Having cruised the Western Caribbean on the Freedom of the Seas in 2008, I felt confident enough in recommending the cruise line and the Freedom series to friends and family that booked this cruise. I was rather disappointed.

Embarkation was average - we were herded into a small sitting area to wait for the boat to be cleared. The ventilation system in the ceiling of this area was spitting out black soot, which ended up all over our clothing and in our hair. I don't feel I should complain too much however because we were lucky to have been one of the first people to show up, so we got to sit down rather than have to stand for a couple of hours waiting.

When we got to the room, the cookies and champaign I had ordered weren't there, nor were the beds pushed together. The stateroom attendent argued with me about pushing the beds together. We got the cookies and champaign late the next afternoon (which rather defeated the purpose of having it there for the sail-away). Our attendant, "Lucky", told us about his seven children by four or five different women and how he'd been with the cruise line for 13 years. We both got the distinct impression that he's been with them about 12 years too long. He disappeared after a couple of days and we never saw him again. Read more