Freedom of the Seas Cruise Reviews - Reviews

This was only our 5th cruise, the 1st with Royal Caribbean and it was magnificent. The ship is in excellent shape and the crew brought a new meaning to the phrase - 'spoil the passengers'. Throughout the the week we were kept fully informed of everything they had to offer as far as services and entertainment, which was all, top notch. Excellent food and every member of the crew made you feel like they were excited for us to be on board. Boarding on and off the ship was easy. We will never forget our voyage and look forward to the next. Thanks - scottknox.artstorefronts.com

This is the first real vacation my boyfriend and I have had in five years of being together and it was completely magical! It was a chance to slow down and enjoy the little things like good meals, good drinks and a chance to sleep in! We both work a lot and I am getting my MA right now, so getting a chance to be together, have fun, play dress up and see some foreign places was great! I'm usually the type to stay in hostels and cook for myself when I travel but it was so nice to have someone else take care of it. Have our own private room, and a chance to embrace la dolce vita!

We had a fabulous time about the Royal Caribbean Freedom of the Seas. Food was great. Service was fantastic. We have absolutely no complaints about our cruise.

Dinners in the early seating dining room were so bad we could not eat them. Learned that most entrees are sent to the ship precooked and frozen.!!

Desserts were skimpy and not the same flavor as the named item we ordered.

First night we sat at the table for 20 minutes waiting for our orders to be taken. Meantime, the table next to us which was empty when we sat down, had the same wait staff and they were waited on promptly and finished far before we did!  I corrected that with the officer in charge of deck three dining. We got better service for the rest of the cruise but not better food!

We had rude service at customer service desk with lots of back talk and feeble excuses constantly. A few of the male staff were more pleasant. There were constantly wrong charges on our bill to have to correct!

We could not use our two days of free internet as it was not working and could not get help from that staff to get us on.  We find that they assist younger passengers much quicker and longer than us.

The cabin stewarts were exceptionally good.  We had Courtland who took care of our every need with a smile on his face.  He would always greet us and have our cabin spotless every time we returned to it.

The first night we did not receive our garment baggage until 9:30!  They had an inspection sticker on it saying they opened it to inspect it because it was suspicious.  It only had our dress clothes on hangers in it and shoes.

We were told they would not open it without notifying us to be present when they did it???  But they did anyway.

Crown and Anchor did not acknowledge that we were already diamond members from a previous cruise and sent a certificate and a diamond pin each to our rooms again this time.  I feel we did not get the treatment we should have as "already" members.

Our daughter and son in law received emerald pins from them even though this was their first cruise on RCCL and we were getting a reward for bringing

them with us!

Debarking was an ordeal this time.  CandA were seated in the 5th floor dining room but had t o walk down several ramps and the whole distance of the ship to enter customs at the front of the ship.  I walk with a cane as does my husband after his back surgery and we were totally ignored in this process. We then had to drag two heavy bags behind us through at lease 10 long rows of passengers walking because we were not flying out, but getting a shuttle bus.

I was so tired I could not breathe by the time we got to the customs desk.  Noone would help us who worked there  when we asked for it.

At customs counter #14 we had a mr. Castro who was rude and ugly to us

and demanding and basically calling us liars.  We have never encountered this before as most all agents are nice.  

The Captain was not available for us to talk to at the diamond reception so we did not get a picture with him on this cruise.  A first for us in 15 cruises!

There was not a priority line for anything for Diamond members.  Also, we have asked repeatedly for cabin upgrades and have never gotten one.

Yet we talk to others at the dinner table who have gotten the honor.

My cruise this year was just as awesome as last year. Lots of fun and togetherness with family.  Dining was excellent. staff were just as professional as last year. Love this boat. Booked onboard for next year!!!

This was my 4th cruise and my partners 1st.   Experiencing it through his eyes  was a great experience and I found him on our 2nd night looking into a future cruise.  Quite surprising as it has taken nearly 10 years to get him to agree to take one.  The staff was generally exceptional, especially our room attendant.  We found the service in Johnny Rocket's to be "Less than Perfect", but each of the other speciality restaurant to be exceptional!  Especially Sabor, which we visited twice on our cruise.  Wifi was ok.  Inconsistent at times, slow and expensive, but nice to have overall.  Due to weather, we were not able to stop at one of our ports, but this give us more time in the next one and actually we were able to have 2 excursions instead of the one planned.  I have to acknowledge the captain and team to keeping our safety at the utmost concern by making the decision to not tender in the rough seas and to carry on.

Royal Caribbean Freedom of the Seas was below average in their service on the ship.  Most of the eateries and bars had very little seating. Standing room only most of the day.  The ship is visually very appealing BUT not very functional.  Room service was very bad, cold and incorrect meals. One mourning they completely forgot my breakfast.  I paid for valet luggage handling when leaving the ship and I had 2 commemorative glasses and a very expensive shirt removed from my luggage.  I will never sail with Royal Caribbean again.  I am VERY disappointed.

This was our second voyage on the Freedom of the Seas.  We wanted to sail on her one more time before she leaves for South FL.  It is just a great ship - you can do as much or as little as you desire.  The staff is amazing - always available at your beck and call and always with a smile.  Entertainment is outstanding - except maybe for Drew, the magician.  He is very good but it was the same show we saw 6 years ago, with little or no changes.  He needs to forget the show girls and concentrate on doing what he does best.  That is the ONLY complaint about entertainment.  Royal Caribbean always has the best.  The ice show was mind boggling.  The food was beyond fabulous. Ryan and Daniel were just so pleasant and accommodating, we just wanted to bring them home with us.   Our room was so comfortable and the balcony the best ever.  And, the bran muffins!  Just as we remembered them - so good.  All in all, it was everything we expected and more.

Boarding and unboarding the ship was easy. We got there early and only waited about 30 minutes to get on the ship. When we left we carried out luggage so we were driving off in about an hour after getting in line. The food was great. The service was great. We reserved the same table at the dinners so the servers got to know us and went out of their way to make our trip enjoyable. The room was always clean. The ship was always clean also. The only issue I had all week was with a bartender at the R Bar one evening, seamed to be very rude. Other than that all was good. Everybody else was very friendly and helpful. I will go on Royal Caribbean again.

Will cruise on Royal Caribbean in the future, the staff, food & shows was great. Really enjoyed the personal acknowledges.  the staff tried to remember your name & what you liked. the evening show were really good.

I had never been on a Caribbean cruise before, so I was looking forward to this one.  I wanted to see the blue/green waters and white sands that I have seen in pictures. Unfortunately, our first port of call was the R.C.-owned Coco Cay Island and because of high, choppy seas, we weren't able to be tendered ashore. I know it was not R.C.'s fault....I'm just giving a review of my trip.  I will have to try jetskiing another time.

We made it to St. Thomas and St. Maarten where the weather was great.  We got to swim in the ocean in both places and watch a jumbo jet land near us in St. Maarten.

Our time on-board ship was pleasurable and we had no complaints of the staff, meals, or activities. I would definitely do this again sometime.

Freedom of the Seas, was exactly that! Free to enjoy our vacation any way we wanted! The staff made every effort to insure that we had a great time. Loved the Shows, my wife especially loved the Ice Skating! She won $25.00 with the BINGO scratch off. Then lost it all in the Casino! Great fun! Thank you all! Looking forward to another cruise next year! 

Royal Caribbean is an AMAZING cruise line and I would book with them again and again! The food is excellent the cabins are clean and comfy and there is SO MUCH to do!! THANK YOU!!! 

The ship is beautiful! The only thing I saw wrong with ship was that it leaked in several places. They put towels on the floors and signs up to warn people of wet floors. I'm sure that they will fix that problem. The pools were nice, but too much smoking around pools for me. We would try to sit outside and watch the movies by the pool, and it was hard with all the smoke. Also, the kids club my child was in didn't really have a lot to do. They would have several hours each day with nothing planned, or would just cancel what was scheduled. The flow rider was nice except for the middle divider came loose when my son was doing it, and it knocked him down and slammed him into the bottom and he got his knew bruised and scraped. All in all it was nice cruise, but will not go on this ship again unless we get a super deal! The service of waiters and room attendants was very good. The shop attendants on the other hand was not the best. Some were nice, but several were very rude. I tried not to take it personal, because I know these people work very long hours and it must be very stressful! 

Excellent time. Ship was beautiful! Service was great, especially in dining room. Food was excellent! Dining room food was superb and in Windjammer! We bought the drink package and had lots of premium liquors to choose from. Pool deck was great and always clean and we loved the outdoor movies.

This was my first time on a cruise (that was not on a Navy Ship).  I will say that overall it was very nice.  The Ship was clean, the crew very attentive and for the most part it was relaxing and enjoyable.  We ended up spending four days at sea and I will be honest, I found that hard.  I did feel trapped and very eager to get off the ship.  I loved St. Thomas and St. Johns, what a beautiful area.  Once I got away from the diamonds and watches it was one of my favorite places I have been, and will warrantee a trip to spend time on this island.

I found that the casino was not a place I could enjoy due to the smoking and I felt the entire lower level smelled of smoke which keep it off limits to me. 

The food was good over all, we ate at Chops and the Mexican restaurant and they were very good (worth the extra money).  With that said go to the Mexican restaurant for lunch.....amazing.  

The ship is starting to feel its age, and needs a little bit of work to bring her back to her former glory.  Dirty windows, lots of broken gym equipment, lots more broken arcade games maybe a deep carpet cleaning to get rid of the smell of smoke and damp.

  The Pools are amazing, and hot tubs clean and relaxing (what 4 days at sea I spent a lot of time here.)  Comfortable beds, nice cabin (small). I understand now why people love this type of vacation, next time (if there is one) I will need something that stops more and lets me explore more places. 

We enjoyed our cruise immensely!  The staff were all very helpful & polite.  The weather was wonderful as well.  We were only disappointed by the fact there weren't more seafood. We thought there was going to be a midnight seafood buffet, & people we asked didn't know anything about it.  I would suggest some type of buffet for the seafood lovers & I don't mean just fish.

We took this cruise as our honeymoon and loved it. The Bahamas were recovering from a hurricane so we could not dock in Coco Cay, but the staff handled it well. There were multiple things to do onboard that made up for it. The dining staff, wow! They were incredible as were the room staff. The entertainment was great. We thoroughly enjoyed our vacation. 

This was our 55th cruise with RC, we have always sailed with them because of their attention to details and great service. Additionally this was our 3rd trip on the Freedom. 

Pros:

-The Shows were the best we have ever seen....from the dancers and singers to the ices show they were all well produced and preformed. 

-The ship was spotless clean and a pleasant environment.

-This is the first trip that we have seen the captain and other officers on a regular basis. Their presence was noticed by everyone.

-The room was very comfortable and for the first time in several trips the ice-box in the room actually worked.

-Lunch in the dinning room was a wonderful experience. The salads were fantastic.

-The food at dinner was very nicely presented and flavorful.

-The internet speed has greatly improved.

-Leaving the ship to visit ports and returning was fast and easy.

-Departing the ship on the last day with the fastest ever experienced.

CONS:

-Our waiters at dinner were very nice but the slowest and unorganized that we have experienced in many years. We consistently had to ask for drink refills. The famous RC attention to detail was no where to be found. (Example: one evening two of us at the table were presented the menu from the night before.) Our dinner sitting was at 5:30 with a show at 7:00, we had to remind the waiters each night that we had a show to attend and must leave the dinning room by 6:45. Two different nights we had to leave without desert in order to make it to the show.

-The menu selection was not as good as we had seen back in June on the Allure...there were many repeats each night.

-I had steak two different nights and in both occasions the meat was tough and tasteless.

-I always look forward to the prime rib dinner....on this ship I didn't eat half of it because it had no flavor at all and what parts I did eat was tough. The waiter offered to get another but we knew that there was no time for that based on their speed of service.

-I know the marketing theory behind what RC is doing for Gold card members but they are creating a segregation / class separation on the ship. We noticed this on other ships but this one was really bad. There was special seating for the shows, several lounges, and special meal sections for these people. It reminded me of the movie Titanic where the lower class were put in one section and the rich another. 

-I was spoken to very harshly by two different ladies working the Starbuck counter.

-One evening I asked for two tubes of hand cream for my wife. I was told, "I'll do my best to get it but hand cream is only offered for Suite and Gold card members." Wow he sure made us feel special. It's unfortunate that RC has adopted a policy of segregation. 

-RC has greatly reduced the number of ports visited. When we first started sailing we always made 4 to 5 ports...but each trip the stops get less and less. On this trip we were supposed to visit 3 places but the day we arrived at the island they announced that the water was too rough. That was NOT true. I could have skied on the ocean that day, there was no wind, no waves crashing on the shore, and no storm clouds.....there was no reason as all not to stop at the island. So we spent another day wandering around the ship. One of the reasons we travel is to see new places and people....it would seem that we may need to find another source of travel since RC doesn't want to allow us different stops.

-On the return trip we just floated out in the ocean because the ship got back too early. For the time we spent just floating RC could have allow us longer stays in the two ports we visited and added two more stops. 

Over all we had a nice trip. But over the past three years the quality and service on the RC ships has slowly diminished. I can only hope that they will see the writing on the wall and steer their way back to the top. RC is a great company if I didn't think so I'd not keep sailing with them. They just need to adjust their focus and center on service and quality.

We have been on better cruises, This ship,was not as nice as it was one time.The service personnel were great, however,didn't have a sandwich shop, no help for the handicap, not in wheelchairs. May not use RC again.