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About Your Ship: Freedom of the Seas

7 Night Eastern Caribbean





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Departs Port Canaveral aboard Royal Caribbean – Freedom of the Seas

Sailing Date(s): Dec 2013, Jan 2014, Mar 2014, Apr 2014


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	Average Freedom of the Seas Rating



	SORT BY: Most Recent \| Positive \| Negative \| Helpful 1 - 10 of 31 \| Next 10 >
	Overall Rating: About the Reviewer: Age: 18 - 29 Cruise Experience: 2 - 3 cruises Traveler Type: Singles/friends Stateroom Type: Inside Horrible!!!! by Les S. from Orlando, Fl Sailing date: Apr 2013 Pros: nothing Cons: old person boat, has nothing to offer for younger people This boat was horrible, all the bars closed between 7 pm-11, except for the casino bar which stayed open til the casino closed. The food was horrible, they had nothing to offer on a boat for seven days, very boring and a waste of money, I wish I went on Carnival instead. I will never cruise with Royal Caribbean again complete waste of money. Ship Details: Ship Quality Stateroom Quality Ship Staff Quality Entertainment & Activities 0 out of 0 people found this review helpful. Did you find this review helpful? Overall Rating: About the Reviewer: Age: 50 - 65 Cruise Experience: 7+ cruises Traveler Type: Couple Stateroom Type: Balcony Awful customer service!! by Dr. Randall B from Gulf Breeze,FL Sailing date: Aug 2012 Pros: Nothing Cons: Very unwilling to help! All about the money!! Missed the cruise as we were ordered to evacuate for hurricane Isaac the day the cruise left. Royal Caribbean said "too bad"! No vouchers, or discounts on future cruise, etc. Bought the insurance & don't even think they will cover it!! What a JOKE! Ship Details: Ship Quality 2 out of 2 people found this review helpful. Did you find this review helpful? Overall Rating: About the Reviewer: Age: 50 - 65 Cruise Experience: 4 - 6 cruises Traveler Type: Family w/young children Stateroom Type: Inside Cruise apparently for the elderly by A Traveler from Council Bluffs, Iowa Sailing date: Jan 2010 Pros: Snorkeling adventure in St. Thomas was the best one that we've ever had. Cons: Lack of free food in the evenings We recently traveled on Freedom of the Seas, the second largest ship in the world. It's a huge ship- in fact, it's too big. Elevators were continuously busy and wait times were several minutes, or you could walk. The ship has over 12 floors so walking 12 flights is nearly impossible. Many things on the ship cost extra, besides the amount that we already had paid. Dinner at a steakhouse on board was $25.00 per person. There is also an Italian cafe that costs per person. Free ice cream cones are available next to the pool, in children size cones. There were always lines waiting to get ice cream. That closed down in the evening, and the only place to get any was from Ben and Jerry's on board, for a fee. Our snorkeling side tour, was excellent, but disorganized as to where everyone should meet. There was a HUGE population of elderly on the ship, and mortorized wheel chairs were left in aisles, so you had to walk around them. I work with the elderly and love them, but many of these people were extremely rude and others in our group commented on their rudeness. Our immediate staff were wonderful, but other staff were rude to us and to others and we have never experienced that before. This was our 5th cruise so we are no strangers to cruises. Ship Details: Ship Quality The ship is so large that there were always waiting lines for the elevators. Sometimes we had to wait for several elevators as they would be full when they stopped. Sometimes the elevators didn't stop on our floor, and at times appeared to be held on other floors for long periods. Dining/Food The main courses were very good, but I was disappointed in the desserts. Most of the cake desserts were very dry. Stateroom Quality These were the most comfortable beds we've ever slept on while cruising. Ship Staff Quality Our waiter worked the hardest I've ever seen to get everything right, from our names to our beverage choices. He even took notes to remember things. We were walking on the promenade one night that formal pictures were being taken. We happened to walk partially across a lit walkway (where no one was waiting to be photographed) and saw a rope blocking the other end off. Realizing we weren't supposed to be there, we turned around to walk back and were yelled at, yes yelled at, by the staff, to get out of there. One of the card dealers told a woman who asked a question about the game that if she didn't know how to play, she shouldn't be playing it. Entertainment & Activities We thought that some the tours were very expensive. One of the jet ski tours wanted $95.00 for a person to drive it, and then twenty some dollars for the passenger. We've never paid that much before so elected not to do so. Our snorkeling adventure in St. Thomas, was by the far, the best we have ever had. It was a guided tour and our guide pointed out numerous things for us and was very informative. What we didn't like was that it was disorgnized as where to meet for the tour. Nothing was explained ahead of time and when we asked on the dock they were uncertain where the representative for the tour would be. We were finally told to just go to a certain area and they would find us. The ice skating show was amazing...hard to believe what they can do on such a small area. 10 out of 10 people found this review helpful. Did you find this review helpful? Overall Rating: About the Reviewer: Age: 30 - 49 Traveler Type: Group Stateroom Type: Inside The Big Wait by Jim L from Pittsburgh Sailing date: Oct 2008 Pros: The cabins were nice and the food was good Cons: Having to wait for everthing, You had to wait in line to find a table in the main restaurant, (the one you did not have to pay extra to eat in) you had to wait to get off or on the ship. If you were going to go on an excursion you had to wait. Now I been on many cruise before and I know there is some waiting in lines involved but this one was the worst by a long shot. Bigger is not always better, ever port the ship stop at there were 3400 passengers coming behind you and thats if your are the only ship in port, the only thing you did not have to wait for was the guy trying to get you to buy another drink from the bar. But by far the worst part of the cruise was how Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines nickel and dime you, there is nothing on this cruise except the food in the free restaurants that they do not charge you for. My bar bill was unbelievable and I am not a big drinker $2.00 for an 8oz. soft drink $5.00 for a 12 oz beer, $8.95 for a mixed drink. When I order a beer I asked for a cup of ice which I poured my beer into to help keep it cool and they charged me a $1.00 for the cup of ice, so I ended up paying $6.00 for a 12oz. can of beer Ship Details: Ship Quality Dining/Food Stateroom Quality Ship Staff Quality Entertainment & Activities Children's Programs Read this user's port of call reviews: Cozumel, Mexico; Labadee (Cruiseline Private Island); George Town, Grand Cayman; Ocho Rios, Jamaica Collapse List of Ports Ports of Call: Cozumel, Mexico Labadee (Cruiseline Private Island) Look out for the rocks, beach is the worst. This is their private money making island. . Waste of time George Town, Grand Cayman Ocho Rios, Jamaica Don't Miss: Zip-line over the canopy of the rain forest 74 out of 84 people found this review helpful. Did you find this review helpful? Overall Rating: About the Reviewer: Age: 50 - 65 Cruise Experience: 4 - 6 cruises Traveler Type: Family w/older children Stateroom Type: Oceanview a departation disaster by A Traveler from Ann Arbor, Michigan Sailing date: Dec 2012 Pros: my family Cons: cococay Second time cruising with RC - ship was beautiful and activities were excellent. Food was above average and service was excellent. Entertainment was mediocre. Felt a bit ripped off having to purchase drinking water for the room. Despite four requests to make sure billing was handled as I wished it was handled wrong. Flight check in onboard was a disaster - original luggage tags were for a flight that didn't exist, my wife and I weren't on the list of people to be transported to the airport even though they had a record that I had paid. Overall, little things that were handled poorly. Ship Details: Ship Quality Dining/Food Stateroom Quality Ship Staff Quality Entertainment & Activities 3 out of 4 people found this review helpful. Did you find this review helpful? Overall Rating: About the Reviewer: Age: 50 - 65 Cruise Experience: 7+ cruises Traveler Type: Couple Stateroom Type: Inside Best cruise ship we've been on by Ted &Sylvia from Florida Sailing date: Dec 2012 Pros: How great the inside of the hipped looked Cons: Too many people in the Windjammer cafe hard to find seats. We have been on many cruise ships and the Freedom of the sea is by far the nieces one we have been on so far. We loved the promenade deck. This is where we spent a lot of our time. Ship Details: Ship Quality Dining/Food Stateroom Quality Ship Staff Quality Entertainment & Activities 1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Did you find this review helpful? Overall Rating: About the Reviewer: Age: 30 - 49 Cruise Experience: 7+ cruises Traveler Type: Family w/young children Stateroom Type: Inside Good Cruise, but not great. by A Traveler from Orlando, Florida Sailing date: Sep 2012 Pros: Flowrider Cons: Lackluster staff This is our tenth cruise (fifth with RC). The ship was nice and the crew was fine, but not what we are used to. The crew seemed to be going through the motions. The children's program consisted of a few staff members that entertained our three kids in the same room the entire cruise. I found it inadequate, but our kids seemed to like it (10, 10, & 8). All and all, the cruise was fine for the price, but our next cruise will not be on the Freedom. Ship Details: Ship Quality Dining/Food Menu was hit or miss. Lunch was actually better than dinner many days. Stateroom Quality Ship Staff Quality Entertainment & Activities Children's Programs 3 out of 3 people found this review helpful. Did you find this review helpful? Overall Rating: About the Reviewer: Age: 50 - 65 Cruise Experience: First cruise Traveler Type: Couple Stateroom Type: Balcony terrific ship by Jeff J from Racine, WI Sailing date: Feb 2012 Pros: Relaxing atmosphere Cons: This was my first cruise and I was very turned off by the, "In Your Face" way the cruise lines mandate tips. On top of the 15% gratuity added to each and EVERY purchase, for the final three days of the cruise they throw in your face how much, "they suggest" you tip. it could have totaled $400.00 just the tipping strategies really turned me off. I tip on quality of service not because they do not pay the help a living wage. This alone may keep me from returning to another cruise although we did enjoy ourselves. Ship Details: Ship Quality Dining/Food Typical "cattle call" food but good and I certainly didn't starve although I didn't gourge myself like so many experienced cruisers said I would. the opportunity was there but I can get better food and not in a cattle call environment at an all inclusive resort just about anywhere. Stateroom Quality Stateroom was nice size but the colors were a bit depressing. the colors they chose seemed like they were chosen to cover up any residule dirt. Ship Staff Quality as always there were good and not-so-good. Our Waiter and stateroom attendant were both fantastic. Entertainment & Activities The Broadway style shows were excellent, comedian was good, and the ice show was excellent. Could have done without the magician. 10 out of 11 people found this review helpful. Did you find this review helpful? Overall Rating: About the Reviewer: Age: 18 - 29 Cruise Experience: 2 - 3 cruises Traveler Type: Couple Stateroom Type: Oceanview Great Ship, Terrible Food by A Traveler from CT Sailing date: Nov 2010 Pros: Extras on the ship - Rockwall, Flowrider, etc. Cons: Food and the service The ship itself had a lot of amenities. It was easy to navigate around. It was clean. The only negative was trying to go between floors, the elevators were extremely slow. Ship Details: Ship Quality Dining/Food Their 24 hour food availability was terrible. They only had tiny premade sandwiches. Other cruise lines have nice hot sandwiches all day long. The one time we actually went into the dining hall the wait staff was rude. Stateroom Quality The room was clean and pretty sizeable. We were nervous going into to it about the size of the bathrooms, but there was plenty of space. Ship Staff Quality Staff was friendly, but I was not really wowed by many employees on the ship. Entertainment & Activities The shows seemed repetitive. They used internal staff too often, it would be nice to have entire shows that have outside representatives. Read this user's port of call reviews: Cozumel, Mexico; Labadee (Cruiseline Private Island); George Town, Grand Cayman; Ocho Rios, Jamaica Collapse List of Ports Ports of Call: Cozumel, Mexico This was our second trip to Cozumel and we enjoyed it much more than last time. The quaility of the beach we went to was nice. We went to a place called Mr. Sanchos. Good food, great service and many amenities. Labadee (Cruiseline Private Island) Once you walked down far enough the beach was quite nice. George Town, Grand Cayman You must go to 7 mile beach. The shopping was quite nice and you definately felt much safer. Ocho Rios, Jamaica It rained that day, so our opinion is probably skewed. Jamaica was the worst port. 5 out of 8 people found this review helpful. Did you find this review helpful? Overall Rating: About the Reviewer: Age: 30 - 49 Cruise Experience: 2 - 3 cruises Traveler Type: Couple Stateroom Type: Oceanview Relaxation!!!! by Michele P from West Dundee, IL Sailing date: Jan 2010 Pros: Experiencing the different ports of call. Cons: Often felt there wasn't enough to do for the 40 something age group Beautiful ship, lots of pools, elevators, restaurants and activities. Ship Details: Ship Quality Ship was huge, layout was very friendly. Very clean, tons of staff to take care of your every need. Very friendly personel. Dining/Food Overall we mainly ate at the Windjammer Buffett. My husband preferred the assortment to the main dinning room menu. Very large and beautiful restaurant located on the 11th deck. Nice assortment of salad, soups, entrees, fruits, breads etc. We were not impressed with the quality, such as the powdered scrambled eggs but made to order eggs were available. The main dinning room food was average. My husband stated his Prime Rib was tasteless, my Salmon was dry one night and my duck was overcooked another. The lobster day was yummy and I asked for two since they were small. We had my time dinning. We enjoyed this because we could go anytime and eat without a wait or scheduling our dinner. What I didn't like is that we really didn't get to know anyone since we were sat by ourselves each time, unlike at a scheduled time where you sit with the same couples each time. Excellent wait staff!!! Stateroom Quality Beautiful room, comfy bed, great view. Extremely clean, the attendant was in our room 3x's a day and was exceptionally friendly. We were very happy with the accomodations. Oh and there were 6 pillows on our bed which we loved! Our attendant Michelle was the best! Ship Staff Quality Staff was wonderful, friendly and attentive. Entertainment & Activities The Ice Show and the nightly productions were absolutely wonderful. Many performances received standing ovations. I highly recommend. We didn't partake in many activities otherwise. I did use the spa which I really enjoyed but was very expensive. My husband had fun with the trivia and there was a game show men vs. women which was very funny and interactive. 12 out of 14 people found this review helpful. Did you find this review helpful?
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