Fantastic Family Fun on the Fabulous Freedom of the Seas: a review

[krazykev]

Wow. Thanks for that review! we are doing back to back starting on the 4th of May so won't be long and that review has my mouth watering!! I'm also working on the ship doing balloon animals and hopefully teaching the staff a few more designs. Can I ask (if you remember) does a guy called Rodger still work behind the bar in boleros?

Cheers - Kev

[big al]

Day 8: Time to go

 

As usual debarkation was easy. We ate in WJ and went to Pharaoh’s lounge to wait to be called. CNN was on and the news was exactly the same as when we left. They have coffee and pastries. This is a nice perk for anyone in C&A. While waiting I went out to helipad and got one last picture of ship in the light of the morning sun:

 

 

 

 

They called our number and we breezed through customs. We took the RCCL shuttle back to MCO. You can purchase tickets at guest relations anytime, I don’t remember exact price but it was reasonable. Flight back was smooth and we were home by 4:30. It’s always sad to come back from a nice vacation but when we see how happy our dog is to see us we feel a lot better.

 

As you can tell it was a great cruise. I suppose I have to find something to criticize so I’ll pick the new, electronic C&A benefits. I knew we wouldn’t get a coupon book but I thought we’d get something explaining what our offers were but nope. I had to go down to guest services to get them to print a list of the offers. Throughout the cruise staff never reminded us. For example, it wasn’t until the last day that the bartender at the pool bar, from whom I’d been ordering drinks all week, said “do you want to use your 2 for 1 drink offer?” I definitely got the impression they hope you forget to use benefits and indeed I think we didn’t use many of them. We did use the internet discount and the bag of laundry. We like dogs and know that sometimes they have drug dogs at customs and didn’t want to subject our canine friends to the smell of wet, dirty boy socks so the bag of laundry is a good deal.

 

A few more thoughts. My wife liked the spa, she went twice. She thought the massage therapist was excellent. She thinks the hairstylist may have been pushing product but she couldn’t really understand her. Muster was a bit strange as our station was way far from our cabin, so when we went out on promenade we had quite a hike, through the crowd. That’s a first!

 

The Freedom of the Seas remains our favorite ship. . Food, service, and the overall layout of the ship are the main standouts for us. Going 2 years in a row was nice, we felt less pressure to do and see everything and were able to find new things to do in each port. Next time we’ll probably try a different ship but will stay with RCCL. We’re thinking time for Oasis class. We love cruising and especially enjoyed this one. RCCL over 4 cruises has delivered a consistent and superior product. We have evolved towards traditional dining with set mealtimes and servers and RCCL does this well. The boys loved it also, in fact they’re the main reason we went again as they had so much fun last year. You, dear reader, will not be disappointed if you choose to cruise the lovely Freedom of the Seas.

 

Feel free to ask any questions and thanks for reading.

 

Nice review..we love the Freedom class ships, too..been on them 3 times...you should definitely try the Oasis ships, especially with 2 boys with you...the Aquapark diving shows are IMO, the best shows at sea..they also will love the Zipline..you didn't say whether you saw the ice-skating shows..also a plus...Central Park is fantastic, especially at night...Royal P is TWICE as wide on Oasis than Freedom..also, the Adult Solarium pool area is THREE times bigger on the Oasis than the Freedom..sitting in the infinity canti-levered hot tubs a MUST on a sea day- what a view! Arcade room is HUGE with lots of games...food is very subjective, and I'm not quite as positive about the MDR food as you were, so we go alot to Chops, Portifnos, and on Oasis, 150 Central Park was fantastic ...my wife & I don't always want to dine with 2000 other passengers, so sitting at a table by the window over-looking the sea at sunset is OK by me...food soooo much better than the MDR...next time, drop the boys off, and go have a romantic dinner with your wife.....

 

Big Al

Edited April 16, 2014 by big al
wasn't finished yet

[bigque]

My most favorite ship thus far! I really enjoyed that West cruise last October...thanks for the memories! However I am not going to read anymore picture reviews of Freedom because I get like Home Sick! :cool:

[mickev99]

Great to hear that you liked Courtney Taylor, we have booked him for our June cruise.

We did the dolphin swim last December (also with the early bird discount) and loved it. We are going back to chankanaab this time just to hang out and snorkel and swim because it was so nice.

Thanks for the review!!

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app

[janines]

This was a great help to me. Our family, 5 adults and 4 kids take this cruise in June. We have cruised multiply times, but not with kids on rccl.

janines

[DrD]

Glad you guys like it.

 

BTW, I did something a bit different from most, as you probably noticed.

 

I did the whole thing up in Word, then cut and past it in. This way the whole thing went up at once, more or less.

 

Less drumming up of suspense but I think it's easier to read without so many replies in between sections of the review.

 

What do you think of that approach? Is it better than the traditional "serial novel" technique?

[erries]

Thanks for the review itself and also for the way you posted it. You're right, much easier to read without a million responses in between. Plus sometimes people lose momentum partway through a review and leave us hanging! :eek:

 

We've done the Oasis class twice now, going again next month. Definitely give it a shot -- I think your boys would love it.

[Cruisenhawk]

Great review.

 

Did you book the dolphin swim thru Royal or direct?

 

I see the mention of the early bird discount but wasn't sure if that was via Royal or not.

 

What was the cost of the swim?

[Debitoo]

Thank you for taking the time to do this review! I'll be sailing on her in September and I'm looking for any tips and hints that I can find! The balcony theater seating and the deck 12 aft lounge chairs will be great! Thanks again!

[DrD]

Great review.

 

Did you book the dolphin swim thru Royal or direct?

 

I see the mention of the early bird discount but wasn't sure if that was via Royal or not.

 

What was the cost of the swim?

 

I booked through Chankanaab a for some reason RCCL does not offer the Royal Swim (ironic huh?)

 

http://www.**********************cozumel/cozumel-activities-dolphin-royal-swim.asp

 

It's $149 adults (older than 12.) $89 kids.

 

They also offer 10% discount for early booking and right now are offering $30 off for any booking at least 4 days in advance.

 

Edit: link didn't come through, just google Chankanaab.

Edited April 16, 2014 by DrD

[ClevelandRocks!]

Thank you for your review. It was helpful to me in my planning for our Oasis Western itinerary this summer. Looks like your family had a great time. My kids are the same age as yours, but we have a girl and a boy (12 and 9 respectively). We've not gone on a family cruise before. I'm not sure how my children will like Adventure Ocean. My 12 year old is a bit intimidated when meeting new people. My son is just happy to be part of a pack, so to speak.

[mickev99]

Great review.

 

Did you book the dolphin swim thru Royal or direct?

 

I see the mention of the early bird discount but wasn't sure if that was via Royal or not.

 

What was the cost of the swim?

 

When I booked, I did it through dolphin discovery dot com. No spaces, but can't post it that way. I got 25% off when I booked 45 days in advance.

[mickev99]

Glad you guys like it.

 

BTW, I did something a bit different from most, as you probably noticed.

 

I did the whole thing up in Word, then cut and past it in. This way the whole thing went up at once, more or less.

 

Less drumming up of suspense but I think it's easier to read without so many replies in between sections of the review.

 

What do you think of that approach? Is it better than the traditional "serial novel" technique?

 

I did my review on my NCL cruise in December the same way that you did here. I love reading reviews and don't mind waiting for more to come, but I hate trying to start a review after it's already been written and there are 55 pages, and 45 of them are comments! Makes it really difficult. I much prefer what you've done here, and I'll do the same thing when I post a review after my June cruise.

[ryano]

Excellent review and pictures. I love Freedom of the Seas and hope to go on her again real soon.

 

Thanks for sharing :) Love the copy and paste approach! Thats exactly how I do mine too.

Edited April 16, 2014 by ryano

[jndsilver31]

DW and I have been on the FOS twice. Septermber 2012 was our very first cruise. We loved the ship. Then we went on the FOS again in October 2013. The FOS is such a wonderful ship.

 

Loved your review. Brings back lots of wonderful memories from our first two cruises.

 

We are going on the Allure in September and when we are on the Allure we are going to book an 11night Souther Caribbean cruise on the Serenade for April 2016

[Cruisenhawk]

Awesome, thanks.

 

One more if I may... How did you get there?

 

Cab, I assume.

[Raenstoirm]

Glad you guys like it.

 

BTW, I did something a bit different from most, as you probably noticed.

 

I did the whole thing up in Word, then cut and past it in. This way the whole thing went up at once, more or less.

 

Less drumming up of suspense but I think it's easier to read without so many replies in between sections of the review.

 

What do you think of that approach? Is it better than the traditional "serial novel" technique?

 

I loved the format. So much easier to read without the 100 comments between each post like others said. I'm thinking I may do a trip report for our upcoming Freedom and if I do, I will do it your way.

[DrD]

Awesome, thanks.

 

One more if I may... How did you get there?

 

Cab, I assume.

 

Yes, $12 each way, I gave $15. Easy to get cab both at port and on return, there's a nice cab stand at both places. About 10 minute drive.

[DrD]

I loved the format. So much easier to read without the 100 comments between each post like others said. I'm thinking I may do a trip report for our upcoming Freedom and if I do, I will do it your way.

 

Thanks. The only downside is it take a while to get anything up at all. But OTOH there's no pressure to keep going once you've started.

Edited April 16, 2014 by DrD

[Smokey Mountain Tim]

Glad you guys like it.

 

BTW, I did something a bit different from most, as you probably noticed.

 

I did the whole thing up in Word, then cut and past it in. This way the whole thing went up at once, more or less.

 

Less drumming up of suspense but I think it's easier to read without so many replies in between sections of the review.

 

What do you think of that approach? Is it better than the traditional "serial novel" technique?

 

Yes, I prefer it this way, especially this week when there are three reviews going ( I don't have to keep all these windows open).

[Cachecruiser]

Thank you for the review, very nice. Can't wait to cruise on the Freedom OTS. We'll be on the ship in November on a B2B. :)

 

How much time did you spend at KSC? We think about a visit on the changing day between the 2 cruises. But don't know if there will be enough time on that day. It depends how long the immigration will take, do you think that would work well?

[ClevelandRocks!]

Glad you guys like it.

 

BTW, I did something a bit different from most, as you probably noticed.

 

I did the whole thing up in Word, then cut and past it in. This way the whole thing went up at once, more or less.

 

Less drumming up of suspense but I think it's easier to read without so many replies in between sections of the review.

 

What do you think of that approach? Is it better than the traditional "serial novel" technique?

 

I loved that it was finished quickly and I didn't have to wait for an update - or wade through lots of replies to get through it - but then the review was over before I knew it :) Guess I can't have it both ways!

[Debitoo]

Glad you guys like it.

 

BTW, I did something a bit different from most, as you probably noticed.

 

I did the whole thing up in Word, then cut and past it in. This way the whole thing went up at once, more or less.

 

Less drumming up of suspense but I think it's easier to read without so many replies in between sections of the review.

 

What do you think of that approach? Is it better than the traditional "serial novel" technique?

Quick question: Were you able to cut and past the photos right along with the text into the box or did you just have the links to them in the word doc? (I hope that made sense).

[DrD]

Thank you for the review, very nice. Can't wait to cruise on the Freedom OTS. We'll be on the ship in November on a B2B. :)

 

How much time did you spend at KSC? We think about a visit on the changing day between the 2 cruises. But don't know if there will be enough time on that day. It depends how long the immigration will take, do you think that would work well?

 

We were there about 5 hours but could have spent longer. If you just do the included bus tour and see the Saturn V / Apollo exhibit (part of bus tour) your plan is feasible.

Edited April 16, 2014 by DrD

[DrD]

Quick question: Were you able to cut and past the photos right along with the text into the box or did you just have the links to them in the word doc? (I hope that made sense).

 

Yes perfect sense!

 

I put the photo links into the word doc, they were then cut and pasted in here with the text.

 

This helped as there's a 6 picture per post limit, so it was easy to scan my word doc and pick where to break it up into the individual posts.