Welcome to Patrick's review of the Royal Caribbean International, Freedom of the Seas. ReviewThatCruise.com is first for Freedom of the Seas Reviews & Freedom of the Seas ship reviews.
After months of interest and weeks of hype, all culminating in a frenzy last week, Freedom of the Seas is finally here. I had the good fortune to sail on the 2 night pre-inaugural cruise from Bayonne by gracious invitation from RCI to Diamond Plus members. The cruise was mostly for travel agents, and it was fun to sail with them and compare experiences.
The Cruise
I flew from Jacksonville, FL to Newark. Boarding for Freedom was slated to begin at 6pm. Transfers were provided free of charge and didn’t start until 4pm. By 3:30pm, a large group of folks had assembled at the meeting area at EWR. RCI officials showed up around 3:45, surprised to see so many people and a bit concerned that if there were enough busses. After a bit of confusion, we all made it on the short ride over to Bayonne.
Arriving at the terminal, we passed through security and then checked in. Our invitations stated that we would have oceanview rooms, and that no upgrades would be available; however, we were auto-upgraded to balcony rooms. Our party had 9618 and 8358. After a smooth check-in, we moved into the terminal to wait for Freedom to dock, as it was coming over from Manhattan. The terminal sported a circus theme, with sodas, water, pretzels, sandwiches, cotton candy, candied apples and other goodies provided free of charge.
Freedom docked around 5:30, and around 6pm the boarding process began. With a full ship of passengers, the terminal was packed and the initial boarding process was a bit hectic, but RCI handled it as well as can be expected. Passengers were called by group number (small cards were handed out at the check-in line) to board the shuttle bus over to the ship. Upon boarding, we quickly found our staterooms, where we found a Cruise Compass outlining the night’s activities. Dinner was open seating from 6:30 – 10pm, but we immediately “got out there” to see what we were really there for.
I will do a deck-by-deck run down of the ship later on in the review, but in short, Freedom OTS is very impressive. The vessel was spotless and surprisingly did have a “new ship smell.” We toured the ship for about 2 hours, had dinner at 8 (standard first night’s menu), and then did more exploring. Sailaway was at 9:30pm, with highlighted by a fairly impressive 10 minute fireworks display from a nearby barge on the Hudson at 9:50pm. We did not make it to either the ice show or the production show, so I can’t comment on them. After a long day of travel (up at 4am), I was in bed by 11pm.
Day 2 started with breakfast in the Windjammer followed by the muster drill at 10:30am. The drill was fairly painless, given all of the people involved; however, Freedom has new lifejackets equipped with a very annoying neck collar that I’m sure is very effective if you’re in the water, but a bit uncomfortable if you’re not. Our course took us down the eastern seaboard about to the point where we were parallel with Norfolk. At 11am, I went to an hour-long meeting for TAs where RCI provided updates about their product. The afternoon was spent checking out the new ship and its features, particularly the Flowrider, which was open for use. Most of the shops and facilities were open as well. The parade was at 1:30pm; it is circus-themed and features “Freida the Freedom” elephant. From 5:30- 6:30pm, we attended a reception for D+ members, where Capt Bill Wright and Adam Goldstein did a quick Q&A, and then had dinner at 6:30pm (new waiter and location; Captain’s Gala menu). Jon Secada was the evening’s headline entertainment and the ice show was repeated at 10pm (still didn’t make it). Upon returning to our staterooms, 2 gifts had been delivered – a commerative FOS Inaugural Season glass plate / plaque, and a signed copy of Jon Secada’s new CD.
The Ship
Keep in mind that I love big ships and Voyager class is by far my favorite. Assume Navigator / Mariner as a baseline, if you are familiar with them, and then imagine the changes from there. I will only comment on things that vary. Freedom is very similar to these ships, but is more than just a glorified version of them. The extra width and length of the ship are very noticeable to those familiar with Voyager-ships and many of the public areas have been streamlined and opened up.
Staterooms: No really changes here except for the following:
-Flat screen TVs. The TV twists and turns for easy viewing with a decent, clear picture. The back of the TV can be easily accessed to plug in DVD players, Playstation, etc.
-Bedding. The big improvement we have all been hoping for.
-Deeper balconies. No big deal one way or another, but still nice.
Dining Room. Same set-up, but the dining room does feel slightly smaller than the Voyager class ones, and I found it a challenge to get around with the tables being closer together than usual.
Arcadia Theatre. Incredible sound system and acoustics.
Deck 3. The Photo Gallery has been relocated to Deck 4, replaced by “On the Air,” a karaoke bar that leads into Studio B.
Deck 4. The Photo Gallery has kiosks where you can buy photos and download ones you’ve taken. The casino is larger and better organized. Gaming tables are located both at the entrance of the room (which is wider for improved traffic flow) and on the port side. The machines also provide slips when you win or cash out – no coins – which are then redeemed at the cashier (similar to NCL system).
Deck 5. It’s on the Royal Promenade that you really realize how long FOS really is. It features an expanded Ben and Jerry with a great selection of ice cream. Get Out There is a new logo store, selling activewear and New Balance sneakers (a new RCI partner). Sorrentos serves decent quality pizza similar to that of other RCI ships, but with some new flavors. A Clean Shave provides haircuts and shaves for men in classic barbershop setting. It will be interesting to see how popular this feature is and if it makes into the Liberty design.
Deck 11. Lot’s to talk about here, starting front to aft.
-ShipShapeCenter. Awesome state-of-the-art equipment. The room really benefits from the additional width, improving traffic flow. The boxing ring is a kind of gimmicky, replacing the Thalossotherapy pool. It will be interesting to see if this is carried onto future ships. Passengers can only box trained crew, not each other.
-Solarium. Standard design with a few Radiance class feature blended in, but this area feels a bit smaller than usual and may fill up quickly, featuring 4 hammocks and beautiful wooden deck chairs. The pool has 8 underwater stools for people to sit in.
-H2O Zone. Flowrider gets all the attention, but this will likely be just a big a hit, especially with the kids.The area is bigger than I thought it would be, and has lots of water toys and fun, similar to Luc’s Splash Bash on Labadee. The H2O Zone is divided from the Main Poof by a bridge that crosses the width of the ship. The new deck chairs are very nice and feature a pillow.
-Juice Bar. It wasn’t open so I can’t comment on it, but I like the concept and the selection looks great.
-Access to the Windjammer. The path between the outdoor pool and the indoor Windjammer has been streamlined and improved for better traffic flow.
Deck 13. Old favorites, along with a new one.
-Rock Wall. The rock wall features a new, 3d-type design along with more “trails”, in addition to being higher.
-Mini Golf. The golf course has been reduced to a small section on the port side. The course is still decent and challenging, but will struggle to accommodate crowds.
-Flowrider. I thought this would be another gimmick – one of those features that looks better in a brochure but is really only used by only a handful of people. I was wrong. The set-up is very impressive, fun to both watch and participate in, and seemingly accessible to folks of all ages. RCI is going to have to have a plan to handle crowds, as this will be a big draw. Be careful though – the flow of the water is so strong that it pulled tops and bottoms off of several surfers!
Deck 14. The big change here is the addition of the Diamond Club, which is the concierge lounge for D / D+ members, replacing the 19th Hole. The room is incredible with lots of glass and a great view. Think Radiance class concierge lounge but bigger.
All in all, we had a great time and I’m sure Freedom will be wildly popular. I’m looking forward to sailing on the inaugural cruise on 6/4, and really thank RCI for the complementary cruise.
Positives
Negatives
As I said, I love big ships. After cruising Freedom, I realize there is such a thing as too big. Now, I’m not saying that FOS is too big, and her size will not prevent me from sailing her; but if you think Freedom is too large for you, it probably is. There’s lots of walking involved, and it was evident that capacity will be an issue at peak times in the following areas:
-Windjammer. There’s a bit more seating than the Navigator version, but not enough to offset the crowds that will gather for breakfast and lunch.
-Elevators. Freedom could really benefit from a third group of elevators. The existing ones fill up fast.
-Hot Tubs. They were always PACKED on our short cruise, especially the cantilever ones in the Solarium (which were not as impressive from a design perspective as I hoped they would be).
-Sorrentos / Café Promenade. Traffic flow in both Sorrentos and Café Promenade is constrictive and prone to lines.
