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

[CruiseAwayWithMe]

Krystle - Thanks for the info. I will look into that!

yea, sure. I hope you enjoy your cruise. :)

[BillyMetz]

CruiseAwayWithMe, we are going on the FOS next March. My wife and I will be part of a large group. I am assisting our travel agent in the preparation for the cruise. Part of what I do in the assistant arena is to gather thoughts and opinions from previous cruisers reference particular areas of interests. As we prepare for the cruise we have an occasional get together with the group and share information. With that in mind, we have an issue that is causing a bit of anxiety that I am trying to get an honest feel for. In fact I will probably continue to read each new review of FOS cruises as time goes by and ask the same question to see what others think.

 

Here is our issue as a group. Twenty of us (all adults) are flying on the same plane from the Miami airport the Sunday we return from the cruise. We originally had a reservation with American Airlines for later that afternoon. American Airlines decided to change our departure time after we made the reservation. It now leaves at 11:50 am. There is no other option unless we go late that night, or changed to a flight that has a number of connections and takes forever to get home. That of course is even if AA would let us change. A number of reviewers commented on how quickly they were able to disembark. I understand that RCCI allows you to use the self carry idea and take your own luggage off the ship if you want. I also understand that the luggage tag process is also quick to get off the ship. Some do mention how long it took to get their luggage once off the ship. Some talk about having to wait on the transfer bus while it filled and others talk about using a taxi. My question to you, and anyone else who previously sailed on FOS, is what is your honest opinion about us making this flight at 11:50? Should we use the self carry method and a taxi? Or will we have plenty of time if we request early pick color tags and use the transfer bus.

[CruiseAwayWithMe]

Can you guys all carry your luggage? You can do self debarkation which gets off the ship at 6:30 AM. I did self debarkation and it went very quick. I went to Fort Lauderdale Airport from Miami. We were at Fort Lauderdale Airport by 9:00 AM because we had to wait for a bus to fill up for an hour. Are you going to Miami Airport? If so, then it could go quicker. If you want to leave right away then get a taxi if you can afford it for 20 people. You might fill up half the bus and only have to wait for 20 other people. I was there at 9 AM and our flight was at 1:07 PM. We had to wait an hour around the airport to wait to check in because we were so early. We tried to get the 11:30 AM flight but it was all filled and we couldn't get on it. We had 3 hours to sit around the airport. If you have concierge service, then you can get white luggage tags easily from the concierge.

 

In my case, I got there early enough for 11 AM flight. But, it might change. As long as you can get off early on the ship then I say that you should be fine. But, if there is some major delay like getting the bus full or the cruise ship coming in it might change. But, I would say that you could make it. If you want to be safe, you could try for a later flight though. Good luck. :)

[CRUISEALLDAYLONG]

Thanks for the great review and information. Can you tell me if there is a fee or does it cost to eat at the cafe promenade and at sorrentos? And does the cafe promenade offer desserts and coffees for free or do they charge your sea pass card? I knwo Johnny rockets charge but wasn't too sure about the sorrentos and the cafe promenade. Also is there a pool that has a swim up bar?

[bug18]

Sorrento's and Cafe Promenade are free. I am not a coffee drinker but I believe if you buy the specialty coffees in the Cafe Promenade you will have to pay.

[CruiseAwayWithMe]

Thanks for the great review and information. Can you tell me if there is a fee or does it cost to eat at the cafe promenade and at sorrentos? And does the cafe promenade offer desserts and coffees for free or do they charge your sea pass card? I knwo Johnny rockets charge but wasn't too sure about the sorrentos and the cafe promenade. Also is there a pool that has a swim up bar?

The adult area has a pool that has bar chairs in it but there is no actual bar there. Sorrentos and Cafe Promenade are free, all you can eat. Cafe Promenade has a variety of cookies, cakes, brownies, etc. They tasted very good. Sorrentos has four different types of pizza, salad, and a few other things. I mainly ate the cheese or vegetable pizza at Sorrentos. It was very good, I even like it better then Carnival's pizza. Wish I could have some Sorrento's at home. :) The places that charge include Johnny Rockets, Ben & Jerry's, Seatle's Best, and a few other. Seatle's Best is located in Cafe Promenade and you can get special coffee drinks made up for a price. But, if you just want a regular cup of coffee then that's free.

 

Any other questions? I enjoy answering them. :)

[CruiseAwayWithMe]

I watched the family hour of the disco. They did a hulla hooping contest, funky chicken, and the longest conga line. I watched it from above. I'm too old to join in. They were all 8-12 year olds with their parents. It looked fun for the families that had that age though. :) The Crypt looks a little small in person to me.

[CruiseAwayWithMe]

7 days go by quickly when you are having fun. :rolleyes:

[CruiseAwayWithMe]

Debarkation: July 16th seemed to come quickly. They had a form in your room around Wednesday to return to Guest Relations and it asked you how you would debark. We took the self debarkation because we did last year too. It works very good. They called us right at 6:30 AM too. We were up very early about 5 AM. Also, we had enough time to go up for some breakfast at 6 AM. Many people took their luggage up there but we left it in our room. We ate for about 30 minutes or so and when they called us we were walking in the hall back to our room. We took an elevator to deck 4. Then, we swiped out key and got off the ship. We went through customs and it was a very easy process because we were in the front of the line. Everything went very smoothly. There were buses waiting out there for Miami Airport and Fort Lauderdale Airport. We were going to Fort Lauderdale Airport and it took about an hour to fill up the bus. We got there by 9 AM and we were 4 hours early for our flight. Wow! Our flight was at 1:07 PM and we had to wait about an hour to check our luggage in. It wasn't that bad I just walked around. Fort Lauderdale Airport is much nicer then Miami Airport. We tried for the 11 AM flight to Detroit but it was full I guess. We went through the new machine in security. I had to hold my hair up. The door wasn't opening, it was the first time I was in such a high tech security machine. I had absolutely nothing on me or in my pocket. It blows you with air and you step on some foot pad. Once we got to our gate, we didn't sit at our gate. There was a near by pizza place that cooked 5 dollar pizzas and we all three split two pizzas and got a drink. Played a little Texas hold'em cards and it was just about time for our flight. We had a larger plane then last time. It took 40 seconds to go up instead of 30 seconds in the smaller plane. It was non-stop to Detroit, Michigan and it seemed like we got home pretty quickly. Everything was on time. It was a pain to be home but sometimes it makes you fieel refreshed looking back on the experience. We are going to go on Liberty of the Seas next year, should be similiar to Freedom of the Seas. If you have been on a Voyager Class ship, then you will know your way around Freedom. The only other thing you need to know is that the flowrider is on Deck 13 aft by the rock wall. Sorrentos is foward on deck 5 and they moved cafe promenade aft on deck 5. Well, I had a great time on Freedom of the Seas and I would love to go back.

[mamax4]

I have been reading all the posts...great information. Thanks to the OP for the effort!

[dodygirl]

The adult area has a pool that has bar chairs in it but there is no actual bar there. Sorrentos and Cafe Promenade are free, all you can eat. Cafe Promenade has a variety of cookies, cakes, brownies, etc. They tasted very good. Sorrentos has four different types of pizza, salad, and a few other things. I mainly ate the cheese or vegetable pizza at Sorrentos. It was very good, I even like it better then Carnival's pizza. Wish I could have some Sorrento's at home. :) The places that charge include Johnny Rockets, Ben & Jerry's, Seatle's Best, and a few other. Seatle's Best is located in Cafe Promenade and you can get special coffee drinks made up for a price. But, if you just want a regular cup of coffee then that's free.

 

Any other questions? I enjoy answering them. :)

 

 

Hi there, thanks for taking the time to answer questions for everyone. I just wonder - as the above did, are the restaurants Portifino and Chops included in the all-inclusive too or do you book and then sign off to your room (or whatever). I know if you order drinks you sign off to your room or pay or use your card and at some of the places (as you mentioned) that are specialty you do the same but I wasn't sure about the Specialty restaurants. If you could help me out - that would be super... and especially seeing as how you have been on the FOS. We (my family) are first timers and sailing Nov.26/06. Very excited too!

[gailc]

dodygirl - The specialty restaurants are not included in the price. I see that you are going on the Freedom the same week we are going. I also noticed that you just signed up on here. We have a Roll Call for the week of 11/26/06. We'd love to have you join us. We have fun talking to each other & will meet the day before the cruise & also on the cruise. We have a small group. If you've never been on a Roll Call, you should come over & meet us. Here is a link to it:

 

Freedom of the Seas Roll Call - 11/26/06

 

Gail

[CruiseAwayWithMe]

I have been reading all the posts...great information. Thanks to the OP for the effort!

Your welcome. I would love to answer any questions you have. :)

[CruiseAwayWithMe]

Hi there, thanks for taking the time to answer questions for everyone. I just wonder - as the above did, are the restaurants Portifino and Chops included in the all-inclusive too or do you book and then sign off to your room (or whatever). I know if you order drinks you sign off to your room or pay or use your card and at some of the places (as you mentioned) that are specialty you do the same but I wasn't sure about the Specialty restaurants. If you could help me out - that would be super... and especially seeing as how you have been on the FOS. We (my family) are first timers and sailing Nov.26/06. Very excited too!

Portofino and Chops are not included. It costs $20 a person for Chops or Portofinos. But, they did a great job and it was a wonderful experience. Basically, the free food is at the dinning room or the windjammer/jade. There is free soft serve ice cream by the pool but it wasn't working throughout our cruise. Sorrento's and Cafe Promenade are free, Speciality coffees are extra which is located in Cafe Promenade, Ben & Jerry's has a fee, Johnny Rockets has a few (if you are Crown & Anchor Member you will have a coupon to waive the cover charge for Johnny Rocket's) So, if you don't get any drinks at Johnny Rocket's then your meal will be all free.

Any other questions, just let me know. I love to answer them. :) I hope you have a nice and relaxing cruise.

[CruiseAwayWithMe]

I've been reading about the new Liberty of the Seas. It will be interesting what changes there will be.

I know they are sister ships and will be very similiar. But, each ship has a little different decoration.

[vermontvoyager]

Hi Krystle...

I have been following your thread off and on since you posted it. You have been most informative about Freedom as our family is looking to sail on it .

I was wondering if you are still planning on posting pics of your cruise ?

We had Francois on our Voyager cruise in 2002 and he was great. Hope to see him again on a future cruise.

Thanks... and Happy Cruising

Bob:)

[CruiseAwayWithMe]

Hi Krystle...

 

I have been following your thread off and on since you posted it. You have been most informative about Freedom as our family is looking to sail on it .

 

I was wondering if you are still planning on posting pics of your cruise ?

We had Francois on our Voyager cruise in 2002 and he was great. Hope to see him again on a future cruise.

 

Thanks... and Happy Cruising

 

Bob:)

Are you going on Freedom of the Seas soon? If so, Francois will probably still be there because it didn't sound like he was getting off anytime soon.

 

Yeah, I plan on posting pictures. Is there any other good service besides webshots for pictures?

[ronca26]

Are you going on Freedom of the Seas soon? If so, Francois will probably still be there because it didn't sound like he was getting off anytime soon.

 

Yeah, I plan on posting pictures. Is there any other good service besides webshots for pictures?

 

Try shutterfly.com :)

[CruiseAwayWithMe]

Francois was a great concierge. This picture was taken on July 13, 2006. Exactly a month ago. :rolleyes:

July 14, 2006 at Labadee, Haiti

Some flowrider action

Jimmy Buffet's Margaritaville in Montego Bay, Jamaica

 

Okay, I have 800+ pictures I guess I'll post a few at a time.

[SailingDeanna]

That picture of Margaritaville makes me wonder if they have life jackets for younger kids. Or should we bring our own? It looks like great fun!

[CruiseAwayWithMe]

I didn't really see anyone that was really young. I saw mainly younger adults in their 20's maybe. Although, I saw about an 8 year old going down the water slide. Someone cut themselves in the waterslide and another person bumped their head. But, Margaritaville is really fun and colorful.

Here is an up close picture of the trampoline in the water at Margaritaville.

Burger King is right by Margaritaville.

 

 

 

Here is an inside picture of Margaritaville. The shop is right there. Sorry the picture is a little blurry.

Margaritaville is too far to walk to. That is where the cruise ship was. We took a snorkeling tour and we stopped at Margaritaville for one hour.

[CruiseAwayWithMe]

Here is the band in Montego Bay, Jamaica as you got off the ship.

This oreo ice cream sundae is absolutely to die for. I loved it so much but I was soo full. I would love one right now though. *sigh*

Royal Promenade was beautiful at night and yes this is me.

Coming back from Labadee, Haiti got this beautiful shot of Freedom. I got many shots of Freedom at many different angles.

[captainwhiteeyes]

http://photoshow.comcast.net/captainwhiteeyes/favorites?sk=5c0e330c24696016312b14e753d1a3e6

[mlleach]

What is the charge for Johnny Rockets?

ML

[CruiseAwayWithMe]

$3.95 coverage charge on Johnny Rockets