Freedom Review 2/17-2/25

Just a quick review for all those wondering about the condition of the ship and the crew.

We've never been on Freedom but have been on Freedom Class. I would have told you it was our favorite class, but now I'm rethinking Oasis even though we didn't have a WOW experience on Oasis.

The ship is in great condition. I didn't notice any wear. We had a Promenade view room which we've done before and like to be able to look out. You can hear some noise during the events, kinda like booming speakers on a car next to you at a stop light. I can sleep through anything so it didn't bother me.

Our steward was great.

We had the drink package and the 5 night dining package. Ate at Chop's and Giovanni's twice and Sabor once. We had great meals in all and great service.

We stopped in Vintages daily and Lovely, the wine steward was very knowledgeable about wines and making suggestions based on our preferences. We did the wine pairing dinner in Vintages and thought it well worth the money at $45pp. Quite a lot of food and generous pours of wine which I was really not expecting. Again, excellent service.

We ate in the MDR two nights and were very unimpressed with the offerings and the quality of food. We just felt like the whole experience was contrived.

Breakfast in the MDR was very good, we had the eggs benedict every day, but it was hit or miss on the eggs being cooked properly even when we requested they be runny. Most days we got something between soft boiled and hard boiled poached eggs.

We had one lunch at Johnny Rocket's and while I'm a fan usually, this wasn't a good meal or experience. Long wait for the burger after the fries were long gone, forgotten items and condiments by the server and just mediocre food. Very disappointed.

The quest for a pool chair was ridiculous. Everything by the pool was gone by 8:30. Experienced guests fighting with each other over chairs daily. The pool attendants were stickering the chairs with times and would remove the towels, but when the occupant came back and found the chairs taken then ensued the fighting. Blaming the current occupant of removing their items.

We missed Labadee due to huge swells. Sad for us as we were looking forward to a quiet pool day. We were on our way up to the pool when they made the announcement. All hell broke loose after that. People running and shoving to get to the pool deck for a chair. The rest of the afternoon was just chaos on the pool deck for some reason.

The crew overall were fantastic. We had a few bar tenders at the pool and one in the Pub that were simply going through the motions of doing there job, but otherwise, great crew members.

My only other "complaint", is the movies at the pool. We wanted quiet and at noon on port days they usually played an animated movie at top volume. We tried moving into the Solarium but it's suffocating in there.

If anyone has any questions I'd be happy to try and answer them.

Thanks for the review. We are on Freedom in October.

Nice to hear the ship is in great condition!

Glad you had a great cruise and I enjoyed reading your report.

Keith

What time did you disembark?

Thanks, sailing less than a month away.

Do you recall who was performing in the pub and schooner bar? I board on Saturday. I tried to ask web_reservations@rccl.com as usual and they confirmed the rest of the entertainment but said “Unfortunately, we do not have information on who will be performing in the pub and Schooner Bar.”

Thanks!

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Just a quick review for all those wondering about the condition of the ship and the crew.

We've never been on Freedom but have been on Freedom Class. I would have told you it was our favorite class, but now I'm rethinking Oasis even though we didn't have a WOW experience on Oasis.

The ship is in great condition. I didn't notice any wear. We had a Promenade view room which we've done before and like to be able to look out. You can hear some noise during the events, kinda like booming speakers on a car next to you at a stop light. I can sleep through anything so it didn't bother me.

Our steward was great.

We had the drink package and the 5 night dining package. Ate at Chop's and Giovanni's twice and Sabor once. We had great meals in all and great service.

We stopped in Vintages daily and Lovely, the wine steward was very knowledgeable about wines and making suggestions based on our preferences. We did the wine pairing dinner in Vintages and thought it well worth the money at $45pp. Quite a lot of food and generous pours of wine which I was really not expecting. Again, excellent service.

We ate in the MDR two nights and were very unimpressed with the offerings and the quality of food. We just felt like the whole experience was contrived.

Breakfast in the MDR was very good, we had the eggs benedict every day, but it was hit or miss on the eggs being cooked properly even when we requested they be runny. Most days we got something between soft boiled and hard boiled poached eggs.

We had one lunch at Johnny Rocket's and while I'm a fan usually, this wasn't a good meal or experience. Long wait for the burger after the fries were long gone, forgotten items and condiments by the server and just mediocre food. Very disappointed.

The quest for a pool chair was ridiculous. Everything by the pool was gone by 8:30. Experienced guests fighting with each other over chairs daily. The pool attendants were stickering the chairs with times and would remove the towels, but when the occupant came back and found the chairs taken then ensued the fighting. Blaming the current occupant of removing their items.

We missed Labadee due to huge swells. Sad for us as we were looking forward to a quiet pool day. We were on our way up to the pool when they made the announcement. All hell broke loose after that. People running and shoving to get to the pool deck for a chair. The rest of the afternoon was just chaos on the pool deck for some reason.

The crew overall were fantastic. We had a few bar tenders at the pool and one in the Pub that were simply going through the motions of doing there job, but otherwise, great crew members.

My only other "complaint", is the movies at the pool. We wanted quiet and at noon on port days they usually played an animated movie at top volume. We tried moving into the Solarium but it's suffocating in there.

If anyone has any questions I'd be happy to try and answer them.

What was food option menu with wine pairing dinner in Vintages? (How was the food? How were the wines? How many wines did they pour?)

What time did you disembark?

Thanks, sailing less than a month away.

We did self assist and they had us off the ship at 6:30am and on the shuttle and out of the parking garage by 7:15.

There was a champagne to start, a charcuterie with a zinfandel, a seafood martini with white wine, chicken bruschetta with a white, the main course was a choice of Salmon/Shrimp, Filet/Lamb and a whole Maine Lobster also with your choice of red or white wine. Then a dessert of 4 different samples with a port and another glass of champagne. I don't remember the names of the wines. Really a lot of food and it was good and the wine pours were between 4-6ozs. each.

Do you recall who was performing in the pub and schooner bar? I board on Saturday. I tried to ask web_reservations@rccl.com as usual and they confirmed the rest of the entertainment but said “Unfortunately, we do not have information on who will be performing in the pub and Schooner Bar.”

 

Thanks!

 

 

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Sorry, we didn't go in at night. Usually were in the R Bar or Vintages.

There was a champagne to start, a charcuterie with a zinfandel, a seafood martini with white wine, chicken bruschetta with a white, the main course was a choice of Salmon/Shrimp, Filet/Lamb and a whole Maine Lobster also with your choice of red or white wine. Then a dessert of 4 different samples with a port and another glass of champagne. I don't remember the names of the wines. Really a lot of food and it was good and the wine pours were between 4-6ozs. each.

I never knew there was this kind of food and wine pairing in Vintages on Freedom. and not a chef’s table...I might check it out. Thanks.

I never knew there was this kind of food and wine pairing in Vintages on Freedom. and not a chef’s table...I might check it out. Thanks.

Lovely, the wine steward told us that it is only on Freedom as she came up with the idea and her manager let her run the program. We originally had Chef's Table booked, but like the menu options at Vintages better and you could have a table to yourself as well.

We did self assist and they had us off the ship at 6:30am and on the shuttle and out of the parking garage by 7:15.

Thanks.

We have a 10:15 flight, if all goes as planned we will be good.

Lovely, the wine steward told us that it is only on Freedom as she came up with the idea and her manager let her run the program. We originally had Chef's Table booked, but like the menu options at Vintages better and you could have a table to yourself as well.

Thank you. A few more questions on this -

Do they do this every evening? Do you reserve this directly at Vintages? Is the price you wrote about ($45.00 per person ) a flat price - meaning no extra added automatically for gratuity?

Thank you for the review of the Freedom! We are sailing on her in a few days. Looking forward to getting out of the Midwest cold/ice/snow and to a relaxing fun time with my bride!

Thank you. A few more questions on this -

Do they do this every evening? Do you reserve this directly at Vintages? Is the price you wrote about ($45.00 per person ) a flat price - meaning no extra added automatically for gratuity?

I think it came out to $115. They did it every night but the first and the last night. You have to reserve a day in advance with the wine steward in Vintages.

Thanks.

We have a 10:15 flight, if all goes as planned we will be good.

As long as you do self assist, I don't see why you can't be off the ship and through customs by about 6:45.

I think it came out to $115. They did it every night but the first and the last night. You have to reserve a day in advance with the wine steward in Vintages.

Was there and upcharge for certain food items or wines?

Henry Hood was in the Bears and Bull. He was good and fun. But his contract was up at end of this sailing. Someone else is playing there now.

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Was there and upcharge for certain food items or wines?

No upcharge for the food. Other than picking your entree, all the other courses were set. The wine was pre chosen also, but you may be able to substitute for an upcharge.

No upcharge for the food. Other than picking your entree, all the other courses were set. The wine was pre chosen also, but you may be able to substitute for an upcharge.

Thank you for spending the time answering my questions.

Thank you for your review! We will be sailing on March 17 and I’m super excited. I am sad to hear about the pool chair problem. I had hoped that was something they had fixed but apparently not. Do you think there just wasn’t enough of them?

Henry Hood was in the Bears and Bull. He was good and fun. But his contract was up at end of this sailing. Someone else is playing there now.

 

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Thanks Bill. Every time we have been on Freedom it has been James Brown, so we are hoping it is someone different this time. Fingers crossed! I guess I will find out after 2 more sleeps!

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Thank you for spending the time answering my questions.

Not a problem. Happy to help.

Thank you for your review! We will be sailing on March 17 and I’m super excited. I am sad to hear about the pool chair problem. I had hoped that was something they had fixed but apparently not. Do you think there just wasn’t enough of them?

It seemed so. We had to find chairs up on deck 12 3 days and still saw people wandering around looking for chairs. The cruise seemed to be at capacity also. I've never encountered this before. Not sure if we had more sun worshipers on this cruise or what.