Royal Caribbean - Freedom of the Seas Review

Ship: WOW!! I am not sure where to even begin because there is so much to see and do on FOS that a 7 night cruise with 4 port days is not enough time. The H2O Zone is the best idea because it kept the small kids out of the adult pools but was a fun place for the parents to hang with their kids. The flowrider was a favorite among my kids but I was not daring enough to try it. The hot tubs in the solarium are a must see. Water was a bit hot but I got used to it real quick.

Food: We ate breakfast each morning in the Windjammer and thought the food was OK. Nothing special but how good can a buffet breakfast be? If you want fresh cooked eggs, be sure to order it from the egg station. Sorrentos.. In my opinion the best pizza on board any ship. I stopped there each night for a slice or two of pizza before bed. Seattles Best.. I am not a coffee drinker but my DH made this his last stop of the night. Great coffee and baked goods. Dining Room, food was sometimes a bit over cooked or dry but I sure did not go hungry. My DH ordered several appetizers, entrees, and desserts on many nights.

Drinks: We are not big drinkers so we only a drink or two a day over the course of the cruise. Smoothies were great at the main pool area. We had almost every drink of the day and ordered them without the souvenier glass to save a bit of money.

Cabin: The only way I could afford to take this cruise was for the four of us to share an inside quad. We had cabin 8373 and although small for our family, if it was only two it would have been fine. We stored our luggage under the beds, as much clothes as possible in the dresser drawers, and hung as much as possible. I forgot my over the door shoe bag which really would have come in handy for storage. The bathroom was small but served its purpose. One day the toilet was flushing slow but we were told it was due to a lack of water pressure.

Crew: Our room steward Marcia was the best. She managed to clean up the room each day around our clutter and was always in the hall to say hi and ask how are day was going. Becky Thomspon, well she has a fan club but I will not be a member. Her voice bothered me to no end and the "hello luv" got old real quick. Guest Relations desk, very helpful and friendly.

Dining Room: We had table 550 in Galileo's which was right by the railing on deck 5. Our waiter Leanardo was wonderful and so was our head waiter. The asst. waiter must have been new because he was slow on keeping our water glasses filled and bringing the dinner rolls around.

Ports of Call:

Ladadee

We were there once already so we opted to get off the ship long enough for pictures and lunch. Nice beach but I will not shop the market place. I don't like to be pushed into buying anything.

Jamaica, Ocho Rios:

I honestly would never take a cruise here again for if I did, I would stay on board. We were hassled the moment we got off the ship for tours and one guy followed us down the street pushing us to take a tour with him. We spend a bit of time shopping in the Island Market Place and then lunch at Margaritaville. If you have the lost shaker of salt coupons they still take them. Great food and pool.

Grand Cayman:

We took the Stingray City and Snorkle tour with Capt Bryans. It was a nice tour for the price. Our transfer to the boat was on an ancient school bus with a hole in the roof. The catamaran was nice and the staff friendly. Stingray City is a must stop. They are so graceful and friendly.

Cozumel:

We hired a private taxi tour through Paradise Beach (Tom) and intended on going to the East Side to sightsee, eat and drink. Well, Dean had other plans so we were not able to do that but Gerry got us as far as Coconuts so we could see first hand the hurricane damage. We stopped at the Pee Pee Station and they are way over priced. Senor Iguanas was a much better choice. After our shortened tour, we headed to Paradise Beach for a quick did and a snack. The beach was nice but the water was cloudy due to the storms a few days before.

Back to Miami:

We got up at 6:00 am and were off the ship by 6:30. We opted to carry our own luggage which saved a whole lot of time. We picked up a taxi van outside the airport which cost $30 with tip.

We did great weather wise even though we were chasing Dean all week and only had rain a few times but it never lasted. I understand that other ships missed ports due to Dean but after visiting each stop, could not really see much damage accept in Cozumel on the east side.

Final thoughts: I keep thinking about taking a Carnival Cruise but I am happy with the product that Royal Caribbean puts out there. I took advantage of the next cruise offer and booked Mariner of the Seas for next August with two cabins, a balcony and promenade.

Freedom of the Seas is a great ship but they should offer more sea days on its intinerary so that she ship can be enjoyed to a greater extent. I am not sure if I want to step on Genesis.