Freedom of the Seas Review
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My husband and I chose the Freedom of the Seas because a) it's a large ship packed with activities and features and b) we liked the itinerary - I'd never been to Labadee or St Kitts and we both like San Juan and St Maarten a lot. And the price was pretty good for an eight-day cruise.
We flew in to Fort Lauderdale the night before just to make sure we wouldn't have to rush around on Saturday morning. Given the scene when we flew home, this seems like a good idea (FLL on a Sunday late morning was a total zoo). We arrived at the cruise port around 11:15 a.m., and while we stood in line for a few minutes, once we got moving it was no problem and I'd say we were on the ship within 20-30 minutes.
We spent a lot of time exploring the ship, and it is large and fairly easy to navigate. One note, though - you cannot go all the way forward or aft on deck 3. Our cabin was at the end of the forward hall, and we saw numerous people looking around trying to figure out how to get from the Arcadia Theater to the ice rink, which you can't do -- you have to go up to 4 or 5, walk through the casino or promenade, and then go back down.
Cabin Review
Oceanview Stateroom
We were in a quiet corner at the end of a dead-end hallway near the Arcadia Theater. It was a great location, just a short walk up to the Schooner Bar, casino and promenade and an easy elevator ride up to the Solarium. The only problem is that the hall doesn't go all the way through so you can't get to the On Air bar or ice rink easily.
Pros: Quiet, clean, very comfortable bed; large window. Not very big but enough for two. Nice shower pressure and plenty of hot water.
Cons: minor bathroom flooding (room steward got this fixed), couldn't find the hairdryer, not enough plugs. Room safe refused to open a few times, had to get maintenance in.
Port Reviews
St. Kitts (Port Zante)
We booked an excursion on our own through Island Tours by Grey. It was a great time.
St. Maarten
Explored Marigot. Great time.
San Juan
Love San Juan. Walked around, toured San Cristobal. Glad we got some extra time here.
Fort Lauderdale (Port Everglades)
We stayed overnight the night before. It was pleasant. We did not have any trouble disembarking, but I will note that the Fort Lauderdale airport was a total crowded nightmare when we were there from roughly 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. on Sunday.