Freedom of the Seas...Really that bad?

Looking into taking the kids to the S.Carrib. The reviews on the Freedom look pretty bad. Dated ship, smelly etc. This trip will be quite expensive next summer for my family of 5. Has anyone recently been on the Freedom that could give me some insight on the current shape of the Freedom. I don't want to throw away 6-8k for a smelly dated ship.

Thanks for any help that you may offer.

***If you work for a cruise line and happen to read this, please start offering a decent Eastern Caribbean itinerary from Miami. Short stops on islands an 3 ports for 7 night cruises don't cut it in my opinion!! ***

I was just on the Freedom this past March, what you are describing isn’t anything like what I experienced. Despite being 12 years old, the ship is in great shape and I had a wonderful time. The crew is great as well (as with any RC ship). Don’t worry, if your experience is anything like mine, you’ll thoroughly enjoy it! I can’t speak for others, but I didn’t experience any of what you read. I wouldn’t worry too much! Whatever you choose to do, have a wonderful time!

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Thanks Kevin!

Our group of 14 will be getting on board in about 11 hours. I'll give you our feedback later. We range from Diamond Plus to newbie.

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Freedom was the first RCI ship my wife and I sailed on back in 2014, so I will always think of her fondly. We haven't doubled up on any ships (until next year on Adventure), so I haven't been back to Freedom since four years ago. But I still remember the feeling after boarding the first time, seeing the Royal Promenade and thinking, holy #$&!, this is inside a ship?! We fell for RCI that cruise and haven't looked back yet.

Hopefully Freedom still has "it", but whatever you choose--have a great time!

Looking into taking the kids to the S.Carrib. The reviews on the Freedom look pretty bad. Dated ship, smelly etc. This trip will be quite expensive next summer for my family of 5. Has anyone recently been on the Freedom that could give me some insight on the current shape of the Freedom. I don't want to throw away 6-8k for a smelly dated ship.

 

Thanks for any help that you may offer.

 

***If you work for a cruise line and happen to read this, please start offering a decent Eastern Caribbean itinerary from Miami. Short stops on islands an 3 ports for 7 night cruises don't cut it in my opinion!! ***

What reviews ? A few maybe that complained about little things...I wouldn't put much weight in those reviews at all.

I was just on Freedom in May and loved it. We had a great time and didn’t think the ship was dated and received great service.

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What reviews ? A few maybe that complained about little things...I wouldn't put much weight in those reviews at all.

Exactly how I view it! As has been said before, you will find bad reviews about every ship. I wouldn’t worry about it, go in with a positive attitude and hopefully enjoy Freedom as much as I did!

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What reviews ? A few maybe that complained about little things...I wouldn't put much weight in those reviews at all.

So true, I'd love to see some of these reviews.

We were a group of 12 on Freedom the past Feb. Had a wonderful cruise! Our 4th Freedom cruise and she's still great. I can't imagine the "smelly" part of any review. Is Freedom brand new? No. But still great. You'll have a great cruise.

Loved the Freedom and have never had any issues. We have cruised on the Freedom numerous times! Take reviews with a grain of salt.

My significant other just invested $30,000 to take our families on Freedom during the last week of March 2018. There were 14 of us ages 5-66 and I don't think a single person had a complaint. We LOVED it! Our cabins were clean, yes some wear and tear, but not like shabby. Depends on your lifestyle and expectations. 11 of our family members were on their first cruise and they ALL can't wait to book their next. I would say that it was money very well spent! Enjoy. Don't worry.

I think that a lot of it is personal preference. Our first cruise on RC was last year on Harmony of the Seas and we loved it. This year we sailed with Enchantment of the Seas - very dated ship, small, limited options at Windjammer (compared to Harmony). So, I was looking to book S, Caribbean cruise on Freedom, looked at the pictures of the ship and just couldn't do it. The itinerary was amazing but the ship reminds me of Enchantment too much. So, we booked Symphony for April 2019 and looking forward it to it. We had to compromise on itinerary but the ship is what we are going for in this case.

Just did a b2b on Freedom July 7-21. The no drinking in pool was the only thing we didn’t care for. Loved the ship, the crew, and Kelly the piano player in the schooner bar. Is she glitzy like Harmony - no. But the itinerary was fabulous for the 2 weeks. Capt. Bustos was great keeping us up to date on our travels. Promenade cabin was fine and deck 2 cabin I felt no motion at all. Loved that. I am pretty easy to please though. I didn’t feel the ship was run down at all and crew was always polishing, dusting, varnishing, etc.

Barbara

I think that a lot of it is personal preference. Our first cruise on RC was last year on Harmony of the Seas and we loved it. This year we sailed with Enchantment of the Seas - very dated ship, small, limited options at Windjammer (compared to Harmony). So, I was looking to book S, Caribbean cruise on Freedom, looked at the pictures of the ship and just couldn't do it. The itinerary was amazing but the ship reminds me of Enchantment too much. So, we booked Symphony for April 2019 and looking forward it to it. We had to compromise on itinerary but the ship is what we are going for in this case.

Freedom is very much different than Enchantment.

Freedom is very much different than Enchantment.

I was thinking the same thing, can't get much more different that a centrum vs Royal Promenade ship.

I think that a lot of it is personal preference. Our first cruise on RC was last year on Harmony of the Seas and we loved it. This year we sailed with Enchantment of the Seas - very dated ship, small, limited options at Windjammer (compared to Harmony). So, I was looking to book S, Caribbean cruise on Freedom, looked at the pictures of the ship and just couldn't do it. The itinerary was amazing but the ship reminds me of Enchantment too much. So, we booked Symphony for April 2019 and looking forward it to it. We had to compromise on itinerary but the ship is what we are going for in this case.

Seriously? About the only thing the two ships have in common is that they both float.

Was last on Freedom in April. The ship is is in great condition, very happy crew and I really can't think of any glitches at all from that cruise. If there were any it wasn't enough for me to even remember. I would have no issue booking again. I wish the ship had not moved from Ft. Lauderdale to San Juan and was still doing the 8 night itineraries.

Slightly off topic (but not really). Look at reviews on TripAdvisor. You pick the venue, attraction, hotel, restaurant, whatever. I'm sure that if I took every bad review seriously I would have missed a lot of enjoyable places.

The rule of thumb on evaluations is that unhappy customers are much more likely to write a review. Often times satisfied customers do not voice their opinion.

We are on Freedom in December (also Southern Caribbean) and I have no plans to change ships or cancel he cruise.

I was looking to book S, Caribbean cruise on Freedom, looked at the pictures of the ship and just couldn't do it. The itinerary was amazing but the ship reminds me of Enchantment too much.

Were you drinking heavily when you did this? I could 100% see this if you compared Freedom-class with Voyager-class because they are very similar inside and out because the Freedom-class are just stretched out versions, but ENCHANTMENT????????????

That's like saying Zach Galifianakis reminds you a lot of Dave Chappelle because they are both funny guys. ;p

I just booked the daughter & myself on the Freedom for a B2B for March of 2020 and can't wait. It will be our first time on the Freedom but love that Class. Now the flights are not as easy as getting to FLL from So Calif but I think I have found 2/3 that will work for us. For those who have flown in/out of SJU what is the earliest flight you recommend.

I just booked the daughter & myself on the Freedom for a B2B for March of 2020 and can't wait. It will be our first time on the Freedom but love that Class. Now the flights are not as easy as getting to FLL from So Calif but I think I have found 2/3 that will work for us. For those who have flown in/out of SJU what is the earliest flight you recommend.

I'd be OK with a noon flight.

Thank you Bob, even though we are a long way out to even consider flights I did check to see what is possible. Right now looking at PSP to Denver to Newark to SJU, arrives 1:30 PM and has decent layover times. I could do 1 connections via JFK. Coming back would be 1:25 Pm flight via Newark with a 10 PM arrival into PSP. $960 The JFK is $865 as of this March pricing. The Denver connection would allow the daughter & I to fly out together, and with a DFW connection back then we branch off.

Gay

Thank you Bob, even though we are a long way out to even consider flights I did check to see what is possible. Right now looking at PSP to Denver to Newark to SJU, arrives 1:30 PM and has decent layover times. I could do 1 connections via JFK. Coming back would be 1:25 Pm flight via Newark with a 10 PM arrival into PSP. $960 The JFK is $865 as of this March pricing.

 

Gay

Are those prices per person, round trip?

Freedom is very much different than Enchantment.

In a good way? We love S, Caribbeans and were strongly considering it. We mostly eat at Windjammer as we have a very picky eater child who loves his Alfredo penne pasta. Enchantment didn't have a pasta station/or option to order this at MDR.