Freedom of the Seas and Celebrity

[dinosaurdem]

My wife and I just returned from two weeks in the Caribbean on Freedom of the Seas. We are Elite Plus on Celebrity and this was our first cruise on Royal. I would like to share a few observations. First, if I ever take my grand children on a cruise this will be the ship. I've never seen a happier group of kids. As an adult I would not choose her for me and my wife. Secondly, on twenty cruises I have seldom seen a more pleasant and helpful staff. That being said, the ship is huge and most of the public areas show evidence of last year's drydock, except the décor is dated looking a lot like a jazzed up version of Princess' 70s in Miami. The Promenade is spectacular, but not useful for us. Our first stateroom was an inside, which was both small and poorly laid out. Access to the bed was impossible on one side and difficult on the other. If you get one, don't put the beds together. Decor was worse than the public areas. Bed and shower were good and pillows hard as a rock. Room and layout in a verandah cabin were fine. The stewards were a little less visible and sometimes missed a daytime visit.

 

Restaurants were important to us so here goes. The MDR had lines for breakfast and a buffet. The two times we ate breakfast in the MDR the eggs benedict were stone cold. While we usually eat most sea day breakfasts in the MDR we avoided it. The same held true for lunch. In the evening, the good news is that the food was as good as Princess and a little less creative than Celebrity. Service was very good. The My Time Dining was not very flexible, but we managed to game the system. The buffet was adequate but repetitive with less variety than Celebrity. The salad bar was limited. There was no sandwich bar or Benedict bar. Service beat Celebrity badly, way more helpful. The reservation of space in Giovanni's for Diamond members was pleasant. The Promenade Café was okay. Princess wins here. There was no pain au chocolat or almond croissant to be found anywhere on the ship. Sorrento's served mediocre pizza, advantage Celebrity, but Princess best.

 

Chops was a very positive experience. Food and ambience were not quite as good as Celebrity, but the price was much less. The Chef's Table also benefitted from its $55 price, but it was held in the buffet, and again, the menu was less imaginative. Our reservation got lost. Giovanni's Table was a disaster. Bread was dried out Cake could be picked up and pounded on the plate. Seafood pasta was dry and without seafood, and my wife's veal dish was not as advertised. The manager came to the table while I was away, and insulted my wife. I had a fifteen minute conversation with him about how to treat customers and never got through. A half dozen dining staff told us that they would never work for him. I had a 20 to 30 minute positive conversation with his boss about remediation.

 

As to Crown and Anchor, in two weeks we never saw the hostess. The concierge was both present and helpful. The evening drink system is better than Celebrity's in that the range of drinks is broader and the evening munchies are repetitive, but of better quality than Celebrity. The room is small and sterile, but for the windows. The espresso based coffee machine is always available, but as Elite Plus I prefer the barista prepared product. The continental breakfast location, food and coffee is better.

 

There was no handy ship map, paper or pen in the room. Toiletries only come at the Diamond level. The breakfast room service menu was more limited. Embarkation and disembarkation were great. All in all a good experience, but I would rate Celebrity first followed by Princess, and RCI, unless I brought the grandkids.

[champagne123]

Thank you for taking the time to write this review. Your comparison points were very interesting and fair. I have only had the pleasure of sailing with Celebrity once and loved every second of it. Hope to return again someday. :):):)

[Clarea]

Thanks for the report.

[Keith1010]

Thank you for the informative report.

 

Keith

[dinosaurdem]

Sorry I have nothing about bars and shows. We don't do either.

[dinosaurdem]

For those to whom it matters, Celebrity rewards loyalty with internet hours and RCI with internet days. There is no laundry benefit at Diamond.

[Clarea]

For those to whom it matters, Celebrity rewards loyalty with internet hours and RCI with internet days. There is no laundry benefit at Diamond.

No free laundry for Diamond, but there is a discount.

[marci22]

Thanks for the review, enjoyed reading.

[Scotty G]

Very good review. Glad that you addressed your concerns directly to immediate supervision while on board.

 

Our recent experiences in Giovanni's were quite different than yours - food and service were excellent. Hopefully it has been corrected by now!

Edited March 4, 2016 by Scotty G

[Merion_Mom]

My wife and I just returned from two weeks in the Caribbean on Freedom of the Seas. We are Elite Plus on Celebrity and this was our first cruise on Royal. I would like to share a few observations. First, if I ever take my grand children on a cruise this will be the ship. I've never seen a happier group of kids. As an adult I would not choose her for me and my wife. Secondly, on twenty cruises I have seldom seen a more pleasant and helpful staff. That being said, the ship is huge and most of the public areas show evidence of last year's drydock, except the décor is dated looking a lot like a jazzed up version of Princess' 70s in Miami. The Promenade is spectacular, but not useful for us. Our first stateroom was an inside, which was both small and poorly laid out. Access to the bed was impossible on one side and difficult on the other. If you get one, don't put the beds together. Decor was worse than the public areas. Bed and shower were good and pillows hard as a rock. Room and layout in a verandah cabin were fine. The stewards were a little less visible and sometimes missed a daytime visit.

 

Restaurants were important to us so here goes. The MDR had lines for breakfast and a buffet. The two times we ate breakfast in the MDR the eggs benedict were stone cold. While we usually eat most sea day breakfasts in the MDR we avoided it. The same held true for lunch. In the evening, the good news is that the food was as good as Princess and a little less creative than Celebrity. Service was very good. The My Time Dining was not very flexible, but we managed to game the system. The buffet was adequate but repetitive with less variety than Celebrity. The salad bar was limited. There was no sandwich bar or Benedict bar. Service beat Celebrity badly, way more helpful. The reservation of space in Giovanni's for Diamond members was pleasant. The Promenade Café was okay. Princess wins here. There was no pain au chocolat or almond croissant to be found anywhere on the ship. Sorrento's served mediocre pizza, advantage Celebrity, but Princess best.

 

Chops was a very positive experience. Food and ambience were not quite as good as Celebrity, but the price was much less. The Chef's Table also benefitted from its $55 price, but it was held in the buffet, and again, the menu was less imaginative. Our reservation got lost. Giovanni's Table was a disaster. Bread was dried out Cake could be picked up and pounded on the plate. Seafood pasta was dry and without seafood, and my wife's veal dish was not as advertised. The manager came to the table while I was away, and insulted my wife. I had a fifteen minute conversation with him about how to treat customers and never got through. A half dozen dining staff told us that they would never work for him. I had a 20 to 30 minute positive conversation with his boss about remediation.

As to Crown and Anchor, in two weeks we never saw the hostess. The concierge was both present and helpful. The evening drink system is better than Celebrity's in that the range of drinks is broader and the evening munchies are repetitive, but of better quality than Celebrity. The room is small and sterile, but for the windows. The espresso based coffee machine is always available, but as Elite Plus I prefer the barista prepared product. The continental breakfast location, food and coffee is better.

 

There was no handy ship map, paper or pen in the room. Toiletries only come at the Diamond level. The breakfast room service menu was more limited. Embarkation and disembarkation were great. All in all a good experience, but I would rate Celebrity first followed by Princess, and RCI, unless I brought the grandkids.

 

There is no "hostess". The CONCIERGE *is* that person. Just a difference in title.

 

Anyone can ask for toiletries.

[Scotty G]

There is no "hostess". The CONCIERGE *is* that person. Just a difference in title.

 

Anyone can ask for toiletries.

 

Perhaps the OP was referring to the Loyalty Ambassador.

 

We did see her on our last Freedom cruise at the events and at her desk. She did make the rounds in the Diamond Club taking pictures to post on the big screen TV used to advertise RCI stuff.

[dinosaurdem]

Perhaps the OP was referring to the Loyalty Ambassador.

 

We did see her on our last Freedom cruise at the events and at her desk. She did make the rounds in the Diamond Club taking pictures to post on the big screen TV used to advertise RCI stuff.

 

Sorry. I am not familiar with RCI terminology. The Loyalty Ambassador was missing in action. The only laundry discount I saw was $10 off $30 on socks and underwear.

[Merion_Mom]

Sorry. I am not familiar with RCI terminology. The Loyalty Ambassador was missing in action. The only laundry discount I saw was $10 off $30 on socks and underwear.

 

Yes, that is the Diamond laundry benefit: $10 off a bag of wash 'n' fold laundry.

 

The Concierge can and does do far more for you than the Loyalty Ambassador. Did you need something specifically that the Concierge was unable to accomplish for you?

[dinosaurdem]

Yes, that is the Diamond laundry benefit: $10 off a bag of wash 'n' fold laundry.

 

The Concierge can and does do far more for you than the Loyalty Ambassador. Did you need something specifically that the Concierge was unable to accomplish for you?

 

Nope, just wondered where she was and what she does for a living. Since the wash and fold does not include shirts and pants, it was not useful to us. We brought almost enough unders and socks to only have to wash out a couple of things. We paid full price for shirts and pants.

[Merion_Mom]

Nope, just wondered where she was and what she does for a living. Since the wash and fold does not include shirts and pants, it was not useful to us. We brought almost enough unders and socks to only have to wash out a couple of things. We paid full price for shirts and pants.

 

It does include "shirts", as in t-shirts or ordinary knit type shirts like polos. It does not include men's dress shirts.

[CookieDiva]

Interesting review. Thanks for taking the time to share your thoughts.

 

The My Time Dining was not very flexible, but we managed to game the system.

 

Could you give some details on how you were able to do this?

[dinosaurdem]

It does include "shirts", as in t-shirts or ordinary knit type shirts like polos. It does not include men's dress shirts.

 

Not on our list, and honest I am not trying to trash RCCI. We just did not find the laundry benefit useful. I'm glad you do. Some of us do not wear knit shirts even if they were on the list. Woven sport shirts are not the same as dress shirts and most men look better in them after 40. As to getting an earlier slot on MTD. we reserved 7:30, but showed up at 7:00. After the first time they gave us the same wait staff and time for two weeks. They were very pleasant about it and we skipped the 7:30 crowd.