Initial Thoughts on Freedom OTS

Currently aboard the Freedom OTS. 1st time cruising with RCCL (normally Celebrity and HAL). So far, I would say everything is fine. Not bad but not overwhelmingly good. Kind of like staying at your average Sheraton if this were a hotel.

Room is good - surprising amount of storage. Even though I understand the ship was refurbished in 2015, she seems a bit rough around the edges. Carpet seams are splitting, carpet all over the ship looks faded and our sofa has a big stain on it.

Wi-Fi is good so far. Was a bit slow yesterday but that was most likely due to it being a totally rainy day at sea and everyone was online at the same time. I will say it's better than some domestic flights I have been on recently!

Coffee Card - we bought one (15 drinks for $30 online). There seemed to be some questions on these boards about the # of punches per drink size. We have been drinking venti lattes and only getting charged one punch per drink.

They are offering a 10 cocktail punch card today for $75 + 18% svc. This is day 3 so maybe liquor sales are slow? We did not buy the full cruise drinks package so we will be getting the card as it makes the most sense of what we will most likely drink this week.

Crew seems fairly nice but not very polished. Had challenges ordering a drink in R Bar before dinner - server didn't understand what a dirty martini was (basically brought a glass of gin and lemon peels) and she had never heard of a negroni.

Dinner in main dining room was fine if a bit banquetish. I get they are trying to feed 1-2,000 people at a time but food just didn't seem to have any flair. We did buy the 3 specialty dinner package for $70pp + svc (we had already bought one night at Chops and were able to upgrade). Since last night was formal night (and we aren't into formal nights), we did our first specialty night at Giovanni's Table. It was wonderful and worth the price. The filet was one of the best I have ever had at sea (and better than a few I have had in land as well). We brought our own wine and we did not get charged a corkage fee.

That leaves the ship. I know this is purely subjective but, after a day and a half, I am not a huge fan. It feels very claustrophobic to me in that there aren't really any windows on decks 4&5. There are just a handful in Bolero's and R Bar but that seems to be it. The Celebrity & HAL ships we have been on seem to have tons more natural light. Also, the Royal Promenade just feels like being at Woodfield Mall and seems to be a bottleneck when the show lets out.

So, all in all, we are having a good time. We paid $600 per person for a balcony guarantee and got a D3 so no complaints there. Just thinking that the RCCL brand isn't for us.

Just my .02 cents - and your mileage may very (so please no flaming).

Thank you for that information. Just how much does a traditional gin martini cost ? :)

I think it was $10 for a martini.

Wi-Fi is good so far. I will say it's better than some domestic flights I have been on recently!

Most airlines still use the high altitude sat for internet which yields ping rates of 600+ ms. Freedom uses a newer lower altitude sat which yield pings in the 200ms range. That's the likely reason for the better performance despite the fact that the overall speed on planes might be better (JetBlue for example has about 10 Mbps down vs. about 5 Mbps on Freedom).

The Celebrity & HAL ships we have been on seem to have tons more natural light.

You'd feel much more at home with a cruise on a Radiance class ship - very similar to Millennium class on Celebrity.

OP...thanks for sharing your opinion. Enjoy the rest of your cruise.

Great information.

Thank you for sharing.

Keith

Thanks for sharing.

Great information!

You'd feel much more at home with a cruise on a Radiance class ship - very similar to Millennium class on Celebrity.

Yes, I was going to say that too.

Any wine available with the punch card or mixed drinks only?Thanks!

Any wine available with the punch card or mixed drinks only?Thanks!

Wine by the glass is available, up to the same limit as the Deluxe beverage package, usually $12 or $13.

I don't care for the Royal Promenades either. The first time we experienced one was on Mariner. It seemed impressive at first, but by the end of the week we had decided that it was very much like being in a shopping mall.

The Radiance and Vision class ships have many more windows and outside ocean views. :)

So, today is our final sea day and I would like to share a few updated items from our first RCCL and Freedom OTS cruise.

We found great value in the 15-Drink coffee card. Honestly, when you start doing Venti espresso drinks at $5.50 - 6.00 a crack, it is well worth it. Again, one punch per drink (but sometimes they only punched the card once for two drinks).

I had made reservations at Chops for my husband's birthday dinner and ended up with 8 people in our party. Without a doubt, it was the WORST "specialty dining" experience we have ever had onboard any ship/line. Knowing this was a large party and knowing it was a special dinner they have us the most inexperienced & poorly trained waiter possible. Drink orders were messed up, delays in getting our starters out, clearing plates while others at the table were still eating (a la Windjammer), poor steaks, I could go on. The Food & Beverage Manager came by at the end of the night and just listened, no apologies and then the server was right there and interjecting himself into the conversation.

By contrast, we did a 2nd night at Giovanni's Table and loved it. The service was great, the filet was incredible (as was the half order of rissoto we had as a shared side dish).

Bar service in Bolero's was tough at times - preferred R Bar for drinks.

We stayed aboard FOTS at Labadee - was a great call as we basically had the ship to ourselves. That meant that there were only 6-7 people at the Flowrider so we got to boogie board several times. Had a blast until hubby's last run when he cracked his foot. I will say there is a nice medical center onboard and (thank God) nothing serious but the did have to tape up two of his toes - sprained but not broken. We received a follow up calling making sure he was okay.

So, that's the latest. Very bumpy/stormy last night as we headed towards Cuba. Can't imagine how much more rocking there would have been on a smaller ship.

I will say there is a nice medical center onboard and (thank God) nothing serious but the did have to tape up two of his toes - sprained but not broken. We received a follow up calling making sure he was okay.

Was there a charge?