We have cruised before so we had an idea of what to expect. All three of our cruises have been with Royal Caribbean and we continue to be happy with them. Freedom was a great ship. Not terribly different from the Navigator or the Explorer...just larger. One of the nicest things for us on this cruise was the size of our Family Promenade Stateroom. In the past, we had stayed in regular staterooms which everyone knows are very small. Because we brought our four children along this time, we got the Family Promenade Stateroom instead. We were still concerned about it being enough space with six of us, but we were pleasantly surprised. The room was more than adequate. We had a king bed with a privacy curtain and a large walk-in closet. Our two youngest kids had their own private bunk bed room with privacy curtain and closet. And our two oldest slept on the fold out couch. There was plenty of storage all throughout the room and we were able to tuck empty suitcases under the beds, given us even more space. We were able to watch the parades and other events from our windows if we didn't want to go down to the Promenade. And the bathroom had a full tub and shower, which is much larger than you get in a regular stateroom. The other thing that made this cruise great was our wait staff in the dining room. Bleston and Hemsley were absolutely the best. They totally made our vacation!! We've heard rumors that sometimes cruiselines don't pay all of the prepaid gratuities to the waiters and room attendants and we sincerely hope that's not true because these guys deserved every penny. The shows on board were a lot of fun. Piano music played in the lounges every evening, and one of our favorite things was the adult karaoke in the evenings. The ports were great. The only disappointment was Jamaica where a simple cab ride to the beach was going to cost us $35 per person one-way. Since we hadn't purchased an excursion there and didn't want to pay out the nose to go to the beach, we just ended up shopping at the craft market there and getting back on the ship. I had really looked forward to seeing Jamaica, but I guess it'll have to wait. The Seven Mile Beach in Grand Cayman was stunning (we've also done swimming with the stingrays and HIGHLY recommend it). Swimming with the dolphins in Cozumel was awesome. As far as the food was concerned, the dining room food was delicious. The desserts always leave something to be desired, but they're not terrible. The food in the Windjammer had a lot of variety and was very good. I see other people posting reviews of the ship food being bad and I just don't get it. Even if you don't like one thing, there are so many things to try. I think people who don't like the food are extremely picky eaters because all six of us thought it was excellent. All in all it was a great vacation and we would gladly recommend the Freedom of the Seas to other vacationers!