Freedom to be a Diamond Plus Queen!!!! FR 4/17/23-4/21/23

[asquared17]

On 4/21/2023 at 11:07 AM, asquared17 said:

hopefully your trip to the FLL airport is smooth. its like a 30 min ride, right?

i feel like i jinxed you somehow RIP in pieces my friend.

i am SO glad you eventually made it there unscathed.

also heads up -- although this doesn't help you now -- there is a pretty decent mexican restaurant in the international wing/end/side of the united terminal in FLL. we usually can get guac and chips there if nothing else. we were there last time and it was still observing covid protocols so the menu was much shorter than usual, but worth the 10-15 min walk to stretch your legs if nothing else. otherwise the options on the united side are... limited at best.

i usually leave J with the bags and get my powerwalk in there and back so it kills some time

[Ampurp85]

I will be back to post my thoughts and observations. Work is kicking my butt and my brain can't handle both. 

[Ampurp85]

As promised and better late than never.......

Stray Observations and final thoughts.

On Freedom the ELF only had chicken and pork, no steak. The rice and beans have changed as well. The rice use to have more veggies and the beans almost none, it's the opposite. They also only ever had chicken burritos. In the MDR, with traditional dining, they treat each "group" separately. That means I got my own breadbasket and was served at my own pace. Years ago, if you shared a table, everyone was served at once. 

I have never cruised in April; this is a Spring break month. There was a lot of children/teenagers on the cruise, so many were ill-behaved. I rarely took the elevator, but I would pass by, and I saw them closing the doors on people and laughing, pressing all the floors and rushing past others with little regard. Also, so many unprepared parents. A guy on deck was selling swim diapers for $5 a pop to unprepared families.

In regard to the children/teens, the clubs were popping with activities. Since the DL overlooks the sports deck, I could hear and see a lot of the activities. Hyperlink thing was pretty popular as well. I was glad they were taking advantage. 

I don't know how many people were fined but flushing things was a real problem. Since I mainly stayed in the casino, I often used the deck 4 bathroom by the MDR. The staff were constantly taking random items out of the toilet: a bathing suit, panties, a baby shoe, personal lady products, and the one that made me laugh the most, a birthday sash. These were all the items' people tried to flush, unsuccessfully. My guess is they assumed the same etiquette mentioned on the bathroom card in the cabin, didn't apply to public restrooms. 

The rooms on Freedom are pretty big, my interior was very spacious. The decor was fresh, and cabinetry looked new and had so much storage space. I never split the beds, but I also just realized I struggle hard to get in and out, why am I making so much work for myself on vacation?????? My cooler was dirty upon arrival and leaked so much there was a pool of water on the floor in front of it.

I don't know about anyone else, but my steward was sorely lacking. There was no QR code, I requested ice and never received it. I never even met the person who barely cleaned my room and mentioned this on the survey. 

Specialty dining was never full and crew for the venues offered discounts way until the last day of the cruise. 

My final thoughts are the more I cruise solo, the less I want to cruise solo. I just have one more (solo) on the books and with my plans to make others Prime, I shouldn't have to sail alone anymore. My points for the casino have posted but I haven't crossed the threshold in D+ yet, I figure it will update tomorrow or Friday. 

My next cruise is in 172 days and should be full of shenanigans as it includes a train ride from Chicago to Texas and five vintages.

 

 

[Sweety]

Can't wait to hear about the train ride.

[SweetPea]

I'm glad you were honest in the survey. Things will never change if everyone gives high marks out of guilt. I hope your discount for not having your room cleaned comes through as well. I'm sure they'll be some fuzzy math involved with that! 

Thanks for taking us along!

[Ampurp85]

 

WOOO!!!!! Look at my update!!!!

[OCSC Mike]

35 minutes ago, Ampurp85 said:

 

WOOO!!!!! Look at my update!!!!

Congrats! We'll be exactly 7 points away after our June cruise. Unfortunately real life has delayed those last 7 a bit but we'll be there soon enough!

[asquared17]

1 hour ago, Ampurp85 said:

 

WOOO!!!!! Look at my update!!!!

ATTA GIRL!!!!!!!

[Ampurp85]

So I just wanted to post a quick update.

My room was dirty upon embarkation. The head of housekeeping came and promised a deep cleaning, didn't happen, and a 20% FCC. I told him the room was a casino comp and he said I would get a 20% coupon. The letter said fare, so I went to guest services and called shoreside while on the cruise. They said they would make a note about it being a casino comp but didn't give me a new letter. When I called shoreside, last day of cruise, they said I had to wait 30 days and they would make a note. I hadn't received anything so I called.  Of course because I only paid taxes and fees, I got nothing. The rep saw notes but my letter says fare so they won't honor anything. So lesson is get everything in writing, even if they say they will make notes.

[WAAAYTOOO]

1 hour ago, Ampurp85 said:

So I just wanted to post a quick update.

My room was dirty upon embarkation. The head of housekeeping came and promised a deep cleaning, didn't happen, and a 20% FCC. I told him the room was a casino comp and he said I would get a 20% coupon. The letter said fare, so I went to guest services and called shoreside while on the cruise. They said they would make a note about it being a casino comp but didn't give me a new letter. When I called shoreside, last day of cruise, they said I had to wait 30 days and they would make a note. I hadn't received anything so I called.  Of course because I only paid taxes and fees, I got nothing. The rep saw notes but my letter says fare so they won't honor anything. So lesson is get everything in writing, even if they say they will make notes.

Not surprising.  I had something very similar happen on OA in 2019.  We were on an upgraded casino comp in Star Class.  I also received a 20% FCC for an issue.  It turned out that we received $215 !  The upgrade was thousands but b/c of the way they structure casino comp upgrades, the “upgrade” charge is not considered “fare”.  It was is slimy the way they do it.