Royal Caribbean Freedom vs. Celebrity Silhouette for Christmas 7 day EC

[journeyonthefly]

Hi everyone - new cruiser here and posted this in general section but wanted to post here as well. 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!

[big al]

Hi everyone - new cruiser here and posted this in general section but wanted to post here as well. 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!

 

Here's the thing to consider: IF you have young children, I would lean towards the Freedom..here's why: the FOS is geared towards the family & young..while the Silhouette is a beautiful ship, Celebrity is geared towards the more mature passengers- no kid's pool, no rock climbing wall, no FLOWRIDER ( surf simulator, which kids love), Royal Promenade ( kids love that, too..) and more..Celebrity may have better dining in the main dining room ( MDR), but the Freedom has Johnny Rockets ( all kids love that- burgers, fries & malts sitting outside over-looking the sea w/ waiters dancing to the oldies!!) along with Chops Steakhouse & Giovanni's ( Italian family style) ...the Celebrity ship is a bit more "upscale" & "sophisticated" , but I think you would enjoy the FOS more due to the kids..cabins wise, the JS & GS suites on the FOS are nice & roomy.. you will need 2 cabins & don't know if you want an inside for the kids or balconies & insides, etc..any other questions, comments, let me know..BTW, I'm both a cruise agent & have cruised RCI 13x & Celebrity once along with HAL, NCL, Disney, Princess & Carnival...

 

Big Al

[OfTheSeasCruiser]

With kids, I would definitely recommend the Freedom. I've never been on Celebrity, but from many things that I've read, it appears to be a more quiet atmosphere, focused more on relaxing rather that activities.

 

You said you would prefer to leave from Ft Lauderdale or Tampa, but do know that Freedom leaves from Port Canaveral?

 

Food is very subjective. Many say that Celebrity's is a step above Royal's, but we have always been pleased with the food in the MDR. There are also specially restaurants if that is your kinda thing.

Edited November 13, 2014 by OfTheSeasCruiser

[Ourusualbeach]

Hi everyone - new cruiser here and posted this in general section but wanted to post here as well. 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!

 

Not sure if this makes a difference but Silhouette departs out of Ft. Lauderdale while the Freedom departs put of Port Canaveral not Tampa.

 

With the age of your kids I would definitely choose the Freedom as it has so much to keep the kids occupied.

 

Both cruises only have 3 ports of call and are similar as both go to St. marryen and San Juan and spend about the same time in each. San Juan is kind of a wast as you don't arrive until 3pm and leave at 10. The only difference is Labadee on the Freedom vs St. Kitts on the Silhouette.

[Big_G]

I don't think there are any benefits of booking Aqua or Concierge Class when traveling with kids. While there will be more kids on Silhouette than usual because of the holiday, there will be just as many more on Freedom with more to do. We've sailed sisters Reflection and Equinox and they are beautiful ships but they wouldn't be my first recommendation for families especially when stacked up against Freedom.

[dappledumpling]

No question with kids I would pick Freedom. There is so much more for them to do...We liked to do JS when our kids where younger or adjoining balcony rooms (2 bathrooms is nice) as they got older.

 

When we travel as a couple celebrity is a wonderful experience (silhouette is my favorite ship). As teenagers the independence was their favorite ship...

[champagne123]

Although I love, love, love, the Celebrity product, I also would choose RCCL (which I also love) . Your children will have a much better time on RCCL. Save the Silhouette for a "second honeymoon" cruise. :o

[epcopres]

I would think Freedom as well, Teens seem to love the flowrider

[George C]

RCCL is much better at entertainment, I also prefer there MDR. I think Celebrity has the best pay restaurants, if you do Aqua class you can eat in Blue which is a sort of healthy restaurant each night ( I did not care for Blue restaurant but many people really like it)

[Toddcan]

I have researched the Celebrity ships, but never sailed on one. But, I have sailed the Freedom class 3 times - twice with my kids. The Freedom class is AMAZING for kids, for these reasons (which the Celebrity does not have):

 

H20 Zone - gears to kids only. The pool deck is divided into 3 main areas: This H20 zone (kids/pre teens/young teens), the Main pool area (everyone), and the Solarium (adults 16+ admitted)

 

 

Flowrider - surf simulator

 

 

Rock Climbing Wall

 

 

Ice Rink with real ice(Yup, you can ice skate in the Caribbean!)

Edited November 13, 2014 by Toddcan

[whitshel]

We had a fabulous time on the Eclipse (sister to Silhouette) a few years back with my teen daughters but i'm with everyone else, I would definitely choose Freedom for the kids and your first cruise, We have also been on the Indy which is the sister to Freedom and they are great ships.

 

Check out my photo review of the Eclipse in my signature below, they are truly awesome ships as well but I would choose Freedom this time

[iriemon]

I would do the Freedom for a couple reasons - As others have mentioned the activities are far better than Celebrity especially for children of all ages. I am sure there will be more kids their ages on the ship.

 

We used to do Christmas cruises all the time when our kids were younger. The last one we did on Celebrity was terrible. No real Christmas celebration, started playing Christmas music after Christmas, etc. When I talked to the Cruise Director he told me that it was a "Holiday Cruise, not a Christmas Cruise". That was the last time we did any holiday on Celebrity.

[journeyonthefly]

Iriemon - thanks for the post. Great perspective. There are things about a slightly lower key, more relaxed cruise (Silhouette?) that appeal to my wife and I (even with the kids) but we do want the ship to be very festive! Still deciding...

[John&LaLa]

Iriemon - thanks for the post. Great perspective. There are things about a slightly lower key, more relaxed cruise (Silhouette?) that appeal to my wife and I (even with the kids) but we do want the ship to be very festive! Still deciding...

 

Not sure if it matters, but Freedom eastern usually does Coco Cay not Labadee. And sometimes they need to skip it so you get an extra sea day

 

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[Ourusualbeach]

Not sure if it matters, but Freedom eastern usually does Coco Cay not Labadee. And sometimes they need to skip it so you get an extra sea day

 

Sent from my HTC One_M8 using Forums mobile app

 

Itinerary changed for the holiday sailing. Definitely Labadee.