Fresh off Freedom of the Seas!

sarahrdh

Mom to 2 Princes and a 1 Princess!
Joined
Aug 10, 2011
We just got home earlier this week from a 3 day cruise on Freedom! This was our families first cruise! Our daughter performed with her dance studio in the Royal Theatre as main stage entertainment! It was such an awesome experience!

We had 2 interior rooms bc we had 6 ppl. However, many families I spoke with from our group had balcony rooms, and paid very little if any to upgrade! Like under $10 per night, to same price per room. Honestly we got stuck (as a group) using a terrible travel agency, and I wasn’t even offered anything other than interior, despite my asking what other options there were….so that was a bit irritating. But, now I know and can choose my own TA next time.

Husband got the deluxe bev package and I got the refreshment (I don’t drink); kids got soda package. It worked out well for our fam. We did not upgrade any dining, and were perfectly happy with the included options. Maybe on a longer cruise I would upgrade, but I felt the variety in the Windjammer and main dining room was great.

We also did not do any excursions. Next time, I would def do some kind of tour in the Bahamas, or I would just not get off the boat. We walked to the straw market, and turned right back around and got back on the ship. Coco Cay was nice though. We went to the pool first, and then the beach. I think the other way around would be better, as we had a tough time finding enough beach chair for us. But…we did find some. There was 1 place that had tacos & nachos but was kind of far from where we were when we were wanting lunch. So I got a grilled chicken sandwich at the place we were at; they had burgers and hot dogs too but I never really order those when I’m on vacay. The grilled chicken sand was good. I do wish there was an extra tram running; our ship and Oasis ( a much larger ship) were both there so it was a bit crowded and there were some waits for teams around the island, and they were just packed!

Our family had so much fun though, and we were a bit nervous about cruising. But it really was a perfect first cruise! I think I’d like to do 4-5 days next time.

Any specific questions, just ask!
 
I agree that 4 nights is a sweet spot for feeling you’ve had enough time to enjoy vacation but too be too long to be away from home (eg,if work commitments). I don’t think I could do a shorter one, and for me, 7 nights is when I start to get back to home life (although many would disagree with this I’m sure)
 
I agree that 4 nights is a sweet spot for feeling you’ve had enough time to enjoy vacation but too be too long to be away from home (eg,if work commitments). I don’t think I could do a shorter one, and for me, 7 nights is when I start to get back to home life (although many would disagree with this I’m sure)
Yeah I def want to look at 4-5 nights for the next one.

My family really enjoyed cruising. More than I thought ANY of us would. I don’t think it will be an every year thing, but maybe every other?
 
When our kids were younger, our vacations were either Disney or cruises. We all enjoyed cruising more - yes parks were fun but disney is tiring. Cruises are very relaxing - you don't have to worry about a thing!
We have more recently done land-based all-inclusives, and we like those too.
 


Nice review, thanks. Like that class of ships. Doing IoS in July. Adventure on Thursday :)

Husband got the deluxe bev package and I got the refreshment (I don’t drink)
Did you have to jump thru hoops to not be forced to buy for yourself?
 

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