One of the biggest attractions of cruising on Royal Caribbean (royalcaribbean.com) cruises might be the never-ending array of dining choices. "Freedom of the Seas" has scheduled mealtimes as well as several ala carte dining options. Scheduled mealtimes include two seatings for each breakfast, lunch and dinner.
Depending on your destination, the ship offers a variety of organized shore excursions. For instance, if your cruise takes you to the Eastern Caribbean, you can choose from more than 130 shore excursions including a nature walk in Coco Cay, Royal Caribbean's private island; a snorkeling tour in Coco Cay; a sightseeing tour in St. Thomas or St. Maarten; an island and beach tour in St. Thomas; a kayak adventure; a glass bottom boat tour and many others. You can book shore excursions ahead of time or wait until you board the ship, although some excursions book up quickly and might not be available if you wait.
"Freedom of the Seas," like most other cruise lines, offers nightly entertainment and organized activities. In addition to Broadway-style musicals and professional entertainers, the ship offers regularly scheduled first-run movies in the 3-D theater.
As of March 27, 2011, "Freedom of the Seas" offers the Dreamworks Experience, which brings characters from movies such as "Shrek" and "Madagascar" onboard with you. Royal Caribbean features a number of organized parties on all of its cruise ships. You can attend the Captain's Welcome Reception, the Sail Away Party and the Dancing Under the Stars Pool Party, among others. If you are cruising with a group, you can arrange to have the ship host a party exclusively for your group.
If you like to take a more active part in your entertainment, "Freedom of the Seas" offers poolside contests, such as the belly flop and horse racing contests, karaoke and organized games with prizes such as Quest, an adult-themed scavenger hunt.
"Freedom of the Seas" entertains children and teens ages 3 to 17 with organized activities such as arts and crafts, classes, games and dance parties.
If you want to stay fit while onboard, "Freedom of the Seas" offers aerobics, Pilates and yoga classes as well as sports tournaments in ping-pong, basketball and volleyball, to name just a few of the many activities available.
