Excellent first-time cruise!

Freedom of the Seas Cruise Review to Caribbean - Western

Cruises: 1 cruise (first)
Review: 1
Helpful Votes: 25

Overall rating:

5 out of 5
Verified Review
Freedom of the Seas

7 Night Western Caribbean (Port Canaveral Roundtrip)

Sail date: August 07, 2016

Ship: Freedom of the Seas

Cabin number: 6570

Traveled as: Couple

Reviewed: 8 years ago

Review summary

My husband and I chose to cruise for our honeymoon, as neither of us had cruised before. We are so glad we chose Royal to be our first. All of the staff was pleasant and helpful, the food was great, and there were unique adult activities each night. The adults only pool was a huge plus!

We chose the My Time dining option and ending up requesting the same waiter each night we went to the dining room because we loved him and the service so much. Our room and all public restrooms stayed clean and well maintained. 

The only negatives we can think of - one of our ports was Grand Cayman where you have to take a smaller boat into port. The process was a little aggregating and time consuming, as we didn't realize we would have to wait so long. All other ports were smooth and simple for us though. The other negetive is how often and "in-your-face" they are about the sales on board. They are constantly trying to sell things in the main area of the boat. I heard that's any cruise though. 

Overall great first experience!

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

5 out of 5
We loved our waiter and server at the dining room - Henry and Estevam! We requested them each night. And the food was GREAT!

Onboard Activities

5 out of 5

Entertainment

5 out of 5

Children's Programs

3 out of 5

Service and Staff

5 out of 5

Ship Quality

3 out of 5
Some things were noticeably outdated, but everything stayed well maintained through the week.

Cabin / Stateroom

5 out of 5
The balcony wasn't very clean, but the room stayed well maintained and clean through the week.

Ship tip

Make your dinner reservations early each night, the food is so worth it. Bring fun outfits for things like 80's night and Hawaian shirt night.

Ports of call

Port Canaveral, Florida

5 out of 5

George Town, Grand Cayman

3 out of 5
Beautiful beaches and water, but takes so long to get to the island from the ship waiting for a taxi boat.

Coxen Hole, Roatan, Bay Islands, Honduras

5 out of 5

Costa Maya (Mahahual), Mexico

3 out of 5
Beautiful but the main port is full of pushy businesses trying to sell you over priced goods. Make deals! They will go down significantly in price to make a sale.

Cozumel, Mexico

5 out of 5
Was this review helpful? 25

2 Comments

kbduck    8 years ago

Unfortunately being tendered to shore is sometimes the only option. It's been worth it to me, as some of the best dives I've been on have been in places where there's just not a deep enough spot to pull the ship up to a dock.

HalfHand    8 years ago

Ask the pushy sales people to bring you a drink. They start recognizing you after a few days and leave you alone.

Other reviews of this sailing