Freedom Of The Seas review 2/26 - 3/04

[fishteamteam]

Sorry to make yall wait. Had to get back in the work thing. Someone has to pay for that cruise ;)

 

Anyway, let me talk about the ship. We have read on just a couple of threads over the past year that the ship was starting to show her age. Well to me she was a 25 year old, blonde hair, blue eyed, 36-24-36 bomb shell !!! Need I say more. You would have to be looking hard to find fault in this beautiful ship.

 

 

 

[fishteamteam]

A few more pics before I move on.

 

 

 

 

 

[fishteamteam]

In case anyone is interested, our cameras we used were a nikon d3100

and a panasonic lumix dmc-ts3 underwater camera. To me, and this is Jeff the armature photographer to say the least talking, was the easiest camera I have used and the pictures are not to bad either. imho. We ended up using it the most just because it was small and easy to carry.

 

If you were not interested then just disregard these comments :D

 

Jeff

[fishteamteam]

More pics ?

 

 

 

 

 

Under the glass bridge

[A2Mich]

Sorry to make yall wait. Had to get back in the work thing. Someone has to pay for that cruise ;)

 

Anyway, let me talk about the ship. We have read on just a couple of threads over the past year that the ship was starting to show her age. Well to me she was a 25 year old, blonde hair, blue eyed, 36-24-36 bomb shell !!! Need I say more. You would have to be looking hard to find fault in this beautiful ship.

 

 

 

 

I really find it amusing how some people think that a 6 year old ship is "getting old" or "showing its age." Have we really gotten that spoiled with so many new ships so often? One of the most beautiful ships ever to sail in modern times was the Norway....and she was built in 1966 - 40 years old when she was scrapped (personally think that for historical value, she should have been repaired and modernized, but she was very expensive to maintain from what I've heard). Many years ago, there weren't all of these brand new mega-sized ships floating around. I remember my first cruise, I was about 12 years old on the then-old Carnivale (she was nearly 30 when I sailed on it) - we were docked in St Thomas next to the BRAND NEW and VERY LARGE Song of America in 1982. Heck the Song of America looks like an Oasis lifeboat or tender.

 

I really enjoy cruising, but these days, seems that we forget we're on a ship. I see complaints about "the ship was rocking." Well, DUH - you're on a MOVING SHIP - they do tend to pitch, roll, and yaw. Huge 3 deck dining rooms and theaters were unheard of "back in the day." My how things change. Some things for the better, some maybe not so much. I really like the abundance of balconies on ships now, however that has generally meant that the wraparound promenades are gone for the most part. As much as I hate to say this, I almost think that ships are simply getting too large these days, but that is a matter of opinion. However, I am really wanting to sail on the FOTS, love the photos and review!

[fishteamteam]

Cindy was taking pictures of everything, so I got her this one :eek:

 

 

Back on a serious note...

 

 

 

[A2Mich]

Great photos - keep 'em coming! Gorgeous ship! Hoping I can find out for myself in 2013. Wanting to sail on Freedom in September/October 2013, but not sure if Freedom is still based in Port Canaveral at that time. RCI's website has NO Freedom sailing dates after April 2013, and my T/A hasn't received any info either.

[fishteamteam]

During sail away we were right up front on the heli pad ( Deck 4 forward till you hit the stairs, go up them and your there. ) Very windy and on the chilly side but we were not going to miss it for anything. We could thaw out later. Had to wave to the portcanaveralwebcam.com. We had family watching. The couple next to us was on the phone telling them they were standing next to the woman in the bright green shirt. ( that was Cindy ).

 

 

This is a little something someone told us about. After you clear the jetties, go down to deck 4 starboard side ( the right side of the ship for the land lovers ) there is a spot toward the back of the ship that kicks out. You can stand there and wait for the pilot boat. Very neat. In case you forget, check out these pics.

 

 

 

 

[mikemike404]

Awesome review, I love the pics and the variety of different things you are posting.Keep it up. Just 46 more days until I sail on her.

[lanikeekee]

Very enjoyable review so far:D

[fishteamteam]

If I may, let me touch on a few tips we learned from here on cruise critic.

 

Pop up mesh clothes basket...... A MUST. If you like keeping your room halfway neat, this worked out great.

 

Putting the coffee table in the closet...... we left it out and it did not get in our way. It worked great for when we ordered room service. Somewhere to set the tray.

 

Over the door shoe holder...... We did take one but found we had more than enough storage so we never used it.

 

Clearing out mini fridge.....We were going to, but the stuff in it did not seem to cold so we figured why bother.

 

Air freshener for the bathroom.... A MUST!!! :eek: No fan in there and you are eating a lot :rolleyes:

 

Don't overpack....We didn't listen to this, we also didn't take in to account bringing home souvenirs....so guess who had to buy a new bag at the logo shop! :rolleyes:

 

Water shoes.... come in very handy if you go to Sapphire Beach on St Thomas

 

If I think of more we will post it...........

[A2Mich]

Bring half the clothes and twice the cash.....

[fishteamteam]

Anybody up for a little Freedom Food Porn? :D

[A2Mich]

Show me the money shot!

[jchilman]

Thank you so much for taking the time to post this review!!! I'll be sailing on Freedom in October and the reviews make the wait seem somewhat tolerable.;)

[fishteamteam]

I ordered these off Gift And Gear

Johnny Rockets

 

Windjammer

 

[A2Mich]

Great....thanks for the pics! The chili-cheese dog looks awesome! Did it by any chance have onions, too??? Chili-cheese dog, onion rings, fries, and a side order of Tums.....looks SO GOOD!

[sazzifrazz]

Nice review so far, can't wait to see more! :)

[fishteamteam]

Dessert at Windjammer

Some mini sandwiches

French Toast that came with our breakfast in bed on our grand romance package.

 

Breakfast in main dinning room. mmm good.

[fishteamteam]

Great....thanks for the pics! The chili-cheese dog looks awesome! Did it by any chance have onions, too??? Chili-cheese dog, onion rings, fries, and a side order of Tums.....looks SO GOOD!

 

 

No onions on ours but they were there for the asking. Bring your own Tums because you dont want to buy them on board:eek:

[A2Mich]

No onions on ours but they were there for the asking. Bring your own Tums because you dont want to buy them on board:eek:

 

Not normally a raw-onion kind of guy, but HAVE TO HAVE on chili-cheese dogs. Would second not having to buy any meds onboard. We always bring our own Tylenol/aspirin, Tums, etc......granted $5 for two tums is pricey, but thinking the price might make the tummy-ache hurt even more!;)

[fishteamteam]

Don't ask me, Cindy was eating this. Remember the tip about air freshener:rolleyes:

 

Pre dinner on formal night with romance package. You can have these.

 

 

I think that's all for the food porn. Basically i can't find the other pics at this time.

[Kteacher]

Happy 25th! Love the Freedom :). Great review so far!

[liberiben]

Enjoying your review, my In Laws are not too far from y'all, they live in Forsyth :)

[allie3490]

Thanks so much for this review. We are sailing on FOS in November. Last time we cruised was in 1999 on Majesty~ :)