Great itinerary on an ship in need of refurbishment -1st RCC compared to Carnival

Freedom of the Seas Cruise Review to Caribbean - Southern

Cruises: 7+ cruises
Review: 1
Helpful Votes: 44

Overall rating:

4.4 out of 5
Freedom of the Seas

7 Night Southern Caribbean (San Juan Roundtrip)

Sail date: June 02, 2018

Ship: Freedom of the Seas

Cabin type: Balcony

Cabin number: 9526

Traveled as: Family (young children)

Reviewed: 5 years ago

Review summary

We loved the itinerary and would love to visit many of these islands again. Probably would take a different vessel or wait until this one is refurbished. I have never had to call maintenance on any cruise and 3 times for plumbing and 2 for the safe is excessive, in my opinion.

Embarkation

5 out of 5
Compared to Carnival, just meh. Fellow at counter truly was indifferent. I asked if I was going to need my cruise contract anymore. He told me yeah, you probably will sometime, thank you Capt Obvious. I meant was I done with it today! Carnival embarkation-music playing, happy people, vacation has begun. Carnival 1, RCC-0

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

4 out of 5
Pretty much cruise standard fair. Really enjoyed specialty restaurant Sabo and The Chops Grille. Service in both was excellenour waiter at Sabos was phenomenal. Giovanni’s was probably our favorite meal and another great server. We did miss Guy Fieri’s burgers, but this was a tie

Onboard Activities

5 out of 5
Pools never seemed as crowded as Carnival. They police their towels a bit more on RC -2 per stateroom card, but other times didn’t seem to care how many. RCC wins this one

Entertainment

4 out of 5

Children's Programs

5 out of 5

Service and Staff

5 out of 5
Really loved the way they bring drinks to you in the Windjammer and help you find a table in a packed dining area. Giving this one to RCC, but just barely

Ship Quality

3 out of 5
This ship is in need of refurbishment, noticeable carpet wear. Had to have maintenance come to cabin 4 different times-toilet wouldn’t flush, sink wouldn’t drain, shower wouldn’t drain, safe wouldn’t work-took 2 attempts to fix it.

Cabin / Stateroom

3 out of 5

Ship tip

If you are used to newer ships, you will be disappointed. Overall, I would pick this ship for the itinerary. I would wait for a refurbishment if there is another itinerary you are interested in.

Ports of call

San Juan, Puerto Rico

5 out of 5
Walking distance of many attractions

Philipsburg, St. Maarten

5 out of 5
Nice area right off the ship, I wish we would have gone to the French side, but we slept in

Basseterre, St. Kitts

5 out of 5
We took a tour with a private vendor. Be careful of the monkey picture folks, they are abundant

St. John's, Antigua

5 out of 5
We took the zip lining excursion. Worth the money, great crew

Castries, St. Lucia

4 out of 5
Took the trip to the volcano. Long, frequent stops but very aggressive sales people at each one. The actual volcano visit is very short and somewhat anticlimactic. Wouldn’t do it again

Bridgetown, Barbados

5 out of 5
Our favorite port. Took the snorkel with turtles, sunken ship, beach excursion. Had a wonderful time. Great crew highly recommend

Disembarkation

5 out of 5
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