Freedom/Liberty Vs. Mariner - Is it worth it?

[hockeywidow88]

I'm a cruising newbie & my parents (seasoned cruisers) have talked us (my family of 5 including my three sons under the age of 8) into taking a cruise with them next May/June.

 

I know they would prefer to try out Freedom/Liberty but it looks like it'll cost my family of 5 at least another $1200 over Mariner (or other Voyager-family ship).

 

For those lucky ones who have sailed on Freedom and Mariner (or Voyager-family), do you think it's worth the extra $$$? Keeping in mind this cruise will follow a week long stint at DisneyWorld so credit cards will be maxed out!

 

PS. While I've got you reading (& I know this should be separate post), my understanding is that my best bet in ensuring I get the best price is to book early and then watch to see if there are any price drops and ask my travel agent to get the credit. Is that right?

 

Thank you! :o (This board looks fantastic!)

[cb at sea]

If this was to be your ONLY vacation, then it would be worth it--but after spending a fortune in Disney????? Do you have a bankruptcy wish?? NO--the flowrider is not worth the extra money--and aside from that, and another thousand passengers, (and a bunch of your money) what will you be missing?

[uksimonusa]

I'm a cruising newbie & my parents (seasoned cruisers) have talked us (my family of 5 including my three sons under the age of 8) into taking a cruise with them next May/June.

 

I know they would prefer to try out Freedom/Liberty but it looks like it'll cost my family of 5 at least another $1200 over Mariner (or other Voyager-family ship).

 

For those lucky ones who have sailed on Freedom and Mariner (or Voyager-family), do you think it's worth the extra $$$? Keeping in mind this cruise will follow a week long stint at DisneyWorld so credit cards will be maxed out!

 

PS. While I've got you reading (& I know this should be separate post), my understanding is that my best bet in ensuring I get the best price is to book early and then watch to see if there are any price drops and ask my travel agent to get the credit. Is that right?

 

Thank you! :o (This board looks fantastic!)

 

First of all Welcome to C.C.:D

 

There really is not much difference between, the Mariner and the Freedom. The Freedom is obviously bigger,but the general layout is the same, major differences include the Flowrider, H20 Zone, Sorrento's pizza and the boxing ring.

 

However, if your kids, like the look of the Flowrider, then that in itself makes up for the extra cost, I can't remember if there was an age of height limit, on Flowrider, so that may be something to look into, our daughter is 11, but 5'7" and she was on it every day and had a blast. It may be that your eldest could ride, but not the younger 2, and that might cause you some problems. I would try and find out the age height limit if there is one.

 

Either way, you and the kids will have a great time, there is so much to do on both ships, and we found, Adventure Ocean, to be great, our daughter never wanted to leave.

 

Which ever you choose have a great cruise

[Boo Boo]

I haven't been on a Freedom Class ship yet (am sailing Liberty in September), but did Mariner last October. We chose Liberty because we fancied trying a new ship, have never sailed out of Miami and they had an OS open when we want to go.

 

If it is $1200 difference for your family AND bear in mind that the Mariner (sailing from Port Canaveral) is a lot easier and quicker to get to than the Freedom/Liberty (in Miami). I would go for the Mariner.

 

Mariner is a FANTASTIC, beautiful ship with so much to do - your family couldn't be disappointed. I doubt that your in-laws would mind going on the Mariner - even if they have been on her before. Mariner is my favourite ship of the 5 (ok not that many) that I have sailed before.

 

I can't see how you could fail to have a fantastic time on the Mariner... :)

 

Boo

[debshomespun]

We have cruised the Freedom, and also the Navigator and Explorer. Considering you will be spending a week in Disney, Mariner would be so much closer, and for the differences, Freedom only has a couple extra things. The Voyager class ships are a WOW factor in themselves with the Royal Promenade, ice skating, and having not ever been on one, it will be a treat in itself. Enjoy the Mariner, and take a Freedom class later on down the road.

[toonjie]

It's a "no brainer" since you will already be in Orlando, do the Mariner! You'll have such a great time everyone will want to do it again and hopefully by then the Freedom Class ships will be cheaper. (See my review, (Still in progress) of our New Year's Eve. Mariner cruise with a 2 day Disney pre-cruise.) You can leave Disney at 9:00am and be having lunch in the Windjammer by 11:30am, why do the 4-5 hour drive to Miami?

[BillfromWV]

Your post said that your children are less than 8 years old. I have children who were both less than 8 when we sailed both the Mariner two years ago and Freedom last year (twice). My children prefer the Freedom class since the pools are freshwater vs saltwater on the Mariner. The H2O Zone is the best for young children. Freshwater, a pool, a whirlpool, two hot tubs, ice cream. and the water activity. You can sit on a chair, or lounger and see the whole area and let your kids have the time of their lives with ICECREAM!. Either way, have a great time.

Bill

[ebonybee]

Question:

 

Are ALL pools on Freedom/Liberty freshwater? If so, I'm rebooking! Had freshwater on Caribbean Princess in April and it was one of the things I liked about the ship...but not nearly enough to prefer Princess over RCCL.

[Lyncruiser]

We haven't been on a Freedom-class ship, but have done all five Voyager class ships, as well as Radiance and Vision class. We have just booked our second cruise on Mariner. Like another poster, Mariner is our favorite of the Voyager-class ships. She's a gorgeous ship, Port Canaveral is a much easier port to depart from (smaller and much less frantic and insane than Miami, IMO), plus Mariner (at least when we were on her last) had the most wonderful captain in the RCCL fleet (that's my opinion and we think RCCL has the best captains of any line we've cruised so to be the best of that group is really saying something!). The cruise director was also first rate. I can't justify the price difference between Mariner and FOS at this point given the excellence of our experience on Mariner. And, I agree with the other posters -- if you're already at Disneyworld, it's an easy hour's drive to Port Canaveral, as opposed to 4-5 hours to Miami. I'd pick the Mariner.

[rosie40]

I agree with the Mariner! We've sailed her twice. Your kids are going to be "WOW'ed" either way, because they won't even know to miss the minor differences on Freedom/Liberty. They really are very similar. Save your money for the ship account... It adds up over the course of a week ;) :D

 

My girls (12&14), loved Freedom, but are happy to be on any ship Voyager Class or up. We're sailing the Adventure in Aug. She's a bit older, but still a Voyager class. Can't wait!!

 

BTW, Doing the Freedom Class on your next cruise will give them something new to look forward to (they'll be hooked after this one ;)

 

Happy cruising!!:)

[hockeywidow88]

Thanks to everyone who took the time to reply! I think I'm definitely leaning towards disappointing my parents and saving myself some $$$!

[Boo Boo]

Thanks to everyone who took the time to reply! I think I'm definitely leaning towards disappointing my parents and saving myself some $$$!

 

As I said in my last post, I don't think that your patrents could be disappointed by a cruise on the Mariner (even if they have done it before). Ok it is always nice to try new things, but Mariner is stunning and the service is consistently good throughout the ship :)

 

Boo

[Tom_n_Sara]

my wife and I decided on the Mariner because we could get a balcony for less than an interior room on Freedom/Liberty. We eventually will do them, but decided to wait until the price went down.

[kruzerci]

I'm a cruising newbie & my parents (seasoned cruisers) have talked us (my family of 5 including my three sons under the age of 8) into taking a cruise with them next May/June.

 

I know they would prefer to try out Freedom/Liberty but it looks like it'll cost my family of 5 at least another $1200 over Mariner (or other Voyager-family ship).

 

For those lucky ones who have sailed on Freedom and Mariner (or Voyager-family), do you think it's worth the extra $$$? Keeping in mind this cruise will follow a week long stint at DisneyWorld so credit cards will be maxed out!

 

PS. While I've got you reading (& I know this should be separate post), my understanding is that my best bet in ensuring I get the best price is to book early and then watch to see if there are any price drops and ask my travel agent to get the credit. Is that right?

 

Thank you! :o (This board looks fantastic!)

 

Well, I'm sure Freedom and Liberty are great ships, and we chose Freedom for our next cruise, but my favorite ship so far is the Mariner. Freedom and Liberty do not have that much more to offer aside from the H20 Zone and Flowrider. I paid $1100 more than I would have if we had picked Mariner, but I am itching to try Freedom since we have been on most of the Voyager class ships.

 

If this makes you feel any better, we are sailing on Mariner sometime in 2008. Love that ship, you can't go wrong with it. For a first cruise, I would save your $1200 and if you like it, put it towards a Freedom cruise ;) !

[ColoradoMom!!]

We've done Disney too -- the trip of a lifetime -- never get to do anything like that again ever! And then guess what?? I got hooked on cruising! YIKES :eek:

 

We've been pricing it all out too. Wanted the Freedom -- thought we'd save a bundle over Disney, but we travelled in a Cat. 11 on Disney, so the savings weren't there. We booked Thanksgiving 08 Western, two Promenade connecting rooms on the Freedom for $4700. Then I got to thinking about it -- the Mariner this Thanksgiving for the same rooms was $3700 HMMMMMMMMMMMmmmmmmmmmmm --they don't go on the Western over Thanksgiving 08.

 

Then I got even more greedy, and recalling how my kids don't do much at school the week before Christmas break, we booked the Mariner for Dec. 16 for $3015! Saved about $1700, and the boys (9 and 13) will just have to wait for the Flowrider. Now if I just hadn't shown them that Travel Channel special on the Freedom :(

[emdia43]

I'm sailing on Freedom in a month and I'm paying less for a similar room than I would have on Mariner. The prices have been dropping so pay attention to them and compare...

[rosie40]

I'm sailing on Freedom in a month and I'm paying less for a similar room than I would have on Mariner. The prices have been dropping so pay attention to them and compare...

 

Just in case you can't wait til next June....

 

Here are the current Happy Hour Specials with some great deals on Freedom for next month ;)

 

http://www.creative.rccl.com/sales/happy_hour/HappyHour_rci_tues.pdf

[FitzLA]

I have been asking myself the same question. I have been on Freedom, and REALLY enjoyed it. Have not done a Voyager class ship yet. We were thinking of Eastern Caribbean, and deciding between Mariner or Liberty. On Liberty, the baclony room is $969 pp. And on Mariner, it is $797 pp. Is it worth almost $200 more pp to do Liberty? I don't know. I never used the h20 zone, and only watched the Flowrider. I did really enjoy Sorrentos for the late night snacks, and the full Ben & Jerrys instead of it being just part of the Cafe Promenade as it is on Voyager class ships. More selection. One of the major differences is that the H20 zone kept most of the kids away from the other pools, and that was a nice added suprise. But I just can't decide. Also, we like to extend our vacations with land vacations, as 7 days is just not enough. And for us, there would be nothing to do in Port Canaveral. We are at a loss too.

[coast2coast]

There are 6 of us going on our Mariner cruise in December. Having been on the Mariner before, but never the Freedom, I strongly suggested that we stick with the Mariner as it was $300 more per person. I will wait and go on the bigger ships once the novelty wears off and the price comes down. Until then, I'll be as happy as a clam on the Voyager-class ships...

[ColoradoMom!!]

Nancy,

We're going together!!:D

[akcruz]

We had the same decision to make and landed on the Mariner as well. When we booked our June cruise last November the same week on the Liberty was over $1000 more for the 4 of us. Since we haven't done bigger than the Majesty on RC we opted to save the money and try a voyager class first. Not worth the extra in mind even though my DS (12) would love the flowrider.

 

Since then, however, I've seen the prices on the Liberty drop to almost the same as our Mariner trip. So if you really are interested, keep watching. Of course, we've been watching and our cruise has dropped so have gotten a nice refund so we are actually still saving money.

 

Glad to see this thread, makes me feel even better about our decision.

[emdia43]

Instead of Liberty why don't you look at prices on Freedom,essentially the same ship just a year older and a lot cheaper at present.

[Kallel00]

If you've never cruised on a Voyager class ship before, I would really suggest you stick with that class UNLESS you get a major deal for the new Freedom/Liberty.

 

As we were discussing with our waitress, the food, service, and activities are basically the same, but you're paying much more for a cruise on the Freedom/Liberty. Also remember that while the adds show you pretty cool stuff on the Freedom (ex: those Jacuzzis that are "over" the sea), you won't get many chances to really enjoy those because ITS GOING TO BE ALWAYS CROWDED LIKE MAD :eek::eek:

 

 

 

Take a look at my recent cruise photos. They're on the EoS, but it'll give you a pretty good idea of how nice these Voyager class ships are ;)

 

http://www.pbase.com/martinef/explorer_of_the_seas_2007

[Cruising89143]

I have been asking myself the same question. I have been on Freedom, and REALLY enjoyed it. Have not done a Voyager class ship yet. We were thinking of Eastern Caribbean, and deciding between Mariner or Liberty. On Liberty, the baclony room is $969 pp. And on Mariner, it is $797 pp. Is it worth almost $200 more pp to do Liberty? I don't know. I never used the h20 zone, and only watched the Flowrider. I did really enjoy Sorrentos for the late night snacks, and the full Ben & Jerrys instead of it being just part of the Cafe Promenade as it is on Voyager class ships. More selection. One of the major differences is that the H20 zone kept most of the kids away from the other pools, and that was a nice added suprise. But I just can't decide. Also, we like to extend our vacations with land vacations, as 7 days is just not enough. And for us, there would be nothing to do in Port Canaveral. We are at a loss too.

 

I don't like Pt. Canaveral at all. We now stay in Orlando and drive over the morning of the cruise. The port is also one of the least attractive too. Give me Miami anyday.

[dagadget]

I don't like Pt. Canaveral at all. We now stay in Orlando and drive over the morning of the cruise. The port is also one of the least attractive too. Give me Miami anyday.

 

 

I do not think the attractiveness of the port has a lot to do with the cruise experience at all. Port Canaveral is way easier to get into and out of. The parking is much closer to the terminals and you get out to sea much sooner. Miami is such a hassle and it's 4 hour drive compared to a 2 hour drive to Port Canaveral. We liked Port Everglades in Fort Lauderdale ok too (3 hour drive) but the parking was a lot farther away. I'll take the Compact Port Canveral and the ease of getting in and out any day..........:D