Cheapo dad's trip report on Freedom of the Seas

[SthrnCruiser]

I miss the Allure drill where you sit in comfort at the MDR and listen. Freedom has the old school method of everyone packing in like sardines outside as they scan your sea pass card to make sure all cabins and you hope the big dude standing next to you has showered in the past 48 hours.

 

 

 

 

 

When we sailed Freedom first week of June out of PC, they did our muster in the MDR. I'm guessing with the heat of FL in June might have something to do with it. Either way, I was glad to be in there and not outside with all those people.

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[fletch1027]

In following the same format as my previous report, I will throw in some random pictures from the cruise which I think are the highlights of the trip during the next few introductory posts – eye candy, if you will. Being a dork that I am, I am debating in throwing in a picture or two from my other vacations just to see who is actually paying attention – Hey, what is Cabo picture doing on a western Caribbean cruise? We’ll play the kids’ game of “what doesn’t fit into this trip report?”

 

 

 

 

 

Hey Harry,

 

Found one - the Nassau mail boat! :D

 

Loving the report,

The other Harry

[LuCruise]

Loving your review Harry! (but no surprise there). I'm one for detail and all the pre-cruise stuff too so appreciate you sharing. So sorry about the delays with the flight. That sucks. Freedom looks like a beautiful ship!

 

By the way, we stayed in a Promenade room on Allure and we just loved it. We're like you and do things to save money (so fancy outside room for us unless a deal comes up) and the extra bay window with the seating was fun. When we were back in the cabin (which wasn't often...just to change, shower and eat), the kids and I would often sit at the bay window and people watch. It was fun. (But we personally liked being down at the promenade with the action for parades and stuff).

 

Not a unique comment, but wow...beautiful pictures. Thanks for sharing.

 

PS - On a totally separate note, we are planning a trip your way (well, LA not SF) and to Disneyland next summer so if any pointers from your last trip, let me know. Do you have a report on that one? ;)

Edited January 3, 2017 by LuCruise

[Carlos A.]

What are the cupholders like in the main theater? A weird pet peeve of mine is when the cup holders make NO sense for ANY of the size glasses/containers you get either from the bar in the theater or wherever the bartender goes to bring you something back. I then usually have to hold my drink all through the show, which is just highly annoying to me. I've only been on a FEW ships that really have had cup holders that you could realistically use in the theaters, so I always ask reviewers :)

 

patiently waiting for the next post!

 

From my experience I can tell that the cupholders doesn't hold glasses/containers from any bar, only the small water bottles.

[harryfat1]

Loving your review Harry! (but no surprise there). I'm one for detail and all the pre-cruise stuff too so appreciate you sharing. So sorry about the delays with the flight. That sucks. Freedom looks like a beautiful ship!

 

By the way, we stayed in a Promenade room on Allure and we just loved it. We're like you and do things to save money (so fancy outside room for us unless a deal comes up) and the extra bay window with the seating was fun. When we were back in the cabin (which wasn't often...just to change, shower and eat), the kids and I would often sit at the bay window and people watch. It was fun. (But we personally liked being down at the promenade with the action for parades and stuff).

 

Not a unique comment, but wow...beautiful pictures. Thanks for sharing.

 

PS - On a totally separate note, we are planning a trip your way (well, LA not SF) and to Disneyland next summer so if any pointers from your last trip, let me know. Do you have a report on that one? ;)

 

Thanks again for the kind words.

 

I don’t think I’ll be allowed to do a Disneyland trip report here on a RCI related boards. I would need to start my own travel blog instead.

 

If you plan go to Disneyland next summer, be sure the Stars Wars land is up and running. Don’t go unless it’s open but then the flip side is everybody and their cousin is waiting to do the same so expect big crowds. Disneyland is much smaller than Disneyworld so it doesn’t handle massive crowd very well.

 

Use the web site called mouse savers to get you some Disney discounts and mouse planet to give you pointers on what to do once you are there. There’s always the Deb Willis’s unofficial Disney guide that has numerous details. These 3 web sites will keep you busy for months.

[harryfat1]

So here’s another digress point. Couple months ago, CC had an article in the front pages/email that they listed the top “over rated” cruise events. I could not disagree more. To me, cruise is a buffet. You can make it any way you want – there is no right or wrong way to cruise.

 

How dare the CC editors thumb their noses at the things they don’t like and call it over rated? If you like to do it, it’s not over rated. It’s your vacation and your money and time. Don’t read the article and let those people influence you.

 

First thing they say is over rated is sail away. I like sail away. Like Samantha Brown puts it on her cruise video many years ago, a cruise vacation is different than land vacation in that a regular round trip vacation in North America, everyone starts and ends the vacation the same time. It’s a special thing that is not available on land vacations. The sail away, the waving of goodbye to the people at the shore side is a fun thing to do if you wanted to do it. That’s not over rated.

 

Having said that, do keep in mind that the Freedom sails away LATE at 5:30 from PE. Believe it is typically the last scheduled cruise ship to leave every weekend. Princess typically leaves early as they blow out by 4 something, so does HAL and then Celebrity with Allure not too far behind.

 

The issues with 5:30 sail away are two folds: 1) in winter time, sun sets around 5 something in FL. So chances are you will sail away in the dark with very few people waving goodbye. Not big issue in July when it gets dark after 8 PM but in December, not so good. 2) Freedom has the early dinner at 5:30. So that means even if the ship is not delayed in sailing, some of the passengers will miss the sail away at 5:30 because they have to be in MDR for the early dinner at 5:30. So there’s a big conflict in schedule for those in early seating.

 

So if you are a newbie cruiser and you want to do a sail away and you signed up for early dining at 5:30 for your entire cruise, look into doing specialty dining or windjammer for your first night. Being cheap, I don’t typically go for specialty dining unless it’s free as part of some promotion but if you want to go that route with the BOGO promotion, just have your first night dinner on the Freedom to be later, say 7 something. Plenty of time for sail away and shower and change for dinner or just go to WJ any time before 9 PM. The one and only welcome aboard show was at 9:45 for us (but check your compass to be sure) so if you have dinner before 8, you should make it to the show. Aim for 7:30 if you want a little buffer time.

[TickledBlue]

So here’s another digress point. Couple months ago, CC had an article in the front pages/email that they listed the top “over rated” cruise events. I could not disagree more. To me, cruise is a buffet. You can make it any way you want – there is no right or wrong way to cruise.

 

How dare the CC editors thumb their noses at the things they don’t like and call it over rated? If you like to do it, it’s not over rated. It’s your vacation and your money and time. Don’t read the article and let those people influence you.

 

First thing they say is over rated is sail away. I like sail away. Like Samantha Brown puts it on her cruise video many years ago, a cruise vacation is different than land vacation in that a regular round trip vacation in North America, everyone starts and ends the vacation the same time. It’s a special thing that is not available on land vacations. The sail away, the waving of goodbye to the people at the shore side is a fun thing to do if you wanted to do it. That’s not over rated.

 

Having said that, do keep in mind that the Freedom sails away LATE at 5:30 from PE. Believe it is typically the last scheduled cruise ship to leave every weekend. Princess typically leaves early as they blow out by 4 something, so does HAL and then Celebrity with Allure not too far behind.

 

The issues with 5:30 sail away are two folds: 1) in winter time, sun sets around 5 something in FL. So chances are you will sail away in the dark with very few people waving goodbye. Not big issue in July when it gets dark after 8 PM but in December, not so good. 2) Freedom has the early dinner at 5:30. So that means even if the ship is not delayed in sailing, some of the passengers will miss the sail away at 5:30 because they have to be in MDR for the early dinner at 5:30. So there’s a big conflict in schedule for those in early seating.

 

So if you are a newbie cruiser and you want to do a sail away and you signed up for early dining at 5:30 for your entire cruise, look into doing specialty dining or windjammer for your first night. Being cheap, I don’t typically go for specialty dining unless it’s free as part of some promotion but if you want to go that route with the BOGO promotion, just have your first night dinner on the Freedom to be later, say 7 something. Plenty of time for sail away and shower and change for dinner or just go to WJ any time before 9 PM. The one and only welcome aboard show was at 9:45 for us (but check your compass to be sure) so if you have dinner before 8, you should make it to the show. Aim for 7:30 if you want a little buffer time.

 

Harry, thanks so much for your report. Great pictures!

 

It's like cruising with you and your family (and I can use a free cruise since I'm also a cheapo dad). I may be even more cheapo than you (do you have a cheapo scale?) and probably rate a 8 or 9 on the anal scale.

 

As you already know, minor flaws in your report will get pointed out. Don't take them personally :). Your last post is a repeat post from #299.

[njmomof2]

Harry, really enjoying your report of your Freedom cruise. She's one of our favorite ships, and you can see from my history that we've sailed her several times. Interestingly enough, our next cruise is in April on Allure.

 

We've sailed on Oasis, and were scheduled to sail on X Silhouette (I believe you mentioned that you're planning something on her) but because my younger son is now joining me and my mom for our trip, we had to cancel and rebook something that he'd enjoy. I know, many will say that he should be grateful that he's even coming with us, but if the thought of leaving him home unhappy was going to bother me, taking him on a cruise and then having him not enjoy it would be worse. So off to Allure.

 

While as a family, we enjoy the larger ships due to the flowrider, I like most any ship as long as I don't have to cook, clean, make up my room, etc. We liked Oasis, but simply did not think that the differences from Freedom were game changers for us. And for my mom, it's a very big ship, with lots more walking around, so she prefers Freedom (heck, she prefers the size of Explorer for that matter).

 

I think I'll take a peek at your earlier Allure review (even though it was before dry dock) to get your perspective as well.

 

Looking forward to reading more.

[Camelia-]

So here’s another digress point. Couple months ago, CC had an article in the front pages/email that they listed the top “over rated” cruise events. I could not disagree more. To me, cruise is a buffet. You can make it any way you want – there is no right or wrong way to cruise.

 

How dare the CC editors thumb their noses at the things they don’t like and call it over rated? If you like to do it, it’s not over rated. It’s your vacation and your money and time. Don’t read the article and let those people influence you.

 

First thing they say is over rated is sail away. I like sail away. Like Samantha Brown puts it on her cruise video many years ago, a cruise vacation is different than land vacation in that a regular round trip vacation in North America, everyone starts and ends the vacation the same time. It’s a special thing that is not available on land vacations. The sail away, the waving of goodbye to the people at the shore side is a fun thing to do if you wanted to do it. That’s not over rated.

 

Having said that, do keep in mind that the Freedom sails away LATE at 5:30 from PE. Believe it is typically the last scheduled cruise ship to leave every weekend. Princess typically leaves early as they blow out by 4 something, so does HAL and then Celebrity with Allure not too far behind.

 

The issues with 5:30 sail away are two folds: 1) in winter time, sun sets around 5 something in FL. So chances are you will sail away in the dark with very few people waving goodbye. Not big issue in July when it gets dark after 8 PM but in December, not so good. 2) Freedom has the early dinner at 5:30. So that means even if the ship is not delayed in sailing, some of the passengers will miss the sail away at 5:30 because they have to be in MDR for the early dinner at 5:30. So there’s a big conflict in schedule for those in early seating.

 

So if you are a newbie cruiser and you want to do a sail away and you signed up for early dining at 5:30 for your entire cruise, look into doing specialty dining or windjammer for your first night. Being cheap, I don’t typically go for specialty dining unless it’s free as part of some promotion but if you want to go that route with the BOGO promotion, just have your first night dinner on the Freedom to be later, say 7 something. Plenty of time for sail away and shower and change for dinner or just go to WJ any time before 9 PM. The one and only welcome aboard show was at 9:45 for us (but check your compass to be sure) so if you have dinner before 8, you should make it to the show. Aim for 7:30 if you want a little buffer time.

 

We all have the small things that make a cruise special to us and which might be totally different from the person beside you. I really like your idea of thinking of it as a buffet with so many options and choices..so very true!

 

Having said that (and keeping in mind that my first introduction to cruising was watching the Love Boat episodes)..I must confess that 99% of all the sailaways that I've experienced have been disappointing for me. I think it was because my expectations were way too high..I expected to see the excitement, the joy, the smiles, the cheery waves from deck, people on land waving back and wishing us bon voyage..that was the image that I carried for a long time before taking my first cruise...but it's usually far from that. There are many reasons (some which you've already mentioned): late departures, passengers already at dinner, repeating passengers who have done it dozens of times already..but even so..there is no fanfare upon departure..sometimes only silence..most times a couple of workers to see you off or sometimes no one at all...it feels like you are leaving the port with no one to care that we embarking on a marvellous adventure! That's been my experience..perhaps others have had different ones or maybe it's just not as important to them..just another buffet choice which we can take or leave!!

 

Thank you so much for this report. May I ask which Promenade Cabin you had? We have also booked one on the Freedom - hence my curiosity.

 

Camelia

[BlueHerons]

You posted a photo of my friend's Andrew and Tanya's house!

 

It's the big yellow waterfront home in Fort Lauderdale.

[harryfat1]

Harry, thanks so much for your report. Great pictures!

 

It's like cruising with you and your family (and I can use a free cruise since I'm also a cheapo dad). I may be even more cheapo than you (do you have a cheapo scale?) and probably rate a 8 or 9 on the anal scale.

 

As you already know, minor flaws in your report will get pointed out. Don't take them personally :). Your last post is a repeat post from #299.

Haha, thanks for pointing out my double post mistake . I was running late this morning with this being the first day of kids going back to school after the winter break so things were hectic. Was trying to be greedy and upload one extra page but forgot I had already done it the night before.

 

Not that anyone really cares how I wrote these segments but I start with looking at the photos and then find a set or two to upload. While that's being uploaded, I use Word to type the background. Once the upload I see done, I get the link and do the tedious trimming to make it work in CC. Then in perfect world, I proof read what I wrote. In real world, I get lazy and do not care and just upload as is.

 

This morning I forgot already uploaded and did it again as I try to give something to read for the morning but oh well...

 

Just email CC and ask for an extra month's worth of refund for all these errors.[emoji12]

 

Sent from my SM-N920V using Tapatalk

[harryfat1]

Harry, really enjoying your report of your Freedom cruise. She's one of our favorite ships, and you can see from my history that we've sailed her several times. Interestingly enough, our next cruise is in April on Allure.

 

We've sailed on Oasis, and were scheduled to sail on X Silhouette (I believe you mentioned that you're planning something on her) but because my younger son is now joining me and my mom for our trip, we had to cancel and rebook something that he'd enjoy. I know, many will say that he should be grateful that he's even coming with us, but if the thought of leaving him home unhappy was going to bother me, taking him on a cruise and then having him not enjoy it would be worse. So off to Allure.

 

While as a family, we enjoy the larger ships due to the flowrider, I like most any ship as long as I don't have to cook, clean, make up my room, etc. We liked Oasis, but simply did not think that the differences from Freedom were game changers for us. And for my mom, it's a very big ship, with lots more walking around, so she prefers Freedom (heck, she prefers the size of Explorer for that matter).

 

I think I'll take a peek at your earlier Allure review (even though it was before dry dock) to get your perspective as well.

 

Looking forward to reading more.

Just as there are many types and shapes of cars ranging from mini Cooper to mini vans, everybody has different preferences for size and types of ships. I don't belive one size fits all. Just saying our family's preference is for the mega ships as they offer more entertainment options. And that's one of the 3 e on what we want on a cruise. Everyone has their own preference.

 

If you want your check out the previous allure report, just look at photos only. Skip all the words and it can be done fairly quickly if you just look at pics. Especially for someone that likes to take lots of pictures, there's a lot more things to see on the Allure if you have the indoor facing balcony.

 

Hope you enjoy the Allure as much as we did.

 

Sent from my SM-N920V using Tapatalk

[ASBJumper]

Hi Harry!

 

I am active on my Freedom of the Seas Feb 12, 2017 roll call (same itinerary) and someone referred us all to your thread here. Enjoying your report very much! :D

 

FWIW, our first and, to-date ONLY, cruise was on the Celebrity Silhouette, and she was UN-FREAKING-BELIEVABLY AMAZING. Incredible food, magnificent ship, phenomenal service, and.. NO hard selling tactics.

 

The ONLY time I remember seeing advertising for specialty dining was at a kiosk set up near the pier exit (where we would leave to board the ship), and they were offering 50% off dining at two of the venues if we booked for that night or the night after (we did, incidentally). And that's it. No pitches, no speeches, no nothing for the entire 12-night cruise. Just ultimate luxury and service. We felt like rich celebrities or royalty while onboard (they really do live up to their namesake).

 

So, there you go.

 

I will come back to this next month and give you my take on the comparison of my Celebrity Solstice-class ship vs the Freedom. :p

[njmomof2]

Just as there are many types and shapes of cars ranging from mini Cooper to mini vans, everybody has different preferences for size and types of ships. I don't belive one size fits all. Just saying our family's preference is for the mega ships as they offer more entertainment options. And that's one of the 3 e on what we want on a cruise. Everyone has their own preference.

 

Hope you enjoy the Allure as much as we did.

 

Sent from my SM-N920V using Tapatalk

 

No, don't get me wrong. We definitely prefer the big ships. I also love the varied entertainment options. We loved Hairspray on Oasis. One of the best shows I've seen on a ship. I think, however, we went into the Oasis sailing expecting to be blown away by the things not found on Freedom and we just....weren't. It was a good trip, we had a good time, but when we went back to Freedom we felt like we were coming home.

 

This trip will be different as only my younger son is coming. He's always had his older brother along so they did a lot of things together. He'll need to make his own way this time. He'll be 15 in July and we sail in April. Otherwise, this mom will be spending a lot of time sitting at the flowrider, rock wall, ice skating rink, basketball court, you name it!

[Nessa1dc]

Thanks for the compliment.

 

Which shuttle company did you end up choosing and the time for pick up? You soon should be getting an email from RCI asking you to come to port later in the afternoon. Up to you to follow that suggestion or ignore it.

 

Have a great cruise.

 

We are using South Florida Shuttle (the one I believe you suggested)....We are leaving the hotel at 11:30am....they were booked for earlier.....thank you so much for the suggestion and the great review....I'm about an 8 in the Anal meter....but man o man....you got me totally beat...and I love it. You are what I achieve to be one day.

[CaptnG]

So it sounds like it’s not just the workers on Freedom that is doing the hard sell but more of a fleet wide corporate marketing plan. Wonder if the workers had quotas to fill in having to sign up so many people every week?

 

 

 

It just saddens me to hear the various tactics they are trying to upsell their high profit products. They are really starting to diminish the feel of a cruise.

 

 

 

I don’t cruise as often as most of the folks on CC but I started 20+ years ago. Even though those old ships are crappy by modern day standards, I miss some aspects of the “good old days”. One of which is lack of the hard sell.

 

 

One of the staff members I spoke with on Freedom mentioned that they now have sales goals they're expected to meet which affects their pay. I hope RCCL will consider getting rid of this new requirement as it can be very tough on the staff, and upsetting for the passengers. For example my husband enjoys a beer or 2 with his dinner, sometimes the assistant waiter would bring it and then other times it would be the bar server, but whenever the assistant waiter brought it at some point the bar server would come over and ask if he'd like anything and when he said he's just gotten one the bar server seemed visibly agitated and we'd find ourselves apologizing for not waiting for him. I don't want anyone's pay or performance being negatively affected because of who we order from, it had nothing to do with the server, he'd just order one from whoever was available at the time.

 

 

 

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[crusinot]

following! great review!

[harryfat1]

You posted a photo of my friend's Andrew and Tanya's house!

 

It's the big yellow waterfront home in Fort Lauderdale.

 

So I can say "I kind of know this person from CC that knows this rich person in this big yellow house". Next time you get invited to his house - go to the back and wave to all the folks on the water taxi and be on someone's next trip report.

[harryfat1]

Hi Harry!

 

I am active on my Freedom of the Seas Feb 12, 2017 roll call (same itinerary) and someone referred us all to your thread here. Enjoying your report very much! :D

 

FWIW, our first and, to-date ONLY, cruise was on the Celebrity Silhouette, and she was UN-FREAKING-BELIEVABLY AMAZING. Incredible food, magnificent ship, phenomenal service, and.. NO hard selling tactics.

 

The ONLY time I remember seeing advertising for specialty dining was at a kiosk set up near the pier exit (where we would leave to board the ship), and they were offering 50% off dining at two of the venues if we booked for that night or the night after (we did, incidentally). And that's it. No pitches, no speeches, no nothing for the entire 12-night cruise. Just ultimate luxury and service. We felt like rich celebrities or royalty while onboard (they really do live up to their namesake).

 

So, there you go.

 

I will come back to this next month and give you my take on the comparison of my Celebrity Solstice-class ship vs the Freedom. :p

 

Hi,

 

Thanks for the compliment. So should I go to each roll call and try to hard sell every sailing a drinks package? Maybe I can get some commission kick back from RCI for doing so. Cheapo dad needs some money making ideas as RCI keeps raising prices.

 

We have been on 2 Celebrity cruises in the past and we are familiar with their operations. Very service oriented company also owned by RCI.

 

Technically we put down a deposit for Celebrity sailing but I am not committed to go on them yet as trying to decide if we rather fly all the way down to Puerto Rico for Southern Caribbean run. That’s my preference as I like the idea of 5 ports. Sea days don’t do much for me. Fewer things to take pictures of – the ocean in mid-day gets boring after the 5th picture.

 

But what the mind wants, the butt doesn’t follow. It’s a super long connecting flight to PR for us west coast folks and my butt is hurting just thinking about it. But we have months to decide on what to do.

 

I’m not as organized as Ken, the dude’s signature has him double booked on 2 separate dates. That’s 4 cruises in of itself. How he keep track, I have no idea.

 

Yeah, come back and report your thoughts on CC on what you think of RCI versus Celebrity.

 

Have fun on your cruise.

Edited January 4, 2017 by harryfat1

[harryfat1]

We all have the small things that make a cruise special to us and which might be totally different from the person beside you. I really like your idea of thinking of it as a buffet with so many options and choices..so very true!

 

Having said that (and keeping in mind that my first introduction to cruising was watching the Love Boat episodes)..I must confess that 99% of all the sailaways that I've experienced have been disappointing for me. I think it was because my expectations were way too high..I expected to see the excitement, the joy, the smiles, the cheery waves from deck, people on land waving back and wishing us bon voyage..that was the image that I carried for a long time before taking my first cruise...but it's usually far from that. There are many reasons (some which you've already mentioned): late departures, passengers already at dinner, repeating passengers who have done it dozens of times already..but even so..there is no fanfare upon departure..sometimes only silence..most times a couple of workers to see you off or sometimes no one at all...it feels like you are leaving the port with no one to care that we embarking on a marvellous adventure! That's been my experience..perhaps others have had different ones or maybe it's just not as important to them..just another buffet choice which we can take or leave!!

 

Thank you so much for this report. May I ask which Promenade Cabin you had? We have also booked one on the Freedom - hence my curiosity.

 

Camelia

 

Hi,

 

We were in cabins 7291/7293/7295. Smack in the middle. I have few pictures later on in the cruise to show the cabins, just didn’t have any clean ones on day 1.

 

If you want to ask about the locations and pros/cons of PR cabins, please feel free to ask. I may not know the answer but the fine folks at CC has most of the answers.

 

I watched Love Boat weekly when I was younger. Captain Stubing and Doc and Issac and Gopher (dude became a politician from the fame of the show). Great stuff.

[harryfat1]

No, don't get me wrong. We definitely prefer the big ships. I also love the varied entertainment options. We loved Hairspray on Oasis. One of the best shows I've seen on a ship. I think, however, we went into the Oasis sailing expecting to be blown away by the things not found on Freedom and we just....weren't. It was a good trip, we had a good time, but when we went back to Freedom we felt like we were coming home.

 

This trip will be different as only my younger son is coming. He's always had his older brother along so they did a lot of things together. He'll need to make his own way this time. He'll be 15 in July and we sail in April. Otherwise, this mom will be spending a lot of time sitting at the flowrider, rock wall, ice skating rink, basketball court, you name it!

 

Yeah, it all depends on if you like the extra offerings of the bigger ships. If not, then “more stuff” isn’t useful. It’s like a buffet having an extra “Tutti salad bar”. Well, if you don’t like salads, like my younger one, then it’s totally useless.

 

For us, we love the water show on the Allure (saw it all 3 nights from different views). Like the 2 ice shows on the Allure (regular and Train the Dragon). As well as the Central Park & Boardwalk area. Took many pictures there. These are all just subjective preferences.

 

Have fun keeping up with the teenager on rock climbing.

[harryfat1]

We are using South Florida Shuttle (the one I believe you suggested)....We are leaving the hotel at 11:30am....they were booked for earlier.....thank you so much for the suggestion and the great review....I'm about an 8 in the Anal meter....but man o man....you got me totally beat...and I love it. You are what I achieve to be one day.

 

Well, the other shuttle we used was All Service. You can give them a call to see if they have the earlier shuttle – if that’s what you want or you might be good at the 11:30 time.

 

Being anal may not be the good thing to aspire to be…Next trip report, I will call it the "Cheapo Anal Dad's Trip Report..."

 

Have a great B2B if we don’t talk again before you leave. Come back and let me know your thoughts. I might still be at this by time you get back…Think my Allure report took me a month or so to complete? Don’t remember.

[Russ Lomas]

I miss the Allure drill where you sit in comfort at the MDR and listen. Freedom has the old school method of everyone packing in like sardines outside as they scan your sea pass card to make sure all cabins and you hope the big dude standing next to you has showered in the past 48 hours.

 

 

 

Your quote above is not 100% accurate. While many are forced to stand outside for the muster, like in the ol' days, some people are sent to interior areas for the muster. I know this because we were assigned and sent to the MDR for the muster on the Freedom this past March. Not sure exactly how they decide who has to be outside, but I was glad it was not our family.

[harryfat1]

One of the staff members I spoke with on Freedom mentioned that they now have sales goals they're expected to meet which affects their pay. I hope RCCL will consider getting rid of this new requirement as it can be very tough on the staff, and upsetting for the passengers. For example my husband enjoys a beer or 2 with his dinner, sometimes the assistant waiter would bring it and then other times it would be the bar server, but whenever the assistant waiter brought it at some point the bar server would come over and ask if he'd like anything and when he said he's just gotten one the bar server seemed visibly agitated and we'd find ourselves apologizing for not waiting for him. I don't want anyone's pay or performance being negatively affected because of who we order from, it had nothing to do with the server, he'd just order one from whoever was available at the time.

 

 

 

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

 

They shouldn’t make service people sales people. Let marketing people do their stuff and service people perform the service.

[harryfat1]

Your quote above is not 100% accurate. While many are forced to stand outside for the muster, like in the ol' days, some people are sent to interior areas for the muster. I know this because we were assigned and sent to the MDR for the muster on the Freedom this past March. Not sure exactly how they decide who has to be outside, but I was glad it was not our family.

 

Good to know. I was not aware of that.

 

So I will change statement to be "We were forced to stand outside for the muster drill but I heard from other cruisers that they were assigned spaces in the interior area instead of the outside. How the ship assigns people inside versus outside is unknown."