Freedom of the Seas Questions

[mrcruzer]

Hi there everyone, currently looking at a 7 night Eastern Caribbean cruise next Feb. on FOS and have a few questions:

 

• Flowrider. How does it work? Like, is it done by reservation ahead of time, or you do just show up to ride? How long do you typically have to wait? Is it tough to surf on? How does the whole, partner with you scheme work? can you make requests for the whole flowrider for yourself for your ride? What are the typical hours it is run?
  
• Actually how many whirlpools are there in each pool area? Total?
  
• Are there any ping pong and/or pool tables onboard?
  
• Are JS worth the extra money? Does anyone have any photos of one? also, any pics of the JS balcony? Preferably from Deck 9. We'd be 4 in a cabin, are D1 cabins out of the question? Any cabin secrets we should know about?
  
• Are there any places onboard to get nachos?
  
• How noticeable is the number of passengers onboard?
  
• How noticeable is the ocean/ship movement?
  
• Any pics of the video arcade for youth?
  
• Is it REALLY worth paying the extra money for Freedom compared to other ships/lines sailing the same similar itinerary?

Lastly, can Canadians purchase Gift certificates prior to sailing?

 

I know there is a lot of questions, but I really appreciate the time put into answering them. It helps a lot!

 

Thanks in advance,

 

 

MC.

[big al]

Hi there everyone, currently looking at a 7 night Eastern Caribbean cruise next Feb. on FOS and have a few questions:

 

• Flowrider. How does it work? Like, is it done by reservation ahead of time, or you do just show up to ride? How long do you typically have to wait? Is it tough to surf on? How does the whole, partner with you scheme work? can you make requests for the whole flowrider for yourself for your ride? What are the typical hours it is run?
  
• Actually how many whirlpools are there in each pool area? Total?
  
• Are there any ping pong and/or pool tables onboard?
  
• Are JS worth the extra money? Does anyone have any photos of one? also, any pics of the JS balcony? Preferably from Deck 9. We'd be 4 in a cabin, are D1 cabins out of the question? Any cabin secrets we should know about?
  
• Are there any places onboard to get nachos?
  
• How noticeable is the number of passengers onboard?
  
• How noticeable is the ocean/ship movement?
  
• Any pics of the video arcade for youth?
  
• Is it REALLY worth paying the extra money for Freedom compared to other ships/lines sailing the same similar itinerary?

Lastly, can Canadians purchase Gift certificates prior to sailing?

 

I know there is a lot of questions, but I really appreciate the time put into answering them. It helps a lot!

 

Thanks in advance,

 

 

MC.

 

Mrcruzer-no reservation necessary for Flowrider;wait times on sea days are longer,but not bad-maybe 15-20 min...it is difficult to stand up,but not bad if you lie down and body surf...don't know the rest...

 

there are 2 whirlpools in the kid's H2O FUN ZONE,3 in the main pool,and of course,best of all,those 2 canti-levered hot tubs in the adult Solarium that stick out over the sea 112 ft up-DON'T MISS!!(HINT-also busier during sea days) .....there are several ping-pong tables,didn't see any pool tables(too much movement)

 

JS's are about 50% bigger(287 ft vs.189) than regular D1's or E1's and balconies on JS are 101 sq.ft vs.68-74 ..again about 50% bigger.For 4 people IMO,they are worth it......didn't see nachos,but there maybe....

 

passenger amount only noticeable at the elevators-they can be slow (we took stairs alot)...thought ship movement was minimal..been on Mariner,Adventure..thought Freedom was the best..booked on her sister,Liberty 11/10 and will book next year on either Independence or Freedom Eastern route(love that route!)....also,the Karoeke recording studios down by the ice-skating rink(Studio B) is really cool...kids will love it..that is not on the other Voyager ships..flat screen TV is neat,too...enjoy!!

 

Big Al

[mitaxi]

For a family of four... there is a combination of a D cabin connected to a L...there is only two of these combinations....on deck 9....gives you a "suite like" configuration as everyone has a bed...two bathrooms still have a balcony and the combined Sq ft..is 341...price on some sailings is about the same as the JS or cheaper

[emd1]

I am so glad to see this reply. I just booked on Freedom after going on Voyager and as I searched for coments on Freedom I have seen many negative comments. I appreciate your comments.

 

mrcruzer, on Voyager we did have some quite noticeable ship movement the first 3 days of the cruise (two weeks ago). We really felt it when we were in bed, and walking down the halls a few times. We could see the side to side movement most when you looked out the dining room windows onto the horizon. I heard from the dining crew that it was from a small earthquake under the ocean and resluting waves. One night, it knocked some of the stuff we had on the bathroom counter off on to the floor. But we never got sea sick. I think this was an unusual occurence for a ship that size.

 

If you go onto webshots.com and put "freedom of the seas" into the search box you will get a great assortment of photos from Freedom, including arcade, rooms, common areas, dining rms, pools and hot tubs, etc.

[EggDropErin]

I can answer some! My DF participated in the ping pong tournamnet while we were oboard Freedom (came in second and got a bronze medal that he is so proud of!). The table were located outside of the card room (Cloud Nine, deck 14), which was a really bad place. Every time someone opened the door to come in our of out the card room, that would cause a big draft and really interfere with playing. It was also a small space where you could lose your ball overboard or down into the pool area. Thankfully there were some nice people downstairs that were throwing the balls back our way. If I remember correctly, there were three tables onboard, and two out of the three were broken. Hopefully they have fixed them by now.

 

When we were on our sailing, we had some pretty rough seas. So rough in fact that no ships were allowed to go into Grand Cayman due to it being too dangerous to tender. We did feel the motion of the ocean a bit, but I never got sick...and I'm very prone to sea sickness. I always take Bonine, as did my DF and my DMIL. Neither one of them got sick as well. It was never so much motion that it was too much to handle. I also didn't notice anyone else onboard turning green with seasickness.

[CaptChris]

We were contemplating going on DCL again for our next cruise, but my DW really would like to try a Freedom class ship. She and my kids are in love with the H20 Zone.

 

Is there a charge for Sorrentos? I am assuming there is for Ben and Jerry's.

 

We had a good time on the Magic, but my wife thinks DCL is getting a little pricey, especially for an older ship with small pools, etc.

[mrcruzer]

Thank you everyone for your quick replies! I really appreciate it!

 

Flowrider looks like definitely, one of those "once-in-a-lifetime" opportunities, and appeals to me!

 

• Are whirpools closed in the evenings?

I guess noticing number of passengers usually does appear at elevators, especially during peak times (but, i think it's a "sacrifice" we'd have to make!;) )

 

For ship movement, we were on the Sapphire Princess Feb 06, and found the ship to sway quite a lot, contrary to what we'd been lead to believe by past guests. I hope the FOS is a lot more stable.

 

Very glad to hear about the ping pong tables, are all three located in same location up at the VCL?

 

mitaxi: THANKS FOR THE "SECRET" tip! :D That's definitely a good idea, and if we end up booking this cruise, we'll look into that in more depth. you say it would be possibly CHEAPER than just a normal JS?

 

The "kid/activity" appeal this ship has is overwhelming. And, is definitely a reason why we're considering her, as on Sapphire Princess, we found that there was perhaps a lack of fun stuff to do for the youth that travelled with us. At time of when we're planning to go next, they'd be 17, 17, 14, 14, 10, and possibly more, in our group altogether.

 

Anyone able to answer any of the other questions?

[EggDropErin]

All of the ping pong tables were in that location when we were onboard.

[mitaxi]

mitaxi: THANKS FOR THE "SECRET" tip! That's definitely a good idea, and if we end up booking this cruise, we'll look into that in more depth. you say it would be possibly CHEAPER than just a normal JS?

 

 

We are sailing FOS Dec 08..so for our date...it was a little cheaper to book this...and ended up with much more sq ft.. than the JS

[mrcruzer]

That's great!

 

Now a question, if there are four of us, do the 3rd and 4th people in our "booking" (both kids) get the usual 3rd and 4th rates, or is it more since theyd be in that different, adjoining cabin?

[mitaxi]

That's great!

 

Now a question, if there are four of us, do the 3rd and 4th people in our "booking" (both kids) get the usual 3rd and 4th rates, or is it more since theyd be in that different, adjoining cabin?

 

THe cabins are priced as two doubles in those different categories

 

so one is a D2 and the other as a L....

[mrcruzer]

Ohhh, so depending on sail date, the price could fluxuate?

[mrcruzer]

• Are there any places onboard to get nachos?
  
• Can Canadians purchase RCI Gift certificates prior to sailing (for onboard credit) or is that just for US Citizens?
  
• Is it REALLY worth paying the extra money for Freedom compared to other ships/lines sailing the same similar itinerary?

Thanks everyone!

 

MC.