Freedom Of the Seas tips, hints and secrets

[Koolaid33]

We will be sailing the Freedom on our first RC cruise coming up this summer. We have sailed carnival 5 times but looking for a little change. We will be doing the Western Caribbean which will have three new ports to us. I would love to hear about any tips, hints, or secrets that are just with the freedom. Any thing from check in, ports, or even what to try at dinner. This is our first RC cruise and I want to make the best of it. Thought if I started this now I would have some great information by this summer.

 

Cheers

 

 

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[jeditden]

If you are interested in trying the flowrider, the best times to check it out are on embarkation day as well as port days. Seems obvious, but usually it's slow enough they don't throw the divider up for boogie boarding and you can really "carve" it up. Also if you are doing a specialty restaurant, in my opinion, Giovanni's is better than Chops. And that's from a guy who loves his red meat. Giovanni's has a delicious T-Bone.

[MattInFLL]

I'm about to go on her for the first time - but Freedom is having a major drydock in January and is expected to get Dynamic Dining. Other than the fact that we can read about the new restaurants in DD, no one has experienced it yet - so there will be a lot of new information to come. (The MDR will become different restaurants, new restaurants will be added, etc.)

 

I found the port calls boards to be very helpful. This will be my first time in Grand Cayman and Falmouth and have not been to Labadee since 2002. In GC, after doing my research, I chose a "best of GC tour" that includes Stingray City, Hell, and the Turtle Farm. I booked through an independent operator. In Falmouth, I chose a Dunn's River Falls tour since that is considered "must do". In Labadee I'm doing the zip line and then relaxing on the beach.

Edited October 9, 2014 by MattInFLL

[cb at sea]

I think you'll find most stuff more similar, than different! Do a bit of research on your ports...that's the best way to get the most from your shore time!

[jules815]

Here's a Freedom tip I learned here on Cruise Critic.

 

If you want to go out to the helipad at the bow of the ship and avoid the flight of stairs out on deck 4, you can cut through Pharaoh's Palace located on deck 5 at the front of the ship. During the day (and some evenings) there's not a lot going on there. We only did this when it was empty. Walk in and you'll see a DJ booth on the right. Walk past that booth and you'll see a set of doors that look like they're crew only, but they're not. They lead right out to the entrance to the helipad. Only a short flight of stairs (4 maybe?) and you're there.

 

Great place for stargazing at night, too.

[beerman2]

Just returned so here's a couple of thoughts. Will do a review soon.

 

Embarkation RCI heads above Carnival

 

Ship had a real classy comfortable feel to it.

 

The layout of the 3 distinct pool areas.

[Koolaid33]

Has any one booked a cruise through a TA and received and OBC and VIP check in??? I was just wondering how much time the VIP check in saved?

 

 

 

 

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[Clarea]

Has any one booked a cruise through a TA and received and OBC and VIP check in??? I was just wondering how much time the VIP check in saved?

My experience is that check-in is so fast that any difference in priority is about 5 minutes.

[Kycruisefan]

Sailing on FOS for first time next July. I am curious about any and all tips as well.

 

Thanks in advance

[mickev99]

I have a review linked at the bottom of my signature if you want to read it. I loved the Freedom! We'll be doing the Indy (sister ship) next summer because we wanted to do Eastern and liked the ports better on the Indy than what Freedom offers at the same time.

 

This is another review from April 2014. It is very detailed with tons of pics and Cruise Compasses, Adventure Ocean Compasses, and menu pictures. I read it before I went and it helped out a lot:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2027131&page=12

 

Not sure what all will change with Freedom after the drydock, though.

 

Great ship, great layout! Enjoyed it so much!

Edited October 14, 2014 by mickev99

[Cruisingthesuitelife]

Here's a Freedom tip I learned here on Cruise Critic.

 

If you want to go out to the helipad at the bow of the ship and avoid the flight of stairs out on deck 4, you can cut through Pharaoh's Palace located on deck 5 at the front of the ship. During the day (and some evenings) there's not a lot going on there. We only did this when it was empty. Walk in and you'll see a DJ booth on the right. Walk past that booth and you'll see a set of doors that look like they're crew only, but they're not. They lead right out to the entrance to the helipad. Only a short flight of stairs (4 maybe?) and you're there.

 

Great place for stargazing at night, too.

 

This is a great tip, thank you! Particularly good for those with limited mobility and can only manage a few steps at a time.

[NewCruiser77]

Great tips, thanks! I'm going to be doing my first cruise on Freedom of the Seas in September of next year so this is very helpful :)