if possible.

[jtdlmc]

We were on the same cruise. Really felt the shimmying in our aft cabin! I had also mentioned to my DH that it felt like one of those beds you had to insert a quarter in lol.

[Fionat29]

Had a great time, with a few hiccups here and there. I will say, knowing that she was in dry dock for refurbishment last year, I was a bit disappointed to see her showing her age more than I was expecting. Not so much in the way of rust, but she is in desperate need of a fresh coat of paint, especially to the roof of the formerly known as Viking Crown up through the smokestack, which is now more of a light brown than the white it should be. She also has developed quite the shimmy, which I suspect is because the timing of the engines aren't exactly spot on anymore, as I felt it while we were still at port on the first day. Normally, to feel my bed vibrate like that, I need to stick a quarter in a slot somewhere, but I digress.

 

Overall, it was a great trip. The weather stayed good for the majority of the time (though, the 2 sea days were windy and cold, making the pools an adventure for who was the most dedicated to floating), well... except for the storm in Grand Cayman that produced a large water spout about a mile from the ship.

 

That said, my wife and I booked a stay at Universal Resorts beforehand through Royal Caribbean.... Someone completely dropped the ball at RC's side, and our booking never linked up on the systems. We had to fight every step of the way for tickets to the parks, transportation to/from the airport, resort, and pier, and even then we had to pay for a $45 taxi ride after we got off the plane in Orlando. Mind you, all of those are covered in the booking. We were lost in the system, and seemingly nobody had any clue what to do about it. I love both Universal and Royal, but I do not recommend anyone to do that booking until these issues can be resolved. That in itself was a bit of a nightmare throughout the trip.

 

 

I really don't want to hear this. We have booked exactly the same thing. 3 nights at universal and the a 7 night cruise, all transfers included. We don't want any hassle!!

[Gopherpharm]

Any sign of drink punch cards (10 drinks for $80 or something similar??

 

 

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[Powersboyee2]

It can't be the azipod... As I said, I noticed it in the Viking Crown before muster when we were still in Port Canaveral.

 

But yeah, I mean it wasn't so bad after you got used to it. We did MTD and one night we were forced to a 6pm dinner because everything else was taken, and still being in port, we actually missed the shimmy.

 

As I said.... Also..... It obviously wasn't the azipod. It was there long before the azipod issues.

[LisaGoeke]

Did you notice if they were offering discounts for C&A members on the beverage packages?

[Keith1010]

Glad that you enjoyed the cruise.

 

Keith

[Beardface]

Did you notice if they were offering discounts for C&A members on the beverage packages?

 

We purchased our drink plan in advance, so I wouldn't have known if they were.

[Beardface]

Any sign of drink punch cards (10 drinks for $80 or something similar??

 

 

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I didn't see a single one. And believe me, I spent a bunch of time at the bars (Pool and Schooner were my go-to's for the entire trip). It did seem like most had drink plans, though.

[mickeychicky]

Went of FOS in August last year, first cruise EVER, and loved it! Of course, I had nothing to compare it to but I will on our next cruise which will be Oasis. I would love to do Freedom again but I have a list of "to do ships" that will come first (Harmony, Norwegian Epic)...but loved Freedom!!