Freedom of the Seas Review

First time RCI cruiser, generally quite pleased

Review for the Eastern Caribbean Cruise on Freedom of the Seas
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ginkybiloba
2-5 Cruises • Age 50s

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Additional details

Sail Date: Jan 2013
Cabin: Family Oceanview Stateroom
Traveled with children

Our family of 4 (two adults, two children ages 8 and 10) travelled on the FOS (Eastern Caribbean) January 13 -- 20th. It was our first time cruising with RCI. Embarkation was very straightforward: we arrived at the port around 11:00 a.m. and were probably onboard within 30 minutes. Our first experience with the Windjammer was a nightmare, which we were sort of prepared for based on previous reviews. It was completely chaotic with hoards of people and nowhere to sit. We finally managed to find two tables for 2 but had to split up. The lines at the buffet were crazy and there appeared to be no order at all. In retrospect, we should have just gone down to Deck 5 and grabbed a light snack to tide us over until dinner time. We explored the ship a bit and then headed to our cabin right at 1:00 p.m. We had a family oceanview cabin at the front of the ship (8200) and it was amazing: lots of space and a separate bedroom with bunk beds for the kids. The decor was showing its age but the room was very clean. I was very surprised at how long it took for our luggage to be delivered to our cabin. Our only other cruise was with Disney and I felt like we had our luggage much sooner. Lesson learned, I should have packed swimsuits for the kids in our carry-on.

We had first seating for dinner (5:30 p.m.) so we proceeded to Leonardo's to find our table. Despite having booked a table for 4 several months ago, they had us sitting at a large table with other people. We quickly informed the maitre d that this was not what we had arranged and they scrambled to find us a table for 4. We ended up getting an "overflow" table which was located right up against a waiters station. We kept getting rammed into by carts, and it was very crowded and noisy. The servers were getting frustrated too because it was hard for them to work around us. The next evening, we managed to get moved over to a "real" table which was still in the same server's section but a bit further from the waiters station. In all, a frustrating experience that could have been avoided had Royal Caribbean honored our original request.

We enjoyed the dinner menu in the MDR. The Windjammer was another story. While we could usually find something to eat, we would have liked a bit more variety. There were always a few ethic dishes, which we really enjoyed (Indonesian curry, Asian beef with green beans etc.). I am also not a buffet fan in general - I saw people ignoring the serving tongs and digging through the bread with their hands. Yuck. We went to the MDR one day for lunch near the end of the cruise and were surprised at the lunch menu. It was fantastic, and we kicked ourselves for not checking it out sooner.

Cabin Review

Family Oceanview Stateroom

Cabin FO

Very spacious, quiet, lots of storage, separate bedroom for kids, feel lots of motion due to forward location

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