Breeze or Freedom of The Seas with kids

[cap0396]

I'm planning a last minute cruise to the caribbean, and I'm trying to decide between the 6 night western cruise on Carnival Breeze that goes to Key West, Grand Cayman, and Cozumel, or the 7 night eastern cruise on Royal Caribbean Freedom of The Seas that goes to CocoCay, St. Maarten, and St Thomas.

 

The Freedom is about $800 more than the Breeze for the 4 of us for the week, and both ships would have a guarantee oceanview. I have never been on a cruise or to the caribbean, and am also wondering if St Thomas and St Maarten would be any fun for the kids ages 8 and 12 years old. If anyone can give me any comparisons on the Ships and itineraries that would be great.

 

Thanks.

[Happy2travl]

We have travelled with our 3 boys on the Breeze and we are booked to go again in February with a similar itinerary. Ours will stop in Jamaica instead of Key West.

 

What I can tell you is that the kids had a really, really good time on the Breeze. The ship has so many activities that boredom is not something we had to deal with, in fact they really enjoyed the moments of downtime that we had.

My older 2 loved the obstacle course but with the Southern Caribbean itinerary it was often too windy to be used. I'm hoping the Western is calmer so we can get more use of it now that our youngest is old enough to enjoy it.

 

Camp Carnival has been really good for us at times and sometimes fell pretty flat. One of our sons loves it, he's quick to make friends and he loves to go with the flow and try new things. Another is more shy and it took him some time to warm up to the idea of it. My oldest didn't love it but I think it was situational and I don't expect the same concerns next time.

 

The water park gave them at least 1.5 to 2 hrs of fun at a time usually twice a day and there was lots of seating around the area that we could see them and still relax. It was never so busy that they had long waits for slides or other play areas.

 

The Serenity, adults only lounge is a little too close to the slides for my liking because I wanted to get away from the noise for a little while, but it was convenient for us to take turns with one of us watching the kids and the other lounging in Serenity.

 

We are looking forward to Cozumel and Grand Cayman because they are both known for interactions with sea life such as sea turtles and stingrays. Cozumel is also very rich in history and it's possible to visit the Mayan ruins at Tulum with a day trip. If you're looking for a beach day Grand Cayman has one of the world's best rated beaches in the world.

 

We did cruise without kids once and went to St Maarten, and St Thomas among other ports and they are beautiful places for sure. St Maarten has a beach where you can be directly underneath planes landing and taking off. We didn't go there, but friends have and their kids LOVED it. My favourite was Orient Beach. It was picture perfect!

[cb at sea]

Go with the cheaper price...your kids are at the prime age to really enjoy themselves...it won't matter one bit which cruiseline you choose! A good time will be had by all!

[Happy2travl]

Go with the cheaper price...your kids are at the prime age to really enjoy themselves...it won't matter one bit which cruiseline you choose! A good time will be had by all!

 

You summed it up quite nicely! Ditto :)

Edited May 28, 2014 by Happy2travl

[queenL]

I've sailed both the Breeze and Liberty of the Seas (sister to Freedom). If money is a key factor than go with the Breeze. However, I think the better ports and overall cruise experience will be on the Freedom.