This was my 8th cruise, 2nd with RCCL, we did the Grandeur of the Seas a few years ago in a Jr. Suite and enjoyed it. There were 3 of us traveling, all adults and booked a Superior Balcony cabin. We knew it would be the same size as a standard balcony cabin, but they have a sofa sleeper for the 3rd person instead of the pull down bunk above the other beds. Ok for kids..not adults! Embarkation was smooth. We arrived around 12 noon and were checked in and on the ship by 1 PM. We dropped off our carry on's to our cabin on deck 7 and went to the Windjammer Buffet for lunch. As usual on the check in day it was very busy. The food was good and a wide variety. One of the few complaints we had about the ship was that the Windjammer was just not big enough for this ship. Finding a table at breakfast and lunch was always a hunt and there were many complaints about it. The ship is beautiful and spotless! The Royal Promenade is just like a main street lined with shops and restaurants and a great place to people watch. On one end of the promenade is a cafe with sandwiches and pastries etc. One the other end is the pizzeria. On our 3rd day of the cruise we decided to get a slice of pizza, we realized why there was never a long line for it.. it was pretty bland and tasteless. We were really surprised because the rest of the food on board was really good. We never went back for more. Our cabin was nicely appointed and kept nice a clean by our steward Daryl. The bathroom was defiantly smaller then on the carnival ships but served its purpose. The shower worked great and the shower doors are an improvement over the curtains! The beds were very comfy, even the sofa bed, which turned into a full size bed, futon style. We kept the glass coffee table stored between the curtain and sliding glass doors to keep it out of the way and give us extra room. There are only 2 electric outlets in the cabin, located on the desk area, thankfully we brought a power strip for our laptops, cameras etc. The balcony was nice and roomy and we always enjoy setting out there in the mornings with coffee and in the evenings with a drink. There were 4,500 passengers on our sailing. During the day on the "at sea days" the pool areas were very crowded, as expected. If you don't grab a chair by 9 AM you won't get a prime location. Because the pools are so large on this ship (and used by only a few..very cold) they take up a lot of the chair space, so the majority of chair space is up on deck 12, one deck above the pools. The chairs are placed so close together that is it almost impossible to squeeze in between chairs, talk about getting to know your neighbor! The adults only Solarium was very nice, and quiet but does not get a lot of sun. The large whirlpools hanging over the sides of the ship are great! Nice and large and what a view ! The H20 zone looked fun and is very large, in fact the main pool there is deeper then the adult pool (?). There were not a lot of kids on our cruise and was it was not used too much. We were had 2nd seating for dinner, 8.30 PM in the Leonardo's dining room, on deck 3, which is on the lower level of the 3 level dining room. Each level has a different name. The dining room is the most beautiful ship dining room I have seen. There is a huge crystal chandelier hanging in the center, and a large grand staircase on the far side of the dining room across from the entrance, more for looks then use. Each evening there was live piano music from the main landing of the staircase. Our table was in the middle of the dining room, next to the captains table. It gave us a great view of the dinning room. The service and food was great every night we dined there. There was a good variety of food each night. We ate breakfast in the dining room twice and it was very good too, the eggs Benedict were cooked perfectly and fresh, not pre cooked. One evening we ate at the alternative Italian restaurant Portofino's, it was the highlight of our cruise! The service and food was top notch! Living in New York City we eat at many fine restaurants and this one is a real standout. Our waitress Mina was the best! Her service was superb and she want out of her way to make sure to make our experience there special, she even got me the recipe for the delicious "Tuscan bean soup", and gave us some extra little desert goodies to take with us. On another night we ate at Chops the ships steakhouse. Another real stand out! Service and food top notch! They bring a round a cart showing the aged beef and the different cuts before ordering. The Filet Mignon was delicious and tender like butter, better then most steakhouses on land! Towards the end of our meal Mina came over from Portofino's' to see how we liked our dinner at Chops and say hello, she is a real "star" on the ship! Both of the alternative restaurants are more then worth the additional fee. Make sure to make reservations for both as soon as you board the ship! We had lunch twice at Johnny Rockets and was a lot of fun and had good burgers and chicken clubs. A fun experience on the ship! They even give you a "buzzer" to carry around if there is a wait. We had all been to the ports of call before. San Juan, St. Thomas and St. Maarten. In St. Maarten we did the excursion to Little Divi Bay, which we had done before on another ship a few years ago. It is advertised as use of their beach and pools and lunch with 2 drinks. When we arrived we were met by 2 young people who gave us instructions on where we could go and where things were. When asked where the pools were they said they were off limits to cruise guests! A few of us questioned this and said we were sold a visit that included use of the pools. They did not respond to this. Us and another couple, who have a time share there, knew where one of the pools was so we went to it. There were no hotel guests there. We were in the pool when Hotel Security came and told the couple, lying on lounge chairs, no one but hotel guests were allowed to use the pool. After arguing with the security guard the couple ended up going to the security office to complain and came back about 20 minutes later. In the mean time security was chasing away any cruise guests who came to the pool area and was following them around to make sure they left. Because we were in the pool I guess she did not realize we were not hotel guests. At that point we were afraid to get out of the pool in fear of getting busted and followed around too! Needless to say it put a real damper on the day and made us feel like criminals. After lunch (hamburger or BBQ chicken legs) we went to the "cruise ship" guest area on the beach where we had use of lunge chairs. Some of the shower rooms promised were out of order. Over all we were very disappointed with the excursion and let the shore excursion manager know about our experience. He said he would contact the office in Miami to report the problems. He also gave us a partial refund for the excursion which was very fair. Disembarkation was a breeze for us. We chose the “Express Disembarkation” and walked off the ship with our luggage at 6.15 AM and cleared customs and getting in a taxi by 6.30 AM ! Over all we had a great cruise and would recommend the Freedom Of the Seas to anyone who likes a variety of options on board. The service was friendly and professional. Be prepared to do a lot of walking, it’s a huge ship and as long as you don’t mind crowds you will have a great time on this ship!