Freedom of the Seas

I spent this July 4th holiday onboard the beautiful, Freedom of the Seas! The Royal Caribbean ship sails out of Port Canaveral, Florida. Since I live in Orlando, it was a short drive to the Port. We actually arrived later than we normally would for embarkation, about 1pm. The terminal was packed. It took about 30 minutes from the time we got through security until we were onboard the ship. Embarkation itself, was smooth and we had no complaints.
Since we arrived after 1pm our stateroom was ready when we boarded. We stayed in an E2 balcony cabin on deck 6. Cabin 6626 to be exact.
We had lunch in the Windjammer Cafe. The food was very good. We pre-registered my son for the Adventure Ocean club. This was our biggest complaint of the cruise, through no fault of the staff. We have sailed on Princess with my 4 year old many times and he was used to the large kids' club onboard those ships. Princess' newest fleet offers a mini-rock wall in the kids' club, a climbing gym, about 6 computers, play areas, large flat screen tv and an oustide big wheel track. My son walked into the Freedom of the Seas club and was not happy to see only a boat with a slide, a lego table and small tv with a couch. The staff was wonderful, but Spencer didn't enjoy the kid's club very much.
We chose late traditional dining and were seated in the Leonardo Dining Room on deck 3. I was happy with the food, desserts and after dinner drinks that were offered nightly.
Our waiter Raj was fantastic and a true professional.
We sailed to Coco Cay, St. Thomas and St. Maarten. Coco Cay was the only washout. We did some quick shopping on St. Thomas and spent the day on the beach on St. Maarten.

For those looking for a cheap day on the beach, take the ferry over to the shopping area ($6 round trip) and walk to the white umbrellas to the right. The Holland House offers 2 chairs, umbrella and 5 iced cold drinks for only $15. We also rented a jet ski for $55. St. Maarten is my favorite island. The waters are so clear and I love the landscape.

Back on the ship, we passed on the shows, but did try the Flow Rider and rock wall. Make sure to wear shorts over your bathing suits ladies, the current is VERY strong. The sports deck has plenty of activities including mini-golf, basketball and ping pong.
Overall, this was a wonderful cruise. However, be warned that Royal Caribbean no longer offers chocolates on your bed at night (much to the disappointment of my 4 year old) and ice is only offered in the afternoon, unless you ask for more. I would definately sail this ship again!
For videos of my trip, go to my YouTube page, http://www.youtube.com/user/becktours.