Freedom of the Sea's review - 03/26/17 - 04/01/17

[famof4togo]

Well after Months of planning, day dreaming and anticipation...sadly it is all over now, all I have left is my recap review and then on the next vacation . So here I sit back at my desk at work still rocking and oh so sad to behome....I did not save any compasses so sorry in advance....We are a family of 4...myself (36), hubby (37), son (6) and my Mother (75) we are from San Diego....and we have all (except my son) been on several cruises previously...we are "go with the flow" type of people who are alwaysjust too happy to be on vacation to let the little things bother us....

 

We flew in Sat night to Ft Lauderdale (arrived in the rain) and stayed atthe Hyatt Pier 66....grounds were great, location was fine but the hotel itself was showing some age and IMO didn't quite live up to other Hyatt locations we have stayed at....we had a nice late dinner at the Hotel and went to bed earlyafter a long day of traveling...in the Morning, the sun was shining and we were so ready to get on that boat!!! We had a quick breakfast and took the shuttle over...

 

Embankment was extremely smooth....we took the 10:45 shuttle....and we were on the boat at 11:15...short line and very easy....we stopped at the first barwe saw got a drink and headed to the windjammer for some lunch....WINDJAMMER...we ate here for 2 lunches and 2 breakfasts....the food was ok...what one should realistically expect from a buffet, but I did think they had exceptional service....each meal we had our plates cleared quickly,drinks provided before we finished the prior drink and several stops to ask if we needed anything etc....while the food was nothing exceptional the servicewas way better than any other buffet I’ve been to.

 

After we ate we explored the ship for a bit...checked out our rooms,conducted muster...unfortunately, it was just a few minutes before we had to go to dinner (5:30 dinner) and we still had no luggage...one mention of this toour attendant and we had bags 2 minutes later....something to mention here...I know there is debate on tipping and I will say without a doubt I think our"extra" tipping paid off for us 10 fold...we always give our attendant $20 upon introduction just to start things off on the right foot...as soon as we did this, he was asking "do you need extra pillows""ice" etc etc etc...now while this may have occurred without theinitial tip I do feel it helped us get better service with a smile.... Samewent at the bars…we had the package but still tip cash on top of that and I do feel this gave us better and faster service…IMO.

 

We had a connecting balcony room 7606 with my mother and son in 7604...the room was nice, did have a few scratches and wear and tear but nothing to get upset over...our attendant was terrific the entire trip..no complaints....

 

That night we had dinner in the main dining room....which as to the debates I found the food fine...not the best food ever but certainly nothing to complain about...I think as long as one sets realistic expectations they will not be disappointed....one area (I think my only complaint forthe trip) was dessert...they definitely lack in the dessert area...I hadno fantastic desserts in the dining room at all, a few that were justok and several that were barely editable...that is my only negative on thewhole trip though.

 

We had one dinner at SABOR – Great experience…food was definitely on ahigher level than the Dining room…as was the service…we had the Calamari, Quesofundido, bacon wrapped chicken jalapenos, quesadilla, tiger shrimp and empanada’s and the dessert sampler. All was excellentwith the exception of the quesadilla which was just average.

 

That evening we took our son (age 6) to the ADVENTURE OCEAN...he is a bitshy and was reluctant to attend (I believe I had to bribe him with $20 for thearcade to go) we dropped him off after dinner and told him we would pick him upat 10pm....we arrived 10 minutes early to pick him up and he literally pointedat his watch and stated that we were "10 minutes early and would need tocome back later" that reoccurred the entire cruise...he LOVED kidsclub...he didn't go during the day but only because we were busy doing otherthings but he went every night and loved every minute of it...I thought hewould hate being confined to the one area...totally wasn't....every time wepicked him up all the kids looked like they were having so much fun playing game, doing projects and just having a blast...if you have any reluctantly atall I urge you to give it a try. His favorite night was Pirate night,they got their faces painted and a few dressed up and they had a parade thoughthe promenade. So cute and fun!!!

 

During the days we spent most of the time at the pools, we enjoyed the Sexyman contest and belly flop contest...the band was nice. We played miniputt but my son wasn't tall enough for the flow rider and didn't want to trythe rock wall. We saw one 3D movie (Boss Baby) it was cute, they did runout of 3D glasses and plenty of people were fuming but I just waited for someoneto leave and asked for their glasses, so my son only went about 5 minuteswithout the glasses so no big deal. I was also really impressed with the characterparade on the last days…short, sweet and well done.

 

We saw the Ice show...which was great but didn't really hold my 6 year oldsattention, same went for Once Upon a Time...well done but not very enjoyablewith a 6 year old who wasn't interested.....we saw both late night comedianswho were both good...not great but good...but we laughed out loud and enjoyedourselves...we saw the Love and Marriage show, played Majority rules andenjoyed the different bars....as others have stated Vintages was empty mostnights while the English pub was always packed...we like to just walk around,talk to people and eat eat eat lol.....hubby took up an interest in cigars thistrip so we enjoyed a few late nights at the cigar lounge....that was a greatplace to end our evenings.....

 

Our 6 year old really loved ordering room service every night...but this old menu is quite lacking and it took 45 minutes each night so he barely stayed awake to enjoy it, but whatever it was free.

 

We did go the casino most nights...we never won, lost pretty bad but that'show gambling goes and we had a good time all the same...my hubby did come in5th in the finale of the slot tournament but that was as close as we got to anyresemblance of winning in that casino.

 

PORTS –

 

Grand Cayman….so beautiful…we had an early excursion booked with Royal….abit unorganized but what one would expect when dealing with several 100 confused individuals….we did the Dolphin encounter….1/2 hour in the water withthe dolphins, then on to a beach club with food/drinks/chairs etc…there was onebummer here…there was a mix up with the bus so we spent about 45 minuteswaiting for the bus in the parking lot…now I understand things happen but itwould have been a lot less frustrating had we been allowed to wait at the beachand they called us out when the bus arrived…waiting in a parking lot not asmuch fun.

 

Cozumel – Best excursion of the trip…booked thru Royal with “Fury”…such agreat group…lovely catamaran, great snorkeling and then a beach with waterslides and other fun equipment…great location…fun crew and a great time.

 

Costa Maya – Jeep tour booked thru Royal….great trip…windy and there was alot of sea weed in the water but great day….

 

EMBARKMENT – Was almost too easy and quick…of us 4 only one passport waseven looked at and not a single question asked of any of us…but whatever wewere out of there in probably 10 minutes.

 

A few misc thoughts...

 

HARD SELLING - I did not feel at all that hard selling was being done...sure someone might come up to you and ask you if you have a dinner reservation or a drink package...yes that did occur...but never was it anything beyond asking a simple question and never did it take more than a simple no to be done withit....either we are less sensitive then other who got their panties in a bundle of this or they have stopped the hard selling completely on the FOS.

 

DRINK PACKAGE - My husband and I both got the deluxe package...I had been onthe fence about getting it or not but was so glad we ended up doing so....yeswe got our money’s worth...between waters, fresh squeezed juice, specialty coffees and alcoholic beverages we would have spent probably 3xs more than we did...on days at sea...just on alcohol drinks alone probably a dozen each....now yes we like to drink, but aside from that a few times my drink spilled by the pool...no problem...a few times I didn't like the drink I tried...no problem...just not worrying about how much we were spending and getting to try new thingsmade it worth it aside from cost. Our favorite place to have a drinkwas the R bar...not so much for location or atmosphere but we loved the bar staff there.

 

We were impressed overall and had a great trip....customer service wasexcellent and everyone was happy and helpful...we had a wonderfulvacation.

 

I am happy to answer any specific questions you may have...just ask.

[famof4togo]

Sorry for all the combined spacing on the review...not sure why or how it did that...

[jmaedcruise]

Glad you enjoyed your cruise. We have the exact same cabins on Freedom next March! My husband and I are taking my parents on their first cruise! Can you tell me, can the balcony divider be removed between these two rooms... we would love to create a bigger balcony for us all to share.

 

Thanks

[Sp1402]

Hello!

 

Thank you for your review, I really enjoyed reading it.

 

My boyfriend and I will be sailing Freedom in a few weeks and I'm excited to try the R bar. Any specific drinks you liked there? I have heard great things about the espresso martini.

[famof4togo]

Glad you enjoyed your cruise. We have the exact same cabins on Freedom next March! My husband and I are taking my parents on their first cruise! Can you tell me, can the balcony divider be removed between these two rooms... we would love to create a bigger balcony for us all to share.

 

Thanks

 

How cool !!! YES you can have the divider opened between the two rooms...it works out really nicely...we used it to walk between the two rooms and put our chairs and tables together for breakfast on the balcony....the one downside to these rooms are that you do NOT get a loveseat but just a chair...I did not feel that the noise was any louder but one other bummer was that you can NOT lock the door between the two rooms so its not like a hotel where you each have a side...its just a door that goes between with no lock....

 

If you have the same attendant Mohammed but goes by "amen" he's great....

[famof4togo]

Hello!

 

Thank you for your review, I really enjoyed reading it.

 

My boyfriend and I will be sailing Freedom in a few weeks and I'm excited to try the R bar. Any specific drinks you liked there? I have heard great things about the espresso martini.

 

I drank an insane amount of Bellini's....bay breezes, wine and I liked the R Bars "lets get Fizzical"...that was a unique one...by the pool my favorite drink was the frozen lemonade with vodka.....but mostly I would just tell Francisco that I wanted "something fruity" or "something chocolatey" and he'd make a "Francisco original" which I always loved but had no idea what I was drinking lol....

 

Tell Francisco and Brian Mike and Christine say HI...they are so fun!!! and have a WONDERFUL cruise !!!

Edited April 4, 2017 by famof4togo

[CanadaCathi]

Hey there! Thanks for the review. How did your son like the Hyatt pool? I'm looking at that location for a future cruise stay. The rooms don't worry me too much, but the pool needs to be up to my 8-year old's standards lol!

 

 

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[Sp1402]

I drank an insane amount of Bellini's....bay breezes, wine and I liked the R Bars "lets get Fizzical"...that was a unique one...by the pool my favorite drink was the frozen lemonade with vodka.....but mostly I would just tell Francisco that I wanted "something fruity" or "something chocolatey" and he'd make a "Francisco original" which I always loved but had no idea what I was drinking lol....

 

Tell Francisco and Brian Mike and Christine say HI...they are so fun!!! and have a WONDERFUL cruise !!!

 

Awesome! I will look for them & let them know you say Hi! haha I will also request some Francisco Originals (;

[judeniece]

hi did you order a soda package for your son - we have the drinks package myself and husband however as yet we have not ordered the soda package for my 10 yr old -

and thank you for your review going on now in 87 days and cannot wait.

[famof4togo]

Hey there! Thanks for the review. How did your son like the Hyatt pool? I'm looking at that location for a future cruise stay. The rooms don't worry me too much, but the pool needs to be up to my 8-year old's standards lol!

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

 

The pool area is fantastic...I am sure he will love. They also have fun things on the grounds by the pool like a life size chess set, life size connect 4, corn hole etc....a outdoor café for drinks or snacks....def a fun place to spend outside....

[famof4togo]

hi did you order a soda package for your son - we have the drinks package myself and husband however as yet we have not ordered the soda package for my 10 yr old -

and thank you for your review going on now in 87 days and cannot wait.

 

 

We did not get our son the soda package but he doesn't really drink soda....that being said, at the buffet they always have lemonade, a kiwi strawberry drink at lunch, and juice and milk for breakfast...also in the dining room we ordered our son lemonades and chocolate milks and were not charged for them...so there are drink options for kids for free.

[DISFANS3]

Thanks for the Trip Report on the Freedom. When and how did you get the Drink package, sign up before or after you arrive?? Thanks we be on the Freedom in Jan 2018

[famof4togo]

Thanks for the Trip Report on the Freedom. When and how did you get the Drink package, sign up before or after you arrive?? Thanks we be on the Freedom in Jan 2018

 

 

We booked our drink package about 60 days out when they ran a 30% off sale....just check for sales as it will go on sale but will not be on sale on board the ship....

[Sp1402]

Just got back from Freedom and had to write back to you to let you know how RUDE Francisco was!!! The worst crew member I have ever encountered! So petty with the drinks and seemed like he thought he was better than everyone. I avoided the R bar for the rest of the cruise just because of him.

 

Maybe something happened in his personal life and he's having a bad week but I was so surprised because you had recommended him :(

[thetone]

Thanks for the report. My wife and I (34 and 37 and also from San Diego) just booked the Freedom for May 2018. I am glad you enjoyed the ship and food, though I know the crew will be different in a year. I also appreciate the comments regarding the drink package - and I think you have made up my mind on purchasing the package for both of us. I'm wondering if you encountered other couples your ages in the bars/casino? Also - did you purchase the internet package? I would like to Skype with our daughter, who will not be with us.

 

Cheers.

[DISFANS3]

Thanks for info..

[riclop]

Thanks for the review.