Royal Caribbean International
Freedom of the Seas Cruise Review
Miami / Caribbean

Beverly Carby
Age: 52
Occupation: HR Manager
Number of Cruises: Unknown
Sailing Date: June 4th. 2006

Check-in was a breeze, the best process I have experienced to date on any line -- it might have been due to our arriving in good time, before the crowd.

The size of Freedom is amazing, loved the lines in the structure of the ship, loved the overhanging whirlpool.

I am not sure what I expected on this inaugural sailing, perhaps more fanfare onboard to commemorate the ship's debut, but it was anti-climatic for me.

Before, saying anything further about the ship or it's amenities, I must stop to praise the Concierge Class of Service and the Concierge on our sailing -- he was par excellence. Every evening he made sure to check on us to see if there was anything he could do -- never had that before. He was definitely First Class. Our room Steward was very good, and very attentive to our needs.

I sailed in Stateroom 1650, which was wonderfully spacious, balcony was huge, spent lots of time there. Actually, I was hard pressed to leave the stateroom/balcony to sample the other amenities onboard, it was that comfortable.

My best stop was Montego Bay (probably a little biased being Jamaican); next best stop was Labadee, wonderful what RCCL has done with this part of Haiti. The beach and water sports activities are great, wonderful experience there -- I definitely will go back. We did not get off the ship in Cayman, because have been there so many times. We were definitely saddened to see the change in Cozumel due to the devastation by the hurricane last year. I didn't recognize Cozumel -  they have really suffered quite a bit of destruction.

The Royal Promenade was our walkway to get across the ship, much quicker than using the loooooooooong hallways; wished there were more shops on the Promenade.

There are not enough elevators to service the number of guests onboard -- it was a common complaint heard on board, the wait for an elevator was too long, and at times an empty elevator would go by us without stopping.

I was not impressed with the onboard entertainment, I have seen better on other RCCL sailings, I am hoping and assume that will improve as time goes by. Sadly lacking was onboard activities while the ship was in port, not much to do onboard if you chose not to go ashore -- this definitely needs attention.

Overall, the staff was pleasant, courteous, and helpful.

The main dining room was overwhelming in its size, wow. Service was good. The menu and disappointing and so was the taste of the food -- come on RCCL, you can do better, as is evident by the food at the Windjammer Cafe/Jade Restaurant. The food in the Windjammer/Jade was excellent in variety and taste, totally enjoyed meals there (breakfast/lunch/dinner).

Casino needs to be larger to accommodate the number of guests onboard -- didn't win anything. Something needs to be done about exhausting the smoke from the Casino, at times it was difficult to breath, actually left the casino much earlier than I wanted several nights. Perhaps, RCCL should utilize the area used for photographs to expand the casino.

A big plus are the various pool areas -- thoroughly enjoyed these areas, the best I have seen on any cruises I have taken -- kudos to RCCL.

Enjoyed the art auction and the various bars/clubs, though not a heavy drinker, still enjoyed the ambiance of these areas.

Spa and health club was enormous, more than adequate for your guests.

I was a spectator at the Flowrider. Thoroughly enjoyed watching the adventurous, definitely a wonderful addition to the cruise.

SHIP AHOY!
 

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