Freedom of the Seas Review
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I have been on cruises before but I just don't remember ever feeling so welcomed and cared about as I did on this cruise. All of the people working on this ship are amazing - from the room attendants, to the waiters, to guest services and bartenders. Everyone goes out of their way and seems to be enjoying themselves as well. The service is impeccable. You will never be treated that well unless you stay in an extremely expensive resort or you're a celebrity. I don't know how they do it day after day. I actually cried and hugged the staff on the last day.
Getting on and off the ship was extremely easy and smooth. The ship itself is very clean. The food is good and so is the entertainment. We ate in the main dining room and the buffet - (no special dining for us) and you could always find something good to eat.
This was a very full ship with lots of kids and I'm not always thrilled to be around that many people but you could always find a little space if you needed. I would say that the worst thing about this cruise was the other passengers most of whom were annoying or just plain clueless. I really don't see what people have to complain about. No cooking, no cleaning and people to wait on you every second as well as amazing places to visit.
Cabin Review
Ocean View
The room was better than expected. We booked last minute so we could not get a balcony but we were happy with our porthole. We were close to the theater and our favorite bar and it was really easy to get off and on the ship from our room. We also burned calories walking up and down 8 flights of stairs all the time to the deck and the buffet. The only annoying part was that the ice skating rink was right in the center of our floor so we always had to go up to the 4th floor walk across the ship and go back down to 3 to get to the dining room and the back of the ship.
Port Reviews
San Juan
We just went straight to the ship and back to the airport so unfortunately didn't get to see San Juan. Next time, we might try and stay a day so we can do some touring.
Aruba
We took a taxi to Arashi Beach. Amazing snorkeling and not crowded. We swam down to Boca Catalina where all the snorkeling tour boats stopped. It was the best snorkeling of the trip. After that, we took the bus to Palm Beach. Much more crowded and built up but fun to walk around and see the hotels. The bus runs every hour and costs $3. It's very convenient. Going back to the ship, we didn't know exactly where the bus stop was - they really aren't marked. So we sat on a bench with some maids that had just gotten off work. A van pulled up and offered us a ride to the port. We were wary but the driver said - $2 each and there were other people (locals) already in the van. So we took the ride and he dropped us off downtown which is a very short walk to the ship. Aruba was the best organized and kept up island.
St. Kitts (Port Zante)
We were originally thinking of going to Nevis but we weren't sure if we had enough time. We took a taxi to Cockleshell Beach. On most islands, they ask you where you want to go and put you in groups - most of the taxis are actually vans or buses and they like to get as many people in as possible because they charge by the person. Every taxi and tour stops on the top of the hill so you can take picture of the beautiful scenery and the monkeys. I think we were actually on Reggae Beach but it's right next to it. We rented a jet ski for 30 minutes which was really fun. The water was great but not for snorkeling. I found out that the boats there will take you to Nevis for $25 a person or $20 for 4 or more. Maybe next time, we will try and find others who want to go. Our taxi picked us up at 2:30 and took us back to the ship. We walked around downtown but it was a little scary so we didn't stay long.
St. John (U.S.V.I.)
We had already been to St Thomas so we decided to go to St John. The problem was there was a lot traffic. Same drill - in an open air taxi with others who also wanted to go to the ferry. It took almost an hour to get there so we made the 10am ferry which sat for almost 30 minutes before crossing. We knew that we had to get the 3pm ferry back if we had a chance of making it back to the ship by 4:30. I had read on the boards that you could hike to the beach from the ferry. I didn't realize that it was an actual hike! Luckily we wore our running shoes. It was a good 30 minute hike up and down a rocky trail - actually a really nice hike if you were ready for it. The beach was called Honeymoon Beach and it was beautiful. Not much there - just a little shack - perfect. I asked one of the workers if we could catch a taxi back but no, there is no way to get in or out except by boat or hiking. So we had to add the hike into our calculations of getting back to the ferry. Walked around the little town but we were nervous about getting a seat on the ferry. It was easy to get a cab back to the port and the traffic wasn't as bad in the afternoon.