One of the best reasons to sail on a slightly older Royal Caribbean cruise ship is when you can get a great deal, even if it's an inside room.
Freedom of the Seas is approaching being 20 years old, but don't let her age fool you. The ship got a massive upgrade in 2020 that added a lot, plus recent changes to its casino. That has added a lot to what this cruise ship can offer.
So when I received an offer to sail in an inside cabin on Freedom of the Seas for just port fees and taxes, I jumped at the chance.
Not only would I be able to go back onboard a favorite ship of mine, but also sneak in another getaway cruise before the end of the year.
Here's what it's like to choose one of the smallest staterooms on Freedom.
How I got such a low price
The secret to paying just port fees and taxes on what is essentially a "free cruise" is I received the offer through Royal Caribbean's casino.
I think the casino loyalty program is the best value in cruising right now, and you don't need to be a mega gambler in order to qualify for these offers.
Basically, I play enough in the casino on my sailings to qualify for offers to be mailed to me. Most casino pros recommend at least 200 - 300 points per sailing at a minimum to likely qualify.
One offer had an inside stateroom for free on a 5-night Freedom of the Seas cruise scheduled to visit Perfect Day at CocoCay and Cozumel. Spoiler alert, we didn't visit either of those places.
All I had to pay were the port fees and taxes. Since I was sailing solo, I paid just $272. I got $39.58 refunded onboard when we didn't go to the scheduled ports.
An inside room is small, but it's perfect if I'm alone
You can argue the virtues of if an inside room is a good idea or not, but I really don't mind them. This is especially true when I'm on the cruise without my family.
With the kids in school, the choice of taking an inside room wasn't a problem. The casino offers are inflexible in that regard, although I might have been able to spend more to upgrade to a balcony. I felt if I'm getting a "free room", I'm going to take advantage of that and limit my costs.
Royal Caribbean assigned me cabin 6669, which was a short walk from the aft elevator bank. I greatly prefer to have a cabin near the elevators instead of down the hall, so this worked out well.
Plus, it was one deck from the Royal Promenade. This made it very convenient to be able to run back to my room for anything.
Royal Caribbean opens its cabins on embarkation day usually at 1pm, and I walked into a small space, but since it was just me, it's all I needed.
I've stayed in a lot of inside rooms on cruise ships, and while their exact dimensions or configuration may differ slightly, they all tend to have a similar feel.
There's a private bathroom, sitting area, vanity, and bed. Plus, you'll find closet space too.
One thing I noticed immediately was the cabin decor felt like a 20 year old ship. As a rule of thumb, Royal Caribbean never updates its stateroom look during scheduled maintenance. They have never commented why, but I assume it's a cost issue.
While the motif may be dated, it's not a big deal. You adjust quickly to it and it doesn't affect the enjoyment of the cruise. It's just something that may initially jump out.
When I entered the cabin for the first time, the beds were pushed together to form one bed. That's not inherently a problem, but one of my favorite cruise hacks is to have the beds split apart to make the room feel bigger.
With the beds together, it required climbing over the bed to get in or out of the bed. But with them split, it's much easier to get around.
Plus, it made the space feel more open.
The bathroom is certainly big enough for just one person, but it's effectively the same bathroom layout and size as most non-suites cabin bathrooms on this ship.
There's a little storage space behind the mirror, but you can also stash some things below.
Just a reminder that Royal Caribbean only provides the 2-in-1 shampoo and body wash, so be sure to pack your own shampoo, conditioner, and body wash.
At the vanity, you'll find all of the power outlets for the room.
There are no USB plugs, so you'll need to bring your own adaptor. I recommend buying this power adaptor because it offers 4 USB outlets, and will work in both US or EU power outlets. (Affiliate link means I'll make a small commission if you buy it, but it costs you nothing extra)
I also received complimentary soda and bottled water, but that's because I'm a top tier member within Crown and Anchor Society.
When you reach the upper tiers of the program, there are a lot of freebies that you get every sailing. Not only does this save me money, but it's so convenient to have them waiting in the cabin.
Opposite the desk and chair is the couch. I rarely ever use my couch for a place to sit, as it tends to accumulate various belongings as the cruise goes on.
The couch isn't big enough to sleep on, unless you're rather short or a child perhaps. But it's not very deep either, so I think it's best suited for a visitor stopping by.
I was surprised how large the closet is, as there are both shelves and plenty of hangers.
You could easily store your clothes and suitcases in here, although I prefer to slide my suitcase under my bed.
The perfect getaway cabin
Considering the low price I paid for this room, I have no complaints about the cabin.
The outdated decor doesn't mean much since I basically used the room to sleep, shower, and change. Otherwise, I was mostly out and about the ship. I even chose to do most of my work from public venues.
The downside to an inside room is there's no natural light, so you cannot easily tell the time of day. Nonetheless, I adjusted quickly and would set alarms so I knew if I was sleeping too late.
I think most people that choose a room like this on Freedom of the Seas are doing so to save money and get to cruise for a lower price. If so, this stateroom should offer the perfect way to get aboard without any extra frills.
