In August, my wife and I went on our annual vacation, and this time it landed us on the Freedom of the Seas. We had anxiously been anticipating the introduction of Royal Caribbean's newest ship, and especially all of the amenities that it has. We have both been on numerous RCCL cruises, and have NEVER been disappointed! It is needless to say that Freedom of the Seas did not disappoint either! I will start my review with the flight into Ft. Lauderdale. As always, the flight was as enjoyable as a flight can be. Once landed, we picked up our luggage without any problems. Locating the Royal Caribbean representative at the airport was no problem, and shortly after we were escorted outside to the bus that would take us from the airport to the Port of Miami. Let me just say that it was nice being able to fly into Ft. Lauderdale and still get a transfer through RCCL. It allowed us to find a better flight, and a fifty minute bus ride is not bad at all. Once at the port, everything was the same as every other time. The port is extremely busy, and appears very intimidating. This is normal, but you will be on the ship is a short while. When walking into the port, you will need to go through the standard security procedures, but you are so close to the ship that it is not as bad as security at the airport. Royal Caribbean photographers will try to take your picture, but you can just walk past if you opt not to have yours taken. Once inside the port, you will need to wait in line so that they can check your identification. Since we are diamond members, we are able to go to the expedited desk, so we were on our way in no time at all. From glancing around however, it did not seem like the process for the other cruisers took much longer than maybe 15 minutes. Now we were finally on the ship that we had anticipated cruising on for years. We headed up to the Windjammer for the lunch buffet (this is where they tend to send you once you get on the ship since your room will most likely not be ready. Other than having to haul your carry-ons up there, this is not a big deal. After we grabbed some food (which was great as always), we traveled by our rooms to see if they were ready, and to our surprise, we were able to enter them already, and after being in there for 5 minutes we got a knock on our door and some of our luggage was already up! After resting for about 10 more minutes, we and the rest of my wife's family which was traveling with us went for a tour of the ship. Everything was much like the other Royal Caribbean ships, but a little bigger. We had to check out the FlowRider, which did not let us down. We had read so much about this and could not wait to try it! As always, the ship was very clean, and seemed to offer all we could ever need for a week of fun. Our first port of call was Cozumel. Strangely enough, we are not much for the beaches on Cozumel. We have not found that one beach that we love there, but we are more than content to just shop there. A two minute taxi ride will take you to the main shopping strip which offers about a mile of great shopping. The prices might not be the lowest in the Caribbean, but they are competitive. There are several shops for cultural items, jewelry, and many restaurants. Carlos and Charlies is a great place to eat with a fun atmosphere and good food. Our next port of call was George Town Grande Cayman. Once we tendered ashore (Freedom has to tender at a lot of places due to its size, but the amenities are worth it to us), the family and us went to Seven Mile Beach. We just left the pier and picked up a taxi and he dropped us off outside a hotel where you walk around back to the beach. We found a nice secluded area and enjoyed the scenery and water. All of the beaches in the Caribbean are gorgeous, but they tend to be crowded on the itinerary that RCCL's new ships always take. Around lunch time, we took the taxi back to the pier area to get something to eat. We ate at Breezes (which is right outside the pier area). This is my favorite place to eat in all the Caribbean! It has the best jerk food! After doing some jewelry shopping we were ready to head back to the ship. The third port of call was Montego Bay Jamaica. We had never been to this part of Jamaica so we were a little excited... then let down. Montego Bay was a dump, and so was the beach. The water was nice, but the beach we went to was tiny. It was part of shore excursion that took you to a craft area, then to the beach, and then to the shopping area. Buses ran continuously on a schedule (which was nice), but the beach was nothing great, and the craft area was scary! No one got off the bus to shop and we went straight to the beach. Down from the beach was Jimmy Buffet's Margaritaville, so we decided to eat there. It was nice, but quite pricey. The entertainment was good, but I think that it is amazing at night, something we were not able to enjoy as cruisers since we had to get back on the ship (same could be said for Carlos and Charlies above). Our last port of call was Labadee, Haiti! This is one of Royal Caribbean's private 'island' (it is really a fenced off section of Haiti, but you never see any of the fences as they are guarded a decent ways away from the beach area I guess). I love this place! The beaches there are breath-taking! And as for the safety of the area, none of us have ever felt any sense of danger at all. The buffet there is ok with a limited selection. Another great aspect of the 'island' is the limited need for cash (you will only need it if you shop at the craft vendors there which offer unique cultural paintings and crafts, with the same pushy atmosphere... but if you don't go to the tent you don't get bugged). Everything else that would usually require cash you can use your Sea Pass card for (drinks). Lounging in the water is great, but at the Hideaway beach - our favorite - you might need to look out for the shelly entrance to the water, and some urchins that reside a little further out. They can be intimidating, but the serenity of the beach is worth it. Unfortunately, once this day was over, reality started to sink in... we were going home. Our last day was spent on the ship, so I will talk about the ship itself now. We are always able to find something to do on a RCCL ship, and this was no different. There always seems to be a bingo game going on, and there is always a bar in any area of the ship. The Casino Royale is open when at sea opening at noon (I think). We would stop by and frequent the slots and blackjack tables every night. The pool deck area is usually quite crowded, so I don't like to go swimming since I like lots of space when I swim, and you can forget about getting a lounge chair by yourself. This doesn't bother me too much since I burn easily and would rather be up and about doing all the things the ship has to offer. Other people sometimes care, but no one ever looked unhappy about the situation except some of the older people. Everyone seemed to enjoy the lively pool scene with a band always playing, and bar service and waiters always at you service walking around the area trying to get you a drink (perhaps the drink of the day - a discount drink, but ask for it in a regular glass instead of the complimentary glass - it cuts the price even more!). The FlowRider was also VERY popular. We tried the boogie board on it and it was quite fun, but even if you decide not to wait in the line to try it out, you must just watch others try and also the professionals there who will do some great tricks and occasionally splash the crowd that is waiting in line. The nightime entertainment on the ship (like every other cruise) was great. It is a great way to spend the evening after dinner and before the other nightime activities. There are usually a couple comedians, a couple shows of the musical nature, and then a physical display of sorts one night, like a Cirque show, or juggling. They are all entertaining! The Ice show is also a must, so get your tickets early to make sure that you get to see it. Dueling pianos in Boleros (the Latin-themed lounge) was also very entertaining. If you like to dance (which I do not as I am a terrible dancer) there is always a place to dance at night. The nightclub is a very unique area that can get very lively at the late hours (after 11:30 or 12:00), and the pool deck has a party every now and then as well. Always serving drinks at each event! I will finally comment on the dining experience. This is one of my favorite aspects of cruising. I love the food! I have very simple tastes... meat and potatoes type guy... and I can always find something great to eat in the dining room where the service is second to none! Impeccable! We went to an all-inclusive resort in Jamaica a few months back, and I was extremely disappointed in the food, but on the ship they always had a standard menu that you could order from for the very generic taste that someone could always like if they did not like the selections of the day. For instance, for salad, I always got the Cesar salad that was on the generic menu since I do not care for most of the others offered. There are also two formal nights on a seven night cruise. This has progressively gotten more and more lax over the years, one thing we are sad to see. People don't dress up anymore, and want to come in with shorts and a tee shirt. I like dining in elegance every now and then, and some tend to ruin that, and RCCL does not enforce this policy like it used to. The other nights are of a casual nature or themed, and you see even more shorts then. The dining room is open for each meal and the food is always good, but I prefer to eat elsewhere for breakfast and lunch. The Windjammer offers a great breakfast buffet with everything I could ever want! It also offers a lunch buffet which is pretty generic, but still good. For the finest in dining, Royal Caribbean also offers Portifino and Chops Grille which have gotten rave reviews from what I have read although never tried. It will cost $20 per person to eat there. As for the kids activities, they are numerous. My little sister in law (who was 12 when we went on the cruise) loved the activities, especially the teen disco. I think that it gives the kids a place to hang-out that is like what their parents might do and this time it is kids allowed, and parents not allowed. It allows them to feel grown up, without having to be grown up. Over all the cruises we have been on with them, she has had a blast with the kids activities. Royal Caribbean does a great job with this, and as an adult, you really do not see them too much except at the general pool area. The service on the ship was great as always! Our waiter in the dining room was always willing to get us whatever any one of us wanted, and the assistant waiter did the same. They memorized what we would drink with dinner and whether or not we would want coffee after dinner with dessert. The cabin steward kept our room clean, got us whatever we wanted and always had the famous towel animals on our bed after dinner. As usual, we found it necessary to tip them well above what RCCL suggests, just because they deserve so much more. Well, it was a long review but I hope that it helps. I don't talk about leaving the ship as it was quite depressing having to go back to the real world. Living like a king can spoil you!