My not-so-comprehensive review of our Freedom of the Seas Cruise

[peter1975]

I just got back from a fantastic Western Caribbean cruise on the Freedom of the Seas!!

 

This was my first cruise as a Diamond; my 4th cruise on the Freedom; 11th cruise in total (all with RCL).

 

This review is by no means comprehensive, but I thought I'd comment on a few of the frequent cruise critic topics; I also threw in some random comments:

 

-We arrived at the port just after 11AM and check-in was relatively fast and very smooth.

 

-50% of our group used pre-printed luggage tags; 50% used porter-provided tags. We all entered the terminal at the same time with neither being delayed.

 

-I did not see honey-stung chicken on the Windjammer Buffet (I know many will be sad and many won't care about this). Personally, I missed it.

 

-There are, in fact, 4 tables in the dining room that can accommodate up to 14 guests and our group got one of them.

 

-Escargot was not available any night; I made a special request to our head waiter for some to be served and none were available (the scallops are actually an excellent substitute if you can manage to get over the disappointment of not actually having escargot). I was informed escargot would be available again on November 3rd.

 

-We went to the Diamond Lounge twice and it was never very busy or full. We enjoyed the cheese and some free sodas. Access was not controlled by our sea pass and nobody ever even checked to make sure we were diamond when we entered. I thought this was rather strange, but certainly didn't mind.

 

-Richard Spacey is my favorite CD of all time, and he is arguably one of, if not, the best.

 

-We had an inside stateroom on Deck 9, aft; it was dark, quiet, cozy, and we loved it!

 

-The Mile High Lemon Meringue Pie and the Grand Marnier Souffle are my two favorite desserts

 

-The potato croquets are my all-time favorite side. I ordered a big plate of them that our whole table shared.

 

-Approx 35% of all pool chairs are being reserved by towels at all times

 

-There were no towel animals on the ship all week; this was explained by a note in our stateroom on the first night that the Freedom was undergoing some major change with their washing machines to be more economical and eco-friendly, and so the towel-making team had the week off. This is by no means an exact quotation, but it went something like that.

 

-One of the contestants in the men's bellyflop competition backed out when it was his turn to go because he said he couldn't swim.

 

-"Fritz from Philly" is one hilarious dude. You MUST go to one of his daily trivia games (Philly actually = the Philippines)

 

-The pre-show announcements with the voices of Arnold Schwarzenegger, Sean Connery, and a random stateroom attendant from India are hilarious!!

 

-We had debarkation luggage tags for 7:15AM. They called our time a little after 7:15AM and we were out of the terminal by 8:00AM.

 

Feel free to ask any questions or make any smart remarks. :)

 

We LOVED our cruise and can't wait to go again.

[renee1222]

I just wanted to add that my hubby and I were also on this cruise and loved it! I had the "escargot" scallops every night. Very good review. :)

 

We are currently booked for Freedom again next December. Hopefully the escargot will still be available then!

[39august]

If Diamond Lounge access was not controlled by your seapass card, how did you get inside? Was the door propped open? If so that is very, very strange. I was on FOS 2 weeks ago and the access was definitely seapass controlled and the DL was packed every night!

[mtns2sea]

Thanks for the quick review. I have seen many comments about the formal night attire lately. How was the "suggestion" followed on your cruise? We (our family of 6) are going on the Freedom in January and are planning on taking advantage of the opportunity to dress up on the formal nights.

 

Thanks,

Mike

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Cruise Critic Forums mobile app

[renee1222]

I hope the OP does not mind me jumping in here. I wanted to share our experience and of course, the OP can share his as well.

 

From what I could see, most people made an attempt to dress nicer on formal night than the other nights. The majority of men were in suits, or at least a nice shirt and tie. I only saw a few tuxedos and 1 kilt. The ladies wore evening gowns/cocktail dresses. I only saw one family dressed casually, and they were in the Promenade, not the dining room. Of course, I really was not trying to be the fashion police, so I did not sweep the entire dining room looking for noncompliance. :) These are just my observations based on the people near us in the dining room or on the Promenade.

 

One interesting thing I noticed was that other than the 2 formal nights, all the other nights were listed as some sort of casual, either smart casual, casual, or tropical casual. I had not heard of tropical casual and certainly had not seen the CC definition of tropical casual from the CC fashion police. I would assume this might mean sundress/capris and/or hawaiian type shirts. Part of me wonders if those on CC who so strongly insist that everyone should strictly adhere to the formal dress suggestion will also be strictly adhering to the tropical casual suggestion as well. :D I did not notice a "semi-formal" dinner suggestion on this cruise as I did on previous cruises.

 

I will add that I thought everyone I saw in the dining room was dressed appropriately. I did notice one family who was wearing shorts on a casual night, but they were still appropriate, with nice shirts tucked in, etc.

 

Enjoy your cruise and enjoy dressing up! It is a great opportunity for family pictures.

[mtns2sea]

I hope the OP does not mind me jumping in here. I wanted to share our experience and of course, the OP can share his as well.

 

From what I could see, most people made an attempt to dress nicer on formal night than the other nights. The majority of men were in suits, or at least a nice shirt and tie. I only saw a few tuxedos and 1 kilt. The ladies wore evening gowns/cocktail dresses. I only saw one family dressed casually, and they were in the Promenade, not the dining room. Of course, I really was not trying to be the fashion police, so I did not sweep the entire dining room looking for noncompliance. :) These are just my observations based on the people near us in the dining room or on the Promenade.

 

One interesting thing I noticed was that other than the 2 formal nights, all the other nights were listed as some sort of casual, either smart casual, casual, or tropical casual. I had not heard of tropical casual and certainly had not seen the CC definition of tropical casual from the CC fashion police. I would assume this might mean sundress/capris and/or hawaiian type shirts. Part of me wonders if those on CC who so strongly insist that everyone should strictly adhere to the formal dress suggestion will also be strictly adhering to the tropical casual suggestion as well. :D I did not notice a "semi-formal" dinner suggestion on this cruise as I did on previous cruises.

 

I will add that I thought everyone I saw in the dining room was dressed appropriately. I did notice one family who was wearing shorts on a casual night, but they were still appropriate, with nice shirts tucked in, etc.

 

Enjoy your cruise and enjoy dressing up! It is a great opportunity for family pictures.

 

Thanks for the info. We are looking forward to dressing up and getting some pictures.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Cruise Critic Forums mobile app

[peter1975]

If Diamond Lounge access was not controlled by your seapass card, how did you get inside? Was the door propped open? If so that is very, very strange. I was on FOS 2 weeks ago and the access was definitely seapass controlled and the DL was packed every night!

 

I thought it was odd, too. We were all prepared to show or swipe our sea pass cards to get in. We simply went in the door (once we discovered we had to push and not pull) and sat down. It was not locked. Maybe there were so few Diamond members on our sailing they weren't concerned about controlling things so strictly?

[peter1975]

I hope the OP does not mind me jumping in here. I wanted to share our experience and of course, the OP can share his as well.

 

From what I could see, most people made an attempt to dress nicer on formal night than the other nights. The majority of men were in suits, or at least a nice shirt and tie. I only saw a few tuxedos and 1 kilt. The ladies wore evening gowns/cocktail dresses. I only saw one family dressed casually, and they were in the Promenade, not the dining room. Of course, I really was not trying to be the fashion police, so I did not sweep the entire dining room looking for noncompliance. :) These are just my observations based on the people near us in the dining room or on the Promenade.

 

One interesting thing I noticed was that other than the 2 formal nights, all the other nights were listed as some sort of casual, either smart casual, casual, or tropical casual. I had not heard of tropical casual and certainly had not seen the CC definition of tropical casual from the CC fashion police. I would assume this might mean sundress/capris and/or hawaiian type shirts. Part of me wonders if those on CC who so strongly insist that everyone should strictly adhere to the formal dress suggestion will also be strictly adhering to the tropical casual suggestion as well. :D I did not notice a "semi-formal" dinner suggestion on this cruise as I did on previous cruises.

 

I will add that I thought everyone I saw in the dining room was dressed appropriately. I did notice one family who was wearing shorts on a casual night, but they were still appropriate, with nice shirts tucked in, etc.

 

Enjoy your cruise and enjoy dressing up! It is a great opportunity for family pictures.

 

Rene1222, I agree completely! I don't remember seeing anyone dressed offensively or overly casual, and there were certainly plenty of people not dressed overly formal on formal night (I was actually one of them -- only a dress shirt and a tie). As you said, most of the non-formal nights had the word "casual" in the dress suggestions.

[BobbyD]

Thanks for the information! We have been on the Freedom twice. It is my favorite ship (so far)! It is good to see Richard Spacey back on the Freedom. He took Freedom out on her inaugural cruises and we loved him!

[RubyDog08]

Peter or Renee - Do either of you have the daily compasses available to post? I will be traveling with 3 disabled family members, so it really helps to plan as much as possible in advance. Thanks! :)

[Jiffymom]

Do the luggage tags really have time on them?

[micmacmissy]

the towel-making team had the week off

 

Stupid question: is there really a towel making team? I just assumed the stateroom attendants did those.

[CroozinFamily]

We returned this past Sunday from Western Caribbean on Freedom. It was our first time sailing as Diamond members. There must have been a lot of Diamonds on our cruise because they used Hearts for overflow. Never went in there and don't know if they checked IDs. We had to use our Seapass card to get into the Diamond lounge and it was always full. Once or twice we walked in behind someone else and nobody ever checked to be sure we were Diamond.

 

We had towel animals. I think it was every other night.

 

Agreed. Richard Spacey is THE BEST! Fritz from Philly is very entertaining as well. Some people were annoyed by his laugh but it was part of his sillyness. Went to a trivia on the last day that was run by someone else and boy was it ever a snooze event compared to those run by Fritz.

 

Dining room was a mix on formal night. I am one who likes to dress up and there is definitely a different vibe around the ship when the entire ship is dressed and stays that way. OH well....gone are those days. We dress up and enjoy. I must say though that it is nice to dress down later....especially on Quest night.

 

Escargot was not available on our sailing either. I ordered it every night anyway. Never got it of course. I did have the scallops one night...okay but definitely not escargot.

 

LOL....I had to chuckle when I got my "mile high" lemon merengue "pie".....it was soooooooo teensy! Definitely NOT a mile high by any stretch of the imagination. And definitely not a pie, but a tart. And a bit too much tang for my liking. Different strokes for different folks.