Freedom Cruise Sept 20-27th

[karen&roy]

Going to post this in sections as I dont have a lot of time. I never wrote a long review before but enjoyed reading them so thought I would try and help out also by posting one. My DH and I, 55 and 60yrs old started out flyng from Indianapolis via Atlanta to Orlando the day before. This was our second time on the Freedom the last time being in 2008. First mistake buying my Neutrogena sun block at last minute only to get it taken away at security in my backpack. At least I wasnt sent to the naughty room!

Arrived in Orlando and quickly went to the Budget car rental desk while my husband got the luggage to pick up our $28 rental. The car lot is right across the street at the airport so it was super easy. They gave me a KIA which I kindly whined for an American car to no avail. We both support the UAW so try and buy American whenever possible which is getting harder every day...anyway...Easy drive straight on 528E to the port. You cant get lost or go any further or you will be in the ocean. Saw the Disney ship and it was a beauty. Starting to get excited jumping around in the car!

Booked the LaQuinta Inn as I read good reviews and it is directly on the beach. Found it thanks to maps on my phone and it looked really nice with a bar and restaurant open air on the beach. Went to the front desk only to find out we werent booked there?? HUH?? Turns out there is another LaQuinta down the road a bit right across from the ocean, which is cheaper. Drove there and checked in. It looked a little old on the outside but they did a nice job redoing it. It has a big sign telling you all about its the original hotel the 7 Astronauts bought, with all the stats on it.If you watched Astronauts wives club you can relate to the pool scene. It was really cool. Room was really nice... new big comfortable beds, very clean and looks like it has been recently refurbished. Nice bar upstairs and restaurant. No complaints at all...more to come :D

[Cruisingthesuitelife]

Great start! Looking forward to reading your review, thanks for taking the time to do it!

[ampc007]

Hi we also were on this ship and roll call (just did a little review as well) looking forward to reading more. :)

[John&LaLa]

Your Kia was probably made in Alabama. That's sort of America ;)

Edited October 1, 2015 by John&LaLa

[Biker19]

Your Kia was probably made in Alabama. That's sort of America ;)

 

Yeah, but that's not a union plant so it doesn't count.:rolleyes:

[karen&roy]

OK so next morning get up too early as we are so excited. Leave around 9:30 to take the car back. Return the car then wait about 10 minutes for the next shuttle from Budget to the ship. Get there around 10:15 and there is a line. Apparently the doors are not open yet. I thought they opened at 10:30 but they didnt open until 11. Probably about 40 people in front of me who sailed in and checked in. As soon as I got to the counters ALL the computers went down!! The nice agents were trying to tell people in line what the hold up was but as usual there was a lot of bitching going on (like the agents can do anything!) I was prepared for a mob scene..lol. After about 15 min they came up and I was sent to be seated in the gold section. When they called our section you would not have believed how people rushed the line. I almost got knocked over! I was taken back to my days at a Rolling Stones concert! :eek: Got on the ship about noon.

Went to the windjammer to eat as we were famished by then. Dont even remember what we had because we were so hungry. Next time I will take my time and go to breakfast before I embark. Really enjoyed the flavored water they had out in glasses everyday and my husband loved the lemonade. We took our plates out by the pool and enjoyed it. Next to the pool BAR for the drink of the day!! I bought the premium package and my DH the select package as he is a beer drinker. It was already stamped on our seapass card at check in. I asked for the sail away drink without the special cup that cost $3.95. The waiter was so nice he gave my DH one also for free. That deserved a dollar coin!! I bought a roll for $25 of dollar coins at the bank before I left and gave them out when service was super. That waiter never forgot us or our names after that :D Time to walk around take some pics and check on our room...more to come

[luvsun22]

Great start Karen! We were on this cruise too, we met you at the meet and mingle sail away get together. It was a great cruise!! I'm looking forward to hearing your review. :D

[ddebaets]

Loving the review!!

[karen&roy]

Great start Karen! We were on this cruise too, we met you at the meet and mingle sail away get together. It was a great cruise!! I'm looking forward to hearing your review. :D

 

 

Hi again! Looks like we picked the right dates! The people that went out after us missed Grand Cayman because of the weather! :eek:

[karen&roy]

Last time we were on the Freedom was 2008 and she is just as nice now as she was then. The only difference I noticed was the movie screen on the pool deck, more stuff in the kiddie play area and the soda machines which I loved. There is one in the promenade and a few in the Windjammer. Down to our room 6636 which was a balcony room on the hump. Love the hump or bump as some call it because of the larger balcony. The woman next to us said she didnt like hers because it got more wind being stuck out a bit and she could hear the glass rattle a bit?? I never noticed it :confused: 6636 is a great room because it is right above where the pilot jumps on the ship coming into port and jumps off leaving the different islands. They put a little rope ladder down while moving and he jumps on! Its amazing to see. My husband got a few pictures of it.

Room was nice and clean but NO luggage yet. Met our room steward and she was really nice. I asked her to empty the frig which she did and for ice. The ice bucket was always full after that.Muster drill was called and we went to deck 4 outside but no need for the life jackets. It was over quickly so after a stop (or two) at a bar, lol, went looking for luggage. I had my mardi gra beads in them for our meet and mingle get together at sky bar but 3pm and still no luggage. Oh well..off to sky bar for my Johnnie walker. Oh..also our drink cups for soda were in our room so took them with us...later

[casinostreer]

I do strongly dislike people who rush the door when boarding. Same with airplane gates - except without the fight over luggage storage. We've been very fortunate to arrive at the gate around 11:15. The initial crowd is usually gone and by the time we have our sea passes, the ship is ready to board. Last summer - we LITERALLY walked right on to the ship! Maybe I shouldn't be telling people - now it'll never work again! :)

 

I love the dollar coin idea. :D We usually go to the bank and get about $100 in ones for the bartenders.

 

Love reading your review. We're departing (NC) in 14 days for our cruise on Freedom.

[Clipper123]

I think I'm going to really enjoy this review. Can't wait for more :)

[karen&roy]

Up to sky bar on deck 11 for sail away and meet my fellow meet and mingle chaps. Put faces to some on line names and met a lot of fun people. Even though our luggage still hadnt come and I was "beadless", I think we were easily recognized by out tattoos :rolleyes: Time to explore a little single malt scotch. Having the drink package I wanted to try a few single malts that I wouldnt usually do if I had to pay for them all, so the bartender at the Bull & Bear pub let me try a variety in shot glasses. Ahhh...feeling better now. Think Im still a Johnnie Walker double black fan :o We had late dinner seating but decided to go to Johnnie Rockets..oh I see a pattern here! LOL The burgers were amazing and loved the onion rings and practically empty in there so had fun with the waiters.

Back to the room..low and behold the luggage had arrived and our sweet stewardess was lugging it in our room for us. YES the rumrunner was in there and I didnt have to go to the naughty room!! Jump all over me if you want but I wanted to make sure I could have a few cocktails in my room without running to the bar for one at a time with my drink package. Think we are going to skip the welcome aboard show so off to the casino we go....;)

[karen&roy]

Well the casino was fun but it won..lol Got up early to watch us pulling into Coco Cay. Never been there before so was excited. We brought our snorkeling gear with us to try it out there. Went to Starbucks for my DH as the ship coffee was like mud. Even though we brought our traveling french vanilla creamer it was still pretty gross. He is a coffee drinker so this was a must. Went to pick up a few bottles of water and was told I can but his beverage package didnt include it! They did give me 2 bottles though because I had no idea his package didnt allow it.:confused: Ready to leave by 8:30 and no line at all..just got on the tender and went. Got off and saw all the neat little shops but wanted to get to our chairs. It was like 95 degrees and NO breeze. Too hot to even shop for me :( Walked to he left a bit and found a few chairs..one in the shade for me. The water was clam and beautiful! A little grassy on the bottom but great. Saw a stingray and a bunch of fish as we brought tiny dog biscuits with us and they swarmed us. Beautiful place..Got my Coco Loco after snorkeling for awhile and went and sat on a bench by the outside little bar.

This is what really bothered me..Noticed an elderly man, an old marine as we later found out, sitting with his wife across form us. He was drinking beer and did look a little wasted. All of a sudden I noticed his wife putting cold rags on his neck and a few other people coming over. He started shaking violently and they laid him on the bench and he was having a seizure. meanwhile I had ran up to the bartenders there and told them to call Medical immediately! 10 min stil nobody!!!! That guy could have died! After about another 5 min and me going up to the bar repeatedly a girl shows up in whites with NO medical equipment! NO blood pressure cuff! Nothing at all! I was shocked! I even remarked to her..why no equipment at all?? She gave me a dirty look and just said "we will take care of this" If he was having a heart attack he would have been dead! They took him away in a sand wheelchair. I could not believe what I just saw! Note to self..Do Not have an emergency on the ships island!! ..Unbelievable!

After that scenario we went and ate at the barbecue. I was really amazed at the amount and variety of the buffet. The ribs are to die for so get lots of those. Kind of worn out after the snorkeling and watching the medical situation so back to the ship early for us.......any questions just ask ;)

[CookieDiva]

Sounds great (except for the medical emergency.) Thanks for posting. Going on the FOS on this itinerary in 6 months!

[karen&roy]

Couldnt believe formal night was this night after Coco Cay. We had 8pm late seating so that helped a lot. Went for a snack at the windjammer to hold us over until 8pm. Had a large table as requested with some pretty interesting table mates. We didnt quite click as they seemed to be the platinum type and were dressed to prove it with jewels and all so I felt a bit out place even though we were quite dressed up by our standards. Waiters were super friendly but I feel the food went down a bit. It was just "ok". The escargot was swimming in oil and butter so you could hardly find them. We had the beef dish which was good but nothing spectacular. I never was offered a cocktail at dinner so just drank water. Saw the show that night but was uninspired and left early. Went to the Schooner bar where the piano player was doing a thing on Jimmy Buffet which was much more fun. Had great bartenders there that did all kinds of magic tricks so they got a few of my dollar coins that night! Hit the late night comedy show which was pretty good and risque ..lol. Tomorrow St Thomas!!

[karen&roy]

Oh a small tip...grab some cookies, milk, fruit or whatever from the windjammer in the morning and put it in your frig so you can have a snack whenever. The pizza joint was ok but kind of like a Dominos :p They did have great panini sandwiches there that I liked and caprese salad which is good :D

[karen&roy]

Woke up to room service as this was a sea day. I was wrong in my previous post. Had some bacon and eggs, danishes, juice and mud coffee :eek: Noticed my ankles were so swollen it looked like I had broken them, the left one more than the right. I could not figure out what was going on but my feet also looked a bit like Fred Flintstones!! Sent my DH down to the doc and he came back with a bag to fill with ice to keep my feet up...yea like that is going to happen on a cruise!! LOL Left a note for our room steward for extra ice and sure enough there was a huge bucket delivered to our room. Time to go get a chair. tried to get on the solarium deck but could NEVER get a chair there with all the towel hogs!! They had nice [added loungers on that side but could never get one in the morning. Did use the pool on that side a lot though. WHY are they hogging the chairs near the pool and never even go in???:confused:

Saw the animated 3D movie HOME was playing that day so we went to that. A lot of complaining out loud "This isnt an adult movie!! "Whats this crap" WOW..some people!! If you dont like it then LEAVE!!more soon.....

[karen&roy]

WEnt to the ice show that evening and it was fabulous. Still amazed how they do that on such a small area while we are moving. Had dinner at Chops and it was fabulous! Next cruise i think I will do them more than once. Cant say enough about the tender steak. ummmm Took in the show even though I cant remember what it was called. I must say I wasnt impressed with any of the shows. One night it was just a guy on Piano dressed in Elton John costumes singing. I think its the same guy from the Schooner lounge that does that. Maybe they ran out of shows? I left after a few songs...boring

Found out from other cruisers the feet and ankles swelling is quite common even though it has never happened to me before on a ship? They say too much salt in the food and even though the water is desalinized there is still quite a bit in there and in the ice. Well i drank enough Johnny Walker on Ice to account for that!! LOL. I researched on here also and found the same answers. My husband said it looked like I was just feet and legs..no ankles! Kankles!! :eek: