Royal Caribbean Freedom of the Seas

The beautiful Freedom class of ships from Royal Caribbean are truly without parallel. Prepare to be spoiled!

The Freedom class includes Freedom of the Seas, Liberty of the Seas and Independence of the Seas, all virtually identical and all VERY large as far as cruise ships go. These ships feature all the latest in cruise ship technology, from environmentally friendly ship systems and state of the art azipod steering, to amenities that will wow you and your entire family. In the picture below, you can see the hot tub cantilevered out over the edge of the ship on the left (there’s  one on the port side as well). At night the roof over the hot tub is lit up with tiny pin lights and makes for a marvelous effect as you sit in the spa while riding over the ocean waves far below.

For those familiar with the Royal Caribbean ‘look,’ you’ll find plenty of their signature décor aboard. Our trip was on the Freedom of the Seas, so the pictures you see here are from that lovely ship (click on any picture to see it in full size). Throughout the ship the décor is decadent, colourful and yet subtle – the perfect ambiance for a cruise. While no provider can please everyone, Royal Caribbean has come pretty close with the Freedom class. The kids’ club is fantastic and we rarely saw children as they were engrossed in their own activities. There’s even a lovely and private adults only area and a good gym and spa.

Somehow RCI (Royal Caribbean International) has managed to take a very large ship (the largest in the world when we sailed it) and have it come across as intimate and welcoming. Although she holds a record number of passengers and crew, the ship never feels crowded. We did not encounter any lines for anything, from dinners to entertainment to leisure activities such as rock climbing and mini-golf. The one exception was the surfing simulator, which was extremely popular, for good reason!

The formal dining room is the most decadent we’ve seen, with a full three tiers open in the middle and lots of glorious gold. While some cruise ships can be a bit tacky, we found that RCI has found a perfect mix between nautical and upscale without being in the least bit snobby. Through the middle of the ship runs the Royal Promenade, a Royal Caribbean innovation taken to further heights on this ship – they have taken good advantage of the size and added many extra boutiques and cafés.

One thing that makes the Freedom class beautiful is that they are new ships. All the carpets, wall coverings and artwork pieces are new; the railings and glass elevators and floors are gleaming. There is nothing threadbare as you may find on older ships, and everything is designed to impress, from the glass sculptures to the spectacular amenities. The rooms are spacious and well thought out, in every category. Ours was a junior suite and we found ourselves spending lots of time in it just relaxing to the sound of the Caribbean waves outside our balcony door.

All in all, the Freedom class of ships is good value for the money, and offers something for almost everyone. We saw no particular age group or even cultural group as being prevalent. The food is varied and delicious and well presented for a ship of such size; the activities and excursions offer various levels of challenge and interest; the entertainment is varied and well done and the cruise director is helpful without being intrusive or cutesy. The ship is well laid out and there are no bottlenecks despite the number of people. There is something of the familiar for Royal Caribbean and lots of new things to explore – a great combination!

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