5 Ports in 5 Days! Are you out of your mind?
Freedom of the Seas Cruise Review to Caribbean - Southern
Contributor Level:
Purser
Cruises: 7+ cruises
Reviews: 2
Helpful Votes: 94
7 Night Southern Caribbean (San Juan Roundtrip)
Sail date: September 15, 2019
Ship: Freedom of the Seas
Cabin type: Balcony
Traveled as: Couple
Reviewed: 5 years ago
Review summary
We had a great time on this very busy, port intensive cruise.Embarkation
We had the Key so we arrived early. Embarkation was quick and easy. If you purchase the Key, disregard the time they tell you to check-in. Some Key members on our sailing missed the lunch because they showed up according to the time on their email and they missed some of the Key benefits.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
The service and food in the main dining room were the best we have ever had. Sabor had fresh food and exceptional service. Giovanni's Table was very good, we left very full. Chops was a disappointment. The seafood tower was not very fresh and all the items tasted relatively the same. The worst part was when the head waiter yelled at an employee directly in front of our table. The Wind(food)jammer for breakfast and lunch had the same items everyday. However, dinner had an excellent variety each night that followed a theme. I felt like the deserts in the buffet were some of the best we have ever had. Usually they look so much better than they taste. But it appeared the Windjammer on Freedom has improved recently.
Onboard Activities
We did the Flowrider, mini golf and a few other activities. They were organized and ran well. With such a port intensive itinerary, it was difficult to find time for the other activities.
Entertainment
We really enjoyed the ice show, Marquee and Once Upon a Time. The hypnotists show pretty good. The Celine Dion impersonator had a great voice but the personal videos and emotional "fluff" was way too much.
Children's Programs
No kids
Service and Staff
Service is top notch on this ship. Our room steward was great and very attentive. Dennis and his staff in the my time dining room were the best we have ever experienced. Guest services were so helpful. The only bad attitudes we experienced were in Chops and the Next Cruise desk.
Ship Quality
Freedom is a very efficient ship design. It is super easy to navigate. The ship was super clean, however, the refurbishment is needed and probably should have happened a little sooner.
Cabin / Stateroom
This is one of the best cabins on the ship. The balcony is huge, amazing and there are times that you can sun bathe right on the balcony. We had heard a few reports of noise from the door connecting to the family suite next to the cabin. We had no noise issues and felt like it was the best cabin we have had on any line. Deck 9 on the aft was super convenient to the dining areas.
Ports of call
I recommend eating authentic local cuisine at Metropol. The taxi's overcharged in most areas even though they follow the zone system.
Thumbs Up
4
Very easy to get a round. The water was the clearest for snorkeling of any of the islands. Honeymoon beach on water island is very under rated. Very easy and inexpensive to go there on your own.
Probably my least favorite stop of the "island marathon". The street vendors were pretty aggressive. The beaches don't really measure up to the other islands.
WOW! The beaches here are phenomenal. We did a Segway tour through fort James. It was a great experience. The shopping area has lots of pushy cab drivers trying to take you to one of their amazing beaches.
St Lucia is a beautiful island. However, if you travel to see the Pitons or mud bathes. Water taxi is the only way to go. Our friends went by land and got very car sick on the 90 minute drive. We had a great tour through sea spray. The water was a little cloudy for snorkeling. But we saw lots of beautiful fish.
The cab drivers at the port have a deal with the establishments on Carlisle Bay. They will be rude to you if you want to go to another beach. They tried to persuade us to go to go Carlisle Bay, after 20 minutes, they finally took us to Brandon's Beach. It was so peaceful and quite. In the afternoon we went on a snorkel charter with Barbados Blue. It was top notch and we saw many turtles. The shipwrecks were amazing to see.
Disembarkation
This was the biggest advantage of the Key. Within five minutes of leaving the main dining room, we were in a cab on the way to airport.. We went from the main dining room for lunch