Newbie/Freedom of the Seas 2/17/12

This is the 2nd cruise I am going on with my DH but the last time was about 19 years ago and without kiddos. This time, we are going on the Freedom of the Seas leaving Port Canaveral on Feb 17, 2013. It will be my DH, our DS (14 yrs old) and our DD (9 yrs old). Just a few (too many) questions for those of you who are experienced cruises.:confused: Also, I apologize in advance if I'm not using the Forum in the right way. I'm new to this as well.

1) What time do you suggest we arrive at the ship on the day it departs? I believe it departs at 4:30 pm.

2) We want our just turned 14 yr old DS to have some independence but we also want to keep a close eye on him. Do most kids enjoy the youth activities? Is it well-supervised? Can he come and go as he pleases in this age group? How can he connect with other kids on this board starting now?

3) Is the ship's internet cafe free of charge, i.e. can you check and send emails for free?

4) What do we HAVE to book in advance vs. what can wait to be book once we're on the ship, i.e. excursions, shows, etc?

5) What are the best excursions for families in each of the ports? I'll take suggestions, good and bad.

6) Any other tips are welcome.

Thanks so much!

Lisa

This is the 2nd cruise I am going on with my DH but the last time was about 19 years ago and without kiddos. This time, we are going on the Freedom of the Seas leaving Port Canaveral on Feb 17, 2013. It will be my DH, our DS (14 yrs old) and our DD (9 yrs old). Just a few (too many) questions for those of you who are experienced cruises.:confused: Also, I apologize in advance if I'm not using the Forum in the right way. I'm new to this as well.

 

1) What time do you suggest we arrive at the ship on the day it departs? I believe it departs at 4:30 pm.

 

Early! 10 to 11 am.

 

2) We want our just turned 14 yr old DS to have some independence but we also want to keep a close eye on him. Do most kids enjoy the youth activities?

My kids enjoy the program but at 14, it is walk in and out as you wish.

We use walkie talkies or phones to call and check in.

Is it well-supervised? Only in the club, but they can walk out as they please.

Can he come and go as he pleases in this age group?

How can he connect with other kids on this board starting now?

Go to your roll call and see if you can find other kids his age from the moms and dads that are there.

 

 

3) Is the ship's internet cafe free of charge, i.e. can you check and send emails for free?

No not free. Package pricing, We go off grid when we cruise.

 

4) What do we HAVE to book in advance vs. what can wait to be book once we're on the ship, i.e. excursions, shows, etc?

Book all of your shows before you board. Excursions are a rip off from my point of view. We have found some great alternative excursions from CC.

5) What are the best excursions for families in each of the ports? I'll take suggestions, good and bad.

What ports are you hitting? Some great private excursions are out there. Less cost and more to do.

6) Any other tips are welcome.

Take a clear shoe rack to put all of the little things in. Helps organize the room. The 9 yr old will do great in the kids program. My 10 yr old twins love it. Also, book the free character breakfasts in advance. Have a blast!

 

Thanks so much!

Lisa

Answered above. The colors didn't quite work out.

Kelly

This is the 2nd cruise I am going on with my DH but the last time was about 19 years ago and without kiddos. This time, we are going on the Freedom of the Seas leaving Port Canaveral on Feb 17, 2013. It will be my DH, our DS (14 yrs old) and our DD (9 yrs old). Just a few (too many) questions for those of you who are experienced cruises.:confused: Also, I apologize in advance if I'm not using the Forum in the right way. I'm new to this as well.

 

1) What time do you suggest we arrive at the ship on the day it departs? I believe it departs at 4:30 pm.

 

2) We want our just turned 14 yr old DS to have some independence but we also want to keep a close eye on him. Do most kids enjoy the youth activities? Is it well-supervised? Can he come and go as he pleases in this age group? How can he connect with other kids on this board starting now?

 

3) Is the ship's internet cafe free of charge, i.e. can you check and send emails for free?

 

4) What do we HAVE to book in advance vs. what can wait to be book once we're on the ship, i.e. excursions, shows, etc?

 

5) What are the best excursions for families in each of the ports? I'll take suggestions, good and bad.

 

6) Any other tips are welcome.

 

Thanks so much!

Lisa

Wow Lisa, you are in for a real treat! Freedom is an incredible ship.

1) We had family drive us from Orlando and we got there around Noon. That was too late. Try to get there earlier than that.

2) No idea - we don't have kids.

3) It is NOT free. Check the RCI website for pricing. Like the post above, we've always avoided contact with the outside world :)

4) Did you choose your dining option yet? Book your shows in advance - you'll have to watch the website to see when that option becomes available.

5) We've never done the Western itinerary so we'll be completely unhelpful on this one.

6) Leave the world behind and have a great time!

I see you already found the Roll Call thread for your cruise so you're in good shape :)

I've only been on one cruise and it was FOS Western in April, so I don't have a LOT of experience, but here were my impressions.

1) We got there around ten and were aboard by 11:30. We would have boarded earlier, but they said there was an issue with the Coast Guard they had to get resolved. Rooms were open by one. Since we were lugging a bunch of stuff, we sat in the Windjammer and had a drink while waiting. We got right into the rooms at 1:00. They will make an announcement.

2) I don't know much about the kids' programs, but everyone here seems to like them. I also don't know the maturity level of your child, but again, there seems to be a lot to do in the kid/teen programs. I would sign up for the meet and mingle and maybe see if there are any other kids going around your kids' ages. You may be able to set up some e-mail correspondence between the kids before boarding.

3) No, the internet is not free. However, if you use a Kindle with 3G you can use it for free with Google mail. Not sure how it works with anything else. It's simple but slow. IM me if this is something that interests you and I will get the instructions from DH. We had a sick dog at the time, so we were checking in a lot.

4) You can wait until you board to choose things if you like, but keep in mind that activities and shows might be full. I would base it on my dining time, as a previous poster said. MTD fills up the quickest, so if you want it, grab it.

5) Labadee makes a great beach day. I would do the same for Jamaica or go on one of the Dunn's River Falls excursions. It depends on your activity level. We did the submarine in Grand Cayman and the Sea Trek Helmet Dive in Cozumel and there were families at both.

6) Relax and have a great time!

Western Caribbean.

Mexico- We have done the dolphin thing and shopping in town. My advise is find out what you want to do and take a cab. The tour is not worth the upcharge. We investigated the all inclusive, but didn't do it last time. It was Mr. Sanchez.

Fallmouth - Have been there twice. First time - ship excursion to Green Grotto Caves and Dunn's river falls. Was okay but expensive. The falls were hard to climb. I found myself worried about kids and struggling to climb. I had done them on my honeymoon and it was fun that time.

2nd time to Fallmouth took a private tour - Marva Shaw tours. It was good. We had a group of 7 and they took us wherever we wanted to go. We paid them for transport and tour guide, we paid our admission wherever we went. We went river tubing. It was fun and our guide did a great job. It didn't look like the same excursion the ship took river tubing. But look up your ship excursions and possibly book an alternate guide. More flexible and you get to decide how long you stay places. DO NOT go into the shopping village at Dunn's River Falls. Tell your guide to take you out an alternate way.

Labadee- 3 times there My kids liked the dragon coaster and got the all day pass. My 10 yr olds need an adult to ride with so I got the all day pass too. The all day slide was okay. They preferred the coaster. Mine did the Aqua Park once, it was okay. It was hard for the smaller kids to climb up and someone fell on my hubby from the top. It hurt him pretty good. I don't like the shopping village here either, but I just tell them no money do they take sea pass. Then they leave me alone. "Little boy, come here" I would reply "he has no money" One more tip. Don't book Labadee in advance. You can sing up for the slide, water park, and dragon coaster when you get there. When we signed up on the ship they set us up for the earliest time. We were rained out and had to fight to get another time.

Grand Caymon-? We haven't been there in years. Oasis and Allure don't go there. Not sure if Freedom does. I think it does.

First of all you will love Freedom of the Seas. It is a beautiful ship. We sailed in July with our almost 13 year old son and 10 year old daughter on the western route. Had an amazing time. My full review with pictures is in my signature.

1. We flew into Orlando the day before and stayed at the airport. We arrived at the port around 11:15 and were on board by noon. Very smooth process. Arrive early and enjoy the ship less crowded. We got great pictures.

2. Don't know why but my kids weren't interested in the kids club. My son was just turning 13 and they group many activities as 12-17 and he was on the younger side. My daughter is mature and was 10.5 and the activities seemed childish for her. May just be my kids. They enjoyed having dinner with us, going to the shows, etc. A few times we went to the casino they hung out in the arcade. Your 14 yo may love it.

3. I booked all excursions before but didn't book any through Royal. I also arranged our my time dining in advance as well as all shows. I am a planner though. They never checked any of our show reservations before seating us so they may not have been needed.

4. We never used the Internet cafe soni can't comment on that.

5. We loved every excursion we booked. Not sure if you are sailing eastern or western. As I said we booked no excursions through the ship and they all worked perfectly. We loved Nachi Cocom. Was afraid the kids would be bored but they had a blast. Stingray sailing in grand cayman is a must do and we also loved the Hilton in Jamaica.

Have a great trip!

Karyn

Just got off the Freedom, you will surely enjoy it! Terrific ship with a great crew. The shows on board are awesome and you will always find something to do!

The Internet Cafe located on deck 8 has roughly 20 desktops I would guess to use. They are pay per minute ($0.65/minute) or you can purchase packages to save from that. Rather pricey, but it kept me from staying on the computer and enjoying my vacation so I was kind of happy to see the charge to keep me away! :D