Symphony vs. Freedom--Please tell me your experiences

[Katems75]

Hello, I've only cruised twice, on Oasis and on Harmony.  I am looking at a Symphony cruise but other family members want a Freedom cruise.  The itinerary doesn't matter to me, I don't care about getting off the ship, I care about the ship, itself.  I know Symphony is fairly new and I know while Freedom is old, it was dry docked in 2020 so that's good.  

 

Symphony is a seven day cruise, and Freedom is eight days.  The cost is the same.  I loved Central Park on the two Oasis class ships, and duck hunting is big in our family.  The small size of the Freedom and the lack of Central Park has me worried.  Can someone who's been on Freedom since the dry dock weigh in, especially if you're also familiar with the Oasis class?  What are the rooms like on Freedom, decor wise?  We would get an ocean view balcony on either.  Freedom currently has few fewer rooms available, due mostly its size and its fewer ocean view balconies I imagine.  We were on deck eight on Oasis and Harmony and loved the proximity to the park.

 

Also, any chance the ships will be decorated for Christmas if we sail November 15 or 16, THROUGH Thanksgiving week??

 

Thank you!

[Pratique]

For eight days you may not be happy with Freedom. Freedom is in great shape but simply doesn’t have the Symphony experiences in terms of restaurants, entertainment and other venues. I think Freedom is a great ship for 3/4 nights but longer than that it would feel too limited. The decor on Freedom is dated, some things like drawers are sticky or loose, shower curtains instead of glass doors, little stuff but nothing major. Very long lines at El Loco Fresh being by the pool. Water slide at the aft, nowhere near the pool. Freedom is a beautiful ship but nothing like Symphony. If the ship is the destination for you then choose Symphony. IMHO

[jerryg95]

4 minutes ago, Pratique said:

For eight days you may not be happy with Freedom. Freedom is in great shape but simply doesn’t have the Symphony experiences in terms of restaurants, entertainment and other venues. I think Freedom is a great ship for 3/4 nights but longer than that it would feel too limited. The decor on Freedom is dated, some things like drawers are sticky or loose, shower curtains instead of glass doors, little stuff but nothing major. Very long lines at El Loco Fresh being by the pool. Water slide at the aft, nowhere near the pool. Freedom is a beautiful ship but nothing like Symphony. If the ship is the destination for you then choose Symphony. IMHO

Shower curtains?

[Pratique]

Ooops I missed the part about ocean view. In the grand suites there are still shower curtains.

[Cruise a holic]

If you enjoy the Oasis class ships, the Freedom class, while nice do not offer the same amenities.  I would choose an Oasis class ship over a Freedom Class ship.  More choices of activities, restaurants and overall nicer IMO.

[bajathree]

It's hard to go backwards once you experinced and liked Oasis class ships. Freedom class is going to seem dated to you. If you wanted to try something else I would recomend Odyssey but I don't believe it going to sail from the debarkation ports you are looking at. As for Christmas....maybe as they usually use Thanksgiving week to just start decorating the ships or the transition between the Thanksgiving sailing and the sailing after.

[leaveitallbehind]

I agree with the other comments regarding Oasis v Freedom class ships - there are clear differences and maybe you should spend some time on the website reading about each and looking at the deck plans for Freedom to see the differences there.  

 

To me it isn't just the age of the ships its their design and venue differences.  Symphony is one of our favorite Oasis class ships, and while we also have enjoyed Freedom, our choice between the two would definitely be Symphony.  JMO.

Edited May 14 by leaveitallbehind

[Southern Dan]

I feel like I'm going to be spoiled after sailing on Symphony this November and Odyssey next July.  I just switched from Voyager to Odyssey next July because I really wanted to sail on her and have no desire to fly up to NYC to do so during the winter when I used to live on Long Island and currently live in Georgia which is much closer to Florida.

Out of all the Freedom Class ships though it looks like they did the best job on Freedom with her amplification and I hope to sail her one day.  Was looking for Jan/Feb 2026 but she seems to be doing short itineraries which don't interest me.

[smokeybandit]

I wouldn't hesitate to book either ship.

[Cooper30]

While my wife and I prefer Freedom (and Voyager) Class over Oasis Class, we are in the minority among the cruising couples we know. 

It’s really an apples to oranges comparison, and I believe someone who really enjoys all that the Oasis Class has to offer will generally be disappointed on a smaller class of ship. 

[Ocean Boy]

Simply two different cruise experiences. I like both classes of ship. I think Freedom offers a bit more of a relaxing cruise. On O class ships there is aways something going on and I don't get much down time.

 

I have Freedom booked next because it is an 8 nighter and 4 ports with no private stops. Those cruises are harder to come by. I've enjoyed every cruise that I've done on an F class ship. However, if I had the choice of Freedom or Odyssey for the same cruise I'd most likely choose Odyssey.

[BecciBoo]

And I'd choose Oasis class.  We loved Odyssey but prefer the layout of Oasis class...hope to do Utopia, but pricing is so high for a shorty!  We did Liberty 6 times already so you know we like the class but I'm lured by all the variety Oasis class offers.

 

We loved Symphony just because of the drone ice show...spectacular!

Edited May 14 by BecciBoo

[BecciBoo]

12 hours ago, Katems75 said:

Also, any chance the ships will be decorated for Christmas if we sail November 15 or 16, THROUGH Thanksgiving week??

They will erect the Christmas tree that week, we've done 3 Thanksgiving cruises and we always watch them put it up.

[SG65CB]

13 hours ago, Katems75 said:

The small size of the Freedom and the lack of Central Park has me worried

 

Freedom is not small, it is pretty huge, not long ago the largest cruise ship in the world. Maybe 75 feet shorter than Symphony. Yes it does not have Central Park. But it does have a flowrider, rock climbing wall, ice rink, theater with entertainment, royal promenade, multiple pools and hot tubs, specialty restaurants, etc. etc. just like Symphony. Just a different layout. Balcony room sizes and layouts similar. Duck hunting galore on Freedom. 

[luvbrady]

Symphony is one of my favorites- however I don't mind a Freedom class of ship.  We were just on Freedom last May and Indy this month- no real complaints.  I would personally in this instance choose itninery/departure port over ship.  That said we were on Explorer this January and definitely decided anything smaller than Freedom class was just not for us.

[leaveitallbehind]

2 hours ago, SG65CB said:

 

Freedom is not small, it is pretty huge, not long ago the largest cruise ship in the world. Maybe 75 feet shorter than Symphony. 

You are correct, Freedom is a very large ship and 18 years ago was the largest cruise ship afloat.  But the 76' difference in length is only one rather insignificant measure in the difference in size with Symphony.  Symphony has a gross tonnage of 228,000 tons with a maximum passenger capacity of over 6,600 guests. Freedom has a gross tonnage by comparison of 156,000 tons and a maximum passenger capacity of just over 4,500 guests.

 

The differences are rather significant IMO.  Symphony is quite a bit larger by those measures. Although they share many of the same venues, the layout and design of Symphony is completely different from Freedom.

 

I only say this for the OP as by comparison, IMO they are apples to oranges.

 

 

Edited May 14 by leaveitallbehind

[PhillyFan33579]

I am on Freedom right now and having a great time. However, there is no comparison between Freedom and Symphony. Since you only care about the ship, Symphony wins by a landslide in my book. 

[Katems75]

Thanks, everyone!  I'm disappointed that the Christmas decorations won't be up that week, so I think all the more reason to take the prettier, more modern ship!!

[Twenty2020]

They are just significantly different experiences. What appeals to you on a cruise? 

[huntr104]

On 5/14/2024 at 8:40 AM, Cooper30 said:

While my wife and I prefer Freedom (and Voyager) Class over Oasis Class, we are in the minority among the cruising couples we know. 

It’s really an apples to oranges comparison, and I believe someone who really enjoys all that the Oasis Class has to offer will generally be disappointed on a smaller class of ship. 

We're in the same boat as you! (pun intended)  We had a great time on Oasis class ships but they're a little too big for our taste.  Our last 2 cruises were on Freedom and Mariner and we're going on Adventure in 35 days, but whose counting.

[Ocean Boy]

On 5/14/2024 at 12:37 PM, PhillyFan33579 said:

I am on Freedom right now and having a great time. However, there is no comparison between Freedom and Symphony. Since you only care about the ship, Symphony wins by a landslide in my book. 

What sort of condition is Freedom in? I've read some concerning things about Liberty and Freedom is older. I have the ship booked for thus coming winter. It has been a while since I've been aboard.

[PhillyFan33579]

1 hour ago, Ocean Boy said:

What sort of condition is Freedom in? I've read some concerning things about Liberty and Freedom is older. I have the ship booked for thus coming winter. It has been a while since I've been aboard.

I think Freedom is in great shape for her age. I don’t recall seeing any glaring issue on her last week. I was on Liberty a few months ago and once again don’t recall any kind of significant issue with her. Unlike Freedom, Liberty hasn’t been upgraded recently so she doesn’t have as many newer features like Freedom, with no Playmaker’s the biggest thing in my book. 

[island lady]

I dunno...I still miss the Monarch.  😉                                                                                                                                                                               

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Ocean Boy]

23 minutes ago, island lady said:

I dunno...I still miss the Monarch.  😉                                                             

Seriously?😚

[island lady]

2 minutes ago, Ocean Boy said:

Seriously?😚

 

Awww....she was so cute.  Would do the 3 night weekenders out of local port PC here when I was still working.  Do my orders on the ship Friday afternoon, then back to work on time on Mondays.  😉 

 

That was when the upper tier party (usually pulling into Nassau at noon) had full cocktails (great Bloody Marys) wandering crew members with trays of munchies, even sushi!  It was a festive event.  

 

So many of the crew members knew our names when we reboarded for another "go round" and would welcome us back warmly.  Just felt like a large private yacht.  🥰

 

But on a more realistic note.  I do love CK and the adventures around the Oasis class ships.  We also loved our time on Freedom and still have fond memories of when she spent years here in PC.  

 

I guess I just love them all.  😄