I have cruised with RCI for many years and just got off the Freedom Of The Seas on Sunday, December 14th, 2014. I have mostly good things to say about this ship and this trip. I found the cabin steward to be much more attentive this time compared to 2 other cruises since the automatic gratuity was implemented a couple of years ago. We were big fans of Carnival Cruises until we sailed on the Pride and experienced a total lack of service when the automatic gratuities were added. We rarely even saw the room steward and had much difficulty trying to get a drink from the bar. So we made the switch to RCI. For years, the service was superb ! Then the dreaded happened, they implemented the automatic gratuity. For the past year and 1/2, the service was terrible-----until this cruise !!!! In June of this year, we were made to feel like 2nd class citizens when we showed our sign and sail card when ordering a drink. We had the premium package and even though the gratuity was prepaid the bar staff had an attitude and stopped short of completely ignoring us when trying to get a drink. We rarely saw our cabin steward and when we did, we had to beg for ice which half the time we never got. This time was different. Our cabin steward was so attentive and friendly and always eager to help. The same was true of all the bar and Windjammer staff.

With all that said, my biggest complaint was the food served in the WIndjammer. I was appalled that they served us rotten watermelon everyday of this trip. The food was terrible. The pancakes, French toast and waffles were cold every morning. The corned beef hash was cold and the lard was solid in the mix, yuck! The food tasted the same and after day 3 I had had enough. We ended up eating at Johnny Rockets and the paid restaurants. I cant imagine working on that ship and eating the same thing day in and day out. RCI has had the same food for years and its time for them to make some changes ! How about a baked potato, seafood salad, a breast of chicken, cornbread, pinto beans ???? I must add that I was quite pleased with the room service menu, the flounder was good. Although I miss the chicken, overall the menu is better now. The pizza though, was awful !!! Generally speaking the pizza on the ship was awful ! You could not special order a pizza to your liking. The pizza dough in Sorrentos was too thin and not crispy on the bottom and the room service pizza was worse, thick and tasteless crust with hardly any sauce or cheese !

My last complaint, but a biggie, was the odor of our bedding. While I appreciate a goose down comforter, the smell through the duvet was overwhelming. It reeked of human sweat/body odor that I found hard to ignore. I remember the odor from the cruise prior to this one, so I assume they do not replace them often enough. I think I would go to bedspreads that could easily be washed rather than using those comforters.