Freedom of the Seas--March 4-11th

[karadsheh]

My husband and I (early 50's) and youngest son (18 yrs.) just got back from a fantastic week on the Freedom of the Seas! I'd be happy to answer any questions....fire away!

 

PRE-CRUISE:

We arrived in Florida the day before our cruise and spent the night in Coconut Grove at the Sonesta Suites Hotel. What a great choice! We spent the afternoon wandering around the town and ate dinner in CocoWalk which is right in the center of town. We ate outdoors and enjoyed a singer who was performing in the center court. We then wandered the streets and did some shopping then retired to our room which had a great view of the city and bay. After waking early and working out, we walked to a nearby French restaurant and had a nice breakfast outdoors and people watched. There was a CVS drugstore in town where we were able to pick up our last minute items for the cruise. (We took a a cab from Miami Airport to the hotel....$24)

 

EMBARKATION:

We left by cab for the port at about 11:45 and were in line by approx. 12pm. They weren't quite ready to board when we arrived, but we didn't have to wait too long before the line started to move. We found the line for Platinum check-in, got our SeaPass cards and were off to wait in another line to get our security pictures taken. It really wasn't a bad wait....we were onboard by about 1pm.

 

SHIP:

Absolutely beautiful! I just love the Voyager class ships and the Freedom doesn't really seem that much different from those ships. Everything seems to be laid out basically the same as the other Voyager class ships. It was very easy to find your way around. The main difference on this ship was the length....it took a long time to walk the length. The FlowRider was fun to watch, but we never tried it because it was so windy and chilly. It was nice to have that type of entertainment anytime you were looking for something to do. The whole sports deck was excellent and always packed with people. The H2O Zone is such a nice touch. The kids looked like they were having a great time. On sea days it was a little difficult to get a deck chair. I saw people putting towels on chairs as early as 6:45am. I heard people complaining to the pool attendants and they said that if a chair was vacant for over 30 minutes they would remove the towels.

 

ENTERTAINMENT:

Very enjoyable. The cruise director was James Andrews and he was really good. We saw the best comic I think we've ever seen....Rondell Sheridan! He had the whole audience in stitches for a solid hour. He played off the audience as well as used his own material....just so funny! The ice show was great, as usual, but we forgot to get tickets the first day, so we had to stand in the aisle for the showing we wanted to go to. Make sure you get there early to get tickets so you can get the show you want. Quest and Love & Marriage were entertaining as well. The surprise was the Dancing in the Streets held in the Promenade one evening. They played music from the 70's and packed the Royal Promenade. Great fun!

 

CABINS:

We were in room 8674 which is a category D1 with a balcony. The flat screen tv's which swiveled were great and the balcony seemed much deeper that the other ships. My son slept on the sofa which was pulled out each evening and made up into a double bed. Since there were no springs, my son said it was pretty comfortable except for the seam down the center where it folded up. The only time the room seemed cramped was when the bed was pulled out. With the bed opened up there was only about a 1 foot walkway between the bed and the vanity. It was a very tight fit for all of our clothes, but the closet must have had at least 25 hangers in it. Our cabin attendant was Kattia and she was the absolute best! We did have a problem with our toilet backing up and overflowing twice, but I guess that happens on ships.

 

MUSTER DRILL:

Our muster station was in the dining room! I've cruised 9 times and I've never sat through a drill indoors while sitting at a dining room table! We were never told where our lifeboats were or what would happen in an emergency, but I guess we wouldn't go down hungry! I asked how we'd find where our lifeboat was, but the man I asked didn't seem to understand English too well.

 

FOOD:

Loved it! I'm not a picky eater so I thought everything was terrific. We never went to the specialty restaurants because we enjoyed our tablemates and dining room staff so much. We were at a table with another mom and dad with their son who was the same age as our son....how perfect was that? It was like they actually put some thought into the seating arrangement. Our waitress was named Twinkle from India and the assistant was Samantha from St. Vincent. They made a great team and went out of their way to make everything perfect. Our head waiter was by far the best we've ever had on any ship. He was at our table every night and not just to say "hi"...he really assisted the waitress. Unfortunately, I can't remember his name because we thought he looked a lot like Tiger Woods, so we called him Tiger throughout the cruise. The Windjammer was always crowded and it wasn't that easy to find a seat for breakfast and lunch. Our tablemates ate breakfast and lunch in the dining room every day and said it's the only way to go. We just never seemed to find the time for a sit-down meal during the day. The coffee shop is a great addition, too. Love those cappuchino's!

 

SHOPS:

Basically the same on all of the ships except for the addition of the Get Out There shop. It is a sports store selling New Balance merchandise and it has an excellent selection.

 

GYM:

The best ever!! The treadmills are great and the view spectacular. I was always able to get a treadmill early in the morning, too. I went to 2 of the classes every morning and they were really fun....especially with the ship rocking back and forth. There was a Balance in Motion class every day and the other classes varied from Aerobics to Circuit to Abs.

 

PORTS:

I've done the Western itinerary a few times, so it wasn't really exciting for me. It was sunny, but cold (70's) and windy in Cozumel so we didn't do anything but take a cab to town and shop then eat lunch in a nice restaurant in the center of town. I'd wanted to swim with the dolphins, but it was just too chilly. We weren't able to get off the ship in Grand Cayman until almost 11:30am because the winds were slowing the tenders down. We just spent some time shopping then went to the new Margaritaville which was really fun. In Jamaica we went on the ATV excursion through the ship. It was so much fun....I highly recommend it. We then went to the Margaritaville in town for lunch. The view was beautiful sitting on the balcony. It was then back to the port to do some shopping, but it was dissapointing. Labadee was the biggest surprise. I've been there twice, but it has really grown. It is so beautiful and there is so much to do!! We took the waverunner excursion and it was not what I expected. I've never been on a jet ski before and this was a guided excursion going at "full throttle". We followed in a single file line and I was the last in line. I could barely see the people ahead of me and I was scared off getting off course or tipping over. I couldn't really enjoy myself because I had to focus on keeping up with the group while going about 50 miles per hour. I think it would be better to have an excursion for experienced drivers and another for those just beginning. Just my opinion. But it was a beautiful day at the most beautiful island!

 

DEPARTURE:

We chose to carry our own luggage off the ship. We weren't in a hurry, so we left our cabin at about 8am and were off the ship by about 9-9:15am. There was quite a line, but it moved and I have no complaints. The only problem was trying to get a cab to the airport. I'm just glad we weren't in a hurry! There was no system and people pushed in front of others and jumped in front of cabs and cut others off. It is a $24 fare to the airport, but if you don't mind paying a lot more or are traveling with a group, it sure would be easier to get a company like Larry's Limo to pick you up and take you to the airport.

 

I guess I got a little long-winded with my review, but if you have any questions I'll be glad to try and answer if I can.

[bdink921]

Great review--thanks!!!:)

[mandm2]

Thanks for this wonderful review. My husband and I (and another couple) will be sailing on the Freedom cruise, on April 1st and I'll be celebrating my 43rd b-day in G.Cayman. Our cabin is 8636 (hump cabin, which will be our 1st one!). We've never been to the W.Caribbean and are really looking forward to it. I think my husband and our friend will be playing golf on Jamaica. His wife has been there before and may not go ashore. I was looking for suggestions for what to do (or not do!) in Jamaica by myself. Is Margaritaville worth going to on my own (safe-wise and fun-wise)?

Thanks!

[karadsheh]

I would definitely feel more comfortable doing something with a group in Montego Bay. Margaritaville is a lot of fun, but you would probably have a better time if you went with others. There is really nothing to do right around Margaritaville except for a flea market down the street (really high pressure I heard). In my opinion, I would feel most comfortable sticking to an excursion if I were going it alone.