Our last cruise was on the Freedom in 2008 so we were excited to see her again and the improvements. We had a hump cabin 6636 which was ideal. I love the hump cabins so you can see fore and aft while on your balcony. We both got a drink package. I got the premium and my husband got the one with the beer and pop. Im glad we did, but looking back I really think we spent more for the package then we would have if we bought the drinks, but hey..its vacation!! Me our room steward when boarding and she was lovely. We gave her $20 up front, even though we prepaid tips. This usually insures great cabin service and she didn't disappoint. We always had our ice bucket filled and lots of towels animals all week. Our cabin was very clean and very comfortable. Great idea I got on here buying those towels clips for the chairs. They were great for drying our suits on the balcony and holding down our towels on chairs on deck. The food was just ok in the windjammer and the MDR. It was much better in the dining room in 2008 so I was a bit disappointed, but all in all it was ok. We did eat twice in Chops Grille which was fantastic and well worth the extra $$. Johnny Rockets was outstanding also and loved the burgers there and the shakes! Sorrentos had some nice grilled sandwiches and I always got a plate of marinated mozzarella and tomatoes during the day. You definitely will not go hungry on this cruise !! Had breakfast a few times in the windjammer. The pre made scrambled eggs are not very good. Better to stand in line and order fresh made eggs. All the usual stuff at the buffet and nothing special. Would have liked to see something different like maybe eggs benedict? Had room service a few days for breakfast which was ok. Just ordered coffee, juices and some pastries to have on the balcony. Brought the little condensed vanilla creamer with us for the coffee but it was so much like mud we could hardly drink it. My husband is a big coffee drinker so her ended up most days getting a starbucks.

The ship was CROWDED. We never were able to get a chair by the solarium at all no matter what time we tried. A lot of times we sat at the little tables in the smoking section but could not both get up and go somewhere or it would be taken. They need a bigger area. We have quit smoking but do use the ecig or vapor so we had to go there. I think the ship was sold out and you could tell !!

As far as daytime activites while at sea there were hardly any unless you wanted to go listen to a rant on ports where they want you to shop at the stores Royal gets a cut on, or watch pool games which we did. Bingo cards were very expensive and the odds were high. I did got to a jewelry making class that I thought would be fun. Well, I showed up and they handed you a tiny bead kit to make a necklace or bracelet for $10? I said "I thought you were going to teach us some jewelry making? " They said "Just read the instructions and if you have any questions just ask" HUH? I gave it back. If I wanted to do that I would go buy one at Hobby Lobby! Because of the lack of activities we did spend TOO much time in the casino and the house won. Dont miss the Dream Works parade...even I love Shrek! Had a great time at the Schooner bar with a fantastic bartender JR who does lots of great magic tricks. He got a lot of my $$ in extra tips :-) . The piano player there was ok and even better after a few drinks. Nightly shows were just OK. We left a few of them because they were just boring. They used to be so good! The ice show was amazing as usual and the 3D movies were fun to go to even though they tended to be kids movies it was fun. The constant advertisements by the pool on the big screen I thought were annoying! We are already on a cruise stop trying to sell us more! The band they had pool side was great! Ths stage though is like behind the pool so there is no room to stand or sit and enjoy them. weird setup, All in all, a cruise is what you make it and next time Im going to try a smaller less crowded ship and go to more of the pay restaurants and not buy the drink package. Freedom is still a beautiful ship and we saw no signs of wear and tear. Read more