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Which One

spankym13

By spankym13,
in Royal Caribbean International

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spankym13

spankym13

Posted
Posted

Hey everyone how are you?

Looking to book our first Royal cruise and freedom of the seas fall 2015.

having a hard time picking which sailing. any and all advice would be great.

Sailing#1 Coco Cay,St Thomas,St Maarten.

Sailing#2 Labadee,Falmouth,Grand Caymen,Cozumel

 

We have only been the the bahamas.:eek:

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Clarea

Clarea

Posted
Posted
Hey everyone how are you?

Looking to book our first Royal cruise and freedom of the seas fall 2015.

having a hard time picking which sailing. any and all advice would be great.

Sailing#1 Coco Cay,St Thomas,St Maarten.

Sailing#2 Labadee,Falmouth,Grand Caymen,Cozumel

 

We have only been the the bahamas.:eek:

We prefer Eastern, so #1 for us. Don't like Falmouth at all.

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Philly Steve

Philly Steve

Posted
Posted

I would go with the first choice. St. Thomas has so much to offer, especially if you're into shopping.

 

St. Maarten is a great stop and it featured one of my all time favorite excursions in which we helped crew an America's Cup yacht in a "race." :cool:

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griffy116

griffy116

Posted
Posted

We have booked BOTH for 2015, simply because we don't yet know which week because my Grandson is taking a summer course in college and we can't go during the week he takes his mid-term exam.We're fine with either route and have been to all the ports for both so we won't be disappointed either way. That being said, Grand Cayman is probably my favorite, along with Labadee. All it means is that you do one route this cruise and book the other route for your next cruise. FOS is a great ship. This will be our third cruise on FOS. It goes to dry dock this month, so it will be all freshened up for us. :D Enjoy.

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Jimmers

Jimmers

Posted
Posted (edited)

We've been to every place except Coco Cay and you won't go wrong with either itinerary. I think they're all great destinations, especially if you haven't been to them before.

 

You might find it helpful to think about what activities you would like to do and see which cruise best fits the bill.

Edited by Jimmers
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bigque

bigque

Posted
Posted

I have been to Coco Cay and will be going there in March. I also have been to St. Maarten and loved it. Will be going to St. Thomas in October and is really looking forward to it!

 

Went on Freedom (Western) in 2013 and I really had a great time at ALL ports including Falmouth. Contrary to what you may read on here, in Falmouth you just need to get away from the port and town of Falmouth and enjoy what Jamaica has to offer away from there. Grand Cayman, Cozumel and Labadee, I enjoyed very much also. To me what it boils down to is if you want the extra sea day or an extra port, but that is just IMHO! :cool:

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sgregel

sgregel

Posted
Posted

We booked Freedom for the western itinerary 11/8/2015 because that was the only week I could take off work. I prefer Eastern with St. Thomas and St. Maarten. We will enjoy the Western although I don't like tendering to Grand Cayman and I'm not thrilled with Jamaica. Labadee is a better private island in my opinion than Coco Cay. You don't have to tender, which makes the whole experience a lot better. Cozumel is a great port with a lot to do. This time I will probably go to the Mayan ruins.

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bouhunter

bouhunter

Posted
Posted

You're really best off to read the sections here regarding each port to see what there is to do at each. And/or deciding how many sea days you'd prefer. Threads like this can go on forever with different opinions on ports.....

 

 

That said, if your asking, I'd go with St. Martin/St. Thomas:D

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John&LaLa "Live from...." Rare

John&LaLa

Posted
Posted (edited)
What is it about eastern that everyone loves over western. Like i say we havent done either. Looking at sept 27th

 

Coco Cay - rent a cabana

 

St Thomas - snorkel in St John

 

St Martten - Orient Beach

 

Have fun

Edited by John&LaLa
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uncle John

uncle John

Posted
Posted
Hey everyone how are you?

Looking to book our first Royal cruise and freedom of the seas fall 2015.

having a hard time picking which sailing. any and all advice would be great.

Sailing#1 Coco Cay,St Thomas,St Maarten.

Sailing#2 Labadee,Falmouth,Grand Caymen,Cozumel

 

We have only been the the bahamas.:eek:

 

All great but depends on what you want to do with your time.

Eastern = Spend more money shopping duty free $1600 pp 4ltr Liquor +1ltr made in VI=5ltr pp 5 carton cigarettes pp from VI 100Cigars

St Thomas* many beautiful beaches and sights, Havensight Shopping center or Downtown for Gems, Booze, Clothing, Cameras etc,,Harley

St Martin* has Orient Beach and Maho Beach (planes fly over) Sunset Bar, Water taxi to town, Sharkeys Bar on the dock, beaches in town, nice restaurants, great wine prices, cigars, Cameras and electronics.Harley

CoCoCay -You must Tender IF weather permits, swimming not sure never made it there yet.

 

Western=$800 Duty free, 200 Cigarettes, 100 Cigars, 1ltr liquor pp

Labadee- private island lots to do, LONG over water ZIP line, scuba, snorkel, boat rentals, canoes, ski, jet ski,PWC's, Dragon Coaster, Water Inflatables, Food, Drink, Shopping,Dance, Swim, Sun, Arts and Crap, or just rent a Cabana and relax. I vote CABANA

Falmouth,Jamaica-Climb the Dun River Falls, raft down the river, tour the countryside, Rose Hill resort, Red Stripe Beach, Horse coach tour the town, Shop the port, buy some local wood carvings, Harley, Marguerittaville at the Dock.

Grand Caymen-tender to shore. Shop the town, RUM Cakes, Harley, GO To Hell and send a post card, Submarine, dive, Snorkel, Dolphins, Stingray City. visit one of 700 some banks, Nice beaches, Black Dicks, buy a Rolex.

Cozumel- Ruins, Beach Break Tour, Nachi Cocum (sit relax peace and quiet all inclusive good food and drink NO CROWD), Mr Sanchos , plus many other beach resorts and just beaches, lots of shopping in town, Tequilla tasting allover, HArley.

 

So it is up to you what you want. Wild and crazy or total relaxing, maybe water rat or adventure hound. That is the nice thing about cruising.

Freedom is a Grand vessel and we enjoy her just going for the ride with friends.

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OfTheSeasCruiser

OfTheSeasCruiser

Posted
Posted (edited)

We've been on both Western and Eastern cruises and their both wonderful. Since you're a first timer to the ports, I think you'd have fun on either itinerary.

 

On our first cruise, we did the same exact western itinerary (but Ochos Rios instead of Falmouth) that you're considering. We thought it was amazing. I loved Labadee, and Cozumel and Grand Cayman were very nice!

 

That didn't really give you a solid answer...sorry about that! :) But I don't think you can go wrong either way. We've been to all the ports your considering except CocoCay and booked a Western itinerary this year just so we could go to Labadee again.

Edited by OfTheSeasCruiser
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