Celebrity Silhouette or RCL Freedom of the Seas over Christmas

[journeyonthefly]

Hi everyone - we are a family of 6 with kids ages 15, 15, 13 and 11.

 

Want a 7 night caribbean cruise over the Christmas holiday. Wanted to try the Oasis but availability is not there. We are not regular cruisers so just began doing a lot of research.

 

We are considering Celebrity Silhouette with stops in San Juan, St Kitts and St Maarten vs. Freedom of the Seas with stops in Labadee Haiti, San Juan PR and St Maarten.

 

Priorities: On ship: dining options, entertainment, spa, cabin / suite with good balcony, areas to just relax and enjoy. Excursions: snorkeling high on the list. Port of departure: Tampa or Ft Lauderdale best (we are in Atlanta).

 

Interested in cabin recommendations too. Celebrity has "Concierge" but also looking at Aqua level. Pros/cons of various cabin levels? How is the spa on the Silhouette?

 

Initial research suggests Freedom prices are at a good premium to Silhouette - is it worth it?

 

All input much appreciated!

[Kiran]

We did a family trip on the Silhouette last March with a 12 and 20 yr old. Beautiful ship, wonderful food. Very few kids. Not that much entertainment or activities for kids. So if your kids would pick great food over lively ship then choose Silhouette for sure.

 

Since it is a Christmas trip there will be more kids whether Silhouette or Freedom and Freedom might be overcrowded leading to an even livelier ship.

 

We had connecting 1D balcony cabins and enjoyed them very much.

[journeyonthefly]

Thanks Kiran - really appreciate the insight.

 

I keep going back and forth thinking more entertainment / livelier ship would be more fun given our kids ages... But.... there is a strong argument that a little more relaxed might be just the ticket. For us. Maybe even for the kids. Food is key. Excursions are key. On the ship we want to relax. On the excursions we want to get out and play. Still deciding but Celebrity / Silhouette may fit the bill better this time. Thanks again.

[SuiteTraveler]

I think your kids (and potentially you) would be bored to tears on the Silhouette. There just is not that much to do onboard. Want to try to relax on your balcony with your kids bugging you about finding them something to do on your whole vacation? That would be the Silhouette - definitely geared to an older crowd. I'm in my 50's and was bored on the Silhouette's sister ship - Eclipse. Thankfully we were in the Med, so the stuff on the ship didn't matter that much, otherwise, I would have hated it. Aqua level is not for kids and only 2 to a cabin so you can forget about that. There are 3 extra pay restaurants, plus the crepes place (usually empty) and the tea/coffee shop that your kids won't like. Honestly, I don't know what your kids would do on this ship except for being bored. The highlight of my days on that ship was going to dinner.

 

 

RCCL has a great kids program and they are so busy that you probably won't see your kids until dinner time, IF you can tear them away from their new friends! There is lots of entertainment on this ship. RCCL has lots of different restaurants onboard, many of which are free, as well as MDR. There are 2 extra pay restaurants. I can't see a downside to RCCL for a family with kids. You and your husband could get a great cabin with a balcony and relax there, if you need down time. Your kids will be busy doing their own thing.