Freestyle cruising is definitely not for everyone and we are two. The ship itself is OK with a few problem areas. There is no cover for the pool area so the pool went mostly unused on our cruise from Vancouver to Los Angeles. There are a number of dead ends on the ship and no deck map is provided. A great deal of space is devoted to the specialty restaurants. Most important to us was that Freestyle does not allow you to make acquaintances over dinner because you cannot make reservations and you have a different table every night - nothing is assigned. Then, too, the food in the main restaurants is very average. We believe it is an effort to drive passengers to the specialty restaurants that charge a fee. We did not give in to that.

There is a good variety. Food at the buffets for breakfast and lunch is pretty good but do not try the eggs Benedict.

The ship itself is well maintained (though it needs another bank of elevators) and the room was clean - though a bit small. The shower is very, very small. But avoid the aft balcony cabins because the smokestacks sometimes deposit a good deal of ash. Getting on and off was quick and easy. Read more