Is Freedom worth an extra 800 dollars

[jonsurg]

I am looking to a crusie post thanks giving for my DW and 2 (6 and 3) kids. The price difference for a week is about 800 dollars with Freedom bieng about $800 more for a D1 cabin when compared with a comparable trip on one of the voyager class ships (EOS or VOS). My one thought is that with everyone on Freedom that the EOS/VOS might be a little less busy. My other thought is that while FOS is getting mixed reviews that it might be a good bet for my kids dueto the water park and probably bigger kids facilites

 

Thanks

 

Chris

[Cats' slave]

Have you considered Mariner?

[jonsurg]

What specifically do you mean about MAriner -thanks for your reply

[negc]

I'm not sure that I would pay $800 more to sail on Freedom instead of a Voyager class ship, but I will say that it has everything that a Voyager ship can offer plus some. If you, or members of your family, would find the surf pool appealing, would enjoy the H20 Zone and/or the hot tubs that extend out over the side of the ship, and like the idea of being on the newest and largest cruise ship in the world, and the itinerary is acceptable you might decide to spend the extra money. Only you can decide how best to spend your money. Some may decide to wait until the next two Freedom Class ships are introduced and prices level off or drop, or may decide to choose a date when the prices are lower (late Summer and early Fall, for example). I guess that the only answer I can give you is a great big "Maybe".:rolleyes:

[Cruising89143]

I personally would wait for a few months before I book this ship. I want to see how this ship handles a full load for a week. I have seen very mixed reviews thus far from people that have traveled on the two night preview cruises. Some positive and some not so good. Within the next few months we will know more.

[Dave85]

We were looking at cruises encompassing New Years and we found *major eyes rolling* a $1500 difference between comparable accomidations on Freedom and Mariner. :rolleyes: I find it very difficult to justify that.

[Cats' slave]

I suggested you look at Mariner because it's a relatively new Voyager class ship. It would lack a few of Freedom's bells and whistles but not many. We were on it in February and we loved everything about it. We did the eastern route.

 

We didn't have children with us but the ones we saw looked happy. One night they entertained us with their circus act...they were lions and tigers, etc. Another night they were pirates and raided the dining room. People have written that they had to drag their kids out of the kids' activities because they were having so much fun.

[Jimbo]

Is it true that Royal Caribbean is not filling the ship on the first few sailings just to see how the crew handles the large amounts of people onboard?

 

If so the first few sailings will probably be great ! Hope so we are booked for the 3rd sailing?

 

Jimbo:)

[Peggy13]

We had hoped to sail one of the Freedom ships next summer, but once finding out the price - approx. $600 more per cabin (and we need two cabins) - we decided to sail Mariner for the second time.

[GMoney]

I sailed on a the Freedom pre-inaugural, and IMO, FOS is not worth the additional $800. If your kids were older, maybe, but at those ages, they will only enjoy use of the H2OZone (not the Flowrider), and I just don't think that's enough to compensate. Save the money and use it toward your next cruise!

[spammie]

Hubby and I got a great price for a D1 cabin on Freedom because we booked 18 months out. When I was researching a cruise for next May for myself, my 21 year old dd and 19 year old ds I couldn't justify paying A TON MORE for Freedom over Mariner. I really wanted a Junior Suite for the three of us and the Freedom's price was outrageous. Good luck deciding.

[MeandHer1968]

I looked into booking the Freedom for my honeymoon but for what I payed for a Superior balcony on the Mariner was still like 300.00 cheeper then a inside cabin on the freedom for the same weekend!!!!

[caribbeanfever]

We are going on the Freedom in July, but I think your family would enjoy the Voyager class ships. We have been on 2 of them, and they have something for everybody. With the extra money you save, you can maybe spend a little more on a bigger room. If you do book the Freedom, it is always cheaper to book out as far in advance as possible to get the better deals after she has been sailing for a while.

[David4]

We booked 7 months ago on the FOS.This will be the first big ship that we have been on, so I cant compare it to other ships of that size.Right now it is the biggest and newest and is that worth it to you.For us it was

[caviargal]

Except for the water park and FlowRider, the only difference I experienced is that there are more people packed onto FOS with only an 18,000 GRT of extra space.

 

And, with the small size of FLowRider, I have no idea how they are going to accomodate the numbers of people per cruise that are going to want to use it.

 

If you like big ships, save your $$$ and stick to Voyager class. FOS's rates will surely come down.

[Silvery Seas Cruiser]

Is it true that Royal Caribbean is not filling the ship on the first few sailings just to see how the crew handles the large amounts of people onboard?

 

If so the first few sailings will probably be great ! Hope so we are booked for the 3rd sailing?

 

Jimbo:)

 

I'm not sure that is right. We booked Freedom's June 11 sailing at the last minute and all that was left of oceanview cabins were on Deck Two!! We took the cabin.

 

Maybe you can't tell anything by this at all, but I assumed that being relegated to Deck Two meant the ship was nearly sold out.

 

Actually, I hope you are right about sailing less than full for the first few "s hakedown"cruises. It would be really nice to not be crowded, jammed, pushed and shoved at every turn on the ship.

[caviargal]

It is correct that they are limiting the pax loads on FOS for the first 8 weeks of sailing. We were told this by RCI senior management while aboard the FOS last weekend.

[LDinCT]

I would pay the $800 to go on Freedom. Just got back from the 2-night. I would love to switch my Aug Mariner booking to Freedom- but it is a $2500 difference. I can't justify that. I would totally do it for under $1000. It's just fantastic. Of course I've never done the Mariner, just the Explorer and the Voyager so I can't compare the two.

[caviargal]

I would pay the $800 to go on Freedom. Just got back from the 2-night. I would love to switch my Aug Mariner booking to Freedom- but it is a $2500 difference. I can't justify that. I would totally do it for under $1000. It's just fantastic. Of course I've never done the Mariner, just the Explorer and the Voyager so I can't compare the two.

 

I am just curious as to your comment. I am also just back. She is not my cup of tea but, that being said, I am wondering why you would pay more to sail on her than on Voyager class.

[LDinCT]

Just think it is nicer. It seemed really elegant. I'm a big fan of contemporary design, and everything just seemed more modern. Even my dh- who thought he would hate it, loved it. I even thought the Windjammer was really nice, the views out the windows, etc. The gym was fantastic. The beds... The artwork was great. I don't think I'd pay more than a $1000 difference though, but I'd go up to that at least. Don't think any of us will take advantage of the flow-rider, expanded rock wall or boxing ring- so that's not it.