This was our first cruise and we thoroughly enjoyed it. I won a 7 day Caribbean cruise in a bingo game on board the ship, so will cruise again next September!
Embarkation
5 out of 5
We arrived around 2 pm and it only took about 15 minutes to check our bags, pass through security, get our sea pass cards, and board the ship. Our room was ready in about 10 more minutes. We were very pleased with how easy the process was.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
5 out of 5
We enjoyed the Windjammer as we are very casual people. There was a nice variety of quality food for breakfast, lunch and dinner. We ate in the main dining room only twice. Both times the food was not as good as the Windjammer.
Onboard Activities
5 out of 5
We relaxed by the pool in the solarium and played ping pong and putt putt. The deck chairs were padded and comfy in the solarium versus the deck chairs in the main pool deck.
Entertainment
5 out of 5
The headliner shows were great! The game shows were fun although they took an "adult" dive which seemed unnecessary - would have been fun without adult content. We really enjoyed DSB the Journey Tribute band. Wonderful!
Children's Programs
Service and Staff
5 out of 5
Our cabin steward was wonderfully kind and did a great job taking care of us and our stateroom. The waitstaff in the windjammer were all polite and thorough. The main dining room also had lovely waitstaff who were extremely attentive and kind. The entertainment team did a great job hosting trivia, game shows, bingo games, etc. They had fun personalities and did their best to engage the audience. We enjoyed ourselves!
Ship Quality
5 out of 5
The layout of the ship was easy to navigate. I did not like walking through the smoky casino to get to common areas on deck 4. The ship was clean other than some glass panes on the deck that could use cleaning. Hand sanitizing dispensers were in each entrance/exit from any place on the ship.
Cabin / Stateroom
5 out of 5
We enjoyed our spacious balcony cabin. We moved the small glass coffee table into our closet to have more room since the walkway was a bit narrow. There was plenty of storage in the closet and all of the drawers and cubbies in the mirror.
Ship tip
The Freedom is a lovely ship. It is large enough that it didn't feel crowded. We also rarely felt the ship movement and did not get seasick!
We stayed at the Stellaris Casino resort the night before our cruise and enjoyed some beach time before boarding the ship. When we returned from our cruise, we did the San Juan on your own tour with airport transfer. The tour provider took us in an air conditioned coach to Old San Juan and dropped us off with a map. We explored on foot and took the free trolley to the forts. The tour provider took our bags to the airport for us and we were able to claim them when we were dropped off at the airport. It was nice not to worry about our bags while we toured the city. The only downside was it was very hot and humid...we both needed a shower when we arrived at the airport. Next time, I would book the tour that included an A/C coach for the entire tour.
We did the chair lift Flying Dutchman zip line which I booked through shoreexcursioner.com. The chairlift was fun and the zip line was very quick. The views were great and we enjoyed it. It was a bit pricey but worth it. We returned to the ship and headed back out via water taxi to the beach where we rented 2 chairs and an umbrella for $15. We swam and relaxed on the beautiful beach.
We did the Safari Zip Line excursion booked through Royal Caribbean. Our tour van took about 10 of us to the rain forest where we had a great time zipping through the tree tops. our guides were entertaining and fun.
We booked a beach day which included lunch. Our tour driver took us to Darkwood beach about 20 minutes from the dock. We had the beach to ourselves (along with another older couple) for about 2 hours before the other tours vans began arriving. We snorkeled, swam and relaxed. Really enjoyed our time there.
We booked a snorkeling tour via shipmate and the tour provider had to cancel for unforeseen circumstances. Our refund was posted quickly though and the tour provider was very kind and apologetic. We booked a different tour for the next port to include snorkeling which turned to be wonderful! We spent time in St. Lucia shopping in the port shops.
We did the Tiami 5 star catamaran cruise which included snorkeling at a coral reef and swimming at a beach. Lunch and drinks were also included. The crew were lovely and they took good care of each guest. We swam with sea turtles, saw a sting ray, and lots of different types of fish. This was one of our most memorable excursions.
Great review! I am happy to hear the Trolley is back up and running in San Juan. I will check out some of the tours you took so I can plan ours for Feb/19. Congratulations on winning a free cruise! That is awesome!
Great review! I am happy to hear the Trolley is back up and running in San Juan. I will check out some of the tours you took so I can plan ours for Feb/19. Congratulations on winning a free cruise! That is awesome!
*Cruiseline.com is not a booking agent or travel agency,
and does not charge any service fees to users of our site. Our partners
(travel agencies and cruise lines) provide prices, which we list for our
users' convenience. Cruiseline.com does not guarantee any specific rates or
prices. While prices are updated daily, please check with the booking site
for the exact amount. Cruiseline.com is not responsible for content on
external web sites.
Contact us
Submitting...
Need help from a personal vacation planner?
Loading...
Find the perfect cruise with weekly tips and cruise deals for as little as $30/night!
Sign up for weekly cruise deals
Join other subscribers and get the best
cruise deals of the week in your inbox every Thursday.
