Switched from Freedom to Spirit. Sad

[momof3cruisers]

So in the great switcheroo our Oct sailing has been moved from Freedom to Spirit. Our very awesome Lido balcony is now a balcony below the Lido deck. 
 

We love the itinerary. The timing is over our 30th anniversary. We already have a cabana  at HMC reserved. 
 

But under the Lido? Specifically under the Serenity area. Maybe that’s not so bad?  And we love the Freedom. Never even looked at Spirit as an option. The Serenity deck seems nice. 
 

Help me decide here. If we cancel, we’ll go to an AI in Cozumel. 

[Saint Greg]

You could always look around for something that suits you better. I was switched from Freedom 4J to a Splendor spa interior because my 4J on Splendor is an accessible room. I moved my cruise one week earlier when they had a regular 4J available on Splendor. Airfare only cost me $20 more but the hotel is going to be quite a bit more expensive.

[farjar]

8 minutes ago, momof3cruisers said:

So in the great switcheroo our Oct sailing has been moved from Freedom to Spirit. Our very awesome Lido balcony is now a balcony below the Lido deck. 
 

We love the itinerary. The timing is over our 30th anniversary. We already have a cabana  at HMC reserved. 
 

But under the Lido? Specifically under the Serenity area. Maybe that’s not so bad?  And we love the Freedom. Never even looked at Spirit as an option. The Serenity deck seems nice. 
 

Help me decide here. If we cancel, we’ll go to an AI in Cozumel. 

We were switched from the Freedom to the Spirit for our Sept. cruise and have read positive things about the Spirit here on CC.  Now we are waiting for our inside cabin to be reassigned.  Unfortunately we do not have the option to cancel.  Besides losing our deposit our airline tickets came from credits we received when our Norwegian cruise was cancelled.  They cannot be changed.  We are going even if we are assigned the worst cabin on the ship which we are hoping will not happen.  My suggestion is make a list of the pros and cons of each vacation type comparing cost, entertainment and amenities then decide from there.  Happy 30th Anniversary.  We will soon be celebrating our 53rd.

[siestakeys04]

I say try switching cabins if it’s not booked up.

[Jamman54]

If we had to choose between the Freedom and the Spirit, the Spirit would win hands down. That's because we love the Spirit Class ships, but that's just us. That said, we would never book a cabin on the deck below Lido on any ship, and especially below the Serenity area on a Spirit Class ship. Get that changed and you're good to go! 

[brilliantseas]

38 minutes ago, momof3cruisers said:

So in the great switcheroo our Oct sailing has been moved from Freedom to Spirit. Our very awesome Lido balcony is now a balcony below the Lido deck. 
 

We love the itinerary. The timing is over our 30th anniversary. We already have a cabana  at HMC reserved. 
 

But under the Lido? Specifically under the Serenity area. Maybe that’s not so bad?  And we love the Freedom. Never even looked at Spirit as an option. The Serenity deck seems nice. 
 

Help me decide here. If we cancel, we’ll go to an AI in Cozumel. 

 

While the move from Lido balcony to being one deck below Lido is not ideal, I'd generally consider Spirit to be an upgrade over the Freedom. The Spirit class feels much less crowded than the Freedom ships. The Lido stage isn't ideal, and the two midship pools can feel a bit compartmentalized, but overall I'd still strongly prefer Spirit over any of the Conquest class ships. 

[knagl]

I was switched from the Freedom to the Spirit, and although initially unhappy about the change (and being assigned a cabin rather than being able to choose my own), I was assigned a decent cabin and from what I've read I'll enjoy the ship just as much.  I originally had a mid-ship lido balcony on Freedom, and was assigned to an extended-view balcony mid-ship on deck 7 of the Spirit.

 

I think I would look into cabin options to see if something is available that isn't directly under the lido deck just for potential noise issues (deck chairs being moved, kids running, etc.), but the ship change seems to be a fairly even swap.

[Moviela]

I had a triple b2b2b on Spirit cancelled from Singapore to Brisbane and have now been switched from Freedom to Spirit for a Panama Canal cruise. I think it will be fine. As long as I keep my aft balcony (TBA at the moment) it'll be a good time. 

 

I have cruised on Miracle (sister to Spirit) and did not find anything lacking. One positive for me is that Spirit can use the old locks, rather than the new larger locks for the Freedom. 

[Banditswife]

We were also switched from Freedom to Spirit for our 4/17/2022  through the canal.  I was originally happy, because I like Spirit class over Conquest class, until we got our cabin assignment.  Went from a very forward balcony on deck 7 to a very aft balcony on deck 5.  On Spirit, deck 5 has life boats, which meant probably not being able to see very much forward of our balcony.  We were able to complain & get it switched to very forward on deck 6 which is better because we will be above & forward of the life boats.  Just curious as to why they are making all these changes.  Plus our itinerary has changed a lot too.  We have only 4 port days in a 16 day cruise.  So let's hope the casino is friendly & shows are up & running by April 17th.

[TravelBluebird]

10 minutes ago, Banditswife said:

We were also switched from Freedom to Spirit for our 4/17/2022  through the canal.  I was originally happy, because I like Spirit class over Conquest class, until we got our cabin assignment.  Went from a very forward balcony on deck 7 to a very aft balcony on deck 5.  On Spirit, deck 5 has life boats, which meant probably not being able to see very much forward of our balcony.  We were able to complain & get it switched to very forward on deck 6 which is better because we will be above & forward of the life boats.  Just curious as to why they are making all these changes.  Plus our itinerary has changed a lot too.  We have only 4 port days in a 16 day cruise.  So let's hope the casino is friendly & shows are up & running by April 17th.

 

I’m also on this Panama Canal cruise. We never had more than 4 port days (plus the Panama Canal crossing which is kinda like a port day with sightseeing, although we don’t get off the ship). They did, sadly, change our Santa Marta, Columbia port to Ocho Rios, Jamaica, which I am much less excited about.

 

Like you, I hope the casino is friendly and the production shows started. Also hoping they can get the internet running at a faster speed that has been reported lately from other Spirit passengers (it’s not just that I want to do my LIVE of the cruise here;  it’s also that those are a lot of sea days to not have a decent Internet connection).

[ray98]

I really wouldn't worry about it, the Serenity isn't going to be a high noise area especially in sleeping hours.

[Jamman54]

6 minutes ago, ray98 said:

I really wouldn't worry about it, the Serenity isn't going to be a high noise area especially in sleeping hours.

They move the chairs around every night to clean the deck. 

[vbscoot]

We were directly below the aft pool area on the Glory last month.  Thought it might be a problem.  But heard no noise at all.

[groundloop]

I'll just throw in that I'm currently on Spirit and am really pleased with her condition.  Everything is in great condition, new carpets, new upholstery in the theatres and comedy club, the entire ship is in tip-top condition, there's even have table cloths in the dining room.  (Now if someone could just do something about the kids that I swear are playing tag in my hallway at 1 AM - I sure wish the cabin doors opened outward 😁 )  

 

 

[momof3cruisers]

2 hours ago, groundloop said:

I'll just throw in that I'm currently on Spirit and am really pleased with her condition.  Everything is in great condition, new carpets, new upholstery in the theatres and comedy club, the entire ship is in tip-top condition, there's even have table cloths in the dining room.  (Now if someone could just do something about the kids that I swear are playing tag in my hallway at 1 AM - I sure wish the cabin doors opened outward 😁 )  

 

 

Okay…make friends with someone in a cabin under the Serenity and ask them how the noise is at night. Loud at night will make for a very crabby husband.

[ray98]

5 hours ago, Jamman54 said:

They move the chairs around every night to clean the deck. 

 

They clean that area well before I'm in bed.

[TravelBluebird]

14 hours ago, groundloop said:

I'll just throw in that I'm currently on Spirit and am really pleased with her condition.  Everything is in great condition, new carpets, new upholstery in the theatres and comedy club, the entire ship is in tip-top condition, there's even have table cloths in the dining room.  (Now if someone could just do something about the kids that I swear are playing tag in my hallway at 1 AM - I sure wish the cabin doors opened outward 😁 )  

 

 

That is great to hear!  How has the internet been for you?

[lazydayz]

11 hours ago, ray98 said:

 

They clean that area well before I'm in bed.

 

I am a night owl and have heard the scraping at 4 a.m.  Very unpleasant.