Freedom of the Seas Review
First time but definitely not the last
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This was the first time we cruised and boy what a way to be introduced to this wonderful holiday option. We flew from Manchester, UK airport on Sat. 23rd Sept. Flight was delayed by over an hour so we only just made our connection in Atlanta to Orlando, (Cruise companies take note, DIRECT FLIGHTS ARE SO MUCH BETTER AND EASIER FOR US TRAVELLERS)but we arrived safe and sound and were greeted by a Royal Caribbean Rep. A storm was raging as we arrived so after being dropped off at the Crowne Plaza we decided to eat in their bar rather than use the free shuttle bus to restaurants in the vicinity. The food was plentiful if a little expensive and we enjoyed what we had. The room was very comfortable, spotlessly clean and quite luxurious. We ate breakfast the next morning in their restaurant and it was very good for the price. We chose the buffet breakfast and there was plenty of variety of both hot and cold food and drinks. Very filling and delicious!
Our coach picked us up at 11am and we were off on our journey to the ship. When it came into sight my jaw dropped at the sheer size of it! Because we had our disabled son with us, who was in a wheelchair, we got through the preliminary checks fairly quickly and didn't have to queue for any length of time so I can't comment on that but there were lots of desks open and everybody was working quickly to get people on the ship.
We went straight to our cabin on the 9th deck as we wanted to see where we were living for the next seven days. I was very surprised how much room there was in the cabin and very impressed with the overall cleanliness and facilities. Our room attendant came to see us and he was very nice, very friendly and polite. Our cases hadn't arrived at our room before we went for dinner at 6pm but luckily first night is casual dress so we just went as we were.
Cabin Review
Oceanview Stateroom
Our cabin was perfect. We had a large closet, we stored my sons wheelchair in it whilst on ship, with plenty of hanging space and shelves. The bed was larger than our double at home and very comfortable. When the sofa bed was pulled out at night it didn't leave a lot of room but there is enough to walk to the toilet and back. Cabin is very dark (even though we had an ocean view)at night so we left the bathroom light on with the door closed which gave enough light to see where you were going. The shower was a bit small but all of us could use it comfortably. It was awkward to shower my son as there isn't a lot of room to maneuver in the bathroom. It had an adjoining door which was always securely locked but the wind whistled through it at night so we put a tee-shirt across the bottom to stop the noise. Apart from that we had a very quiet room.