Freedom of the Seas Cruise Reviews - Reviews

Love Royal Caribbean but things seem to be changing. Most of the staff seemed sad and fought amongst themselves. I could sense a lot of tension. With that being said this was my second time in this ship with this itinerary. Great ship. Always a lot going on. 

This was our 6th cruise with RCI and although we still love cruising with them they are starting to slip on certain issues.

With gratuities being automatically debited to your onboard account, some ship staff are not giving the same high standard of service as before when they relied on your discretion as to how much to tip.

The evening entertainment schedule was very unfriendly for the second sitting dinner at 8pm. A few events were impossible to get to especially on a couple of nights when the dining room service was very slow.

Good food but service effected by the gratuity issue mentioned above.

LAST BUT NOT LEAST is the continued overcharging of internet service. The signal on the ship was so weak I couldn't conduct business which I have to do while on vacation. The best signal I got on the entire cruise was off the ship in a local bar in St Thomas AND IT WAS FREE !!!!!!!!!

With the amount of profit that the cruise lines are making it's about time that WiFi was free especially for poor service.

In September we went on a carnival cruise and it was such an amazing experience that we decided to go on a Feb cruise also. We decided to try out Royal after hearing from people. To be honest we found that it did not even compare. There were some things we liked about Royal (less partiers, no salt water pools, bigger pools) but there were far more cons (technical difficulties with elevators being slow, doors not opening or opening extremely slow, room wasn't as nice, screws falling out of the door, food was a step down (weird I know, goes against everything I read, dinner menu was not nearly as great) just led to a ok experience. We had a blast at the ports which redeemed the vacation but the first day at sea was so rocky (winds at 60 mph) and the last day was so cold that we couldn't be outside as much as we wanted (I know this is something that Royal has no control over). But I think if we never cruised before we would have loved it, we just were let down after hearing the hype and comparing it to the carnival valor last year. Hope this helps someone. Remember my thoughts and your thoughts may be different. Cruise satisfaction highly depends on what you enjoy doing. My wife and I do not drink or party, we like to enjoy the sun and relax.

Overall the cruise was very good.  There were some issues getting proper seating for dinner because the cruise was sold out but it was finally resolved on day 2.  There was a special private musical group on board that seemed to take up most of the activities, leaving those without access to their shows with little to do.

This cruise was one of our most unforgettable trips.  We have taken over 27.

The time from getting into line for registration and onto the ship was less than ten

minutes.  The time leaving upon arriving home port and getting to our transportation was less than ten minutes.  Wonderful.

The crew was fantastic.  So nice and helpful.

The food was great.

Most of all, the entertainment was tops..and I mean tops.

Our cabin was clean, with plenty of room.  Our cabin steward was helpful and friendly.

The stops were perfect.  One had a little more walking, but so much to do and see.

This was a wonderful trip.    Lynn

Didn't feel there was enough staff.  Dirty dishes were not actively being removed from tables in Sorrento's Pizza, Cafe Promenade & buffet.  Felt funny just leaving our dirty dishes on the table when there were other people looking for an empty table. Cabin steward cleaning carts w/clean towels & sheets and vacuum cleaners left in hallway most of the week.  We had it right outside our cabin door.  No food available outside by pool.  Have to go downstairs to Deck 5 for pizza or sandwich or through the inside buffet.  This was 7th cruise and 1st on Royal Caribbean.  We're going back to Carnival.  Better service and layout of ships much better.

We had a great time on our recent cruise.  Our waiter at the restaurant was amazing and so attentive; especially with our small children.  Our server Siddhesh Mhatre would cut their food, showed them magic tricks and really made our dinner time fun! We had a pretty late dinner slot so it really made all the difference for us having such a great server!

Had a very good time.  Cabin attendant, Javier, was exceptional.  The dinning room staff was great- Ronnie and Hemsley.  Ship was well maintained and everyone really worked hard.

It was 7 days of heaven in the Caribbean.  Although the weather wasn't always

cooperative, The cruise made up for it.  This is a great ship with lots of opportunities.  Highlights were the fantastic shows,  the yummy meals, the

friendly staff and the professional approach to cruise life.  The Freedom is

a great ship and don't miss the Ice Show!!!!!!

The cruise was great we had lots of fun lookent eing forward to another one soon the crew members were great food was excellent everything was made to order the rooms were good overall everything was great it was a smooth sailing

The ship was clean but needed some updating. The food in the windjammer good and dinner service was great. The carpeting in the windjammer was repaired while we were on the ship. 

Staff was top notch, room clean and maintained, excellent food service, relaxing and fun. Excursions were fun and well organized. Weather good despite last couple days it rained. Booked ready for 2017.

i found the staff to be very pleasant and the entertainment very good. They had a wonderful nursery and child care program. The food however was horrendous and the speciality restaurants limited and lousy. Everyone in our cabin ended up sick and vomiting for 1-2 days. Also, drink packages and everything else is too overpriced compared to other cruise lines. I won't travel on RC again.

Pat and I were very dissipointed in the lack of tv programs, actually nothing for adults @ night when we like to go to sleep with something good on.

Had a very rude officer @ the main desk, kept calling me a liar over two different issues.

did like the speed of disembarking when we carried our own luggage.

Waiter and assistant were great (table 129)

cabin attendant also great state room # 8224

Line Dancing classes did NOT have adequate floor space, had double the people to fit the floor.

gentleman giving the talk on detox did not have enough seats, several standing and propping.

Food was all good.

too many events going on on deck 5 for the # of passengers on board.

started out really impressed  but it went downhill over several smaller things.  If you get the soft drink package only there are machines on deck 5 and deck 11 ONLY.  No big deal but the ones on 5 were broke most of the time.  Watch out for any food (like the Tortuga rum cakes) in their ship store.  When we opened them up they had expired in May of 2013!  The main dinning food was okay but the buffet on deck 11 beat it almost every day.  They do really try to bleed you on (I suspect) all cruises.  120 bucks to park!  An ATM machine that would only give you 50 bucks at a time no matter what your balance was (6.50 per transaction so I don't think this was an accident)

The line went to adding 18% on each and every transaction. Well the boys from Jamaica know this and are in NO hurry to help you, smile at you, or even converse with you. Bad idea RCCL!!!

Pool bar service, you know the guys going around yelling "coco loco", and would

bring you a beer.........GONE!! Well not really gone, just standing up by the Skybar with their trays in their hands BS'ing with each other. 4 at a time....just standing there!! NOT ONCE IN 7 DAYS DID I HAVE SOMEONE ASK ME IF I WANTED A DRINK!!! Again I attribute this to the mandatory tipping at the bar.

The room steward could not have been better

The food was much much improved from the last time we were on this ship.

I wish NCL would give me the status I have on Royal, I would love to try them again.

We have really liked Royal Caribbean in the past. This trip did not measure up. The staff seemed tired and low energy. The dining room and food in general was average at best. The maitre 'd in our dining room was inept. Our cabin steward was okay. Our one meal at Chops Grillr was excellent. 

We will try other cruise lines before returning to RCCL - if we ever return. 

It appears that the service on Freedom of the Seas has gone south a bit.

We arrived and got on fairly quickly. We got a room on the 6th floor which faced the Promenade. We were assured we would not hear anything in the room - Not so! When the speakers are on for events, they hang right outside the room and the room seemed to bounce. On Thursday, the housekeeper "forgot" to come into our room at all - no clean towels, no bed made - nothing. I called Housekeeping and they sent up towels! The next afternoon, the attendant showed up to apologize but damage had already been done. Housekeepers fill the halls in the day time, chatting amongst themselves and it is difficult to walk down the already narrow corridors. 

Needless to say, we will never step foot on this ship again. Apparently when a ship gets older than brand new, service declines and no one really cares. 

My wife and I very much enjoyed our cruise on the Freedom of the Seas to St. Thomas and St. Maarten!  CrusiesOnly and their staff was wonderful to work with!  They did everything and all we really needed to do was show up aside from the online requirements to complete the required paperwork to board the ship.

I would highly recommend if you are looking to book a cruise.  Of all the cruises we have been on, this was by far the easiest one for embarking and disembarking!  Thanks !

Second time cruising on the Freedom of the Seas; first trip was 7 years ago on this approximately 4000 passenger ship.  Having lived in Florida for 30+ years the forty something temperatures driving to the port made the prospect of a Caribbean cruise even more enticing.  I'm sure  those traveling from more snow laden areas felt that much more! Fortunately many wisely got out before the blizzard hit in the east. 

The first stop at in the Bahamas at Coco Cay was a little cooler then previous felt but pleasant and partly sunny a beach barbecue is included.   At Charlotte Amalie, St Thomas VI, we opted to take a taxi for $10/pp each way to the port of Red Hook and took the ferry to St John $7/pp.  This is one beautiful island, took a taxi tour with most of the time spent viewing and stopping at some of the many beaches.  Many stunning views from differing heights.  Before returning on the ferry we stopped at a friendly, mostly outdoor pub, Cruise Bay Landing enjoyed a snack with the local beer.  Phillipsburg St Maartin, our final stop great as always for shopping though at times we've walked off the ship to the beach area where you can rent a chaise lounge, umbrella and use of a bathroom.  The prices dropping the farther you walk from the port. 

RCL maintains the Freedom of the Seas well,  our stateroom attendant Dennis kept the stateroom clean and responded to any requests efficiently.  The food on the MDR for lunch and dinner was very good, at the lunch chopped salads were great. The service provided at table 62 in the Galileo room could not have been better.  We ate there 2 nights. The service for breakfast was slow and understaffed. The Windjammer buffet  provided many varieties of

food  we ate there for breakfast and some lunches.  For breakfast lovers you can get omelets prepared your way and they constantly make fried eggs so they are hot when you sit down to eat.  The cafes on the promenade deck were open 24hours, good for a grab and go sandwich, pizza or breakfast sweet.  The pizza crust has improved over the years especially if you get a slice from one freshly made.

Normally we don't eat at the specialty restaurants but friends traveling with us were going so we ate at Chops, Giovannis and Sabor (kind of upscale Mexican).  They were all great with excellent service.  It was disappointing to see that Chops has an up charge for Lobster and Porterhouse steaks.  Sabor's $25/pp charge includes freshly made at the table guacamole and warm crisp chips and salsa.  At all restaurants there is plenty of food to enjoy. 

Entertainment from musical production shows, ice skating shows, comedians, piano bar with star themed nights, Latin dance at the Boleros lounge and other types of dance and listening music available until late throughout the ship. 

Activities during the day include jewelry making sometimes free sometimes a charge, wine tasting, cooking shows, some for a charge but including a meal, scrapbooking, line dance and other dance classes.  No enrichment lectures like I've heard on other ships. 

The bartenders in the Schooner bar were both friendly and talented with magic trips, drawing etc and the drinks were good too! 

This ship provides plenty of activities for people of all ages and that's what typical of RCL.  Happy Cruising!