I had my reservations about freestyle, as I usually cruise solo. This time, I went with a family member, and I found freestyle to be exactly for me. The embarkation went quickly. There was orange juice and water for us when we entered the terminal. I stayed overnight the night before at a Days Inn, and was transported to the terminal with their free shuttle. The check in process was the quickest I ever had, about ten minutes and we were on our way to the buffet line! The food was plentiful, and varied. There was the usual mad crowd on the deck, but we sat with a nice couple from Canada for our lunch. The rooms were ready at 2pm, and the balcony cabin was great! The cabin steward was there to greet us and introduced herself and thereafter, always called us by our names. She was prompt with any requests we had, i.e, moving the beds, giving us soap bars, and extra towels. The balcony was aft, and was quiet, and very little motion.

The port calls were on time, easy disembarking, and always, they had hand wash for us, out of the ship, and in the food lines. The ports were fun, and the excursion we took to the beach was great in Belize. We booked while on board. No lines, and always a smile at the desk, in fact, I had no issues at all with the staff on board. There were very few children on board, and we always got a deck chair, and plenty of room in the pool and hot tubs. The hours for food service were generous, as well as plenty of seats after the first onslaught on embarkation day. The shows were fun, and varied, jugglers, comedy, dancers. We took three dance classes on board that were well taught, and much fun. I especially liked the board where they showed how busy the dining rooms were, and which had wait lists. That way, you could choose a place with no wait. We did not choose to pay to eat at any dining room. The dress was casual, and there is no need to pack lots of dresses, or heels. I did see they tossed out anyone with shorts in the dining room. There was a classical trio playing in the dining room, and there was a casual dining room that also served just light fare, and appetizers if you wanted.

The best part was the deck music. It was a soft Latin music, not hard rock, or rap like carnival. the large full TV screen was in the lobby, far away from the decks, so you could relax and sun bathe without blaring MTV. Read more