Hmm...which ship and which cabin?

[johnaricka]

Hey Everyone! I am in the planning stages and could really use your oppinions. I want our family of four to take a New Years Cruise out of Miami. I have taken two Carnival Cruises but no RC. Carnival was nice but RC ships seem to offer more for the kids.

1. Is it really worth the extra cost to jump from Mariner of the Seas to either Liberty/Independence/Freedom of the Seas? It seems to only have a wave rider more for the kids.

2. On Carnival our last cabin was huge. It had a balcony, king size bed, a couch that was a bed and a pulldown bed. It was plenty big enough for us. My two kids didnt seem to be in our way. Is there a room similar to this on RC or will I have to have two adjoining rooms?

3.Have any of you taken the redeye from LAX to Miami, slept on the plane and then boarded the ship? We were thinking that we could take the flight that arrived in Miami around 7am and just wait to board the ship. It would save us money. And it is only money but I have a teenage daughter that loves to shop. Plus it would mean more excursion money.

Thank you all in advance..I know I am asking alot!

[LAKaye]

Hey Everyone! I am in the planning stages and could really use your oppinions. I want our family of four to take a New Years Cruise out of Miami. I have taken two Carnival Cruises but no RC. Carnival was nice but RC ships seem to offer more for the kids.

1. Is it really worth the extra cost to jump from Mariner of the Seas to either Liberty/Independence/Freedom of the Seas? It seems to only have a wave rider more for the kids.

2. On Carnival our last cabin was huge. It had a balcony, king size bed, a couch that was a bed and a pulldown bed. It was plenty big enough for us. My two kids didnt seem to be in our way. Is there a room similar to this on RC or will I have to have two adjoining rooms?

3.Have any of you taken the redeye from LAX to Miami, slept on the plane and then boarded the ship? We were thinking that we could take the flight that arrived in Miami around 7am and just wait to board the ship. It would save us money. And it is only money but I have a teenage daughter that loves to shop. Plus it would mean more excursion money.

Thank you all in advance..I know I am asking alot!

 

Hello~~

 

1) The Mariner leaves out of Port Canaveral, which is a roughly 45 to 60 minute ride from the airport of Orlando to the ship. In Miami the airport seems to be about 15 or 20 minutes away.

 

The Freedom class ships have the H2O Zone for the kids, which is a huge pool area with brightly colored statues and fountains. The main area is a giant splash pool/playground area; forward of this is a normal big, deep swimming pool; on the port side of this area is the "big doughnut" pool, and somewhere in all of this (starboard?) is the baby splash area. All of this has nothing to do with the Flow Rider Surf thing which is up on another deck.

 

2) I am familiar with Carnival's staterooms. What ship(s) and what category staterooms did you have? Also, how old are your children?

 

3) Although there are probably lots of folks who have the stamina to board and fly a red-eye from California to Florida and then hang around to board the ship, I would urge you to look into some Holiday Inn room rates and fly in the day before. I realize that you are not flying through snow country, but if your flight is fouled up for any reason, you will be in a bad spot.

 

Oh---you did mention teenage daughter......if your children are teenagers then the H2O Zone probably won't appeal to them. They'd want to be in the regular pool....

 

Leslie

[Bruin Steve]

Hey Everyone! I am in the planning stages and could really use your oppinions. I want our family of four to take a New Years Cruise out of Miami. I have taken two Carnival Cruises but no RC. Carnival was nice but RC ships seem to offer more for the kids.

1. Is it really worth the extra cost to jump from Mariner of the Seas to either Liberty/Independence/Freedom of the Seas? It seems to only have a wave rider more for the kids.

2. On Carnival our last cabin was huge. It had a balcony, king size bed, a couch that was a bed and a pulldown bed. It was plenty big enough for us. My two kids didnt seem to be in our way. Is there a room similar to this on RC or will I have to have two adjoining rooms?

3.Have any of you taken the redeye from LAX to Miami, slept on the plane and then boarded the ship? We were thinking that we could take the flight that arrived in Miami around 7am and just wait to board the ship. It would save us money. And it is only money but I have a teenage daughter that loves to shop. Plus it would mean more excursion money.

Thank you all in advance..I know I am asking alot!

 

Having recently taken back-to-back cruises on the Liberty of the Seas and the Carnival Liberty, I can tell you the Liberty of the Seas blows the Carnival ships away...Definitely much more for the kids...but it will be a whole lot better for you as well--much better service, roomier ship, classier, better entertainment (Remember to catch the ice show)...

 

Anyway, the Liberty OTS/Freedom OTS and the Voyager class ships are very similar--You're right...big difference is the Wave Runner...but it's SOOOO Cool...If I were still a kid, it would make my cruise...but both class ships are great and both blow Carnival out of the water...

 

As to cabin size--we had similar balcony cabins on both ships and they were pretty close in size...BUT, I'd get two cabins anyway...not necessarily adjoining, but, a balcony for us and an inside across the hall for the kids (We've done that before)...Often the inside doesn't cost much more than the 3rd and 4th in the parents' cabin (depends on time of year) but it's so nice to have not only the extra room, but the extra closet space and, especially, the extra BATHROOM!!!

 

I've TWICE taken the Redeye from LAX to Florida to catch a cruise...and I should have learned the first time...

Actually, we did it this past June 30 because my wife couldn't take off work on Friday and our cruise left Saturday...We arrived in Miami at 6:30 am with nowhere to go...ended up taking a cab straight to the port (where do you go that early in the morning with all that luggage?). We thought they'd have some sort of lounge we could wauit in (We're Diamond Crown and Anchor Members)...but NO...They wouldn't even check in our luggage...so we waited for about 3 hours out in the hot sun (Yeah, Miami in the middle of summer is hot and muggy, even in the early morning...) siting on a hard park bench (We were lucky enough to get one of the only one or two out there) until they finally let us in...

 

I much prefer to fly in the day before (our prior RCCL Caribbean cruise, we used their cruise line air and they threw in the Hilton the night before for FREE!...You might want to talk to your travel agent and see if they are still doing this)...

 

Anyway, to me, it it well worth the cost of a night's hotel to get in ahead of schedule, get a good nights sleep, catch up with some of the jet lag, make sure I'm not the victim of any delays or lost luggage...and get to the ship on MY schedule...

 

Good luck...

[willysgrandma]

The Freedom class ships also have a separate Cafe Promenade and Sorrentos. This allows for many more tables to sit and people watch while you are eating.

 

We also found the food to be better on the Freedom class vs. the smaller ships.

[TwoTravelin]

You may also take a look at the Navigator sailing from Ft. Lauderdale, it sails over Christmas and New Years. It is the sister ship to the Mariner.

[johnaricka]

that is good to know..was it worth the extra money for the kids?

[johnaricka]

Hello~~

 

1) The Mariner leaves out of Port Canaveral, which is a roughly 45 to 60 minute ride from the airport of Orlando to the ship. In Miami the airport seems to be about 15 or 20 minutes away.

that is a great point..anyone know how much the cab/shuttle are per person from Orlando?

The Freedom class ships have the H2O Zone for the kids, which is a huge pool area with brightly colored statues and fountains. The main area is a giant splash pool/playground area; forward of this is a normal big, deep swimming pool; on the port side of this area is the "big doughnut" pool, and somewhere in all of this (starboard?) is the baby splash area. All of this has nothing to do with the Flow Rider Surf thing which is up on another deck.

My son might like that but he wants to play in the big pool. He will want to do the flow rider and I am prob not going to want him to do it!!

2) I am familiar with Carnival's staterooms. What ship(s) and what category staterooms did you have? Also, how old are your children?

Our last one was The Pride out of LA. we had a 9A which was huge! We loved the balcony and used it alot at night

 

3) Although there are probably lots of folks who have the stamina to board and fly a red-eye from California to Florida and then hang around to board the ship, I would urge you to look into some Holiday Inn room rates and fly in the day before. I realize that you are not flying through snow country, but if your flight is fouled up for any reason, you will be in a bad spot.

I am still on the fence on this one.

Oh---you did mention teenage daughter......if your children are teenagers then the H2O Zone probably won't appeal to them. They'd want to be in the regular pool....

Leslie

Think money hungry teenager..LOL No, my kids that are going will be 15 and 11 for the trip.

BTW..Thanks Leslie!

[johnaricka]

Having recently taken back-to-back cruises on the Liberty of the Seas and the Carnival Liberty, I can tell you the Liberty of the Seas blows the Carnival ships away...Definitely much more for the kids...but it will be a whole lot better for you as well--much better service, roomier ship, classier, better entertainment (Remember to catch the ice show)...

We are sold! Carnival was nice but we want nicer

 

Anyway, the Liberty OTS/Freedom OTS and the Voyager class ships are very similar--You're right...big difference is the Wave Runner...but it's SOOOO Cool...If I were still a kid, it would make my cruise...but both class ships are great and both blow Carnival out of the water...Hubby read that you wait so long in line that it isnt worth it. Plus, his complaint is that we live at the beach and surf all summer, so why surf on a ship. Without the waverider, is the freedome class worth the extra money?

 

As to cabin size--we had similar balcony cabins on both ships and they were pretty close in size...BUT, I'd get two cabins anyway...not necessarily adjoining, but, a balcony for us and an inside across the hall for the kids (We've done that before)...Often the inside doesn't cost much more than the 3rd and 4th in the parents' cabin (depends on time of year) but it's so nice to have not only the extra room, but the extra closet space and, especially, the extra BATHROOM!!!With a teenage daughter, the cabin has to be adjoining. She is an angel but we are really mean parents (she is standing over my back as I type this disapproving)

 

I've TWICE taken the Redeye from LAX to Florida to catch a cruise...and I should have learned the first time...

Actually, we did it this past June 30 because my wife couldn't take off work on Friday and our cruise left Saturday...We arrived in Miami at 6:30 am with nowhere to go...ended up taking a cab straight to the port (where do you go that early in the morning with all that luggage?). We thought they'd have some sort of lounge we could wauit in (We're Diamond Crown and Anchor Members)...but NO...They wouldn't even check in our luggage...so we waited for about 3 hours out in the hot sun (Yeah, Miami in the middle of summer is hot and muggy, even in the early morning...) siting on a hard park bench (We were lucky enough to get one of the only one or two out there) until they finally let us in...

I thought about that. I am glad you mention it. I thought we would grab some breakfast in the airport which would kill one hour. The flight we are looking at comes in around 7:30. I was figuring that it would take an hour for breakfast, hour to get our luggage, and then half hour cab to the port. Now for us we are looking for a New years cruise. Hopefully it is warm but not oppressive

I much prefer to fly in the day before (our prior RCCL Caribbean cruise, we used their cruise line air and they threw in the Hilton the night before for FREE!...You might want to talk to your travel agent and see if they are still doing this)...Funny you mention that, I was looking at the price including air and it did include a hotel the night before. I thought it was a glitz...but now I am surprised!

 

Anyway, to me, it it well worth the cost of a night's hotel to get in ahead of schedule, get a good nights sleep, catch up with some of the jet lag, make sure I'm not the victim of any delays or lost luggage...and get to the ship on MY schedule...

 

Good luck...

Thanks this has helped!

[johnaricka]

You may also take a look at the Navigator sailing from Ft. Lauderdale, it sails over Christmas and New Years. It is the sister ship to the Mariner.

 

My son is ok with being gone for New Years but not Christmas. And he doesn't even believe in the the big red guy but he thinks he will get less..and he would because I wont haul his present on the ship. LOL

[LAKaye]

Category 9A on the Pride was probably heavenly---a spacious stateroom with a wide balcony. Sadly there is nothing exactly like it on the RCI ships. The Junior Suite is quite close, but I think it will have a bit less floor space than what you had on the Pride.

 

Bon Voyage~~

 

Leslie

[ehfl]

The big ships really do have a lot more to offer. The family will love the flow rider....give it a try. Even if you don't do the flow rider, grab a drink and sit back and watch the people riding it...it's a fun place to people watch, and watch the wipe-outs....I put together a whole video of me wiping out on the FlowRider.

[johnaricka]

I think I have my husband convinced on the freedom class. He spent the night looking at pics and feels if we are going to do it then we might as well do it in the biggest 'baddest' ship....Now I have to pick a ship, since they all have a New years cruise in that area and I have to figure out which room. Hubby is still flip flopping on adjoining rooms vs. the biggest room for all of us. Also, still looks like we are taking a red eye. It will be fire season for him and hard enough to get time off. We might have to optimize our time.

So which of the boats...anyone?