Cruise was great and ship good, but could use an update in the public areas

Freedom of the Seas Cruise Review to Caribbean - Western

Cruises: 4-6 cruises
Review: 1
Helpful Votes: 26

Overall rating:

4 out of 5
Verified Review
Freedom of the Seas

7 Night Western Caribbean (Port Canaveral Roundtrip)

Sail date: November 23, 2014

Ship: Freedom of the Seas

Cabin type: Balcony

Cabin number: 8576

Traveled as: Couple

Reviewed: 9 years ago

Review summary

The Freedom of the Seas is a fine ship, however, the promenade design concept had good points and bad for me.  The good were that the design allowed for fun times with the 70s night dance show and the parade.  also gave the ambiance of an outside street shopping and dining area.  the bad was that it was somewhat dated looking and was too crowded.  The cruise was excellent.  shows were broadway quality, the staff was very, very courteous and accommodating.  the wait staff in the dining room actually memorized our names and called us by name always.  Juan Carlos, and Kenesha get 5 stars.  Ron our room attendant was excellent.  I rate the TV channels in the room as 1 star, wanted some local USA news, and business channel.  no such luck.  Other cruise ships, Disney and Celebrity did a better job at this.  The Promenade shops need a much needed upgrade, especially the jewelry shops.  Did not seem to have a good look and feel to them. The Portifino restaurant was beyond our expectation.  Wait staff, ambiance and food were 5 stars!!  Ice show was beyond belief.  that is a large space for limited use on the ship, but worth it.  Our room could have had a little more storage drawers and cabinets with doors for storage.

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

3 out of 5
Dining Room and Specialty restaurant were great. Buffet area could be played out better. Seating seemed limited. I liked Celebrity Solstice ship buffet design better.

Onboard Activities

5 out of 5
70s dance night and the parade were great. Cruise director did a lot to make all the activities memorable

Entertainment

5 out of 5
Ships actors and actresses were definitely Broadway quality. Arcadia acoustics and sound system were tremendous

Children's Programs

Did not partake

Service and Staff

5 out of 5

Cabin / Stateroom

5 out of 5
See my TV channel selection comment. also, movie channels should be free. Disney offers much more in this area. lighting was good, beds were very comfortable. clothing storage was limited. The separate reading lights were a great touch and I liked and used that feature while my wife was sleeping. Veranda was a great size and liked that fact that neighboring verandas could be joined if traveling with friends in neighboring rooms.

Ship tip

Room could use an alarm clock that accommodates iPhone (like Disney does) Elevator number and size accommodated the large (4300) passenger count well. Ditch the Morgan in the promenade, took up valuable foot traffic space.

Ports of call

Port Canaveral, Florida

3 out of 5
Nice quick boarding area. However, off load too way too long. we waited 2.5 hours after docking before we got to the luggage area. long lines! Disney gets you off the boat in 1.5 hors after docking. seemed to flow a lot quicker.

Labadee (Cruise Line Private Island)

5 out of 5
Private island touch and the staff was very friendly

Falmouth, Jamaica

5 out of 5
We took a bus trip to Montego Bay and enjoyed the free time there

George Town, Grand Cayman

1 out of 5
Could not stop there due to weather

Cozumel, Mexico

5 out of 5
our third time to Cozumel and loved just walking around and shopping
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