Freedom of the Seas help

[stleda124]

I am contemplating book the Freedom of the Seas for January the 7th. What crowd should we expect for that time of year? Lots of kids? Also, we enjoyed Oasis of the Seas size and activities, is Freedom of the Seas similar? Anything I should know about this ship?

 

We would be booking balcony rooms...can you remove the connectors?

 

Thank you!

[Ourusualbeach]

Most likely not a lot of kids as they would all be returning to school after the holiday break.

 

Balcony dividers can be opened on Freedom class ships.

[The Grumpus]

Most kids seem to be gone after the New Year's cruise. I think you get people looking to get away for some R&R after the Holiday Season.

 

Freedom doesn't have all the "stuff" Oasis has but if you're going alone or as a couples getaway, in many respects Freedom may be the better choice.

 

 

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[MikeBTN]

Freedom is still a VERY large ship. Definitely not as big as Oasis, but still plenty to do. It does feel a little dated compared to Oasis, but no more than any other pre-2010 ship anywhere at sea. I would expect very few children, but there will be some. If you want to avoid kids altogether the Queen Mary II or a longer sailing might be a better option.

[stleda124]

Thank you for the replies thus far!

 

It will be Myself (26), my mother and father, brother (24), and sister (21). I like the answers and feel that this cruise will be perfect.

 

I have been on Grandeur of the seas which was too small thus boring for us but we love Royal so the service was still fantastic. Oasis of the seas which we thought was very large and the activities were plenty. NCL Dawn I believe which was a good time as well.

 

Very excited for this trip.

[Ubiquitous Cruiser]

My wife calls it the rollers and strollers crowd ... retirees enjoying the golden years (rollers) and young families with kids too young for school (strollers). :D

[Carole2313]

Plus most Universities don't start 2 semester until around the 20th so college "kids" may be onboard.

 

 

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[MikeBTN]

Plus most Universities don't start 2 semester until around the 20th so college "kids" may be onboard.

 

 

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That's more true of 3-5 night sailings. 7+ are generally carry a little older crowd.

[brillohead]

I've been on Navigator, Freedom, and Oasis, and Freedom is my favorite!

 

It's big enough that there's a lot of space, but not so huge that you never run into the same people ever again (which is a problem on Oasis).

 

I also prefer the abundance of shade available in Freedom's Solarium -- it doesn't have that pressure-cooker greenhouse effect that the Oasis Solarium does, plus the bar is right there on the same level for easy access.

 

Freedom has a rock wall, skating rink, and FlowRider... and I don't use the zipline or carousel on Oasis. The only thing "missing" for me,really, is the Aqua Theater, and I'd only see that show once in a weeklong cruise, whereas I use the Solarium every single day.

[SuzD123]

I've been on Navigator, Freedom, and Oasis, and Freedom is my favorite!

 

It's big enough that there's a lot of space, but not so huge that you never run into the same people ever again (which is a problem on Oasis).

 

I also prefer the abundance of shade available in Freedom's Solarium -- it doesn't have that pressure-cooker greenhouse effect that the Oasis Solarium does, plus the bar is right there on the same level for easy access.

 

Freedom has a rock wall, skating rink, and FlowRider... and I don't use the zipline or carousel on Oasis. The only thing "missing" for me,really, is the Aqua Theater, and I'd only see that show once in a weeklong cruise, whereas I use the Solarium every single day.

 

I completely agree with the assessment above. We were on Freedom about 5 years ago and are headed back in Feb. Our experience in the mid-January timeframe, there will be kids. I suppose some are people taking advantage of the lower non-holiday fares even if it means taking them out of school? I imagine there may also be a few college students that haven't started back for the spring semester. However, it will be NOTHING like the experience we had during an August sailing of Oasis, or any holiday or spring break sailing.

[njmomof2]

We've sailed both Freedom and Oasis. Much prefer Freedom, and have sailed her multiple times.

 

Oasis was nice, but the extras ended up not being the deal makers that we thought they would. Aqua show was nice, but we only went once. The carousel (and entire Boardwalk area) to us was a waste. My younger son did the zip line once, and that was enough. The biggest draw for my boys was the double flowrider. But, since they mostly surf, they didn't even bother with the second one so other than having a bit more time, since it didn't have to close to allow for boogie boarding, they have it on Freedom.

 

The size of the Oasis made it just a bit too big for our family. It just didn't wow us like we'd hoped, and after getting off, the boys asked to go back on Freedom, which we've done several times since then.

 

I would also think in January you're going to, overall, see less kids than you would during school breaks or the summer, but these days, with more schools going to 12 month calendars and a lot of homeschoolers, there will always be kids, especially on a Freedom class ship. But I would not think that it's going to be so many that you might have an issue with it.

[HillBilly Bob]

Most likely not a lot of kids as they would all be returning to school after the holiday break.

 

We are sailing January 7 and we chose that date specifically to avoid interrupting and interfering with the "family" experience. Hope I was correct.

[pinkrosesdeb]

We are on Freedom on Jan 7th as well. No kids with us but we have never really found them to be that big of a problem. Our only issue one cruise was the doorbell for our GS was a "magnet" for 2 young girls who found it a lot of fun to ring it ALL THE TIME and run. Annoying at nap time but that's kids! What I found a little disturbing is that the girls were VERY young and all alone they couldn't have been more than 8 or 9 and were in our hallway at all hours, I would have been frantic if that had been my kids but to each their own and I guess the girls ended up just fine. Don't worry too much about it the Freedom is big and there are areas to get away from little annoyances. If you decide to go, join us on our roll call.

[bigque]

As far as activities, is there really that much more to do on Oasis?? As someone else said it appears that the Aqua theater would be the biggest difference as far as activities but I have been on Freedom and will be on Oasis for the first time next year and will be able to draw my comparisons then. People seem to forget that Freedom Class ships were the largest cruise ships before Oasis. :cool:

[CruiseKeeper]

I am contemplating book the Freedom of the Seas for January the 7th. What crowd should we expect for that time of year? Lots of kids? Also, we enjoyed Oasis of the Seas size and activities, is Freedom of the Seas similar? Anything I should know about this ship?

 

We would be booking balcony rooms...can you remove the connectors?

 

Thank you!

.

 

On the Freedom now. First day there was a form on our bed asking if we wanted the balcony dividers opened. The form had a checklist of some things we could want first day such as the beds separated. I don't think we'll see this form again as we are on a b2b and are staying in the same cabin. :D:cool:

[sgregel]

I love the Freedom. I'm on the 11/12 sailing next month and on the Med sailing 9/17/17. January is a great time to cruise. There will be kids, but not as many as Summer and holidays. You will love this ship.

Sandy

[rtazz17]

Only thing I will add is we sailed Freedom on our first ever cruise 6 yrs ago and loved it,then the next yr went on oasis and loved it more.Then went back to freedom the next yr and it was just a let down to us...I guess after you have been on oasis class ,freedom doesnt come close to measuring up.Just way more to do on Oasis class.Freedom seemed like a sailboat in comparison to Oasis.All depends what you are looking for I suppose.Just my opinion and you may very well enjoy it.I know we have sailed our last time on freedom class.The bar is raised with each class of ships.

Edited October 8, 2016 by rtazz17