Liberty or Serenade- Please help me decide

[happygirl72]

My husband and I have decided to go on a cruise for our 15th anniversary, and I think I have it narrowed down to Liberty of the Seas Eastern 7 day out of Miami (with the ports San Juan, St. Maarten and Labadee) or Serenade of the Seas 7 day out of San Juan (with the ports Barbados, Antigua, St. Croix, etc). The cruise will be in Sept 2010. I keep flip flopping back and forth as to which one we would enjoy more.

 

Could you guys please give me your opinions? The only other cruises we have been on are Disney (2-7 day Easterns) with our kids which we loved and Carnival Fantasy (5 days) without our kids which was just so so. This cruise will be without kids.

 

I would love to hear the pros and cons of each. Thanks in advance!

[MinnCruzer]

We have been on both the Liberty and the Serenade and loved them both.

 

I personally enjoyed the Liberty of the Seas ship a little bit more. The promenade is just amazing. They utilize it for parades and music/dancing. It is also fun just to sit and people watch.

 

Of the two itineraries, I would chose the Serenade. The caribbean waters in the southern islands is like a great big swimming pool.

 

Either way, you won't be disappointed.

[Murphy]

IMHO, the Serenade itinerary is much better. Regarding the ship's themselves, I'm partical to the Radiance-class ships over the Freemdom class ships. It depends on what you like to do though... will you ice skate, ride the flowrider, and utilize the extra activities on the Liberty? If so, go for it! If not, go for the better itinerary.

[cb at sea]

Pick the ship where you can get the largest cabin in the best location...either ship is great, and you'll have a fabulous time on either. But--ship cabins are nothing like a hotel room, so you really should get as much space as possible--it will make an anniversary cruise that much better.

[lgeisz]

I would go Liberty 2 reasons no flight to SJ and no visit to Barbados

[happygirl72]

Thanks for the replies. I do like the ports better on the Serenade but I would rather not have to fly all the way to San Juan to depart. Also, I wonder if I would miss not being on a big ship like the Liberty with all it has to offer like the Promenade, etc. I think the Liberty looks great (although there is no way I am getting on the Flowrider) but I am worried about whether there will be too many people on such a big ship and I have already been to St. Maarten and San Juan (with my husband on business) before.

 

Is there a big difference in the size of the cabins say for a balcony cabin between the Serenade and Liberty? Does anyone have any type of cabin location they would recommend. We are planning early so hopefully we would have a lot to pick from. We definitely want a balcony (since we hardly ever go anywhere without the kids this is a huge thing for us)but probably can't swing the extra for a junior suite.

 

Thanks!

[RoofingPrincess]

Per the RCCL website, a "deluxe oceanview stateroom with balcony" is 179 sq ft + 41 sq ft balcony on the Serenade, and 177 sq ft + 74 sq ft balcony on the Liberty. "Superior w/balcony" is on the 204 +41 on the Serenade and 214 + 68 on the Liberty.

 

I, too, am partial to the Radiance-class ships. The amount of glass and the views are amazing. I've never been on the Freedom class and don't intend to - Explorer was as big as I'd go, don't want a bigger ship than that. Don't need a mall at sea, nor do I need the ice rink, waverider, etc.

[bluecookies]

Have you thought about doing the Adventure for a southern Caribbean? You'd still have to fly to SJU, but you'd get almost as big as the Liberty with the same layout and still get the desirable ports.

[Murphy]

Have you thought about doing the Adventure for a southern Caribbean? You'd still have to fly to SJU, but you'd get almost as big as the Liberty with the same layout and still get the desirable ports.

 

AOS will be in Europe during the Sept 2010 timeframe the OP is considering...

[kruzerci]

Thats a hard choice. Between the two ships I pick Freedom class hands down but the itenerary on serenade is better. If it were me, I would chose by ship not itenerary, but many people are the opposite.

 

Keep in mind that the SJ airport is a disaster... I've never flown in for a cruise, but I have for a land based vacation and have not wanted to repeat that experience since. Thus the reason we sail out of Florida :eek:.

[Murphy]

HappyGirl,

I am making an assumption that you are looking at 9-12 or 9-26-10. Based on that assumption, there are several "better than average" cabins available on both ships for both sailings.

 

I like the hump cabins on the Seranade that have the larger balconies. Some think these are dark, but I love the extra balcony space and the convenience of being mid-ship. As of my search a few minutes ago, 9092 and 9078 on the Seranade is available for BOTH sailings. Also, the aft cabins have very large balconies and 1102, 1104 and 1604 are available for 9-12 and the very large balcony cabin 9256 is available for 9-26.

 

If you lean towards the Liberty, 1704, an aft is available for 9-12 and all the D-1 hump cabins (convenient, but no bigger balcony like the Serenade) are available as well as 1400 and 1700 the corner aft d-1 cabins with larger balconies.

 

In all cases, the cabins themselves are about equal in size, but the location and balcony size is what makes the difference.

 

Good luck and happy anniversary with whichever sailing/ship/cabin you choose!

[BroncosFan2010]

For a romantic anniversary cruise, I cannot recommend the Serenade enough! It is my favourite ship. It is beautiful, perfect size, and always has great itineraries. My husband and I will be doing a Back to Back on her in August next year for our 5th Wedding Anniversary, and we just sailed on her this past March. It may not have all the bells and whistles of the bigger, newer ships, but it will have more than enough and never feel small or crowded. There is glass everywhere, allowing for some spectacular ocean views. I am not a big fan of sea days, and the Serenade itineraries always have 1 or at most 2 days. The service is great, and you will appreciate the little touches you may not find when the staff is waiting on 4000 px as opposed to 2100.

[happygirl72]

How are you able to tell all of the cabins that are available on the ship? I am looking at the Royal Caribbean site and Travelocity and I can't see any afts available. And are afts as good as I have been reading? Some of the pictures I have seen have wonderful balconies!

 

Also, what would make the hump balconies dark? does that mean the balcony is shaded or is something up with the rooms there? Are they loud being so near an elevator?

 

I am just so torn as to which ship to pick. We probably won't get this chance for a long time again so I definitely want to pick the right one.

 

Thank you guys again.

[Murphy]

How are you able to tell all of the cabins that are available on the ship? I am looking at the Royal Caribbean site and Travelocity and I can't see any afts available. And are afts as good as I have been reading? Some of the pictures I have seen have wonderful balconies!

 

Also, what would make the hump balconies dark? does that mean the balcony is shaded or is something up with the rooms there? Are they loud being so near an elevator?

 

I am just so torn as to which ship to pick. We probably won't get this chance for a long time again so I definitely want to pick the right one.

 

Thank you guys again.

 

 

 

There is a competitor's website that posts more cabins available that the sites you are looking at, but we can't post the link on this board, it violates policy. But if you post your email address, I will email you!

 

The larger hump balconies are covered from the deck above and because they are so deep, some feel they are dark, but I love them! I have not found the location to be a problem for sound on any of my sailings at all.... Years ago, I would book an aft whenever it was available because of the balcony size, but my hip doesn't like the long walk back there any longer!

 

Don't be torn, either choice will be a great trip! Pick one and don't look back, just forward to your anniversary trip!

[dizzlepop]

Thanks for the replies. I do like the ports better on the Serenade but I would rather not have to fly all the way to San Juan to depart.

 

Not sure where you live, but it's not difficult to get to San Juan -- for example, JetBlue Airways serves SJU airport from JFK, five nonstop flights a day.

 

My DH and I took a cruise out of San Juan once, to southern Caribbean, and the ports were fantastic! Barbados, Martinique and St. Thomas. Worth it to depart out of SJU in order to get closer to the fun stuff!

 

Liberty is an AWESOME ship, I will say that -- we cruised her when she was brand new.

 

~gigi

[happygirl72]

Thanks again for all of the replies. I was looking at aft balcony pictures from Freedom of the Seas. Would those be the same as Liberty's balconies and cabins? I know they are sister ships but I wasn't sure if the floorplan was exactly the same.

 

As far as getting to Puerto Rico, we are from Arkansas so there are definitely no direct flights. However, there are no direct flights to Miami either so it would just take us a little longer (and a lot more frequent flier miles) to get to San Juan.

[Murphy]

Yes, the aft cabins on the Liberty will be similar to those on the Freedom. Enjoy.

[happygirl72]

I would love the name of the website that lists more of the available cabins! If you could email me at rmgraham0905@sbcglobal.net, I would greatly appreciate it. It is hard to plan when you can't really see everything that is available.

 

Just looking at all of the pictures here, I am starting to fall in love with the aft cabins. I am a light sleeper. Do you think the engine noise would keep me awake?

[BroncosFan2010]

Thanks again for all of the replies. I was looking at aft balcony pictures from Freedom of the Seas. Would those be the same as Liberty's balconies and cabins? I know they are sister ships but I wasn't sure if the floorplan was exactly the same.

 

As far as getting to Puerto Rico, we are from Arkansas so there are definitely no direct flights. However, there are no direct flights to Miami either so it would just take us a little longer (and a lot more frequent flier miles) to get to San Juan.

 

 

Call your airline and check the frequent flier rates. I know for a fact that SJU is still considered a domestic flight, and should not cost you any more than flying to another state. I have never had a problem booking using flier miles, and on American Airlines flights to SJU, even from Detroit were still just 35,000 points.

[happygirl72]

Thanks for the info about the airline miles. I didn't realize that Puerto Rico would be considered the same as another state. I thought it would be considered the Caribbean which I think is a higher level at least on Delta which is what we would be using. It will be our first time booking with miles so I am not sure how everything works. I will definitely check into that.

 

Thanks

[mikepmcm]

We have sailed both ships and we loved the wow factor of the Liberty. The shows were bigger productions (larger stages and Ice show), fun parades and productions in the mall-like promenade. We had our daughters (20's) with us and there was plenty for them to do with the flow-rider, full court basketball, rock climbing wall. You are not in San Juan long enough to enjoy it (3-10pm), and St. Marten is not our favorite port. Labadee was nice with a ton of water activities.

 

Liberty's large Royal Promenade

 

 

Liberty Dance Party on the Promenade

 

Main pool on Liberty much larger 2-pools 3-hot tubs.

 

The Serenade was much more intimate smaller spaces, many of the indoor celebrations centering in the Centrum. Thought that the food & service to be a notch better. Loved being in a different port each morning. If you choose the Serenade remember to add a day to see San Juan.

 

Serenade Party in Centrum

 

Serenade pool area

 

You might also want to consider the fact that you're traveling in Hurricane season and that you'll be in ports more on the Serenade and out to sea more on the Liberty/Freedom itineraries. The Libery/Freedom class ships are larger and more stabil in rougher seas.

[beckaroo]

I can not say to much for the Liberty as we do not sail it until Feb. with our children. We did sail the Serenade this year out of Puerto Rico. Hands down the best cruise we have taken as far as ports. In my opinion the Serenade would be a great choice for an anniversary. Save the bigger ships for travel with kids.

Like one posted mentioned, the only reason I would not do any sailing out of Puerto Rico again is the airport. What a disaster!!!!

[polodad]

We've been on both Liberty & Serenade in the last year. I'd pick Serenade because the itinerary is better and I like the ship better. Serenade is a gorgeous ship. All the glass in the common areas makes the ship so inviting. Liberty just seemed too large for us. Even though we were upgraded to a JS on Liberty and loved the cabin we enjoyed the experience more so on Serenade. Have a great trip and Happy Anniversary.

[karena1]

Been on both.

 

Liberty - if you want to sail for the Promenade, Ice Skating, bigger ship - Liberty is for sure a WOW. We loved her.

 

Serenade - best itinerary ever. We love the Southern itinerary and was on Serenade for the second time in April Gorgeous ship, lots of glass and brass. Best crew ever. In all of our Royal cruises, the one in April on Serenade was the best we ever had.

 

SJU Airport - we don't think it is bad at all. I certainly don't think it is any worse than Detroit, O'Hare, Miami, or Midway, so it doesn't bother us a bit to fly to SJU. We have never had a problem getting in/out of there. Can't say the same for many other stateside airports we have been to!

 

My vote - Serenade!

[suni]

Having cruised many times, I would prefer to leave from Florida rather than San Juan. Went on the Adventurer from San Juan several years ago. It was hectic, more expensive, few flight options.

The Serenade is a absolutely beautiful ship.

 

Either way, you will have a fabulous anniversary!