Cabins are virtually the only spaces untouched by the massive project, leaving them feeling a little worn and dated by comparison.

The $116-million refurbishment also added new restaurants, kids spaces and cool sports bar, Playmakers. The cheery new features include bright and charming casitas, a bustling taco shack and the Lime and Coconut bar. Freedom of the Seas Deck Plans Include Updated Pool Deck, More Restaurants and Kids Spacesĭuring a 2020 dry dock, Freedom of the Seas got a major upgrade, especially in outdoor spaces like the pool deck. If anything, Royal Caribbean is doing a great job of keeping Freedom of the Seas in tip-top shape, including a $116-million upgrade that took place in 2020, including a completely redesigned pool deck featuring The Lime & Coconut Bar and a new Splashaway Bay water park for kids. I didn't find the smoke being that bad on other nights in any case.Īll in all, I had a great time on the cruise, including my time in the casino.Freedom of the Seas launched in May 2006 as the world's biggest cruise ship, measuring 155,000 tons, carrying 4,500 passengers and introducing Royal Caribbean's now-widespread FlowRider surf simulator to the cruise industry.Īlthough the ship is no longer the biggest in Royal Caribbean's fleet - that title is held by the line's newer Oasis-class ships - its public spaces don't feel outdated. That's a nice thing for non-smokers who might otherwise avoid the casino. One thing they do is that the casino is non-smoking on formal nights. Royal Caribbean doesn't have drink cards like NCL does for their casino guests, but the casino host on the Freedom of the Seas, Andreea, was very good about keeping me stocked with free drink coupons that I could use at the casino bar. I'm used to someone coming by within a couple minutes and documenting the hand pay, returning in about 5 minutes with the cash.

I could have dealt with that better if they didn't take a minimum of 10 minutes, and often 15-20 minutes, to pay the win. The one disappointment with the machines was that the hand pay limit was set lower than I'm used to in land-based casinos. They did have plenty of reel-based slot machines, but they had several video slots (which I prefer), and many of those were multi-game models. I returned last weekend from a wonderful cruise on the Freedom of the Seas.ĭespite the ship being several years old, I was pleased to see that the slot machines were more up to date than I had feared.

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