My wife has often stated a desire to sail on "the biggest ship." When my scans revealed that my cancer had disappeared, I immediately went out and booked us on the Freedom of the Seas as a reward for her wonderful care during my recovery from Lymphoma. Still the largest cruise ship afloat, until the Oasis is introduced, the Freedom fit her criteria nicely.

Our sailing was set for December 14th and we drove from our Tampa Bay area home on the 13th to spend a brief day exploring Miami. We splurged a little on a downtown hotel so we could have the convenience of walking to Bayside and easy departure on sailing day.

We were joined on our cruise by friends from Indiana and after picking them up for some light sight seeing and a lovely shrimp lunch, we headed to the port. Easy to find, drop everyone off with the bags and park the car. There is a very convenient parking garage right at the port and we found our ship easily (how can you miss something that big?) At $20 per day, I thought parking was a bit pricey but certainly convenient. In fact, we found the entire check in process convenient and relatively painless. We had filled out all of the important documents via Internet before hand and it took us less than an hour to park, check our bags, sign in, and board the Freedom. Remember your passport. We were on board by 2:00 PM with plenty of time to explore the ship before the scheduled 4:30 sailing. Read more