Freedom of the Sea's review 06/19 from 1st time cruiser,,,

[SpeedsterX]

First of all, let me just say I have never been on a ship in my life and had no idea what to expect except to say, that everyone I have ever talked to about cruising has said that they treat you like a king and that the food is plentiful and to die for.

 

Day 1 on Freedom of the Sea's:

I had visions in my head of checking in at some sort of desk, walking a gangplank straight into the Royal Promenade, being handed a drink with an umbrella in it (free of course), beautiful women welcoming me on the ship, then walking up to the top of the ship and waving goodbye to all the poor suckers stuck on shore as we started to cruise into the open sea and sun! Ahhhh,,,,,,,

 

REALITY:

You go through much the same as going through airport TSA screening, including the lines and waiting. You better have your documents in order and ready or you go back the the end of the line. As my nephew was getting his picture taken at the registration desk, evidently I was too close in the background and wow, did that old woman let me know! Pretty rude! We then walked onto the ship and I must say, I WAS impressed! The Freedom is a gorgeous ship! We meandered looking for our room and after figuring things out we finally made it to our staterooms. I was impressed with what I thought was going to be a bed in a box. Although I was still pretty irritated at the "old lady" at the registration desk I thought things were looking up. Although everyone in my party seemed to have their luggage waiting for them, mine was late. Then we were called for the emergency "muster". I had seen this in the movie Titanic lol. I had really romanticized this visioning myself on an outer deck with a bunch of people in our float vests laughing with drinks in hand. Well, I was called to my dining area to watch the waiters show us how to don the vests which were in my stateroom. I did see others on the outer open air decks donning their vests and partaking in the emergency drill but my daughter and I were sitting at a table INSIDE the ship in a dining area. I asked one of the staff if that a catastrophy really happened, are we really supposed to come into the dining room and sit here. He said yes. Ummm,,,, ok.

Next, we walked around the ship. It was very confusing until we figured out how to use the "What to do now" monitors near every elevator on the ship. THOSE made things MUCH easier! I was looking forward to the highlight of the night, the thing I heard most about from everyone, DINNER! I will admit, I was still irritated by the woman at registration and the few other things. I got there and we sat down. The first thing that came out of our waiters mouth was "Please bear with me, I'm new". WHAT?! No! I don't want a new guy! I want the best guy! I was talking to my daughter at that time and I missed the drink waiter asking everyone as a group what they wanted to drink. He did not get a response from me because I didn't know he was taking drink orders. Well, I didn't get a drink until after appetizers. Even then it seemed to take foreeeever. Then we were served dinner. OF COURSE, ONLY

MY

DINNER WAS THE ONE THAT "SOMETHING HAPPENED" TO AND WHILE EVERYONE WAS EATING I WAS WAITING FOR MY DINNER. I must admit, my expectations were dashed and I was a bit pissed. When it finally arrived, I finished half of my meal quickly and excused myself and went to my room (thank God, my luggage finally made it there!). I know it seems picky but a few other things before happened that had nothing to do with the cruise didn't help things. Not a good start! I stayed in my room, drank some beer and went to bed.

 

Day 2 tomorrow. (It does get much better) :)

[BillOh]

Day 2 tomorrow. (It does get much better) :)

[/indent]

 

I was thinking, good thing its a 7 day cruise. Looking forward to reading this from a first time perspective again.

[thomasale]

Looking forward to reading this...

[rd757]

I didn't get the opportunity to meet you during the week, but it seems you had quite the opposite experience that I had. :rolleyes:

[Tyler80]

You have to go on cruises with an open mind and realize that the individuals you come in contact with that make your cruise vacation "all that" are people too who all started somewhere in life just like you did. Often times the way you speak to someone has a direct impact on how that person reacts back to you. The people working to make your cruise a special one deserve the same respect you would give to your own mother.

 

I'm glad the rest of your cruise went better as it seems the first night was less than thrilling in your book. ;)

[SpeedsterX]

Day 2, Onshore day at Cococay,,,

 

Yep! Like you all said, it's about attitude and I chalked up the 1st day to me being in a new situation with a few wrinkles. I will say this, I was nothing but respectful to the crew all week and all but 1 back to me. Anyway,,,

 

I woke up at 9:30 promptly per my wake up call. I decided right then and there that this wasn't going to get magical for me without some input from myself and was determined to make the best of it and have a good time! Breakfast of eggs, bacon, sausage and potatoes with OJ and coffee arrived at my door soon after I woke per me filling out a breakfast order card the night before. I cannot tell you the name of the person that brought it because it was a different person most days. I tipped 3 dollars every time room service came. They were very nice and very prompt.

 

Time to go ashore. We were tendered to Cococay. I found it impressive with how they used your "Seapass card" for just about everything on the ship. They swipe it everytime you leave or come back on the ship. They always know exactly who is on and off the ship at any time. The Island was nice. We didn't do a lot of the excursions today as everyone just wanted to get in the water and get some sun by the beach. We did buy a few trinkets at the little stands and walked the Island. Near noon it was time for lunch and I am sure it would have been great but at the exact time they rang the lunch bell someone must have danced a rain dance because it started to rain. I'm not talking sprinkles here and there or a quick 10 minute little shower. IT RAINED! It lasted for about an hour with everyone huddled under any roof they could find. I found this odd because I was having a good time in the rain. There was no thunder or lightning, we were already basically wet and the rain was warm. I pretty much put my baseball cap on to keep the water out of my eyes and continued having fun. I ate a couple of pieces of chicken and a few BBQ'd ribs. They were actually very good although wet! lol At least a quarter of the people made a beeline to the tenders to go back to the ship when the rain started coming down in force leaving us with even more room on the Island for the last few hours of sunshine. I DID make one decision at this time, I along with most everyone else "signed out" a beach towel from the ship. If you lost that towel, they would charge you $25. I decided that my bathroom towels were just as nice so I used those the rest of the cruise for any offshore excursion.

 

About 6:30pm, we tendered back to the ship. It really is quite impressive as you get closer and closer to the ship. Just the size of the ship when you are at the 1st floor gangway and right next to the ship. We went back to our rooms to get ready for dinner. We had a late dinner call because by the time we booked, all you more experienced cruisers knew to hurry and book the good times. Our dinner time was 8:30 and I never eat later than 7pm. It really didn't matter to me much though. Our waiter was Tyrone. He couldn't have been nicer. Our group of 8 ordered just about everything on the menu so we were able to try everything and what we didn't, Tyrone made sure to bring so we could. Let me say this about the food. In the dining room I found it "VERY GOOD". Some of it "GREAT" and some just "GOOD" but nothing was "BAD" tasting. Presentation was great on just about everything though. I had absolutely NO complaints with the food in dining. Our drink waiter DID have our drinks right in front of us before we could even order them. I was pretty loaded with all the food we ate and how late we ate it. It's not a negative comment, it's just how I personally eat and decided that from then on I would have my dinner in the Windjammer/Jade but still make the dining room to be with my family and friends and nibble on a few things that I wanted to taste. I know there was an "Eat at your time" thing but it was a little confusing and it didn't seem worth it to ME to mess around with when I could just eat in the Windjammer at MY whim and convenience. No biggie.

 

The Windjammer: I found it very convenient! There was a diverse and large selection to choose from. The food there was mostly "GOOD". I would find a few things that were "VERY GOOD". I don't know if the reason is that I am from northern Indiana but I found the Sushi at Jade to be "VERY GOOD" and rival some of our better Sushi restaurants here at home. Nothing in the Windjammer in my opinion was not very good. I enjoyed it very much! I had not tried Portofino's or Chops mainly because, it just was not in my budget as I had already had to entertain my DD17 in Orlando 2 days before we shipped and would have to again 3 days after we got back off the ship. Like I said, no biggie to me, the food everywhere else was more than satisfying!

 

Day 2 to be continued.

[AF-1]

On almost all the big ships; day one can get a little confusing; both in the main dining room and other venues; by day two everything seems to work itself out. Glad to see you are having a little fun

[SpeedsterX]

Day 2 continued,,,

 

Let me put this out there, I am a drinker so I knew there was going to be some drinking going on. ;)

 

Anyway, there were many things to do this night and before our dining time, most of my group went to see the "Marquee" show. I skipped that to get my bearings on the ship and explore. I got an understanding of things and how to get around pretty quickly. Like I said, the Map Monitors next to every elevator were wonderful! Oh, also, if you are claustrophobic at all, those elevators will cure you of it! lol During the day and after most dinners and shows, you will be squeezed in with a full car so get close and get to know your shipmates! ;) Once I got the layout of the land, I felt much more comfortable and at ease.

 

DD17 decided that she was going to stay in her cousins stateroom everynight. 3 teenage girls in 1 room? Hmmmm,,,, Well, I didn't really mind as she is almost 18 and a pretty responsible kid. Gave me more room anyway. I did keep a good eye out on them though. It seemed like they're "hangout" most nights after the shows, dinner and family time was Ben And Jerry's Icecream shop in the Royal Promenade. After the first night, they had already made friends there and hung out watching the boys stroll by.

 

This night we (brother, his wife and a female friend) checked out most of the bars and clubs. My favorite was the Schooner Bar although we did have fun dancing at The Crypt. I did find it odd the theme of the disco club The Crypt. Everywhere else had a lite, fun feel but the Crypt had a dark undertone like it was Dracula's Lair or something. Not that it bothered me at all, I just found it odd. Anyway, it was the place to dance and stay out late. While everyone else in my group had gone to bed (@1:30 or so) I stopped by and checked out the Casino to lose about 20 bucks in Texas Hold'em Poker. I had a certain amount that I would be willing to lose in the Casino per day so as long as I was having fun I didn't mind. Day 3 will be a full day at sea so I stayed out fairly late because I could sleep in (if you call 9:30 sleeping in) lol.

 

I am sure I am forgetting a thing or 2 but will try to remember the main points. I kept all of my Cruise Compass' to jar my memory. I found this invaluable too! Great way to plan out a day or evening.

 

The last point here I will bring up is the room cleaning staff. I hardly ever saw them other than a few quick times of me running in and out of my room as I was hardly ever in my room this day and night. Although I do know they came in twice a day, cleaned, straightened up and refill towel bars and such. Around 2 am back in my room, I noticed none of the famous towel animals I have heard about so many times. (This changed the next night for the rest of the cruise though) Having a great time! :)

 

A day full of sun, water, food, drinks and fun!

 

Day 3 next!

[slk230red]

I hope you enjoy the rest of your cruise....we were on the Freedom 5/29/11 and we'll be on the Freedom again on 7/31/11.

[MikeNJ1109]

We will be on the Freedom in November, so for now am living vicariously through SpeedstrX

 

Michael and Silke

[SpeedsterX]

Oh! I almost forgot. That first night when I wasn't too happy, a bright ray of sunshine arrived in the form of Rodriguez who brought me my room service order of beer. He was all smiles, very nice and told me if and when I need anything, I should call for him. He left with a fiver from me!

 

Also, when this beer arrived, I only had a couple and put the rest of my 6 pack in the mini-fridge after taking out 4 bottles of water to make room but NOT opening them as I didn't want to be charged for them. DON'T DO THIS UNTIL YOU HAVE A STEWARD TAKE THEM AND EVERYTHING ELSE YOU DON'T WANT OUT OF THE MINI-FRIDGE!!

 

As I learned, you will pay for those items, wasn't too happy at first but my own fault for not reading the card inside the fridge and I made good use of the bottles and water anyway.

 

Also, at the end of Day 2, I found it convenient to click a channel on the television where I could see my charges although it wasn't real time and about a day late at seeing my current charges. It helped though!

 

I am sure much of this is redundant and well known by you regulars. :)

[BillOh]

Day 2, Onshore day at Cococay,,,

 

It's not a negative comment,

 

Now you know what works for you. I think your doing great relating the first time experience. We like the 8:30 dinner for a multitude of reasons, but that is what works for us.

 

About the Windjammer, while they have one on all the ships, I think they did the best design of it on the Freedom class ships. More tables and it was the first I believe, "with snack bar" type areas for quick easy sitting. I'm just off Allure and they undersized the WJ making getting a table very hard, I guess they are trying to steer people to other venues, which is what we did. The WJ on the Soverign class (Monarch and Majesty) as well as the Voyager class ships are pretty good unless you board after 12:30 on embarkation day.

 

I'm enjoying reliving the first time experience with your review. How long did you have to wait to get a tender to Coco Cay in the morning? When I was there, twice on Majesty, it was a much smaller ship.

[SpeedsterX]

Now you know what works for you. I think your doing great relating the first time experience. We like the 8:30 dinner for a multitude of reasons, but that is what works for us.

 

About the Windjammer, while they have one on all the ships, I think they did the best design of it on the Freedom class ships. More tables and it was the first I believe, "with snack bar" type areas for quick easy sitting. I'm just off Allure and they undersized the WJ making getting a table very hard, I guess they are trying to steer people to other venues, which is what we did. The WJ on the Soverign class (Monarch and Majesty) as well as the Voyager class ships are pretty good unless you board after 12:30 on embarkation day.

 

I'm enjoying reliving the first time experience with your review. How long did you have to wait to get a tender to Coco Cay in the morning? When I was there, twice on Majesty, it was a much smaller ship.

 

Yea, I just had to adapt a bit and things really smoothed out. Like another poster said, first day is probably the hardest for everyone. I can understand that.

 

Like I said, WJ was a great place with beautiful views and plenty of room on the Freedom. Never had a problem getting a seat. Kind of hard finding my party sometimes though as they would beat me to the table and I'd go with foodtray in hand on a little search mission. (Or maybe, they wanted to be hard to find? lol ;) )

 

No problems with the tenders. We left a bit late so no rush. Got right on and as we left the island later than most, got quickly back on. Pretty nice!

[SpeedsterX]

BTW, I will be later naming everyone that helped my cruise and made it great. I will be posting a recap in daily order WITH PICTURES when I get them all developed.

 

I decided to use disposable cameras only since I didn't have to worry about them.

[BelAirMom]

do you remember what movies were showing on the outdoor screen? Thanks for taking the time to review:)

[goouchjac]

BTW, I will be later naming everyone that helped my cruise and made it great. I will be posting a recap in daily order WITH PICTURES when I get them all developed.

 

I decided to use disposable cameras only since I didn't have to worry about them.

 

Hi Speedster,,

We have our second cruise on the Freedom booked for Jan.2012,,,loved the ship and the staff last Jan. Have been on other RCC ships but the Freedom is turning out to be one of our favorites..Glad you enjoyed your cruise,,are you now hooked on cruising like the rest of us:D:D..

[Texmike]

We cruised on the Freedom back in 2008 and loved it.

 

We flied from Houston to Miami

[RM]

Do you remember what was on the menu the 1st night?

[SpeedsterX]

do you remember what movies were showing on the outdoor screen? Thanks for taking the time to review:)

 

The movies were Grease, Justin Bieber movie, Nintendi WII games,Beach Boys Live, Just go with it, Mama Mia and The Adjustment Bureau

 

Most of the time it was stuff like fish swimming etc..

[SpeedsterX]

Do you remember what was on the menu the 1st night?

 

I am sorry but I don't remember. I do remember the last formal night being Lobster tails. There was just sooo much food every single night I couldn't remember it all. lol

 

I do remember "Prince Charles" as he calls himself selling after dinner shots as he somewhat rhymed a saying each night about every drink. It would always start out with "Welcome Ladies and Gentlemen of the night" and always end with "Life is good!" lmao

[xrayeyes32]

Love the review so far, can't wait for more. We will be on the FOS July 17. getting sooooo excited. :D

[SpeedsterX]

Day 3

 

I had to wake up a bit earlier than I had planned because I had remembered at the last minute that we had the Cruise Critics Meet and Greet. I hurried, brushed my teeth, threw some clothes on and went up to the meeting. The blond asst. cruise director was there and offered everyone coffee and donuts. There were probably around 15 people there and everyone sitting apart from one another. Now, I am not shy so I started talking to everyone. I finally saw Rev there and said hello. The female asst. cruise director (who was Australian and really cute!) introduced herself and welcomed everyone. She then suddenly just left. I thought maybe she would go around the room with her microphone and have everyone introduce themselves to break the ice. That's what I would have done. Anyway, some mixed and mingled for a bit and it was all over in about 30 minutes. Everyone I spoke with were really nice! BTW, we had name tags we filled out but no way to stick them on our clothes. So they were pretty useless.

 

On the Freedom for a full day at Sea!

 

The first time I really paid attention to who the Cruise Director was. His name is Graham Seymour. I turned on my TV one morning and there he was with his morning show. The guy is literally off his rocker and extremely funny! I don't know how much he gets paid but he could probably make a decent living as a stand up comedian. Anyway, I forwent my room service breakfast and decided to try the WJ breakfast. It was fine. The usual, scrambled eggs, potatoes, bacon, sausage and omelets made to order. I heard later that you could ask for eggs over easy but I didn't know that at the time that I could do that or I would have. I will say this, the biscuit gravy left alot to be desired. It honestly was not very good, at least not compared to my neck of the woods. It was watery with not alot of flavor. Still, it's breakfast and it was fine.

 

Of course this is the day to do the pool stuff. I got in my swim trunks, lathered in 30 SPF and took my camera, Seapass card and sunglasses and we headed for the pools! It was exactly what I had expected. Full of people drinking, sunning and having a great time! The Poolside band called Vybes 4 I believe, was very good at the "Island Music". I was under no delusion thinking that I could go out there at 11am and find poolside deckchairs open and available. I would however have had no problem moving a towel if one was sitting there with noone around for over an hour. Surprisingly though, I found open chairs a couple rows back from the pool and on the second deck. I was satisfied with that and this day I got a bit of a Tan ummm, I mean burn in! lol There was a TON of things to do on ship this day but I just wanted water, sun and lady watching. ;)

 

They had plenty poolside stuff going on as well. This day was the Sexiest Man Competition which I stayed out of (wanting to give the younger guys a chance you know ;) ) And they had the Ice Carving Demo which was pretty cool (pardon the pun) because I've never seen anyone do it before. My ugly mug actually got some camera time as the ships crew were taping the ice carving. I am the guy at the very end of the video on the upper left hand side. At about 3 or 4 I went back up to my room to shower, cool down and take a quick nap as I was tired. Caribbean sun really takes it out of you. At no time around the pool did I ever need or use the sign out blue towels. After I got out of the water the sun and wind would dry me right off. I kind of noticed the ship was somewhat sectioned. The rear of the ship (Aft?) was mainly for the noisy things such as the kids zone, teen activities, sports and such. Middle was mainly geared toward shops, family activities, restaurants and such while the front (Fore?) was for the quiet things. The quiet lounges, adult pool and such.

 

After a quick nap a friend and I then went to dinner in the Windjammer. During my meal a waiter asked if I wanted anything. I told him that I heard people on CruiseCritic.com rave about a dish called Honey Stung Chicken. He left and returned with a chef. The Chef said that they were making that tomorrow night but would make me one NOW. I told him he didn't have to do that but he insisted. I honestly have no idea what some of the people who have raved about this is talking about! It was honey breaded chicken breast with a thousand island type of dipping sauce. I found it average at best. *shrugging

 

I and a friend were going to see the Big Show which happened to be the musical stylings of the rock band Foreigner's ex guitarist Domenick Allen. He played all the old hits and some others. He brought his wife and his 10 year old daughter up to sing with him. His wife is a Broadway singer so I was not surprised at her talent, the daughter had a few solo's and she was really good! Shocked me! The show was very good! We then met my brother and the rest of our party at their dinner time to sit with them and try some of the deserts. I really did not mind having to meet up with them while they ate at 8:30pm for some quality family and friends time. Afterwards at around 10:45 the Cruise Directors and staff had a big show in the Royal Promenade called Rock Britannia Street Party which was a big festival featuring them dancing and singing to british rock music. It was a great show!! Some drinking afterwards and everyone went to bed around midnight to be up early for St. Thomas the next day. Everyone except me! ;)

 

I went to the Casino and played 20 bucks worth of slots. After losing around 11 bucks and after trying different machines, I HIT $138.00 ON A QUARTER MACHINE!! YeeHawwww!! I then stopped and went to bed! Great day! When I usually go back to my room, I usually have another beer and relax for a bit before hitting the pillow. This night I watched the channel where it shows all of the ships directions, weather and heading. I noticed the last 3 days we were pretty much a steady 18-20 knots. I mention this only because it is interesting later in this thread about how and why we slowed down.

 

Day 4 coming up,,,

[Cruzface]

Good review. Are you addicted to cruising yet?

[BLAMBKY]

I was just about on the verge of writing :p an "imaginary" FOS review, just so I could read one. I haven't seen too many lately and I seriously needed a fix for my addiction.:D Thanks for sharing, I am enjoying it!!!

[funfamilyfun]

You have to go on cruises with an open mind and realize that the individuals you come in contact with that make your cruise vacation "all that" are people too who all started somewhere in life just like you did. Often times the way you speak to someone has a direct impact on how that person reacts back to you. The people working to make your cruise a special one deserve the same respect you would give to your own mother.

 

I'm glad the rest of your cruise went better as it seems the first night was less than thrilling in your book. ;)

 

 

However, this first timer's cruise comments goes to show you how important first impressions are and how important it is for all employees to remember cruises are big vacations for most people and the trip should be memorable!

 

Also, an easy thing to fix would be to have everyone introduce themselves at a Meet and Mingle. (Of course the name tags should stick to the clothes.) I've often wondered why they don't take a minute to have everyone introduce themselves. I really can't complain though, my husband and I won the mouse for the computer twice!

 

I love the way you are writing this review!