Freedom of the Seas..how would you rate it?

Question

i'm in charge of planning our next family vacation and i was seriously thinking about taking a cruise on royal caribbean's freedom of the seas. we would go on a 7 night western caribbean cruise. if you went on this ship...did you like it?

Answer 1

I went on the Freedom last November and we did the Western Caribbean itinerary that you are looking at.  Yes I liked the ship and the itinerary.  The ship holds over 3,000 passengers but we completed boarding in about 30 minutes from the curb to our cabin.  It would have gone faster if they had been ready at a couple spots.  We were slowed mainly by one person looking at all of the "Set Sail" passes as we entered the terminal.  Then they were slow in setting up a second security desk to take security photos for the cruise cards.  After that it was a breeze.

The ship is huge and I recommend that if you do have several cabins that you make sure they are near each other.  I loved the balcony cabin we had.  It was roomy and had plenty of space for clothes; bags go under the bed.  They announced to us that the beds on the freedom will be cruise line wide; its was a great pillowtop bed and was very comfortable in comparison to beds on other ships.  There was a flat panel HDTV in the room, a safe, and a shower stall with a sliding door.  Our room included a love seat and coffee table.

The ship has a mall area down its middle with shops on both sides, including a barber shop, coffee shop, and a place where you can get free food 24/7.  That's in addition to the 24/7 free room service.

The ship has some features that other ships don't have.  The rock climbing wall is on many RC ships.  But the new "flow rider" is unique to RC's Freedom and Liberty of the Seas ships.  It is a place where you can go surfing on a boogie board right on the back of the ship.  It works great, although I didn't try it.  There is stadium seating for people to watch or sit while awaiting their turn.  The ship also has an ice skating rink and during the week there are two days when there is a free ice show that is great, kinda like the Ice Capades.  The ship also has a full sized basketball court and mini-golf.  I cannot remember if it also had the roller blade track but it certainly has the ice skating.

This ship is great for kids and families with kids.  On the pool deck there is one area called the H2O Zone which is essentially a small water park for kids; but us big kids can play there too.  It has water cannons, a small lazy river, a pool, and falling water all over.  Kids will love it.  Then the middle of the ship has another pool where everyone can get wet or use  a hot tub.  Then up further there is an adults only area called the Solarium with a pool and two hot tubs that extend over the sides of the ship.  These tubs are huge, can hold maybe 12 people and you can look over the side of the tub at the ocean.

The ship has THE best gymnasium I have ever seen on a cruise ship. All of the latest equipment, including weight machines, rowers, steppers, treadmills and each has its own TV screen so you can watch TV while you workout.  It also has a boxing ring and some other new high tech stuff.  

In addition to the ice shows there was a show in the main show room each night.  There is a casino and there are bars and lounges all over the ship.  There is an internet cafe but I would ship it as it way too expensive and just wait until you get to Cozumel and there is an internet cafe right at the pier that is only $5. for an hour (vs $50 an hour on ship).

The only thing I did not like about the ship was its Windjammer Cafe where everyone goes for breakfast and lunch if they don't go to the main dining room, is too small for everyone and people were walking around looking for a table after they got their food.  We decided to just order  the free breakfast room service an eat on the balcony.

I like the ship and may go again on it or its twin when i can catch one of their super cheap fares.  Chheck out this web link:

http://www.royalcaribbean.com/findacruis...

If I can get one of those $1499. suites next year I may go again.

Answer 2

I was on the Freedom of the Seas in June 2007.  My review of this cruise is about 13 type written pages long.  You can read my review by clicking on the link below ...

http://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreview...

Answer 3

ive never been on it, but from what i heard, its basically really bad. ive gone on a Royal Caribbean cruise and i hated it.

Answer 4

This is RCCl's second largest ship and is fairly new. My boss went on this particular ship and raved about it. I recently went on the Mariner of the seas which has a similar itinerary, and loved it. Each port of call was nice and different, with so much to see. The ship itself was excellent, clean, well maintained, staff helpful and friendly. The food was great and there were a lot of activities on the ship, so there was never a boring moment. I think you should try the freedom, you can't go wrong with a fairly new ship. Plus Royal Caribbean is known for excellent service.

Answer 5

My son works on that ship and says it's phenomenal.  He's been on many ships before from RRC, but says this is the best.  It launched last year in June 2006 and I believe it IS the biggest and second newest.  The Liberty of the Seas is the newest but it's a clone of this ship (I believe).