I realize that this was our first cruise and I am not an expert. However, we have traveled a lot in general and I hope people with be nice when leaving comments. We really enjoyed our cruise and the ports and had a wonderful trip for our 16 year anniversary and my friends wedding.
Embarkation
5 out of 5
We got to the pier around by 11 am and we were on the ship by 11:45. There were lots of porters, employers, and security helping us find our way.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
4 out of 5
The MDR food was great. I tried new things like escargot and duck (I didn't like the duck). The seafood crab cake appietizer was my favorite! Everything I had was really good. My husband ordered lamb twice and both times the lamb was a little too fatty, but otherwise really good. All the deserts were good except for the souffle, that was way too eggy. Everyone that ordered it took one bite and pushed it back. That was the only real downer in the MDR. Our waiters were so amazing, Alifton and Iswarduth. So professional and on top of the game. The Windjammer was okay. They serve the exact same things all week. The chicken sausage links at breakfast were our favorite. I also loved the Mango and Strawberry Kiwi flavored water. We had an AMAZING dinner at Giovanni's Table. We took advantage of the free continental breakfast room service 4 times and loved it!
Sorrentos Pizza
5 out of 5
Maybe it was the drinks, but the pizza was really good and hit the spot.
Sky Bar
5 out of 5
Nice views
Olive or Twist
5 out of 5
Great views!!
Windjammer Marketplace
4 out of 5
Some variety would be nice but otherwise it did the job.
Pool Bar
5 out of 5
Convenient and easy.
Main Dining Rooms (Galileo, Isaac & Leonardo)
5 out of 5
Pretty set up and great service. Food could be a little iffy but the waiters make it right.
Café Promenade
5 out of 5
Really cool and fun area.
Onboard Activities
5 out of 5
We spent the majority of our pool time in the Solarium and it was heavenly. Just a heads up, they were enforcing the 16 or older rule. The hot tubs were so cool! My husband played in an adult 5 v 5 basketball tournament during the second sea day. There always seemed to be something going on as far as activities go but we chose to mostly relax so we didn't participate in much.
Skylight Chapel
5 out of 5
Small but pretty. Super hot!
General Store
4 out of 5
The one thing I didn't remember to pack I ended up needing and that was tums. $5 for two tiny packs. But hey, at least they had them!
Swimming Pools
4 out of 5
Way too small for the size of the ship. But well maintained and refreshing.
Entertainment
We didn't participate in any shows.
Library
5 out of 5
I love books and libraries so I thought this was super cool.
Promenade
5 out of 5
Cool and fun.
Children's Programs
Did not travel with our kids
Service and Staff
5 out of 5
Alifton and Iswarduth in the MDR are the best! Adeesh and Roberta at R Bar rocked it out! Jensen was our room steward and he is very very good! We had 4 towel animals and our friends were jealous because they didn't get that many.
Ship Quality
4 out of 5
Overall the ship is great. It does need a little freshening up but I have heard that Freedom is scheduled for a dry dock with updates soon.
Cabin / Stateroom
5 out of 5
As this was our first cruise we don't have anything to compare our room too cruise wise. But we were happy with the size of our room. It was a Promenade Room and worked well for the two of us. We had several hangers in our closet and so much storage space. Our cabin was clean and Jensen did a great job all week. There is some minor mold/mildew issues in the shower but nothing that ruined our trip.
We LOVED San Juan. The beaches are amazing! We stayed in two different parts of the island, one in Carolina/Isla Verde and one in Condado. The people were nice and we would love to go back.
We opted to stay on the ship due to budget issues. We had planned on going to a beach or the Hilton for the day but my husband is a federal employee and we needed to skip this port. (Everything else was paid for).
We did a Catamaran Sail and Snorkel with Aruba Water Sports and it was THE BEST! So much fun. I loved the second snorkel sight. I saw thousands (not exaggerating) of fish! The water was crystal clear and beautiful! Our captain and his helpers were fun and informative and kept the rum punch flowing. It was super good! They had fresh fruit and chicken and tuna wraps that were super yummy. There was a slightly long line to get a taxi at the pier into town and it took quite sometime to track down a taxi on our way back. So plan for that. I'd say maybe 20 to 30 minuets extra each way.
Another port we LOVED! I scheduled a private driver to pick us up at the pier and take us to our excursion and then he piked us up and brought us back to the pier at the end of the day. His name is Bobby and he is with Island Escape Taxi and Tours. He was on time and had a nice clean vehicle. It was a Honda Pilot or something similar. We had day passes to the St. Kitts Marriott through Resort for a Day. The property is amazingly beautiful and everyone was so friendly and helpful. The beach is on the Atlantic side but still had crystal clear water. They are having a bit of a sea weed problem but it didn't bother us as we spent our time at the pool. Awesome swim up bar and a few different pools. The drinks were strong and good! We did not order any food but it smelled and looked great.
This was the port we were looking forward to the most and ended up being disappointed. The taxi service at the pier is chaotic and the drivers were grumpy and complaining about each other. We went to Sapphire Beach which was nice but we didn't find the staff or people to be as friendly as other ports. The snorkeling wasn't great. We had some really good drinks and the guy that rents out the chairs was super laid back and set up our chairs for us and took care of them when we were done. The bartenders were rude but the two waiters that were walking around the beach taking orders were the nicest people we met in St. Thomas. I would love to go back and give this port another try.
We missed our disembarkation time and due to that we were slightly confused as to how to actually get off the ship. But there was plenty of staff around to help us. We waited in a very short line for customs and we were out. Our bags were right where we expected them to be. The line for taxi's was long but it moved quickly.
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