Freedom of the Seas was the first cruise we had ever taken. We have little to compare it to so keep that in mind when reading this review. If you have already chosen Royal Caribbean for your next cruise, you may want to read on to see how they treated us. Our issues were on the final day when we were exiting the ship.
I had a $200 Samsonite suitcase which was only used once in the past. It was in perfect condition when I brought it on board. On the final night, we were told to put number tags on our luggage and leave it outside our stateroom so that we could expedite the departure from the ship the next morning. We were to pick up our luggage at customs. My luggage was in the "lost luggage" area and the number tag was no where to be found. After scrambling to find someone to direct us, we were finally pointed to the proper area. The handle on my suitcase was ripped off and the bag could not be carried. In addition, one compartment was torn. I was upset when I realized this but figured we would deal with it later because of how chaotic the experience was. We just wanted to get to the airport as soon as possible.
Later, when we spoke to our travel agent, she spoke to Royal Caribbean on our behalf. She was told that because we didn't pick up a yellow damage form on the spot (which was no where to be found) that they would not help us. So we cannot do anything about it at this point. At most, if we sent an email with pictures of the damage and a receipt for the suitcase, we would receive a maximum of $50 which doesn't even begin to cover the cost or trouble we went through. Instead, we opted to leave this review for those who are considering using this cruise line.
We had a wonderful view of the ocean from our staterooms. There is nothing to complain about as far as the staterooms go. They were roomy and clean. They enter twice a day to clean your room. If we ever asked for extra towels or kleenex or anything we needed, it was promptly delivered to us. The workers seemed happy and delivered top notch service with a smile!
We were able to board the ship quickly and efficiently. Our cruise coincided with the FLL airport shooting and they waited for those affected which we were happy about. They made up for lost time by increasing our sail speed.
There were many places to shop directly off the ship. If you don't want to walk far, you'll enjoy this port. There were little monkeys that you could have your pictures taken with. However, it was unclear as to whether or not it cost money. They only accepted cash and would not allow you to take a picture without paying a varying fee depending on who had the monkey. The fee was typically $5-10. They might get angry with you if they place the monkey on you, ask for cash afterwards and you aren't carrying cash. I would have paid for it if they accepted credit cards or something.
Also, expect the jewelry store employees to butter you up and push you to buy very expensive items (which you will then pay "duty" at customs when you re-enter the USA). Remember it is only duty-free and tax-free up to $1600. If you spend a lot of money on jewelry, you will be expected to pay a large fee at customs if you want to keep it.