Returned from B2B on Freedom of The Seas

[NoVa Mimi]

We had a wonderful time on our recent cruise!! Freedom is a beautiful ship, obviously very similar to the Voyager class, but with some added, subtle enhancements here and there. We were in an OS and I must say the balcony was HUGE! It was the largest we have ever had. The concierge's name was Juan and he was filling in for the regular concierge , who is on vacation. Juan usually attends to the Diamond lounge. He was wonderful! :) Our steward was very nice, as were our dining room staff (waiters change each week, though we remained at the same table). The shows were great also. We saw the Nelson Brothers (sons of the late Ricky Nelson) and they were very good! There is a Karaoke bar, which was very nice. The flow rider was great for all ages. There were just a few things that were not great....the Windjammer was packed at peak times. I learned to get my meal dessert and drink on one trip because if you get up to go get something else, you might come back to a table that has been cleaned and has someone else sitting there! :) The port of Miami has got to be my least favorite. I felt boarding was very unorganized and perhaps it was an exception not the rule. No priority for suites, platinum or diamond and just all around chaotic. Our turn around day was the same...the worst to date of our B2Bs. The day we left the ship to come home, we were given white tags (the first color called) and were called off at about 7am. We ate in the dining room and then left in a very short, quick moving line. However, one of our bags did not show up for 2 hours. Still don't know what happened to it, it just appeared out of the blue well after all white tagged bags had been put out and collected. The second week (Eastern route) had over 1000 children!!! We heard the announcement to the crew as we were waiting in a lounge to go through immigration and re-board. I don't think I've ever been on a sailing with that many children. There were many passengers from other countries also...many folks from Europe. I thought it was neat that people came from all over the world to cruise on that ship! IMHO, I think that we will stick with the Voyager class as the largest we want to cruise on. There were just so many people at certain times, that it was almost overwhelming for me. Again, this is just my opinion and it does not reflect on the ship or my experience, just a preference. Also, it shows me the Genesis class will be too large for my taste. To those of you that will be sailing on this ship in the future, I am sure you will love the ship and enjoy yourselves a great deal. By the way, the art around the ship is fantastic!! If anyone has any question, please feel free to ask and I'll do my best to answer.

[wolfcathorse]

who was your captain..rumor has it that Pedercini is leaving for Splendour but I don't know when. We'll be on Freedom in October and the C & A desk said we'd have Capt Oprey as master, he's the staff captain from another ship who'll be promoted. Also Capt Gjerstad said he's leaving Vision to master Freedom (that was in June). So I just want to know who was your master! Pedercini, Tengelsen, Gjerstad, or Oprey!

 

Oh and who was the CD!

[GMoney]

The concierge's name was Juan and he was filling in for the regular concierge , who is on vacation. Juan usually attends to the Diamond lounge. He was wonderful! :)

 

Too bad you missed Francois; he is the best!

[StonePara]

Thanks for your review of FOS. We're sailing on Sept. 9th and I can't wait! I've read such great things about the Ice Show and I know that you need tickets, but I haven't heard how one goes about gettting the tickets. Is there a line you need to wait on somewhere? What time do you have to get there? I just don't want to miss the show if I can help it. Thanks for your help!

[nanfromatlanta]

Thanks for your review of FOS. We're sailing on Sept. 9th and I can't wait! I've read such great things about the Ice Show and I know that you need tickets, but I haven't heard how one goes about gettting the tickets. Is there a line you need to wait on somewhere? What time do you have to get there? I just don't want to miss the show if I can help it. Thanks for your help!

 

There will be an announcement in the daily Compass telling you when and where to get in line to pick up tickets for the ice show. The Compass will be placed on your bed every evening, and will have everything listed for the following day.

[CanuckCruizer]

NoVa Mimi - We are also going on a b2b on the Freedom. What happened that your turnaround day was the worst? What did you have to do & how long did it take? I hope you are not going to tell me that you had to wait in line again with all the new cruisers for the upcoming week?

 

Thanks,

 

Canuck

[gojojo]

I just got off Freedom (7/15-7/22). The windjammer was crowded at times, but .... things worked. The children ... yes there were a lot. I had my 2 with me, but there were a couple of large groups. There were a bunch of girls celebrating their quincinerra. A lot of them were pretty rude. They were also at the Holiday Inn the night before with us and they were rude there as well. Not a lot of supervisions for that many of them.

 

The captain was Eric Tengelsen - very nice. Cruise Director is Richard Spacey. SOOOOO funny. I think a lot he does is for his own amusement. My son can't quit talking about him.

 

Overall we enjoyed the ship. The ports .... well we didn't have the best weather but survived. The staff is all wonderful and helpful. Annika from the Bull and Bear pub is wonderful. The dining room staff was very tolerant of my kids - especially my son, the ever trying jokester.

 

Boarding was a bit slow, but we did get there right before noon before they opened it up to boarding. Customs was fairly easy, but luggage was a little slow. It comes off on the conveyor belt like the airport. I was used to LA where it had been set up in a warehouse and you just went looking for it. With so many people, it just takes time for that much luggage to get off.

[pmshirl]

I did a B2B on the Liberty in June and we didn't have any problems at all in Miami. After the 1 st leg, we stayed on the ship, met at 10:30 in a lounge, walked off the ship , through customs and right back on the ship again, before any new pax were able to board. Took less than 10 minutes to reboard. I am looking forward to my Oct. 07 Freedom Cruise. I am use to the big and crowded atmosphere, after being on the Liberty. The Windjammer seems to be the biggest crowd problem, along with the elevator waiting. Glad to hear you enjoyed your cruise.

[NoVa Mimi]

Hi all.. just to clarify a few points (I know we all have different experiences, I was just sharing mine with everyone to hopefully help someone along the way). While boarding on 7/15 appeared ok, boarding on 7/8 was VERY slow. Passengers were not permitted to board the ship until after 12:30, there was no area for suite, Platinum. etc. folks to wait for priority boarding, just a free for all after sitting in a large room for quite awhile. There was a very large group of quincinerra girls and their entourage and perhaps that added to the confusion of things as there was not a lot of supervision as a previous poster mentioned. As far as the B2B turnaround went we had to be in the Diamond lounge by 9am. We waited until about 10:30ish, were led down and out through customs after having been given our new cards. We presented our declaration forms to immigration after standing in line (there were 22 of us and 2 customs officials then they brought in another official), the rep then tried to direct us off the ship for the day at which point we told her we planned on staying on. She told us "well then go the other way then"...WHICH other way? We just kind of wandered back through the open "lanes" found our way to the gangway and were told to wait for our photo to be taken. No body ever showed up to take our photo for our new sea pass card (which remember we had already been given prior to disembarking). After about 10 minutes we were told just go ahead and reboard...no picture was needed. Well, a picture was needed as the first port we attempted to get off at (San Juan) the security machine beeped, as it had all of our previous info. I compared this all to our B2B on AOS where we just walked off the ship and right back on, which is what I was expecting and honestly feel is a great way to handle the turn around. All that did not ruin my trip in any way however. It just took longer than we had expected and it seemed that they could have certainly streamlined the process a bit. Perhaps we hit it on an off day. Canuck, the good thing is that you do not have to wait to reboard with the new passengers coming onboard :). Captain Tengelsen was indeed very nice, we were invited to dine with him and enjoyed ourselves a great deal! We met some really wonderful couples that evening and enjoyed the Captain's company very much. Prior to our meal, we met in Bolero's for a glass of champagne and were then escorted to the dining room...very nice and fun too :)

 

We really did enjoy our cruise a lot! I just do not care for sailing out of Miami compared to other ports I have sailed from. I thought the ship was beautiful, the staff was great and the shows were entertaining. I feel very fortunate to have been able to sail on FOS and to have done all that I did...I count my blessings everyday. Again, the purpose of posting my observations are just an attempt to help others with insight of my experience not to complain or to even judge, just share. I have learned so much over the years here at CC, I just like to give back what little I can. :) To all those that are going on FOS in the future...I know you'll have a wonderful time, full of all the magic and happiness that cruises bring.:)

[wolfcathorse]

TY for your review NoVa Mimi, your review is helping me keep an open mind about cruising on a large ship for the first time. Increased size just brings increased problems requiring increased patience.

[RevSmith]

:confused: I wasn't aware that you had to exit the ship on a B2B, is that customary on all cruise lines or just RCI. I know I did not have to exit the ship on Celebrity, but that was pre 9/11, not that,that should have anything to do with it.

[CanuckCruizer]

NoVa Mimi - Thanks so much for clarifying. Glad you didn't have to wait to reboard with all the new passengers. Wonder why you had to wait for an hour and a half in the lounge - how frustrating!

 

Thanks for your detailed report. It will better prepare us in case we also encounter delays.

 

Thanks again:)

 

Canuck

[kruzerci]

Thanks for the reviews, we're leaving for the Eastern on Sunday!

[CanuckCruizer]

NoVa Mimi - Do you remember which pier you docked at in Cozumel? The one that we docked at last time was damaged in the hurricane - I think it is called "International Pier" (I could be wrong). It is the one with all the good duty free shops, it had a Mexican restaurant right on the little beach and it is very close to Chaukanaub Park (spelling). Do you know which one you were at?

 

Thanks,

 

Canuck

[karena1]

:confused: I wasn't aware that you had to exit the ship on a B2B, is that customary on all cruise lines or just RCI. I know I did not have to exit the ship on Celebrity, but that was pre 9/11, not that,that should have anything to do with it.

 

We just did a B2B on the Crown Princess and yes, we did have to get off and then come back on. However, it was a much simpler process. Our instructions and new cards were in our room the last day of the first week (along with a slip that said something like "returning guest". Anytime after 9 am we were allowed to just get off the ship - no room to wait in, no lines to wait in. We had to take both our new and old cards as wells as the slip with the returning guest wording on it. Used the old card to get off the ship and the new card and slip to get back on. We stayed in town for a few hours and got back on the ship about 4 pm, walked right on, got our picture taken and we were done. That was it.

[CruisinOnWheels]

Do you recall seeing the handicapped "chair lifts" installed on one of the Pools, and on one of the hot tubs?

 

RCI told us they were, and not one pic we have found online...shows the chair actually attached to the frame, or what looks like the frame for the lift.

 

How was the food in the Windjammer...was it "fresh" for the most part?

 

Did ya try jade? how was it?

[NoVa Mimi]

No I didn't see any lifts at all. The food in the Windjammer was fine, not great but better than I cook many days! :) Jade was fine, it is actually a line of the buffet located right before the Windjammer line. They have all sorts of Asian food which varies day to day.

[WeBCruisin]

CanuckCruiser - Just returned from Freedom this evening. Yes, the ship docks at the international pier. It is completely rebuilt so there is no longer any need to tender.

 

FYI - I have never taken a cruise out of Miami that did not have a large Quincierra group on board!!

[GMoney]

:confused: I wasn't aware that you had to exit the ship on a B2B, is that customary on all cruise lines or just RCI. I know I did not have to exit the ship on Celebrity, but that was pre 9/11, not that,that should have anything to do with it.

 

It depends on your departure port, and things are pretty strict in Miami...

[NoVa Mimi]

We also had to reboard the ship on our B2B on AOS.