Has anyone here been on the new Freedom of the Seas cruise ship?

Question

I am looking to book a cruise this spring and I was wondering how the ship is.

Answer 1

Did you read the press reports of their cruise that had 700 passengers and crew sick with the Norovirus?  That must have been terrible to have saved for a cruise and then be on a contaminated ship.

No one got refunds, either.

Answer 2

You can do a search on webshots but i got one so you can see.

http://travel.webshots.com/album/5507755...

Answer 3

I am going on the freedom of the seas on February 11 to 18

Answer 4

I am a Certified Cruise Specialist, go on 2-3 cruises a year, and have been on all the major cruise lines, so I think I can make a well educated comparison.

We were on the Freedom last year.  Did not like it!  The ship is just too big and too crowded!  The lounge chairs at the pool are all touching side-by-side.  You needed to get in to your chair by crawling in from the bottom.  If you wanted a drink, there were no tables to put it on, because there was no space for the table to be!  There always seemed to be an air of confusion and panic in the dining room - it's on three levels and it's huge.  

She's a beautiful ship with enough to entertain everybody - I just wish that there weren't so many "everybodys".  At over 3600 passengers I had a hard time finding "my space".

The Freedom has a sister ship named Liberty of the Seas. Both are Post Panamax ships, meaning that they are too big to pass through the Panama Canal!  Royal Caribbean is launching a ship that's in the Genesis class, and will carry over 5000 passengers!  WOW!

I so much prefer a 50,000 - 90,000 ton ship with about 1500-2000 passengers, lots of little nooks and crannys to get lost in and passengers that are not stacked up on each other.

Answer 5

^^ That's not true.  They got 1/2 back for what they paid for.  I think that's a good deal too, because reguardless of getting sick, they did get to go on their cruise. ^^

Answer 6

I've went on the Freedom of the Seas October, 2006 the Inaugural Halloween Cruise.  We had a blast.  I have to agree that there is a lot of people on the boat, but it's doesn't seem any different from the other cruises I've been on.  

Service was excellent.  If you wanted to have a drink next to your chair at the pool area all you need to do was ask.  You're going to be treated like royalty.  The room service was excellent and the nice thing about the bigger boat was the room was bigger too.  They had a flat screen tv in the room.  Not that we watch much television, but having more extra space is better than wasting it for a tv.

There is so much to do that it's virtually impossible to do it all.  A lot of great entertainment, night life, and you can enjoy quiet time.

Food was great and our servers were awesome.  I've traveled on the Princess cruise line numerous times, as well as, with Royal Caribbean.  We will be going on the Liberty, Royal Caribbean in October 2007/

We will be going on the new Liberty with Carnival in March, 2007.

I've only gotten sick one time on a cruise and it was last March, 2006.  It's not the cruise line- it's the people who don't know how to wash there hands correctly.  This can happen any where you put a great number of people confined together no matter what it involves.  

If you go with a positive attitude of having a great time you will regardless of who's there.  Have Fun!!!