The Southern Caribbean cruise is fun, but port-intensive. 5 ports days and 1 sea day. Just something to consider, depending your preference.
Embarkation
5 out of 5
Embarkation for us was smooth and fast. We arrived at the terminal around 3:30pm. The taxi dropped us off near were passengers enter the terminal so we were a little confused where to drop our luggage, but wasn't a big deal. After entering the terminal, we were on the ship in 10 minutes. I'm sure the terminal is more crowded earlier in the afternoon, but we wanted more time to explore San Juan.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
4 out of 5
Food was good overall. We didn't do any specialty dining. Had dinner in the main dining room 3 times and was excellent. Also did 1 lunch and 1 breakfast there, both very good. Did most breakfasts in the Windjammer. It is what it is. Lots of choices, decent food, and obviously you won't leave still hungry. Also did Johnny Rockets once, which is a very good burger.
Onboard Activities
4 out of 5
Lots of activities, but we didn't do too much due to so many excursions. My wife got a massage in the spa, and we hung out at the solarium pool area on the 1 sea day. Not news for any veteran cruiser, but lounge chair saving is still very prevalent. Even at 7am on the sea day, almost every chair was saved with towels, flip flops, etc. I know the cruise lines say you can't do this, but they do nothing to stop it. There were some activities we wanted to do, but just ran out of time.
Entertainment
4 out of 5
We attended shows and events about half of the time. Most of what we went to was great. Loved all of the game shows. We also enjoyed to Once Upon a Time show in the big theater. While my wife was getting a massage in the spa, I went to the Schooner Bar where they were doing afternoon trivia. It laid back and fun. A nice place to have a few drinks and relax.
Service and Staff
5 out of 5
We had awesome wait staff at the main dining room. The staff in the Windjammer seem to work hard. Especially the Windjammer coffee servers. We thought it was funny that they have to wear big 'coffee service's hats as the walk around. One of they guys seems disappointed if we didn't want any coffee. Also loved the guy at the entrance of the Windjammer telling people to wash their hands, singing and playing the guitar. I think the same guy was there every breakfast, lunch and dinner. 'What's your job? I ask people to wash their hands. Oh yeah? What else do you do. Nothing, that's it.' But he had a great attitude and is instrumental stopping the spread of germs. My hat's off to him.
Ship Quality
5 out of 5
The ship is beautiful and was very clean. It is showing its age, but that's to be expected. Will love to see it after next year's upgrades.
Cabin / Stateroom
4 out of 5
We staying in Junior Suite 9354. I think it's a good location. Quiet and close to the aft elevators on the starboard/right side. Room was clean, but the glass panels on the balcony were filthy. Also some peeling paint and rust spots, which I assume are common to many of the cabins, but will hopefully be addressed during the refit next year. Our steward was nice, but we didn't have any of the breakfast room service door hanging cards in our cabin. I didn't think about these until day 3 when I saw some hanging on other doors. I asked our steward and he brought some. Not a big deal, but we should have had them in our cabin on day 1.
Ship tip
The Southern Caribbean cruise is very port-intensive. 5 port days and then 1 sea day. Not a bad thing but just something to consider because if you do excursions at every stop, it can be tiring. But this is a personal preference... some people love ports... some love sea days.
Beautiful island. Did the volcano mud / hot springs excursion. It was fun, but long. A 2 hr bus ride to the volcano area, but beautiful scenery. Buses stop at the halfway point for a bathroom break at a small village. Locals have souvenir stands set up. Inexpensive prices, but bring some cash. The volcano mud place was cool, but very crowded. Only about 40 minutes there so we felt rushed. On the 2 he drive back, stopped at a restaurant for lunch.
We did some shopping at the port area and then back on the ship.
Island was beautiful, but looked poor. We did the Rail and Sail excursion. The catamaran had some engine problems towards the end. Then after waiting at the train stop for an hour, we were informed the train had problems and was stopped. They canceled the rest of the excursion and bussed us back to the port. RC did refund everyone. Port shopping was good and a cool bar in the middle of the shopping area.
Barbados was our favorite port. Didn't see much of the island, but did the Tiami catamaran and turtle excursion. Highly recommend this excursion. Nice catamaran and great crew. Had coffee and pastries when we got on. Also a good buffet lunch on the boat, and good drinks.. soft drinks, rum punch and other rum drinks, and beer. You won't leave thirsty. Snorkeling with the sea turtles was awesome and stopped at a nice beach for awhile.
We did the Safari 4x4 off-road adventure excursion. Would not recommend this. There was nothing 'off-road' about it. Basically an island tour in the back of a truck. We did stop at a nice beach for awhile. Also just some shopping at the port area. We did talk to some folks who did other excursions and they had a blast. The island looked poor, but we'd like to go back to explore more.
We loved San Juan. We arrived the day before the cruise but would have liked more time to explore. Did the Bacardi distillery historical tour, which was great and very inexpensive...$15 per person. Also explored Old San Juan and the old forts. Beautiful city.
We did the BOSS underwater scooter excursion. This was really fun and some great snorkeling. Would recommend to anyone. Just did a little shopping at the port area. Would love to explore more of the island next time.
Disembarkation went smooth. The only issue was one of the advertised waiting areas was the Arcadia Theater, but they had it shut down for cleaning. But we were able to wait in the Schooner Bar, which was much more comfortable. We were in one of last groups to leave the ship. Once in the terminal, we quickly got out luggage. Long lines to go through customs, but it went quickly and got a taxi within a few minutes for the trip to the airport.
Glad you enjoyed the cruise. Actually it is a very nice compliment to the ship and crew that sea days have great appeal. Since we have been to most of the Caribbean ports multiple times, a port day means we have more of the ship to ourselves and just a few of our cruising companions, and a leisurely crowd free brunch in the Windjammer. Freedom of the Seas is still our favorite ship although we have enjoyed and would happily repeat cruise on any RCCL ship we have experienced so far.
Thanks for this review! We also sailed this itinerary as our first cruise. One of our favorite staff members was the Windjammer greeter, too! We are trying a balanced itinerary in 2 weeks. We’ll see which we like best. :)
I learned after my first Southern Caribbean cruise that I prefer a balanced itinerary. I was very tired from the ports overall, although we didn't have an excursion at every port, and only one sea day. Thanks for your review and glad that you enjoyed your vacation.
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