Advice on which cruise, please!

[dmbfiredancer03]

I am looking at the following two cruises for February 2010:

 

Ship Name: Freedom Of The Seas

Ports of Call: Port Canaveral, Florida; Cococay, Bahamas; Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas; Philipsburg, St. Maarten; Port Canaveral, Florida

 

Ship Name: Liberty Of The Seas

Ports of Call: Miami, Florida; Costa Maya, Mexico; Belize City, Belize; Cozumel, Mexico; Miami, Florida

 

I've been to Cococay and Cozumel, but the other ports are all new to me and my boyfriend.

 

1. Which cruise would have better weather (based on averages) in FEB?

 

2. Which ports would have adventurous activities? (probably do a beach day at one port, and then active excursions at the other ones.. examples like ziplining, tubing, etc)

 

3. I know the ships are in the same class - is there anything particularly different from one to the other?

 

Thanks!:D

[Florida_cruisers]

I would definetely do the Freedom cruise as the ports look a lot nicer than the Liberty one.

[sailingawaysoon]

I'm partial to the freedom cruise because she's my favorite ship. The ports also look better on the one you listed. Cococay is a great beach day and you can relax or take in some activities. In St. Thomas you can take the water taxi over to St. John and seem some of the most beautiful water and sand that you will ever experience. I believe in St. Maarten we went to Orient Beach and they had some parasailing and jet skiis etc. Also, aside from the freedom being my favorite ship, I love Port Canaveral and find it much easier for getting on and off the ship. Have a great cruise!

[dmbfiredancer03]

Thanks! I am leaning towards the Freedom as well. It's pricier, but I think it will be worth it (we'd celebrate Valentine's Day and 2 year Anniversary on the Feb 14 sailing!), plus I am interested in seeing the Eastern Carib.

 

Do you think the weather will be ok/warm?

[Gonzo70]

I too like the ports better on the Freedom itinerary.

[I'm on holiday]

Another vote for Freedom, Eastern route. Yes, in February the weather should be nice!

[sailingawaysoon]

I think the weather will be okay, but I can't say for certain. That's great that you are going for Valentine's and your anniversary. You could do the romance package or something special to celebrate...maybe a dinner at chops? I wanted to go to chops on our last cruise and didn't book it ahead of time and was sorry I didn't. I wanted to wait so I'd know the itinerary on the ship for things going on (since it was the first sailing out of port canaveral and only 6 nights). Anyway, I checked all week and they were booked solid. We were able to get into Portofino's w/out any problem, but not chops. Have a great cruise!

[dgg4]

I just went on a B2B cruise on the Independance with basically these two itineraries (we did Labadee instead of Coco Cay and Puerto Rico was also on the itinerary).

 

Both were great but I think I enjoyed the Eastern one better. We missed the stop at Costa Maya because of large waves. The Captain decided it wasn't safe for us to stay docked so we had an extra sea day.

 

There are lots of snorkling and other active excursions on the eastern cruise.

[DonnaK]

Gee - I guess I'm the opposite of everyone else because I think the western ports on the Liberty itinerary are more interesting. I've been to St Thomas and St Maarten so many times because they are common ports for all cruiselines/ships. However, Costa Maya and Belize are relatively unusual ports to see on RCI's larger ship itineraries, so I am more likely to choose those.

 

Having said that, I don't think you can go wrong with either itinerary or either ship. Freedom seems to get better reviews on CC for service, etc, but that's highly subjective and doesn't really hold much weight.

[elleluv]

I personally prefer the Freedom ports, but based on what you said you'd enjoy for activities, I think you'd really enjoy Liberty.

 

You can have your beach day at Costa Maya on Liberty... CocoCay on Freedom...

 

They have cave tubing in Belize, which is an awesome active excursion... it sounds like you'd really enjoy that... DH and I went through a private company and ended up having just the 2 of us and a guide... we loved it.

 

If you haven't done the royal dolphin swim in Cozumel, that's also a fantastic excursion.

 

If you end up doing Freedom, the best active excursion we've done in St Thomas is the BOB, which we did through the ship. We haven't found any active excursions I'd recommend in St Maarten.

 

The differences in the ships are so small, I really don't think that's a factor at all.... and I think you'd find similar weather on either itinerary, so it really boils down to the port activities.

[dmbfiredancer03]

I think the weather will be okay, but I can't say for certain. That's great that you are going for Valentine's and your anniversary. You could do the romance package or something special to celebrate...maybe a dinner at chops? I wanted to go to chops on our last cruise and didn't book it ahead of time and was sorry I didn't. I wanted to wait so I'd know the itinerary on the ship for things going on (since it was the first sailing out of port canaveral and only 6 nights). Anyway, I checked all week and they were booked solid. We were able to get into Portofino's w/out any problem, but not chops. Have a great cruise!

 

I know no one can predict the weather, but I know it won't be hurricane season. ;) I was just wondering if it would be warm enough to still enjoy the beach, etc.

 

I would love to do dinner at both Chops and Portofino's! I will definitely plan to book ahead once I know what the nights are.

 

Thank you for your help!! :D Enjoy your next cruise!

[dmbfiredancer03]

I just went on a B2B cruise on the Independance with basically these two itineraries (we did Labadee instead of Coco Cay and Puerto Rico was also on the itinerary).

 

Both were great but I think I enjoyed the Eastern one better. We missed the stop at Costa Maya because of large waves. The Captain decided it wasn't safe for us to stay docked so we had an extra sea day.

 

There are lots of snorkling and other active excursions on the eastern cruise.

 

Did you happen to do any of the snorkeling?

[dmbfiredancer03]

Gee - I guess I'm the opposite of everyone else because I think the western ports on the Liberty itinerary are more interesting. I've been to St Thomas and St Maarten so many times because they are common ports for all cruiselines/ships. However, Costa Maya and Belize are relatively unusual ports to see on RCI's larger ship itineraries, so I am more likely to choose those.

 

Having said that, I don't think you can go wrong with either itinerary or either ship. Freedom seems to get better reviews on CC for service, etc, but that's highly subjective and doesn't really hold much weight.

 

I also thought the Liberty had some unusual ports, so it caught my eye. However, I've never been to St Thomas or St Maarten so that would still be new for me. :)

[DonnaK]

I also thought the Liberty had some unusual ports, so it caught my eye. However, I've never been to St Thomas or St Maarten so that would still be new for me. :)

 

But when you go on future cruises, you'll be repeating those ports over and over again! ;)

[uksimonusa]

I just went on a B2B cruise on the Independance with basically these two itineraries (we did Labadee instead of Coco Cay and Puerto Rico was also on the itinerary).

 

Both were great but I think I enjoyed the Eastern one better. We missed the stop at Costa Maya because of large waves. The Captain decided it wasn't safe for us to stay docked so we had an extra sea day.

 

There are lots of snorkling and other active excursions on the eastern cruise.

 

Probably didn't want the Independence to end up like the Grandeur;);):D

[PhoenixCruiser]

Another vote for Freedom - much better ports!

 

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[steveru621]

I am looking at the following two cruises for February 2010:

 

Ship Name: Freedom Of The Seas

Ports of Call: Port Canaveral, Florida; Cococay, Bahamas; Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas; Philipsburg, St. Maarten; Port Canaveral, Florida

 

Ship Name: Liberty Of The Seas

Ports of Call: Miami, Florida; Costa Maya, Mexico; Belize City, Belize; Cozumel, Mexico; Miami, Florida

 

I've been to Cococay and Cozumel, but the other ports are all new to me and my boyfriend.

 

1. Which cruise would have better weather (based on averages) in FEB?

 

2. Which ports would have adventurous activities? (probably do a beach day at one port, and then active excursions at the other ones.. examples like ziplining, tubing, etc)

 

3. I know the ships are in the same class - is there anything particularly different from one to the other?

 

Thanks!:D

 

Freedom Of The Seas would be my preference for ports. But, if you like to snorkel, the water will be noticeably colder than the summer months.

[dmbfiredancer03]

Thank you for your replies, everyone... Freedom leaving on Valentine's Day it is!!! I can't wait!!!!!!!! :D I have been itching to go on a Freedom class ship (had a reservation a few years ago, but had to cancel).