Having cruised several times and was addicted to this method of travel, I thought it would be fun to take my granddaughters on a cruise over school break. Once I booked a cabin for myself and the girls, the rest of the family got onboard and we ended up with 4 cabins and 11 people taking this cruise to the Eastern Caribbean. Freedom was chosen primarily because of the number of activities and programs for kids but everyone I think enjoyed themselves with the long list of things to do. This was my first time on Royal Caribbean and I have to say that Freedom of the Seas was so far the best ship I have ever been on.

We had My Time Dining with a table for 11 and a standing reservation for 5:30 each day, arranged once we got onboard. We had the same table and waiters for the whole cruise, Sean and Robert at Table 66 in Galileo Dining Room, deck 5. Our party included 4 children aged 3 to 10 and our waiters were wonderful with the children. The food was excellent every night, lots of choices for both adults and kids, and the service was fantastic. Occassionally someone wanted to make the early 7pm show and that was never a problem. We did the Character Breakfast one morning which has basically the same menu as the rest of the dining room, just presented differently. At breakfast you could order from the menu or there was also a buffet available in the dining room. Some mornings we just went to the Windjammer but the food selection was much the same in both areas. Lunch was mostly in the Windjammer but the salad bar in the dining room on deck 3 was also excellent and most enjoyable.

I am an early riser so I would be up, out on deck checking out the weather and then headed to the Cafe Promenade for my first coffee of the day. Seattle's Best coffee is included and is avalable self serve at the back of this cafe. There were also pastries, muffins, banana bread etc. also available and included. If you wanted Starbucks, it was in this same location but at a price. I did enjoy this part of my day. Read more