Freedom of the Seas

Versus Carnival, main waiter doesn't leave floor to get the meals, the should have 2 assistants one for the drinks and one to get the food from the kitchen. The main waiter stays with the guest.

We had a fantastic time on our first cruise aboard Freedom of the seas. We particularly enjoyed the large Latin population on board. The music and dancing really added to the fun for us. We are already planning our next cruise and leaning toward another adventure on Freedom of the Seas!

Crew was very nice,room was kept very clean and are waiter s very good table 334

Internet access too expensive. The shower a bit small. I think you can charge less to take money from ATM.

This was our annual extended family cruise and the first time for some of them visiting these islands. We arrived at the ship in San Juan around 2:00pm and boarding was quick and easy. We had four large balcony staterooms in a row (9366, 9368, 9370, 9372) and were able to have the balcony dividers opened by our stateroom attendant on the first day. We had My-Time Dining and I had made online reservations for us for the entire week for a table for eight. I like to have all dining and excursions planned before boarding, so that I can just relax and enjoy the cruise instead of standing in line to pick excursions and make reservations. The main dining room experience was excellent. The waiters were so friendly and made sure you enjoyed your dinner selection. The buffet was always packed, especially at the back where they had all of the hot food. This was a terrible layout. They have the entire buffet circle to spread the food around, but instead have hundreds of people crowded in one spot to get the hot food and desserts. The entertainment for the week included three variety/comedians that were great. I prefer this type of entertainment versus the singers and dancers. The ice show was very good too. They do this show four times during the week and so we waited until the last show and it was a lot less crowded and very easy to find seats. I tried to plan a variety of excursions as we had kids and grandparents with us. In St. Maarten we did the ship's Jeep 4xx4 excursion with some beach time. It is a great way to see the entire island and we had two hours at the beach at the end of our tour. For St. Kitts we booked Blue Water Safaris Nevis Beach Getaway and had a wonderful small group experience on their high-speed boat to Nevis. They take you to Pinney Beach for the day set you up with chairs and umbrellas and a beach restaurant/bar with delicious food. In Antigua we went on a private Island Experience Tour with beach time booked with Scenic Tours Antigua. Sean was our guide for the day and we had an air conditioned mini bus. We saw a lot of the island including several old forts with incredible views of the ocean and island. The stop at Shirley Heights looks down on Nelson’s Dockyard for a fantastic view. We also spent some time touring Nelson’s Dockyard. If you go there, there is a wonderful bakery behind the museum. We finished the day up with two hours at Jolly Beach on the southern coast. There was a restaurant/bar and changing facilities there. St. Lucia was next on the itinerary. We went to the rainforest for an Aerial Tram Ride. This was booked through Shore Excursion Group. This tour was a little disorganized at the meeting point and took way too long to get started. We had people in our van that were going zip lining at the same location. The rain forest tram ride was lovely and very relaxing. Our last stop was Barbados. We went on Calabaza’s lunch sailing trip for the day and it was the highlight of our week. They wait on you hand and foot and make sure your never without food or drink the entire time your with them. It was a fun-filled busy week. This itinerary is port intensive with only one sea day. I think if I were planning it again, I would probably pick one port day to stay on the ship and enjoy it.