This was our 23rd cruise overall, 11th on Royal Caribbean, but our first on the Freedom Class of ships. Let me start by saying I would definitely recommend this ship to anyone. The criticisms in this review may be nitpicky, however, I assume that Royal Caribbean has someone monitoring these reviews, and I think they are a lot more effective in providing feedback to the Line than the surveys they give you at the end of the cruise.

Embarkation: Boarding could not have gone smoother. We arrived at the pier via taxi at 11:30am, and were processed and waiting in the boarding lounge by 11:45am. At about 12 noon boarding commenced; signs at the entryway stated that cabins would be available at 1:00pm. We headed to to the Windjammer on Deck 11, where we had a nice lunch, then started looking over this huge ship.

Cabin: We decided to try a Promenade Cabin on Deck 7, with a bay window overlooking the Royal Promenade, which is located on Deck 5. The cabin was ready at 1:00pm as promised, and, as usual, was immaculate. The cabin was very small, at 153 square feet among the smallest on any Royal Caribbean ship, but we knew that when we booked it. The bed was very comfortable, and our Cabin Attendant did a great job throughout the cruise keeping it neat and well stocked with bath and pool towels. The view of the Royal Promenade was not as good as I had expected; the bay window was very shallow. We did, however, have a good view of all the activities as they passed our cabin. The noise during the late night parades and dancing was tolerable, and was over by midnight in any event. As a side note, one day I returned to the cabin to retrieve an item I had forgotten, and the cabin was being cleaned by another attendant. The door was open, so I walked in to get the item, and the attendant, who did not know me, asked to see my cruise card. Kudos to this attention to security! Read more