For All Those Interested...Just got off Freedom of the Seas!

[tezb]

I posted months back that I would let you all know how our Freedom Cruise was...(RCCL).

All I can say is...WOW! She is a beautiful and huge ship! We had a great time, perfect weather and calm seas. So much to do and so little time. As usual, we didn't want to get off the ship. The flowrider was very cool and my husband and son were hooked! Even though there were 4000 people onboard, you wouldn't know it...everything laid out well and didn't run into anything more noticeable (w/ crowds) than you would have on the smaller ships. Gloria Estefan and her family were on our cruise and my son got a pic w/ her on the last night. The H2O Zone is very cool and any parent w/ younger kids (or even older) would love this. Great idea for any ship w/ kids.

I can't remember everything at this moment...so if anyone has random questions, I'll try to answer for you....(BTW...we have cruised DCL 3 times and this was our 2nd RCCL cruise since 2004...(Mariner). My boys are no longer kids so RCCL is the better choice for us. They can't wait to go again..and they are 21,18 & 14.

 

[eeyoregon]

Where did you sail? How many nights? Type of room?

 

[tezb]

It was the 7 day Western Caribbean out of Miami....Cozumel, GC, Montego Bay and Labadee (RCCL island). We were on Deck 8 w/ a verandah and our boys had an inside stateroom. Next year I hear the Freedom will be alternating Eastern to Puerto Rico, San Juan, St Maarten, etc. There is also another ship coming out next year...The Liberty...same size as Freedom.

 

[woody73]

What were the dining options, and how was the food? Thanks in advance.

Woody

 

[Dizzyworld]

Was there a lot of smoking? How about a left over smell in the rooms from smoking? I have a child that has asthma and allergies.

Thanks.

 

[taeja71]

It was the 7 day Western Caribbean out of Miami....Cozumel, GC, Montego Bay and Labadee (RCCL island). We were on Deck 8 w/ a verandah and our boys had an inside stateroom. Next year I hear the Freedom will be alternating Eastern to Puerto Rico, San Juan, St Maarten, etc. There is also another ship coming out next year...The Liberty...same size as Freedom.

What was their private island like? Did you have to tender in? How was the sand? Rocky or white sand? What was there to do on Labadee? I hope you'll answer how the food compares to DCL. What were the servers like? Did it feel like a family oriented cruise? How were the shows? Could my 3 yr. old watch them w/o me covering her ears/eyes? How many pools are there? Are there enough lounge chairs? (hahaha)

Thanks. I can't wait for your replies.

 

[Pooh_Friend#1]

Were the lines long for the flowrider and was the H2O Zone packed?

 

[Float My Boat]

Labadee is a private beach, but not an "island". It is on Haiti, and is the most beautiful place I have ever been in the world.

 

[jodifla]

Thanks so much for posting. I'm seriously thinking of switching our next cruise to FOS!

The main attraction for our 4 year old son is the pools, and it looks like FOS has it all over the Magic and the WOnder in that regard.

I'm also attracted to the idea of in-room sitting instead of the kids clubs, which were bursting at the seams when we were on the ship in May.

 

[BethA]

thanks for posting here--can't wait to hear all the details

 

[DVC Mary]

How does it compare to Disney?

What are the kids clubs like & what are their hours? Do they charge at night? What age would be most interested in the programming?

How crowded were the pools/water areas?

What were the people like? (I often hear other cruise line are not as friendly as Disney.)

Thanks for offering to answer ??s --sorry that I have so many. We are considering Freedom for when our boys get a little older.

 

[RedFamilyLuvDisney]

We are sailing with FOS next year (Nov 2007). I can't wait! Labadee private beach sounds great!

 

[Kimmielee]

Looking to book FOS for a "girls only" cruise on 4/29/07. I can't wait!

How did dining work? Similar to Disney?

 

[RedFamilyLuvDisney]

Labadee is a private beach, but not an "island". It is on Haiti, and is the most beautiful place I have ever been in the world.

More beautiful than Castaway Cay???

 

[PizzieDuster]

I posted months back that I would let you all know how our Freedom Cruise was...(RCCL).

All I can say is...WOW! She is a beautiful and huge ship! We had a great time, perfect weather and calm seas. So much to do and so little time. As usual, we didn't want to get off the ship. The flowrider was very cool and my husband and son were hooked! Even though there were 4000 people onboard, you wouldn't know it...everything laid out well and didn't run into anything more noticeable (w/ crowds) than you would have on the smaller ships. Gloria Estefan and her family were on our cruise and my son got a pic w/ her on the last night. The H2O Zone is very cool and any parent w/ younger kids (or even older) would love this. Great idea for any ship w/ kids.

I can't remember everything at this moment...so if anyone has random questions, I'll try to answer for you....(BTW...we have cruised DCL 3 times and this was our 2nd RCCL cruise since 2004...(Mariner). My boys are no longer kids so RCCL is the better choice for us. They can't wait to go again..and they are 21,18 & 14.

Tezb: I'm so excited to hear this...we almost mirror you.... 3 DCL cruises, last April we cruised Explorer of the Seas and this coming April 8th, Easter Vacation for us, we are cruising Freedom of the Seas. DS17, DS14, DD8. My teens loved the Explorer and so excited for the Freedom. MY DD7 loved the babysitting - one on one attention. She would be so tired and fall asleep soon after she ordered room service. I cracked up when she picked up an Austrailian accent. She asked for "my sitter" everynight. My husband complained that they didn't have the same system as Disney with regards to the beeper. He complained the entire time. "Where's the beeper, it just makes no sense that they can't issue beepers like Disney!" That was a bummer for ME, to keep hearing it. "Beeper this, beeper that" So DCL cruisers, please never take that amenity for granted.

I've read Cruise Critics reviews and everyone raves about the H2o zone. I didn't realize it has it's OWN pool too!

I'm hesitant about their private "beach" port. I know it will not even come close to Castaway Cay, but my boys are excited nonetheless.

Can you give us any information on your excursions? Did you come in the night before and where did you stay? I'm so excited. I love that the ship sails Sunday - Sunday.... having kids in high school who can't miss school, it was great flying out on Saturday and sailing Sunday.

 

[Float My Boat]

More beautiful than Castaway Cay???

I am sure some diehard Disney's would hate me for saying this, but in my opinion, CC is pretty but it does not even compare to Labadee. I have pictures somewhere, but I am not sure this thread is the place to put them. Do a google search and I'm sure you can find a lot.

 

[tezb]

I apologize for not answering sooner....I couldn't find my post and just noticed it was moved to the Trip Reports.

We stayed in Miami for 2 nights before the cruise. Since my kids are older we chose the Courtyard South Beach..right in the heart of South Beach but decent hotel for the price. Plus it accommodated 6 in a room! I was not crazy about Miami..reminded me of some downtown areas in San Francisco, where we are from. I cannot stand the Miami Airport either...kind of dumpy...a mouse ran across my son's shoe while we waited for our flight!

RE: the Cruise....Labadee is RCCL's island but not private. People actually live there so you are really on island with the natives. My husband and 2 sons did the waverunner excursion in Labadee and had a blast. It was 89.00 per person for an hour which is led by a tour guide. We didn't do any other excursions because we had done this route before on and had also done Stingray before. It was fun to just enjoy an empty ship once in a while. Yes, there is tendering in Labadee, but only takes about 3-5 mins.

The ship did not seem crowded at all. Of course, on sea days certain areas were more crowded than others...like the pool but didn't feel like 4000 people at all! We loved the rooms and beds! So comfy w/ pillow tops on every bed. First time didn't suffer from neck or back aches...slept great!

We actually like RCCL now better than DCL. Sure, some of the cust svc is better on DCL but for the most part, it was fine. The shows were great...Once Upon A Time was excellent. A sort of fun modern 80's music take off on fairy tales..and funny. The comediennes were great and the dance theme nights like 70's and 80's were fun to attend. As usual, the ice show is spectacular too. We are not Disney fanatics and prefer the RCCL entertainment.

The food was okay. Some nights better than others. Enjoyed the lobster/prime rib night the best. The desserts were good I thought...esp in Windjammer. They had a Sorrentos Pizza onboard that was open til 3am everyday plus their 24 hr cafe on Royal Promendade. All these things FREE..and of course the ice cream machine w/ softies...in pool area. You did have to pay a nominal fee for Ben & jerry's, Smoothie Bar and Johnny Rockets charges a 3.95 surcharge fee. The skating, flowrider, mini golf & rockclimbing all free.

The Flowrider was awesome. My husband became addicted and my youngest son (former skateboarder) was able to stand up and do the surfing. The line goes by quick on sea days and it's fun to just stand there and watch...or get sprayed! They have times set up throughout the day for various things..like boogie boarding, standup surf, teens only and they even had a night session. My son tried the stand up on a Port Day and there were only 5 kids total so he got lots of turns in an hours time. The photographer even shows up periodically to take pics of you on the flowrider. Many photo ops throughout the ship and as usual, I spent too much on pics. Their formal photo op on the bridge is gorgeous...better than the cheesy backdrops as the bridge is lit up and looks like a neon purple! They also take pics of you w/ a white background and white flooring (have to take shoes off) and they have you pose in fun ways...very different and cute.

For those of you who have never cruised RCCL...they offer a DVD CRuise in Review each week...w/ footage taken specific to your cruise. It is a nice souvenir and cost is 29.95...you reserve during the week and pick up on last night. My son participated in the Quest so he was in the video. They also show footage of the ship, statistics, etc...Great if you want to show someone else the ship.

Hope I answered a few of your questions for now....if not, let me know.

 

[tezb]

RE: DINING...On RCCL, you go to the same place each night. The dining room is beautiful and is 3 decks so your seapass card will say which Deck you are...We were Deck 3 but the dining room goes up to Deck 5. They did a great job of seating us w/ the perfect table mates this time. We are a family of 5 and seated w/ another family of 5. Their kids were all the same ages of my 3 boys and the oldest was a girl. My oldest(20) son and her spent most of the cruise together and are still talking on the phone/AIM every day! We are from Calif and she is from TX. We'll see...they live far apart but FATE or COINCIDENCE? My youngest son is a drummer and so is their youngest son. Plus the couple has been married 22 yrs like ourselves and together 6 yrs before marriage just like us! Very fun to dine w/ them each night and I plan to keep in touch. The whole trip was so much fun and even though we weren't planning on cruising again til 2009 (our 25th and youngest graduates High School) we might reconsider....if our finances will allow it too!

 

[Kimmielee]

We'll see...they live far apart but FATE or COINCIDENCE?

Such a nice outcome.... sounds like FATE to me! That truly was a perfect dining table... how fun for each of you!

Thanks for answering the questions... we are booking at the end of the month!

 

[Viki]

Nice review, thank you. We'll be taking our first cruise, on FOS, in March 07. I'm a little nervous about it, being a first time cruiser with seasickness at the drop of a hat, but you've got to face your fears!