Freedom of the Seas Review
Crazy Holiday NYE Cruise - Never Again!
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What were we thinking. Holiday madness ensued on this broken ship. We called it the "every man for himself" and "hurry up and wait" vacation. RCL lost me completely after this trip. No attention to detail, just massive crowds of people milling from spot to spot, waiting in lines for everything, and a broken propeller that shortened port times - we were late into every port and it took at least an hour or more to get on and off the ship, especially with the tenders. Pathetic. Captain Tor continuously apologized for the "prop issues" and kept us informed of all the delays. Thanks - ha! Ship is dated and this was the last cruise prior to dry dock in January 2015. This was my 9th cruise - 2nd on RCL - never again.
Lets start with those port stops. We were late getting to every port, and left late from every port. This is unacceptable. Prior cruises in December 2014 were given large onboard credits to make up for the port times. This would have helped. And should still be an option. It is not my fault as a passenger that your ship is not functioning properly to make it to ports on time, and some financial amends should be made. Security getting on and off the ship at all ports was unacceptable, understaffed and horribly slow. We waited 90 minutes to board the ship again in Cozumel. No water, no shade!
Embarkation - check in went as well as I could hope with a party of 8, but it took us well over 2 hours to get onto the ship. The greeting as we entered the ship was not a friendly "hello" or "welcome aboard" or a cold towel or glass of water (after waiting in line for 2 hours to board) - it was a squirt of Purell from a crabby woman and a slew of tables selling the drink packages with crew shouting out to use to get our drinks - which we already purchased in advance. This set a poor tone for the "welcome" to the ship. Rooms and public areas were worn and dated, lifting carpet in our room, aging mirrors with spots that need replacement in our bathroom, rust spots, dust and hair under the massage table in the spa ( I could see it through the whole in the massage table - gross) , bent and broken plastic plant décor, chipped dishes in the buffet, paint stained chairs on our balcony and the neighbors suite, urine/musty smells in the hallways, worn and faded teak railings - rarely saw anyone cleaning the ship - except for our room stewards who should be paid double for their excellent work all week! Our room TV was not functioning properly all week - we called 3 times about it. Finally on day 6 we were brought a replacement tv and remote and were able to access our bill online for the first time. Dirty windows and doors everywhere. The pub was dirty, had dried lipstick on my glass - more than once. Just felt like the ship was dingy.
Cabin Review
Deluxe Oceanview Stateroom with Balcony
We had aft balcony 8412 and 3 interiors 8399, 8397 & 8395. Great area of the ship - quiet. We spent the entire last day on our balcony in the sun. Three times on the last day in the early evening LARGE black smoke rose from the bottom of the ship up into the aft cabin rooms filling them completely with smoke. A few of us called guest services and we were all given different stories about the cause. I asked to have someone call me back about "the cause" but no one ever did. With a "broken ship" this smoke was a huge concern to us. The ship was cruising along at 21 knots even though we were told the ship could only go about 19 knots - we were genuinely concerned something was wrong. Mart and Roberto our room stewards were the complete highlight of our entire cruise. They kept our rooms tidy, clean bath towels every day, fun towel animals for all of us, and a wonderful attitude of service and charm that we appreciated as guests. They were the ONLY members of the staff that really made us feel like guests! Room needs TLC - the tv was not working properly, curtains were falling off, mirror in the bathroom chipped and worn, balcony dingy. Mattress was a 3 inch thin floppy thing with a bare egg crate topper. We slept fine, but the mattresses need upgrading. The couch was faded and worn. Carpet lifting from the corners. View from Aft balcony outstanding. Combination of sun and shade was excellent. Enough room for 9 of us to gather and visit nightly at sail away. Minimal noise from crew area, and cabins above us could see onto our balcony. Didn't bother me, but it might bother some. No issues with soot other than the LARGE BLACK SMOKE CLOUDS on day 6 that billowed into our cabin 3 times.