We booked the Freedom of the Seas mainly because of the size of the ship and all of the amenities that it had to offer. Both my wife and I have traveled Royal before, and we loved them our first go round. This ship in particular had the flow-rider, basketball courts, rock climbing and ice skating rink, so it was a done deal when it came time to choosing for the family vacation.

We sailed out of Ft. Lauderdale on the 7th of January. Due to the terrible event that took place in the airport the day prior, we did not leave the port until roughly 5 hours later that evening to allow other passengers to get on. Additionally, we were heading out behind a major cold front that took place, so the seas were set to be pretty choppy. You never can predict weather, especially on a cruise and in the middle of winter, so no complaints here. The ship did rock quite a bit, and there were tons of passengers who were sick for most of the cruise, but as stated earlier, that comes with the territory.

The main concern and frustration with Royal Caribbean is their blatant lack of customer service, and zero care when it was brought to their attention. From the moment you walked on the boat, you can tell the crew was tired, miserable and just flat out rude. The entire trip, the only staff members that went out of their way to go above and beyond were our dinner servers, Jose and Rico. Besides that, everyone had an attitude, rolled their eyes when a request came and gave the bare minimum in service. This was a complete shock. I honestly receive better service staying at a Holiday Inn when traveling with the children, it was appalling. Read more