Surprise!
Freedom of the Seas Cruise Review to Caribbean - Eastern
8 Night Eastern Caribbean (Ft. Lauderdale Roundtrip)
Sail date: March 18, 2017
Ship: Freedom of the Seas
Cabin type: Balcony
Cabin number: 1704
Traveled as: Family (older children)
Reviewed: 7 years ago
Review summary
So our ship the Freedom of the Seas was lovely! The service impeccable. However, our surprise came when we realized how much money we were made to spend onboard! While we paid for our cruise and had not cruised in over a decade, both my husband and I were highly disappointed that there was literally a charge for everything! EVERYTHING! The moment we stepped on the ship we were met with specialty dining options for hundreds of dollars. Next came 3 days of pushing drink packages that we did not purchase because we would only have 1 or 2 drinks a day. Again, an opportunity to spend hundreds of dollars. Our son opted to drink water instead of the soda package. T shirts were sold, photos taken daily were sold, excursions we expected to buy, and the shops along the promenade all offered items and foods for purchase. Apparently we were out of touch from the days of lobster, steak and other delights nightly at dinner, these are again purchased through specialty dining. The main dining room food was mediocre building to better food on the last few nights. No ice sculptures, no midnight buffet and the pizza truly disappointing. The happy serendipity was that none of us gained weight on this cruise. After reconciling our onboard bill for thousands more in addition to our original booking fee, we decided the best part of the cruise was waking up in a different port each day. That is why you cruise in the first place! We would recommend RCL to family and friends but, we will tell them to expect spending a lot onboard. As far as booking another cruise, probably not...
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
Onboard Activities
Entertainment
Children's Programs
Service and Staff
Ship Quality
Cabin / Stateroom
Ship tip
Bring at least 2 cases of water on board with checked luggage stickers because unless you have a drink package, water is over $4 per bottle on board. We are not cheap people the fleecing of prices was ridiculous.
Ports of call
Ft. Lauderdale (Port Everglades), Florida
Labadee (Cruise Line Private Island)
12 Comments
JohnsonL 7 years ago
We did back-to-back cruises on Freedom with one specialty dinner per cruise. We bought some gifts, a couple of formal night photographs, and drinks everyday. We still spent less than $1,000 total for two weeks on Freedom of the Seas. The casino, jewrelry, Art, designer clothing, all expenditures by choice, are the only ways I can imagine spending thousands on a week on a cruise ship. Years ago, we cruised when there were more free items like 24 hour softdrinks, fruit in cabin, and chocolates on the pillow, but even 20 years ago you still paid for specialty restaurants, alcoholic beverages, and professional photographs. Granted we spend more today for a cruise but compared to other costs, cruise lines have done a reasonable job with costs. As another person mentioned, I would rather keep prices for the tickets down and let big spenders with big budgets contribute 'thousands' to the cruise's revenue for excessive frivolous purchases.
jilesgulf 7 years ago
ghiagal 7 years ago
kknorr0320 7 years ago