Thoughts on Freedom 1/8/2012 cruise

[Linco711]

 

We recently cruised on the Freedom Jan. 8, 2012, Western Caribbean. We sailed in a balcony. We have all cruised RCCL before and would just like to give some of our opinions. First of all the weather that week was awesome! We had such fun table mates. They really made our nightly dining very enjoyable. All the service was impeccable..loved the shows, but the marriage show and Quest show were ruined for us...On the marriage show the older couple (who won by the way) by not missing one answer were clearly cheating and giving each other the answers..(sad that anyone would do that)..At the Quest show the section we were sitting in had a large family that had obviously been to quest many times and came sooo prepared...they actually brought a suitcase full of the items they knew were going to be asked for...so they didn't need any help from us the audience...made it not so fun..maybe it's time for RCCL to change up some things during these shows...so silly to cheat since its all in fun...:rolleyes:

 

Anyway our biggest disappointment was the food in the MDR...Except for one to two nights it was very mediocre...and the desserts were terrible. I know many of you love the food...but we couldn't wait to get off the ship to eat. The food in the Windjammer was actually much better the the MDR, but except for dinner is way too much of a zoo atmosphere....Oh..and we also enjoyed Johnny Rockets.

Would eat there more often if we cruised RCCL again. We didn't want to pay the extra for the specialties this time.

 

All in all we enjoyed ourselves. At least on this cruise I didn't gain as much weight as I have on past cruises. Would we sail RCCL again? Probably...but right now we're looking to Celebrity. We had awesome meals the three times we sailed on the Solstice. Disney cruises also have excellent food, so are thinking about that also. Do you all think the the Oasis and the Allure have better food? :confused: Just wondering about your opinion on those two ships. I've always wanted to experience the big ships...but for now we will probably not book the Freedom for awhile, when there are so many better choices out there.;)

[cw2go]

Have to say for us Allure food and service were just the same as any other RCCL sailing and we have done 10.

 

Also 100% agree Celebrity is far better in taste and service. We enjoyed all of our meals on Infinity. If you choose Allure or Oasis, to better your experience go for the specialty restaurants, well worth the extra cost.

 

Patty

[lrn2cruise]

We were on FOS in August and I also liked eating in WJ and not the MDR. The Clam Chowder tasted like they opened a can of Campells Soup. I switched it out.

The Prime Rib, Lobster just didnt send me over the edge but I did love the sushi, salad bar and desserts in the WJ.

[Linco711]

We were on FOS in August and I also liked eating in WJ and not the MDR. The Clam Chowder tasted like they opened a can of Campells Soup. I switched it out.

The Prime Rib, Lobster just didnt send me over the edge but I did love the sushi, salad bar and desserts in the WJ.

 

Exactly!!:)

[tweenie123]

Interesting about the food on FOS. We haven't cruised on her since 2008 and have always felt that food on RC was on a par with DCL. We did feel however that when we cruised on the Dream in the summer that the quality of the food had gone down in the main dining rooms.

[Linco711]

Interesting about the food on FOS. We haven't cruised on her since 2008 and have always felt that food on RC was on a par with DCL. We did feel however that when we cruised on the Dream in the summer that the quality of the food had gone down in the main dining rooms.

 

We have also sailed on her several times, the last time being in 2009. We believe the food quality has gone down. Sorry to hear about the Dream. We were looking forward to a cruise on her. I've been very happy with the quality of food on Disneyin the past, and think the food in Palo's (their specialty restaurant) was fantastic!

[cruise orlando]

I have sailed on 6 different Royal ships. The worst food by far was on Freedom.

[Linco711]

I have sailed on 6 different Royal ships. The worst food by far was on Freedom.

 

Sad.... it's such a great ship otherwise...

[Pichu21]

This is not good.......... :(

[kruzerci]

This is not good.......... :(

 

Don't let it worry you... somebody will come back next week and say the food was the best they've ever had.

 

Everybody has different tastes and expectations.

[tanelicus]

This is not good.......... :(

 

Don't worry about it. You will have a blast!

 

Was it out of this world fantastic, no. It was pretty good though.

 

We sailed Disney the year before, and I couldn't see the difference. Disney has neater atmospheres as far as food, with the different dining rooms. As far as the food, I thought they were the same. I happen to disagree with the OP about Palo. My wife and I ate there on our cruise, and were underwhelmed. Could be that there are some pretty good Italian places around where we live, but it didn't live up to the hype in our opinion.

 

There was so much fun about the Freedom, that it makes it hard to really concentrate on the food. I believe half of the food experience, comes to the nightly interaction with the wait staff.

 

In my opinion, If you have kids over 7, I don't see a better choice out there than a Freedom ship.

[ryano]

This is not good.......... :(

 

I agree but I also realize that food is tto subective to go on others opinions. As long as its "decent" I will be happy. I do not eat in the Windjammer other than boarding day and wont start now. I love the MDR atmosphere and experience and have not been disappointed yet.

 

Looks like you will be getting off Freedom as Im getting on.........Enjoy your cruise and try not to worry about the food :)

[north29]

It is strange, about food quality, we had 6 very good meals in the MDR, best food on all our recent cruises. Perhaps the worst, the Brilliance in the MED a couple of years ago, where many people even us who had PPG ate in the windjammer. Food quality does seem to change with the tide, and areas of the world and maybe the chefs as they rotate out every six months.

[Lily Pad]

This is not good.......... :(

 

I agree with many others who say not to let this spoil your excitement for your upcoming cruise on the Freedom. It is an AMAZING ship! My hubby and I spent our honeymoon on it and loved it so much that we are sailing on her again for our 2nd anniversary this coming March. We even sacrificed our desire to go on the Eastern Caribbean itinerary for the exact same one as we had last time (Western Caribbean), because we HAD to go on the Freedom again. And on the contrary, we both really enjoyed the food in the MDR! Sure, there were a few things we weren't crazy about, but our servers were great and always let us get something different and we always left dinner feeling more than satisfied. :)

[popcicle]

you know, any time I don't have to cook, do dishes, and clean up after is a win/win situation for me. It has got to be better than mcdonalds or taco bell, and since I don't eat at high end places very often, I am sure what ever I get will be wonderful, I am on vacation for pete's sake!

[cruisinfever]

The worst MDR food i ever had was on NCL Dawn. Could not believe when I ordered shrimp cocktail as an appetizer and I received a bowl full of tiny canned shrimp. I loved the food on the Liberty of the Seas.

[ckrobyn]

I sailed the FOS in November 2010 and by far, it was the worst food I had tasted on any RCI ship both in the MDR and the WJ. :(

 

I sailed again in October 2011 and the quality of the food ship wide had improved in a huge way :D I enjoyed pretty much every meal onboard.

 

Sailing again next weekend - looking forward to great food and lots of fun!!!

[Pichu21]

I guess food really is a subjective topic... Oh well, as long as I'm sailing, I'm easily satisfied. :D I just hope I'll be one of those who absolutely loves the food! But it definitely won't put a damper on my cruise if I don't.

[ST-UK]

Hi, I sailed the week before you. I thought the food was constant. I without realising it ordered the vegetarian option 3 nights running, and compared to the DW, it was the better option. We did Chops one night and that was far far superior. And you do wonder why the MDR doesn't taste like that. But it's simple really. You can't cook on the spot for 600 people! And it also makes Portifinos and Chops a little more special. And with the options of Sorrentos , Johnny Rockets, Windjammer etc, your never stuck with one menu.

[80 Wolfpacker]

I sailed the "Freedom of the Seas" on Jan. 22nd, and out of my 20 cruises, the food was the worst! If this had been my first cruise, it would be my last! I sailed Allure in Oct. and the food and service were awesome...so I don't believe the problems on this Freedom cruise were due to RC cutbacks. This ship was NOT like the others!

 

I think the Freedom dining management is VERY poor. The staff did not have the usual professionalism. Many did not seem to be well trained and they looked unhappy and tired. We were given the wrong forks several times in the main dining room and most of the glassware had spots. The mirrors on the wall and even the wood paneling were streaked from poor cleaning (or cleaning with a dirty cloth). This ship was not up to the standard we have known from Royal Caribbean. We were not offered coffee refills. Service (in both the Windjammer and main dining room) at lunch was very slack. The toppings on the salad bars in the Windjammer were almost always empty. They failed to refill the topping containers until after they were empty. On previous cruises, these items were always replenished! There seemed to be fewer choices too. We never had fresh oranges like on other cruises. Flavored water is NOT impressive. The coffee stations in the Windjammer were often VERY dirty and items (like sweeteners etc.) not refilled. The cleanliness and attention to replenishing items was very poor! On Labadee, the chicken and ribs ran out before 1:00 pm and there were still long lines waiting for food. Each night in the dining room, our meals were very slow. (It took over two hours for dinner each night.) The food was average at best. The food on each of my previous cruises have been far far better than the "Freedom of the Seas." Usually dining is such a pleasure. On this cruise, it was a mostly like hospital food.

 

I believe that the problems were due to Freedom's food management. Dining was just NOT up to the usual high standard of Royal Caribbean! Dining on the "Freedom of the Seas" was very disappointing! I LOVE Royal Caribbean, but I did not love this ship!

[paggerscorvette]

We were on the Freedom in December and had the best service in the MDR, along with very good meals. We did MTD and feel in love with dining when we were ready. There were 4 of us, 2 couples sailing together, and not one person had a complaint about the food and/or service. Go with an open mind and have a great cruise.:)

[Big_G]

Don't let it worry you... somebody will come back next week and say the food was the best they've ever had.

 

Everybody has different tastes and expectations.

 

That would be me. Just got off Freedom Sunday and while it wasn't the best I've ever had in the MDR, it was good. Our wait staff was very professional and right on top of things. Our last three cruises were Freedom, Carnival Destiny, and Celebrity Equinox and the food was good on all of them. I'd say service was best on Celebrity and Carnival a close last.

 

I'm not a big fan of these food comments because taste is too subjective. We did specialty dining once on Equinox and once on Freedom and it was great with Freedom the best in Portofino's. We didn't do specialty dining on Destiny. We cruised Freedom in 2010 and ate a Chops and that was great too. There are so many other aspects to cruising, I wouldn't let let the food comments get in the way of picking a ship.

 

As a side note, I'm a Captain & Coke guy and the Freedom bartenders are much more generous than the two other ships mentioned.

[K1200S]

I was on Freedom last October and ate in the MDR all but one night. I thought the food was closer to the best I have ever had then the worst I have ever had. Prior to my first sailing on Freedom I read two reviews from two people that ate in the MDR at the same seating and one loved the food and the other hated it. That made me decide I needed to go make up my own mind on the food.

[time4u2go]

I sailed the "Freedom of the Seas" on Jan. 22nd' date=' and out of my 20 cruises, the food was the worst! If this had been my first cruise, it would be my last! I sailed Allure in Oct. and the food and service were awesome...so I don't believe the problems on this Freedom cruise were due to RC cutbacks. This ship was NOT like the others![/font']

 

I think the Freedom dining management is VERY poor. The staff did not have the usual professionalism. Many did not seem to be well trained and they looked unhappy and tired. We were given the wrong forks several times in the main dining room and most of the glassware had spots. The mirrors on the wall and even the wood paneling were streaked from poor cleaning (or cleaning with a dirty cloth). This ship was not up to the standard we have known from Royal Caribbean. We were not offered coffee refills. Service (in both the Windjammer and main dining room) at lunch was very slack. The toppings on the salad bars in the Windjammer were almost always empty. They failed to refill the topping containers until after they were empty. On previous cruises, these items were always replenished! There seemed to be fewer choices too. We never had fresh oranges like on other cruises. Flavored water is NOT impressive. The coffee stations in the Windjammer were often VERY dirty and items (like sweeteners etc.) not refilled. The cleanliness and attention to replenishing items was very poor! On Labadee, the chicken and ribs ran out before 1:00 pm and there were still long lines waiting for food. Each night in the dining room, our meals were very slow. (It took over two hours for dinner each night.) The food was average at best. The food on each of my previous cruises have been far far better than the "Freedom of the Seas." Usually dining is such a pleasure. On this cruise, it was a mostly like hospital food.

 

I believe that the problems were due to Freedom's food management. Dining was just NOT up to the usual high standard of Royal Caribbean! Dining on the "Freedom of the Seas" was very disappointing! I LOVE Royal Caribbean, but I did not love this ship!

We cruised on Freedom last June, and felt pretty much the same way. There were 5 of us, and we ALL felt the MDR food was poor to OK. The deserts were pretty much tasteless. Our servers were just OK, and seemed very disinterested at best. As an example, toward the end of the meals, when the waiter would tell us about the dining options for the next day as they usually do, he just seemed very distracted. He would basically just stare out the window while he recited his speech, with practically no emotion. Not a big deal, but this was indicative of the overall service - basically just going through the motions. There was almost none of the personal banter that we typically have with waiters on our other cruises (including our other RCI cruise). Just our opinion.

[BillOh]

Interesting about the food on FOS. We haven't cruised on her since 2008 and have always felt that food on RC was on a par with DCL. We did feel however that when we cruised on the Dream in the summer that the quality of the food had gone down in the main dining rooms.

 

It might be the times. We were also on Freedom in 2008 and found the food to be very good in the MDR, I think there has been a general decline fleet wide since about 2009.

 

I do also hate the people that over prepare for Quest and to some extent Love and Marriage shows. The CD could help my changing things up once in awhile. Its bad enough the people who come prepared for quest do so, but they can get quite indignant about it. There was a group of regulars on Majesty back in '10, we got there early to get a good seat. In comes a guy with his shopping bag of stuff. I learned later this was his 14th cruise on Majesty. He said if I had a X or a Y, we could join his team. I told him preparing for the game takes away the fun, and he belittled me? When he did get teamates he sent them out to recruit and told those people to stay away from us. I wonder how many RC Keychains he had. I don't think our team finished in the top 3, but we had fun.