Just back From Freedom of the Seas

[clayb]

Hello, all.

Freedom of the Seas, Western Caribbean

4/28/13.

 

Just returned. I am just getting into the travel agent business and went on this cruise for a RCCL Seminar at Sea. We had classes on Monday & Saturday so I was tied up doing that on the sea days. The weather was really nice. This is what we wound up doing at the ports.

 

Labadee: Roamed around a while exploring the property, We settled in at Adrenaline Beach. That's where the zip line comes down. Enjoyed chatting it up with some folks from the U.K. It's so nice to be docked there instead of tendering. Allows you a little bit more time to play.

 

Falmouth: We got a day pass to Sandals Grande Riviera at Ocho Rios. We toured the property. Beautiful!

 

Gr. Cayman: We took a taxi to Royal Palms Resort at Seven Mile Beach. Enjoyed it. Highly recommend. Adults only. $2 admission. Drinks were pricey but you had a pool, showers, restrooms, changing rooms. Chairs were $5 each.

 

Cozumel: Shopped around, ate and drank a little at Pancho's Backyard.

 

Now it's back to work planning the next one!

I will post pics from my home computer later.

This was cruise #33, 15th with Royal.

I welcome any questions or observations.

 

Clay

[billsgal]

Just got back from the same cruise. Had a wonderful time.

 

We are D+ with almost 600 cruise credits, and Jewel is our favorite ship, with Radiance class our favorite class, but Freedom was wonderful. It was my 3rd time on Freedom and I thought all the service was outstanding.

 

Food in the MDR was pretty good, about what you can expect when they are serving so many people. It isn't 5 star dining, but it certainly was very good and extremely well prepared.

 

Windjammer is always so crowded, but they opened up Chops for Diamond, diamond plus and pinnacle to sit in during breakfast and lunch, so that made those meals much more pleasant. However, on talking to the hotel manager and mentioning what a nice perk this was, he told me it will not last much longer, as they have been told to keep things the same throughout the fleet, so they will not be doing this much longer. That's really too bad, as it does certainly enhance the WJ experience......and it was never crowded when we were there............

 

We had a cabana at Labadee, and that is well worth the money, IMHO. However, instead of the previous 6 guests being allowed, only 4 are now allowed in the cabana, but since there were 4 of us, it wasnt a problem for us. However, we have sailed with our kids and grandkids and all have been allowed to share the cabana, but I guess that won't happen again.

 

We did the Chukka Beach Break and Lunch in Jamaica thru RCI, and again, well worth the money. The beach was beautiful, the water gorgeous, and the lunch was fine. Chairs were included, but umbrellas were $5 extra, but if you get there early enough, there is plenty of shade.

 

It was overcast in Grand Cayman, we just shopped.

 

In Cozumel we went to Nachi Cocum, and as usual, it was a great day. The wind was quite strong, so we didn't venture much into the water, as the waves were a bit overpowering. The pool and hot tub were used a whole lot, and the lunch and drinks were good. The staff at Nachi Cocum is always very nice and helpful.

 

The Ice Show as great, and the cast being quite new did a wonderful job.

 

I was with 3 friends, 2 were D+, but had never been on a Freedom class ship. All I heard when we boarded was "wow" "wow". They were quite impressed (like me, they love Radiance class) but everyone had a great time and would do it again.

 

Sascha, the diamond concierge, was very engaging and entertaining He had a lot of diamonds and above onboard, but made sure to say a few words to every guest every night. The suite concierge I won't say anything about:D

 

Our room steward, Hilary, was one of the best we ever had, and he had quite a knack with the towel animals. One night we came back to the room, opened the bathroom door, and there were two legs with sneakers on protruding from the toilet.........gave me a start, for sure. \

 

Our waiter, Mervyn and assistant waiter Juan, in MTD were so good, we wanted to take them home with us!

 

All in all, a wonderful cruise and good luck with your new career.

[MrBill923]

Clay; we got off the Freedom when you got on. We loved it. I saw your note about the Sun Viking, my wife and I honeymooned on her in May 1983, then again 5 years later. Then never sailed agian until 2009. Do you know how I should approach RCCL about getting credit for those old sailings? We would like to start cruising more, and why not get all the credit going forward.

[Clarea]

Clay; we got off the Freedom when you got on. We loved it. I saw your note about the Sun Viking, my wife and I honeymooned on her in May 1983, then again 5 years later. Then never sailed agian until 2009. Do you know how I should approach RCCL about getting credit for those old sailings? We would like to start cruising more, and why not get all the credit going forward.

The first thing to do is call Crown & Anchor at 800-526-9723. They will try to find your sailings in their records. If they cannot find your sailings, they will tell you what kinds of records they will accept as proof. Things like photos on the ship, old cruise tickets, etc. , will usually suffice. It would help if you knew the exact dates of the sailings.

[ejeffo]

 

Our room steward, Hilary, was one of the best we ever had, and he had quite a knack with the towel animals. One night we came back to the room, opened the bathroom door, and there were two legs with sneakers on protruding from the toilet.........gave me a start, for sure. \

 

 

Hilary is the BEST! He was my room steward a couple of weeks ago. He is from St. Lucia and spent some time telling us about the islands. We had the legs in the toilet too... He was for sure the best room steward we have had yet.

[funfamilyof6]

We had a cabana at Labadee, and that is well worth the money, IMHO. However, instead of the previous 6 guests being allowed, only 4 are now allowed in the cabana, but since there were 4 of us, it wasnt a problem for us. However, we have sailed with our kids and grandkids and all have been allowed to share the cabana, but I guess that won't happen again.

 

Wow, this will be a problem for us. I already booked a cabana for our family of 6...do you know if RCCL is planning on implementing this rule with people already booked under the old policy?

 

Edit: Strange, when you look in the excursion section on the RCCL website, the details say the cabanas are for 6 people.

[billsgal]

I think the Nellie's beach cabanas are ok for 6, but even the RCI webpage says the cabanas at Barefoot beach hold 4 or 5. we previously had 6 of us in a Barefoot beach cabana, so I don't know if it's something new or not. However, the concierge was aghast that i could book the cabana online...........so he may have been giving me a line about it......but there were only 4 of us, so I didn't get into an argument about it. However, the beach cabana closest to the water had 3 adults and 3 kids, so you probably won't have a problem seeing thaty ou have kids with you.........when we had 6 it was 4 adults and 2 kids.

 

Maybe the over the water cabanas are only for 4 (which is what we had) and the beachside hold 6 (which is what we had when there were 6 of us).

 

If you are in a suite, it doesn't matter, all guests have access to the area. We were just in a regular balcony (that's why the concierge was aghast, the horrors, someone in a verandah could book a cabana):)

[hollon]

Hello, all.

Freedom of the Seas, Western Caribbean

4/28/13.

 

Just returned. I am just getting into the travel agent business and went on this cruise for a RCCL Seminar at Sea. We had classes on Monday & Saturday so I was tied up doing that on the sea days. The weather was really nice. This is what we wound up doing at the ports.

 

Labadee: Roamed around a while exploring the property, We settled in at Adrenaline Beach. That's where the zip line comes down. Enjoyed chatting it up with some folks from the U.K. It's so nice to be docked there instead of tendering. Allows you a little bit more time to play.

 

Falmouth: We got a day pass to Sandals Grande Riviera at Ocho Rios. We toured the property. Beautiful!

 

Gr. Cayman: We took a taxi to Royal Palms Resort at Seven Mile Beach. Enjoyed it. Highly recommend. Adults only. $2 admission. Drinks were pricey but you had a pool, showers, restrooms, changing rooms. Chairs were $5 each.

 

Cozumel: Shopped around, ate and drank a little at Pancho's Backyard.

 

Now it's back to work planning the next one!

I will post pics from my home computer later.

This was cruise #33, 15th with Royal.

I welcome any questions or observations.

 

Clay

how much did the sandals day pass cost?

[PH8]

I think the Nellie's beach cabanas are ok for 6, but even the RCI webpage says the cabanas at Barefoot beach hold 4 or 5. we previously had 6 of us in a Barefoot beach cabana, so I don't know if it's something new or not. However, the concierge was aghast that i could book the cabana online...........so he may have been giving me a line about it......but there were only 4 of us, so I didn't get into an argument about it. However, the beach cabana closest to the water had 3 adults and 3 kids, so you probably won't have a problem seeing thaty ou have kids with you.........when we had 6 it was 4 adults and 2 kids.

 

Maybe the over the water cabanas are only for 4 (which is what we had) and the beachside hold 6 (which is what we had when there were 6 of us).

 

If you are in a suite, it doesn't matter, all guests have access to the area. We were just in a regular balcony (that's why the concierge was aghast, the horrors, someone in a verandah could book a cabana):)

Oh he was probably aghast you dare step foot in HIS concierge lounge;):eek: