Friendly, Well Maintained ship and fabulous itinerary

Freedom of the Seas Cruise Review to Caribbean - Western

Cruises: 7+ cruises
Review: 1
Helpful Votes: 33

Overall rating:

4 out of 5
Freedom of the Seas

7 Night Western Caribbean (Port Canaveral Roundtrip)

Sail date: April 12, 2015

Ship: Freedom of the Seas

Cabin type: Balcony

Cabin number: 6690

Traveled as: Family (older children)

Reviewed: 9 years ago

Review summary

Would sail with this ship again.  Freedom of the Seas 7 night Western Caribbean was a great cruise. We are frequent cruisers with adult children. Highlights for us on this cruise were the great ports of call, fun activities on sea days, and price point.  This is a very well maintained ship - super clean - and the ship is large with plenty of options for dining, entertainment and sports/kids (but not too big or crowded).  Embarkation and debarkation were fast & efficient in the NEW TERMINAL at Port Canaveral! We also used the "Luggage Valet" service - for $20.00 per person the cruise line will take your luggage to the airport for you, and get your boarding passes.  If you have big bags, this is well worth the cost.

We used 's links with Shore Excursions Group for 2 great trips: Dunn's Falls (Jamaica) and 2-tank Scuba in Grand Cayman.  We had a great guide & experience both times, although the chosen dive sites in Grand Cayman were right off 7-mile beach (ho hum).  We used the ship's excursion for scuba trip in Cozumel - and it was spectacular.

They are re-positioning this ship next year to sail out of Ft. Lauderdale. This is good news if you like to sail from there, not so good for us. 

We'd recommend the My Time Dining.  We had a normal assigned table on deck 4 (Isaac's) and found the service lackluster.  The food (we are foodies) was plentiful in selection, but 3 stars (of 5) in taste.  Also be prepared for costly drinks - $8 wine glasses are few, the prices go up from there; cocktails $12 each.  You can bring on 2 bottles of wine per cabin - that helps!

Hope this was helpful - enjoy  your cruise!

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

3 out of 5

Onboard Activities

5 out of 5

Entertainment

3 out of 5

Service and Staff

3 out of 5

Ship Quality

5 out of 5

Cabin / Stateroom

5 out of 5
Biggest balcony I've ever had outside of a suite... Stock photos are accurate. Plenty of storage space.

Ports of call

Port Canaveral, Florida

3 out of 5
New port facilities make embarkation & debarkation painless.

Labadee (Cruise Line Private Island)

5 out of 5
Great beaches, very clean. Fun to peruse the "shopping village" but beware they are very, very aggressive - push back and do NOT accept "free" offers (bracelet, carve your souvenir) because nothing is for free!

Falmouth, Jamaica

5 out of 5
A tip for Dunn's Falls: make SURE you have solid water shoes (not flip flops or sneakers), it's pretty physically challenging and will frighten most kids under 10; and for sure stick with the guides who help you get the right footing.

George Town, Grand Cayman

3 out of 5
Highly recommend a trip to Stingray City.

Cozumel, Mexico

5 out of 5
Scuba trip with the ship is convenient - right on the docks, professional and the diving is fantastic. Mostly it is "drift" diving with strong currents but nice to see the reefs are recovering very well. We saw turtles, nurse sharks, frog fishes and lots of beautiful reefs.
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1 Comment

glomarrone    9 years ago

I have been on this beautiful ship and had a good time, also.  Sounds like you had a fun time in your ports of call.  Thanks for all the tips that you left.. 

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