Freedom of the Seas 2/27 to 3/6

[HB Cruiser]

I'm just home from the same cruise! I agree with everything in the first post...with the exception of the cruise director. I thought Kirk Detweiler was fantastic. I've had Ken Rush my last two cruises and thought is was such an overbearing, pompous...you get my drift. Anyway, I really liked Kirk.

Also, I thought the food was fantastic. There are so many negative reviews about food on these message boards that I was getting worried the food had really gone way downhill. I thought the food was better than on my last cruise (4 years ago). Those making all the negative food statements must be used to 4-5 star restaurants whenever they go out or something.

 

I agree 100% with EVERY word in this post.

 

Tim

[rd757]

Thanks for the review! Looking forward to my cruise on Freedom in June.

 

Cheers,

rd.

[fishteamteam]

Thanks for the review. Going on the freedom next Feb and am really excited! Would love to see a whale, never thought about seeing one down there but maybe we will be just as lucky as you to see one. As far as the food glad you liked it. People have such different taste in food and seasonings that I thing you really have to judge it for yourself. Looking forward to our cruise, wish I didn't have to wait a whole year for it though! :D

[cruisegirl1]

G’ville

 

Thanks for the review. Heading on the Freedom in a few months

 

Without giving away questions, can you elaborate a little on what you mean by the “revamped Quest” We have been on many cruises and haven’t been to a quest in a while. Honestly, after the first few times, it is really stale and I hate seeing folks bring a bag of goodies so they can cheat and win. Kind of takes the fun out of it for others.

 

If it is “new and improved” it might be fun to watch or play.

 

 

Thanks

[g'ville]

Cruisegirl1.... they revamped a lot of things with the Quest because apparently people were getting hurt!!! There are a lot of things still the same but not so much running over people to get to the CD. People were not able to use anything they brought in advance and there were new requests. I was kind of tired of the Quest myself but went because several in my group had never seen it. So it ended up being fun again even with some of the same "sights" happening...;)

Fishteamteam...food is definitely subjective! I certainly did not see to many people missing a meal... LOL

Several people commented on the number of kids on board.... I saw kids but for the most part thought they were all well behaved....got to remember this is spring break time of year!!!

[goouchjac]

We love the Freedom and are going back next year with DD and her family:D:D:D:D....

[ValerieJo]

Hi Gail!

 

I agree with you about the food. I was worried after reading all the reviews but found the food to range from Good to Very Good. Portofino and Chops were Excellent.

 

There were lots of children on this cruise. I was actually surprised at how many toddlers and infants there seemed to be. Agree that they were well behaved and no issues with the kids.

 

I was a bit disappointed in the cruise director and staff as well. Although, he was a better than I expected after reading all the negatives.

 

We saw the whale as well. We also saw a school (Not sure if that's the right word) of Dolphins follow along the side of the ship as we were leaving Port Canaveral on day 1.

 

The thing I was pretty surprised about was so many men and boys wearing shorts and flip flops in the Main Dining Room for dinner. There was even a lady who wore black spandex bike shorts and big sloppy Green Bay Packers T-shirt the two times I saw her. Most were dressed very well. Some that didn't really stuck out.

 

We came home to snow and 17 degrees :( I might need to come visit you in Florida :D

[g'ville]

ValerieJo....come on down! I could not handle going from the Caribbean to snow....:(

Wow...what dining room were you in? We rarely saw anyone who was not well dressed or at least in nice casual wear. I was so pleasantly surprised by all the formal wear on the formal nights.

Some of my group saw the dolphins as well and were thrilled!

What did you think of the "big" waves on Friday? Anyone in your group get ill? We did good, only 1 out of 8 had to go to her cabin! And it wasn't me! :)

We did not do Chops or Portofino but heard several comments about how good they were and worth the extra cost!

[ValerieJo]

We did My Time Dining up on the 3rd level. Maybe that was the difference. We went to the specialty restaurants on the formal nights and saw everything from Formal wear to Jeans and T-shirts.

 

The waves were pretty wild. I felt like I was walking like a really drunk person bouncing from wall to wall in the hallway.:)

 

Neither DH nor I had a problem with it. One of the waitstaff in the Windjammer the next morning, told us he had been very sick and did look a bit green.

 

Glad most of your crew came through fine.

[GypsyKat]

Hi there....getting close to my cruise on the 27th. Getting very excited!! Your review was really good & gave me some insight. But I do have a question....Is there a theme night on FOS or even a theme night in the Nightclub (Crypt?). If so, what was it? I thought if there is I could bring some things in order to "dress in the style".

 

Thx for any info you can give me!

If I missed it in your review, well it's been a few days since I read it.

[illini-grad]

g'ville

 

Hey there, I am in Jax'ville, ha :)

 

I am going on Freedom on May 29th, to Western Carib.

 

Anyway, are there any real private areas when walking around that you could think of? I am asking because I am going to be proposing on this cruise. The cruise is actually for a second Master's Degree celebration for myself. I will be graduating w/ my 2nd Master's Degree on May 13th, then cruising 2 weeks later. Little does she know, it's a proposal also :)

 

Also, how do I find out who the Cruise Director is going to be? And how do I contact them?

 

I have a great idea on how I want to propose, but need their assistance.

 

Thanks for the great review!

[Cruisegirl6]

My favorite thing on the Liberty is the international buffet that is inside loads of different types of food and all yummy!

 

Selection and quality on RC still remains to be diversified unlike other cruise lines naming Carnival for one, RC is much much much better especially when it comes to the buffets.

 

Illini-grad- I think a nice spot would be on the viking crown lounge which itinerary are you going on? You can also propose on Seven Mile Beach in Grand Cayman is nice or in St. Maarten there are a number of nice beaches....that would be nice place...you can do it more in public go to chops have dinner for two and right after dessert propose then celebrate with champagne :) or even the Champagne Bar would be very nice (its quaint and quiet in there and nice). Hope I was able to help.

[birdylady]

My biggest disappointment was with the Cruise Director and his staff. IMO he was just OK.... but it sure did not ruin the cruise for me!

Played progressive trivia and had a blast. Lost some dinero in the Casino :p and with bingo...LOL

 

We are looking forward to our turn on FOS the first Sunday in April. Rumor is that Graham Seymour is 'supposed' to be back on FOS out of dry dock. Do you know if that is still happening?

 

They had an Animals at Sea shop which was similar to Build a Bear for those of you traveling with children

The Head to Toe was a special they were running for the day supposedly. But I saw it later in the week as well...so maybe it was the weekly spa special!

 

Do you know how much they cost? Can only the kids do this?

 

Do they still offer port day discounts?

 

 

Thanks for the review. We are sailing on her in August' date=' the same itinerary. Did you have a pre-cruise night at near-by hotels? We are trying to decide where to stay.[/quote']

We stayed at Radisson at the Port 2 years ago and are scheduled to stay there again. Very nice. great pool/jacuzzi. They allow you to leave your car there have a shuttle all included. You do NOT have to pay extra.

 

 

Thank you for help.

Erika

[Hammy's Manager]

Hi all

Just to confirm I will be returning to Freedom on March 27th - July ?? or longer LOL. she will out of drydock with new toys fitted Oooo

 

Had a great break...goes quick

 

Be Well

Graham

[g'ville]

Illini.... if you are looking for a place on board the ship there is a small chapel...which is very simple but nice... you could go "exploring" the ship and go "check out" the chapel....

there is also the heli-port which you could wonder out to at sunset...you get to it by going all the way forward on deck 4 and then take the stairs up to the pad. There are not usually very many people out there other than at sailaway....

Birdylady, I really did not check out the Animals at Sea other than seeing children carrying around their new "friends"...Sorry. And yes they still have port day discounts, we did our spa treatment when we were at Coco Cay. It was awesome!!!

Illini.... looks like you can contact Graham Seymour who will be your cruise director as he has posted on this thread!! Congrats and I hope all goes well for you!

GypsyKat... I do not remember a "theme" night but that does not mean it did not happen... LOL

Happy Cruising everyone~

[Shomari]

Um, this may be a bit premature, but does anyone know who the cruise director will be for my cruise? Aug 14? Or where i can go to find out?

Thanks!

[g'ville]

Not sure how you find out that far in advance... CD's have breaks and I guess it would depend on who was on break and who wasn't.... Sorry...

[NavarreCruiser]

We are leaving on the Freedom OTS next Saturday. This will be our 5th time on her in 2 years. We were just on her in Jan. That was Graham's last week before vacation and this next week(when we get on) will be his first week back. Love him.

[GSuitesailing]

Hi all

Just to confirm I will be returning to Freedom on March 27th - July ?? or longer LOL. she will out of drydock with new toys fitted Oooo

 

Had a great break...goes quick

 

Be Well

Graham

 

 

Graham' date=' Good to hear you had a great break and will be back on the Freedom as of March 27th. We have heard so many great things about you, we are looking forward to meeting you and enjoying your humor and energy![/size']

Kind Regards,

Dorine

[lbryant]

We're booked for the last week in August (hopefully we won't have to cancel....depends on how bad the tax-man hits next month...). This is our first "big" ship experience and I can't wait to be "WOW'd".

 

Anyway, I have a couple questions about Flow-Rider... I see there are times set aside for boogie boarding, surf boarding and the private lessons (which I understand are an additional fee).

* How long do you get for your turn on the boogie board or surf board? Is it a set time (like 3 minutes) or until you fall? What if you fall immediately, do you get another shot or just go to the back of the line?

 

*My kids will be 16, 14 & 11. the 11yr old will want to hang with the pre-teens (12-14) and the 14yr old will want to hang with the teens (15-17).... will that be possible or are they firm with the age restrictions?

 

* Question about dining times: I understand there are 2 choices (6p & 8:30p), but on the C&A section of the website, when you mark off your personal cruise preferences, it lists 4 dining times (5:30, 6p, 6:30p, 8:30p). If there are 2 set dining times, what is this preference option for? why have you choose a preferred dining time that is not available on the ship?

 

BTW: Graham - how impressive is it that the CD answers questions about his ship! That's awesome. Hope you're still on the ship in late August.

 

Thanks so much - Laura

[g'ville]

lbryant as far as I am aware there are only 2 scheduled dining times. 6 and 8:30. There is my time dining where you determine your seating time. If you do MTD you must pay your gratuities ahead of time.

We did not have any teens or preteens but my understanding is they have a lot of activities for them

Flowrider appeared to be once you fell off the board you went to the back of the line.... there was a designated time for surfing not using the boogie boards...

Sorry I couldn't be more helpful

[Cruzface]

We're booked for the last week in August (hopefully we won't have to cancel....depends on how bad the tax-man hits next month...). This is our first "big" ship experience and I can't wait to be "WOW'd".

 

Anyway, I have a couple questions about Flow-Rider... I see there are times set aside for boogie boarding, surf boarding and the private lessons (which I understand are an additional fee).

* How long do you get for your turn on the boogie board or surf board? Is it a set time (like 3 minutes) or until you fall? What if you fall immediately, do you get another shot or just go to the back of the line?

 

*My kids will be 16, 14 & 11. the 11yr old will want to hang with the pre-teens (12-14) and the 14yr old will want to hang with the teens (15-17).... will that be possible or are they firm with the age restrictions?

 

* Question about dining times: I understand there are 2 choices (6p & 8:30p), but on the C&A section of the website, when you mark off your personal cruise preferences, it lists 4 dining times (5:30, 6p, 6:30p, 8:30p). If there are 2 set dining times, what is this preference option for? why have you choose a preferred dining time that is not available on the ship?

 

BTW: Graham - how impressive is it that the CD answers questions about his ship! That's awesome. Hope you're still on the ship in late August.

 

Thanks so much - Laura

 

We are just off the LOS, and yes there are set times for boogie boarding and stand-up. If you fall off the flowrider immediately, it is in the discretion of the guy on duty. They usually offered you another shot and tried to help. If you had a decent run, then it was over when you fell.

 

DJMIKE used to frequent this board until some posters pissed him off.

 

Have a great time!