We are veteran cruisers and usually pick the largest ship in service whenever a new one comes out. Our reasoning...the larger ships usually have a feeling of spaciousness, no crowds and opportunities to stroll decks and public areas nearly alone. We were wrong with Royal Caribbean's Freedom of the Seas.

Embarkation was fairly painless. We arrived at the pier at 11:30 am and we were on the ship by 12:15. We couldn't go to our room until 1:00 - they were still being prepared, but we took advantage of the time to explore the ship.

The ship is indeed impressive and beautifully decorated. But we felt the layout didn't make it seem like the largest ship in the water. The Promenade, while a unique idea, is not designed for the number of people they expect to attend various events - like the first day parade. We secured a table in front of the Bull and Bear about 30 min. before the parade, ordered drinks and waited. By the time the parade started we had people crawling over, around and through us. It was like Times Square on New Years' Eve! We could only see the portion of the parade that was in the 2 feet directly in front of us at any given time. Read more