review of freedom of seas 04-10-2016 cruise

Freedom of the Seas Cruise Review to Caribbean - Western

bgdillon1

Contributor Level: Purser

Cruises: 4-6 cruises

Review: 1

Helpful Votes: 38

Overall rating:

1 out of 5

Verified Review

7 Night Western Caribbean (Port Canaveral Roundtrip)

Sail date: April 10, 2016

Ship: Freedom of the Seas

Cabin type: Balcony

Cabin number: 1270

Traveled as: Singles/Friends

Reviewed: 8 years ago

Review summary

I hope other passengers had a better experience. Food was awful and dining room management did not understand or help to ensure that was food I could safely eat. Except for room steward, Sonia, the rest of crew and staff was just plain rude and unpleasant. Passengers rude, ran into staff and other passengers. I was pushed, bumped, knocked and shoved by the passengers. Large ship but poorly designed, had to stand in line for everything. Stop having ice cream at six forcing passengers to buy ice cream from Ben and Jerry's, bars did not want to fill drink cups for drink packages. Music at pool area loud and awful, not enough chairs or activities. Played tennis or soccer on big screen the whole cruise. No popcorn for movies at night on big screen.

Could not understand ship captain's announcements.

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

1 out of 5

awful, dining staff did not understand or help with food allergy

Onboard Activities

1 out of 5

what activities?????

Service and Staff

1 out of 5

rude and unpleasant

Ship Quality

1 out of 5

poor design very crowded

Cabin / Stateroom

3 out of 5

wind whistled thru the cabin whole trip very rough cruise

Ship tip

I would suggest booking a cruise with Princess and Carnival not RCL

Thumbs up

Ports of call

Port Canaveral, Florida

5 out of 5

Labadee (Cruise Line Private Island)

5 out of 5

Nice, loved the zipline clean and was happy to be off ship

Thumbs Up 2

Falmouth, Jamaica

1 out of 5

rough area, did not like

Thumbs Up 0

George Town, Grand Cayman

5 out of 5

Cozumel, Mexico

5 out of 5

12 Comments

keylempi 8 years ago

Been on FotS 3 times. Once had a similar experience. Once was awesome. The other was somewhere in between. Hopefully the next one will be great but in any case, I'd rather be cruising than at work.

Thumbs Up 0

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cosens 8 years ago

I thought the food was wonderful, both in the dining room and buffet. The only problem food wise that we had was with room service. Half the time the order was right, half the time it wasn't, but no big deal. I liked the ship and the staff for the most part. Our major problem was the disorganization of the excursions. I think maybe cruising isn't the best fit for you.

Thumbs Up 0

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Kat1115 8 years ago

I was on this same cruise and only a few staterooms down. I only agree with one part of your review, Sonia was awesome! As far as the rest, my experience was the complete opposite. The staff were all great and fellow passengers were friendly and respectful. We watched a couple of movies on the big screen (Concussion and The Good Dinosaur) and enjoyed both. The first and last night the winds were 30 - 50 mph and did create some rough seas and noise however neither could be controlled by Royal Caribbean. The layout of the ship was perfect for crowd control etc. While we did not participate in a lot of activities the cruise compass was packed with daily options. Overall we had a great time.

Thumbs Up 4

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spiegeje 8 years ago

Maybe cruising isn't for you.

Thumbs Up 2

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Patrick4 8 years ago

The lay out of this ship is rated as one of the best. After reading this review, your cruising license is revoked :-) Not sure any ship and crew could make you happy, wow!

Thumbs Up 3

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snugglebug 8 years ago

Going on the Freedom for the sixth time in October. It is a great ship - my favorite of my 28 cruises. I don't understand either.

Thumbs Up 2

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jimnkathy 8 years ago

My experience on FOS has been just like all of my other cruises with RCL. It's been great. I love the Windjammer. The food is not on the same level with the main dining room but I find it more than acceptable. I've also found the staff to be great as usual. They are all more than willing to do whatever is needed to make you a happy customer. I don't understand the people who find fault with every detail of their cruise. If their complaints were valid Royal Caribbean would not be in business very long.

Thumbs Up 2

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sherisanders 8 years ago

I had a totally different experience than you. everyone I met was friendly and the staff went out of their way to help you. my family loved the main dining room food. I would give my experience 5 stars. I am sorry you had a bad experience.

Thumbs Up 2

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krocci 8 years ago

We too had a simular experiance on FOS back in Oct. I was traveling with my parents ans two sons. Just a thought. Call RCI post cruise dept and explain your experiance. They will look into your situtation in great detail. They ended up giving myself and my parents a 30% compensation for a future cruise.(30 % of our fee that we paid for our cruise) I have cruised 5 times prior to that cruise and never had any issues RCI post cruise dept is very profesional and we were shocked that they gave us back so much. Very much appriciated and as a matter of fact I am leaving Sunday on the allure, it cant hurt to call them. Good luck

Thumbs Up 3

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lindackelley 8 years ago

By the way there was ice cream in the windjammer.. Plenty of chairs each time I passed by. I never experienced a rude staff person, maybe not that talkative, surely not rude.

Thumbs Up 6

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lindackelley 8 years ago

I cruised the same time with you and had a totally different experience. I have food alergies and was well taken care of by ordering the night before. They added food that was not on the menu to help accommodate me. I was very pleased. Daniel was awesome In dining room. Barnard was room attendant and gave 100% to ensure I had everything I needed. Shows were great. No problems with crowds and music. I Enjoyed My Vacation. Sorry you did not.

Thumbs Up 7

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raineywife 8 years ago

Other than my dining room experience being great, I agree with your assessment. I just tried to make the best of it. After reading recent reviews, my expectations were low.

Thumbs Up 0

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