tonyfsu21

Theres nothing really to be described as “ok with” regarding #1700. This aft facing balcony is spacious, offers excellent views from inside and outside and can only be defined as “excellent”. The beam is offset and not line of sight thus the 0% obstructions designation from Royal Caribbean. I highly recommend you check it out sometime so you don’t have to speculate.

This is a loooooong road and not advised unless you have lots of money or lots of time (or both).

It’s not just me, Royal Caribbean agrees…..

The beam is hardly an obstruction. I took a picture pointing down at the Aft balconies that have the superstructure in the way which is more of an obstruction. 1700 has incredible views.

Update from Freedom this morning 5/25/25:

First thoughts after seeing the casino (before opening)… Great use of space, nice size bar (finally!) and a good selection of machines and tables for the space. It’s crazy to me how small the bars are in the casinos fleet wide. At least this time they made a proper sized bar that looks good. I’m excited to win some money in this casino tonight!

Freedom deck 10 stateroom 1700 balcony is pretty great. No notable superstructure obstructions like decks below. This is actually a perfect balcony IMO with plenty of space, chairs and a roof for some shade.

That’s perfection!

Anyone experience the new NS casino on the Freedom promenade? If so, how was it? I can only imagine the bar is really crowded with prime + players looking for an easy drink while walking by. I am excited to check it out this Friday and you can bet I will be at that bar and playing every machine in that little casino!

Haha. Nope, we don’t roll like that.

We are less than a month out from Odyssey leaving out of Rome chitty chitty bang bang port (still can’t pronounce that port name). We are spending a full week prior on a sightseeing tour of Milan, Venice and of course Rome. I have every single thing dialed in regarding pre booked tours, fast trains, transportation exc. I do have a cash question though. Yes, I understand it’s subjective but it’s been a bit since I’ve been to Europe. I normally use Amex for every single thing that cost me money and I understand we are not in America and therefore Amex is probably not to be expected to be accepted everywhere in Italy, Greece and Turkey. I will bring a Visa or two as backup but not sure about Euros. I am considering only exchanging $2-300 to Euros in small bills for what amounts to a full 2 week vacation (one of which is on Odyssey). I would get some smaller bills for maybe a coffee, beer or possibly some gelato for the kids. Anyone have an argument to bring more? Gambling $ and crew tip cash taken care of via ship board account. I don’t think tips are a part of the culture in Europe so no need to be concerned as far as I know while on land.

Taxi is the best option if you don’t want to wait on a shuttle or transfer which is a colossal waste of time IMO.

Oh, you can bet the ranch on some floating poopie shutting down the operation on a frequent basis.

Costa Maya which is basically a dumper of a stop. This amusement park will at least make the port a destination. Maybe not everyone’s idea of a destination but certainly a better payoff for that long walk down the pier. Also, I picture the lazy river as anything but lazy. It’s going to be a traffic jam of rafts (some towing beer coolers) all banging into each other and bottle necking at the bars. Despite my negativity, the Tonyfsu21’s will be there!

The ultra spacious would be a noticeable difference to the standard balcony. I wouldn’t put much weight into Royal up as it’s not likely you will win the upgrade. If you are interested, bid both and see what happens. Back a few years ago it was easier to win these upgrades but the wins are few and far between these days. Good luck.

We don’t mind the superstructure either. Next weekend we have #1700: Spacious sunset balcony booked on Freedom. Excited to see the NS casino on the promenade.

Fort Lauderdale is an amazing city. I commute daily to Miami and cant understand why anyone would want to spend time there. I’ve been in bumper to bumper traffic on the 826 more times than I care to talk about.

Excellent ship. We have sailed her 5+ times since delivery. If you can manage to book a Southern Caribbean route it’s even better! Enjoy

I rarely wait on a server while gambling, it’s a waste of time. It’s easier to just go to the bar. If they were trying to push gamblers to the slots then they would have already removed the tables and replaced that valuable real estate with machines. Pissing away $100 at the table is no different than sticking it in the machine. Gambling either way.

I heard the same thing but never really bothered to check. We have always booked through RC.

I have had the same experience across the board from suites to balconies. I would say it’s just good luck but we are D+ cruisers and have many cruises under our belts with the same results. I will test this again with Freedom over Memorial Day weekend. Perhaps I jinxed it?

I must have really good luck then. The casino says “hold my beer”…

I’m just going to continue tipping the porter well and getting my luggage on that magic cart because it seems to be working. Even the RCBlog boss himself is not getting luggage at 1pm sharp.

Haha. Well there goes my theory.

True. That might be a better reason we get the luggage so quickly. It’s hard to imagine the $20 tip carries much weight once the porter tosses the bags into the carrier (unless there is a magic carrier for the generous tips?).