Just off Freedom of the seas!

[Hypbmxgurl]

We just spent a week on the Freedom of the seas! This was our first cruise. We visited Haiti,Jamacia, Grand cayman and Cozemel. We got to the port in Cape Canaveral around 1145am last Sunday. Security and check in was a lot smoother and quicker then I expected it to be. Once on board we grabbed lunch and then headed to our room which was ready before 1pm. We where in a superior balcony room at the back of the ship. I was nervous about how small the room would be for us with having a 5 year old and a 1 year old with us which needed the pack n play. The room was the perfect size and we where able to have the pack n play a and the couch bed opened at the same time with ease. We where connected to friends in a suite which worked perfect to allow our children more room to run around.

 

The staff all around was top notch and wonderful in every way. They definitely know great customer service.

 

While in Haiti it was rainy but we still where still able to enjoy ourselves. One thing I can say that is a downfall fall is all the people along the shops are very aggressive in trying to sell things to you. They definitely tried to use our boys to get us to buy things. Once at the beach we did have fun. I needed to go back to get a couple shot glasses though and definitely didn't felt comfortable going alone. It's a place I wouldn't care to go back to truthfully.

 

Next stop was Jamacia. This was my favorite stop of them all. Every Jamaican we came across was amazing! Their attitude and customer service they had was great. We got an all exclusive day at Jewel Runaway Bay. I highly recommend this place. We booked it though an outside company and had a blast. The staff, food,pools and beach where fantastic. They also had great drinks. One thing we loved with having our two boys was they had a swim up bar in one of the pools with a smaller round pool with a Fountain in the middle that was perfect for our almost 2 year.old. kinda gave us a break to sit back in the pool and have a few drinks while watching our little guy play in the smaller pool. Our 5 year old loved going to the bar and ordering his own Virgin drinks. Our taxi driver that we used with our booking was fantastic. He was a funny guy who had is laughing and gave some history.along the way. While stopped at a shop .you husband jokingly got into the driver seat and the man told him he could drive. He took off around the corner and came back with it. But the guy was super chill (I think it was because while we shopped he was smoking a blunt out front. Lol needless to say it was a wonderful day.

 

Next we went to Grand Cayman.

The wait wasn't to bad to get a boat and head to shore. We had used an outside vender for the excursion here as well that had great reviews. After getting into the shopping area it was a little confusing trying to figure out where to find our taxi guy. We ended up walking out of the secure area and couldn't find our guy. We jenn realized they are an hour behind us and we still had an hour to wait for our taxi guy. After waiting over 2 hours and being told he was almost here we where basically told the company no longer has shuttles and we needed to cancel our reservations and find another way. Made the begining very frustrating and hard with our two boys and our friends son we took for the day. Right outside the secure area they had people doing tours for 20 bucks a person. After that it was smooth sailing, we visited Hell, turtle farm, and a store with rum cake. It was a blast! The kids really enjoyed the turtle farm. Getting back on the ship was a little bit of a wait but for as long as the line was it went fast!

 

Next was Cozemel! Once again we had an all exclusive day at Mr. Sanchos. The pools, food and beach was nice. I still enjoyed Jamacias all.exclusive day more. The staff was wonderful though and the food was pretty good! The beach wasn't as kid friendly though. It kinda dropped off fast so we spent most our time around the pool. My husband was able to lay down with our 1 year old in the hammock to get him to nap. That was nice to have there! Another cool thing was the swings at the pool bar. My 5 year old loved that! Taxi's where easy to grab and they had a ton of shops. People in the shops where not pushy at all. The getting on and off at this port was very smooth and easy.

 

The boat itself was never crazy crowded. I mean at certain times the elevators would be a little hard to grab but over all the boat didn't seem as crowded as I had expected. One thing I would definitely say needs to change is the area for babies to swim. Our almost 2 year old loves Water and on Sea days it was very frustrating dealing with him wanting to play in the splash area. It was very colorful and the little area they give to smaller children who are not yet potty trained is a bit rediculous. There's no color or anything for them to do. The area is like half the size of our room they are aloud to play in. My husband enjoyed the rock climbing wall and the flow ridder. We took the kids to do mini golf a few times and of course they enjoyed that. It was never a crowded area on the ship. We went to the quest game and it was great! Definitely worth going to! The food in the diving room and windjammer was pretty good, not the best but nothing I would complain about. The kids club was great, our oldest loved it and begged us to go. Lots of great activities for them to do! Over all we had an amazing time and will definitely use Royal Caribbean again next time! Wait a couple years for when our son is potty trained!

[leaveitallbehind]

Thanks for posting. Nice review and glad you had a good cruise. The only comment I'll offer in the form of feedback would be to not refer to the vessel as a "boat" - it is definitely a ship! Don't want to upset or offend the Captain....:D

 

Enjoy your next cruise on your next ship..... ;)

Edited May 29, 2016 by leaveitallbehind

[Hypbmxgurl]

Here's some.photos from.our trip!

[Hypbmxgurl]

Few more

[Hypbmxgurl]

Thanks for posting. Nice review and glad you had a good cruise. The only comment I'll offer in the form of feedback would be to not refer to the vessel as a "boat" - it is definitely a ship! Don't want to upset or offend the Captain....:D

 

Enjoy your next cruise on your next ship..... ;)

 

Lmao very true, pretty bad I've been correcting my 5 year old all week of that and now I'm doing it 😂

[DonnaK]

Just a note about Labadee: Behind the flea market, there is a building with a fixed-price Artisan's Market. It has some of the same merchandise without the high pressure attitude. That's where we shop. I would rather paid a dollar or two more, and not have to bargain or feel uncomfortable.

[Clarea]

Thanks for the report.:)

[Hypbmxgurl]

Just a note about Labadee: Behind the flea market, there is a building with a fixed-price Artisan's Market. It has some of the same merchandise without the high pressure attitude. That's where we shop. I would rather paid a dollar or two more, and not have to bargain or feel uncomfortable.

 

That's very good to know! I feel bad for the people of Haiti but those guys where awful along the main strip.

[Arzeena]

Thanks for posting your report. We will be doing the Eastern Caribbean on the Freedom in June.

Another vote for the Jewel Resorts in Jamaica. We did the Jewel Dunn's River Resort closer to Ocho Rios, and absolutely loved it.