If you are thinking about going on a cruise on Royal Caribbean’s Freedom of the Seas, stay tuned for our honest Freedom of the Seas Review.
We hadn’t been on a cruise in over 15 years, but my son had been bugging us to try a cruise for a while and we finally made it happen.
Cruising is such a unique vacation. You can take in a show, lay by the pool, put your feet in the sand on a beach, Go snorkling, come down a water slide, try Karaoke, or do nothing at all.
We had a fabulous time really, But I wanted to break down what we really loved and what..we really didn’t.
About Freedom of the Seas
The Freedom of the Seas was launched in May 2006 as the world’s largest cruise ship.
Although the ship is no longer the largest in Royal Caribbean’s fleet it does not feel outdated at all. Royal Caribbean spent $116 million upgrading the ship in 2020 including
- The Perfect Storm: A twisting, turning waterslide duo
- Updated pool area
- New deckside dining
- New bars
- Adventure Ocean Youth Club
- Teen Spaces
- Laser Tag
- Splashaway Bay kids water park
Where we sailed:
This was a four day cruise that sailed out of Miami. It included one day in Nassau, Bahamas , one Day at Royal Caribbean’s private island CocoCay and one day at sea.
It was the perfect introductory cruise.
Our Family’s Pro’s for Freedom of the Seas
The Teen Club
I didn’t get a chance to see it in person because…teen. LOL. But what I will say is that he loved that there was a dedicated space just for teens. Right next to the arcade, the basketball court and Johnny Rockets.
The teens club also had activities just for the teens including parties that started at 9:30 pm . And if you are concerned about when your teen is getting in, there is a boatwide curfew for teens at 1am.
My son loved the freedom of having somewhere to go, freedom around the ship and friends to hang out with. True Freedom of the Seas
The Solarium
For someone who is not interested in laying out in the sun, the Solarium was a godsend. Not only was it a kid free zone, it peaceful and calm and the waiters came by with whatever you needed. I spent the majority of my time lounging in a deck chair with a good book and a bowl of chips and guac.
The Food
The food is not 5 star. If you are a foodie, this is not the ship for you.
But it’s good enough that I looked forward to all of the options. The Windjammer( the buffet) could be a little redundant but the food was always good and there was lots of it with a few new options every day.
The Dining room is where we had dinner most nights and breakfast one morning. I had no compaints and the pasta dish picuted above was literally one of the best things I’ve had.
We tried one specialty restaurant ( extra cost), Izumi ,the Hibachi restaurant. We liked it! It was fun and i love how they just had gluten free soy sauce for everyone and a dedicated grill that day for gluten free. My son really enjoyed it.
But there is also a taco bar and even a coffee shop that serves Starbucks and snacks, there was enough variety to keep it interesting.
And for my son who had gluten free allergies, there were lots of options and when they weren’t readily available, the staff was always ready to try to accommodate him.
A Perfect Day at CocoCay
This was literally my favorite part of the trip. Many Royal Caribbean cruises include a stop at Perfect Day at CocoCay, the cruise line’s private island in the Bahamas. Measuring 125 acres, Perfect Day at CocoCay has a little bit of everything for everyone, whether you want your time there to be laid back beach time, overwater cabanas, a day of family fun at the water park, a 1600 foot zip line an adults only zone or a fun day at the pool.
Our son ran off with friends to the pool while we lounged on the beach. Perfection.
Our Family’s Con’s For Our Freedom of the Seas Review ( things we didn’t like)
I really only have two things that we felt were a Con for this Freedom of the Seas Review.
Our room
We didn’t think. We assumed ( wrongly) that the couch in the room was a pull out and that our teenager would sleep there, while we would have the two beds pushed together.
We were wrong.
So wrong.
This was our room
We got a inside room with a porthole because I really can’t do interior rooms because they feel like a cave.
I thought this was the perfect compromise.
Not so. It felt like a glorified dorm room.
We would have worked with it for a few things:
- my teen is afraid of heights
- The pull down bed( the “bunk” ) had the thinnest matress in life. It was like carboard. I don’t even see how a child would be comfortable up there.
- My husband ended up piling pillows and blankets on the couch that wasn’t a pullout. Even cramped there he said it was better than the pulldown.
Next time, we will look into either a suite situation or an adjoining room situation Cause no.
The Nickel and Dime-ing of the All inclusive vacation
I know that we haven’t cruised in over 15 years but I was so surprised at how many “extras” there were.
Want a speciality restaurant? pay for it
Want more than lemonade ice tea or water: there is a package for that
Want coffee? Pay for it
Want to go to the waterpark on Cococay? pay for it.
Want to reserve that poolside bungalow..pay for it.
Want to play bingo? pay this buy in starting at $49. ( for some reason this really irked me).
Its something a lot of people don’t think about. We think oh yes, we are going to have to pay for that alcohol, but not everything else too.
Overall, we really enjoyed our vacation of Royal Caribbean’s Freedom of the Seas. I can recommend it iof you are looking for a great family vacation. Especially if you have an older kid like a teen.
The adults gave this cruise a 8/10 ( off for all the extra expenses)
The teen gave it a 9/10( 1 off because of his food allergy options which i will discuss in a later post. )