Pre-Cruise: We flew into Orlando on Friday morning and spent two nights at the Royal Pacific Resort at Universal Orlando and did Universal Studios and Islands Of Adventure. The Wizarding World of Harry Potter lives up to the hype. It's a must see for Harry Potter fans. Staying at an on-site Universal Orlando resort is a little expensive, but the perks are great, better than any on-site Disney resort.

Embarkation: We had rented a car from Avis so we drove over to Cocoa Beach, dropped off the car, and caught a shuttle within five minutes. We got to the port around 1145 and embarkation was a breeze. We waited in line about 15-20 minutes and went right onto the ship. Grabbed lunch at the Windjammer and got into our rooms a little after 1:00PM. The only hiccup was the luggage delivery where they are seriously understaffed. I realize it's a huge effort but they need more people running the luggage. The service area was continually jammed with luggage and there looked to be only one guy ferrying the bags to the rooms. We got ours after 6:00PM and actually got one that wasn't ours. I alerted the cabin steward and they took care of it.

Overall Ship Impressions: It was our first time on the Freedom. The ship is in good shape, very nice inside, very clean from top to bottom deck. The Promenade is nice, we enjoyed walking it every night. I enjoyed the fact that they had a smoke free section in the Casino. Read more