Breeze or Freedom? Your thoughts please

[Shaded Lady]

DH and I are taking a cruise and have two choices... Breeze or Freedom. Both have the itineraries we want, both have dates we can live with. Both have similar cabins (OV on a good floor in good spots). I've wanted to sail on a ship with Guys Burger and Blue Iguana Cantina, they have both.

 

What are some of the other factors I should consider in this decision? The slightly better cabin locations are on Freedom, but I don't want to feel like I've missed out by not going on the Breeze.

 

Oh by the way, leaving from Galveston is our only option this cruise due to time limitations. I WANT to see Key West but we can only go in Sept... hurricane season so I know I'll be taking a risk. Sept 9 for Freedom and Sept 17 for Breeze.

 

Looking forward to hearing your opinions!

[GreytRacer]

I'd go with the Breeze. My absolute favorite ship!

 

 

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[ABQrobin]

Decor is the major difference...

 

Freedom is old style, garish colors, paisleys and purple and black and gold. Very wild, even carpet.

 

Breeze is very new style, beiges and classic.

 

Freedom is slightly smaller but we enjoyed the cruise. Crew was great.

 

Breeze has extra restaurants...the italian place ($15pp extra) and I think the sushi place.

[okgirl]

I would choose the Breeze. It also has a larger casino, Bonsai Sushi, Red Frog Pub with Pub Grub and a great sports deck.

[Shaded Lady]

I've sailed on Magic so I'm familiar with the size of the Breeze, but it's the amenities that made me think I'd like to try it... does the Freedom feel like an older ship, or is it just the garish colors? (I know what you mean, but then again, I kind of have an affinity for neon!!!)

 

I think I need to make a decision today or tomorrow to ensure I have the cabin I'm looking at on each ship, so input is greatly appreciated from all of you who responded.

[mojavetex]

We are sailing on the Freedom next year. Our first cruise was on the Conquest which we loved. Freedom is a Conquest class ship so we are excited to get to sail on her (love fish and chips). But Breeze is one of my favourite ships. As is the Magic. We always sail during hurricane season and so far it hasn't been a problem.

 

I don't know if that helped. I think either will be a great cruise. I've read good things about Freedom.

 

 

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[RipDaddy]

I did both ships this past year and I would easily choose Breeze. By far the best Carnival ship I've sailed.

[finzup-kt]

breeze! we loved the outside promenade deck on 5

[Texas Moomba]

Haven't been on the breeze, but have been on Magic. Have. Also been on ships the size of the Freedom. We prefer the smaller ships if the amenities have been up dated. Magic and the bigger ships are just to big for us. If a big ship has an itenary we want we will go, but prefer the smaller ships.

 

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[donan54]

We have been on the Breeze, the Magic and the Freedom. Our personal favorite was the Freedom. Maybe it's because we have been cruising for such a long time, but we were taken aback by the Breeze's chopped up design & we did not like it at all! They not only packed more cabins onto the ship, it seems they reduced the sizes of other amenities so they could get all the new stuff on. If you have better cabin locations on the Freedom, we would go with that. It all depends on what is most important to you on your cruise. We personally don't care about the colors & decorations on a ship, as long as we have a nice crew, decent food & friendly people to meet! Some people love to go on the ships simply because they are new. We just think the Breeze & the Vista are poorly designed! Freedom has better ebb & flow to its design.

 

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[SummerXU]

I haven't been on Freedom, but I've been on some of her sister ships, and while I enjoyed them, Breeze is my absolute favorite ship to date! Been on her twice and would go again in a heartbeat!

[kktexas]

I've been on both and would always pick Freedom over the Breeze! Love the smaller size! The crew on Freedom is fabulous - been on her 5 times this year, would never go back to the Breeze!

 

 

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[KPfromCT]

Another vote for Breeze!:D:D We have been on her twice and as of right now she is our favorite ship.

In all fairness, we've never been on the Freedom. Not a fan of the stadium type seating on the Lido deck.

Breeze has WAY more to offer.....

 

Let us know what you decide. Good Luck and Happy Sailing!:D

[DebJ14]

We've been on the Breeze twice and the Freedom twice. I would always choose the Freedom over the Breeze. We just prefer the Conquest class of ship. We also had much better service on the Freedom and found the crew to be much friendlier than the crew on the Breeze. That being said, we have 2 cruises booked for 2017. One is a 7 night on the Breeze and the other is a 14 night Journey cruise on the Freedom!

[Sundsgn]

We went back and forth too, but in the end, decided on the Breeze because we are taking our kids. There are more activity things for them to do and the Waterworks, big slides, etc. If it was just us, we may have chosen the Freedom because of the size and potential for less kids. The Breeze seemed to have more "kid" exciting things.

[Shaded Lady]

I did it! I booked our cruise on the Breeze for Sept 17th!!! I'm so excited now that I finally get to start all the planning and anticipating!!!

 

I lived in FLA for 15 years and never made it to the Keys! So this cruise is to reward us both for surviving a very tough 2016 and for us to finally get to the Keys, even if it is only for a few hours! I didn't care about any other itinerary, as I've done most of them several times.

 

THANK YOU ALL OF YOU who weighed in here with your opinions.... unfortunately you only made it harder for me (LOL) because you had so many valid points for both ships! What it finally came down to was the cabin we could get... I liked what was available on the Breeze (8C Balcony on Deck 8 forward).

 

And now the fun begins!

[timeinthesand]

We have been on the Breeze, the Magic and the Freedom. Our personal favorite was the Freedom. Maybe it's because we have been cruising for such a long time, but we were taken aback by the Breeze's chopped up design & we did not like it at all! They not only packed more cabins onto the ship, it seems they reduced the sizes of other amenities so they could get all the new stuff on. If you have better cabin locations on the Freedom, we would go with that. It all depends on what is most important to you on your cruise. We personally don't care about the colors & decorations on a ship, as long as we have a nice crew, decent food & friendly people to meet! Some people love to go on the ships simply because they are new. We just think the Breeze & the Vista are poorly designed! Freedom has better ebb & flow to its design.

 

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100% agree. I love the Freedom! I like the decor of the Liberty a little better, but the layouts on Liberty and Freedom work a lot better, in my opinion.

[cruisinqt]

We've done the Freedom and loved her. But the Breeze is by far our favorite. This is the first time any ship was so good that we booked her two times in a row. :) If you get a chance, take the kids to the movie theater. It's 3-D with misters and water sprayers and the seats move. It's a blast! Our whole family loved it and got the weeks pass which was pretty cheap. Also try the Italian place it's free for lunch (but costs $$$ for dinner.) It's in the Lido Buffet area, just look for the staircase taking you upstairs. You get your own waiter and menu and the foods really good.

[joeyjpaul]

We had the same choice to make for our cruise coming up in January. We choose the Freedom because it was $1000 CAD less expensive for our family.

[Shaded Lady]

Thanks everyone... it was definitely a hard choice. Made more complicated by the fact that there was only a difference of $50 between the available cabins that we wanted on both ships, not the large amounts some folks faced. In the end, we went with the newer ship, with a few more dining and fun opportunities, like the Thrill Theater etc...

 

There were a few comments in other posts that Breeze is looking kind of tired, needed a good cleaning, could use a touch up etc. We booked it anyway, but I was delighted to learn AFTER I booked that she's going into drydock in April, so it should be in good shape for September!