Freedom / Seas (RCCL) 1st Time on THIS Ship-

[CATJAMMIES]

We've done a LOT of cruising - mostly on Disney or RCCL's smaller ships.

 

Dying to know all about this one! Didn't know it is currently the biggest afloat! Going to several ports I've never been to also.

 

We are on 6th deck - toward Aft ----- not much choice when we booked. Not sure if that's good or bad?

 

How does the dining work? We have that flexible dining --- not sure yet how that works - do you call ahead for your ressie at whatever place you want? Can you just show up or what?

 

Kids - we have 2 sailing with us - 13 & 11 --- Have any recs for them?

 

Excursions? BOY - Jamaica & Grand Cayman have a TON. How will we decide? Except the kids don't really like Scuba, Snorkeling, etc & hate museums. We've done several dolphin & sub tours before. And we've done Stingray City.

 

They do like EXCITING stuff - and we've thought about Bobsledding, Dogsledding, Ziplines, Parasailing?

 

I on the other hand might like a culinary tour!!!!!! Do Jamaica & Grand Cay have any really exceptional beaches?

 

Is Dunns River really worth it?

 

Activities on board: Any seminars that are really great? Cooking?

 

General tips for boarding & getting off?

 

Would love to talk to someone who would love to tell me alll about this ship!!!!

[cb at sea]

Your room will be fine!

My Time Dining: you can either show up when you want to eat, or make a reservation...it's up to you!

Kids the age of yours will LOVE the kid's club--you may never see them!!!!

Can't help with excursions--we don't do many. We're beach people and just grab a cab and go!

No tips for getting on and off the ship--you just do it! Do get there before the posted boarding time---after all, you pay for boarding day! Start using the ship!

You're going to have a great time!

[sailingawaysoon]

My husband and I just came off the first sailing of the Freedom out of Port Canaveral and we've booked another cruise for the end of August on her. It right now is by far our favorite ship. I posted a review of it not long ago, if you'd like me to forward it to you, I will.

 

Embarkation was very smooth. I've never had any trouble in Port Canaveral though. We also had the advantage of not having to wait for people to get off the ship, because it was empty. We were greeted w/champagne and rum drinks, but I don't know if that will be the norm because I tend to think this might have been a special thing due to the first sailing out of Port Canaveral. The art on the ship is beautiful. Everywhere you look you will have your mouth drop at how beautiful it is. The promenade is incredible...a long area of shops and eateries and there's usually always something going on here. Don't miss the parade on the first night. I believe it starts close to 11, but get there eary. It's like a mardi gras parade and it really gets the excitement going (not that you need it). There's a little italian eatery in the promenade, don't miss out on the mini sandwhiches and side salads. Even if you aren't hungry, check this out from time to time because they put different things in the case. The paninis were our favorite! I only noticed these on port days because they are made special to order and it would seem that things would back up if they made these when the ship was full.

 

The pool area is awesome. Huge and always something happening there. Also, check out Olive or Twist. A great place to go during sailaway or just to kick back and have a cocktail. There's a different variety of music in here throughout the week...very nice!

 

Our rooms were a little larger than rooms we have had on other ships. It at least seemed that way. We had a balcony room on the 6th floor. We loved being on the 6th floor because we could walk down one flight of stairs to the promenade or the casino. We rarely needed an elevator unless we were going to the Windjammer or pool area. Also, make your reservation for Chops early, if this is in your plans. We didn't reserve beforehand and they were booked the entire cruise. We did eat at Portifino's, but had already tried this one and wanted to try chops. The dining room is beautiful and make sure you check that out for breakfast at least once and lunch on sea days.

 

We don't have small children, so I can't recommend anything on that. We did notice that the kids were involved in putting on little parades thru the promenade and also in the dining room. They looked very happy. We saw some making sea pets too. I have only heard great things though from people who involved their childeren in the kids clubs.

 

In Jamacia we went away from the general traffic after exiting the ship and found a driver to take us on a tour of Jamacia. He took us all over the place for $25pp and then dropped us off at Margaritaville. Margaritaville had a beautiful view.

 

Grand Cayman we just did shopping this day and lunch at Margaritaville. In the past we've gone to the turtle farm and Hell. The turtle farm was okay. I think the kids may like that. You can also just do a beach day here. THere are a ton of things to do in Grand Cayman, so check out your itinerary and research your options.

 

We did parasailing in Labadee. The guys who run this tour are really a lot of fun. They have a fairly new boat and after the parasailing they did a few boat tricks for us w/turns and spins. It was fun, but parasailing wasn't my thing. My husband loved it though. This was $79pp plus tip. There is the zipline in labadee also. I plan to give that a try the next time. I believe it's $79pp also. There's an aqua park in Labadee for the kids and the ship has a bbq here in 3 different locations. Expect to see some construction for the new pier, but nonetheless, this is a beautiful island that will keep you relaxed or entertained, depending on your agenda. Be watchful in the straw market. You will get haggled to death, so just keep looking and say no, unless you do see something you want to barter with.

 

Yes, I thought Dunns River Falls was definitely worth it. We had a blast climbing it. It's a little cheaper if you just grab a taxi and have them take you there, but some people prefer doing it thru the ship in the event that there's a problem and were to return late. The ship will wait for you if it's a tour booked thru them.

 

On the last sea day there was a cooking demonstration in the promenade outside Sorrento's. There was another one earlier in the week, but we missed this. There's also towel folding demonstrations, martini making, wine tastings, bingo, trivia throughout the ship and a wide variety of shows. You won't be bored!

 

We had one of the first luggage tickets to disembark from the ship. I'm not sure why we were issed as one of the first because we had a later flight, but we were fine w/that. We had coffee and then walked off the ship. We didn't encounter any lines at all! It was the easiest disembarkation we've ever had.

 

Oh, the slot machines were good to us...we won a little over $1,000 after the 3rd night of trying. I can't complain there!

 

Have a great cruise...you will love the Freedom of the Seas!

[kaylorcc]

We've done a LOT of cruising - mostly on Disney or RCCL's smaller ships.

 

Dying to know all about this one! Didn't know it is currently the biggest afloat! Going to several ports I've never been to also.

 

We are on 6th deck - toward Aft ----- not much choice when we booked. Not sure if that's good or bad? I've never found there to be a huge difference between cabin locations, but there are MANY on these boards who disagree, so somebody else is probably better off answering this than I am. :p

 

How does the dining work? We have that flexible dining --- not sure yet how that works - do you call ahead for your ressie at whatever place you want? Can you just show up or what? I haven't done My Time Dining, so I'm not sure about the best way to utilize it.

 

Kids - we have 2 sailing with us - 13 & 11 --- Have any recs for them? The kids activities at that age seem to be pretty well-organized and planned on RCI ships. If they're active, they'll enjoy the climbing wall, trying out the Flowrider, etc.. there are a ton of activities for kids at that age.

 

Excursions? BOY - Jamaica & Grand Cayman have a TON. How will we decide? Except the kids don't really like Scuba, Snorkeling, etc & hate museums. We've done several dolphin & sub tours before. And we've done Stingray City. I don't do a ton of excursions. I've done Dunns River Falls in Jamaica and a snorkeling/Stingray City excursion in Grand Cayman. Thought about trying the turtle farm tour in GC until I found out that they keep the turtles there.. before they eat them. :eek: I'm not sure what excursions are popular outside of the categories you mentioned.

 

They do like EXCITING stuff - and we've thought about Bobsledding, Dogsledding, Ziplines, Parasailing? Ziplines and parasailing are nice activities, though be aware that parasailing might actually be kind of boring for kids at that age (I tried parasailing for the first time at 13 or 14 and found it rather dull, not at all what I had imagined).

 

I on the other hand might like a culinary tour!!!!!! Do Jamaica & Grand Cay have any really exceptional beaches? Seven Mile Beach in Grand Cayman is renowned for its beauty.

 

Is Dunns River really worth it? I tried it once and wasn't a big fan (but it's not really the kind of activity I enjoy anyway). My family likes it, but the bumps and bruises they come back with from scrambling up the rocks hasn't convinced me that I need to try it again.

 

Activities on board: Any seminars that are really great? Cooking? My husband and i LOVE the cooking seminars. My mom and sister love the dancing classes, too.. though I'm not sure how frequently these are offered anymore due to some recent cutbacks in on-board activities.

 

General tips for boarding & getting off? Just come prepared for a wait (unless you're booking a suite). If your kids tend to be, er, restless, you might want to bring a snack or something along for waiting in the terminal. And you can show up well before the boarding time, though, again, you might end up waiting a little longer at the check-in area if you opt to show up early.

 

Would love to talk to someone who would love to tell me alll about this ship!!!!

 

Hope this helps. :)

[janabm81]

We did this cruise last year with our boys ages 15,13,&11 at the time & they had a ball!!! They still talk about how much fun they had.

As far as excursions go in Jamaica we did the 4X4 Jeep Safari. It was the 2nd time my husband & I had done it and the 1st for the kids. It takes you on the road that goes through the rainforest called the Fern Gully then to a small plantation that overlooks the island. After a stop there you go off road for a bit until you reach another older abandoned plantation and they give you a snack of fresh fruit and drinks. Then you get back in the vehicles, off road some more, and go to Dunn River Falls. While at Dunn's you have the chance to climb the falls, watch others, or do some shopping in the little shops they have there. Finally, after all that they take you back the ships. Good fun had by all! :)

Hope this helps!

[CATJAMMIES]

My husband and I just came off the first sailing of the Freedom out of Port Canaveral and we've booked another cruise for the end of August on her. It right now is by far our favorite ship. I posted a review of it not long ago, if you'd like me to forward it to you, I will.

 

YES, PLEASE! THANKS.

 

Embarkation was very smooth. I've never had any trouble in Port Canaveral though. We also had the advantage of not having to wait for people to get off the ship, because it was empty. We were greeted w/champagne and rum drinks, but I don't know if that will be the norm because I tend to think this might have been a special thing due to the first sailing out of Port Canaveral. The art on the ship is beautiful. Everywhere you look you will have your mouth drop at how beautiful it is. The promenade is incredible...a long area of shops and eateries and there's usually always something going on here. Don't miss the parade on the first night. I believe it starts close to 11, but get there eary. It's like a mardi gras parade and it really gets the excitement going (not that you need it). There's a little italian eatery in the promenade, don't miss out on the mini sandwhiches and side salads. Even if you aren't hungry, check this out from time to time because they put different things in the case. The paninis were our favorite! I only noticed these on port days because they are made special to order and it would seem that things would back up if they made these when the ship was full.

 

IS FOOD AT THESE LITTLE PLACES PART OF YOUR FOOD PACKAGE? OR BOUGHT SEPARATELY?

 

The pool area is awesome. Huge and always something happening there. Also, check out Olive or Twist. A great place to go during sailaway or just to kick back and have a cocktail. There's a different variety of music in here throughout the week...very nice!

 

Our rooms were a little larger than rooms we have had on other ships. It at least seemed that way. We had a balcony room on the 6th floor. We loved being on the 6th floor because we could walk down one flight of stairs to the promenade or the casino. We rarely needed an elevator unless we were going to the Windjammer or pool area. Also, make your reservation for Chops early, if this is in your plans. We didn't reserve beforehand and they were booked the entire cruise. We did eat at Portifino's, but had already tried this one and wanted to try chops. The dining room is beautiful and make sure you check that out for breakfast at least once and lunch on sea days.

 

DO THE SOFAS FOLD OUT? OR DO THEY HAVE BUNKBEDS? ARE THE BATHROOMS - ROOMY ENOUGH? WITH FLEXIBLE, DO YOU EAT ANY DININGROOM YOU WANT? - EXC. CHOPS & PORTOFINO? ARE CHOPS & PORTOFINO PART OF THE DEAL OR EXTRA?

 

WHAT ABOUT INTERNET ON THE SHIP?

 

ZIPLINING SOUNDS SCARY! ANYONE ACTUALLY DONE IT?

[mygyky]

Grand Cayman has beautiful beaches. Go to Seven Mile Beach or Rum Point. Seven Mile beach is a 10 min cab ride and like 5 or 6 dollars now per person to get there and back. Sea Grape Beach or Courtyard (both are locations on Seven Mile) has food, drinks, restrooms, chairs, jet skis, water skiing, parasailing, outdoor showers to rinse off, etc. Taxis line up to return you to town when you are done.

 

Ocho Rios, I think Dunns River Falls is worth it do at least once in your life. You can say you have done it. We have already done it and plan to do it again when we go back in February on the Freedom of the Seas. You can also go tubing on the White River. This is a lot of fun as well. We did both DRF and White River tubing and then ended our day at Margaritaville and thought it was a great day. We used a private tour guide who was waiting for us and we had his van to ourselves (there were 4 of us). Go to the Jamaica boards for all the recommendations of tour providers there.

 

I believe there is a surcharge for Chops and Portofinos per person.

[sailingawaysoon]

I will pull my review and post it here for you.

 

Yes, the food in the shops in the promenade (Sorrento's and Cafe Promenade) are part of your package. You only pay separately for specialty coffees, or Ben and Jerry's. They have regular coffee that we found to be satisfactory for our tastes.

 

Yes, the sofa pulls out if you needed to pull it out. The type of stateroom we had was a balcony room (D-1) and we had our beds put together to make one large bed. You can have that set up accordingly to your needs. The bathroom had one sink and a toilet and shower. I wouldn't call it roomy, but it was pretty good for the 2 of us. The shower has a rounded door (instead of the plastic curtains) so that made taking a shower much nicer. I find there isn't much space to move around in the shower though, but it serves it's purpose. You also have a large vanity area and a flat screen tv in the room. There were plenty of drawers on the vanity to store things and we each had a night stand w/a drawer and some storing space below that.

 

You are assigned a dining room when you get your seapass. It will be one of the 3 on the ship and unless you do my time dining, you will go to the same dining room at the same time each night, to your same designated table.

 

Chops is a steakhouse style restaurant (equal to a five star establishment). This is 25 dollars per person and well worth the money. I haven't personally eaten there, but I did see the entrees and I know from others that it is definitely worth the money. Portifino's is an italian restaurant and the fee is $20 per person. We ate at Portifino's for dinner several times. I highly recommend this one also. It's a wonderful experience and you wouldn't find this quality of food for the price, anywhere else (in my opinion).

[sailingawaysoon]

Here's the link to my review. Hope you have a great cruise!

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=984992

[AlanAD62]

Hey Sailing,

 

What nights are the formal nights on FOS 7 day Western Itin in Aug? I have heard the 2nd and 6th nights?....(Mon), (Fri)....is this correct....anyone?

 

Alan

[momof2furkids]

Sailingawaysoon: Who did you use for the private tour in Jamaica? Did you prebook or just find him after you got off the ship?