kevpeirce

Freedom had them, same class ship. I remember them in the windjammer and on the promenade, not sure about the pool deck.

We've done Anthem and had a it was one of our favorites! That trip was pre kids for us and sailing in November were slightly disappointed in not having the indoor pool on Odyssey but the updated pool deck and splash away bay will be nice once we reach the warmer weather. We're also excited to have a playmakers that Anthem didn't have, and we really enjoyed the seaplex, even won the adult dodgeball championship!

That does ring a bell now, unfortunately no gty suites. When we booked the only suite was available was for a measly $31,XXX, just a couple hundred out of our price range and now it shows they're sold out. The double points would bump us to emerald and we just turned platinum on Freedom in a JS aft balcony. Having an actual tub for the kids is a huge plus as well and just that little extra space to get around the beds. What made Odyssey's JS stand out so much?

We booked the 11 night eastern Caribbean fresh off of Odyssey's TA. It'll be my wife, 2 boys(5 and 3, their third cruise), and myself. We're toying with the idea of specialty dining and drink packages, as well as some potential excursions. We will be going to St Maarten(2 ships), Antigua(4 ships), St Kitts(3 ships), and San Juan(3 ships, they arrive after us), port times are 0800 to 1800 for each port. Were in a balcony right now, hoping a JS opens up or get the option to bid for one for the double C&A points. For drink packages normally I get the deluxe package and my wife gets the refreshment package as she is gluten free and rarely drinks. I'd get this as well if not the deluxe, the cost difference is 4 drinks a day to make it worth the deluxe package, still up in the air on this one and it helps that the DBP has been sitting at 35%($64.99) off since we booked, I've heard it may hit 40% though. Dining is enticing since this will be the last cruise both kids would be free for. The downside is were not sure how well the specialty options accommodate gluten free and my wife is far less willing to try things than I am, and we've never really had issues with eating in the main dining room. We also both don't eat seafood so Izumi would be out for anything other than the teppanyaki tables if they were able to accommodate gluten free. We would definitely use the per-diem for playmakers quite a bit. Also does anyone know if Cafe 270 still has gluten free sandwiches, Anthem did back in 2019 at least for breakfast. Not sure if that disappeared with the addition of Gluten Free stations in the windjammer. If we forego the dining package we will likely still do a night at Chops. We've been to St Maarten back in 2018 and took the ferry from the cruise port over to the beach, we will probably do the same this time and rent chairs on our own. I think it would be cool to see Maho beach but also pretty sure the noise would scare the kids still, at least my youngest he's a bit dramatic with loud noises. Basseterre St Kitts is a new port for us, looking at maps, it looks like there is a chocolate factory right in or just outside of the port. That may be a fun option for the kids, or if anyone has any other suggestions that would be awesome. St Johns Antigua is another new port for us, looking at the cruise planner it looks like we can book a 4 hour beach excursion that includes chairs, a drink, and food options for under $50 so that may be a go to. Any other suggestions again would be great. San Juan is a repeat for us, we'll probably get off and walk to Senor Paleta for their popsicles and maybe grab lunch on land. We did this in 2018 and last year with the kids and my parents. On board looking at the cruise planner has left me some questions, it looks like there is a fee now for both the North Star and iFly. Is that the new normal? Can we book free activities ahead of time or do we need to wait until we're on board like the other ships post covid?

Were booked! Wife, 2 boys(5 and 3), and myself got a balcony for now, going to hope a JS opens up for the double C&A points. Debating on the deluxe drink package and dining packages. Not super heavy drinkers but would get the refreshment package so its not too much different. For the dining we don't eat seafood so Izumi would probably be out minus the hibachi if they could accommodate gluten free. Does any know if 270 cafe still has gluten free sandwiches? We would certainly use our per-diem towards playmakers or at the pub though.

We were on deck 7.

I used the fox sports app and linked my xfinity account to it.

Post trip review Ship She shows her age in some places but we expected that. Nothing major enough to disrupt your vacation, just know that its not a brand new ship going into it. A couple elevators were out of service during the trip, one was a couple of days before it was fixed. It was very easy to get around the ship for different events, it never really seemed overly crowded anywhere. The ship did seem to smoke a considerable amount more than others, obviously Wonder puts off almost nothing but even adventure was wayyy less than Freedom. This may be addressed in the upcoming dry dock in December along with the other issues. Make sure you get to the helipad. Room Jr suite and aft balcony was a sweet combination, even with the "obstructions" the views were fantastic the entire trip. The pullout couch was perfect for the toddlers and Bobby made it as two separate beds. We told him to leave it out for the week as the boys were going to nap and simply to make life easier. The towel animals were awesome and I feel like he cleaned and restocked the room every time we went out. Bobby was on top of it for sure and certainly went above and beyond when talking to us and playing with the kids as well. There is definitely a noticeable vibration in the back when underway and docking, nothing unbearable but you will notice it. With the excess exhaust out put there was an odor of it when sitting on the balcony, if you're sensitive to these smells this could be a problem for you. We had seen a review prior to our sailing saying the balcony was covered in soot, we did not see this during our trip. At Coco Cay we were told there would be balcony maintenance, we never saw anything and there was no trace of what was done, I was thinking they may have just been cleaning them if this was a known issue. Dining Rose and Josh were awesome, super friendly and efficient with their work. Many mornings we ran into Josh in the windjammer and always managed to make sure he said hello to us and see what we were up to that day. The food in the main dining room was everything you'd expect from royal. I can't remember what each night was but I know I had the prime rib, Chicken parm, Jerk pork chop, chicken cordon bleu, and a NY Strip. Appetizers I had the beef capriccio, a Caesar salad, and French onion soup, again all were very good, even if the onions don't love me, I still love them. The windjammer was buffet food but definitely above average. It was always hot, never seemed dried out and options were plentiful. It is worth noting that for lunch and dinner there is an entire gluten free section. Sorrento's was good and the gluten free pizzas were always ready very fast. Playmakers was good, the chicken sandwich was a little small but still tasty. I wasn't a huge fan of the truffle fries it come with so I'd probably get regular fries the next time. They advertise a hot chicken sandwich and when I asked about it they claim that it is VERY VERY hot. Entertainment The ice show and theatre show were both really good and entertaining, both were heavily based in music. We did not go to the headliner show due to the kids and times. Darla was a great pub singer and the boys loved listening as much as we did. We attended an anchors away parade on one of the days, it was short and kind of silly but the kids had fun. Photos We got some really good photos. Like it said in the one post, it would be nice to see the photographers encourage things other than the plain jane poses and let them get creative. They enjoy it and the pictures from it will be worth it. Oddly enough we just got the link to our photos today, we've never waited this long before. Ft Lauderdale Super easy to cruise from here. The hotels are plentiful and many very close to the port. Our shuttles weren't the cheapest ones but were still only $12 a seat, our 2 year old was free as a "lap" rider. It was nice to know there wouldn't be any surprise rideshare fees or waits having it all booked before ever leaving home. Hotel - Embassy Suites 17th St I would absolutely stay here again, it was a clean and fresh hotel. There is a ton of food options within walking distance and two grocery stores as well. It's also a mile and a half from the port, 3 turns if you were wondering.

It was a great combination for the room! I wouldn't hesitate to do it again if we get the chance.

It was a nice change from the Oasis class, still large but also a smaller crowd. Other than the elevators on deck 4 and debarkation morning we never really felt over crowded anywhere on the ship. It does show its age in some places and one of the bartenders told us that many things do not work or work the way they should. We did have a couple elevators out of service during the trip but it didn't have a big effect on anything. You should have a great time on the ship still.

Day 8 - Debarkation We got up around 615 made our way to the windjammer for breakfast before going back to the cabin to get our backpacks and one carry off bag. We said our goodbye to Bobby who asked if we wanted to stay, if only it were that easy! The back elevators were pretty crazy when we went to breakfast and back so we decided to use the front elevators. This dumped us right into the line, we walked around the elevators, through the theatre, out to the walking track, and off of the ship. Knowing we had a lot of bags we grabbed a porter and were through customs and in the hotel shuttle lot before 8am. After a couple other parties arrived we were on our way back to FLL. Checking bags got a little interesting as we managed to have our biggest bag 6lbs over, so we were those people moving things.(it was the shoe bag that got moved) We got through security by 830ish and were very disappointed that every coffee place was absolutely mobbed, we settled for some pre bottled ice coffee. By this time it was hurry up and wait as our flight had just left Philly, fortunately on time and showed an early arrival. The weather had other plans pushing them all the way out over the Bahamas before coming into FLL but still arrived on time. Luckily we were able to board quickly and we were off on our way back to PHL. With the weather the first half hour to hour were a little rough and we had the same diversion over the Bahamas we landed in Philly about 10 minutes early and were home by 4.

Day 7 - Sea Day Last full day on board with almost the same plans as the day before. We were up with watch the sunrise which was a perfect view from our balcony. Easy going day with some packing in the afternoon. The morning we did have some rough seas, Captain Dustin picked the pace up a little before lunch and got us to smoother waters before dinner. This meant we were well up into the Bahamas and managed to see a Carnival ship, Uptopia, and Allure. We tried to go to Playmakers to watch the Phillies and game 1 of the NLDS only to find out that they don't have fox. They get the football games with Sunday Ticket but that is as far as it goes. We bought WIFI and streamed it through our own device while there eating and playing games. It was extremely crowded when we first got there with college football but did clear out as dinner approached. The staff were doing the best they could but there just wasn't enough of them to keep up. We did a little shopping after dinner and squared away our photo package before an early night as we had a 745 debarkation time.

Day 6 - Sea Day With all of our ports done, we had 2 sea days on our way back to Ft Lauderdale. No real plans other than just getting sometime in the sun and Splashaway Bay in the morning. Our oldest managed to introduce himself to The Sandlot flipping through channels. We did get in a round of mini golf early after our daily breakfast at the windjammer. Mostly an uneventful day with the afternoon naps in store. This was the second formal night or "dress your best" or 70's night, quite the mixture walking around the ship. Before dinner we decided to head for the helipad again and we were in luck. The views are incredible and staring off and seeing nothing but ocean as far as you can see is a great place to be. We managed to dinner and said our goodbyes to Rose and Josh as the Phillies were playing the following night and our plan was to watch them in Playmakers. After dinner the plan was to see the show in the theatre, when both boys realized they left their new sonic and spiderman key chains in the dining room. I managed to get in an unplanned workout running back to the dining room where Rose had them set aside, followed by a run back to the theatre. The show was based around fairytales with music mixed in and a live orchestra. While not the most amazing show we've ever seen it was worth going to and the kids loved it again. After the show it was off for ice cream on the promenade, they had a good selection of flavors and it was very creamy which was nice.

Day 5 - Charlotte Amalie Our day started about 7am with the sights of some islands behind us followed by the ship being turned around and backed into the harbor to port. We had wanted to book the excursion to Magen's Bay for the assurance of making it back to the ship, for whatever reason this was not available to book with a 2 year old, Royal claims its due to insurance. We decided to take the risk and pay for the taxi ourselves and go anyway. It was very easy to find the taxi's and get to whatever destination you wanted. We passed a decent sized iguana of some sort on our walk. The roads were an interesting ride with how steep they were but there were some amazing views of both sides of the island on our way. Once there our driver said if everyone on the taxi could agree to a time he would give everyone a discount, this was eventually settled to 1. It's also worth mentioning there is a $7 fee for adults to get into Magen's Bay,, kids under 12 were free. Magen's Bay was very nice and not overly crowded. It is worth noting we were the only ship here today so if there are more, it is probably going to be very crowded. There are a handful of picnic benches under tress that are free to use, other than that they offer chair and tent as well as towel rentals, they are $20 each. We were able to grab a free bench as we got there before the Royal excursions did! The water was slightly deceiving in that it appears rather calm but the strength of the water was very strong. We were a little extra cautious with our over confident 4 year old and made sure to keep him between someone and the beach when he was in the water with us. It was also really warm here, between that, it being day 5 of vacation, and the constant swimming and playing the boys weren't going to make it to 1 without making the rest of the day a waste, so off to find a taxi back around 12. There is a stop where they run taxi's roughly every 20 minutes to either the ship or downtown. I imagine if you wanted somewhere else they could accommodate that as well. We were back to the ship by 1230, grabbed lunch in the windjammer and made it back to the room for nap time. For what its worth, we still managed to save money by going ourselves vs with Royal, although there was a great sale the week before we went the difference was $15-$20. Lunch was unremarkable, but again above average buffet food so we were pleased. Dinner was the main dining room again with no real rush. My wife snuck off to a massage taster which turned into a 75 minute massage. Meanwhile they boys and I decided to go take some silly pictures with the photographers. To this point most of the photographers were only suggesting the same simple poses with every backdrop and not putting a lot into it. When we began to goof off many of them got very excited and one in particular went crazy with snapping shots and laughing with us. Not sure if this is being pushed by Royal, this ships Focus management or something else. It would be great to see the photographers be able to get creative and loosen up, while still getting the serious portraits as well. After some fun we ended up in the pub when shortly after Darla arrived to start preparing for her set. Our 4 year old is obsessed with the song Two Blue Chairs and You by Zac Brown Band that has just come out. Darla happened to overhear him talking to me and asked if he knew the song Chicken Fried which he also likes. This ended up being her second song of the night, this seemed fair as the first was happy birthday to another 2 year old. When taking her guitar out she asked our 4 year old if he wanted to "help" tune her guitar when he chickened out, our 2 year old jumped up to the plate. They both loved being there for the music and were even having their own dance party. Before long it was time to head back to the room for the night and hope that momma bear would find her way back from the spa, which she did right before bed, even if she did walk down the wrong side of the ship.(her words not mine)

Day 4 - San Juan We weren't getting into San Juan until roughly 11 and there until 8pm, we would be there with Adventure for part of the day as they left at 4pm. Having been to San Juan before we had some idea of what we wanted to do. With absolutely no research into it we planned to get lunch and then go to Senor Paleta for a snack. Originally figured it would be fun for the kids to go to Senor Frogs, only to find out that it has closed since we were there in 2018, that's what we get for not researching this. We ended up eating lunch at Vaca Brava, the staff was friendly and the food was good, especially the burger with sausage. After walking up to Senor Paleta, we headed back to the ship stopping into some shops along the way. We tried to make our way to the helipad as we pulled into the port but it was closed while paint dried. Before dinner we watched Adventure sail away, this was our first night skipping the main dining room since lunch was on the larger side. We sided with Playmakers for dinner instead. I got the chicken sandwich(not the hot one, they claim that it is VERY hot), the boys split chicken fingers, and we got a gluten free pizza for my wife, which the kids of course sampled. They got to enjoy some games after dinner, thankfully for my wallet there is not a charge for foosball. This was the first time we've been in port when the sun had set, getting to see the city lights from the balcony during sail away was a cool experience.

Day 3 - Sea Day Our first day was relatively easy going. Windjammer for breakfast before hitting the pool deck. The aft view while sailing is one that may never get old. We got there around 1030-11 and managed to get 3 chairs near Splashaway Bay. The kids eased into the water slides, with our 4 year old working up to the biggest yellow slide and not being able to get enough of it. Watching him using his problem solving skills to find the slide with the shortest slide each time was really eye opening at how much we miss in the hustle and bustle of everyday life. This was a really well put together area of the ship and having El Loco Fresh and Sprinkles right there is extremely convenient. The windjammer is also easy to run in and grab food, especially when a 2 year old demands french-fries to go with their lunch. This was formal night and we managed to snag a few portraits before dinner. We were able to make it through dinner with all outfits in tact and get more portraits after dinner. I don't recall what we had for dinner this night but I do know we did not have a single bad meal in the dining room. We were a little longer this night with no show to rush for which was fine by us. Our longest night in the dining room was still under an hour and a half, the changes they've made seem to help. Some of the lines moved faster than others. The only negative here was when our 4 year old needed to go to the bathroom, for some reason the public restrooms especially decks 4 and 5, in both the front and back, were VERY warm. This was for the entire sailing not just this night, but in dress pants and shirt, that made it extra enjoyable in there. We ended the night again listening to Darla from the promenade before ending the evening.

Day 2 - Coco Cay I was woken up by an increase in vibration in our cabin about 650, peaking out of the curtains, we were making our turn to back into the pier at Coco Cay! I managed to sneak out on to the balcony incase Captain Dustin needed any extra help getting Freedom in there. I managed to do this with only waking up my wife, which is impressive since the boys were both asleep on the pullout couch right next to the balcony door. For a brief period we could see Wonder behind us waiting their turn to dock next to us. After parking like the Freedom is a Maserati, it was very clear there was a storm on the other side of the island coming right for us. Within a few minutes you could watch the downpour come across the island and the ship, fortunately, as quick as it moved in, the storm was gone. This was the only rain we would see our entire trip until we were back at the airport on our way home. We hit the Windjammer for breakfast and as Freedom is the smallest ship we've been on since Enchantment in 2014, we were pleasantly surprised how efficient and ample seating was. For a buffet the food was surprisingly fresh and hot, there was also a great selection in each section to make it easy to get food and keep track of the kids at the same time. This was perfect because both boys decided they were going for records, our oldest loved the vegetable fried rice, which I had to agree was odd for breakfast but damn good. Our 2 year old decided to try to eat the ship out of apples, this is a much more normal breakfast option, but equally as odd because he doesn't eat them at home. Last time we were here in 2022, we spent the day at Harbor Beach since the boys were so young. This time we wanted to be on the Ocean so we picked a spot on Chill Island so we would still be close to Chill Grill. We were able to get a row of 4 chairs about 4 rows up from the water. We spent quite a bit of time in the water, not surprising since our 4 year old is a fish and loves swimming. He was super confident for swimming in the ocean for the first time, even being up to shoulder deep water on me, I'm 6'3. We got some great pictures here by the photo team, only to find out they were from Wonder, it took a while before finding the staff from Freedom who we only saw once. We had seen many more from Wonder and multiple times for a few of them. They were offering to use our phones as they knew we were looking for Freedom's without finding them. Lunch was at Chill Grill and was good as we expected. It handles the crowds well and the food is above average for buffet style. I had the Cuban sandwich and a Cheese steak. the Cuban was the highlight and the Cheese steak would probably be good if we weren't from the Philly area. After lunch we wandered back to Captain Jill's Galleon for the kids to get in some pirate ship time before catching an afternoon nap. Our room attendant Bobby was a riot to be around, he was always in a great mood and it seemed as if he was always near our room whenever we went out or returned. He made sure the boys had a towel animal each day and always went out of his way to interact with all of us. Not that we were ever in a bad mood on vacation but if we were, Bobby certainly would change that, he was a true joy to be around. Dinner was in the main dining room again, I think this was the Italian night and I had the chicken parm, my wife was able to get the chicken parm gluten free. Much to our surprise it came out breaded. Royal seems to have really stepped up their gluten free game recently as both the windjammer and Chill Grill had gluten free sections as well. We let Rose and Josh know that we were planning to attend the ice show at 715 this evening and they were able to get us through our meal in just over an hour! The ice show was impressive, not sure why but I don't think we've ever gone to an ice show on any of our other cruises. This was also the first show our kids have gone to other than Aqua 80 and they had a blast. After the show we wandered the promenade, listened to a few songs from Darla Fox at the pub before calling it a night.

Day 1 - BOARDING DAY! We had the complimentary breakfast at the hotel, it was a buffet and an omelet station. Nothing to write home about but it did the job just fine. Luckily we were up early with toddlers because by 830 it was packed. Next up on the agenda was to see if we could see the ship from our hotel, and we could see both Freedom and Celebrity Beyond. Our selected boarding time was the earliest available, 1130am. Our shuttle was 1030 and got us to the port around 1033, it was a gruelingly long mile and a half ride staring Freedom awaiting us! We walked right into the suite entrance, there was no line at the regular entrance at this point either. We were through security and at the check in point in about a minute and a half, not bad for two toddlers. After check in we stopped for some pictures since we had the 100 photo package, went up the elevators, made a quick 180 and walked right on the ship. We were on board by 1045 and immediately knocked out our muster station check in before heading to put the deluxe drink package to work. Following a stop in the pub we hit Sorrento's for lunch since we had planned to go to Playmakers to watch some football, let's not talk anymore about how the Eagles did. We also made a pit stop in the middle on deck 11 for some ice cream at sprinkles. Playmakers was understandably crowded with all of the football games on, it also probably didn't help that boarding was right behind Playmakers on deck 4 as were many of the muster stations. With our birds severely disappointing and wanting to watch sail away, it was time to put that aft balcony to use. We left before Celebrity Beyond but had a quick sail away since we were already facing out. Dinner was the main dining room, we ate here 5 of the 7 nights, exceptions being nights 5 and 7 but we'll get to that later. Our servers were Rose and Joshua, they were awesome and likely our most memorable servers on Royal Caribbean. They were extremely friendly and great at interacting with the kids. I don't remember what I got for the appetizer but I rolled the dice with the prime rib. It was a great cut that was not very fatty and cooked perfectly, dessert was strawberry ice cream that I got about 2 bites of before our 4 year old claimed it as his. After dinner we took it easy and did some exploring of the ship before calling it a night since the boys skipped naps and we had Coco Cay tomorrow. Hardest thing was to find diary free milk for our 2 year old. We got the dietary restriction thing down in this family.

Day -1 Travel day Originally we had booked a mid morning flight from PHL to FLL, unfortunately that flight was cancelled so we got an early afternoon flight. Weather was gloomy as was the forecast all week at home. Luckily, there were no delays of our plane on its first two flights getting to PHL or any delays for our flight either. After the price gouging lunch at the airport and with some happy toddlers, we were on our way to Florida. We arrived to FLL right on time even with some diversions around the typical afternoon Florida storms. We booked the Embassy Suites on 17th St in Fort Lauderdale as we got a hefty discount thanks to my union. We also utilized their shuttle for transportation from the airport, to the cruise, and back to the airport. They use a third party, Lauderdale Hospitality, while not the cheapest option, they were friendly, on time, and their vehicles were new, comfortable, and very clean. The Embassy Suites had some reviews that it was dated and needed to be refreshed. Well they had listened, they were still working on the first two floors of rooms and the atrium/courtyard, and had clearly already completed floors 3 to 12. The rooms were clean, large, and freshly renovated and the beds were comfortable. Only thing I can even say is the pillows were typical hotel pillows with no support, I'm also a pillow snob. The hotel has a daily cocktail event with 2 free drinks for each person staying in the room, with the kids that was 8 free drinks! Unfortunately, they didn't offer anything we were fond of drinking and it was packed so we didn't hang around. the snacks offered were just vegetables and some dips to go with them. There was a Publix right behind the hotel that we walked over to and grabbed our last minute items that we didn't want to have to pack. Next came our mistake of the trip. Wanting something quick and easy for dinner we decided we would just order pizza, as my wife is gluten free we figured we could suffer through Domino's since they have a GF pizza. 40 minutes after ordering via the app we called the location to find out delivery would be another 70 to 80 minutes. After checking door dash and what else was around we found another pizza shop, Manhattan NY Pizza right next to Publix that also served GF pizza. With this we cancelled Domino's, which we're still waiting on a refund for, and did not suffer at all with this pizza. It was as close to pizza from home as we could get. If you stay in this area, make sure you eat here, you will not regret it.

This is the first attempt at any type of blog so it may not be as polished as some others are. The cruise is a 7 night eastern Caribbean visiting Coco Cay, San Juan, and Charlotte Amalie. This trip was my wife, two sons, and myself, for the first time we booked a JR suite. This was mostly for the double points as it will bump us to platinum but having the tub for a 4 and 2 year old was also a large plus side. With this when booking there happened to be one JR suite left with an aft facing balcony, you guessed it, we snagged that before it was gone. Without dragging this on too long, lets dive into the good stuff. Day -2 9/27 My wife and I were both off of work so we could get the last minute packing done, or all of the packing! My wife and I usually pack well, many of our trips were 1 large suit case and a carry on size, plus a backpack or two. Now with two toddlers that is not even an option. We had 4 bags, a stroller, and 2 backpacks.

Were sailing on Freedom OTS on 9/29, perfect day and San Juan we are not booking anything particular. For St Thomas we had wanted to book a beach trip but all of the excursions are 3 and 4 or older. We have our 2 and a half year old who turns 3 in December and our 4 year old. Is there any options of walking or getting an excursion? Is there anything else within walking distance of the port?

Thanks everyone! 221 more days of dreaming about this trip for us. We’re excited for the suite, aft balcony(even with the so called obstruction), and our first freedom class ship. We loved the amped features on Oasis and the kids splash area on freedom actually looks better. It will be tough to compete with Oasis playmakers being right next to the carrousel and the hot dog stand, but overall I wouldn’t be surprised if we have a new favorite ship after this.

Well finally pulled the trigger and scored a junior suite with an aft balcony on freedom ots on the sept 29th eastern Caribbean sailing! We’re in 7412 which seems like a good room for our first jr suite. I think we get priority boarding and double crown and anchor points if I’m not mistaken which was our big push to do it. Anyone have any tips or hidden gems on freedom? It will be my wife, two boys(second cruise for both even at 2 and 4) and myself. The biggest downside I see at this point is there’s going to be a walk to get to the elevators.

Definitely carry a bathing suit on and grab a spot in the solarium, it’s warm, there’s a bar and great views sailing away! We left the first weekend of may back in 2019 so weather should be similar!

Haven't done Oasis yet(34 days) but have done Anthem and Harmony and hands down we would choose Anthem. Especially sailing from Cape Liberty with the enclosed areas for cold weather.