What can I say...just returned from a weeks Caribbean Cruise onboard the Royal Caribbean Freedom Of the Seas as part of our silver wedding gift to ourselves. this is the first time on a large cruise liner [have done 2 Med cruises with MSC Melody & Island Star and enjoyed both]

Honestly finding it hard to say anything bad about it, it was superb and cant wait to go again.

We had an inside cabin on deck 2 which bothered us a bit with no window etc, but it was superb, bed was so comfy, air ???? superb, room was so dark & so quiet outside that we nearly slept in every morning, plenty of room, 2 seater sofa, the best shower I have ever had on any holiday.

We had the later dining time of 8.30pm and it was superb. Service was first class..water always topped up, bread & rolls continually replenished, food was excellent and you could try as much as you liked, we had a great table and along with the banter of the waiters we didnt get out of the dinning room some nights till 10.30pm.

The whole ship is spotless and constantly clean although you never seem to see the cleaners which is probably a mark of how good they are. Plenty of bars to suit any tastes from quiet piano music to a night club "The Crypt" open well into the small hours. Drinks may seem a bit pricey at an average of $6 but you have to remember that they are doubles and sometimes tripples. The promenade street is great and the lifts along with a computerised map system of the ship means you cant get lost.


Pool areas are great, plenty of beds which is something which did worry me before we boarded.
The Windjammer resturant was superb and I defy anyone who cant find anything to suit their tastes and again all the staff are exteremely friendly and actually look like they enjoy their jobs which makes for a good atmosphere.
Although they do say that food is available 24hrs there is a cut off time for pizzas and we found that if you were really late that the only food was filled rolls, sandwiches etc which was still good.However the room service was out of this world. If you organise with your cabin steward he will get you a remote for the tv which allows you access to online room service and you can book show times and excusrsions all from the comfort of your room. There is a charge of $3.95 per room after midnight which is acceptable but the choice is good and food is great.

Entertainment is fantastic with a good varied selection of shows, ice shows, comedy and on our week we had a British Rock Music street party on the Promenad street with was brill and there must have been a few hundred folk taking part. Casino is good and we stood a few nights and watched some of the card games which let you learn and gain a bit of courage before you lost your cash.

Check in on to the boat was so quick and the check out was painless although as with all crusies you are off the ship early and in the airport before you know it.
We stayed overnight in the Crowne Plazza Hotel just 5 mins from the hotel the night before we boarded and thats a great way to do it as you hit the ship refreshed and raring to go.

Cant fault the ship or its crew at all and would travel again on the "Freedom"

We visited Labadee in Haitai which is Royal Caribbeans own port so it was a day lazing on the beach and the crew ship all the food onshore and cook for you at several places on the shore so it was like Paradise.

Next stop was Jamaica...our fav. We hired a local taxi for $80 for the full day and he took us where ever we wanted...My wife wanted to go to Montego Bay so we did, via Rose Hall plantation & golf course for me and on the way back the usual stop at the shops.

Third stop was Grand Caymon and although it was nice to see its just a shopping stop for designer gear and diamonds etc etc so we just raked around the local shops and the beach.

Last was Cozumel and we got caught in some pretty heavy rain for a few hours so hit the shops and of course an excuse for some good Mexican food and margaritas...great choice.

The ship holds nearly 4000 passengers and that did worry me a bit as I thought I'd be in queues all the time but it was the total opposite and at night it was strange to see the bars with plenty of seats. Only time there were queues were at the photographers who produce some cracking photos especially on the formal nights, we bought a few pictures to bring home.

any way we thought it was well worth the money.One thing to watch for is the gratuities, we didnt know ours were included in the price and we got supplied with gratuity slips on our last night to put in envelopes for the cabin steward & the waiters but if yours are not included make sure they are not added to your onboard account, sort that out when you first board as they will give you envelopes if you want to leave tips. also everything you buy onboard [drinks etc] has a percentage of gratuity added so dont feel guilty if you dont leave a tip for the bar staff