Freedom of the Seas Review

Fantastic Family Vacation on Freedom of the Seas!

Review for the Western Caribbean Cruise on Freedom of the Seas
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Suchan
2-5 Cruises • Age 60s

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Sail Date: May 2013
Cabin: Deluxe Oceanview Stateroom with Balcony
Traveled with children

BACKGROUND: Our family (my husband, my kids 19 and 12, and I) love to travel internationally and usually opt for a DIY "cultural" vacation rather than cruising. However, we decided to give cruising a try, despite the tendency for a couple of us to get motion sickness and for my daughter to have lots of issues with food allergies. We chose RCCL's Freedom of the Seas based on terrific reviews.EMBARKATION: Embarkation was pretty efficient, considering the number of passengers . After my husband dropped us off with the rental car and returned to the terminal, we entered with our baggage and did not realize that porters were supposed to take our bags to the ship. After asking a number of RCCL personnel how to give our bags to porters, we were advised by other seasoned passengers to walk onto the ship with our bags to avoid having to go back through security. This is the only fault I found with the cruise line; the RCCL personnel at the terminal only knew their own jobs and did not know how to resolve the issue. Not a huge problem, as we ended up storing our bags in our staterooms while they were still being cleaned.SHIP INFO: The ship is absolutely gorgeous! Just a few years old, every room was in tip-top shape and cleaned constantly. The Royal Promenade is the heart of the ship - a beautiful walkway with cafes and other eateries, shops, and a lit-up bridge that served as a great forum for people watching. While the ship is huge, it has a great layout, and everything is easy to find with the help of electronic, interactive maps on every deck.ACTIVITIES: There are so many different kinds of activities that we did not get to do everything! Believe it or not, we only used the pool once on embarkation day. On ship days, the pool gets VERY crowded, so we enjoyed other activities. There's the famous Flow Rider (we only watched), a rock climbing wall (my husband and daughter climbed), a sport court where dodge ball and basketball are played, a mini golf course, and even an ice skating rink, which my daughter and I tried just to say we skated on a ship! But the fav activities for my kids were the trivia contests, which were a great way to meet other people.SERVICE: The service is absolutely superb. Every single RCCL employee was friendly, helpful, and professional - from the cruise director staff to dining room servers to stateroom attendants. We gave "WOW" cards to our three favorite people: Kirk Johnson (our waiter from Jamaica), Delpha Campbell (our assistant waiter from Jamaica), and Everard Cumberbatch (our room attendance). They went out of their way to make our experience so joyful.PORT/SHORE EXCURSIONS: We did shore excursions in every port. In Haiti, two of us enjoyed the Haitian Cultural Tour at Paradise Cove, while the other two went on the Snorkel Safari. They were both fantastic. In Jamaica, we decided to avoid the traditional Dunn's River Falls and went horseback riding - in the sea! What a thrill, given that a couple of us had never even been on horses before. In Grand Cayman, we visited Stingray City, where we "interacted" with the stingrays. My advice is to bring a mask/snorkel or swim goggles so that you can see the stingrays underwater - truly spectacular. But our favorite excursion was the Dolphin Swim and Push/Pull at Chankanaab Park in Cozumel. For $99/each, this was the best bang for your buck, as a small group of around 10-12 get to interact with a dolphin, who "pulls" you through the water as you hang onto his fins and "pushes" you on a boogie board. The fee also includes the transportation and an entire day at the beautiful park, where you can snorkel, eat, go kayaking, swim, etc.STATEROOM: We had two balcony staterooms, which were roomy and comfortable. We reserved rooms mid-ship on Deck 8, as this location is advised for people with a tendency to become seasick. Between our choice of stateroom and small doses of Dramamine, we had no problems with sickness - not even when the seas were a little rocky. The bathroom is tiny but well-lit, and the beds are very comfortable. We slept well every single night.DINING: We only ate in the main dining room, the cafes on the Promenade, and in the ever-popular Windjammer. The main dining room covers an impressive three decks, and as we chose a 5:30 My Time Dining option, we ate on the top deck (5). The mostly continental cuisine was very good; every dinner consisted of three courses, and the portions are not huge but certainly large enough for medium-sized appetites. The Windjammer has a very impressive breakfast buffet - everything you can imagine, including eggs Benedict, made-to-order omelets, salmon, croissants - even miso soup, which is a mainstay of Japanese breakfasts! Lunch has an equally impressive variety, and the afternoon "tea/snack" is lovely - enjoy everything from scones and clotted cream to tacos in case you don't get enough to eat the other three meals. We didn't use Johnny Rockets or Sorrentos or Ben & Jerry's (how much food can one eat in a day???), but we did get Starbucks drinks and pastries at the Cafe Promenade, open 24 hours.FOOD ALLERGIES: My daughter is allergic to all dairy products (including whey and caseine), eggs, nuts, and coconut. The dining staff was VERY careful to ensure that she received meals that did not include allergens, to the point of making items that don't even appear on the menu. She felt very special, as she was given extra portions and desserts such as chocolate mango pudding and cherries jubilee. Several people were involved in helping us with her allergies, including the maitre d', the head waiter, the main waiter, the assistant waiter, and of course, the chefs. We were very impressed with their careful attention - thanks RCCL!ENTERTAINMENT: The evening entertainment was varied. The Marquee event was a Broadway-type show that saluted musicals. The magic show was spectacular, as was the ice show. The Once Upon a Time was also fun. My husband and I were selected as one of three couples (the middle-aged couple) on the Love and Marriage Game Show, which was made hilarious by our cruise director, Richard Spacey.Overall, I would definitely cruise RCCL again and would recommend Freedom of the Seas for families with kids who have outgrown Disney.

Cabin Review

Deluxe Oceanview Stateroom with Balcony

Cabin E2

We reserved two adjoining balcony cabins located mid-ship on Deck 8: 8614 and 8612. The location is excellent, as we could walk three short decks up to the Windjammer on Deck 11 and three short decks down to the main dining room and Royal Promenade on Deck 5. The midship location was also very good for two of us who have a tendency to get seasick.Cabins were connected with a door (which is locked until you ask for it to be open). Balconies are also connected, though you may need to ask the attendant to unlock the sliding wall between them. Cabins were a nice size and had LOTS of clever storage so that they never seemed cluttered. The bathroom is tiny but well-lit, and the shower is okay unless you are a very large person. Beds are VERY comfortable and can be pushed together as a king size or separated into two twins.Our room attendant was a gentleman who jumped through hoops to make our stay comfortable, though we weren't very demanding. The kids couldn't wait to return to the cabins to see what kind of "towel animals" the attendant made that day. Our favorite: the towel monkey hanging from a hanger!

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