Freedom of the Seas out of Port Canaveral: Sailed Sunday 11 April 2010 on a 7 day cruise. Ports of Call were St Thomas and St Marten. This was my 3rd cruise on Royal Caribbean and my wife's 5th. We had sailed on Monarch of the Seas out of Port Canaveral and wanted to go on a 7 day cruise aboard the Freedom to celebrate our wedding anniversary. Port Canaveral is an easy Port to sail out of. Arriving and Parking is a breeze. Boarding was a breeze, however, the day we boarded we had to wait because the ship was behind in boarding due to an unscheduled inspection, however, all Royal Caribbean personnel were polite and helpful. This was the first time we experienced a large ship boarding process but we felt it went smoothly. Expect to wait approximately 15 minutes (seated) after you receive your Sea Pass Card. It was great time for us to strike up a conversation with fellow cruisers.. Once on-board I felt like a kid at Disneyland. I cannot adequately describe this ship and its beauty. We elected for a Promenade Cabin which overlooked the promenade deck 5. This area is a mini mall which runs the length of the ship. Cabin: 7581 (inside overlooking promenade deck). Quiet and beautiful. Plenty of room as well as storage. Bathroom was nice with good size shower. The shower had sliding doors instead of curtain which made it wonderful. If you are worried about noise from the promenade don't. Flat screen TV with activision, which meant you could check your on-board account etc as well as order movies, if you wanted..but don't know why you would want to with all the activities happening. Food: Absolutely fantastic..Windjammer is huge and has numerous serving stations, therefore you never stand in line. Plenty of seating available as well. Never had problem with seating. Dinner: Food superb. Never had a bad meal and service was fantastic. We did 6 pm dining and did not try any of the other on-board eateries such as Chops or Portofino's. We did do Johnny Rockets for lunch twice and enjoyed the atmosphere and the meals. Casino: Larger than I expected. Good size with plenty of slots as well as table games. Plenty of room and ventilation was good, therefore smoke smell not a problem. Entertainment: Superb Superb. We attended every show and were never disappointed. I felt the shows easily matched any you would see in Vegas. The costumes and productions were just fantastic. Abbagadaba Group which did ABBA was awesome. Recommend you get to the theatre approximately 30 mins prior to any show if you want stage level seating. We did sit in the top balcony one time (off to the side and found it to be not as good because of the support beams.) Cruise Director was excellent. He was funny and you could tell he enjoyed his work. Dancing in the Street (70's music) was great.. Ports of Call: St Thomas.. We did not do shopping but elected to go on a snorkel trip. We did the Turtle Cove Sail and Snorkel. We boarded the Doubloon and had a fantastic time. Turtles everywhere as well as colorful fish. The crew of the Doubloon were fun and made the trip highly enjoyable. All equipment supplied and during the sail back there was plenty of drink both alcoholic and non alcoholic. I would recommend this trip in St Thomas.. St Marten: We boarded the water taxi ($6 per person round trip) which took us to Philips burg (dutch side). Shopping here was fantastic. We did not go to the French Side (margolis), however, friends of ours who we met on the ship said they enjoyed Philips burg better. If you want shopping just stay in Philips burg. Other: Plenty of lounge chairs around the pool. There is even an adult pool, but the activity and live music was around the two center pools. Flow rider was fun to watch as was the rock climbing wall. Bars: Excellent: Good seating and music. Drinks: I have heard some people complain about the price of drinks, however, I felt they were reasonable when compared to what you pay in any bar. What I did find was that there was no skimping on the booze in any drink I or my wife had. Fitness Center: Best I have ever seen. Plenty of equipment but what really blew me away was that there is two full size steam rooms as well as saunas; one for the ladies and one for the gents.. Overall Opinion: Quality, Professional and FUN FUN FUN...If you cannot find something to do on this ship then you are sleeping. Oh by the way, the beds slept wonderful and don't forget to order room service for the morning to have your fresh fruit, pastries and coffee delivered. (no charge).. The Freedom of the Seas is simply a beautiful well kept ship; but what made this ship so special were the crew and the Royal Caribbean staff. All had smiles and you could tell they really enjoyed their jobs. I truly felt sad when we had to leave because I really felt the crew had become part of our family..