Anyone that recently sailed on Freedom have any positive feedback??

We were on the Freedom 20-28 January. We had no problems. It was a very good cruise.

 

 

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Did you have early / late / mtd?

 

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We had early fixed in Isaac table 104. Our waiter was very good. He had 4 tables, 28 people, including 8 kids. Food was typical cruise food. New menu. You order everything including dessert at once. Meal took about 1 1/2 hours. We had no complaints and enjoyed our cruise.

 

 

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I'm on Freedom in 10 days and will write a review when I get back. We may not go into the dining room except for breakfast or lunch but I will report on the other dining venues as well. This will be our first trip on Freedom.

 

Will be on that sailing as well 😃

I am guilty of posting negative feedback on the Jan. 14th sailing. We still had a great cruise, but it was not up to previous standards. The crew was excellent across the board. My waiter was very overworked, but he insisted we sit in his section of the Windjammer for lunch, always calling us by name. My cabin steward was one of the best I've ever had. He knew my schedule and was always rushing to open the door for me. He delivered my robe the first night before I got back from dinner. Great towel animals and super service.

 

I really think it was an off week for the crew. This is a terrible season for flu and noro virus. It's possible a lot of the crew were ill. The dining room definitely seemed under staffed. Don't let negative comments keep you from cruising on Freedom. I've sailed on her many times and definitely will again. I think it's important to give honest feedback, good and bad.

 

Sandy

Thank you for all the nice positive comments!! We will be on the Freedom on Feb 25! It’s freezing and snowing every day here in Michigan! I need to thaw out!

 

 

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I live in Michigan too and will be on Freedom the week before you! Enjoy your cruise!

Will be on that sailing as well [emoji2]

We will be on the same sailing and will be using the MDR for dinner, so can report back too. Our first time with RCL, though not our first cruise.

I'm on Freedom in 10 days and will write a review when I get back. We may not go into the dining room except for breakfast or lunch but I will report on the other dining venues as well. This will be our first trip on Freedom.

Hope to see everyone at the meet n mingle. Does anyone want to meet for sail away on the helicopter pad?

 

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We were also on Freedom Jan 20-28. Not a great fan of the 7:30 late seating time. They get you done with dinner in 90 minutes. I didn't find that to be a problem, just meant the waiters had little time for any real interaction to speak of. However we were 2 tables of 6 each and had different waiters. They were all good and we always finished at the same time. I chock that up to the new "90 min. dining." But I thought they were rushed. WE weren't exactly, but it was "different" from the no time limit dining. BUT we had bread on the table every night, and if you had some particular roll you liked, just ask and they made sure it was there every night (my wife likes the poppy seed). The were attentive with water. I thought the food was good as usual. No complaints from any in our group.

 

Other than that, I though Freedom was good. Had a great time. Liked the Pub guitarist. Didn't go to Schooner's this time, but when I walked by the pianist seemed good, but not "great fun." Crowd were "listeners," not "singers." Shows were good. Cabin steward was great as usual.

Diamond Lounge was "fine." Crowded, but they had a bar and bartender set up so you could walk up and ask for a drink, or you could get table service. We were getting our drinks in the D-lounge then joining friends in the Viking Crown bar. That was fine with everyone, and the Concierge or a waiter would even open the door to let us take the drinks out. So worked well.

Anyway, go into your cruise with a positive outlook. You'll likely enjoy it. Don't focus on the negatives.

We’ve been on the Freedom three times and enjoyed every cruise. The staff has always been outstanding and we will sail her again.

 

 

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My MDR experience was terrible on Freedom.....but it wasn't a crew personality issue. They were under a lot of pressure to get us served quickly with not enough crew/time to get it done properly with many dishes luke warm. Late dining was moved to 730 pm from 8pm which didn't give them enough time to get set up.

 

The waiters also started taking the diamond drink vouchers which threw another wrench into the mix. The drinks were then brought out by someone else who didn't know which table went with what drinks. He would just call out the drink.....

 

The rest of the ship was fantastic. Abe the CD was great and his team did a marvelous job with the activities. The ship didn't look her age.

 

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They tried the 7:30 late seating experiement on OA and switched back last week to 8 PM for late seating. There is a huge demand for early seating on ships sailing out of Florida and our Concierge told me the cruisers that wanted early seating would not accept 7:30 PM so they switched late seating back to 8 PM, which made it easier on the waiters.

 

I also saw pictures of lines outside the dining room -- maybe on Jewel - where the late seating was switched to 7:30 PM and early seating did not finish fast enough for them to turn the tables.

They tried the 7:30 late seating experiement on OA and switched back last week to 8 PM for late seating. There is a huge demand for early seating on ships sailing out of Florida and our Concierge told me the cruisers that wanted early seating would not accept 7:30 PM so they switched late seating back to 8 PM, which made it easier on the waiters.

 

I also saw pictures of lines outside the dining room -- maybe on Jewel - where the late seating was switched to 7:30 PM and early seating did not finish fast enough for them to turn the tables.

Hope 7:30 PM late seating bites the dust -- fleetwide.

We were on the Freedom from January 28-February 4.

There were 3 of us in a JS on deck 9. Had one of our best stateroom attendants ever. Saw him every morning and evening.

 

We had special request for rollaway bed that we put in to Special Needs Dept several months before sailing. Daughter’s sciatica does not do well with sofa sleeper. I always carry the email I receive back that states head of housekeeping approved the rollaway. I recommend this route to anyone requesting a rollaway.

 

When we first got to ship I left a note on the bed to the attendant with requests such as ice and number of robes we would need. They were there at evening turndown.

 

All of our service providers, from stateroom attendant, to waiters, to DL and CL concierges were terrific. Never lacked for their attention.

 

We received the request card from C and A for special top tier tours. They were offering Studio B or Culinary. There was also a statement that tours of the Bridge were limited but anyone wanting to be placed on the list was to see Julia, the terrific C & A lady, and she would do her best to accommodate eligible members.

 

We ate dinner in the MDR all but one night. We had the 5:30 seating. Perhaps we are not as discerning as some, but the only disappointment for us was a tough Shank of lamb. Waiter offered to bring another. Husband declined. We found lunch in the MDR to be excellent.

 

We ordered continental breakfast from Room Service on 3 days. Was surprised that it arrived a few minutes early each time. Much better than what we experienced on Navigator a year ago. Also pleased to say that orders were correct and oatmeal was hot!

 

Are not fond of Windjammer during flu season, so only ate one dinner and a couple of breakfasts there. Was no better or worse than any other ship. A lot of waiters circulating to provide drinks and clear tables.

 

We have sailed on the Freedom many, many times and have never been disappointed. I believe a cruise is what you make of it. There will be some ups and downs, but how you respond to them will either make or break your experience.

We also sailed on Freedom Jan 28-Feb 4. We too read the negative reviews. But it seems every cruise we go on, there are negative reviews. We had a great time on Freedom. Yes, some of the furnishings are showing wear but it didn't affect our cruise.

The service in the dining room was excellent. The food was okay. The new menus seemed to us to have less options and more repetition. We didn't see our stateroom attendant much, and she never introduced herself. But she kept our room clean so that's fine with me.

Overall, a good cruise - too short of course! I'm sure the kids will enjoy the H20 Zone, assuming they're younger.

We also sailed on Freedom Jan 28-Feb 4. We too read the negative reviews. But it seems every cruise we go on, there are negative reviews. We had a great time on Freedom. Yes, some of the furnishings are showing wear but it didn't affect our cruise.

 

The service in the dining room was excellent. The food was okay. The new menus seemed to us to have less options and more repetition. We didn't see our stateroom attendant much, and she never introduced herself. But she kept our room clean so that's fine with me.

 

Overall, a good cruise - too short of course! I'm sure the kids will enjoy the H20 Zone, assuming they're younger.

 

 

 

I love these positive reviews!! Thank you for posting your experiences. The “kids” are 20, 22 and 26. We have much to celebrate! Our 30 year anniversary, a 21st Birthday and a graduation from nursing school and a new job as a cardiovascular thoracic ICU RN.

 

 

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Wow! You do have a lot to celebrate. I’m sure with your attitude you will have a great time.

03FEB to 11FEB 2018 Freedom of the Seas cruise was a B+ in our book ... we do agree that the MDR staff levels are not optimized and on our 1st night the waiter had to do everything on his own as his assistant was ordered bed rest by ship's doc. Food, while not spectacular was much better than on the Emerald Princess last August .. so that experience has brought us some perspective :) Our stateroom attendant and MDR waiter were both top-notch.

 

Being a former sailor I appreciated the maintenance accomplished on this 11 year old ship, regular paint jobs and renovations have made her a pleasure to cruise on again (our 1st Freedom cruise was in 2009).

 

While the bigger ships have all the wiz-bang things for the 20/30-somethings .. I still love this ship and its crew.

 

"... She may not be the youngest girl at the ball, but she'll turn a head or two..." Lt. Cdr. Dodge ('Down Periscope' 1996)

My DIL's friend just got off the ship (we are booked for June) and raved about it...I'm not worried!

Just back from a wonderful cruise on the Freedom - our 8th cruise, first with RCCL. The ship was beautiful and well kept. Saw lots of cleaning being done and ongoing maintenance while at sea.

We all agreed it was our favourite cruise yet - especially our son who loved the climbing wall and flow rider.

Check in was very quick and we boarded straight away (about midday), went straight to Windjammer for lunch - it was busy but we quickly found a seat and the lines for food were short. We ate all breakfasts and most lunches in here and never had a problem getting a table. The staff were clearing and fetching drinks etc. The food was fine, much as we expected from a cruise buffet. Our son was delighted with the chocolate doughnuts at breakfast and hot dogs for lunch.

We ate in the MDR every evening - second seating at 8pm. We found the food to be very good for this type of catering and enjoyed every meal. There was plenty to eat and you could order more if wanted. Our son ordered from the adult menu but the staff were happy to add a side of fries for him, which made him very happy! He also loved the chocolate cake. The choice was a bit limited, especially as I don't like fish, but we all found something we wanted (and enjoyed) each evening. We were finished by about 9:15 each evening, a nice length for dinner. Our wait staff were very good and friendly.

The shows were excellent, the best overall we have seen on a cruise - we didn't go to any adult shows as we took our son.

We were asked a couple of times if we wanted to buy up charge dining, a polite no and they smiled and moved on. No other pressure to buy anything.

Loved our balcony cabin on deck 9, not too far from the stairs for going up or down. Didn't use the elevators.

Enjoyed the ports, disappointed to miss Labbadee, but the Captain knows best when it comes to safety and he did give us a nice quiet day at sea before our unplanned charge for Fort Lauderdale the following day!

The only thing we didn't enjoy were the chair hogs! My husband ran on the track most mornings and said there were people out by 6am putting down their towels. We didn't spend much time by the pools, and then it was by the kids area, but there were rarely any chairs free. That seems to be the same on all ships though!

Despite this being the largest ship we have been on so far, it didn't feel crowded and there were rarely long lines for any thing we wanted to do - though there was a really impressive line for the T shirt sale! It was quite entertaining watching the chaos this seemed to cause.

We did express debarkation, taking out own bags. It took about 15 minutes from finishing breakfast to clearing customs.

Overall, we loved our cruise and will happily return to FoS.