Freedom of the Seas

Freedom of the Seas Review

It was time for our family cruise. I booked 16 members of my family in 7 cabins aboard the June 24th sailing of Royal Caribbean’s Freedom of the Seas. This was our first trip sailing as Diamond members with the Crown & Anchor Society Program, and the advantages were noticeably nice.

The boarding process was easy and efficient. We were prepared to take some extra time, but RCCL breezed us through. Once we received our Seapass cards, had our picture taken and began to board the vessel, everyone was handed a sanitized hand wipe to wash our hands with. These towels were readily available throughout the ship throughout the voyage to keep illness from spreading. I was very pleased to see that RCCL is doing what they can to keep viruses from spreading around the ship.

The ship was in excellent condition, not too surprising considering it is only a little over a year old. The flow of the ship worked well, I could find a deck chair on sea days, and I was able to go to a show a few minutes before it started and get a seat. But the most impressive feature was the tender process. The longest I waited in line until I took a seat on the tender was 17 minutes. I have been on other lines where I have stood in line for 45 minutes just to board the tender.

The mattresses we slept on were the best yet on a ship. They are a combination of egg create and temperfoam. The best thing about these mattresses was you didn’t feel “the crack” when the beds are pushed together. This was a very pleasant surprise, which made sleeping at sea even better.

I had scheduled a private cocktail party and a vow renewal for my parent’s 30th wedding anniversary. When we arrived on board I found the group coordinator, Desire Saoncella and Elena Rasmussen the cruise programs administrator. They showed the reservation for the cocktail party paid in full, but did not have any record of the vow renewal. Desire and Elena went right to work to coordinate the event to make it happen the way we wanted and did an excellent job. Desire genuinely felt bad about the administration error and went above and beyond the call of duty to make up for the error. She also performed a beautiful ceremony that brought the family to tears of happiness.

The room service menu and service was average for RCCL. There was one mistake on our order one morning. Coffee was brought, but cream and sugar was not. I called down and within a few minutes it was delivered with a smile and an apology. To top that, that afternoon when I returned from shore, there was a platter of chocolate dipped strawberries and another apology from the room service supervisors, Vish & Emiliano.

One thing I noticed that was missing with RCCL that I have experienced on other cruise lines is not every crew member I passed acknowledged me. I enjoy mingling with the crew and always feel valuable when they stop what they are doing to wish me a nice day or just say hello. While many crew members were very engaging, some were not and I noticed the difference.

The largest disappointment I had was our dining room waiter. While he was a proficient and professional waiter, he had the personality of a door knob. I have had waiters that have “made the trip” for us and this one never smiled, showed us a trick or cracked a joke.

This was my 14th cruise and I can honestly say I have never seen a better cruise director. Richard Spacey is the best. He was friendly, entertaining, engaging, funny, a little flirty, and definitely cheeky; (and ladies, he is adorable). All around a great package and everything a cruise director should be. I would love for him to be on any and every ship I sail.

The entertainment was very good. We saw the three main production shows and the ice show. All were fun, entertaining and well presented.

The piano bar was always a fun place for late night entertainment. The piano player was wonderful in engaging the audience and including them in songs. He as also was brilliant with lowering the volume of the microphone when someone who really couldn’t sing did.

I was also pleased to see the cabins are bigger on the Freedom compared to other RCCL ships. I have done many sailings in a Junior Suite on the Monarch and Vision, but booked a D2 balcony for this sailing. I felt I had almost the same amount of space and glad I didn’t spend the money for the upgrade. My parents were in a Jr. Suite and noticed an increase in square footage. I was curious how the square footage would work out. Seeing it on paper and living in it for a week are always two different matters.

The Diamond Lounge was a favorite stop during the voyage. Carmeliza Colina the Diamond Concierge definitely enhanced our voyage. She was able to get us tickets to the ice show. She also purchased our shore excursions, made our specialty dining reservations, and helped out any way should could.

The specialty dining restaurants are Chops and Portofino. Both were wonderful and served premium fare well worth the service charge. It was also nice to get away from the dining room waiter for a couple of nights. A couple of my family members were disappointed in the fare in the main dining room; they felt it was mass produced. I explained that it was, and that it is the only way to feed 3634 people in a timely manor.

I cannot finish this review without mentioning our awesome stateroom attendant, Daryl. He was always around with a smile, a wave or just welcoming us back to the cabin. But the biggest and best challenge was keeping my 16 and 14 year old sons along with my 11 year old nephew’s room in order. There was one morning mid voyage that I walked into their cabin and when I opened the door I was overwhelm with the stench of BOYS. All parents with teenage boys know what I am talking about. I just threw my head back, rolled my eyes and said “Ohh my, the smell you boys generate is disgusting!” Daryl was in the corridor and looked at me and just smiled and laughed. He came down to investigate and began laughing harder. He said, in his beautiful Caribbean accent, “Ohh boys, your mother is right, but I can take care of this for you, no worries.” I smiled back at Daryl and said “I am sorry and thank you”. By the time we returned from breakfast the room was made up and smelling sweet.

All the members of my family were pleased with the cruise and service they received. Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines continues to be my favorite line to sail on and sell.