My husband and I were celebrating our 22nd wedding anniversary and had planned this cruise for a whole year! From the very beginning everything flowed very easy. We did not explore Ft Lauderdale because we just weren't interested (we are originally from Florida). We arrived at the terminal around 3pm and the porters were right there to take our bags, the wait in line to check in and embark was no longer than a few minutes, and the next thing you know, we are on board without a single hiccup!! Disembarkation was just as smooth and just as easy, not a single issue! Freedom is a beautiful ship!! Very clean and bright. For the entire 6 days, I saw people constantly cleaning the small nooks and crannies all over the ship. Crew members were greeting us left and right with big smiles. We had a balcony stateroom that was very roomy and clean. It took awhile to get our bags but, we expected that since we didn't get to terminal until 3pm. Our stewardess was Adela and she was a total doll! I tipped her extra for all she did for us!
We dined at Chops Grille that first night and the experience was incredible! I am a major foodie who has been in the food business my whole life and the Bone In Ribeye was to die for!! The second night we dined at Giovanni's Table. This was my ultimate favorite! The service we received from Alan was the best I have ever had and the entire meal was superb from beginning to end. As this day was our anniversary, they brought us a cheesecake with "Happy Anniversary" written on the plate and sang for us! The MDR (we had my time dining) and Windjammer offered a wonderful tasty selection the rest of the days. We enjoyed Johnny Rockets for lunch one day. We had purchased two premium drink packages and we found Jose, the best bartender ever! He made all our drinks better than we have ever had them and he turned me on to a new favorite. His personality suits him well in his job and he was tipped generously extra.
We had the pleasure of a couples message on day #2 as an anniversary gift to each other. That experience in itself was wonderful and relaxing but, the sales pressuring to buy $500 worth of product afterwards was way way way too much! And they got attitudes when we declined. Next time I will tell them up front to not even mention to me about buying anything. That really pushes my buttons!
The cabin was large, clean, and very comfortable.
Typical tourist trap town