Freedom or Jewel; Ship vs. Itinerary

[Niquein99]

I'm hoping someone can give me some advice on which to choose here -- I'm having a difficult time making a decision. Here is my dilemma -- I have a cabin booked on the Freedom of the Seas for December, 2006, and a "hold" on a cabin on the Jewel of the Seas for the same week, until I can make up my mind. My family and I (I'm travelling with two kids, ages 14 and 6) have already been on the Jewel of the Seas (JOS), but we did the 6-day Western route. Well this time, we'd like to try the Jewel's 8-day Eastern route, as we've never done the Eastern and I'm excited to go to these islands. HOWEVER, with all the excitement of the new Freedom of the Seas and having booked an AFT balcony on that new ship (we've NEVER had a balcony cabin, let alone an aft balcony on a brand new ship!), I'm also excited to try this new ship out!

 

Sailing on the Freedom would really only be to try this new big ship out, as I have no interest in the ports of call for the Freedom's sailing (outside of Labadee) and the JOS is the largest ship we've sailed on. On the Jewel I have booked one of those "hump" balconies on deck 8.

 

What would you do? I've about drove my TA insane with my indecisiveness and I have until Monday to give him a final answer. Price is not an issue, as the balcony cabin on the Freedom and the Jewel is about $100 difference in price, but the Jewel is an 8-day, vs. the Freedom's 7-day. Honestly, when we sailed the Western route on the JOS, I wasn't impressed with the ports of call, which is why I say I would really be on the Freedom -- simply because its the Freedom of the Seas! LOL With the Jewel, we would be out and about, exploring the Eastern itinerary islands. So I really don't know what to do and I know its more of a personal choice -- but wanted to throw this out there to get other opinions. Myself, (and my travel agent) really appreciate it! :-) Thanks!

[lanabanana]

What do your kids say? I feel certain that the lure of the new things on the Freedom would be a great draw to them, even though the Jewel has a good kid's program. Since you've already been on the Jewel, I'd probably opt for the Freedom.

[alw1977]

I'll take the other side. I'm a person who cares more about the itinerary than the ship. Based on that, I'd say go with Jewel. We've looked at that too - nice itinerary, 3 really good ports (St. Martin, St. Thomas, and Antigua) plus two so-so ports (Nassau, SJU). Personally, I love beaching in St. Martin and St. Thomas, so I'll always pick that itinerary. I don't have kids though... so I'm not sure how much time yours spend on the ship. Do they typically go into port with you? I think the "new ship" thing is cool, but the Voyager class ships are pretty crowded, in my opinion. I'd imagine the same with Freedom. My vote is for the Jewel... plus you get an extra day!

[Niquein99]

Well, my son, the 5-year old (he'll be 6 when we sail next year), wants to go back on the Jewel because he loved the kids program so much and he especially loved adventure beach on the Jewel. Adventure Beach is one of the reasons we won't sail on Navigator or Mariner, because those ships don't have adventure beach. I showed him the video of the water park on Freedom, and he still said "I want to go back on the Jewel!" LOL

 

My daughter, the 13-year old, is torn like I am between the two. She too loved Jewel, because of the water slide, adventure beach and the kid's program. I'll admit, she was bored at first with the young teen program on the Jewel, but once she made friends, she was OK after that. She's excited about the features on the Freedom, but also wouldn't mind going on the Jewel again and visiting different islands this time. So she confuses me even more! LOL

 

As for me, I was blown away by the beauty of the Jewel; I thought she was a fabulous ship and certainly wouldn't mind sailing on her again. If we were to sail on the Freedom, all of us probably would only get off the ship for one or two ports, but with all the Freesom has to offer, I'm sure that would be OK too. We haven't been on any of the Voyager-class ships, so I wouldn't know what to expect.

 

This decision is an important one, because after our cruise next year, we may not be able to cruise for a while after that, so I've got to get this right! :-)

[wrp96]

I'd probably go with the Western Caribbean itinerary with kids, even though I prefer the Eastern Caribbean for myself. The stops on the Western Caribbean itinerary just seem to have more activities for families to do. However, since your kids seem to love the Jewel it would be a toss up.

 

One question, is there any difference in air fares to get there because of the different dates of embarkation or debarkation? Have you figured that into the difference in prices.

[Niquein99]

Airfare would be the same, as the Jewel leaves on 12/16 from Ft. Lauderdale and the Freedom leaves on 12/17 from Miami. We would fly into Ft. Lauderdale for either cruise, as its cheaper than flying into Miami. So yes, I've considered airfare into the whole picture too.

[alw1977]

Still say go for the Jewel... if your soon to be 6-year old really loved it, and your family had a nice time when you cruised the Jewel last year, I say why mess with a good thing? Another consideration: you already know the ship. While it might take the "exploring" element out of the trip, it will certainly be easier for your family to be familiar with the ship. You can get right on board and start enjoying yourselves right away. Familiarity can be a good thing.

 

I'm not sure why people always say "western for kids." St. Martin has perhaps the best active beach for children - full of jet skis, water trampolines, etc. St. Thomas also has an active beach scene. Nassau - what kids doesn't love Atlantis? I think your kids will have a fine time on either. Basically you have this choice: Same ship or same itinerary. I say change up the itinerary. My 2 cents. Again.

[Leslie K]

A couple of other things to think of while making your decision, repeating a ship so close in time will mean repeating somethings such as shows. I am finding that 2 years after being on Explorer, the shows are essentially the same so one of the things I enjoyed each evening will be a repeat or I'll look for other activities. We did 2 different ships but essentially the same itinerary (with small change) but we did different things at repeat ports except the second time we were more prepared in some ways. I loved the size of Jewel over that of Explorer, and even the same holiday week seemed less crowded and more manageable than Explorer. My daughter prefers Explorer (she was 14 her first time aboard) but I can tell you that she didn't want to debark at the end of our Jewel trip. Will your kids use the things on Freedom that are not available on Jewel to make it worthwhile? Will you all prefer exploring a new ship or do you like comfort in the familiar? What are the things you didn't get to do in port or on ship that you would like to do that would make a repeat worthwhile? Hope these help you in your decision making... me, I chose itinerary for a specific week I'm available over ship which is why we're going back on Explorer this year

[negc]

I really doubt that there are many veteran cruisers who have booked Freedom because of her itinerary. We are booked on the October 15, 2006 cruise with our kids and grandkids and everyone is really looking forward to being on this new and very exciting ship. Two weeks later, my wife and I will be on Jewel of the Seas for the fourth time. It is one of our favorite ships and the repositioning cruise out of Boston has a great itinerary.

Obviously, you need to determine which is more important to you, the itinerary or the ship. The cruise experience on Freedom promises to be very exciting but even without all of the special features of the Freedom, the Jewel provides a great cruise experience and there are plenty of kid-friendly features to keep younger cruisers well occupied for 8 days. You are pretty much in a win-win situation whatever you decide. Once you do make your choice, however, don't try to second-guess yourself. Enjoy the cruise you book. You can always book the other one at another time.:)

[Cuizer2]

Wow - wish every question was this well explained. I am going to book the Freedom because I want to see what it is like. That said, you need to look into other issues. Yes the Freedom is new, but in 2007 some other ship will be new. In 2008 another ship will be new. In - well, you get the idea. So I would not book a ship just because it is new.

 

On the other hand, you know you like the Jewel and you are interested in the ports.

 

The Freedom spends two full days at sea and three of the ports are of no interest to you. So that means you will not be too happy about three of the days. Not good.

 

I would warn you that ports can sometimes change. However, most likely, if this did happen, you would just end up at a different Eastern Caribbean port, which apparently would be fine with you.

 

Two people would be happy either way and the third seems to be leaning toward the Jewel, even though he would likely have a great time on the Freedom, once he gave it a chance.

 

Given all of this, the fact that you would be happy to return to the Jewel and that any Eastern Caribbean port would be of interest to you, I would book the Jewel. Why spend three days somewhere you don't want to be? Come 2011 there will be other new ships you can try.

[Guest cruzr44]

Airfare would be the same, as the Jewel leaves on 12/16 from Ft. Lauderdale and the Freedom leaves on 12/17 from Miami. We would fly into Ft. Lauderdale for either cruise, as its cheaper than flying into Miami. So yes, I've considered airfare into the whole picture too.

 

Air would be the same flying into FLL, but don't forget you have to get from FLL to MIA and back for the Freedom. I would also like to see this ship, but I would rather go somewhere I haven't been. I would either pick the Jewel or pick a Voyager class ship going Eastern.

[Leafpeeper]

We sailed Jewel in October this year and will be sailing Explorer in October 2006 because we love Bermuda and Jewel is not doing the Boston to Bermuda cruise in 2006. I loved our cruise on Jewel--except for my frustration over the smoking issues surrounding the Schooner Bar access to the Safari Lounge, Chops and Portofinos. We had a junior suite on Jewel but will be trying the Promenade cabins on Explorer for a new experience. I enjoy trying new ships and different cabins and would be just as confused as you seem to be making a choice between Jewel and Freedom.

 

We love sailing out of NY and Boston and wish RCCL would follow Norwegian, Holland American, and Cunard (Queen Mary II- Queen Eliz II) and begin winter cruises out of NY because we hate flying. We really loved sailing the Norwegian Dawn last winter and hope to book another winter cruise on that ship again.

 

For me, variety is the spice of life.

[Niquein99]

Wow -- you all have been so helpful on here! I'm not near a decision, but admittedly, I'm leaning towards the Jewel and the Eastern route. I checked with RCCL and the only other ship doing an Eastern route during that week is the Navigator. The Navigator stops at all the ports as the Jewel, minus Antigua. So that would still put Jewel at the top, as I'd like to go to Antigua too! If I want to stick with the Eastern, I'd have to pick one of these ships or go to another cruise line (my travel agent me told me to check out the Caribbean Princess) -- but I'm partial to RCCL because of my kids.

 

Has anyone been on the Navigator and recommend it? Since Navigator doesn't have the Adventure Beach, where do the little ones swim and enjoy the pools while on board, without annoying the adult guests? Or is there so much to do on a Voyager-class ship that my 5-year old won't care that there isn't a kids pool? My teen would be happy with the Navigator, from the looks of how they expanded the teen area. The Back Deck looks like a place that I may want to hang out at! LOL However, my daughter has already informed me that I'm not allowed...!

[CaribeDiver]

:) Look at it this way. If you get bored with the ship after a few days what else do you have if you don't like the ports? Remember, the ship is only half of the vacation. I myself had this dilemma since my family wanted to book the new Freedom but I am tired of the Western ports having been on the Rhapsody for my last 3 sailings. I booked the Jewel for 1/07 since I get bored on the ship and truly feel that the Eastern ports (especially 5 ports and one extra day) are more of what Caribbean cruising is all about. So, if the novelty of the ship wears off what do you do for the rest of the cruise? Good luck and Happy Cruising!!!:)

[k2]

How about the eastern route on the voyager or explorer? Different ship, voyager class, and eastern route! :D

[Cuizer2]

Has anyone been on the Navigator and recommend it? Since Navigator doesn't have the Adventure Beach, where do the little ones swim and enjoy the pools while on board, without annoying the adult guests? Or is there so much to do on a Voyager-class ship that my 5-year old won't care that there isn't a kids pool? My teen would be happy with the Navigator, from the looks of how they expanded the teen area. The Back Deck looks like a place that I may want to hang out at! LOL However, my daughter has already informed me that I'm not allowed...!

 

1) I have been on the Navigator and would recommend it to anyone, any age (who is young at heart and active). 2) Where do the little ones swim? Look at the bottom right of the picture below. See the inflatable pool and the fence across the pool? That is where the non-swimmers swim. If they can swim, they walk around the fence and swim in the main pool. 3) Yes, there is so much to do on the Navigator that it would be hard for your five year old to get board. 4) As I understand it, when adventure ocean was removed, the teen area was expanded. See the link below for areas aboard the Navigator that would be of interest to teens. Click on any picture to make it bigger ...

 

http://www.cruise-addicts.com/photogallery/main.php?g2_view=core.ShowItem&g2_itemId=88142

 

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[k2]

Has anyone been on the Navigator and recommend it?

 

Absolutly!!!! We sailed the Navigator with a 4 and 7 yr old. The very next year we sailed the Voyager. There was no comparisson..... the Navigator was better hands down. The water slide on the voyager was rarely open, and they must have recently painted the whole area in Adventure Beach because every time my kids got into one of the pools they came out with their skin (and clothes) stained. This happened once at the begining of the cruise; then we tried about mid cruise and it happened again. Guess that blows the whole wet paint theory out of the water. Twice was enough for us. WE headed to the main pool after that! Anyway, In our experience, the Navigator had a much better staff in A/O and the staff overall was superior (maybe we just hit a bad week on the Voyager). Anyway, we are sailing the Navigator again next year (with the kids). :D