Freedom of the Seas Cruise Reviews - Reviews

We greatly enjoyed our cruise May 18-25 on Freedom of the Seas. Loved the balcony. First night there was constant rattling of the screens between the stateroom balconies. Solved it by stuffing kleenex between the edge of the glass and the frame. Needed ice everyday for a sore knee condition which was cheerfully provided by Marta, our room steward 2 times a day. Food service was great in Leonardos dining room first seating. Crew provided wheel chair service getting on and off the ship. The entertainment was highlighted by the Platters, the magician and the acrobats.

 We paid 850 each for a room that went for 518 , but still hope to get 75 cash back. we enjoyed the cruise itself but the stopsat St Thomas in St Martin were not much. Crowded beaches with sand fleas made for a not nice visit to St Thomas. Shopping in the local district at st martin was okay. The ship was my nice the food was great.

This was our first cruise experience. We had heard great things about taking a cruise. We had two days "at sea" with 15 foot waves. We had no problems with sea sickness but their was not enough to do on board to entertain when the weather was cloudy and rainy. I did not expect to be bored, and we were. The top decks were closed because of high winds and not enough chairs by the pools to accomodate everyone. That aside, the room stewards were great. Breakfast and lunch buffets were above average with lot's of variety. Dinner was special in the dining room, chef prepared and yummy. Could have more vegetarian choices.Over all we enjoyed the cruise, we might check out a different cruise line, one that has more activities. I want to be active and entertained .

As former travel agents, we have sailed on every cruise line, and on most of the ships.  Freedom of the Seas has been our favorite Go-To ship, for many years.  The port is less than an hour away, and for the price, it was a fun ship, offering a variety of amenities, appealing to all ages.  It has almost everything the larger Allure and Oasis ships offer, but, in a smaller more intimate atmosphere.  The May 11th cruise was our 4th on Freedom, in the past 2.5 years.  And, sadly, it will be our last.  It may even be our last on RCCL as well.

We cruised on Freedom 7 months ago.  Whether it is RCCL in general, or just the Freedom, over the past year and a half we have noticed a substantial decline in overall standards and appearances on this ship; but, particularly on Freedom, compared to 6 months ago.  New RCCL cruisers will not know there has a been change.  However, as Crown and Anchor Gold members we have seen the difference and we are extremely disappointed.

The biggest disappointment was learning the dining room no longer requires a minimum dress code. For some cruisers, this is no big deal.  We, however appreciate minimum standards when dining in the main dining room. Although a sign is clearly posted on all 3 decks stating requirements; dining room attire is not even remotely adhered to.  We saw subtle changes on our last Freedom cruise, but, this time, less than 1/4 of the passengers wore even Sunday-best on regular nights, and formal attire was almost non-existent on the 2 formal nights,  In fact, proper dress codes for the dining room was NOT enforced at any meal.  Routine attire consisted of camisoles, shorts, even short shorts, with heels for the women; and flowered shirts, flip flops, cargo pants and/or shorts were the norm for the guys every night, including on formal nights.  This type of apparel should be unacceptable in the dining room, and would not be tolerated on ships such as Cunard!  Bathing suits were allowed in the dining room during breakfast and lunch.  We asked staff about the change in dress codes, and by their response, it is obvious, RCCL doesn't remotely expect compliance. The meals in the main dining room were also below standard, and the choices were very disappointing.  The cordon bleau and steak were the worst meals we've ever had, on any cruise line.  The shrimp cocktail was rubbery, not crisp and tasty.  The duck was tough.  By the 4th night, we decided to just dine in the Windjammer.  The food was better at the buffet, there were more choices and the service was just as good.

Stateroom standards have also declined.  Mints are no longer placed on the bed; and paper and pens are not included in the staterooms, any longer.  Towel animals made an appearance ONLY twice, all cruise.  The sheets weren't changed once.  We ran out of toilet tissue and coffee, and had to snag items off the cart. The toiletries and soap were never replenished or replaced, even though we used all of them the first night.  For a 2nd time, we had a Jr Suite.  Our glass railing on the balcony was filthy when we boarded and was never cleaned.  For the entire cruise we were unable to even see clear enough to look out.  The wood railing was faded, stained, with splinters sticking out.  Balcony furniture was broken and torn, with paint actually chipping off and falling on the floor – which was NOT removed until I picked it up on Day 4.  The balcony floor was torn, with sections loose and sticking up, making it easy to catch your foot.  We avoided the entire one side of the balcony, as it was dangerous and hazardous to walk on.

The entertainment in the theater and for the Ice arena has been the same for many years.  They are beautifully performed and exceptional ... when offered.  If you don’t know you need to make a reservation to see the Ice Show, you lose out and miss it.  And, as an FYI to RCCL ....MOST passengers DO NOT pay to go on a cruise to watch movies in the theater - 3-D, or otherwise - in lieu of live entertainment.  Passengers also want more than bingo and trivia for activities.  The 'paperless' coupon books and account information was not available at all, until the last day of the cruise.  We had to continually go stand in line to get a print out from the service desk.  This happened the last time we cruised on Freedom, 6 months ago.  Likewise, lines at the service desk were inexcusably long the entire cruise.  We waited at least 45 minutes every time b/c less than half the terminals were manned. The TV channel choices have also been reduced. Freedom has eliminated FOX News and 2 movie channels.  Instead, they have added more RCCL channels  - in Spanish and English - to advertise their products.  Staff at the service desk told us RCCL only wants a contract with CNN and it is a waste of time to complain about anything to RCCL. Based on what we saw this past cruise, I can believe it.

I was quarantined to my cabin the day the ship docked at Falmouth. I sat all day on our balcony and watched the comings and goings on Freedom, and Disney's ship, The Fantasy. Disney's maintenance crew spent the entire day cleaning, scrubbing and painting their ship's exterior. Freedom did nothing to the exterior of their ship!  Nothing!!!  And they should have. Paint is chipping off, all over the ship.  Freedom's anchor is rusty enough that it looks like it will fall off.  The exterior is dirty and needs serious painting along the water line.  It is actually embarrassing to stand in front of the ship for pictures.  The paint on the pool deck and along the walkway areas is peeling and rusty.  Carpeting along the walls is fraying in many areas of the ship.  Windows and mirrors are dirty.  Elevators are dirty most of the time.  The schooner bar has furniture that is worn, torn and faded.  On Sea Days, Freedom offers merchandise that is either high end, or cheap, junk; with the Promenade kiosks pathetically boring!

In the past 2.5 years, we have witnessed a slow, but, noticeable decline in Freedom’s appearance and services.  Complaints were plentiful, and have increased substantially among Crown and Anchor members. The lack of decorum, combined with waning standards, left many feeling as if we were cruising on Carnival or NCL, but, at RCCL's higher prices.

My husband and I are veteran cruisers.  We cruise 2 or 3 times a year.  We do not expect a high end cruise like on Cunard, when we pay RCCL prices.  Likewise, we do not expect a bare bones cruise, when we have paid for an RCCL Jr Suite, either.  We cruise because we enjoy the experience.  We appreciate the formality at dinner; the elegance of being served at meals; attending shows in the theater every night; sitting on our private balcony and enjoying a glass of wine.  We look forward to, and relish the overall ambiance of being on a ship at sea.  Unfortunately, we did NOT experience these things on Freedom, this past cruise.  Compared to previous cruises on Freedom, we experienced few of the things we really look forward to.  RCCL appears to be targeting a new type of cruiser.  A more budget minded clientele, one less interested in traditional cruise standards.  This is not what we are looking for in a cruise.  As compensation for the quarantine, RCCL gave me a $200 credit toward another cruise.  More than likely, I will never use it.  For the price we paid for this cruise, we could easily have cruised on Celebrity or Holland America.  For not much more, we could have cruised on Disney. The next time we will.  The cost will be worth it.

Something seemed off with this cruise. The food was not consistent and some if the things we have come to expect were missing. It felt like they were trying to cut back or watch expenses. We have cruised on Royal Caribean several times and I think it is time for us to try another cruise line. 

While the experience of ease throughout the ship was better than expected, after cruising on several cruise lines (Carnival (8), Princess (4), Royal Caribbean (2), the Freedom of the Seas experience was disappointing from the view point of service. I'm not sure if it's the quality of people or because of the change in the tipping process on some of the experiences. I personally feel that the service has changed in a negative way because of the automatic tip. Examples of my experience include: **complaining from staff - our room attendant wanted us to let him know if we needed anything from him because we were one of two rooms on that side of the ship with all of the other rooms he was assigned on the other side of the ship. When dining, we kept hearing the excuse for poor service as "because we are extremely busy at this point" -- did you not know everyone would be arriving? There was just a lot of complaining in which I have not experienced before.; **The whole dining experience was very concerning the first evening. I was able to book our two cabins in close proximity, I was able combine the cruise card account with no problem, but for some reason, we were booked for separate dining rooms. We politely explained the situation to the person in charge of the dining changes, however, were told we would have to be on a waiting list and he acted like it might not be possible. I explained that we didn't care what dining room, what dining time, how many other guests were at the table, we just needed to sit together because that was the purpose of vacationing together because they live in another state and we wanted to spend time together. My thought was,  "Really", you have "Anytime Dining" going on throughout the cruise with the ability for a family to walk up at any time to dine together but you can't plan on 4-people to sit together at a table. (sorry for the sarcasim but it was extremely disappointing). Anyway, they were able to get us a table for that evening, expressing how they had inconveniently worked it out and how much of a task it was for them but when we got to the table it was literally sitting in the stairwell. And the service we received that evening from Trevor and his assistant was appalling. Honestly, I got a dirty look from the assistant because I wouldn't hand him my finished plate across the table. He was offended that he had to walk around my son's chair to get it. There were many tables empty that evening but we sat like unliked guests at a party. (Not a good experience when you've just paid for not only your trip but your families. And how must they be feeling when I've built the wonderful experiences I've had in the past to them.) After complaining about the location of the table they were able to sit us at another table with Gemy & Dennis the next evening and we were extremely happy with our evening dining experience for the remainder of the cruise. Gemy & Dennis were wonderful but the rest of the dining staff experience was very lacking. When we ate in the dining room at breakfast, poor service and comments from other guests as well. They seem to offended when we would order from the menu because they perferred we go through the buffet line. (If we wanted buffet, we would have gone to the Windjammer). Our deck experience throughout the day was a similar situation as the wait staff would take your order and be gone for extended periods of time. They would not bring you a glass of water with your order either. I understand not wanting to serve water to everyone especially if they're not drinking, however, I purchased the premium drink package for myself,  so if I'm ordering a drink already, you're going to the bar and you won't bring me a glass of water too, I'm offended. So, I'm expected to get up from sunning, either leave my things or take them with me and go to the same bar to get a glass of water. And yes, I got the water from the bartender, not from the plastic container that sits on the counter throughout the day. Okay, I think you get the picture of our experience with the service onboard. An additional disappointment to me was how much space was allocated for smoking guests. My son and his guest both smoke and they appreciated it but for me as a non-smoker, I felt like the space was extensive. One day of sunning, I found what I thought was a nice chair for the day where I could see activities going on, however, after an hour or so a person rudely moved a chair right next to me and was a chain smoker who wanted to have a cigarette in her hand all of the time. I don't think they should be allowed to sit and lounge with a cigarette anywhere on the boat. People walking on the track had to walk right through the clouds of smoke as well. To me, having almost a whole side deck available of deck #4 was plenty for their habit and because they choose to have an unhealthy habit, nonsmokers should not have to be exposed on the main decks. It's dangerous anyway with how strong the wind can be. Another item of disappointment was the RC staff at ports. Rude, treating us like cattle, not smiling or pleasant. And while I have mixed feelings about it, this is the first cruise where the photographers were not engaged or interested in taking everyone's picture. (It didn't bother me, just an observation.) Our last experience on the cruise was not a good one either. While I appreciate the automation of finding our luggage, once again we were herded like cattle with no direction and then complaining when we ended up in a line the staff was not happy about. We had no idea we were doing something wrong and all they had to do was explain the expectation to us. Will these items keep me from cruising again, no,,,,but will they keep me from cruising on this particular ship, probably. If I continue to experience the disappointments, I will consider another cruiseline as well and that is disappointing. My husband and I both rave about cruising because it has been one of our favorite vacation options and this was his first experience with Royal Caribbean. We hope to take our granddaughter on her first cruise in the next year. Other items on the ship were excellent. Very clean, great entertainment (suggest offering an additional ice show since many were turned away), great food, organized. The process of boarding was excellent (with the exception of the dining separation) and de-boarding was a nice process as well (with the exception of confusion due to lack of direction and rudeness). Thank you for the opportunity to express concern. I hope you will seriously consider the service situation as that is one of the great things about cruising. Have a great day!!

When comparing cruise lines....I would say that Royal C leads the pack. We have been on many different lines and can honestly claim that the service was exceptional, food very good and the shows/entertainment was terrific. The Cruise Director, Casey P ( I believe that is his name) was a complete Hoot!! What a personality!! He was right out there with the crowd even when not directing!! Would go back on the Freedom just to enjoy his personality again.

The cruise was truly enjoyable with one small exception......The My Time Dining is really not......It's more like their time dining. One has to make a  reservation  and when trying to make a certain time was told there were no tables. Apparently they can't seem to run My Time Dining like a restaurant. First come first served. Have Never had to make reservations on any other cruise line and have Never had a problem getting seated.

Over all we would definately plan another cruise with Royal Caribbean.

Truly enjoyed ourselves!!

Best part of the cruise was our Dinning experience, we had Merigold and Anil for servers and they were FANTASTIC!! Funny, caring, helpful and genuine. I have been on numerous cruises in the past but I always keep coming back to Royal Caribbean. Always a great time and treated like royalty.

Loved the cruise had lots of fun. Only issue was customer service prior to cruising. They double charged my card I had to set on the phone 3 differnt time for a minimum of an hour each time. The result was getting the over charge refunded and they offerd a 20-25 credit towards next cruise. Slap in the face if you ask me because that doesnt even cover the overdraft fee they caused. But aboard it was amazing!

This is a very handicapped acessible ship.  The staff are excellant and very accomadating.  My only concern was most of the main entertainment was late at night ( 9 pm)  , we are early risers so we go to bed early.  ( you can watch it the next day on your in room TV.)  We did stay up late on the night of the Love and Marriage Show, it was a riot.  Food was good, the service was above and beyond,   Ice show was excellant, cupcake class fun!!!!.

Overall a great cruise and felt I got my money's worth.

Had a good time, would take it again and would recommend it.  I dont have 150 characters to  contribute.  This is very time consuming and i dont want to write an essay.

The process to get on board was fast and painless.  I found the meals in the dining room exceptional. We had a fairly new waiter and assistant so that was not top notch but the food was good. I was disappointed in the breakfast choices. They were the same every morning and not great, at least in the buffet, never went into the dining room for breakfast. We went with a big portion of our family there were 13 of us. I was disappointed they did not have a table were we could all sit together. There was a mix up the first night were 3 of our party were sitting downstairs but they fixed that and we were at least sitting at two tables next to each other. The games were fun however they never had enough seating for everyone who wanted to participate. Lots of people ended up standing so it was not pleasant and you could not get a drink.  One game we went to and got there early so we could get a seat and a drink. There was no bartender. The waitress was waiting for him to arrive and just as the game started he showed up but we never did get a drink.  The iceskating show was Fabulous. We are very disappointed in the DVD we bought. It was almost ALL advertising. Will never buy another one.  The photographers were not good. We had hoped to buy some pictures with all of us in them but the color was yellow or washed out.  The morning we left the ship one side of the buffet dining room was not even open yet. The tables were all full and they would not let us sit on the other side because they did not have the food on that side ready. They should have opened it for seating even if the food was not ready.  

Had a fun trip. Ship in good shape. Workers friendly. Coke machines ran out of coke 2 days before the cruise ended. Seems to happen all the time(Oasis last summer too). Great food everywhere!! Would sail again on Freedom.  

it was a party of 10. My son and daughter-in-law and friends whom were their first time cruising.It was a blast and pictures taken that we will always look back at and smile!

I heard such wonderful things about the great food on cruise ships, but found the food a disappointment.  The buffets were quantity instead of quality.  The evening dinners were better, but nothing to rave about.  The service from the staff was hit and miss.  Our cabin steward and wait staff at the evening meal were outstanding, but many ship personnel treates us without care.  I've learned that I'm not a cruiser and doubt that I will ever take a cruise again.

first thing is do you drink because the drinks are costly and weak so consider a adult drink pass they too cost alot but can quickly pay for them selves the food is good but not great i say eat in the formal dinning room for dinner everynight use the buffet if you must for lunch but again the dinning room is better but still short from days gone by buffet is the better breakfast choice the hamburger joint johny rockets lol skip it the pizza joint is a joke i never have had good pizza on the high seas on any cruise line ever the rooms are nice and offer good views even the inside rooms if you get the window over looking the main drag on st thomas i say do the chairlifts then take a tour then shop or shop on the tour as i did on st marteen i say take the large tour from the cab stand you will see several beaches and learn island history and still have loads of time to spend on the board walk downtown for shopping AND a nice beach as far as shows go on the ship be early they fill fast the bartenders are friendly the room attandant was grwat the waiter was wonderfull but the guest service staff will treat you like you are trying to rob em lol not so kind friendly or understanding tip print extra tags for your bags put two on each bag to  make sure you get your bags this is a great cruise but lacks something 

The Freedom of the Seas is an exceptional ship top to bottom - from the wonderful staff, to the great food, the fun activities, and the entertaining shows.  You cannot go wrong booking a cruise on this ship,

Please let start by saying thank you!!!  My life will never be the same the cruise was awesome. Wow where canI start my room was great the king size bed, it was so clean an nice. The food in a word

 delectable!!! the drinks great, Wow dancing under the stars magical!! the casino great I won a little: Dan cing to he 70s fun. Bingo was fun every thing was great!!!! the excursion oh my God i went jet sking can you believe that  an im 58 wow what a blast i had the best time of my life. Thanks Debra B.""

Nice ship with lots of extras available but the basics are missing if you are in an inside cabin.... Most ships I have been on I get upgraded once I am on the ship to a room with a view but not this one... This room is so tight you can not even walk around the bed ... You have to sit on the bed and try to swing your legs over... The shower is so tight you can't even bend over to pick up the shampoo...but in the room there is plenty of storage.. But you do not get that nice fluffy robe with your room....

    If you go to grand caymen do not go on one of the excursions ...The people who run these are very rude and if you are not the right color the treat you even worse....We were dropped at a beach and not told how to get back ...only that we should make sure we should get back early...we were trying to do what we were told and when we tried to get back we were told to take a taxie back ( but there were no taxies available) and we were still not told what we were to do to get  back( as is which bus we were to take to get back to the ship) we waited an hour for a bus to get back to the ship...we were not the only ones ... Almost everyone on our bus back was extremely upset... So anyway don't do this...

    I also fell on there slippery floors ... So be very careful when you walk....they did take care of me... 

     Also they really push the drink package but it is really not necessary unless you drink a lot ...

Our first cruise as a 25 year anniversary present to each other and it couldn't have been more perfect!

 Great weather, great food and drinks, great excursions... We will defininetly do this again!!