Getting on board and getting off the ship went very well. In fact, leaving the ship was about as smooth as it gets. We did not buy any liquor or tobacco products so customs was really easy. The Freedom was clean and well laid out. The cabin was a little smaller than I anticipated but it was plenty of room for 2 with a little refrigerator and a TV. The balcony was a plus. I enjoyed some quiet time there while at sea. I did not really participate in the activities or entertainment. I did stop by the Atrium lounge one evening for the guitar duo, they were good. Ruby was our cabin steward. He was always pleasant and got anything we asked for. We met his helper from Bosnia but I didn't think to ask her name. She was most helpful and fun to talk to. You could tell they both worked hard...but always had a smile and never seemed rushed. This was a first cruise for an older family of adults...out of the 5, 4 were first time on ship. It helped that one of us had experience.

Dining in the Posh rest. with Made and his 2 helpers, made for a unique experience. The food was wonderful and varied. I tried as many new items as I could. I did not eat there every meal but enjoyed the Lido buffets for the rest of my meals. We ate pizza, BBQ, hamburgers (excellent), tacos, deli sandwiches and of course the buffets. Seemed like the buffets had a different theme every day: Caribbean, Italian etc. Plenty to choose from and you could go back as much as you wanted. Pretty crowded most of the time but the line moved quickly. Tables were kept clean and cleared by the staff....good job.

I visited the casino, the sports bar, the game room, the library. Most of the adult party enjoyed the evening entertainment. They had glowing remarks and I heard high praise for the "soul" evening music the last night. I did attend the salute to veterans hosted by Malcolm and I was impressed with the format. It is nice that the cruise line recognized us vets. In fact, they had a couple of veteran activities though I did not attend all of them. Read more