BACKGROUND: This was our first cruise and we had no idea what to expect for me and my hubby. It was the best vacation ever and we want to go back, we would definitely go on the Royal Caribbean again.
HOTEL INFO: We departed from Port Canaveral, so we spent the night before in Orlando and drove to Port Canaveral on the morning of departure, getting on board the ship by about 1:30pm. We rented a car to go to Port Canaveral, the car rental one way is cheap FROM Orlando and slightly more expensive back TO Orlando, with Hertz - about $40 there but $80 back. Still cheaper and more flexible for two people than taking the shuttle.
SHIP INFO: The Freedom is a beautiful ship! The promenade is a lot of fun to walk down and all of the decor is tasteful, elegant, and over the top at the same time. There was never a crowded moment although we were told about 4,100 people were on the ship at that sailing. We didn't have to wait in line at any of the ports except the one with the tenders (and then it was only 20 minutes). We never waited in line for food. The ship has five hot tubs and two (three?) pools - we hot tubbed primarily in early morning/late at night and generally had an entire hot tub to ourselves. We also went to the deck to watch the sunset several times and it was very peaceful.