Travelers: Wife and myself (Thirties) Daughter (5 yo) All have cruised before

We drove down to the port the day of and experienced fairly easy parking and check in. Wow, ship is huge with 4500 guests, I think they said 1800 of which were under 18. Lots of friendly staff. Emrah, our waiter, and Maria, our assistant waitress, were the best, friendliest and most informative wait staff we've had in about 15 years. Emrah, from Turkey, is great with kids and definitely made the trip more memorable. I'd request him if you get the chance and I believe he is going to the Allure of the Seas in October.

Lots of great stuff to do aboard: Flowrider (really fun, but long lines), rock climbing, ice show (fantastic), theatrical shows, kids H2o zone and plenty to eat. The port of coco cay is a little bit of a disappointment due to the extremely rocky beach, but the inflatable water slide is great fun. During the St. Thomas stop use we took the excursion to St. John's and enjoyed Trunk bay, which is one of the best beaches on the planet. St. Martin is nice with good shopping and pleasant beaches. Overall, we had a wonderful time, but with 4500 people sailing, combating the lines for the buffet, the ice show tickets, getting on and off the ship, etc... can be tiring. To be fair though, we did travel on the July 4Th cruise, so, big crowds were inevitable. Would sail on Freedom again, but we try to choose a less traveled time of year. Read more