Freedom! Live From The Freedom of the Seas 8/11-18, 2024

[jam19872016]

8 hours ago, bluewater1298 said:

Please let us know how your mom's doctor's appoint goes. Praying! 😊

Thank you. I am going to call her tomorrow. I know her appointment is sometime this week but cannot remember what day. 

[jam19872016]

Finally got all my thoughts typed up and ready to post. Not gonna lie, it was looking like I was going to end up pushing it out another day and it reminds me why I first tried live reviews instead of after action reporting, it just gets hard to make the time to write up thoughts after the trip is concluded 😅

 

But, at last, here we have it, my final thoughts.

 

Dining:

 

I did not do Ultimate dining this time and after I saw how grossly full I was after my first meal onboard, I immediately knew I made the right decision. 

 

For specialty dining I ate one lunch and two dinners at Giovanni's. Overall I enjoyed my meals here but most items did not seem as good as I remembered and I did not feel compelled to book a second lunch here.

 

I also did one lunch at Playmaker's. There is no value to be had here, somehow I did not get billed. I was not presented with a check although they did take my card. That makes me feel a little better about my choice to dine here because the more I thought about how high the bill would have been for what I ordered I was regretting my choice to dine here. I will think hard about coming here again without the package, or stick to something filling like the burger.

 

The remainder of my meals were at complimentary venues.

 

I had no breakfast the entire week onboard. I am not really a morning person especially when I cruise solo and don't need to be mindful of my mom's early to rise habits.

 

For lunch I did Windjammer one time. It was perfectly fine, not great in any way but not bad in any way either. 

 

I also did El Loco Fresh one time. I love this additional option to the Windjammer as I am not typically a big fan of buffets. Again nothing really stood out, and it can't compete with Blue Iguana on Carnival, but I did enjoy my lunch here.

 

Lunch in the dining room didn't particularly wow me.

 

The Cheers! luncheon on the other hand was fantastic!

 

All of my dinners that were not in specialty were in the MDR. MDR quality was inconsistent ranging from fantastic, to just ok, but I never left disappointed with the food even on the nights that did not rate a fantastic.

 

I supplemented one dinner with a Windjammer run and I was pleasantly surprised by how good my small assortment of items were. I think that if I had needed to skip out on the MDR (which thankfully I did not) I would have been happy here if the food was this good each night. 

 

I also enjoyed some snacks at Café Promenade, Sorrento's, and the Crown Lounge. None would be suitable for a meal, but were great for snacks at odd hours. I always appreciate how quick the line moves at Sorrento's especially since when I am eating there, it is usually the only thing that is open so not like I could just choose to go somewhere else.

 

Overall, my dining experience sounds negative, but really I would rate it as "average". The food is where things always fall short for me on Royal and is usually the one area for improvement so in that respect, I would rate Freedom "consistent" 🙂 Again I will note, nothing really was bad, just very few things that would rate as amazing. 
 

[jam19872016]

Entertainment:

 

The casino was an unfortunate large part of my entertainment. I can't fault Royal for how I did here. I liked the new Video Poker machines, not crazy they were ALL loacated in the smoking section or that there were only six. The casino was never super busy so that helped.

 

The other large chunk of time was spent listening to Darla in the pub. With the seating the way it is, I can't say that I have given very many pub entertainers a chance, but none have drawn me in the way that she did. What an amazing talent and huge asset for Royal Caribbean. I cannot recommend her highly enough, if you ever find yourself on a cruise with her, make sure you check her out. Her voice, her range of songs, her ability to work the crowd. All superb!

 

I also enjoyed the PBE at Schooner. He used to be on Carnival and really had that fun PBE vibe down that they are known for (most of my PBE on Royal have been great singers and performers, but not really "entertainers"). The only thing I was not crazy about was he volunteered people to be part of his show. Not ask, not volunteer but move on, if he picked you, he would insist and refuse to move on until you joined in. It got uncomfortable and also made me concious of not making eye contact so as to not get chosen since there was no backing out. Beyond that, he was really good but could not compete with Darla, at least with me, he still had a large turnout each time I stopped by.

 

I did not watch the two production shows in the theater. I have seen part of one, but it was honestly not good and far too loud and I did not stay, which is something I rarely do. The other is all Broadway tunes and not something that would interest me, so I did not attend. I am not a fan of traditional theater shows, so take my opinion of the shows with a grain of salt, you may enjoy them.

 

I forgot to mention "Two Funny Guys". I have seen their act three times now on Royal, and they do the same show each time, but it is so hilarious! Even after seeing this show just a few months ago on Oasis, I was still in tears at their show. Definitely make sure you check them out. They were just doing two weeks on Freedom, and then mentioned they would be doing two weeks on Wonder and that was it until next year, so not likely, but if you do see them on your cruise be sure to catch them.

 

The ice show I have seen before and really enjoyed although I did not attend this cruise.

 

I loved that they did an 80's party although I was surprised that there was no Don't Stop Believing, or Living on A Prayer. Two classics that I am not sure have been omitted from an 80s party on any cruise line ever since the 80s 🙂

 

 

The dance party out on the pool deck was poorly attended and I wonder if they need to be hyping it up better to raise attendance.

 

Overall I was very happy with the entertainment on this ship. Even though Darla was always available, I never felt like there was not plenty of other things going on that would have been a great option if I didn't have her.
 

[jam19872016]

Service: 

 

The only spot onboard I found service to be "meh" was at Café Promenade. Even there it was not bad, just the one guy was not giving off the warm and fuzzies. I have had him before, I could not place which ship, but I know I have had him on multiple cruises and usually he remembers me before I remember him. He must be having an off week or is nearing the end of his contract and ready for some rest.

 

My steward was perfect for me. I don't require anything extra and I don't really need all the extra hallway small talk, it's sort of awkward for me making forced conversation. We exchanged greetings in the hall and that was pretty much it. He did rooms in a line, instead of when he saw me gone and so that sometimes meant he could not get in my room, but he always circled back and I did not feel like he was hovering to rush me along. Completely unobtrusive and I never felt like he was not doing a good job cleaning the room. Did he know my name or routine, no, but that was ok with me as I said I am pretty low key and low maintenance.

 

I had one off night in the MDR where a drink order never got delivered, or taken I guess since the waiter I placed it with simply said his assistant would take my order. Even that night, service never dragged on which tends to happen especially as a solo when my dining pace is set by nearby tables. Maybe all the nearby tables ate as quickly as me, but I tend to find myself waiting for my next course while the nearby tables pick at their food while holding long conversations. Not their fault of course, some people like a leisurely dinner but I wish the wait staff would not let that dictate the pace. Thankfully that was not a problem one single night this trip.

 

Talking of dinner service, the line to get in the MDR was always quick which also made me happy. The only improvement I would like to see made still is the ability to eat before 6:45. I have usually been able to be accommodated before 6:45 even if that was not publicly stated, but this time I was told I would have to come back.

 

While there were no real "standouts", I would say that service overall throughout the ship was good to very good and I have no real complaints. I also did not get pressured on the last night to leave a 10, although tables around me did so the practice has not been eliminated completely.

 

Overall:

 

Overall this was a great trip and I was so glad to be back on a cruise. The only negative that I would give this ship is that the sauna/steamroom facility has been removed. That is probably not something the impacts a lot of people but for me that is a giant negative but it is one I know about going in before I make my choice to book on this ship. It has a lot of great things going for her and I would not hesitate to book it again for the right price (comp)!
 

[jam19872016]

Other Thoughts:

 

This section is purely antidotal, opinion, and speculation, just where my thoughts were going as I observed my surroundings on my cruise and I kind of wanted to put those thoughts to paper (screen)

 

Royal Caribbean is putting a huge emphasis on attracting first time cruisers and I would say it seems to be paying off for them. The numbers from the top tier would indicate that not much emphasis is being placed on repeat business. That's not really true I guess, they have the best loyalty program in the business, but either way those numbers showed a ship very heavily skewed to first timers.

 

I was pleasantly surprised by the behavior of the crowd. There was no rowdiness (maybe the occasional display of one enjoying themselves too much, but nothing excessive that seemed to constantly cross the line from too much fun into impacting other people's fun). The adults behaved, even the kids behaved. The solarium always had at least a couple kids lounging or using the hot tubs, which just seems to be the new normal. But they seemed to be well behaved apart from the rule violation of being there in the first place.

 

The part that I wonder, however, is just how profitable are these first timers? I am sure well paid individuals with access to this information are keeping a close eye on things, but as a casual observer here is what I saw. 

 

None of my visits to Giovanni's were anywhere near booked up. The restaraunt stand you see set up on day one was set up for the entire cruise trying to book specialty. I rarely ever noticed anyone in Playmaker's with food. I have no idea how busy Chops, JR, and Izumi were. Izumi even had a booth set up the first couple nights. That is almost always sold out within hours. Ads for specialty dining packages were set up on every other table in the Windjammer and MDR for the whole cruise. I never had anyone approach me and make an offer, so maybe the bookings weren't that low or maybe they are trying to be less aggressive as that is a turn off for a lot of people. If they made a good offer I would not mind but don't interrupt my meal for a sales pitch that isn't even a sale 🙂

 

Then there is the bars. Good deal or not, I have never once seen bar revenue low enough for the 10 drink special to be offered.

 

The casino was pleasingly empty even during busy times.

 

The whole ship felt "uncrowded" for the most part. I love Freedom class and Royal does a good job with crowd management but that only goes so far once Freedom hits 100%+ capacity. I was tempted to ask like I did in the early restart days and did not, but I don't believe we were sailing at 100% and certainly not at the 105% that Royal is achieving on average right now especially during the summer. As a passenger, of course the extra elbow room was welcome.

 

Then I also wonder how much is the "Oasis and Icon" factor. The marketing leans very heavy into the wow factor that those ship classes bring. Freedom, as nice as she is, is considered middle age or even "old" by those looking for the latest and greatest in cruise ship innovation. But it also does not come with the sticker shock that the newest ships come with. Perhaps the group of newbies booking a slightly cheaper ship are also not booking the extras and the newer ships are attracting the new cruiser with the deep wallet. Of course, that would not be good for the upkeep of these ships as they age. If they aren't brining in the money, they probably won't get the renovation budget they will require to keep in good shape.

 

As I said, simply antidotal, but that was where my thoughts were as I sailed on an uncrowded mega ship with near empty revenue generating establishments.
 

[jam19872016]

Casino:

 

Ouch.

 

I again applaud Royal for publishing a list of cruises available that one can earn by reaching a point threshold. It worked in the favor this trip as I had no intention of spending as much money as I did but only did so because I knew once I had a free cruise, I could gain back some of my sunk cost. Without knowing that, I would have quit early on in the cruise.

 

I consider a 90% return on my money to be fair.

 

I consider an 80-90% return to be a bad gambling trip.

 

Anything below that is truly awful and not typical but this trip my return was 78.59% which places it, statistically speaking, one of my worse runs of bad luck ever.

 

I have subtracted out $704 from my losses which is the cost, less taxes, to book the trip I picked on Liberty in January just to keep a running total for myself to see if I lose more than I earn in trips. Of course I could also add in all the free drinks I get for being Prime but I just want to see if my direct comps can equal what I am spending. Of course there is still the entertainment value, but I can't say I got a lot of entertainment from my gambling this trip, not with that terrible return 😅.

 

Thank you all for following along. It adds to my enjoyment of my cruise getting to interact and banter with all of you. I appreciate it a lot and I hope you will join me for the next one which sets sail in 21 days on Celebrity Reflection. I will be sure to post a link on this thread when I get started and I hope you will join then for another trip on the high seas!
 

[bluewater1298]

Thanks for another great review! Can't wait until you board Reflection. 😁 

 

One last question - I've never used my $6 free play before. I think I might for this cruise. Which machine would you suggest? Never played in the casino before and will leave after the $6 is spent. Just wanted to give it a try.

[jam19872016]

10 minutes ago, bluewater1298 said:

Thanks for another great review! Can't wait until you board Reflection. 😁 

 

One last question - I've never used my $6 free play before. I think I might for this cruise. Which machine would you suggest? Never played in the casino before and will leave after the $6 is spent. Just wanted to give it a try.

Best bang for your buck would be video poker. That's what I always use when I am not earning points since your money lasts longer there than on slots. 

 

Of course the slots are more fun and require less thinking and most people probably go that route. I can't say I have a recommendation over another machine it's all really luck of the draw. I would pay attention to what bet is required to earn the jackpot, but your $6 won't go very far playing at max bet so maybe find one of the games that don't require max bet to win the top prizes. I'll point some out on Reflection. 

[princess76021]

Thanks again for taking the time to do this!

and thanks for looking for me

Until next time

Hugs from Texas

[jam19872016]

8 minutes ago, princess76021 said:

Thanks again for taking the time to do this!

and thanks for looking for me

Until next time

Hugs from Texas

Thanks for joining me. Hopefully you won't be so hard to find next time 😆👀 

[Barklee]

Thank you for the excellent trip report. I'm cruising Freedom OTS on the Halloween cruise. Where did you park and how did the price compare to parking at the port?

[perfect match]

You board Reflection shortly after we get home from Wonder. Perfect timing! I’ll be looking for you. 😃

 

Thank you very much for doing this review and all of the others that you’ve done and hopefully continue to do. 

[jam19872016]

6 hours ago, Barklee said:

Thank you for the excellent trip report. I'm cruising Freedom OTS on the Halloween cruise. Where did you park and how did the price compare to parking at the port?

I used Park 'N Go. My total cost per day was $10.50. After adding in a $3 booking fee and taxes of $5.36 my all in cost was $81.86 for seven days of parking. I booked direct from their website at https://www.bookparkngo.com/ as it is slightly cheaper to do so than to use a third party website. It is also cheaper to prepay instead of paying just a deposit. I once had to cancel and had no problem getting a full refund so there is no reason to not just pay the whole thing at once.

 

I have had just one negative experience using their service. Every other time I have used them they have been simply amazing. You are immediately whisked to the port upon arrival, so quickly I have learned to make sure I am ready to go, you do not have time to rummage when you arrive. I have more than once had to ask the shuttle driver to turn back as I have forgotten something in the car because I was transferred from my car to the shuttle so quickly. The return service is just as efficient with a steady stream of shuttles running. The park your car when you arrive, and drop you off at your car when you return. On your way out you are given a complimentary bottle of water to send you on your way. Fantastic experience from start to finish. Highly, highly recommend.

 

Parking at the port is $20 per day plus whatever fees they throw at you so about double to park at the port. There is a convenience factor to parking at the port, but Park 'N Go is such a seamless experience it is easily worth the savings.

 

Enjoy your Halloween cruise! I just booked mine today on the Carnival Glory!

[jam19872016]

4 hours ago, perfect match said:

You board Reflection shortly after we get home from Wonder. Perfect timing! I’ll be looking for you. 😃

 

Thank you very much for doing this review and all of the others that you’ve done and hopefully continue to do. 

Enjoy Wonder! I really hope to be able to sail her before she gets bumped to short runs out of Miami.

 

Thanks for following along, look forward to you joining me on the next adventure 😄

 

[exlondoner]

As ever, I have enjoyed your voyage, though the uniformity of cruets has been something of a disappointment, along with the total absence of pineapples in any form.

 

What does pre mean: it could be pineapples bring ecstasy, but I rather think not.

 

Looking forward to joining you next month. Hope all goes well for your mother.

[exlondoner]

1 hour ago, exlondoner said:

As ever, I have enjoyed your voyage, though the uniformity of cruets has been something of a disappointment, along with the total absence of pineapples in any form.

 

What does pre mean: it could be pineapples bring ecstasy, but I rather think not.

 

Looking forward to joining you next month. Hope all goes well for your mother.

Sorry, that should be PBE, but the autocorrect thought otherwise.

[Barklee]

7 hours ago, jam19872016 said:

I used Park 'N Go. My total cost per day was $10.50. After adding in a $3 booking fee and taxes of $5.36 my all in cost was $81.86 for seven days of parking. I booked direct from their website at https://www.bookparkngo.com/ as it is slightly cheaper to do so than to use a third party website. It is also cheaper to prepay instead of paying just a deposit. I once had to cancel and had no problem getting a full refund so there is no reason to not just pay the whole thing at once.

 

I have had just one negative experience using their service. Every other time I have used them they have been simply amazing. You are immediately whisked to the port upon arrival, so quickly I have learned to make sure I am ready to go, you do not have time to rummage when you arrive. I have more than once had to ask the shuttle driver to turn back as I have forgotten something in the car because I was transferred from my car to the shuttle so quickly. The return service is just as efficient with a steady stream of shuttles running. The park your car when you arrive, and drop you off at your car when you return. On your way out you are given a complimentary bottle of water to send you on your way. Fantastic experience from start to finish. Highly, highly recommend.

 

Parking at the port is $20 per day plus whatever fees they throw at you so about double to park at the port. There is a convenience factor to parking at the port, but Park 'N Go is such a seamless experience it is easily worth the savings.

 

Enjoy your Halloween cruise! I just booked mine today on the Carnival Glory!

Thank you for the recommendation, I just booked my reservation. Since I'm 2 months out, my total was only $70.52; 1/2 the port parking rate.

[bluewater1298]

4 hours ago, Barklee said:

Thank you for the recommendation, I just booked my reservation. Since I'm 2 months out, my total was only $70.52; 1/2 the port parking rate.

Good choice! We have used them for over 12 years and never had a problem. As he said, they are quick to get you out of your vehicle, onto their shuttle and to the cruise ship. So what we normally do, is stop at Walgreens, go through the car and have everything we need ready. Then we don't feel as rushed and wondering if we left something behind. Great thing is they drive you right up to the entrance so I think it's better than parking at the port. When you disembark they bring you straight to your vehicle. They even help with your luggage going and coming. 

 

Hope you have a great cruise!

[wolfcathorse]

On 8/13/2024 at 10:54 AM, jam19872016 said:

Captain Matias. I didn't even have to leave my room to find out, he literally just came on the speaker and said "This is Captain Matias". Crew drill, we are not sinking or anything 🙂

 

Let me know if you need a last name or if you know who that is and I will put it back on to do list 😄

 

Thanks! That's what my chart had, Capt Matias Sebom.  Thank for your confirming

[jam19872016]

On 8/27/2024 at 6:42 AM, exlondoner said:

Sorry, that should be PBE, but the autocorrect thought otherwise.

Piano Bar Entertainer. Although I like the pineapple idea 😆

[exlondoner]

This is getting out of control.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c8rx2xvj237o

[jam19872016]

15 minutes ago, exlondoner said:

This is getting out of control.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c8rx2xvj237o

I feel a trip to Spain may be in order...for research purposes of course. 

[jam19872016]

I've started my next review and I hope you will all join me 😄