We would definitely do this itinerary again. It would be nice if the Royal Caribbean app worked on this ship, but I think that may be added during the drydock renovation next year.
Embarkation
3 out of 5
The lines for embarkation at the Pan American pier in San Juan were the longest/slowest that I have ever encountered. Their process seems outdated as they were unable to use the electronic set-sail pass on the Royal Caribbean app on our phones. After waiting in a long line we were redirected to another line to fill out an additional form. The whole process took well over an hour. This is much longer than we have encountered in ports in Florida. That said, the later sailing time meant we weren't stressed about getting on board before a certain time.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
4 out of 5
Food on the most part was pretty good. Some hits and some misses. We did not eat in specialty restaurants this time (been there, done that).
Onboard Activities
5 out of 5
We always found something to do, and won some prizes in the trivia and scavenger hunt contests. The bottomless champagne brunch was a great way to enjoy one of our sea days!
Entertainment
4 out of 5
The production shows in the theater and the ice skating show were all excellent. We saw two comedians, one of which was just awful.
Service and Staff
5 out of 5
Excellent service on par with what we have come to expect from Royal Caribbean.
Ship Quality
5 out of 5
Freedom is my favorite ship to date. The ship is very spacious and very rarely did it feel crowded at all. I know it is going into drydock soon, so I can only imagine it will be even better.
Cabin / Stateroom
5 out of 5
The deck 12 cabins are awesome! These are the highest balconies on the ship and offer quick and easy access to the activities on deck.
We flew into Puerto Rico a few days before the cruise to see the island. We toured on our own to the rain forest, and bought kayak, diving, cave tubing, and zip line tours independently. We stayed in old San Juan the night before at an AirBnB and this was very convenient.
Diving excursion here was amazing! We also did a land excursion which was ok. The aloe vera factory was interesting, but basically a huge sales pitch for their gift shop.
We had booked an independent all-day tour which ended up getting canceled due to a van breakdown. The company offered us a free afternoon jeep excursion as compensation, and we found a cheap $15 morning tour in downtown Willemstad, so we actually saved money. The downtown area is very charming and beautiful with the obvious Dutch influenced architecture.
We scuba dive, and the reef diving here is amazing! We completed our Advanced Open Water certification through the ship's PADI dive shop and had a great instructor, Marcella.
We decided again to scuba dive and had a great excursion though the ship. After that, we walked though the port area and found a $25 two hour tour of the island.
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