My first cruise on RCCL after previous trips with Carnival, Celebrity, MSC and Holland America. Arrived at Port Canaveral at 1045am and it took me just over an hour to get onboard. Most of the wait was caused by the TSA checking passports and the security check. The line curled its way 100 or so feet outside the building and once through the security check and into the hands of Royal Caribbean the smiles and welcome aboard attitude commenced and remained in place until the end of the cruise.

Headed for lunch at the extremely crouded Windjammer buffet and the staterooms were made available at 1pm. I admit to being a little surprised that it took until 5pm for my bag to appear but no major problem with that on a week long trip. The security drill occurred at 4pm and was over in about 20 minutes. While I appreciate this is a mandatory event I dont understand its real purpose. When forced to stand in a line that is maybe 10 people deep only the first 2 or 3 at the front of each line can actually see what is being shown. That seems like a waste of time to me.

We left port just after 430pm in a cold wind so while all the bar staff were out in force with their cocktails or vacation medication, most guests were back inside before we hit the sea. My cabin attendant introduced herself while I was unpacking and I was immediately impressed by her positive attitude which prevailed with every single member of crew that I met onboard Freedom. This was more than just excellent training but what appeared to be a happy crew that enjoy what they do and who made a big effort to make sure their guests were having a good time. I can honestly say that I did not experience 1 single member of staff who gave imperfect service and that is a very big deal on a ship of this size. Read more