Royal Caribbean announced it has added 15 port visits to St. Maarten in 2020.

The new visits run between May 2020 and December 2020 on Freedom of the Seas sailings, and signifies a closer relationship between the cruise line and the Caribbean island.

We received reports from readers that a sea day on Freedom of the Seas has been replaced with a visit to Philipsburg, St. Maarten.

“In order to grow our partnership, we are taking the proactive step of enhancing our Eastern Caribbean itineraries by replacing a day at sea and adding a coveted visit to St. Maarten,” said Vice President of Port Development, Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd., Joshua Carroll. “It’s part of our culture at Royal Caribbean to focus on continuous improvement and this extends to our relationships with destination partners. It makes perfect sense for us to embrace the win-win opportunities with the additional port calls by Freedom of the Seas that brings not only economic benefit to a great partner like Port St. Maarten, but also offer our guests an amazing travel destination.”

Freedom of the Seas is about to complete a $116 million amplification that will add a variety of new enhancements, including the Perfect Storm duo of waterslides, a redesigned Caribbean poolscape, a new take on a signature venue with Giovanni’s Italian Kitchen and completely transformed kids and teens spaces.

The new visits will increase the number of cruise arrivals to St. Maarten to more than 68,000 guests.

A family looking for a combination of space and amenities are to enjoy the Two Bedroom Grand Suite on Royal Caribbean's Freedom of the Seas.

I recently had the opportunity to stay in this rather large room. Photos of this cabin are from stateroom 8714.

This Grand Suite features two bedrooms, each with two twin beds that convert to a Royal King (one room with third and fourth Pullman beds). There is a private balcony, two bathrooms, and a living area.

It is essentially an inside room, along with a balcony room that as a common living room to share.

The master bedroom features a large porhole window that looks into the balcony.

The master bathroom features a full bathtub. The second bedroom's bathroom is a standard standup shower.

The two bedroom grand suite offers 587 square feet of living space. A coffee maker and mini-fridge is found in the living room.  There are mini-fridges in both bedrooms as well.

The balcony features 270 square feet of space.

Looking down, you have a view of the lower part of the aft of Freedom of the Seas.

Balcony cabins offer some great views of the sunrise or sunset.

Royal Caribbean announced today its major plans to enhance Freedom of the Seas with an extensive $116 million amplifcation. 

The cruise line will add the Perfect Storm duo of waterslides, a redesigned Adventure Ocean, a Playmakers Sports Bar & Arcade and a reimagined pool deck that will feature Splashaway Bay, El Loco Fresh and The Lime & Coconut.

Beginning March 8, 2020, the reimagined Freedom will sail year-round, 7-night Southern Caribbean itineraries from San Juan, Puerto Rico and will include stops in St. Lucia, Antigua and the ABC Islands – Aruba, Bonaire and Curaçao.

Here's a full list of the changes coming to Freedom of the Seas:

Pool deck fun

• The Perfect Storm waterslides: duo of racer waterslides, Cyclone and Typhoon.
  
• Reimagined poolscape with a larger variety of seating and shade with casitas, daybeds and hammocks
  • Addition of Splashaway Bay aquapark for the youngest travelers.
  • Renewed, adults-only Solarium

• The Lime & Coconut, Royal Caribbean’s new, poolside signature bar is a the three-level spot serves up live music, a lineup of cocktails and a rooftop deck for a bird’s eye view of the action.

Dining

• Giovanni’s Italian Kitchen is a fresh, new twist on a guest favorite. Pick from authentic Italian dishes with a contemporary flair, including made-to-order pizzas hand tossed front and center, and baked in the new, in-house pizza oven. With a wide selection of wines and limoncellos on the reimagined menu, it’s “Sunday supper” Royal Caribbean style.
  
• Izumi Hibachi & Sushi, the Asian-inspired restaurant with teppanyaki tables and a sushi bar, features a variety of hot and cold appetizers, entrees, desserts and more.
• Playmakers Sports Bar & Arcade features more than 80 TV screens, arcade games, and menu of classic bar bites with twist and ice-cold brews on tap.
• El Loco Fresh will sit poolside and offer fresh grab-and-go Mexican fare, from tacos and burritos, to quesadillas, along with an array of salsas for an extra kick. For the first time, the venue will include a full-service bar with a selection of tequilas on offer.

Family & Activities

• Glow-in-the-dark laser tag adventure – Clash for the Crystal City.
• Floor-to-ceiling redesign of Freedom’s dedicated teens spaces and award-winning Adventure Ocean
  • Adventure Ocean will get a makeover that will touch every inch of the spaces specially designed for babies and kids. The imaginative layout encourages young vacationers to venture into a world of interactive experiences, from thought-provoking exploration at Play Place to art, science and tech activities at Workshop and friendly challenges at Arena. Kicking back is just as fun with gaming consoles and places to chill at Hangout. Babies and 3- to 5-year-olds will each have personalized areas with AO Babies and AO Junior
  • Teens will rejoice at their exclusive hangout, entirely transformed to feature the latest in movies, gaming and music, plus a new, private outdoor deck.

Freedom of the Seas will be the latest Royal Caribbean ship to join the Royal Amplified Fleet.  Royal Amplified is the cruise line's fleet moderinizaation effort that will encompass 10 ships in four years at a cost of more than $1 billion.

Guests sailing on the February 23, 2020 sailing of Freedom of the Seas have received an email from Royal Caribbean informing them that their sailing has been canceled.

The email states, "Freedom of the Seas is undergoing an extended renovation which means, we must regrettably cancel our February 23rd, 2020 sailing. We know this news is disappointing and apologize for the impact to your vacation."

Guests who were booked on the February 23rd sailing have the option to rebook to another 2020 sailing on Freedom of the Seas or Vision of the Seas, as well as any other Royal Caribbean sailing or to simply receive a refund.

The cancellation of what was supposed to be the first sailing of Freedom of the Seas following the ship's scheduled Royal Amplication mirrors the recent decision to cancel the first sailing of Navigator of the Seas following her drydock work that resulted from delays at the shipyard where the work was being done.

Royal Caribbean has not announced the exact changes coming to Freedom of the Seas as part of her dry dock, but the ship has no scheduled sailings between January 19 and now March 1, 2020. Royal Amplified will cover 10 ships over four years, that focuses on upgrades to three main areas: Pool Deck & Attractions, Bars & Nightlife, and Dining Mission.

Royal Caribbean's Freedom of the Seas will call San Juan, Puerto Rico its new home in 2018-2019.

The cruise line's 2018-2019 Caribbean deployment has a number of 7-night Southern Caribbean cruises that will sail round trip from San Juan.

View Freedom of the Seas' entire deployment here

Freedom of the Seas will depart her current home of Port Everglades, Florida on May 5, 2018 and reposition to San Juan at the end of that sailing.  From then, through March 2019, Freedom of the Seas will homeport from San Juan.

Freedom of the Seas will replace Adventure of the Seas, which will be moving to Cape Liberty, New Jersey. 

Thanks to Erik Clauson aka Cruiseboy for discovering the deployment plans.

There are many staterooms to choose from on Royal Caribbean's Freedom of the Seas, and today we have a look at category PF Family Panoramic Ocean View Stateroom. This photo tour will take you through the cabin to provide an idea of what to expect if you were to book this stateroom.

On Freedom of the Seas, Royal Caribbean Blog readers Jeanne and Alan Fulton shared these photos from their recent cruise. This is from room 1804, which is all the way forward on deck 12.

The Family Panoramic Ocean View Stateroom Description: Family Panoramic Oceanview staterooms feature floor-to-ceiling wrap-around windows. These rooms measure 406 square feet in size.

They have two twin beds that convert to a Royal King-sized bed, extra closet space.

Each Family Panoramic Ocean View stateroom has a vanity and sitting area.

There is a curtained area with two bunk beds, and a guest half bathroom.

The Category PF staterooms have a private bathroom with shower.

The effects of Hurricane Matthew are still being felt with three more Royal Caribbean ships that will have a delayed departure.

To give guests more time to arrive to the ship with transportation issues for Freedom of the Seas, Allure of the Seas and Oasis of the Seas.

New departure times are:

• Oasis of the Seas sailing from Port Everglades on Saturday, October 8, will now depart at 7:00 p.m.
• Allure of the Seas sailing from Port Everglades on Sunday, October 9, will now depart at 7:00 p.m.
• Freedom of the Seas sailing from Port Canaveral on Sunday, October 9 will now depart at 9:00 p.m.

If there are any questions, please contact Royal Caribbean at 866-562-7625.

Royal Caribbean has made a change to Freedom of the Seas' cruise that leaves today to avoid the path of Hurricane Matthew.

Royal Caribbean announced it will replace a scheduled stop in its private island of CocoCay in The Bahamas with a stop in San Juan, Puerto Rico instead.

@sttsxm Hi Meg. Freedom is going to San Juan, Puerto Rico instead of the Bahamas. Have a great cruise!

— Royal Caribbean (@RoyalCaribbean) October 2, 2016

In addition to Freedom of the Seas, Allure of the Seas and Enchantment of the Seas have had their itineraries changed this week.

Hurricane Matthew is a Category 4 storm that is heading north through the Caribbean. As of 8 a.m. EDT (1200 GMT), the storm was centered about 340 miles (545 kilometers) south-southwest of Port-au-Prince, Haiti. It was traveling north-northwest at 5 mph (7 kph).

Earlier this summer, Royal Caribbean began rolling out or takeout sushi options across its fleet for guests that want to enjoy Izumi-quality sushi on Royal Caribbean ships that do not offer an Izumi restaurant.  Freedom of the Seas is one such ship that lacks Izumi, and we took it upon ourselves to try the Izumi Express sushi for "research" purposes.

Guests will find Izumi Express options at Sorrentos during select hours (check your Cruise Compass for exact times), but it is typically available every day from 11:30am - 1:30pm and again at 6:00pm - 8:00pm.

Menu

The selection of sushi may vary, but on our sailing we had eight rolls to choose from that were prepackaged and ready to be enjoyed.

On our cruise, the more popular rolls tended to go quickly, so be sure to order early.

Sushi

Historically, Freedom of the Seas has always offered sushi in the Jade section of the Windjammer, but in my opinion, the sushi was substandard because it was poorly made and lacked variety or sizable pieces of fish.  Of course, the sushi in the Windjammer was complimentary, but I tended to avoid it because of the poor quality.

Windjammer Sushi from a past Freedom of the Seas cruise

Of course, we are here for the sushi and the Izumi Express options on Freedom of the Seas has a variety of maki rolls that are pretty typical among sushi restaurants.  Before even tasting any of it, the quality of these rolls looked superior to what was offered in the Windjammer.

You can pick which roll appeals to you, and each package comes with eight rolls.

You are probably wondering, "how good does it taste?" and I can safely say it is much better to what the Windjammer ever had.  In fact, the Windjammer offered sushi on the last night of the cruise and that confirmed my thoughts.

Prepackaged sushi will never compare to freshly-made sushi, but, I really enjoyed the Izumi Express option because it offers a much better option than no sushi at all.

I found it to be a really good value and tasted great too.  It was certainly as good as any prepackaged sushi I have had on land, and as a self-described sushi fiend, I loved having this option every evening.

Are you a Sushi lover? Let us know if Izumi Express will be on your must-eat list!