Review of Freedom of the seas 11/30-12/7

[dfishner]

We live in Ft Lauderdale so getting to the port was a quick 45 minute drive. Check in was swift and went to the Priority boarding area, there was a wait until 12 noon because of an outbreak of the Noro virus from the prior cruise over 100 people were affected. We waiting around until the ship was cleared to take on passengers. Once we were allowed on we went to up to Chops and Portofino to change our times for dinner and then had lunch. Cabin were not ready until 3:30 so we walked around the ship, it was very similar to the NOS so it was easy to find our way around. There were sanitizer wipes throughout the cruise and there was heavy cleaning throughout the week..

 

This was the first time we had a hump cabin 6340 which was fantastic, we were centrally located and were close to the dining room, royal promenade and elevators. We would do this cabin and location again.

 

We decided to do My Time Dining for the first time, we always liked traditional dining but since we would made reservations for 3 night in the Specialty restaurants we did not want to tie up a table. I can honestly say that I am now a big fan of My Time Dining. We dined a various times, never a wait and we had the same wait team every time we went. Our waiters team was fantastic, they remembered what we drank, and always were cheerful and efficient.

 

I have never been a big fan of RCL dining room food I always felt it was fair to average on this cruise the food was very good, seasoned well most of the time and there were always a nice selections of menu offerings. There was even Lobster tails which we had 3 of. Our waiter brought out the extra one without being asked. They were good as well as tender. We also saw that dreaded $14.95 steak on the menu each night we dined but they also had the free steak listed each night as well.

 

We had the Wine and Dine tasting menu in Portofino and I cannot recommend this high enough it was the best meal we had on the ship. The wine pairing with the meal were excellent, the wait staff were so much fun. We dined in Portofino one other night and did Chops the last night both were very good.

 

If I could say two words that made this cruise outstanding that would be Richard Spacey the cruise director..I never understood that position very much nor did I ever pay attention to it until this cruise. This guy was fantastic, crazy, fun and has so much energy for us he made this cruise. I appreciated all that he did the entire cruise, he kept this cruise so upbeat and zany. He is an asset.

 

Royal started something new with some rug merchants, we had nothing better to do one afternoon so we saw on the compass that they had this lecture on oriental rugs, so we went. There was no high pitch sales effort at all, it was a lecture, it was informative and we both learned so much about the making of these rugs. They did sell them on board as I stated this was not like the art auction at all it was very low keyed and informative.

 

We decided to pass on the Loyalty Ambassador this trip with RCL changing their benefits now to only one ,it was not worth our while to purchase a next cruise. I did have a chance to talk with the LA and needless to say she was concerned about it as well. They were very busy the entire cruise.

 

The ports of call were all great, San Juan, St Thomas and St Martin. I like the eastern route much better the Western.

 

Entertainment was great, two production shows, a series of comedians, magician, gymnasts were all very good. The best show for us was the evening when all the musician played what a great idea and what a good show. The lounge entertainers were all very good as well. The weakest show was the last production show "Once upon a time" I thought the staging was awesome the singers were off key. I found out later that two of the singers had colds so that could of been some of the problem.

 

There was so much to do on this ship that we were always kept busy. When we were driving over the bridge going home we looked at the Freedom and we both felt this was our best cruise we been on so far. We had a great vacation on a great ship.

[Gator0178]

Thanks for the review! We look forward to having the Freedom soon in PC to replace the Mariner!

[gw2kbust]

Nice post! I took the FOS Western Caribbean and loved it! I decided to try the Eastern so I booked it with my girlfriend for March 2009! We are very excited for it. I wasn't too sure about the ports on the Eastern but from reading all of the posts and seeing pictures, it looks even better than the Western. I can't wait to go! Post some pictures if you have time.

[BillOh]

If I could say two words that made this cruise outstanding that would be Richard Spacey the cruise director..I never understood that position very much nor did I ever pay attention to it until this cruise. This guy was fantastic, crazy, fun and has so much energy for us he made this cruise. I appreciated all that he did the entire cruise, he kept this cruise so upbeat and zany. He is an asset..

 

 

I agree, I paid no attention to the cruise director on our first cruise, and barely on our 2nd, but he definitely added to our 3rd cruise. He was fun

[dawnth]

Do you happen to remember what days and times the different shows were?

[dfishner]

Do you happen to remember what days and times the different shows were?

 

There were shows every evening in the main theatre times varied. Some were 7 and 9 and I believe 8:45 and 10:45. They really use the Theatre well on Freedom.

1 night welcome aboard show

2 production show

3 All music show with all the musicians from the Freedom, it was great

4 Magician

5 Don't remember

6 Production show

7 Good bye show with comic, gymnists and Richard

[dgw671]

Just got off of Freedom. Great cruise! We made it to almost every show. CD Richard Spacey is awesome ("I Love You"). He gets an A+!

Any idea what happened on Deck 3 Wednesday or Thursday night? There was an announcement at 3:00 am. Never did find out.

[dfishner]

Just got off of Freedom. Great cruise! We made it to almost every show. CD Richard Spacey is awesome ("I Love You"). He gets an A+!

Any idea what happened on Deck 3 Wednesday or Thursday night? There was an announcement at 3:00 am. Never did find out.

I never heard anything. I do know that some one family in our meet and mingle group were quarantine to there cabin because of Noro virus around Wednesday

[kevin46906]

We are going out on Freedom next week for our first cruise.We are also doing the Easter Caribbean. Question, our arrival time in St Thomas says 8AM. Any idea what time we might be walking off the ship? Never cruising before, I wasnt sure how that works. We were looking at booking a tour on our own and have to specify a pickup time

[dfishner]

We are going out on Freedom next week for our first cruise.We are also doing the Easter Caribbean. Question, our arrival time in St Thomas says 8AM. Any idea what time we might be walking off the ship? Never cruising before, I wasnt sure how that works. We were looking at booking a tour on our own and have to specify a pickup time

There is an hour difference in time. So it will be 9 when you arrive in St Thomas even though the ship will tell you to stay on ships time which is 8. If your tour is picking you up at the port there should be no problem once the ship is cleared. Your tour company is very aware of all this. Just tell them what ship you are on and arrival time.

[Feelin' Nauti']

 

This was the first time we had a hump cabin 6340 which was fantastic, we were centrally located and were close to the dining room, royal promenade and elevators. We would do this cabin and location again.

.

This is what I was searching for.

 

Wish there as a picture of the balcony.