Independence compared to Freedom and Liberty

[LSSaqua]

Long time cruiser but new to the Cruise Critics message forum. After ten HAL and Celebrity sailings our last three Royal Caribbean cruises have been on Allure, Freedom and Liberty.

 

Freedom and Liberty of the Seas have been two of our favorite ships of any line. I'm wondering if Independence is as good of an experience as the other two because it has spent much less time in the Caribbean than the others and we only sail Caribbean and Mexican Riviera cruises. I've read that the shops are European suited on Independence of the Seas so I hope the feel of the cruise is not different as well :confused:.

 

Is there anybody who can compare or share their experience?

[kissimmee-cruiser]

I did Freedom in January 2014 and then did Indy in April 2014. The layouts were almost identical but there were small almost indiscernible differences between the two ships. Honestly, I could never really put my finger on why, but I liked Freedom the best. Freedom is actually my favorite of all the ships we've been on over 5 different lines. I'm sorry I didn't really answer your question! Freedom has since been in dry dock so I'm sure there are more differences now.

[sauvichick]

There's a lot of love for the Freedom class ships. I have been on the Allure twice and having nothing else to compare it to within Royal. Can you tell me why people are big fans of this class? Don't get me wrong I am looking forward to our Liberty cruise. My friend stated that that she also couldn't put her finger on why she preferred Allure over Oasis. I guess it's like comparing ships within the Freedom class.

[bilyclub]

I've done all the Freedom Class and yes Indy has a different vibe. Can't put a finger on it, but it's there. Nothing to ruin a cruise though.

[racerxspeedy]

No Dreamworks characters on Indy, has a little more laid back feel. Still just as nice IMO.

[griffy116]

Freedom is our favorite too. We were on Navigator for a Med cruise a couple of years ago. It didn't have the same feeling, but the itinerary was port intensive and that could have been the difference. We didn't get to spend as much time enjoying what the ship had to offer or getting to know the crew as we have had on a Caribbean cruise. We're going on the Freedom for the third time in June, but had the itinerary been the same on Navigator, we wouldn't have hesitated to book that ship again.

[twovacation]

This is an interesting question and I've only been (just off) Liberty in this class. However I've been on Navigator and Grandeur and read TONS from those who've given advice here on their preferences in CC. Here is my take...

 

Liberty and Navigator were extremely similar...Liberty a tad bigger but overall seemed the same as a ship in terms of design, feel, getting around etc. When I read people comparing ships the difference they quote that gives them a different feel/vibe/etc is in very subtle things like a piece of type of art they liked on one that was absent the other, or staff attitude differences, or port intensive like the pp said above, or an experience they had that doesn't necessarily have to do with ship or ship size/capacity or ship layout design.

 

Thus the "can't put my finger on it" comes down to individual subtle preferences that went into...or away from...that particular cruiser's personal preferences hence of no real help to you in trying to decide. Aside from your specific question about the shops, which actually makes my point, a very subtle thing.

 

I think what people find out (and I'm including myself here) is thru multiple cruises they have a personal "cruise style" set of preferences. They try a bigger ship and don't like the crowds, they try a smaller ship and like the intimacy and demographics it attracts. But others have the exact opposite opinion of those same exact two cruises and ships. It's like Goldie Locks, this soup is too hot, this is too cold, ohhhhhh this one is jusssst right! LOL

 

Thus the question is (to all of us) what's YOUR cruise style and more importantaly, why have you arrived at that so we can learn your baseline factors of importance and compare to ours???

Edited March 28, 2015 by twovacation

[cb at sea]

The passenger mix can also affect how the cruise "feels"....sometimes, it's not the ship, but the other passengers!

[Ocean Boy]

We have done Indy several times. I like the Freedom class ships and I really like Indy's 8 night itinerary. However, I have always found the entertainment on Indy to be weak. The ship has old, outdated production shows that have not changed in years. The "vibe" on the ship this year was improved over our last sailing on it. Since Indy is not going back to GB this summer, it does have more of the Caribbean feel as far as the shops go than it did the last time when the ship was clearly set up for the UK market.

[kruzerci]

We have done Indy several times. I like the Freedom class ships and I really like Indy's 8 night itinerary. However, I have always found the entertainment on Indy to be weak. The ship has old, outdated production shows that have not changed in years. The "vibe" on the ship this year was improved over our last sailing on it. Since Indy is not going back to GB this summer, it does have more of the Caribbean feel as far as the shops go than it did the last time when the ship was clearly set up for the UK market.

 

Like the OP, I've also read that Indy has a slightly different vibe. The only other ship we have really sailed on that rotated between the Caribbean and Europe was Jewel and it definitely had a different feeling/vibe at that point that I couldn't put my finger on.

 

We are sailing on Indy the last week of May. I hope since she will have been doing 6, 7, and 8 day Caribbean service for about seven months at that point and staying in Fort Lauderdale year round, it will be more in line with Freedom, Allure, and Oasis.

 

I'm not overly concerned with the shows, these days we really only go to the ice show and the comedy shows. I just hope the experience overall experience is the same as the other Caribbean ships.

[Ocean Boy]

Like the OP, I've also read that Indy has a slightly different vibe. The only other ship we have really sailed on that rotated between the Caribbean and Europe was Jewel and it definitely had a different feeling/vibe at that point that I couldn't put my finger on.

 

We are sailing on Indy the last week of May. I hope since she will have been doing 6, 7, and 8 day Caribbean service for about seven months at that point and staying in Fort Lauderdale year round, it will be more in line with Freedom, Allure, and Oasis.

 

I'm not overly concerned with the shows, these days we really only go to the ice show and the comedy shows. I just hope the experience overall experience is the same as the other Caribbean ships.

 

We were on the ship three weeks ago. I don't think you have anything to worry about. We really enjoyed the week. We, also, were not very concerned about the production shows. We simply skipped them. We have no problem finding ways to be entertained with that extra time that would have been spent in the theater.

[ivanrocko]

Long time cruiser but new to the Cruise Critics message forum. After ten HAL and Celebrity sailings our last three Royal Caribbean cruises have been on Allure, Freedom and Liberty.

 

Freedom and Liberty of the Seas have been two of our favorite ships of any line. I'm wondering if Independence is as good of an experience as the other two because it has spent much less time in the Caribbean than the others and we only sail Caribbean and Mexican Riviera cruises. I've read that the shops are European suited on Independence of the Seas so I hope the feel of the cruise is not different as well :confused:.

 

Is there anybody who can compare or share their experience?

 

They are sister ships under the Freedom Class. We did Independence in March 2014 and then did Liberty in November 2014 and we really liked both. They are like 99% similar, the only differences are the interior decor, artwork and shows.

The shows on Liberty were better than on Indy.

The Adventure Ocean Kids Camp on Indy was better than on Liberty.

They are great ships. Enjoy your Cruise!!!

[LSSaqua]

Thank you all

[molly361]

I've done all the Freedom Class and yes Indy has a different vibe. Can't put a finger on it, but it's there. Nothing to ruin a cruise though.

 

Same here. We have done all 3 and for some reason the Indy seems different and not as good as the other two. I have no idea why but I'm glad I am not the only one that feels that way.;)

[delirious9876]

The main difference is the senior management team on Indy are an inconsistent, unfriendly, un objective group of staff and it shows with displeasure through the ranks down to passenger service level :(

[kruzerci]

Same here. We have done all 3 and for some reason the Indy seems different and not as good as the other two. I have no idea why but I'm glad I am not the only one that feels that way.;)

 

 

 

The main difference is the senior management team on Indy are an inconsistent, unfriendly, un objective group of staff and it shows with displeasure through the ranks down to passenger service level :(

 

 

Oh fantastic...

[Ocean Boy]

The main difference is the senior management team on Indy are an inconsistent, unfriendly, un objective group of staff and it shows with displeasure through the ranks down to passenger service level :(

 

During the cruise we took on Indy before this one we made friends with a group of people and one of them said almost the same thing to us as you just said.:eek:

 

I have to say that on this cruise our cabin attendant and bar tender at the Schooner bar were excellent. It was the first time that I listed crew from this ship on my comments who really stood out. The woman in charge of the Diamond Lounge was also quite excellent. I think that, overall, there is a noticeable improvement in the ship since we sailed on it two years ago.

[delirious9876]

During the cruise we took on Indy before this one we made friends with a group of people and one of them said almost the same thing to us as you just said.:eek:

 

I have to say that on this cruise our cabin attendant and bar tender at the Schooner bar were excellent. It was the first time that I listed crew from this ship on my comments who really stood out. The woman in charge of the Diamond Lounge was also quite excellent. I think that, overall, there is a noticeable improvement in the ship since we sailed on it two years ago.

Good to know there might be improvements :) :) :)

[tomko2]

During the cruise we took on Indy before this one we made friends with a group of people and one of them said almost the same thing to us as you just said.:eek:

 

I have to say that on this cruise our cabin attendant and bar tender at the Schooner bar were excellent. It was the first time that I listed crew from this ship on my comments who really stood out. The woman in charge of the Diamond Lounge was also quite excellent. I think that, overall, there is a noticeable improvement in the ship since we sailed on it two years ago.

 

Good to hear. This week we will sail on our 12th and final cruise on the wonderful Liberty OTS. We have only been on the Indy once however we felt the chill -- staff not as engaging or accommodating, food and shows disappointing. Overall an "off" feeling. (Interesting that others reflected the same feeling). The chill was very noticeable in the Diamond Lounge.

 

We like 4/5 night cruises so we expect to be on Indy at least 2 - 4 times a year until another ship comes to PE with 4/5 night cruises. Really hopefully that the atmosphere on board has warmed up.

Kathy

[cdscooby1]

Sailing on Indy for the first time next month. I have been on the Oasis twice and love that there is always something to do. The Explorer was overcrowded and just ok. The Brilliance last year was fantastic and for a smaller ship I really liked the intimacy of it. The staff was wonderful and I would recommend it although I do wish it had a promenade.

[KMagz]

Been on Freedom, Indy (and Allure, Oasis and several Voyager class ships.) Our Independence cruise was just about a year ago and it was our favorite RCCL cruise. The ship is great, the crew was great. You have nothing to worry about. We didn't feel anything "different" at all.

 

We booked Indy again.

[shay1]

Hello,

 

Can anyone tell me if Freedom has a dedicated Diamond Lounge? We have not been on this ship and are thinking of taking a fall cruise on her. Thanks

[ckrobyn]

Interesting thread.

I have sailed on the Freedom and Liberty and have a b2b coming up on the Indy in November. I have found that the "vibe" is different on every ship. I am hopeful that the vibe on Indy will be a good one :D

I will be reporting LIVE.....

[MattInFLL]

(Shay, yes Freedom has a dedicated Diamond lounge. All of the newer ships do.)

 

I've been on Liberty twice and Freedom once. I really did not like Freedom's way of doing things compared to other Royal ships, and much preferred Liberty. I have heard good things about Indy, and will hopefully agree when I am on her this fall. But each ship in the fleet does have it's own vibe.

 

"Super Mario" - Royal Caribbean's number one cruiser - has been "living" on Indy for some time now, and he can choose any ship.

[casinostreer]

There's a lot of love for the Freedom class ships. I have been on the Allure twice and having nothing else to compare it to within Royal. Can you tell me why people are big fans of this class? Don't get me wrong I am looking forward to our Liberty cruise. My friend stated that that she also couldn't put her finger on why she preferred Allure over Oasis. I guess it's like comparing ships within the Freedom class.

 

Personally, having been most recently on Allure and THEN Freedom, I can say that the size is perfect (for us.) The Allure was too big, and despite great efforts, you can tell that there are a LOT of people on board. On Freedom, which still holds a great number of passengers, never felt that way to us. There are enough dining options, great activities, and some great staff. (This is of course, all subjective.) But that's why we love the Freedom.

 

Going back in OCTOBER!!!!!