This cruise on Freedom of the Seas was the best of many cruises we have taken. It had excellent and personal service and great food and entertainment. As with many other cruises on Freedom Class and Radiance Class ships, at least during the shoulder seasons, there was never a feeling of being crowded or just another number on the ship, we knew waiters assigned to us and those not assigned to our table by name and they knew us by name. We feel this is by design, effort, and has been consistently excellent during our 5 cruises on this beautiful ship.
Embarkation
5 out of 5
Excellent arrangement for the second half of a back-to-back cruise. We stayed on the ship and met customs agents in the Star Lounge, and received our new access cards in one efficient and fast process.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
5 out of 5
The service was excellent, presentation and selection exceeded our expectations. In this second week aboard, we had more choices than we could take advantage of with the main difficulty being choosing between several dinner entrees and appetizers that were appealing.
Onboard Activities
5 out of 5
Entertainment
5 out of 5
Some of the stage shows were excellent others were just OK, but still enjoyable. The performers at the bars, the DJs, the welcome aboard and past passengers events were excellent.
Children's Programs
No children with us this cruise.
Service and Staff
5 out of 5
The service was excellent in so many areas. We expect excellent service in the MDR and for our Cabin; table waiter Terry, assistant waiter Ikadek, and our Cabin Steward Oriani exceeded our expectations. Other staff in the Windjammer and during open seating breakfast in the MDR, Alicia, Gelardyn, Millar, Chaundong all did things including smiles and great service that were special and made us feel that the cruise was designed for us. Another amazing service was delivered by the officers in the Windjammer on those peak busy times such as at-sea days and the return from port lunches; they used radios and coordinated with the bussing staff to move people to open tables, quickly and efficiently.
Ship Quality
5 out of 5
Freedom class is our favorite ship size and design. There are lots of great things about Radiance and Oasis class ships but Freedom of the Seas keeps us coming back. We also observed and inquired about the constant cleaning aboard the ship. It was very reassuring to see the non-stop effort in this area. Regardless of the ship's age or design, this was the cleanest of any ships we have experienced.
Cabin / Stateroom
5 out of 5
Excellent cabin, kept immaculately clean by our cabin steward Oriani. We had plenty of room, although we packed for 2 weeks, 4 formal nights, etc. We had unused storage spaces. We did bring a few space savers like hanging shoe compartments, but the cabin itself had a very comfortable size and layout.
Ship tip
Freedom sails out of San Juan which is clean and has staff that work hard but this cruise port is not very modern. For any ports like this we always pay a baggage handler to assist us through customs. The baggage handlers have shorter customs lines and the convenience is certainly worth as much as a couple of drinks on the cruise.
We stayed close to the cruise port with the expectation of picking up some gifts, relaxing with a nice local drink, at lower prices than on the ships, and listening to music. We found great prices and found some nice liquid gifts for family and friends.
St Thomas is recovering to the point were we did make a few purchases and enjoyed some of the local entertainment. We did not do any excursions though.
From departure area on the ship to port transfer podium in 18 minutes. 08:53 at the RCCL port transportation kiosk to the Airport where our receipt for coffee was time stamped at 09:21. From the beginning, our luggage tag indicated 08:30 for our time to arrive at the waiting area on the ship. We arrived at 08:35 and before we could find a seat, our number was called. We made our way to the exit scanning area almost without a stop. We walked the zig-zag and escalators to the luggage area, picked a baggage porter and got to the customs agent's desk at 08:45. We were at the RCCL pre-paid transfer podium at 8:49 and on the bus at 08:53. This could be 10 stars if the rating went that high, but, part of this good experience goes to the baggage porter who earned a very nice tip.
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