Just back from Freedom of the Seas 07/09/06

[CruiseAwayWithMe]

Hey, I'm back and I had a great time. I just arrived in metro airport at 3:30 PM and now i'm sitting home in Michigan. I'm sad to be home but it had to come. The week flew by so quick. Okay, so many things happened on this cruise I don't know where to start. Francois Roux (pronounced Fran-Swa) was the concierge and he was from France. James Andrews was the cruise director and he was very funny, great man! The captain was Carlos Pedercini (pronounced Ped-a-Che-ne). I got a picture with the captain, cruise director, and a picture of Francois. Our waiter was Ibrihim from Turkey. He was okay but I didn't really like his attitude much. The head waiter was Erich from Austria and he was fabulous. :) We ate at Portofino last night and it was great but way too much food.

 

I went on the flowrider and tried it about 10 times. I stand up surfed once but couldn't keep my balance. Boogie boarding is a lot easier to do. The tendering was the worst in Cozumel. We sat in the tender for 45 minutes about. They said that Freedom of the Seas will dock in Cozumel in about four weeks.

 

Any questions about the cruise? I'll post pictures later. I will post a review later too.

[GMoney]

How is Francois? I love Frenchie!

[emmy]

Hey, I'm back and I had a great time. I just arrived in metro airport at 3:30 PM and now i'm sitting home in Michigan. I'm sad to be home but it had to come. The week flew by so quick. Okay, so many things happened on this cruise I don't know where to start. Francois Roux (pronounced Fran-Swa) was the concierge and he was from France. James Andrews was the cruise director and he was very funny, great man! The captain was Carlos Pedercini (pronounced Ped-a-Che-ne). I got a picture with the captain, cruise director, and a picture of Francois. Our waiter was Ibrihim from Turkey. He was okay but I didn't really like his attitude much. The head waiter was Erich from Austria and he was fabulous. :) We ate at Portofino last night and it was great but way too much food.

 

I went on the flowrider and tried it about 10 times. I stand up surfed once but couldn't keep my balance. Boogie boarding is a lot easier to do. The tendering was the worst in Cozumel. We sat in the tender for 45 minutes about. They said that Freedom of the Seas will dock in Cozumel in about four weeks.

 

Any questions about the cruise? I'll post pictures later. I will post a review later too.

 

Thanks for checking in.. glad you had a wonderful time.. good news about Cozumel..let's hope it comes to pass:).. I am back on Freedom for the C&A cruise Oct 15.

[CruiseAwayWithMe]

How is Francois? I love Frenchie!

Francois is doing good. He was very nice throughout the cruise and he talked to us a lot. I even heard him talk french on the phone a little. If you get to know him, then he will be a good friend to you. ;) He was in the concierge lounge early every night setting up the food and the music was relaxing that he would always play. I have a picture of him that I'll post. :)

 

Did anyone notice the secret to the new bedding? (It's the same bed but a special pad is on top of it. I saw it last night.)

 

I know the 3rd name of the freedom class ships, "Something of the Seas". haha......not really but the question was asked at the repeater's party and crown & anchor party "What is the name of the 3rd ship to the freedom class?" They would always answer something of the seas. Everyone would laugh.

[lknight27]

Hey, I'm back and I had a great time. I just arrived in metro airport at 3:30 PM and now i'm sitting home in Michigan. I'm sad to be home but it had to come. The week flew by so quick. Okay, so many things happened on this cruise I don't know where to start. Francois Roux (pronounced Fran-Swa) was the concierge and he was from France. James Andrews was the cruise director and he was very funny, great man! The captain was Carlos Pedercini (pronounced Ped-a-Che-ne). I got a picture with the captain, cruise director, and a picture of Francois. Our waiter was Ibrihim from Turkey. He was okay but I didn't really like his attitude much. The head waiter was Erich from Austria and he was fabulous. :) We ate at Portofino last night and it was great but way too much food.

 

I went on the flowrider and tried it about 10 times. I stand up surfed once but couldn't keep my balance. Boogie boarding is a lot easier to do. The tendering was the worst in Cozumel. We sat in the tender for 45 minutes about. They said that Freedom of the Seas will dock in Cozumel in about four weeks.

 

Any questions about the cruise? I'll post pictures later. I will post a review later too.

 

Glad you had a good time neighbor!!! ;) Three more months and I'll be on here as well. I can't wait! :D

[CruiseAwayWithMe]

I'll post a few highlights of the ship and what I thought.

 

Embarkation

My flight was 9:13 AM on July 9th out of Metro Airport and it took off about 5 minutes late but we actually ended up getting there early. I was in the Miami Airport by 12:05 which was really quick. We got our luggage by 12:15 and we were taken to the ship right away. The lane was really long if you were not a platinum + member or a suite. We went through the suite line because it was short and we got in front of everyone. The approximate boarding time said 2:00 for us and we got on by 1:00! :eek: It was great. They handled it good and everything went smoothly.

 

Flowrider

Great addition to the ship. A lot of people like it. There were some people who were from California and surfed really good. The surfing seems to be more of a boy thing then a girl thing. But, I was trying it a bunch of times. I tried the flowrider around 20 times total on the cruise. I only tried standing up once and it was hard for me. I was holding the guy's hand because I knew I couldn't stand up. I fell pretty hard a couple of times. I fell on my face once but I didn't get anything bad. I got a lot of bruises from the flowrider and a few scratches. When I fell hard a couple of times, it turned a little red on the place I fell on. We saw a flowrider operater at the pool and they said last week someone lost half of their tooth. They didn't know until the looked in the mirror. Although, I would say that you need to learn how to fall right. If you fall correctly on the flowrider then you won't feel a thing but if you fall wrong then you could get something minor like a cut or brise. I have a lot of pictures of me on the flowrider. I watched the cruise director, James Andrews, doing the flowrider yesterday and he was really good. They were always playing music up at the flowrider and someone was always taking your picture there.

 

H20 Zone

I didn't use the H20 Zone a lot because there was always a lot of kids in this area. I know that it's for the kids but I tried the H20 Zone once in the morning when no one was there. It is really fun for the kids. I went in the pool that was 5'6 inches deep and under the water fall. It was really neat. Those statues take good pictures. I say it's a good improvement to keep children in their own little area.

 

Boxing Ring

It's a waste of space. The only thing on the whole ship that I feel doesn't need to be there. I really liked the ship but this is the only area that isn't used. I used the exercise area everyday and I saw the boxing ring being used twice for about five minutes. If you actually want to get into the boxing ring then you have to pay 10 dollars for them to train you. I saw someone get inside the boxing ring to get a ball and they yelled at them to get out. I think the whirlpool would be much better there. I went inside the steam room and sauna once and it was very nice.

 

Solarium

This area is for guests 16 and over stated in the compass. I didn't see anyone watching the ages of guests in this area but as long as they are not acting wild. I think I saw a few 13 or 14 year olds in the area but they were not doing anything wrong. The adult pool is nice, there is a little pool bar inside the pool. Also, the adult pool is very deep (6'11). Also, all the pools on Freedom of the Seas are freshwater which is a nice touch. The caltivated whirlpools were a great hit. There was always someone inside them. They were crowded most of the time. The bubbles would always shut off in the middle. Just hold down the button until the bubbles come back strong.

 

Concierge Lounge

This area looks the same as a Voyager Class ship. Francois Roux was the concierge from France. He was hard working all the time. Also, he would get drinks for everyone and chat with them. I think he was really nice. The music in there was very nice that he played. Every night he would turn on the same music. There was a variety of different treats to snack on including assortments of chocolate, vegetables (cucumbers, red peppers, carrots, celery) dipped in blue cheese dressing, hor'dorvs (which were very tastey). If you don't watch it, you can end up having your whole dinner in the concierge lounge. :p I miss Francois, he was always fun to have around. We talked to him about the USA two nights ago and he doesn't like Bush. He said he won't mind if Hillary Clinton was president. I guess the french like democrats better then Republicans. Anyway, Francois is a world traveler and I don't know how he doesn't get sick of traveling. He has been to the USA many times. New York, Miami, etc.

 

Dining Room

Ibraham was our waiter and to tell you the truth I didn't really like him much but he was okay. The assistant waiter was Humberto from Mexico and he was great. :) He would say "Would you like coffee senor?". The tables were very close together but we got a very good table. Our table was located on Deck 3 (the very first table when you walk in.) It was table 367 and there were no other tables around it. I found the table to be very nice and people would always come down from the upper level to video tape the show from where I was sitting. Our table was private for 4 people but we only had 3 people. The food in the dinning room was great. Surf night was great too and I took pictures of a lot of the food too. I don't know why no one liked surf night because I think it was the best night. They had music "Surf city here I come..." and I tried the banana creme pie and I ate all of it. It was great. Surf night is the only night I won't go to speciality resturaunt because I really enjoyed it.

 

Ben & Jerrys

I never got ice cream from here once. Did anyone notice a smell when you walked by this place? It smells like rotten milk. :eek:

 

A Clean Shave

I looked inside and it is very very small place. They make it look a lot bigger on tv then it really is. It is expensive to get a hair cut there but it's really nice. I saw a few people getting appointments but most of the time it was empty.

 

Cafe Promenade

Wow! This area is improved and it is moved to the back of the cafe promenade. They had so much good food here including cookies, brownies, cakes, breads, chocolates, etc. There was so many good sweets here. The chocolate chip cookie didn't taste like your typical chocolate chip cookie. It was very tastey and I bet you would gain a lot of weight eating all of those desserts. I discovered an area in Cafe Promenade that was new, there was a selection of many different books to choose from. I even saw a titanic book. It was a great place to spend your time. They had nice couches to sit in too.

 

Sorrentos

There were always four different types of pizza. Cheese, Pepperoni, Vegetable, and some meaty pizza. I had cheese most of the time but I tried vegetable pizza once and it was great. The pizza is better then Carnival. It is very tastey and I doubt that someone wouldn't like it. The plates are red and they are shaped as a pizza slice which is neat.

 

Internet

Located on Deck 8 Aft. I had an internet credit of $15 because we are platinum members. I only used $7.50. Before you turn on the internet, present your coupons to the guest relations and it will be added to your account. The internet was very very slow as usuall. I only used the internet once the whole cruise. I turned on the internet to get to my email and it took $4 and it didn't even turn on. Then, we switched to a faster computer I guess and it turned on quick. I wrote two emails and delete all my emails in $3.50 because I'm a fast typer.

 

Tendering

It was the worst in Mexico because they said they are not used to tendering in Mexico. I heard that in 4 weeks they will be docking in Mexico. The docks looked ruined in Mexico. Otherwise, tendering was no problem. We tendered on 3 islands out of 4 islands. Only island we didn't tender is Jamaica.

 

Funny?

Did you see the Krooze Komics? They were hillarious. Don't miss them. They dressed up as hillbillies on formal night.

When we left Haiti, I was standing outside of my balcony looking down. There was a one man kayak right next to the ship. Then, another one came up. He shouted, "I'm hungry, need food!." Someone threw down $1 in a water bottle. Then, some Mexican through down $5. It kept me entertained but why didn't the cruise ship get them out of there? It was hillarious. haha.

James Andrews, the cruise director was a great guy too.

 

Bingo

I played Bingo on Day 4 from 5 - 6 PM. I bought the smallest package for $25 and everyone else bought $35 packages. I had the strip of 3 and I used to a coupon to get an extra strip of 3 for the final game. We went through 4/5 games and my cards were doing really bad. I was one away once and lost. On the final game $3200 was up for grabs. After 48 numbers the money would be gone. I needed two numbers and thought I would never get them. Then, the anouncer was like "Who needs a B?" I screamed B8 as everyone was screaming what they wantted. He said "B8"! Then, I needed one more number. He said, "Who needs an I?". I screamed I25. Then, he said "I25". This is the first time I won bingo in 3 years. I was at the back of the whole place. I saw bingo at first and it was too quiet then I said it louder. I was so happy. It was a coverall game and my card was completly covered. They got my name and state. I said Krystle from Michigan ;) I got a slip that said "Congratulations you won $206!" I presented it to the guest relations and got payed in hundreds. I got two Royal Cairbbean keychains with it too. Day 4 was a good day for me.

 

Arcadia Theatre

This area was nice. I liked the curtains. I saw "One Upon a Time" and they said it was the best show ever and I really didn't think it was. I liked "Marquee" the best or "Now you see it" (the magic show). I saw the ice show in Studio B and it was awesome as usuall. Don't miss the ice show, it was really fun.

 

Portofinos

I went to Portofinos two nights ago (July 15th). We had a nice window seat by the ocean. It looked great. They had a nice bread plate to dip in olive oil (with garlic), olives, mushrooms, and tomatos. It tasted really good. But, there was way too much food. I loved Portofinos but I can't eat the whole dish haha. The food was wonderfull though. It is $20 a person.

 

Carnival Elation and Carnival Valor were docked right by the Freedom of the Seas. I was on Carnival Valor last year on July 10, 2005.

 

Any other questions? I'll review more later about the specific tours we did too. I love reviewing because it makes me remember my cruise experience more.

[hardingk]

Thanks for the great review! I really enjoyed it. We leave in 9 weeks! Do you have any picutres to share?

[NYCRUISR]

Your experiences aboard Freedom pretty much mirrors ours. It was all good.

I do have to agree about the Boxing ring. Never did see anything happening there, however, my older kids ( mid twenties ) who were not on this cruise with us thought that was a great idea. Maybe it will be something to catch on.

[Nothin' But Sun]

Thanks for the review. One question, is there a pool in the H2O zone, like you mentioned, is that the one by the waterfall. OK 2 questions, how about an area with just standing water, say 1 to 2 inches is that area? It kind of looks like it in some pictures but not sure

[The Big Booper]

Thanks for the detailed review. Glad to see that the pools are freshwater. We leave on 7/30 for the FOS.

 

Were you main or late seating? How was the Windjammer? Did the Krooze Komics show up at the sail-a-way and the Promenade Parades?

 

Thanks, glad to see you had a good time.

 

BTW there is an entry on the international ship's registry that shows "Endeavor of the Seas". No mention of the line but the projected GRT = 158,000 same as the FOS and LOS. Or was the EOS renamed Linerty?

[CruiseAwayWithMe]

Yes, I have pictures to share but I didn't post them up yet. I'm sure I'll be able to get a nice photo album up. :)

I said that I thought the boxing ring was useless. I think the eqipment to the side was really fun. I liked the punching balls, I think that would be nice without the boxing ring.

Yes, there is standing water 1-2 inches in the H20 Zone. There is a small flamingo that squirts out a little water. It looks nice for the younger kids. They would have a blast. Yes, there is a pool in the H20 Zone that is 5'6 inches in depth and it is by the waterfall.

I was on main seating dinner on deck 3 table 376. The Krooze Komics didn't show up at sailaway but the party was nice at sailaway. There were people on skilts (did I spell that right?). It was a fun party. The Krooze Komics had several acts including acting like hillbillies on formal night, teaching people to juggle, and a few other acts. They are absolutely hillarious. Their names are Erin and Ray. They are from New York. They said that they are getting off the ship in two weeks. This week Erin's parents are on the ship then next week Ray's parents are on the ship. Then, they are going home. I'm not sure about the Endevar of the Seas at all.

 

Did I mention how nice the workout area was? There was televisions all over. Bring your IPOD earphones and plug it in then you can listen to the tv on Freedom of the Seas. Channel 30 is XY which is Royal Caribbean's music video station.

 

Any other questions? I enjoy answering them.

[The Big Booper]

Add to last post.

 

Endeavour of the Seas still up. There is no Liberty of the Seas.

 

http://www.world-register.net/index/L5.shtml

 

and

 

http://www.world-register.net/index/E4.shtml

[The Big Booper]

When we were on the Adventure and the Navigator, the Krooze Komics were on stilts at the sail-a-way, withhout makeup.

[negc]

Add to last post.

 

Endeavour of the Seas still up. There is no Liberty of the Seas.

 

http://www.world-register.net/index/L5.shtml

 

and

 

http://www.world-register.net/index/E4.shtml

 

Have you shared this information with Royal Caribbean or Aker Yards? I am sure that they will be startled to learn that the ship that is under construction doesn't exist. :rolleyes:

If you remember, it was originally rumored that the second Freedom class ship would be named Endeavor. However, RCI subsequently announced that it would be named Liberty and it is under that name that they are currently booking passengers. Perhaps the Endeavor name was registered to deceive people who were speculating what the second name would be.

[The Big Booper]

This is what puzzles me. To operate the ship, it MUST be registered here. If RCI pulled a fast one, why haven't they switched the registration name frm EOS to LOS. Just a thought.

[negc]

This is what puzzles me. To operate the ship, it MUST be registered here. If RCI pulled a fast one, why haven't they switched the registration name frm EOS to LOS. Just a thought.

 

The ship isn't due to begin carrying passengers until next May andI am sure that they will attend to that detail when it becomes necessary. I certainly am not going to be worrying about it.

[Prttybrown]

Hi Krystle,

 

I was wondering, since you've already been on Freedom - do you remember if they offer the PubCrawl that they offered on Explorer? I was on Explorer of the Seas last year and it was - for lack of a better word - AWESOME! I had the time of my life. Who would have thought that a ship sponsored PubCrawl would be so much fun...? I will be sailing on Freedom of the Seas in less than a month and I can't wait! But I talked so much about the PubCrawl on Explorere that now I'm wonderng if they do that on other ships...

 

Do you by chance remember if they offer this one? It would be a Pubcrawl on the ship itself - not an excursion. For that matter - does any past RC cruisers know the answer to this question??

[gowensricks]

Prttybrown, this is really weird. We were on Explorer August 04' and 05'. We'll also be on Freedom on 8/13. Hey are you following us????

 

Seriously, my father did the pub crawl (last August on Explorer) and said he had the time of his life. The only problem? The next day we were in Grand Cayman and he couldn't get out of bed...

[zoe girl]

krystle were you traveling with your wife and daughter? was your table behind the flowers. we sat were at table 367.

[xxbrowns]

Is Ken Rush off the FOS already? We had him years ago and really like him. How what the CD for your cruise and how long will he be there?

 

Thanks.

 

Chris

[Brad1185]

can you remember what was on the surf menu????????

[suzy671]

what time did they start debarkation?

[Dotsie]

Krystle: Do you remember what time you had to be back on the ship in Grand Cayman? We were on the June 25th sailing and I thought we had to be back by 3:30PM to sail at 4PM instead of 5:30PM like it says on the website.

 

Dotsie

[CruiseAwayWithMe]

Zoe, my parents were travelling with me. I'm an only child.

 

xxbrowns, Ken Rush is off Freedom of the Seas. James Andrews is the cruise director now and he was wonderful.

 

Brad, The surf menu was very good to me. I have no idea why everyone said they hated it so much. I have pictures of the food that I ordered. I remember there was some sea food. I had the vegetable plate (I have a picture of it), fruit (including pinapple, kiwi, strawberry), and the desserts were very nice. I have pictures of the some of the things that were on the surf menu. I liked surf night and they had good entertainment. I uploaded pictures of surf night here: http://community.webshots.com/user/krystle2007 On surf night, they had surfing under the stars for adults at night on the flowrider.

 

Suzys, disembarkation started at 6:30 AM for people that didn't put their luggage out the night before.

 

Dotsie, last tender is 5:00 PM and the departure of the ship is 5:30 PM.

 

Rolando was the greeter at the windjammer. He was there everyday and was pretty nice.

[dagadget]

I know the 3rd name of the freedom class ships, "Something of the Seas". haha......not really but the question was asked at the repeater's party and crown & anchor party "What is the name of the 3rd ship to the freedom class?" They would always answer something of the seas. Everyone would laugh.

 

 

How about Chicken of the Seas? I am certain the Starkist Tuna would get a kick out of it. I can see Charlie Tuna painted on the side of the ship now. Good advertising for certain ;)