Live from the Freedom of the Seas 8 Day Sailing - Dec 10, 2016

[A&L_Ont]

Ken, you're killing me. I'm at work and I see these pics of ribs, chicken and T-Bone steaks and that's not mentioning the photos of warm tropical locations. Then you scope the get together with Rick and the Rat, out for drinks last night. Killing me I tell ya. Oh the humanity.;)

 

Edit: I do like that you were able to meet up with your parents for the day. That's rather cool.

[easyboy]

We did self assist, 32 mins from door to door. We used Mobile passport, which was probably 20 mins quicker than the regular line. Took a taxi to FLL and did a one way rental to Miami. Hello old friend...

That was pretty quick!

[pgold128]

Not currently operational - sport deck crew had no other info

 

 

Thank you.

This review was awesome!

Is Sabor enjoyable? I headed out on the same itinerary in march.

Was there anything to do in st kits if you just got off the boat and explored around the dock and Town? We have never been there and didn't really want to make it a beach day.

Thanks

 

 

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[Kcjarvis]

Remember you can see everything I have described here on my periscope replays at http://www.periscope.tv/kcjarvis and/or @kcjarvis on the app

 

 

 

 

[Kcjarvis]

Cabin – The Owners Suite was fantastic. The balcony door required some effort to open.

 

Suite Attendant – Outstanding – Seville from St. Vincent did a great job and always called us by name. We received 6 towel animals, more than any other cruise we had been on.

 

Cruise Director / Entertainment – Excellent – Casey Pelter – Was very entertaining and visible. Drew Thomas Magic show was wonderful. The Quest was a little different with each section having 4-6 team captains.

Concierge – Rahul – Excellent – He escorted us off at all ports, which was fantastic. He also responded to pre cruise emails very quickly.

 

Diamond Concierge – Carlington – Outstanding – He remembered us from the Enchantment days. One great thing, he would check on the Diamonds in the VCL, when the DL was crowded, to see if anyone needed anything. There was bar service.

 

Internet Service – OK – Good service in the VCL and DL, poor service in our stateroom. No service on balcony. Skype video worked, iMessage, Facetime, Good client vpn and Mobile Iron VPN worked. Netflix, Hulu, YouTube and Slingbox worked after 3 mins of buffering. Periscope was hit or miss depending upon your location on the ship.

 

Food – (Subjective) – Excellent – Great job with the cooked to order steak and shrimp stations in the Windjammer on the 2nd formal night. The WJ food was hot and had the appropriate seasoning. There was a lot more variety than the Navigator and Liberty WJ. The Chops veal chop was outstanding and Sabor was fantastic. Bring back the Vidalia onion tart and the old mud pie!!!!!!

 

Room service – Very good – Ordered off the MDR menu multiple times. The food arrived quickly and was hot

 

Misc – No problem bringing a case of water in a duffle bag in FL and another case in San Juan. No problem bringing an extension cord.

 

Special Shout outs – JR in the VCL, Super Mario and the couple who recognized me from Periscope.

 

Conclusion:

 

I was blown away by the level of service on this Freedom sailing especially compared to the Navigator Thanksgiving sailing. The Navigator Suite luncheon was run by the Guest Services Manager; the Freedom luncheon was run by the Captain and the Hotel Director. The Navigator luncheon was a buffet; on the Freedom luncheon we were served. There were twice as many choices in the Freedom WJ compared to the Navigator WJ. There was bar service in the Freedom DL compared to the Navigator DL. Not to bash the Navigator, but the level of execution is far superior on Freedom. The Freedom Crew makes connections with people. On 3 occasions at 3 different bars, after ordering one drink, the bartenders remembered my name and my drink for the entire cruise. They would say,” Hey Ken, same thing?” That’s great customer service. Through all of the RCCL cost cutting initiatives, the Freedom Crew has managed to keep the customer first, and maintain what traditional cruising is all about – Wowing the customers.

 

Rating: I am going to deduct 1 point for the Wi-Fi performance in the cabin

 

Total score 99%

 

Another great vacation, we remain loyal to Royal.

 

This is Ken Jarvis and I approve this review - Thank you for reading and watching on Periscope. Happy Holidays

 

 

RKSister...BOOM!!!!!!!!

[easyboy]

Thank you for your recap. You really enjoyed your cruise with that very high mark!

[DISFANS3]

Awesome trip, we be on the same cruise Jan 2018.

[Kcjarvis]

Awesome trip, we be on the same cruise Jan 2018.

 

 

Enjoy

 

 

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[riclop]

Thanks for sharing.

[nivek82]

Great review not sure how I didn't see it until now. Question. When were the hours of the WJ at night?

[Kcjarvis]

Great review not sure how I didn't see it until now. Question. When were the hours of the WJ at night?

 

 

6:30 to 9:00 i think. Hahah

 

 

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[DP]

What time did the Diamond + lounge open at night? When you state actual bar in lounge do you mean like with bar stools?

 

Where was Suites luncheon held? Were Pinnacle Members invited as well?

[Kcjarvis]

What time did the Diamond + lounge open at night?

 

Drinks started at 5pm

 

When you state actual bar in lounge do you mean like with bar stools?

 

3 weeks ago on Navigator there was no waiter server in the DL. You had to go get your own drinks. Freedom has traditional DL waiter service

 

Where was Suites luncheon held? Were Pinnacle Members invited as well?

 

Chops and Pinnacles were invited

[pgold128]

Someone posted about a 14 part video on YouTube the same cruise as you. The eastern 8 day dec 10 go check it out.

 

 

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[Kcjarvis]

Someone posted about a 14 part video on YouTube the same cruise as you. The eastern 8 day dec 10 go check it out.

 

 

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Thanks. Will check it out

 

 

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