Smooth boarding, great entertainment and service on Freedom of the Seas

Smooth embarkation onto the Freedom of the Seas on Sunday 14th May for a return cruise with Royal Caribbean in the Western Medititaranean. We had sailed this itinerary previously on Voyager of the Seas and expected an excellent cruise experience while taken up some more of the many available excursion opportunities. 

With the online check-in option, the onboarding process was very streamlined, and our luggage arrived at our stateroom in the early evening. 

The entertainment on board was to a high standard, and the music in the bar was a particular highlight for us, while we heard good comments about other venues from other guests at the dining table. 

The speciality dining options were excellent and provided high-quality food. The Modern Mexican restaurant, Sabor, was a particular highlight here and we returned for lunch and guacamole and margarita demonstration during the at sea day. The Chefs Table was a great food and wine experience (perhaps not best scheduled the night before an excursion :) ). Fixed dining was a little disappointing, particularly since many people did not turn up on any particular night as we (and other table-mates) availed of the speciality restaurants and other dining options. In a future cruise, we are more likely to choose the "My Time" dining room option. 

The two excursions we engaged on were excellent with the lots of useful information provided during the bus journeys to the destinations (Florence and Sorrento) and then allowed to explore at our pace once we got there. 

The process of getting off the ship (never a favourite part) was quick and well organised. We were one of the later groups as we planned on spending the day in Barcelona but were still off the ship and on the way to the hotel by 10 am.