Freedom of the Seas Review

Great cruise, great crew, lousy cabin

Review for the Eastern Caribbean Cruise on Freedom of the Seas
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torgotom
2-5 Cruises • Age 60s

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Sail Date: Mar 2018
Cabin: Deluxe Oceanview Stateroom with Balcony

I’ll expand the review later but right now I’m venting about how my room is ruining the experience. STAY AWAY from 6632. The Ac is a joke. I can barely get to sleep and I wake with pools of sweat in my eye sockets. Every night foam bubbles up from bathroom drains and fills the shower stall and floor with very worrisome dirty foam. Three maintenance calls failed to resolve either problem.

Love the crew. Love the ship. Love the destinations. But I’m hating any time spent in cabin 6632. Never book.

Food is good and mdr is fast. Casino small but fun. Great bars and spectacular views from several venues.

Cabin Review

Deluxe Oceanview Stateroom with Balcony

Cabin E3

Horrible, awful and terrible. Plus, lousy.

UPDATED!

RC did put us in a new cabin with it's own peculiar problems, but no bathroom foam and plenty of cold AC. They've been extremely apologetic but all they could offer for compensation was money off a future purchase. That same offer was available to anyone who booked onboard, so thats hardly a gift. But there I go looking it in the mouth. I'm over the room disaster, I want to remember the GOOD parts!

Now, with that out of the way, how much FUN I had!

I do like the Freedom of the Seas, overall. The rooms show wear and tear on balconies and bathrooms and furniture - time soon for an overhaul, I hope. The public areas are in much better shape, clean, beautiful and impressive. The staff at the stores and bars and eateries varied from indifferent to wildly enthusiastic, but always courteous and professional. I know these guys work HARD, so I grade on a curve. I'll give them a A-.

I enjoyed visiting the bars on my premium beverage package. I was too often dismayed to find a once quiet bar hosting a loud trivia contest or adult party game. Oddly the Casino bar was less noisy than the Schooner or Bolero! Drinks seem mildy tinged with alcohol. Or so it felt. Gee, I saw them pour the vodka in, it was over a shot, but I'm not tipsy! What gives? Sea air? In any case, getting a drink was always easy, always top shelf and there truly was no limit. I'd say the R Bar, when open, is the best quiet spot.

Dining was good, but not impressive until we went upscale to Chops grille. There, the food WAS amazing and served with humor, elegance and way too much food. Highly recommended. Meanwhile, back in the MDR food ranged from good enough to damn good. As a Houston resident, my bar for good food is set very high; I may not have appreciated the cuisine in the MDR as you will, depends on your experience? Service at MDR for dinner was perfect. Seated quickly and dined and on our way in under 90 minutes. Breakfast was bit trickier there, but room service complimentary breakfast is inedible, so by all means, breakfast in the MDR is preferred.

Cafe Promenade was always reliable for a quick bite when MDR wasn't available. The pizza parlor served up late night cheesy goodness.

Elevators were generally reliable, but the weird layout of deck three often threw me - rarely saw studio B!

On Board fun was a bit too athletic for me, but other guests dug the flowrider and basketball and wall climbing. I played mini golf. I enjoyed simply visiting the various attractions and spaces onboard for different views, people watching and breathtaking views with thrilling breezes.

I didn't really explore the ports; as a general rule we would take a sight seeing ride to a casino. I don't find port shops very attractive with the cheaply made goods and high pressure salesmen selling tours. St Kitts was the nicest stop, where I did shop. But the port casino. MauPau, was a terrible experience - sullen, hot, grim employees and awful games. Avoid! Take a taxi to the Sheraton, where the games are legit and they are glad to see you.

I did not make it into downtown St Maarten, but the port shops seemed damaged yet. I was told downtown is in much better shape. San Juan, well we didn't run into any problems with power or transportation, but I guess that was a bullet dodged given this weeks news. By Labadee, a combination of exhaustion and disinterest kept us on the ship. It's nice to enjoy pools and hot tubs and ice cream while half the guest are away! Shore days on board rule.

We had some choppiness on the way to St Kitts but it was pretty smooth sailing on the way back. Throughout we were treated to great powerful breezes, amazing sunrises and sunsets, and a full moon I will never forget. The big thrill was the Captain doing a full 360º spin before leaving San Juan, a wonderful surprise - what a view!!

Boarding and disembarkation were both much smoother than Celebrity Cruise experience. WE arrived around 1200 and were in our rooms around 130. Luggage arrived late - about ten doors down!? - but on disembarkation luggage was right where it was supposed to be. we flew through customs, and what we were told would take many hours barely took 90 minutes.

I may have forgotten many details, it was a bit too long a cruise. I got a little bored with ship by day 7. Spent too much time and money in casino, my own fault. The movies were aimed mostly at teens, and all the 3D features were kiddie pix. I probably would not ride Freedom again until I hear they've addressed their plumbing issues (yes even our second room had a broken sink stopper flopping around in it.) Maybe I'll get on the Allure one of these days?

Final word on Freedom - good size, good overall experience, but be prepared for the occasional broken fixture, noisy patio separators, and a smoky smoky casino. She's a good ship with a good captain and crew.

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