The Most Amazing Caribbean Cruise
Freedom of the Seas Cruise Review to Caribbean - Southern
Contributor Level:
Second Mate
Cruises: 2-3 cruises
Review: 1
Helpful Votes: 54
7 Night Southern Caribbean (San Juan Roundtrip)
Sail date: April 21, 2019
Ship: Freedom of the Seas
Cabin type: Inside
Cabin number: 7295
Traveled as: Couple
Reviewed: 5 years ago
Review summary
Loved every minute of this cruise vacation. From the ship to the islands, the dining, the staff, entertainment, excursions... everything. I would do it again tomorrow!!Embarkation
Easy peasy. No issues no big lineups. We arrived mid-afternoon and went right through the embarkation process no problem.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
The food was outstanding! We ate at the Windjammer every morning for breakfast and the dining room for dinner. Lunches were mainly on the islands. We enjoyed both dining experiences and everything we ate was absolutely delicious and filling! Desserts in the main dining room... m-m-m. I’ll just say this, for me ‘Every day-Creme brûlée’ 🙌🏼
We really enjoyed pizza at Sorentos on the promenade. Never got tired of that whenever we needed a snack. Cafe promenade had great little sandwiches always available and pastries. Also loved getting a peppermint tea there at night!!
Onboard Activities
I climbed the Rock Wall a couple of time! It was super fun and a good challenge. I was a little nervous about the coming down part but the guy had me practice from a short distance up before I climbed to the top! Flowrider was awesome! Again they are super helpful in showing you what do and even giving tips and demonstration while I was riding! I was trying to get up on my knees and was struggling- but he showed me how and I got it!!
MininPutt was super fun. And the scenery up there on the boat while you play is just breathtaking!!
On our day at sea, my husband and I did Cha Cha lessons! It was a blast and the instructors were great with our group!!
Entertainment
We enjoyed the theatre production every night and were so impressed with their talents! They are super top notch performers!! We loved every show we watched. I think my favourite was the Broadway Mash-up one. But honestly they were all good. The guest entertainers were AWESOME! Re-Voiced were amazing! Would love to see them again!!
Children's Programs
My husband and I travelled with my parents. No children this trip.
Service and Staff
We were all blown away by how helpful, attentive and friendly all the staff are. We loved Jensen our cabin steward. So friendly and eager to help and answer any questions we ever had!! The waiters in the Windjammer were also amazing. I still can’t get over being SERVED coffee and beverages in a buffet! They were always there to top up your drinks and clear plates away! Just so attentive! And a gold star for our waiter and assistant waiter in the main Dining room. Oh my goodness they were just awesome! Alberto and Pablo. They should get 12/10 stars honestly. They were so friendly, attentive, quick to bring food and clear away mess. So smiley and happy- eager to chat with us and all round great guys! Couldn’t have asked for better!!
Ship Quality
No issues or complaints with the ship! It was impressive. Clean, liked the layout! Cabin was cosy. I would love to go on this ship again!!
Cabin / Stateroom
The cabin was very nice. Even though it was an interior one, we had a window that overlooked the Promenade and had a little couch to sit on right beside the window so it was great for people watching and also enjoying the entertainment that happened up on the bridge!! I also liked how the little bit of light I let through the curtains mimicked daylight 😊. The only issue I have is that space between the end of the bed and wall was a little tight to walk through. You definitely had to take turns going through that little space. Bed was comfy and very spacious for the 2 of us! I liked the adjustable height shower head! Worked great for me!!
Ship tip
Deck 7 was a nice mid level! We took the stairs a lot to get in some exercise during the week and found it handy being midway up the ship! Also there were cabins above and below us, so no extra noisy anything to keep us up.
Thumbs up
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Ports of call
I loved this island. We took an ATV & Beach Break tour with Pereira Tours! They were great. The drive out to the ARVs was a little ways so we got. Nice ‘island tour’ with our driver with all kinds of info about St Kitts. That in itself was great!! The ATV-ing was exciting and an adrenaline rush! We stopped at several spots for sightseeing and pictures. Got to ride through a few nice big mud puddles too!! So much fun and we had a good 2 hours on the ATVs!! There were drinks for free and for purchase back at the hutt on return and free wifi! After that we went to Frigate Bay Beach for a couple hours! Vibes beach bar was nice but the bartenders were overworked I think- my husband waited about 30 minute for a beer and then gave up😆 The beach was quite small but had some really cool
Black sand in parts!! We went to the far left near the little pier by the rocks and found a bit of snorkeling! The locals are so friendly! I had some nice little chats with some while swimming!! The water and beach was a little clearer and nicer to the right - we did take a little walk down. It was small but pretty. On our way back to the ship we stopped at Timothy Hill lookout where the Atlantic Ocean and Caribbean Sea meet. It’s breathtaking and you have to see it!!
This was a beach day for us and I was so stressed about which beach to visit - seeing that there are 365 to choose from. I did a lot of research but really didn’t know. When we got to port there were lots of taxi drivers with maps and pictures of all the different beaches. We settled on Valley Church Beach!! We were told it was beautiful and quieter than some of the others like Dickenson Bay. It was a nice little taxi ride over and absolutely beautiful!! He drove us right up to the entrance of The Nest beach club and had a guy right there for us to set us up with chairs and umbrella (for an extra cost). We went to the far right away from the main hub and noise and it was lovely. The water was gorgeous and warm. We really enjoyed our time shut gloating and swimming in the water and lounging in our chairs! We took a walk down to the other end. It was a nice little walk!
We did a full day island tour with Cosol Tours and it was amazing!! This island is absolutely gorgeous and I were highly recommend seeing as much of it as you can!! We visited a banana farm and ate a fresh banana, enjoyed breakfast of all local foods and fruit at a little mountainside building, took a water taxi to the Piton mountains and spent an hour swimming and snorkeling on sugar beach. Snorkeling there was AMAZING!!! Went to the volcano and watched it steam, took a hot sulphur mud bath at the volcano too! Visited a waterfall in the most beautiful rainforest setting and stood under it! Also stopped at a lookout for the perfect picture of the Piton peaks from afar!! It was breathtaking. The tour lasted our entire time at port and was so worth it. The only thing I would warn of- and I was surprised I hadn’t read any reviews on is the drive itself. We t was on some of the windiest, sharpest cornered roads I have ever experienced. It was almost like a roller coaster. If you get car-sickness at all I would not recommend this tour. The drive is quite long and the whole way is hilly and very windy. It was quite the ride!!
First off I was a little surprised at how long the walk from the ship to the cruise terminal was but when we actually walked it, it really was not that bad at all!! In fact it was enjoyable seeing the tugboats close up and the most beautiful clear blue waters!! There were busses that would drive you over if you preferred not to walk.
In the terminal and just outside the building there were some nice little shops & hutts with good quality T-shirts and hats and wraps and dresses! I wish I had spent a little more time here for souvenirs! Anyways our plan was to visit The Boatyard for the day mainly because I had read that your $25 admission included a snorkeling excursion to swim with sea turtles and visit a shipwreck. When I talked to the taxi driver he said that The boatyard was getting full and we shouldn’t go there. I just told him we wanted a beautiful beach that’s quieter and has good snorkeling with potential to see sea turtles. He suggested Payne’s Bay Beach so off we went. It was the most beautiful beach! We rented beach chairs and umbrellas and parked down the way where it was quieter. Absolutely gorgeous! Before long a guy approached me offering a snorkel excursion with sea turtles and stop at a shipwreck for $25! I was all in!! The waters were so warm and blue and clear! And yes- I did swim with the most beautiful we turtle! And saw so many amazing fish. The boat also had a really cool glass bottom section in the middle on the floor so we could see coral reef nd fish all the way there and back! Unlimited rum punch was included too!! It was the best $25 I have ever spent! It only got better. When I got back my husband and I went snorkeling just off shore and there was another sea turtle right there! We swam with him for 10 minutes- he didn’t mind us hanging out with him at all. And then we just swam a little further and to the right and there was incredible coral reefs there with all kinds of fantastic sea life!! The beach was really long and soft sand. We took a nice walk. Bathroom at the beach bar is $1 to use just FYI. Couldn’t have been happier with this beach stop! So glad we didn’t end up going to the Boatyard!!!!
St Maarten is a beautiful island- but did get hit the hardest by hurricane Irma. The view of Great Bay Beach from the top of the ship was stunning! We spent an hour before our excursion just soaking in the scenery!! We took a 2.5 hour Island tour by bus. It was a really nice tour and I am glad I got to see the island and learn the history- however it didn’t go exactly as planned and unfortunately it messed up our plan for the day. It was scheduled to leave at 9am which was perfect so we could come back, get lunch on the ship and then spend the rest of the day at the beach and shopping. Unfortunately our tour was rescheduled to 11am because there was a carnival going on and they were expecting things to clear by 11. We’ll that didn’t happen. We started out at 11 and sat in stand-still traffic for 1.5 hours before making my headway on our tour. By the time we arrived back we ended up with only 1 hour to spend at the beach. So it was a good tour, just the timing was disappointing and our beach time cut WAY short. St Maarten is a really interesting island though and I am glad I toured it. The people there are lovely and so grateful that we continue to visit. I was happy to buy souvenirs from there to help their economy. One last must-do is get a Guavaberry Colada!! Soooo refreshing and delicious! And lotsa rum!! A real treat! The booth is just in the middle of the cruise terminal.
Disembarkation
We chose the self-assist route and it was all good. We ate breakfast at the Windjammer first and then headed back to the roomTo pick up our luggage. There was quite a long lineup when we reached the meeting point at issac’s dining room but it moved really quickly. It only took minutes to disembark. Easy peasy.
Traveler Photos
