Vision Class VS Freedom Class

[crusinpeg]

I just finished a fabulous cruise on the Freedom of the Seas and already am having cruise withdrawal and need to book something for the spring. I'm considering an 8 night on the Independence and was all set to book til I saw a 10 night on the Vision. I was looking for any input as to how the Vision class compares to the Freedom class. I realize 10 days is better than 8..but was wondering how the ships compare. (both itinaries are good) Will I be disappointed in the Vision after the Freedom do you think?

[Big_G]

I just finished a fabulous cruise on the Freedom of the Seas and already am having cruise withdrawal and need to book something for the spring. I'm considering an 8 night on the Independence and was all set to book til I saw a 10 night on the Vision. I was looking for any input as to how the Vision class compares to the Freedom class. I realize 10 days is better than 8..but was wondering how the ships compare. (both itinaries are good) Will I be disappointed in the Vision after the Freedom do you think?

 

Nice ships but not even close to resembling a Freedom Class ship. It's hard to know what's important to others in a ship. There is no Royal Promenade, flow rider, skating rink, and they are much smaller ships. I'm sure others will chime with more differences.

[bgyoshi]

I've only had 2 RCI cruises under my belt, first was Vision, second was Freedom. Having said that, I don't think I can go back to Vision after Freedom. Sea days were a bit boring with the lack of facilities as poster mentioned above (skating rink, flow rider, promenade, etc.) There was only so much you can do and see before you got bored on the ship. But it all depends on what is important to you. For me, schedule and itinerary are more important than the ship itself.

[addicted2]

I'll let you know in a few weeks. We are just off the Freedom (9/16-23) and leave on Vision for the 10 night cruise on Nov 2nd. We are also booked on the 8 night cruise on Indy in March. The Vision may be smaller etc.. but the itinerary is definately better.

[lossforgain]

My wife and I were on the Enchantment, which is the largest Vision class ship, and are soon to be on the Liberty. So, I can answer better in December, but I will say that after 5 days on EN we were running out of activities to keep our interest. We aren't gamblers, so take that into consideration. I look forward to Liberty being a destination of its own.

[crusinpeg]

Thanks everyone for you input....I was leaning towards the Independence and after reading just booked it for March 2.

[RedHeadTexan]

I will be on the Vision starting November 23rd and did the Freedom in January, so I will be able to report back. We picked this cruise purely for the itinerary...it rocks! On sea days I normally read my kindle, so nothing will change there. I will probably give the rock wall a shot on this cruise since I never did it on the Liberty or the Freedom.

 

Lisa

[LookingForward2]

we are recently off Freedom and declared it our favorite ship so far! We just booked a great 9 night itinerary on Grandeur and are having second thoughts as to not enjoying the ship...

the itinerary has ports we haven't visited before plus goes from San Juan to Baltimore with only 2 sea days at the end. We have been on Grandeur before and are hoping we don't regret this decision. Any words of advice like 'don't do it...." "stick with Freedom class..." ??

[BillB48]

First of all I am a veteran of the Freedom , Liberty and have the Indy booked in December.... I love those ships, they are fantastic. However my next cruise is on the Vision. As others pointed out the Vision is a more traditional ship without some of the flowrider, promenade and ice rink attractions. Having pointed that out, I still love the more "traditonal" ships and without really knowing what your likes are it truly is hard to say whether you will be satisfied with the traditional ship... really just don't know what is important to you. My way of thinking, if you are on a ship, everything else will be OK.

[WEELYNCRUZER]

I have been on all of them. The Vision class way to small and boring,the Explorer was a little bigger and had a promenade,Freedom class was great. It had all the bells and whistles but lacks the Park Cafe, Oasis and Allure have everything and a little more. We have been on them twice.We will be back on the Freedom in Jan. our 3rd time. Then back to the Allure. Can't wait for the Sunshineclass. We are D+. I'm in a power chair so the ship is the des

tination.We have been on every carribean island, Alaska cruise and land tour. Scandanavia-Russia and took all of the excursions. Booked by my ta not the cruiseline.Enjoy your cruise and good health.

[w&k]

We just came off of Freedom, and can't wait to get on Vision in the spring (and Jewel at the end of this month).

 

Our take:

 

The Freedom is all about the Promenade and being inside. Lots of activities and parties take place there. As far as we were concerned, it was an annoying bad mall with aggressive vendors that prevented us from getting where we wanted to go. Everything is carved up into little bits, and you can't get there from here. We felt the activities and parties were geared mostly towards families with children. And let's not forget the oodles and oodles of cruisers onboard.

 

The Vision class is all about the outside. It's called the Vision class because there is glass and beautiful views everywhere. The Centrum is the focal point of the ship, but it is not the focus of the ship like the Promenade. It's much smaller and more personal, but the common spaces are wide open, and you can access all areas of the ship from anywhere. The ship is large enough to be comfortable, but much more intimate - you will recognize folks from around the ship after a few days (in a good way).

 

So - it's personal taste. If you like malls and crowds and family-type activities like meeting movie characters, you're going to love the Freedom. If you prefer to see and experience the ocean without being cooped up, you're going to love Vision. Lots of folks love both.

 

Have a great time!

 

Wendy

[Ashland]

Have sailed on both ships/classes many times...no comparison...While Vision will always be a favorite and she has some great itineraries coming up...I would wait to book her until after her refurbishment 10-23-13...JMHO ;)

[Darkwolfe]

I'll take either! :D

 

I'm perfectly happy wandering the promenade on Voyager class ships or up top on deck. Perfectly content with the smaller sized Radiance and Vision class ships.

 

While the larger ships have more "things" to do, the smaller ships seem to have more space per passenger. At least it feels that way to me.

[cruisinmon]

After just getting off Enchantment 9/20 and waiting for Liberty 11/18 I came to the conclusion I prefer the larger ships. I really miss the promenade, especially the cafe. Won't stop me from cruising smaller ships if I get a good deal though.