Freedom After Oasis?

[neptune18]

Sailed Freedom a few years ago and loved it. Then did Allure and Oasis and was hooked on those. I'm now considering another Freedom cruise (better itinerary) but I'm worried I'll really miss Oasis class dining and show options. For those of you who have sailed Freedom class after Oasis, how did you feel?

[hazeleyez3]

I jumped from the Oasis class to the Voyager class. The only thing I missed was Park Cafe.

[Langley Cruisers]

Have sailed a few ships after Oasis and missed nothing. Each ship has its own wonderful personality and you just have to relax into that and go with it. :)

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[Big_G]

Have sailed a few ships after Oasis and missed nothing. Each ship has its own wonderful personality and you just have to relax into that and go with it. :)

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Ditto! We went back to Freedom after Oasis without a problem. Did Allure in May and heading back to Navigator in December. No problem at all.;)

[Cya@Sea]

Jumped to Freedom after Oasis. We had no problems with it. We sail on Freedom again in a month. We prefer Freedom class over Oasis class for our family.

[Artemis]

We just returned from Freedom after Oasis and had a fabulous time. Freedom is a very happy ship, both pax and crew--it is rare to see a bad review. But I'm with hazeleyze3, I really missed Park Cafe! And I much prefer Oasis' solarium--Freedom's isn't covered, there are very few shaded spots and no matter where you are on the pool deck, chairs are precious=chair hogs abound! Those were the two big differences for me, but YMMV. I wrote a fairly extensive Freedom review here.

 

You can't go wrong! :)

[neptune18]

Artemis- I read your Freedom review (great review) and was hoping you would answer. Thanks to everyone else for their answers. I would miss Park Cafe and Giovanni's the most. Also, i like the expanded Royal Promenade. I know it sounds ridiculous on a ship of Freedom's size but I wonder if it will seem small and lacking as compared to Oasis and Allure.

[Langley Cruisers]

I would miss Park Cafe and Giovanni's the most. Also, i like the expanded Royal Promenade...

 

You know what? No offense, but if you go in with that attitude, then yes you will be disappointed. Why don't you just relax and enjoy the fact that you are cruising once again? RCI has a great product and I'm sure you'll find Freedom to your liking.

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[Artemis]

neptune18, thanks for the kind words on the review.

 

I wouldn't say Freedom feels "small" as compared to Oasis and Allure, but I am struggling to avoid saying it felt "lacking" by comparison. The Freedom class sure didn't feel lacking until they came along. But there's no denying it: there is just so much more ooh and aah to the Oasis and Allure! Of course, it's all in the eye of the beholder. Ooh aah to me might be "egads this is too huge loud stimulating theme-parkish gaudy awful :eek: !" to the next passenger.

 

I don't envy your decision. We let money drive the selection this time, and Freedom really was one of our better "just for fun" cruises. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend it to anyone. However...we fell hard for the Oasis and are looking forward to trying the Allure. (And then we had an intervening cruise on the revitalized Splendour and were reminded how much we love that small, old class!) So...in the "never say never" category...while we'd happily sail a Freedom- or Explorer-class ship if the timing and itinerary made it the right thing to do, I've gotta say, if we're going for one of RCCL's whiz bang "the ship is the destination" sort of cruise, then for our tastes, Oasis or Allure it is. Hands down, and a few more dollars be damned! :p

 

But...you did mention itinerary, and the reason we've cruised so many different lines and ships is, we are often all about itinerary. So if you have a strong desire to go to Coco Cay or Cayman Island (I think those are the only ports that aren't a match), that's a great reason to give Freedom a try. (I still haven't been to Coco Cay--would love to go! If it's Cayman, I guess you know that's a risky port to pin your hopes on--our personal success rate over the years is probably 60%. I think your odds depend on the season.)

 

Good luck making your choice! Like I said before, you really can't go wrong.

 

PS - Langley Cruisers makes an excellent point. Going into a cruise with the right expectations is critical. But from all your posts on the subject, it sonds like you get that and will have a great time on Freedom, no looking back, if that's what you choose. In the meantime, as you are making a choice, there's nothing wrong with slicing and dicing the pros and cons that matter to you!

[English Rose]

After Oasis, we jumped straight on NCL's Epic when it was brand new (literally walked straight on). We then cruised with P&O this winter to the Caribbean. Enjoyed all the cruises, but without doubt the Oasis had the biggest 'wow' factor. The thing for me booking my next cruise on Freedom is that it is back to Royal Caribbean that's making me so excited. Whatever RCCL ship you are on, there is always a feeling of being on the best (for us) and coming back home and I can't wait to get on the Freedom in March. I thought about Oasis and Allure, but it came back to itinerary. I'm just glad to be back to my familiar surroundings, but also glad I tried other lines.

[sailingawaysoon]

We love experiencing both types of ships. There's something to be loved on the bigger ships, as well as the "smaller" ships. We tried the Oasis and the Allure and found both to be awesome, but each year we still find ourselves drawn back to the Freedom for a vacation. I find that we tend to make more friends on this type ship. Not sure why, maybe less people and more spots to run into others, but we've made some of the best friendships on these smaller ships. Also, even though we've been several times, the excitement never wears off. There's always something exciting happening. Have a great cruise whatever you decide!

[bajathree]

Sailed Freedom a few years ago and loved it. Then did Allure and Oasis and was hooked on those. I'm now considering another Freedom cruise (better itinerary) but I'm worried I'll really miss Oasis class dining and show options. For those of you who have sailed Freedom class after Oasis, how did you feel?

 

I will tell you something that IMHO makes a big difference when trying to make this decision....a nicer cabin. Since pricing on Oasis is high than most pricing on Freedom class.....especially in the higher category cabins....maybe choose a higher category cabin that you would not normally be able to choose budget wise on Oasis class....this way you always have that to keep in your mind....nicer cabin Freedom class....or lesser cabin Oasis class.....that's the trade off IMHO.

[beachnative]

We have sailed on the Oasis class and Freedom class ships about the same number of times. We never feel disappointed when returning to the Freedom. Coco Cay and Grand Cayman ports on the Freedom's sailing are nice and help balance the difference.

[macruisefan]

I did Liberty after Oasis, and I really enjoyed it. HOWEVER.... The key limiting factor is the dining options. As someone who prefers the specialty restaurants over the MDR, Oasis and Allure make it so much easier to do this with variety. I'm going on Allure in September and I won't be in the MDR at all, and I'm only repeating one restaurant. On Freedom class, it was three nights in Chops, three nights in Portofino....

 

I absolutely still enjoyed it, and based on timing, pricing and itinerary, I would do it again and have a blast.

 

But the dining options are the one debatable factor as far as I'm concerned.

[neptune18]

I agree that dining options very different. Thanks to all for your responses.