freedom of the seas

[scottishwee35]

Hi

 

We often sailing with Disney Cruise and we are thinking to swtich over to RCCI Freedom of the Seas in April 2011.for my speical birthday.:o

 

Will we like it? as it look a huge ship and wonder if my kids will be 14 and 11 like it?:eek::cool:

 

Any feedback would be grateful...;)

 

thanks..

 

Scottishwee35

[MrZoey]

Your kids are the perfect age to dump the mouse! Disney has beautiful ships, and are great for little kids. My daughters felt their ships were boring when we went on Disney when they were 12, 15, and 17. There is so much more for tweens and teens to do on the Freedom class ships. Just remember that they will be in different groups in the kids program, so they won't be together for activities (don't know if that might be an issue), but that would also happen on Disney. There is also more for you to do!

[peteukmcr]

Hi there

 

I'm sure you'll enjoy Freedom, we sailed on her in 2006 and are back sailing on her in just over 4 months time! Although I can't personally provide feedback on whether your 11 & 14 year olds will enjoy it, there is so much for teanagers to do, I'm sure others with give you great info.

 

A link to my photos from our 2006 cruise is below.

 

Take the plunge and book Freedom, even better IMHO as her homeport will be Port Canaveral and that's so convenient for Orlando and all the theme parks. I also think it's easier to get to from the north of the UK.

[tneah]

We just sailed on a Disney Cruise in February. We are going on the Freedom in October of this year with 3 days beforehand on the Wonder. We are getting off one and getting on another cruise at the same port!!!!

 

My kids (13 and 10) are so excited to sail on the Freedom and that they would rather give up the Wonder if by chance that the Wonder couldn't get back to port due to any hurricane issues.

 

I feel there is more to do for adults and children of their age on the Freedom...plus I like variety. I don't want everything I do Disney related.

[clochette]

Your kids will love it, we started cruising on Disney and switched to RCCL last year when my girls were 12 and 10, they have now told me that they cannot go back to Disney, there is so much more for them to do on RCl, we first went on the explorer, then this past February on the Freedom, my older one is now addicted to the flow rider, and cannot imagine cruising without it. It was fun to watch her.

[kaylorcc]

Your kids will love the Freedom, especially if they're active and enjoy things like ice skating, the rock wall, etc. There's no shortage of fun things to do on the Freedom-class ships, and the ships themselves are equally as beautiful as Disney's ships (which, as you know, are gorgeous).

 

The only area where I'd say Disney beats RCI is probably in the food department-- not so much the quality as the variety. If I recall correctly, Disney has a lot more poolside, kid-friendly food options, whereas on the Freedom, your main options are the Windjammer (which is nice, but doesn't have as many casual food offerings as Disney does) or Johnny Rockets (which is great, but will cost you a $4.95 cover fee). But unless your kids are extremely picky, that shouldn't really be a problem.

 

I encourage you to give it a try. :) If nothing else, the sheer size of the ships is enough to keep kids entertained for hours. Enjoy your cruise!

[jtwisconsin]

Freedom-class is a great choice for kids that age. Have a great time. :cool:

[janabm81]

Your kids will LOVE this ship our did!:D

[grand isle joe]

Having sailed on both with my daughter, I am as happy with the Freedom as Disney. Your kids will love the water park and the Adventure Ocean programs. The councilers are really wonderful and provide a diverse program for the kids. Although I liked my cabin personal and wait staff a little better on Disney, RCL comes as close as you can to Disney.We are sailing with Disney next year and just returned from RCL Med. cruise on the Splendour. It was FABULOUS. You shall be pleased in both lines. Wishing you a great cruise.:D

[TomCat32174]

Your kids will love the Freedom. As a grown adult I personally love the H2O zone as well as the Flowrider (can't believe no one mentioned this yet). The kids programs always look great and have heard from many other passengers/cruise mates who say their kids had a blast! Don't worry about the change from DCL to RCCL, it will be just fine.

[scottishwee35]

Your kids will love the Freedom. As a grown adult I personally love the H2O zone as well as the Flowrider (can't believe no one mentioned this yet). The kids programs always look great and have heard from many other passengers/cruise mates who say their kids had a blast! Don't worry about the change from DCL to RCCL, it will be just fine.

 

that worry me what if I dislike it as had been on disney cruise often but I think time to change and I am sure Kids will enjoy themselves.

 

Scottishwee35

[scottishwee35]

Okay, many thanks for your feedback...

 

and I had been discussed with TA back and forth with email and tomorrow I will book it for April 2011 which will be Freedoms of the Sea sailing at Cape Caranaval at Florida...

 

My kids not know about it yet...I think I wait after Disney cruise next year then tell them...

 

Scottishwee35:D

[CruisinEars]

Scottishwee35~ I have seen you on the Dis boards. We sailed on DCL last year and my kids adored it. We just sailed on the Mariner (same ship style as Freedom, just smaller) and we had a really nice time. My kids did not like the RCL kids programs though. They both liked DCL much better. We liked the pool design on RCL better and really liked the larger ship size. We thought the food on DCL was MUCH better and easier to get. Loved having the poolside food venues on DCL. Also, the cabins are quite a bit smaller on RCL so be sure to keep an eye on cabin size when booking. Over all, RCL has a great product and your kids will have a blast. My kids did like the variety of activities offered on RCL.

 

Have fun! We too are considering booking the Freedom for next summer.

[Cruising89143]

I think that your kids are the perfect age to enjoy what the Freedom has to offer. Flowrider will be a big hit for them. I am one of the odd balls that loves the larger ships. The bigger the better for me.

 

Here is a link to some photos from my cruise on the Freedom back in November.

http://cruisingatorscruisephotos.shutterfly.com/

[tchrmom]

We were devoted Disney cruisers until the summer of 2008. The price of their cruises became too rich for us. We could no longer sail during the "value" times anymore because our kids could no longer miss a week of school. We tried our first "non-Disney" cruise on Liberty of the Seas (Freedom's sister ship). I tried to be fair when I wrote my comparision.

 

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=25982070#post25982070&highlight=

Hope this helps.

[scottishwee35]

Scottishwee35~ I have seen you on the Dis boards. We sailed on DCL last year and my kids adored it. We just sailed on the Mariner (same ship style as Freedom, just smaller) and we had a really nice time. My kids did not like the RCL kids programs though. They both liked DCL much better. We liked the pool design on RCL better and really liked the larger ship size. We thought the food on DCL was MUCH better and easier to get. Loved having the poolside food venues on DCL. Also, the cabins are quite a bit smaller on RCL so be sure to keep an eye on cabin size when booking. Over all, RCL has a great product and your kids will have a blast. My kids did like the variety of activities offered on RCL.

 

Have fun! We too are considering booking the Freedom for next summer.

 

Hi Jennifer

 

that is right, I always on Disboards:D

 

thank for your advise and definetly go for it... have not told kids yet...

 

how old your kids?

 

Scottishwee35

[scottishwee35]

I think that your kids are the perfect age to enjoy what the Freedom has to offer. Flowrider will be a big hit for them. I am one of the odd balls that loves the larger ships. The bigger the better for me.

 

Here is a link to some photos from my cruise on the Freedom back in November.

http://cruisingatorscruisephotos.shutterfly.com/

 

thank you for showing it as these photos are beautiful...:)

 

Scottishwee35

[tchrmom]

This cruise just keeps getting better and better for me!

In April, we checked the price our our room, and noticed that it went down about $200.00 for the 2 rooms. RCCL credited our account.

This past Monday, (4/27) I checked again......the price went down $260.00 PER ROOM!

 

On a whim.....I checked yesterday (4/30)

The price dropped ANOTHER $140.00 PER ROOM!

 

Now........not all rooms have dropped, but apparently the dungeon rooms in the bowels of the ship have!

 

Can't wait!

[CruisinEars]

Hi Jennifer

 

that is right, I always on Disboards:D

 

thank for your advise and definetly go for it... have not told kids yet...

 

how old your kids?

 

Scottishwee35

 

I spent a lot of time on the DIS when we were planning our Magic cruise. ;)

 

My kids were 10 and 7 when we sailed DCL. We just got off the Mariner about 3 weeks ago and they were 11 and 8. My dd was disappointed in the kids club because the posted activities weren't done. She showed up for the volcano activity and they colored instead. Things like that. I was surprised because it was Spring break and there were over 600 kids on board in addition to the over 600 teenagers on board. She did spend lots of time in the pool and ice skated when she could.

 

TIP~ ice skating: our sessions filled to capacity so you had to go in first thing in the morning to sign up for the session you wanted.

 

I think you will have a great time. Especially in the Caribbean.:D We want to do a b2b next summer and are trying to decide between Carnival, RCCL and Princess.

[rosebud1g]

this is cruisinmama06- link, who sent this to me and is

somewhere on this board!!!!

I sent this to a friend of mine, and it VERY helpful

at comparing the two lines! take a look!

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=731074

[whitenack]

Hey! I just booked a cruise on Freedom today for April 2011. I called RCI direct and they have a ton of great rooms available that don't show up on the website. I asked the guy what rooms he had available and he said, "Pick a number".

[scottishwee35]

Hey! I just booked a cruise on Freedom today for April 2011. I called RCI direct and they have a ton of great rooms available that don't show up on the website. I asked the guy what rooms he had available and he said, "Pick a number".

 

Hi whitenack

 

I booked a cruise on Freedom last Friday and they just gave us room nos and didn't ask us which rooms available... anyway I have emailed back and ask if we are in right position as they gave us room 6330... I looked up on website and we are in middle of b/c and seem okay to us.... mind you it is a long way as 1 year 11 month to go

 

Scottishwee35

[Cruising89143]

thank you for showing it as these photos are beautiful...:)

 

Scottishwee35

 

You're welcome.

[whitenack]

Hi whitenack

 

I booked a cruise on Freedom last Friday and they just gave us room nos and didn't ask us which rooms available... anyway I have emailed back and ask if we are in right position as they gave us room 6330... I looked up on website and we are in middle of b/c and seem okay to us.... mind you it is a long way as 1 year 11 month to go

 

Scottishwee35

 

Yeah, the guy I talked to didn't list the available rooms for me, he just said I could take my pick. I told him I was looking for an E2 on deck 6, 7, or 8 and he said I could get any of them I wanted.

[xangav]

Hi,

 

I too have seen your posts on the DIS boards. We had the European capitals cruise booked but I cancelled it after looking at other cruise lines. I really wanted to go this year and stay on some beaches after taking Rhapsody of the Seas to Alaska last year.

 

We enjoyed ROS and especially Alaska. It wasn't Disney but for the same money we had a Grand Suite which was very nice. I hadn't really planned on going on Royal Caribbean again but I booked Freedom of the Seas for June 14 and we are really looking forward to it. For half of what it costs to sail with Disney we have two connecting Promenade cabins and I probably paid more than the people who booked early.

 

My kids have not really been into the clubs much but they really enjoyed their time on ROS and I think they will have a great time on this ship.

 

I wanted to point out that the cabin they assigned to you only has a sleeper sofa and I have read on the various threads that those are kind of small given how old your kids will be. We have a 17 yo son and 12 yo daughter and that would never work!

 

Here's hoping we enjoy our cruise and you do too. ;)