Freedom of the Seas Review

4.0 / 5.0
2,407 reviews

40th birthday cruise

Review for the Western Caribbean Cruise on Freedom of the Seas
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KillinMe's wife
2-5 Cruises • Age 40s

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Sail Date: Jun 2014
Traveled with children

To be honest, we were a bit underwhelmed. I traveled with my husband and 10 year old daughter. I have balance and mobility problems which require the use of a wheelchair. We had a handicapped accessible cabin (a junior suite because it was all that was available even though we booked about a year and a half in advance). The cabin was very nice, and our room steward, Ronnie, was excellent! Our daughter slept in bunk beds in a "closet" (we called her Harry Potter), and my husband actually preferred sleeping in there because the constant thumping from the rudders caused him to get motion sick. We have cruised 4 times before with Carnival and never had a problem. On embarkation day, my parents ordered a bottle of wine and fruits, cheese, and chocolate covered strawberries to be delivered to our cabin, and we were in the room for several hours before getting them. The muster drill was easy, and guests in wheelchairs were excused first so that we did not have to fight for the elevators. On the subject of elevators, I wish there were a few reserved for handicapped guests who can not use the stairs. The bathrooms in the common areas all had push buttons to open the handicapped doors, but the staterooms did not. Getting out to the pool deck was a little scary, as there were only rotating doors, and not the option of regular ones. There was one "regular" door, but to get to it, you had to go through the women's restroom (where obviously my husband couldn't go), and there was a step to go out the door, so wheelchairs couldn't use it anyway. There was not wheelchair seating at the shows (or if there was, no one told us) except for in the theater where the ice rink was, and we dealt with some other guests who were VERY unhappy (and vocal about it) that they had to give up their seats for my husband and I. We had a very nice waiter in the dining room, Dennis. However service was sort of slow. This may have been because we had a large group, though. The food was just average in taste. Two of the women in my group ordered both lobster bisque and creme brulee and said they were almost inedible. But Ronnie was quick to replace them with something else! We ordered from Room Service a few times, but once again, were underwhelmed. The variety was not very good and it took FOREVER! Even though this was billed as a "Dreamworks cruise," we weren't able to see many characters. The scheduled times for them were often during our dinner (the 5:30 seating), and the "Move It, Shake It" parade on the promenade on the last night was at 5:15, so we couldn't go to that. We felt as it families were not a priority on this cruise. The kids' club went until 10 p.m. with paid babysitting after that. But, all of the "adult" activities were at 10:45 or later, so in order to take part you HAD to use the paid babysitting. On our last cruise, one of my daughter's favorite traditions was to get a soft serve cone after leaving the Kids' Club, and she couldn't do that here, as it closed down at 6:30. We stayed on the ship in both Haiti and the Grand Caymans, and that's when our daughter did the Flow-Rider. I really suggest doing it when you're in port--she got LOTS of personalized attention, the crowds were small, there was very little line, and, unlike the sea days, no wind! The H2O Zone for the kids was awesome! Embarkation and disembarkation were very easy, and this was the one time I felt like they went out of their ways to help guests in wheelchairs. Getting on and off the ship in each port was very easy. All in all, we definitely had a good time, but I think that next time I cruise, I will be going back to Carnival.

Cabin Review

Our cabin was handicapped accessible, so everything was a bit more spacious. I didn't see a "regular" junior suite so I can't compare it. It was VERY nice, always clean, and our room steward, Ronnie, was very good.

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