Freedom of the Seas Cruise Reviews - Reviews

I hope other passengers had a better experience.  Food was awful and dining room management did not understand or help to ensure that was food I could safely eat.  Except for room steward, Sonia, the rest of crew and staff was just plain rude and unpleasant.  Passengers rude, ran into staff and other passengers. I was pushed, bumped, knocked and shoved by the passengers.  Large ship but poorly designed, had to stand in line for everything. Stop having ice cream at six forcing passengers to buy ice cream from Ben and Jerry's, bars did not want to fill drink cups for drink packages. Music at pool area loud and awful, not enough chairs or activities. Played tennis or soccer on big screen the whole cruise.  No popcorn for movies at night on big screen.

Could not understand ship captain's announcements.

Very pleased with the service on board the Freedom Of The Seas. From our cabin attendant (Conroy) to our servers (Peter and Anthony). We elected My Time early seating and had table 145 the entire cruise. Table location was fantastic. Next to large window overlooking the sea. Shopping and sight seeing was great on the islands. Food was very good and servers made sure we didn't go away hungry.

We loved this cruise and the ports we stopped in. Food and service were excellent! Above excellent...

The only issues we found were that there were no lounge chairs available at the upper deck pools. Other guests were allowed saving chairs with towels early in the morning and absolutely nothing was available at 10:00 AM on! No lockers were available in the upper decks to store valuables. 

The deck staff were excellent and very attentive to our needs.

The only real disappointment was the entertainment. The shows were less than second rate. We get up early and go to sleep at ten and dancing is something we enjoy and you know there were few places to dance before 10:30 PM.

Again, we had a great trip and would sail with the Royal Caribbean again!

Many thanks to our cabin person, waitstaff and service folks throughout the ship.

we got on board the 3rd of April and the staff was ready to make your  cruise enjoyable. I really liked the heated pools and the shows. The ports that we visited coco cay-st Thomas and st martin. were something we will never forget!

We had the time of our lives! The ship was awesome! So much to do! The food was amazing! By far though, Chops was the best! Our room was clean and our cabin lady Estelle was OUTSTANDING! Always a beautiful cheery smile! Stacy at the MDR was always fun and welcoming! Only complaint, NEVER enough chairs by the pool! 

The room steward, Avionne was amazing.  The room was very comfortable, the beds (real beds, not glorified cots) were so much nicer than some of the other cruise lines.

 We were disappointed with the television shows on TV.  They must have been on a loop because it played the same shows over and over and over. I know that their thoughts were not to hang in the room, but during the evening time, we like to watch TV prior to bedtime, unfortunately that didn't happen.

I was impressed with the water pressure in our shower, nice and strong.

The gourmet restaurant, Giovanni's, was terrific, the waiters and the food were great.  The buffet could have been better, that was disappointing.  The food was warm at best.  Except for a few changes daily, the buffet carried the same things all week.

 All in all, we enjoyed the cruise, so much in fact, we booked another cruise while on the ship!

I have never gone a cruise before so I didn't realize how often I would feel like a lemming...herded around with literally thousands of people. So, I will try to be unbiased to the RC. I loved being on a ship, service was great, ship is very nice and clean as it can be, food in the Windjammer was very good, but the sweets were sub-par overall. What I found hard to take was the constant loud music everywhere on the ship. There was even music in the sauna! Music on the beaches, at the ports....maddening. My balcony was mostly quiet, I had good neighbors but the daily live music on the promenade deck leaked out every afternoon making reading on the balcony slightly annoying. Activities were cheesy, seminars in buying diamonds, no dance or exercise classes. The gym was very nice though. 

I would take another cruise but I would look for one that was less a constant party atmosphere.

Our first time cruising.  Very nice ship.  Staff was fabulous. We were with our 15 and 17 year old.  They liked the shows at night in the theater, but not the "teen" activities.  We expected the food to be higher quality. Overall, Royal Caribbean does an amazing job with so many people aboard!

Was a great time and would recommend it to anyone looking for a trip!  Worked with Gordon and he helped guide us through this process being new, would love to work with him again on future cruises.

Overall was good and ship was beautiful.  If you sailed Disney before and you have young children you may be disappointed.  Not as kid friendly.  Kids club does not stay open all day.  You also have to pay after 10p.m.  and this is when most of the adult activities begin.

Also, if you are not a gold member please know if you get to the cruise early for departure, you will have to wait quite a long time until all the gold members get on the ship.  I assume these are repeat clients.  But not a good experience for excited first timers.

Great family boat. It's basically the allure, just smaller and older. 

We really enjoyed the specialty dining. Missed the Asian restaurant

and the Central Park and the aqua theatre but other than that 

you get an amazing week long cruise. Loved the port at Port Canaveral. 

Easiest on and off out of 12 cruises! Would book again. My teens had a blast

as well. Lots of nighttime activities. 

This ship is amazing and the dedication to serving customers is evident.  We loved all the fun options of things to do and see.  My two teenagers found plenty of friends to hang out with and enjoyed all the nightly activities - we enjoyed having a curfew for them that was enforced by the ship so we didn't have to be the bad guys :).  Our dining room server was "above and beyond" and the selection of wonderful food went on and on...

Royal Caribbeans Freedom of the Seas can't be faulted.

If you take the time to talk to the staff, they will go overboard to assist you. The bar staff made us special drinks everyday with whatever type of liquor we wanted (and blended well).

The food was very good, available at all hours of the day and night.

The only disappointment was the "chair hogs", those people that literally got up at 0530, took chairs and rarely returned to them and we're always situated in the best areas. I sat next to a few of these "hogs" and felt bad for people who thought they were available, there is a notice about not keeping vacant seats that are empty for thirty or more minutes, but it is not enforced.

Entertainment on board was decent. Two of the shows were pretty hopeless, not amusing and the head singer in one show was bad, so much so, a large portion of the audience left.

The ice show was fabulous.

The evening entertainment for adults was total fun and audience participation makes the show.

waiting to disembark needs better organization. We waited close o an hour later than our scheduled departure time and then waited in Customs for not her 45 minutes. There were only 5 customs officers for over 3800 pax.

The stops in port were long enough and enjoyed them. One thing about Labadee, their private area in Haiti. None f the locals smiled and they expect monetary handouts. This location is a major money maker for RC and we will avoid this in the future.

We had an opportunity to eat with the Captain and Head of Security one night and it was fabulous, this opportunity was available because we talked to the staff and they are the ones who "suggest" dinner guests.

The kids love the Dreamworks characters and flock to have their pictures taken.

The Cruise Director, John, mentioned that they have 70 nationalities working on RC and there is obvious harmony and no ill will noticed on board.  This comment makes us realize they we can make this happen in our everyday lives.

All in all, we booked another cruise on a smaller ship for next year.

From the moment you step on the ship, you will feel welcome. The staff goes out of their way to provide friendly, professional service. The ship is kept impeccably clean and all public areas are welcoming. The schedule of activities meets the needs of every family member. The only complaint I have is the smoke one must breathe to participate in the casino games. Smoking has been proven to cause cancer yet, Royal Caribbean puts smokers rights above all other passengers rights to clean air! 

I was exceptionally surprised by how great the staff was, and of course the food was awesome! We never worried about the kids going for ice cream or hot chocolate on their own.  The sanitizing stations made me very comfortable and the different dining options were a plus.

Over all great experience.  Internet cost way too much should have been free because it was agonizingly slow and kept kicking me off.  One of the staff told me they were upgrading soon.  Most staff were awesome, guest services not so much.  Shore excursions were excellent, only did one with the ship. Did the Helmet dive in Cozumel.  My 16 year old son loved it! I think because he has not snorkeled before and he could keep his head dry. I would prefer snorkeling as I thought it was mostly about the pictures they wanted to sell you and had limited area to view with very little to look at.  Does not give the "2nd most beautiful dive site in the world" justice. Others: we used Dexter Catamaran tours for sting rays in Grand Cayman, absolutely the best! not crowded like the ship tour.  Used Braco tours in Jamaica for tubing down the Bueno River. Also excellent!   Labadee island was relaxing and we enjoyed walking around. People very pushy to sell you things except in the building at the front.

We went on this ship in Nov. 2007.  It has changed.  Food was good but not like the 5-7 course meals before.  Before when at the pool you had people come by and ask if you wanted a drink etc.  Never had anyone come by this time.  Nice trip but not cruises fault we all came down with head colds.  Waves made it so we could not visit Coco Cay and striking merchants on St. Maarten made it so that we could not do our submarine tour that the kids were looking forward to so a big disappointment for them.

This was our 4th cruise, 2nd with Royal Carribean. Overall, we were very pleased with our cruise experience. 

Boarding and port experience went as smoothly as could be expected.  Our room was ready when we arrived.  Luggage arrived later in the afternoon.  First evening was wonderful, arrived in Coco Cay the next day but were informed that the winds and sea were a bit too rough for us to go ashore.  Disappointed about that but knew that that was a possibility.  Winds worsened and seas were very rough.  Captain kept us informed very well as we headed on to St. Thomas.  Days in port at St. Thomas and St. Martin were great.  Shore excursions through RC were great.  Upon leaving St. Martin, seas were again super rough.  45 mph winds.  Again the captain kept us well informed and thankfully we had no issues such as motion sickness.  Two sea days turned out beautifully.  Winds calmed and it was smooth sailing from then on. 

The ship is beautiful.  Really loved the promenade and enjoyed just sitting and snacking in the café and Sorrentos pizza several times.  Shows were wonderful each night.  Enjoyed the game shows and things in the Star Lounge as well.  Dining was great, no complaints about the food.  We had My Time dining and that was a bit of a challenge at times.  I had thought we could go anytime, but that is not the case at all.  That was my only complaint.  Overall, dining was ok and what we expected. 

We had a great time celebrating our 20th anniversary on this cruise and would definitely recommend.

Highlights - Outstanding Ice Skating Show, Evening Broadway Review, Wave Rider and huge fitness center. Majority of crew members were friendly and helpful. One disappointment - very crowded walking path due to the number of chaise lounges on that same deck.

First time on RCC, I think Freedom of the Seas fares worse than all the ships we have been on in almost all aspects. Particularly, Windjammer food quality and variety are below average with Jade Asian fairs almost non-existent. A rope was used in the middle of the buffet to block the access from both sides, first of such scene ever encountered. Unlimited Internet by the day or days is the only option but the connection was so bad that sometimes it simply wouldn't load the login page. We purchased 6 day package but it's only useful for about an hour per day, not worth the money at all. The stateroom lacks the basic amenities of even a motel, there's no glasses, ice bucket, lotion etc, no sanitary bag unless you ask for it. We forgot to pack toothpaste, the guest service simply told us to buy it at the store although other cruise lines usually provide it in staterooms. Our luggage wasn't delivered until we asked and were told to pick it up because they wanted to  check the contents thoroughly for alcohol. They found nothing but a bottle of wine which is allowed. We were among a long line of guests there to pick up luggages, totally unpleasant experience we never had with other cruise lines.