FIRST TIME CRUISE REVIEW6 nights on Freedom of the SeasInaugural departure from Port Canaveral, FLPORTS: Labadee, Haiti; Montego Bay, Jamaica; Georgetown, Grand Cayman1 day prior to cruise departure:     Working for the airline industry, I have seen too many cruisers miss their ship's departure because they booked their flight to arrive the same day the cruise departs. Anyone who reads this, I HIGHLY ADVISE AGAINST IT. Always book your flight to arrive at your port of departure 1 day prior to cruise departure. You never know what can happen with flights. Weather, Delays, Cancellations can all put a HUGE hamper on the start of your cruise vacation.     With that said, we departed Detroit to arrive in Orlando on Sunday 5/3. We rented a car and tour'd international drive. Restaurant after restaurant, shop after shop, and mini golf course after mini golf course is what we found. We decided to venture off to Universal Studios City Walk for a dinner at the NBA restaurant. Nothing to write home about, but decent. Nice atmosphere. We then went back to the hotel to get some rest for the big day. I myself have never cruised before, but my mom and step father have. I am a 30 year old male.... (just as a bit of comparison to the readers)Cruise Departure Day #1 (PORT CANAVERAL, FL)     I have read that the check-in process may take a while, so we woke up early, dropped the car off at the budget car rental office in Port Canaveral, and rode the complimentary shuttle to the ship. You could see her in all of her enormous beauty 2 miles away. She was quite a site to see. My mom was not to happy at her size, as she and her husband immediately thought with a ship of that size the service would not be that good. (more on that later) We arrived at the port at 1100am. We saw a line out of the building which made me wonder how long this will actually take. I was very anxious to get on the ship and start exploring. We were inside the building at 1105am and proceeded through the security checkpoint. We went up the escalator to the check-in desk to find 2 people in line. I along with my parents were thoroughly impressed. The check-in process took 8 minutes from the time we arrived to the desk. We then proceeded to the gangway to enter the ship. From 1100am to arriving at the port, we were on board the ship at 1120. All in all from arrival to being on the ship was 20 minutes. I couldn't believe how fast and organized everything was. From what I had read, I was then worried about how long it was take to get off the ship (more on that later).      After entering the ship, we stopped by our rooms (which were ready) and dropped off our carry-on's. Our checked bags were not there as of yet and didn't expect them to be there until later. We then went up to the Windjammer cafe on deck 11. I was very impressed with the size of both the buffet and seating that was available. We immediately found a table (which was no problem at all) and began to check-out the buffet. A large variety of fruits, salads, and appetizing food was available. The quality of the food was good, not great, but that is to be expected from a buffet. After the windjammer, we decided to begin touring the ship. The pool deck was enormous and divided intelligently into 3 separate zones. There was the H2O zone for the children (looks like lots of fun), a family zone with 2 large covered and 1 large uncovered whirlpools (each held about 12 people). 2 large pools as well. The promenade was very nice and quite large. Nothing in there that interested me really. A fragrance shop, a jewelry store, a liquor shop, a general store, Pizza parlor, cafe with Seattle's best coffee and other bites to eat, a ben and jerry's ice cream parlor, a facial shave shop as well as a souvenir store. We then went to check out the casino, which was much bigger than I had pictured. All in all, about 18 table games, and probably 130 slot machines. Table games were very affordable from $6-$25 minimum wages. There was a very nice and extensive art gallery featuring the likes of Peter Max (the next picasso), and Tarcai. Even a few picasso's were on display.      It was now 4:00pm and prior to sailing we needed to conduct the muster drill. I was not looking forward to this. I donned my life jacket (very uncomfortable to wear) and went to my assigned location on deck 3? We stood in large groups as the evacuation alarm and horn began to blow. The crew was displaying how to wear the life jacket. The drill was concluded 20 minutes later.      We then decided to head back to the room to check to see if our baggage had arrived. It hadn't... It was then time to set sail! 4:30pm, we departed port canaveral. I went up to deck 12 (jogging deck) to get a good spot for our departure. To our left was the much smaller Monarch of the Seas. We were being escorted by a pilot boat and 2 fire boats on either side shooting water in the air! Quite a site to see. We then played horn games with the little boats cruising by. I was very startled when our horn went off as it was incredibly loud, and vibrated the entire ship. As we came close to the end of the port entering the atlantic ocean, there was a line of thousands of on lookers waving us off along the side of the port. We then entered the atlantic ocean, and the fun began! After looking around a bit more, I went back to my stateroom to find my luggage outside my door!       It was now 5:30pm and time to get ready for dinner. A quick bit about the stateroom. I was rather impressed with the size. It was larger than anticipated with a king size bed (2 beds together), a couch, and desk. Quite a bit of closet space was provided. Also storage available under the bed. The bathroom was quite small. The shower was a capsule, just large enough to stand and turn around in. The toilet was the style of one on an airplane... Don't sit on it and flush it or you might end up in the pool...      We headed to the dining room. We sat at a table for 6. Our other 3 table mates were quite nice and pleasant to be with. We were seated with waiter Donovan from Jamaica and assistant waiter Ahmid from India. It was quite hard to find an american employee on this ship, which was a nice departure from the everyday. I had ordered a diet coke to drink and purchased the $41 soda pass (worth it for me) The water and iced tea were quite good as well. I never had to request another diet coke this trip. My glass was never empty, and Ahmid always brought me one every night without even requesting it. Both Donovan, and Ahmid remembered my name after mentioning it once. Quite impressive. The same went for our stateroom attendant Averil from St. Vincent. Very pleasant and friendly. Dinner was quite enjoyable. The quality of the food would be rated as an 8.5 out of 10.0 the entire trip. From what I had read before the beef was not good. I did have to try it for myself and found it to be rather accurate. The beef in the main dining room was not great. I never ate the sirloin, but did however have the filet, and beef shoulder filet. The tenderness was there, but lacked flavor.        After dinner it was time for the welcome aboard parade. This was quite a nice production on the royal promenade. RCCL singers and dancers, along with special guests and each of the ship's departments were represented. This was a very nice show. The entertainment in the Arcadia Theatre was FANTASTIC. The shows on board rivaled that of any show on broadway. Very clever performances from both Marquee and Once upon a time. The illusionist's show Now You See It. was VERY well done. It was much better than anticipated. It was mentioned that in 2008 Freedom of the Seas was rated the BEST for entertainment in the royal caribbean fleet and freedom of the seas was rated #1 for best cruise ship in the world. I never doubted either. I can't imagine any cruise topping this one. Before I knew it, it was midnight, and was tired and went to sleep. The bed was VERY comfortable and nice to see the water rushing by out my window. DAY #2 (AT SEA)      Everything was pretty much the same on day #2 as day #1. Lots of activities throughout the ship, and plenty to eat. We went to the windjammer for breakfast and found a table quickly with no problem. We never found getting a table to be an issue. I hung out at the pool for a few hours and went to check out the flow rider (very fun to watch) On sea days there was about a 15 min wait, and really never a wait for the rock wall. We went to the promenade for lunch at Sorrento's pizza. The quality was nice, not great as I like thin pizza. This was a bit on the thick side. Once again service in the dining room was superb. The show for the evening was "Marquee" a complex mix of several broadway shows very cleverly put together. Very impressive show. Our Cruise Director Richard Spacey really made this cruise. He was by far the funniest most talented person on the water. I can't imagine ANYONE being better than him. You can go to you tube and type in his name to get a glimpse of what he does. It still won't do it justice to how he is in person. Very caring, and very talented describes him. Day #3 (Labadee, Haiti)     We woke up to the island of Labadee, Haiti. I had won a free excursion on Labadee. It was a high speed coastal cruise and snorkel adventure. I won this from the art auction the day prior. I went on the boat which held about 12 of us sitting on saddle style seats and a bar to hold on in front of us. This was a very exhilarating experience. Skipping along the water at 60 mph. Stopping at different point which our tour guide would point out. We even saw a giant shipwreck which was still sitting above the water line. They comically point out it was a carnival cruise ship! Pretty funny... After seeing the sights and a few Haitians on little rafts trying to escape to the US. We went for a snorkel in the reef. This was quite amazing. At some points, the coral was actually out of the water it was so shallow. It was hard not to hit the coral while swimming. Many different types of small tropical fish, and coral. Our guide dove down a few times and brought up a sea urchin to put in our hands. Pretty neat to hold it. He also brought up a giant crab, and sea slug. Lots of fun!! We then headed back to the island. I met my parents and went to the bbq on the island. Very good food. Hamburgers, chicken, ribs, hot dogs, and salads. Yumm! We walked around a bit more and watched the ziplinners. Then headed back to the ship for a quick nap before supper. The show tonight was an illusionist. I have seen illusion shows before and didn't expect much from this one. I was IMPRESSED. He was very good and even had a nice message included in the show. We then went to the casino to make a donation. I believe what they say is true. The slot machine's pay out the 1st and 2nd days. They will only accept money the rest of the time.Day #4 (Montego Bay, Jamaica)     Nothing special in Montego Bay. We walked around the shops after a $5 taxi ride. The shop keepers all try to get you in the shops to buy their items. Nothing much for me. A word of advise. The jamaican coffee is expensive in jamaica. It was a bit cheaper to buy in Grand Cayman. Probably twice as much as starbucks coffee. As we were returning from the shops, we were stopped prior to entering the port. They would not let our driver pass. Apparently he had walked out on a meeting with his boss, and was not allowed to enter the cruise port. We didn't know this at first obviously. We ended up waking the 200 yards to the ship. Just a strange experience. I then went up to the pool deck to swim around. There were never alot of people in the pools, however the lounge chairs were hard to find available at the pool decks. Especially on sea days. It was never impossible find a chair, just a bit hard by the pools. Always chairs were plentiful at the back of the ship, behind the flow rider. Tonight's show was live music. The music director assembled the FOS orchestra and all live musicians from around the ship for a concert. The music was nice to listen to. The orchestra was very good, however some of the other acts were not that great. Later was the "Love and Marriage" game show, hosted by Richard Spacey! This show is NOT to be missed. Probably the funniest show i have EVER seen.Day #5 (Georgetown, Grand Cayman)      Very nice, modern town. Many different shop, much cleaner than Montego Bay. No pressure to purchase anything and everyone very friendly. We went on the Butterfly Farm, and Turtle Farm tour. Our first stop was the butterfly farm. Very interesting experience. We were told and shown the life cycle of a butterfly from the egg stage, all the way to butterfly stage. Apparently butterfly's only live for up to 2 weeks. There were hundreds of different butterfly's to get your photo op with. We then headed out to the turtle farm. We saw hundreds of turtle's ranging from a few weeks old to hundreds of years old and weighing several hundred pounds. Very neat. We were able to pick up the small turtles and play with them. Very strong flippers. The key to get them to stop slapping your hands when holding them is to rub the bottom of their necks. Very soft and cute. Dinner tonight was Surf and Turf. I had the lobster and filet. I had asked donovan if it was possible to get a 2nd lobster tail. He said "well see" I thought  maybe the recession was affecting the cruise lines too, and wasn't banking on it. He then brought out our dinners with only 1 tail on my plate. I was fine with that. Donovan then came back a few minutes later with a plate full of lobster tails and shrimps. He gave everyone a second tail and extra shrimp. I was VERY happy. Tonight's show was "Once upon a time" a mix of fairy tales combined with very clever music. If you like Shrek, you will enjoy this musical comedy. I thought this was the best show of the week. Day #6 (sea Day)       Our last sea day :-(  Lots of fun this day. We ate breakfast and lunch in the windjammer. Nothing to complain about there. No wait for a table and good food. Next I spent the afternoon on the pool deck watching the belly flop competition, crew vs. guest water volleyball competition, flow rider surfing competition, and crew vs. guest dodgeball competition. A few of the balls ended up going over board.. Not good.. If the ball went over, you were out of the competition. There was a circus parade in the promenade which was quite fun, and later a farewell show featuring a comedian, and acrobats fulcrum. VERY cool show. I was VERY sad that our cruise was coming to an end. Quite often Richard joked about turning the ship around and going to hawaii. I wish it was true. Day #7 (arrival back at Port Canaveral)      We opt'd to take our luggage by ourselves off the ship with us. We left our rooms at 06:55am, and were off the ship at 07:05am. We were through customs, and in our rental car back at budget at 07:30am. I could not believe how organized and speedy our debarkation was. Much different from what I had read about. Not a single hiccup on this cruise. Everything was very quickly and was VERY enjoyable. So enjoyable in fact, I am looking to switch careers from the airline industry to the cruising industry. I had more fun on this trip, than I have had anywhere else. I would do it all over again in a heartbeat, and would like to remain on freedom of the seas rather than even going to a different ship. I don't know, but can't imagine how any other cruise in terms of service and entertainment could be this one. I can't imagine a better production show cast, or cruise director. I can guarantee you one thing... If you have never been on Freedom Of The Seas, you will not be bored, you will never be unhappy, you will enjoy EVERY second of this ship and all of it's splendor.