Independence or Freedom?

[FinallyCruisinIn2014]

I think these ships are basically the same right? So as far as port stops go, which would you choose?

 

Freedom goes to Coco Cay, St. Thomas and St. Maarten

 

Independence goes to Labadee, Grand Cayman and Falmouth, Jamaica

 

We have Freedom booked but because of various reasons, we are tossing around the idea of changing to Indy.

 

Your opinions and advice are encouraged and welcomed!!

[Ken at the beach]

7 days is better than 6. Go for the Freedom.

[cruisingsince94]

Same class of ships so no difference there. If your getting more days on one over the other its a no brainer. If the same it comes down to ports. Grand Cayman we love but the other two not so much. Have always enjoyed the Freedom ports so they get my vote.

[FinallyCruisinIn2014]

It's actually the 7 days that may be the issue. We are trying to get a group of parents and senior friends of my daughters to go along and with the 7 day, kids have to miss a day of school. I just want to make it so it fits completely within our spring break time with no school missed. And cost may be an issue for some, too.

 

As far as the ports, I did enjoy Coco Key but Labadee looks like it is amazing. I've never been to any of the other ports at all but I'm trying to read up on them on the port boards and trip advisor.

Edited April 16, 2014 by FinallyCruisinIn2014

[Ken at the beach]

It's actually the 7 days that may be the issue. We are trying to get a group of parents and senior friends of my daughters to go along and with the 7 day, kids have to miss a day of school. I just want to make it so it fits completely within our spring break time with no school missed. And cost may be an issue for some, too.

 

As far as the ports, I did enjoy Coco Key but Labadee looks like it is amazing. I've never been to any of the other ports at all but I'm trying to read up on them on the port boards and trip advisor.

 

I enjoyed the beach and water more at Coco Cay but Labadee was also fun but in a different way. My DD and I did the Zipline while my DW and DS did the jet skis. Both were great but expensive.

 

In Jamaica we had a private tour with Courtney Taylor Tours (google). He was great. We did Dunns river falls and river rafting with our own tour guide and car for the 4 of us for way less than the RCI sponsored excursions.

 

On our list for Grand cayman is the stingray excursion which I hear is good.

 

To be honest I would not worry about the one day of school the kids will miss. It may seem important at the time but a year down the road will it really matter. The experience that your children will gain and learn from visiting places far and abroad will far outweigh the one day missed.

[CRUISEBOY305]

I think these ships are basically the same right? So as far as port stops go, which would you choose?

 

Freedom goes to Coco Cay, St. Thomas and St. Maarten

 

Independence goes to Labadee, Grand Cayman and Falmouth, Jamaica

 

We have Freedom booked but because of various reasons, we are tossing around the idea of changing to Indy.

 

Your opinions and advice are encouraged and welcomed!!

 

Both Ships are sister ships. Exactly the same with very very minimal difference.

 

It's completely up to you . As others have said, 7 days (Freedom) is better than 6 days (Indy). But consider how much the price difference is between the two cruises and decide weather the extra $$$ is worth spending extra or saving. Also, getting to the port for you. If you're flying you may find Ft. Lauderdale would be allot easier than Port Canaveral.

Either way you can't go wrong. I have two cruises booked for Indy in 2015 and I've been on Liberty (another sister ship) a couple of times and have had an amazing time.

 

Enjoy whatever you decide to do.

[APDMOM]

I agree that the ships are pretty much identical in layout. However, Freedom has much more to offer for kids.

 

What Freedom has that Indy lacks:

The Dreamworks Parade

The 3D movies

The Dreamworks breakfast

The Dreamworks character appearances throughout the week

The Freedom Fest (on the promenade last sea day)

 

I also loved the ice show on Freedom. It had pirates, complete with a pirate ship/sled. The ice show on Indy was a lot more modern (Strings).

 

If you would like to compare some of the activities, you can click on the compass for each sailing in my signature. Of course, the movies will be updated to more recent offerings.(Edit: Actually, the Indy compass is 8 days eastern, but you can get an idea...)

 

As far as the ports go, I would choose the Eastern itinerary. As you can see, i am all for Freedom :D

Edited April 16, 2014 by APDMOM

[Familygoboston]

Aha, I see now where to next;)

[CRUISEBOY305]

I agree that the ships are pretty much identical in layout. However, Freedom has much more to offer for kids.

 

What Freedom has that Indy lacks:

The Dreamworks Parade

The 3D movies

The Dreamworks breakfast

The Dreamworks character appearances throughout the week

The Freedom Fest (on the promenade last sea day)

 

I also loved the ice show on Freedom. It had pirates, complete with a pirate ship/sled. The ice show on Indy was a lot more modern (Strings).

 

If you would like to compare some of the activities, you can click on the compass for each sailing in my signature. Of course, the movies will be updated to more recent offerings.

 

As far as the ports go, I would choose the Eastern itinerary. As you can see, i am all for Freedom :D

 

That's Right !!!!! Indy doesn't have the dream works huh. Wonder why.

[TravelerThom]

Note that Freedom's Coco Cay is probably the port most often missed due to weather. Personally I like Labadee better than Coco Cay, but many like Coco better.

 

Second most missed port is Independence's Grand Cayman. [Coco and Grand Cayman are both tender ports, and the only two ports on either itinerary where you have to tender. I have seen tendering operations in St. Thomas, in St. Maaten and in Cozumel when the docks are overloaded, but usually you will dock in those ports. I have never heard of tender operations in Falmouth, not in Labadee since their dock opened in 2009.]

 

Not sure how you arriving at the port. If you fly in Port Everglades (Independence) is very close to the airport (you can see the ship from the plane), while Port Canaveral (Freedom) is almost an hour from the Orlando airport. On the other hand if you are driving from anyplace to the North, Port Canaveral will be several hours closer.

 

Independence has two ice shows. Strings usually done on the Eastern Caribbean, but Freeze Frame done on the Western Caribbean (think I got that right; always subject to change).

 

Main difference between the two ships is their art work - IMO no strong preference. Hope this info helps with your decision. You'll enjoy either ship:)

 

Thom

[Merion_Mom]

That's Right !!!!! Indy doesn't have the dream works huh. Wonder why.

 

Because she has been spending half of each year sailing out of Southampton, England. I assume that the Powers That Be think that DreamWorks is best suited for "American" sailings.

[Merion_Mom]

It's actually the 7 days that may be the issue. We are trying to get a group of parents and senior friends of my daughters to go along and with the 7 day, kids have to miss a day of school. I just want to make it so it fits completely within our spring break time with no school missed. And cost may be an issue for some, too.

 

As far as the ports, I did enjoy Coco Key but Labadee looks like it is amazing. I've never been to any of the other ports at all but I'm trying to read up on them on the port boards and trip advisor.

 

I applaud your intent to have the children miss as little school as possible. Book the Independence.

 

:)

[FinallyCruisinIn2014]

Thanks all! I really appreciate the input.

 

We almost missed Coco Cay last week but ended up going. If I could do no tenders, I would. Not necessarily a fan of that!

 

I didn't realize that the Freedom had the Dreamworks characters. That is probably a negative for this potential group I'm trying to get together.

 

As far as kids missing school - I'm not sure who will be flying and who will be driving. Airfare isn't out yet but flights are always outrageous Easter week and that's when our spring break falls next year. I don't mind a day or two out for my kids but I want to make this as accomadating as I can to the rest of the group and I'm not sure how any of them will feel about it.

[yj2cute]

I also vote for Indy. I happen to love the Western itinerary and the port is much easier to get to. Also missing no school is a big plus for me too. I'm sure you'll enjoy whichever sailing you choose.

 

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[Chuggiebug]

We have cruised on the Freedom several times and just completed our first on the Independence. Pick the Freedom!!!!!!

 

Our experience on the Independence was the worst we have ever had on a cruise. From check in, to condition of the cabin, to food quality.

[DarthGrady]

Not having kids I hadn't really thought much of it, but Indy did seem less kid friendly than some of the other ships. Our last "big ship" cruise before Indy was Allure, and she definitely had a ton of children's activities going on.

 

Sent from my Tricorder

[Charger2008]

I think these ships are basically the same right? So as far as port stops go, which would you choose?

 

Freedom goes to Coco Cay, St. Thomas and St. Maarten

 

Independence goes to Labadee, Grand Cayman and Falmouth, Jamaica

 

We have Freedom booked but because of various reasons, we are tossing around the idea of changing to Indy.

 

Your opinions and advice are encouraged and welcomed!!

 

Depends on whether you want Eastern or Western. Eastern on the Indy is 8 days and goes to St. Kitts, St. Marteen, San Juan and Labadee and is a GREAT cruise. Since we have to fly to Florida, I would not do a 6 day Western on the Indy, would do the 7 day on the Freedom.

[TravelerThom]

We have sailed 3 weeks on Freedom and 5 weeks on Independence. Independence often sails from Terminal 29 at Port Everglades - certainly not the newest terminal and by some reports subject to back-ups. We sailed Independence out of Terminal 29 in January and it was fastest (out of over 50+) boarding we have ever had of a large cruise ship. We arrived shortly before 11am, were immediately checked in, and everyone ahead of us had already boarded! I was utterly amazed. The following week we had to sit and wait to board Allure until about 11:30 (we were at the head of the D+ group and boarded immediately after the Suites). IMO the ship condition, food and service on the Independence was up to the usual RCI standards.

 

Thom

[armann]

We have cruised on the Freedom several times and just completed our first on the Independence. Pick the Freedom!!!!!!

 

Our experience on the Independence was the worst we have ever had on a cruise. From check in, to condition of the cabin, to food quality.

 

Agreed. I did Freedom 7 months ago and Indy a few weeks ago, and Indy wasn't even close to Freedom in pretty much every aspect, especially the food.

 

Pick Freedom

[FinallyCruisinIn2014]

We have cruised on the Freedom several times and just completed our first on the Independence. Pick the Freedom!!!!!!

 

Our experience on the Independence was the worst we have ever had on a cruise. From check in, to condition of the cabin, to food quality.

 

Agreed. I did Freedom 7 months ago and Indy a few weeks ago, and Indy wasn't even close to Freedom in pretty much every aspect, especially the food.

 

Pick Freedom

 

Would both of you mind expounding on what was so much better and/or worse? You've got me a bit nervous!

 

Thanks!

[Daghis]

Because she has been spending half of each year sailing out of Southampton, England. I assume that the Powers That Be think that DreamWorks is best suited for "American" sailings.

I was thinking that, too, but then I remembered that Liberty of the Seas does Mediterranean cruises and she has the DreamWorks Experience. (Yeah, to your exact point, the Mediterranean isn't Southampton, but I would think that they'd be similar in their DreamWorks offering.)

 

Was Liberty of the Seas sailing regularly in Europe when she had the DreamWorks Experience added during her Oasis-ification drydock? I can't remember.

[armann]

Would both of you mind expounding on what was so much better and/or worse? You've got me a bit nervous!

 

Thanks!

 

I need to preface this quickly.

 

• This isn't a review just the highlights
  
• I was on the Indy voyage that had the accident in St Kitts and that cast a shadow over my overall experience quite a bit
  
• By the time you sail, the staff will be completely different (7 month contracts)
  
• Most Importantly - I still had a good time on Indy, just not as good as Freedom
  

So on Indy the singers and dancers were lack luster and over used.

Cruise director was lack luster as well,he got the job done but was very forgettable.

 

Staff in general weren't happy and that carried over to the overall vibe of the ship, I had a chance to speak candidly with a couple of the staff and it sounds like there are some management problems.

The food in the MDR was pretty awful. Yes food is very subjective, but I didn't like it. In my unofficial poll on the smokers area of Deck 4, it seems like most people weren't impressed. Fortunately the wind jammer was pretty good for dinner.

 

 

Just my 2 cents, your mileage may vary.

[FinallyCruisinIn2014]

I need to preface this quickly.

 

• This isn't a review just the highlights
  
• I was on the Indy voyage that had the accident in St Kitts and that cast a shadow over my overall experience quite a bit
  
• By the time you sail, the staff will be completely different (7 month contracts)
  
• Most Importantly - I still had a good time on Indy, just not as good as Freedom
  

So on Indy the singers and dancers were lack luster and over used.

Cruise director was lack luster as well,he got the job done but was very forgettable.

 

Staff in general weren't happy and that carried over to the overall vibe of the ship, I had a chance to speak candidly with a couple of the staff and it sounds like there are some management problems.

The food in the MDR was pretty awful. Yes food is very subjective, but I didn't like it. In my unofficial poll on the smokers area of Deck 4, it seems like most people weren't impressed. Fortunately the wind jammer was pretty good for dinner.

 

 

Just my 2 cents, your mileage may vary.

 

I appreciate that. We have one sailing under our belts and it was Enchantment. From what I've read - we had one of the THE best cruise directors and the staff was always smiling and happy 99% of the time.

 

Hoping maybe a year from now Royal will fix the management problem ??

[LadyLion_AP]

My family sailed Indy over Xmas and LOVED everything about it. Our kids are teenagers & they were plenty entertained. The ship was full of younger kids as well due to Xmas break & I didn't see any disappointed children...No characters needed for a great time. There were plenty other activities (Ice skating, rock climbing, the surf simulator, pool, arcade (fee), outdoor movies, kids clubs, golf simulator (fee), & miniature golf, etc.) I'm sure you'll enjoy either ship...& if u never had the characters, you won't miss them.

 

 

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[help04me]

It's actually the 7 days that may be the issue. We are trying to get a group of parents and senior friends of my daughters to go along and with the 7 day, kids have to miss a day of school. I just want to make it so it fits completely within our spring break time with no school missed. And cost may be an issue for some, too.

 

As far as the ports, I did enjoy Coco Key but Labadee looks like it is amazing. I've never been to any of the other ports at all but I'm trying to read up on them on the port boards and trip advisor.

when given a choice I would always pick labadee over coco cay . coco cay is a tendered port labadee is docked and has a lot more to do