Compare Adventure, Freedom and Summit

If all three ships (Adventure, Freedom and Summit) basically had the same itinerary and cost, which would you choose? Why?

I'm looking at booking in the fall/winter of '19 and need a reason to choose one over the other. We haven't cruised that much and price/itinerary usually make our decision but in this case there just isn't that much difference in either. 2 of the ships leave from Puerto Rico and one from Ft. Lauderdale.

Not sure if it matters but we're 54 & 61 and are active and social. We like live music and eating/drinking/socializing. Don't care for shows that much but we'll see maybe one or two.

ETA: Looks like Norwegian Epic would be right there in the running as well.

Adults only pool/area would be high on our wish list.

This is like comparing old, newer, and really old ships together. Depends on if you want options (Freedom, then Adventure) or if you're more into sitting around people watching or chatting with other passengers (Summit). A smaller ship may have a better itinerary but may have less onboard options.

We sailed Freedom and loved her. We are booked on Adventure later this year. So, I can't really give you a comparison. However, I will say that we initially booked Epic before Adventure. After reading all the comments about the cabin layout and lack of space around the pool, etc we canceled it and went with Adventure instead. I was constantly questioning Epic while we had that booking because my parents will be with us and I was worried about whether or not they would enjoy it. I have not had any concerns since booking Adventure. Just definitely read reviews on Epic before booking that one if it is being considered.

We sail with our two young children, so I can't give you an adults only experience. We did enjoy being able to sit and watch people on the Flowrider, rock climbing wall, etc. There were so many more things on Freedom that I want to go back and do/relax once the kids are older. We chose Adventure this time because of itinerary and the water slides. Reading reviews on both of these I don't think you could go wrong with either one.

Thanks Kim. I'll definitely look into Epic reviews. Mind if I ask what you read that gave you a bad feeling?

I don't know much about Celebrity and Norwegian in general. Guess I have a ton of reading to do but I hope others will chime in as well.

We've sailed on the Summit as well as a few of the other Celebrity ships in her class as well as a dozen or so cruises on several classes of Royal ships.

For a relaxing cruise without the activities geared more for the younger crowd We would choose Celebrity.

We do enjoy some of the perks being Captain's Club elite members as well as Cruise and Anchor Diamond, both earned by cruises not reciprocity and tend to like the Celebrity benefits a lot more.

Food, although a subjective issue, for us on Celebrity is a notch or two above Royal but not by that much, having an upcoming cruise booked on Royal.

Dining room service seems to be a little better on Celebrity, but has gone down a notch over the last few years.

Price, itinerary and port of departure would sway us from one to the other. In any case we have enjoyed both lines and have NEVER had a bad experience due to the ships or the service.

As far as Norwegian goes we feel it is several notches below RCCL or Celebrity in all aspects and if you have any dislike of cigarette smoke avoid their Casino and a few other venues on board their ships.

Have a GREAT CRUISE.

bosco

Thanks Kim. I'll definitely look into Epic reviews. Mind if I ask what you read that gave you a bad feeling?

 

I don't know much about Celebrity and Norwegian in general. Guess I have a ton of reading to do but I hope others will chime in as well.

I read several reviews that mentioned the pool area was small and always felt crowded. People were definitely divided on the room configuration. The sink is in the room, there are individual doors to the shower and bathroom. They are frosted, but shadows definitely show through.

Just definitely mixed reviews on it.

have cruised sister ships to both RCCL ships recently and Summit just 2 months ago. RCCL has way more entertainment , love ice show on both , prefer Celebrity buffet and specialty restaurants . If you are booking a suite the perks are way better on Celebrity. None are bad choices .

Summit.

Celebrity has better food than Royal; The adult pool area on the Summit is a Thalassotherapy Pool. Celebrity also has a lot of live music throughout the ship.

You selection will depend on the cabin category you choose. Sky Suite or higher on Summit gives access to dedicated lounge (Michael's Club) and private restaurant (Luminae), not to mention the perks that come with (premium bev pkg, tips, wi-fi). Grand Suite on Royal provides dedicated lounge and other perks, but not wi-fi, tips, or bev pkg (except during happy hour). You said you enjoy eating and drinking, so Summit with Go!Best promotion might be worth a shot. If you're going with a category below suite level, it will be a tougher choice.

As far as Norwegian goes we feel it is several notches below RCCL or Celebrity in all aspects and if you have any dislike of cigarette smoke avoid their Casino and a few other venues on board their ships.

By far the worst ship we've been on for smoke is Freedom. The casino was the indoor smoking venue and it was so heavy the stairway acted like a chimney to funnel it up to the promenade.

Have been on Adventure. Was ok at the time but recently hear decline in food quality. I find this with all RCI ships. Don't think I would go down to this class of ships again. The Freedom class are so much more lovely. Big enough without being over whelming. Was on Infinity last Nov. and hadn't been on Celebrity since 2004. Loved the line! (We left due to kid's activities on RCI) The perk of the beverage package is great on Celebrity. Must have Oceanview room or higher. The food quality and selection was fantastic on the Infinity. Have the Summit booked for this Sept. Sailed on NCL's Escape when new and not impressed with the line. If you choose the perk of a beverage package with NCL, you must pay the gratuities.....about $100 on a 7 day cruise. Not "free" as they have you believe. Also with the specialty dining perk, you pay the grats here too! So my vote if price/itinerary is comparable, would be either Freedom or the Summit. Little more shows on Freedom but beverage pkg. perk on Celebrity outweighs. And we are not big drinkers either.......just love the socializing a cup of coffee offers on Celebrity!

Adults only pool/area would be high on our wish list.

I have been on Adventure and Freedom. Adventure is like a slightly smaller sibling but both have similar layout, features, and amenities. Both have an adults-only area with lounge chairs, a pool, hot tub, and bar on the top deck.

We’ve been on all three and currently on Adventure again. Our pick would be Freedom. Don’t fall for the better food on Celebrity meme. They have better food in the specialties maybe but the MDR is pretty much the same. We’ve had good and not as good meals in the MDRs on both lines. Except for size, Voyager and Freedom are pretty close in layout. Freedom and Summit have wine bar, Adventure does not. Adventure has water slides, Freedom and Summit do not. Freedom and Adventure have flowriders, Summit does not. Summit is a nice older ship but it’s very laid back and sometimes that’s nice. I do agree that Celebrity’s base suite program is a little better than Royal’s but when you start getting into Star Class on Royal and the upper suites on Celebrity, I haven’t shelled out the money to find out.

Gregg

If all three ships (Adventure, Freedom and Summit) basically had the same itinerary and cost, which would you choose? Why?

 

I'm looking at booking in the fall/winter of '19 and need a reason to choose one over the other. We haven't cruised that much and price/itinerary usually make our decision but in this case there just isn't that much difference in either. 2 of the ships leave from Puerto Rico and one from Ft. Lauderdale.

 

Not sure if it matters but we're 54 & 61 and are active and social. We like live music and eating/drinking/socializing. Don't care for shows that much but we'll see maybe one or two.

 

ETA: Looks like Norwegian Epic would be right there in the running as well.

Here are a few of my opinions on the three ships.

We usually sail RCCL with our four daughters aged 10-16, so most of our trips are family vacations, thus with RCCL. My wife and I sailed on the Summit about 5 years ago out of San Juan without the children. It was a very nice, bit older, ship. I found the food to be slightly better than on RCCL, but not leaps and bounds better. Their were a lot less kids on board than we are accustomed to on RCCL cruises, likely because the Summit does not have all the activities that kids love so much. I you prefer to have less children on board and you are not interested in these activities, you will likely really like the Summit. We found the service in the dining room not as good as on RCCL, but we could have just had a poor wait team that sailing. Our cabin stewards (yes they have 2 per cabin, or at least they did back then) were the best we ever had. Personally, I found the Summit a little boring and I wanted more activities to do. That said, I have been looking at it for a cruise again in 2020. Summit is going in for refurbishment in March 2019 I believe, so it may get some new features.

We have been on the Freedom twice now. We had a terrible experience the first time due to issues with the Guest Services department. We were very happy the following year when we went back on the Freedom and the entire Guest Services desk was new personnel. I love the Freedom and we are sailing her again in March out of San Juan this time. We love the flowrider, rock climbing, mini golf, and ice skating. The shows on the Freedom were better than on the Summit in my opinion and definitely the ice skating show was fabulous. We love the Promenade in the middle of this ship and the dining room. We are very excited to be going back on the Freedom again.

We had the Adventure booked for this summer, but changed plans and will now be going on her in March 2020. It is basically a slightly smaller version of the Freedom. We were on her sister ship the past March (Navigator) and liked it very much. It has all the features of the Freedom plus recently added waterslides. Not sure if that is your thing or not, but we will use them ourselves for fun once in a while.

We are not big dance people, but I found the music very enjoyable on the RCCL ships. Love their show band and there are quite often a couple of other good musicians around the ship.

As others have said, if you get oceanview or above, you can get the beverage package included. RCCL's beverage package is quite expensive for the amount we drink, so if you drink a fair amount, the Celebrity package may be what you would prefer.

All three ships have nice lounges for relaxing and talking to others. My wife complained the most about seasickness on the Summit. It is still a big ship, but she feels it a lot less on the bigger ships. We did have a low cabin on deck 3 in the middle of the ship, which is supposed to be best if you are succeptable to motion sickness, but that did not help her. Leaving from San Juan vs. Florida is a huge factor in my opinion. Lots of people complain the airfare to San Juan is too expensive compared to Florida. If that is a factor, the Adventure is the ship you may want to do since it leaves from Fort Lauderdale. Personally, San Juan is one of my favourite ports I have ever been to. I would fly into San Juan and spend 2 or 3 days there pre- or -post cruise. It is an amazing town. Also, it is an extremely different town if there are no ships in port on one of those days. Another factor is sailing out of San Juan, you will have warm weather guaranteed. From Florida, you should be OK, but it could be cool. Our cruise last March out of Miami had 2 sea days where people on deck were wearing pants and covering themselves in towels to keep warm. This, however, is not the norm, but it could happen sailing out of Florida.

What time of year did u sail from San Juan on the summit where u experienced motion sicknes..? I am assuming it was the southern caribbean cruise

What time of year did u sail from San Juan on the summit where u experienced motion sicknes..? I am assuming it was the southern caribbean cruise

You can get motion sickness any time of year.

We have sailed on the summit 6-7 times and loved her- have done multiple itineraries. The ship is immaculate and the staff wonderful. Not a big party ship-but they do have decent (most) shows and activities. If you can swing a suite- even better as Michael's club and luminae are very good to excellent. They have a wonderful adult pool area and spa.

We also loved the Freedom- IMO better activities and shows-geared to a multi generational family. We are going on the adventure this August but heard it is similar to the freedom class ships-with fewer bells and whistles. The price was also very good.

I think you have three good options and it should depend upon price.