Caribbean Cruise

Freedom of the Seas Cruise Review to Caribbean - Eastern

Cruises: 7+ cruises
Review: 1
Helpful Votes: 8

Overall rating:

3 out of 5
Verified Review
Freedom of the Seas

8 Night Eastern Caribbean (Ft. Lauderdale Roundtrip)

Sail date: March 18, 2017

Ship: Freedom of the Seas

Cabin type: Balcony

Cabin number: 6680

Traveled as: Couple

Reviewed: 7 years ago

Review summary

The cruise was good...as expected.  Food in the Windjammer (buffet) was plentiful and with good variety.  Dining room dinners were good, but not outstanding.  Dining room food quality has been slipping over the past few years.  RC is obviously cutting their cost % on food there.  Smoking in the casino was a BIG negative.  I can't believe they let less than 5% of the passengers blow sticky smoke on the 95% (non smokers).  A non smoking ship, or at least a non-smoking casino, will be a requirement for us next time we cruise.  The continued ''extras'' offered are a pain...this includes ''specialty'' dining rooms (that even have their own ''extras'' once you've already paid extra to get it!), high daily internet service charge, on board tour charges and shore excursion pricing.  Overall, the service was very good...attention to detail and passenger comfort was obvious.  This excludes the casino staff however.  The dependence on Eastern Europeans in the casinos these days is baffling.  Their culture is not one of customer service or friendliness.  Theirs appears to be more cold and towards making money for the casino.

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

3 out of 5

Entertainment

3 out of 5

Children's Programs

N/A

Service and Staff

5 out of 5

Ship Quality

5 out of 5

Cabin / Stateroom

3 out of 5
Fine. Showers are larger these days...this is good.

Ship tip

The coffee shop on the main deck has a good sandwich selection w/ expanded hours daily. The pizza on the main deck had cardboard crust. ''Formal night'' isn't formal any more for most of the passengers. Biz casual is fine w/o coat & tie. The Windjammer, deck 11 is great for breakfast & lunch.

Ports of call

Ft. Lauderdale (Port Everglades), Florida

3 out of 5

Labadee (Cruise Line Private Island)

5 out of 5

San Juan, Puerto Rico

3 out of 5

Philipsburg, St. Maarten

3 out of 5

Basseterre, St. Kitts

5 out of 5
Was this review helpful? 8

4 Comments

MasterRo    7 years ago

the entire ship is smoke-free except for the casino :(

marflmy43cfb    7 years ago

does anyone know if the grand is smoke. free or at least the casino

ItaVero    7 years ago

The casino is deliberately placed so that passengers have to walk through it - to entice potential players. They usually promote "non-smoker" nights.

USFFrank    7 years ago

I sailed on the original Carnival Paradise. The non smoking ship was great. But it's all about the money, so they put a stop to the non smoking ship. I believe if a new ship were to try this concept again, it just might work to the cruise line and the non smoking passengers advantage. I know I would stay in the casino and gamble longer if I could breathe clean air.

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