Need decision fast-which ship

[shensadie5]

Last minute opportunity to cruise. Have active teens 16 and 18-like to keep busy. Have only been on Voyager class. Here are our choices for last minute cruise:

 

Serenade-Southern totally new ports for all 4 of us.

 

Freedom or Liberty-been to these ports but not on these newer ships.

 

Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

[madforcruising]

Personally I´d prefer the Serenade any day. But I guess your teens will find more to do on the Freedom or Liberty.

[Ashland]

Last minute opportunity to cruise. Have active teens 16 and 18-like to keep busy. Have only been on Voyager class. Here are our choices for last minute cruise:

 

Serenade-Southern totally new ports for all 4 of us.

 

Freedom or Liberty-been to these ports but not on these newer ships.

 

Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

Freedom class since you haven't been on this class ship.Your teens will not believe this ship..And none of you will be sorry..Enjoy

[AF-1]

put them on the ship with the flowrider; they will love it

[negc]

Absolutely love Radiance class ships myself, but for your situation I think a Freedom class ship is the better fit. Would also recommend Oasis if you can swing the premium price.:)

We are going to be on this year's Jewel of the Seas repo out of Boston, but when we get off the ship we will be joining our son, DIL and two grandkids on Liberty of the Seas. Two different cruise experiences but we are looking forward to both.:)

[Jolimont]

I think I'd choose new ports, but it's a hard call (and a good problem to have!)

[akcruz]

With the 16 & 18 year olds go with Freedom or Liberty. While new ports are always a plus for us, keeping the kids happy makes my cruise much more enjoyable!

[marci22]

They are all good choices. My kids have been on the bigger ships many times so now they prefer visiting newer ports. It depends on what your kids like.

[BalconyGal]

I would go for the different itinerary.

[sunandsnow]

We let our 16 yr old twins help plan our cruise in March. They wanted to go on a ship with the Flowrider. We chose Liberty. We had been to 2 of the 4 ports (our boys hadn't been to any of the ports). We had a great time on Liberty - great food, great service, great staff and lots of activities. My boys had a great time on the Flowrider. Look at the pros and cons of each and decide as a family. We would sail Liberty again.

[apk1389]

being 19 id choose serenade again ports are really great and you can do some really active excursions

[NordicPrince]

Last minute opportunity to cruise. Have active teens 16 and 18-like to keep busy. Have only been on Voyager class. Here are our choices for last minute cruise:

 

Serenade-Southern totally new ports for all 4 of us.

 

Freedom or Liberty-been to these ports but not on these newer ships.

 

Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

 

Without a doubt Serenade. Beautiful ship in every way. Get off the ship on

the port days and do something, even if its going to a beatiful beach and taking in the surf and sun.

 

Serenade is only 2000-2100 people and it never feels crowded plus the crew is ultra service oriented. Just spent B2B in January with young DW. The other ship is just too big in my view. You can go to a water park if you want when you get back home.

[4 cruis'n]

OMG! I have just begun researeching for the same situation. We just returned from our southern caribbean vacation on the explorer this past april and my kids said it was "best vacation ever"...best words to hear ever! Anyway, what made it great for them was the friends they made. Yes, we visited several new islands and enjoyed all that we saw but they loved getting together with friends at the beach and then again after dinner. Both really loved the teen activities and ship amenities. My toss up is between another Southern itinerary on the same class ship (AOS) or an eastern itinerary on Freedom. The itinerary is much better on AOS and the cost is less so we can get a JS. Just not sure about leaving from san juan. Freedom has an itinerary we have been on several times, we don't get to St Thomas until 11a:rolleyes:, but we have never been on that class ship b4, the flow rider looks fun, I assume a better teen area and we can get 2 D1 rooms for close to same price as 1 JS on AOS. with teens this is a plus having 2 bathrooms:eek:. Husband and I would love to revisit southern destinations but our priority is to recreate another great experience for the kids cuz that's what it's all about for us. Thanks to the OP for the question. I am loving everyones input

[NordicPrince]

My toss up is between another Southern itinerary on the same class ship (AOS) or an eastern itinerary on Freedom. The itinerary is much better on AOS and the cost is less so we can get a JS. Just not sure about leaving from san juan.

 

Negative talk about San Juan airport overstated and undeserved. Small extra cost to get there gives an immediate return in sights and sounds of San Juan plus the headstart into the more interesting and less developed Southern islands. Plus in this area of the Caribbean sailing is smooth - smooth - smooth.

 

Left from San Juan 4 times, never had a negative experience.

[Cruzin-K]

Negative talk about San Juan airport overstated and undeserved. Small extra cost to get there gives an immediate return in sights and sounds of San Juan plus the headstart into the more interesting and less developed Southern islands. Plus in this area of the Caribbean sailing is smooth - smooth - smooth.

 

Left from San Juan 4 times, never had a negative experience.

 

Ditto (although I've only been there three times). I've never had a problem in San Juan. On my most recent cruise I was waiting to get off the ship at 7:45 am and by 8:30 I was at my gate at the airport. It couldn't have been smoother.

 

I love the Southern Caribbean and hope I can figure out a way to go there every year for the rest of my life. However, I don't have teenagers so things like the Flowrider are lost on me.

[kruzerci]

Last minute opportunity to cruise. Have active teens 16 and 18-like to keep busy. Have only been on Voyager class. Here are our choices for last minute cruise:

 

Serenade-Southern totally new ports for all 4 of us.

 

Freedom or Liberty-been to these ports but not on these newer ships.

 

Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

 

Hands down Liberty or Freedom. Never been on a southern cruise, but have been to most of the southern Caribbean ports on vacations. Yeah the ports are better on Serenade, but IMO the Freedom class ships are so worth it. As I always put it, we liked Radiance class and would do it again, but we love Freedom class and would chose them above all else.

[Conanc]

Love the Serenade and the itinerary! For DH and me, that would be our choice. For your situation with your kids, I think the Freedom class ships offer more to do and you did say that the teens like to keep busy. There isn't that much to do for teens on Serenade.

 

Good luck!

[bionicman97]

Since you mentioned that your kids are active and like to stay busy, I would go with the Freedom/Liberty.