Freedom of the Seas in Falmouth

[Pichu21]

How many of you stay on the ship while it is docked at Falmouth? We are staying on the ship. What is there to do onboard? Do most people stay on the ship or do most get off?

[Welvtocruise]

We have been to the island many times so usually stay on the ship. Lots to do and usually an empty ship. Early in the day my husband goes to the flowrider with very short lines. I do the fitness center - almost empty. The pool area is virtually empty so you have your choice of location and chairs. The usually crowded hot tubs are empty also. The Promenade - while the stores are closed it's a nice place for a quiet walk and coffee with a treat at Cafe Promenade. We always have the balcony unit and like to spend time on it watching the water activities and various water vessels that go by....and relax with a glass of wine. If you haven't tried it, we highly recommend staying on the ship and enjoy the peace and quiet.

[Pichu21]

We have been to the island many times so usually stay on the ship. Lots to do and usually an empty ship. Early in the day my husband goes to the flowrider with very short lines. I do the fitness center - almost empty. The pool area is virtually empty so you have your choice of location and chairs. The usually crowded hot tubs are empty also. The Promenade - while the stores are closed it's a nice place for a quiet walk and coffee with a treat at Cafe Promenade. We always have the balcony unit and like to spend time on it watching the water activities and various water vessels that go by....and relax with a glass of wine. If you haven't tried it, we highly recommend staying on the ship and enjoy the peace and quiet.

 

We haven't been to Jamaica, but we have excursions on the other islands so we don't want to book anything on this one and don't want to go into town because we've heard it isn't a great place to be at, so we're just staying around the pier and the ship.

[squidward]

Last month I stayed on the ship for personal reasons, but the rest of my family spent the day in Jamaica.

 

I had an amazing nap on a lounge chair near the adult pool, and I rarely nap.:)

 

The ship was very quiet most of the day, until around 3:30 when things picked up.

 

My family had mixed reviews on their day in Jamaica. I'm confident I made the right choice. It was a great day to be on the ship.:):):)

[bajathree]

Get off and ENJOY:) I was very spectacle about Falmouth but ended up booking a tubing excursion at The Great Hope Estate.....it's only a 20 minute ride from the port. I am so glad that my DD and I did....ended up being a great day.....great fun tubing...facilities were excellent....all the people involved were great....looking forward to returning.

[DonnaK]

Get off and ENJOY:) I was very spectacle about Falmouth but ended up booking a tubing excursion at The Great Hope Estate.....it's only a 20 minute ride from the port. I am so glad that my DD and I did....ended up being a great day.....great fun tubing...facilities were excellent....all the people involved were great....looking forward to returning.

 

did you book this independently, or through the cruiseline?

[Sbenoit]

When we sailed in June our family of 3 took the cooking class. We had planned on getting coffee and rum while in port. At the last minute we took the shuttle (free) to Rose Hall to check out the shopping. Unless you are looking for jewlery I wouldn't waste my time going to Rose Hall.

[bajathree]

did you book this independently, or through the cruiseline?

 

Ship excursion...the tour company the ship uses for tubing at The Great Hope Estate is Chukka....however you can only book thru the CL. I definitely recommend this excursion and would team up the zip-lining with it next time....these guys and the facility were new and excellent.

[DonnaK]

Ship excursion...the tour company the ship uses for tubing at The Great Hope Estate is Chukka....however you can only book thru the CL. I definitely recommend this excursion and would team up the zip-lining with it next time....these guys and the facility were new and excellent.

 

Thanks for the recommendation. We're leaving for an eastern Carib cruise next week, and with all the tropical activity coming off Africa at the moment, I figured I'd better get an idea of what to do in western ports in case we get diverted. We LOVED tubing in Ocho Rios, so I'm sure we'd love it in Falmouth too.

[Puffinater]

We walked around the port area for less than an hour and returned to the almost empty ship.

[Reijo]

When we sailed in June our family of 3 took the cooking class. We had planned on getting coffee and rum while in port. At the last minute we took the shuttle (free) to Rose Hall to check out the shopping. Unless you are looking for jewlery I wouldn't waste my time going to Rose Hall.

 

Can you give me an idea as to what the cooking class is like?

[bajathree]

Thanks for the recommendation. We're leaving for an eastern Carib cruise next week, and with all the tropical activity coming off Africa at the moment, I figured I'd better get an idea of what to do in western ports in case we get diverted. We LOVED tubing in Ocho Rios, so I'm sure we'd love it in Falmouth too.

 

You can read my review with pix here http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1439487

[Pichu21]

You can read my review with pix here http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1439487

 

Your review was great! I'm sure we would enjoy that excursion very much, it's just we have excursions in all of the other ports. The zip line in Labadee, Stingray City in Grand Cayman, and Tulum Ruins in Cozumel, and they're all along that $80 mark. It's three of us and that ends up being expensive. We don't want to add yet another excursion for $80 per person. Do you know of anything, maybe a beach, anything for $30 or less, per person? I know it's a very long shot.

[DonnaK]

You can read my review with pix here http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1439487

 

Very detailed and informative!

 

Do you remember the cost of the zipline/tubing combo?

 

What did you do in Cozumel?

[Merion_Mom]

Get off and ENJOY:) I was very spectacle about Falmouth but ended up booking a tubing excursion at The Great Hope Estate.....it's only a 20 minute ride from the port. I am so glad that my DD and I did....ended up being a great day.....great fun tubing...facilities were excellent....all the people involved were great....looking forward to returning.

 

On YOUR recommendation, Steve, this is what we are going to do in a couple of weeks in Falmouth!

 

:)

 

I stay on the ship sometimes in Nassau, having been there (it seems like) half a billion times, but even there, I usually get off and walk around for about an hour.

 

I would not stay on the ship in Falmouth. New port, new things and people to see.

 

These days, with a 7 day cruise having only 3 ports of call and 3 sea days, getting off the ship is a better and better idea! (IMO, of course. YMMV)

[Merion_Mom]

Your review was great! I'm sure we would enjoy that excursion very much, it's just we have excursions in all of the other ports. The zip line in Labadee, Stingray City in Grand Cayman, and Tulum Ruins in Cozumel, and they're all along that $80 mark. It's three of us and that ends up being expensive. We don't want to add yet another excursion for $80 per person. Do you know of anything, maybe a beach, anything for $30 or less, per person? I know it's a very long shot.

 

You can just get a taxi to the Estate. There are things to do and see there.

 

You can get a tour there for $52 per adult, $36 per child.

 

http://www.chukkacaribbean.com/Trelawny/tourDetails.php?Good-Hope-Estate-Tour-79&lang=eng

[bajathree]

Very detailed and informative!

 

Do you remember the cost of the zipline/tubing combo?

 

What did you do in Cozumel?

 

I don't remember the combo pricing....but since it's a CL excursion you should be able to look the price up on Royal's site.

 

In Cozumel we did Salsa & Salsa (another CL excursion)....it was a BLAST......the drinks flow VERY freely:D...and you have time afterwards to snorkel or enjoy the pool at the resort.

[bajathree]

On YOUR recommendation, Steve, this is what we are going to do in a couple of weeks in Falmouth!

 

:)

 

I stay on the ship sometimes in Nassau, having been there (it seems like) half a billion times, but even there, I usually get off and walk around for about an hour.

 

I would not stay on the ship in Falmouth. New port, new things and people to see.

 

These days, with a 7 day cruise having only 3 ports of call and 3 sea days, getting off the ship is a better and better idea! (IMO, of course. YMMV)

 

 

Let me know what you think.....my DD and I had a great time. I am heading Eastern on Oasis for NY's and to be honest I now wish I were heading Western again:o:rolleyes:

[Pichu21]

On YOUR recommendation, Steve, this is what we are going to do in a couple of weeks in Falmouth!

 

:)

 

I stay on the ship sometimes in Nassau, having been there (it seems like) half a billion times, but even there, I usually get off and walk around for about an hour.

 

I would not stay on the ship in Falmouth. New port, new things and people to see.

 

These days, with a 7 day cruise having only 3 ports of call and 3 sea days, getting off the ship is a better and better idea! (IMO, of course. YMMV)

 

This trip is 4 ports and 2 sea days and we think that just won't be enough to see all there is on the ship, so unless we find something that just really captures our attention, we'll just hang around the ship and enjoy it

[Quigley10]

We were on the Freedom last summer, when it docked in Ocho Rios. We did get off the ship for an hour to walk around the pier and hit a few of the shops, but otherwise decided to stay on the ship. This was completely the opposite of our norm for other ports - we typically get off early and stay off for as long as we can!

 

As previous posters have suggested, the Flowrider is a great option. It is open for a few hours while in port that day, and the line was drastically lower than what we saw the rest of the week. We honestly used the rest of the day as a pool day. The pool deck was empty--we had our pick of lounge chairs--and my husband and I even spent a great deal of time in the H2O Zone. (Fun even without kids!)

 

Had lunch in the Windjammer, which was much quieter than sea days. :)

 

The one thing to keep in mind is that the typical amenities you have on a sea day will not be available in full. For me, the biggest disappointment was that we couldn't ice skate that day. I am a figure skater and regularly attended the Freedom's public sessions, but the rink was closed while we were in port in Ocho Rios...in all honesty, there may not have been enough interested guests to make it worth their while. At the very least, the pools will be open all day as will the Flowrider for part of the day.

[Pichu21]

We were on the Freedom last summer, when it docked in Ocho Rios. We did get off the ship for an hour to walk around the pier and hit a few of the shops, but otherwise decided to stay on the ship. This was completely the opposite of our norm for other ports - we typically get off early and stay off for as long as we can!

 

As previous posters have suggested, the Flowrider is a great option. It is open for a few hours while in port that day, and the line was drastically lower than what we saw the rest of the week. We honestly used the rest of the day as a pool day. The pool deck was empty--we had our pick of lounge chairs--and my husband and I even spent a great deal of time in the H2O Zone. (Fun even without kids!)

 

Had lunch in the Windjammer, which was much quieter than sea days. :)

 

The one thing to keep in mind is that the typical amenities you have on a sea day will not be available in full. For me, the biggest disappointment was that we couldn't ice skate that day. I am a figure skater and regularly attended the Freedom's public sessions, but the rink was closed while we were in port in Ocho Rios...in all honesty, there may not have been enough interested guests to make it worth their while. At the very least, the pools will be open all day as will the Flowrider for part of the day.

 

I think this is exactly what we want to do that day!! Pool and Flowrider. We barely touched the pools on the Oasis with so much to do. This time, we're going to take advantage of the pools a whole lot more!! Thanks