Submit Your "Freedom of the Seas" Member Review

[LauraS]

Have you been one of the lucky ones? Did you get to sail on Freedom of the Seas?

 

Submit your member review for publication to Cruise Critic and you just may win a nifty Cruise Critic t-shirt!

 

CLICK HERE TO Submit Your Member Review

 

Locate the "Submit Your Review" section in the lower right corner of the page, select your ship from the dropdown box, and you are off and running! (Please note: a published review should be comprehensive in nature -- covering all aspects of your cruise in detail. Please review recently published reviews for samples, located on the submission page. Short, paragraph-long reviews will be returned for posting on the boards).

 

 

Here's what we look for:

 

Background Information

Travel To Port of Embarkation

Hotel Info (if any)

Stateroom

Ship Info

Dining

Activities

- Children's Clubs

Service

Entertainment

Shore Excursions

Disembarkation

Summary

 

Your review need not cover all of the above, but we do require a majority.

 

During the submission of your review, you will have the opportunity to RATE your cruise for inclusion in Cruise Critic's Cruiser's Choice Poll! View the POLL: http://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/memberpoll_index.cfm

 

[dziadus]

Hello Freedom Sailors:

Debbie and I were lucky enough to be able to take a two day sailing on Freedom of the Seas this past weekend, and with some saying it was going to be too crowded and the wait in lines would be long, we wanted to judge this for ourselves and give you a brief report. Well, here it is.

WOW! Royal Caribbean did a fantastic job. With over 3,600 people on board for this sailing everything was well organized. We were greeted at the airport by a RCCL Representative, taken to the bus and cruise terminal and waited in line for about 30 minutes to be processed until we boarded the ship. Seats and restrooms were provided during our 30 minute wait and they had 30 computer terminals working to process everyone as fast as they could. It went fast considering the number of people they had to get on board the ship.

We did not have any extended wait for an elevator and got on right away to go to our category “PR” Stateroom. The room was about the size of an inside stateroom but had a view of the Royal Promenade Deck. Our room was on Deck 6. Our room over looked Sorrento’s Pizzeria. Our only trouble in the room was that we could not find the hair dryer. After calling housekeeping we found it in the middle drawer of the desk of which it was plugged in there and that is where you have to dry your hair.

We went to all areas of the ship and viewed as many rooms as we could. We say the Royal Suite, Presidential Family Suite and a Junior Suite. All were fantastic.

The pools, lounges, Solarium, hot tubs that extended over the side of the ship, exercise room, flow rider, ice skating rink, miniature golf, rock climbing wall, Johnny Rockets Restaurant and much more was all super good. There is so much to say that I could go on writing for a long time. You will just have to experience it for yourself come March, Now some specialty shops you pay extra. Like for certain coffees you may like, Ben and Jerry’s Ice Cream, and of course all alcohols and soft drinks. The prices for such items other than alcohol are all posted.

The entertainment was very good. The ice skating show will take your breath away as they perform many maneuvers, the show in the Arcadia Theatre was like watching a Broadway Show and the afternoon Circus Parade on the Royal Promenade Deck was super. The parade was lined up with people on the side held back by a rope and they perform for about 30 minutes along the street and high in the air. Just get your spot early for you do not want to miss this.

The only wait we really had was to wait for a drink at a certain lounge. We liked Boleros because the bartender put on a show for everyone while he worked so everybody wanted to see him plus he made great drinks. But if you did not want to wait, there were other lounges you could go to get whatever cocktail or soft drink you wanted. Plenty of slot machines in the casino. Debbie donated to the casino fund like she always does. She always wants to do her part to help the cruise industry.

The dining rooms were also very good. The main seating dining room was three stories tall with excellent service and fine meals. The wait in the Windjammer Café and Jade on Deck 11 was no wait at all. Buffet line and plenty of tables with the service people attending to your needs as well.

We had to leave our stateroom by 7:00 AM Sunday morning and before 8:15 AM we were standing at the airport ticket counter.

In summary, Freedom Of The Seas was fantastic. Well organized and friendly people, just what you would expect on your cruise. I have read some negative reports about this ship and cruise and my only negative thought is, why does it have to end. We are going to have a great time.

[Bookbug53]

The ship is, in a word, 'JAWDROPPING'. Every where you look there is just something a little more amazing. I have pictures we will be posting in a day or so after we get some sort of arranging done. It just seemed as if we were snapping constantly. How I ended up with over 200 pictures in just two days I will never know.

 

MszKitty,

Your bar crawl is off to a good start. Cielo and Terra have signs outside of their respective entries that say 'dining room'. They were never open so I could not get look inside.

Seven Hearts and The Diamond club were being used for meetings when we saw them during the day and at night were empty and we found no bar in them. They may be used for over flow(?) from Olive or Twist. There is also a walk up bar next to the flow rider called Wipe Out. The Crypt is an awesome nightclub but gets very crowded very quickly. The Schooner Bar was a nice place to end the evening with a piano sing along. The entertainer (sorry forgot his name!) is very funny and gets the crowd going. the band in Pharoah's was quite good. Other than that we did not find any you missed.

 

Pools

H2O Zone is fresh water as are the other pools. One employee made the strange comment 'they may change that' but I really do not know that RCCL would do something so dumb. It is designed to be a water park for young kids so fresh is definitely the way to go.

 

We only had two evenings to enjoy the dining room. We were in Galileo's. All three dining rooms are actually open to each other in a three deck open arrangement. They are simply stunning in the decor and the staff was superb. Unfortunately the food (other than the lobster bisque) was just fair. Of course they are just starting out. Give them time. We took pictures of the two menus and they will be posted.

 

No words can adequately describe the Royal Promenade. We enjoyed sitting at Vintages with a a glass of wine and just enjoying the people watching. It was hard to imagine that you were on a ship at these times. They actually have a circus parade in the early afternoon down the promenade and the area gets crowded very quickly. Only two places have 'outside' seating and the tables go fast. Vintages and Bull and Bear Pub have a couple of tables and they were taken by 12:30. The parade started at 1:30. You can stand along the sides and almost any place is good.

 

the night time entertainment shows were the best I have ever seen! 'Once Upon a Time' and 'Marquee' are not to be missed. Stylish, imaginative, and energetic. The singers are top notch.

 

The ice show was good but they are, of course, limited by the small size of the rink.

 

The flow rider looked to be fun (though smaller than I thought) but I can't imagine what the wait would be like with a full ship on a hot day. We were just cruising for two days with over cast weather and very few people used it. The one time the weather was clear and the sun peaked out they were not letting people on because it was being used for one of the challenges of the 'Ultimate Race'. Somethinig modeled on the the Amazing Race. It sounded fun but would have taken far more energy than I was willing to expend at that time. I don't think this will go over very well in the hot Caribbean sun with a full ship!

 

My first inside cabin. No, I won't be booking one. I at least need a window! Fair size and well laid out but too small. The new beds and bedding (due soon on all ships) are wonderful and offered a great nights sleep. We left ours apart because putting them together made the area too crowded to move around the beds. I liked the circular shower with the glass doors as I hate shower curtains. Bathroom was too small for my taste.

 

Best bar tender on board was Nadia. She works in Vintages, the wine bar on the promenade. On just our second visit she already knew what we liked.

 

The ship is relatively easy to get around despite the size. They have put a lot of thought into this layout and I did not find any of the annoying dead ends.

 

Please let me know if you have any specific questions and I will answer as best I can.

__________________

Destiny 1/99

Sensation 3/00

Fantasy 4/01

Legend 10/03

Conquest 10/05

Star Princess 2/06

Freedom of the Seas 5/06

Oosterdam 10/06

[BallFour4]

My wife and I were guests aboard the Freedom on Mon and Tues night. All the other opinions about being wow, amazing and more we can echo.

 

The shows were the highlight of the trip. The costume changes and athletic ability of the ice show cast was one we will never forget.

 

The main theatre has over a million dollars in lights and sound, and the sub-woofers rocked the entire theatre. Don't miss the first evening show aboard.

 

The Solarium is open, and as long as this design sails in warm weather climates this will work. We are used to the Rhapsody and the ability to warm up on the November cruises.

 

Be sure to vist all the decks to view the artwork. Some of the 3D works are interactive with cranks to move the figures. Interesting touch.

 

The Flowrider was a big hit, and I'd bet lines will be in excess of 45 min or more. Both my wife and I were able to ride, and I returned to the surf days from 30 years (and 30 pounds?) ago.

 

I have nothing bad to say about this ship, we were invited, and our thanks to those involved.

[cruisinisforme]

I was on the one night benefit cruise last weekend. My overall impression of the boat is awesome and I cant wait to get back on it in november.

 

Having been on the mariner 3 times and the explorer, I had to waste no time in learning how to get around, if you have been on a voyager class ship the set up is exactly the same and it made it very easy for us not to waste any of our time learning that. We set about seeing everything that was new and then up to the pool deck to relax by the pool.

 

I was a little disappointed with the setup around the pool, with the added water park for kids it really took away from deck chair space right around the pool...not to say there werent enough deck chairs because there are plenty...on the upper deck they had widened it and added way more so I dont think finding a chair will be a problem, just getting one right around the pool will be.

 

I loved the deck party....it was beautiful at night, I have some videos which I will put in a link below. The cruise director told me they will be doing deck parties every night but one on the sailings.

 

We didnt make it to the show since we were only there one night we felt like we had so much other stuff to do. The staff were great and overall anyone going on this ship will not be disappointed

 

I got a bunch of pictures of various cabins for my friends most of them are on deck 8 but i also got a pic of a js on deck 10.

 

Webshots - Images of Freedom 6/3/06

 

YouTube - My Videos

[cruiselife4me]

Janet,

 

I did subscribe to YOU TUBE but wasn't sure which video was yours. I did a freedom of the seas search and one was in spanish and 3 others from hamburg.

 

Help! ;)

 

mary

[cruisinisforme]

Mary I posted another thread that says video of the freedom and that link works

[MszKitty]

MszKitty,

Your bar crawl is off to a good start. Cielo and Terra have signs outside of their respective entries that say 'dining room'. They were never open so I could not get look inside.

Seven Hearts and The Diamond club were being used for meetings when we saw them during the day and at night were empty and we found no bar in them. They may be used for over flow(?) from Olive or Twist. There is also a walk up bar next to the flow rider called Wipe Out. The Crypt is an awesome nightclub but gets very crowded very quickly. The Schooner Bar was a nice place to end the evening with a piano sing along. The entertainer (sorry forgot his name!) is very funny and gets the crowd going. the band in Pharoah's was quite good. Other than that we did not find any you missed.

 

 

Bookbug....

 

Sorry I didn't post earlier, but I just noticed your post. Thanks so much for checking that out for me. Its a great help. Only 10 days and I'm onboard! Yeaaaaa!