Freedom -> Vision

[pseudoware]

We're going down in class, lol. Our next RCI cruise will be our second. We were on Liberty three years ago and loved it. In a few months, we'll be on Splendour. We wanted the itinerary and dates, and this just happened to be the ship.

 

Will we be disappointed? FWIW, we've been on about a half-dozen other cruises, all Princess.

[SadmanCruiser]

You will notice the size difference! Personally, I love the Vision and Radiance class ships as IMHO they are more like cruise ships than floating hotels. The difference in the ships is what we enjoy.

 

As you booked for the itiniary, don't worry about the ship.

 

My next two cruises are on the Quantum and then a few days later the Rhapsody.

 

Pete

[bigque]

We just came off Enchantment on Monday after last sailing on Freedom. A big difference. Be on the look out for my review of Enchantment this weekend.

[BillOh]

We're going down in class, lol. Our next RCI cruise will be our second. We were on Liberty three years ago and loved it. In a few months, we'll be on Splendour. We wanted the itinerary and dates, and this just happened to be the ship.

 

Will we be disappointed? FWIW, we've been on about a half-dozen other cruises, all Princess.

 

If your are going for the itinerary and you manage expectations you can only be disappointed if you allow it. I've done Majesty after Freedom and Allure and still had a great time.

[jticarruthers]

Will you notice a difference - yes.

Will you be disappointed - depends on what you are looking for in the cruise.

Our last three cruises were; Allure, then Vision then Independence. Very different experiences on all three but we enjoyed them all.

Vision had the most "classy" and "relaxed" feel to it from our perspective but at the same time the least "to do" on board. If you are looking for lots of on-board activities Vision class probably isn't the right choice. But if you are looking to relax on-board and enjoy ports of call then you will enjoy it.

Personally our preference seems to be between the Freedom and Radiance class ships ... on Jewel in 10 days and then back to Freedom later this year :)

[alfaeric]

Over time, what you notice about these different ship classes is that the cruises tend to be- at one end, ship-centric, and at the other end, port-centric.

 

Since the Vision class is now the one with the least ammenities- their itineraries tend to be more port-centric.

 

No question you will notice the difference. We are ok with the differences- on our last Rhapsody cruise, we were out on our balcony for a good 5 hours one morning staring at Alaska. Outside of leaving a few of the Oasis ports, I can't picture looking at the islands that much.

 

One of the nice options that Royal Caribbean delivers- the option of the ship being the destination or the ports being the destination- they have the ships and itineraries to offer both (as well as a blend of that as you move from class to class).

[ACruiserinFL]

We did Allure, Oasis, then Monarch and Enchantment. Now next week I'll be on Freedom. We started with the biggest and best and now we are working our way back up through the smaller classes. There are always things you notice that are different, doesn't make them better or worse though

[cruisegirl1]

You will note differences in different classes of ships, but as long as you know what to expect ( or more importantly what not to expect) you can have a wonderful cruise.

 

In the Fall, we sailed the Freedom, then got on the Enchantment the day after we got off the Freedom. In December we sailed the Freedom, then got on the Explorer, the same day we got of the Freedom. We had NO problem going from one class to a smaller class ship.

 

Do you homework, and if certain ship amenities are important to you, make sure the ship you decide to book, has those amenities.

 

 

enjoy

M

[mollyeilis]

We literally went from Freedom and then to Vision. There was a difference. We have had interesting rooms on both; the corner aft 1700 on Freedom, then a panoramic oceanview on Vision. LOVED the pano room, and it was fun to have such an interesting room.

 

The centrum was cool for the first half of the 5 day cruise. Since our rooms were right off of it, we could run out and see what was going on, and go participate if we wanted. DS is a dancer and he did that a few times for the dance/music related activities.

 

LOVED the Schooner Bar on Vision.

 

for some reason those are the big things I remember.

 

For us, since we're nonsmokers and I'm highly sensitive and asthmatic, when we encountered bad weather halfway through the Vision cruise, it pushed all the smokers into the casino. By the end of the first bad weather day, it was getting unbearable. Second day, the Centrum was dead to me, couldn't go to Guest Services, and it was getting scary that the smoke was going to come into our room and make even sleeping miserable. That was really rotten, and caused our cruise to get "smaller" since the Centrum is such a hive of activity on Vision.

 

But...on Freedom we couldn't enjoy Schooner Bar *at all* because the smoke from the casino came out and into Schooner. I really wanted to participate in trivia, but couldn't because I'm just too sensitive to it. So it was a JOY to be able to enjoy Schooner on Vision.

 

Back and forth, good and bad. :)

 

If you're not as sensitive as me, or at all, you'll enjoy the parts that became difficult for me, so no worries. :)

 

We're braving Radiance next, but we're nowhere near the Centrum area. And then a year from now we're back to Freedom, and very excited about it. :)

 

 

Have fun, enjoy your itinerary!!!!!!!