Freedom of the Seas

Great Value

Staff- absolutely incredible. They are the difference maker! Dining- we prefer MDR and WJ for our dining experience. We like the themed dining menus per night. The specialty restaurants are nice but we're not subscribing to them. The food is nearly the same throughout the dining locations. Activities- your cruise director has a big impact on this and ours, Eric, was phenomenal! He was engaging, funny, energetic, and hyped up the passengers. Stateroom- we were in the panoramic ocean view suite on deck 12 (there are only 2 of these) and we absolutely loved the room. Incredibly spacious plus the suite perks. The room is ridiculously large with 1 full bath and an 1/2 bath. There was a bunk room also. The room itself has an insane amount of storage. Ship- we love this class of ship because it is large enough to have all the great activity locations, spacious and entertaining.

Really enjoyed the cruise

Embarkation and Disembarkation - Excellent (Virgin should use Royal as a template for smooth embarkation and disembarkation). Service - Excellent. Other than Virgin, I have never seen such a great staff. They are friendly, helpful, engaging, and really seem to enjoy their jobs. Credit to Royal. Entertainment - For an older ship (does not have all the bells and whistles that the newer mega ships have) Freedom does and Excellent job. The Shows were really good, again, the best at sea shows I have seen. The orchestra is excellent, the singers and dancers were really good, and the shows were very well choreographed. The band in the Bolero were excellent (funk, jazz, latin). David Curtis Mutter is a character (amazing pianist and very entertaining). Flow rider was excellent, pickleball was fun, climbing wall was good, and all the other entertainment was well run. Loved the trivia. Food - Very Good. The food in Chops, Main Dining Room, and the Windjammer was consistently good. Good food, well cooked. The dining staff could not be more friendly or helpful. Cabins - Good. This is where the ship shows its age. But always clean. Cabin staff were excellent. Cruise Director - Eric was very good. Remember, this is a ship that is over 10 years old, so cannot compete with the mega ships. But if you are looking for great customer service, good food, and lots to do then this is a great option.

Great cruise experience

Had an amazing time, so great i want to book again! The service was completely out of this world, I absolutely loved sorrentos pizza, and el loco fresh had great tacos and mexican food as well! The main dining room was great too. had 2 steaks and a chicken parmesean over the 3 nights, the point is every single thing i had was absolutely AMAZING! the only thing that i would not rate 5 stars is the disembarkation process. i may just be saying that because it was sad to go, but i feel that getting all my things and waiting in a long line was tough (i decided to take everything myself.) even then, i would wait it 4 stars, no big issues, just found it a bit annoying. i also decided to book a balcony, and I absolutely loved it! it was so great leaving Miami with such an incredible view! and finally the staff was amazing! they worked so hard to give us the best cruise ever!

My honest review

This was the first cruise for myself and 2 kids ages 4 and 7. My husband had been on one in the past. We booked a very basic room on the 5th floor (13 floors total) and it worked out fine for us. We didn’t have a window or balcony, but it wasn’t a big deal. I found that when I was looking out the window while dining I felt a bit nauseous so not having the window actually helped. The food was good. My husband preferred the sit down meals for dinner where you chose an appetizer, entree and dessert. We didn’t make reservations, we would go down at 5:45 pm and ask for a table. The longest we ever had to wait for a table was 15 minutes. For breakfast we did the buffet option and there’s no shortage of choices! It is a bit more hustle-and-bustle type of feel when you are getting your food so if you want more relaxation I would recommend the sit-down. We did not do an alcohol package and it was totally fine. My husband and I would get 1-2 alcoholic drinks each day and then bring a bottle of wine to dinner. The staff on the boat are all really nice and say hello/smile when you pass by them. They work REALLY hard and several of them have families they don’t see for many months at a time. They clean your room every day, they don’t just make your bed and give you clean towels. The first stop was their private island, Coco Cay. It is PRISTINE. Everything is clean, perfect-looking and food is included. There are baby chickens running around which is cute. There are places to refill your reusable cups at Coco Cay but, on the boat I struggled to find places to refill my water bottle. It’s important to me to stay hydrated throughout the day so this was a bit frustrating. We saw a musical called Once Upon A Time and we all loved it. They are all really talented, I would say the level is just a tad bit below Broadway. They had more backdrops than I’ve ever seen! The 2nd day was in Nassau and we spent it at Atlantis which was really nice. The cab ride one way cost 30$ using a credit card. I think you can get it for 20$ if you have cash. It is a mix of an aquarium, water slides, beaches and pools. The “lazy river” ride which is really more of a river rapids ride is super fun! We did a little snorkeling in a cove area but to see the really awesome stuff you’d have to take a tour boat to get to the coral reefs. Driving through Nassau itself it is poor and run down. They drive on the opposite side of the street and it’s a bit chaotic-not the same rules as the US. The last day was spent on the boat because we were traveling back to Miami. We did the water slides, played outdoor games and went in the pools. We had a nice day but I liked going off the boat a lot more. In the future, I’d prefer 3 destinations instead of 2.