Anyone done Freedom and Adventure??

[SugarNSpice8104]

I tried to post this about a week ago, but something went wrong and it did not post, so I'll try again. Has anyone done the Freedom of the Seas, and the Adventure of the Seas? It is a toss up for our Feb 2008 cruise. (I know I know far away....) We have done all the islands that the Freedom has to offer, and the only ones that we have not done that the Adventure is offering is Aruba and Curacao. My vacation is mostly for the ship. The islands are extra. Are these two islands worth basing my vacation around? Is the Freedom so much better than the Adventure? I do like the Voyager class ships, but my son would love the H2O zone on Freedom. He will be almost 4 by then. But I will be the only one with a son going so I have to kind of look out for everyone's interest. Please help. Also, we would like to fly in a day or two ahead of time. Is it cheaper to stay in Miami or Puerto Rico?? Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!!

[caribbeanfever]

I don't know how much help I can be, but I have done both the Adventure and the Freedom. Both were the West. Caribbean, so I don't know about Aruba and Curacao. We took our adult children and our parents on both, so we were looking to take them on a newer, different ship the second go round. We did not do the H2O Zone or the Flowrider, or anything else new for that matter. The balcony rooms were almost identical but the balconies were wider, which was nicer, but don't know if you want to pay extra for that. The promenade was bigger, but not sure if that is important to you either. We thoroughly enjoyed both, but our parents(and a lot of people who have been on Freedom felt the food was not as good as the Adventure--but a lot have said the dining room food has gone downhill on both--I felt it was good on both).

 

No matter what you choose, your group should have a great time. I feel you make your cruise what it is, if you want to have a great time, you will.

[Aquahound]

The Freedom and Adventure are nearly identical in layout. They are both wonderful ships. The Freedom adds bigger all-glass balconies, H2O Zone, Flowrider, On Air Club, and some other minor features. I did the Freedom for the ship, not the ports. But, I will never sacrifice mediocre ports for a new ship again. The Adventure remains my favorite cruise of all time. If it's a toss-up based on the stops, I would recommend the Adventure.

As for hotels prices, both can be expensive. Check the back of the RCI brochure for RCI sponsored hotels.

Feel free to check out my photo albums from both ships on the link below.

[caribbeanfever]

Also, not sure if Miami or Puerto Rico is cheaper, we are from AZ, and in Puerto Rico we upgraded to a nicer resort for the Adventure, but for the Freedom we took the free Hyatt in Miami(provided since RCCL wanted us in the day prior. Our parents and children were happy with either, they were just thrilled to be treated to 2 cruises.!

[WhiteSoxFan]

The Adventure was my favorite of the 3 cruises I've taken. All have been at the end of March and it was great starting the cruise in a warm climate (last year Miami had near record lows the weekend we left). Aruba was very nice and it was great being there from early AM to 1AM the next day. We did an off road tour and snorkel and had a blast. The downside of starting in San Juan is the airfare tends to be more expensive and you really want to get down there the day before (which I recommend at all times). There were 100-200 people that missed our ship even though it left at 10PM due to an engine problem on a flight from Atlanta. I haven;t checked but there is still probably a premium on the Freedom vs the Adventure. I have booked the Freedom for March 2008 and I know it seemed more expensive.

 

I don't know if it helps but I would recommend the southern route if you have not done it before.

[caviargal]

I have done both and, while not a fan of anything bigger than Vision Class, I would choose AOS over FOS.

 

The southern route is so much nicer IMO than the East or West. And as far as the ship goes, FOS was simply too big.

 

If these were my only two choices, I would choose Adventure.

[caribbeanfever]

I must have spaced out for a moment. The Adventure was the Southern Caribbean route, not the Western, it was the Voyager that was Western. We did the Freedom for our parents, since they had not been on the Western route yet. I would have to agree that we did like the Southern Caribbean route better, but enjoyed both.

[NAHA]

We have done both, and are doing AOS again in February, we loved it so much.

 

However, I truly believe that Freedom is a ship not to be missed. She never felt larger to us than Voyager class, no overwhelming crowds, there is soooo much to do on this ship and it is gorgeous! Also, it is a "plus" to sail on a ship when it is fairly new.

 

Whatever your decision, you can't go wrong, but if the ship is your main destination, I would give Freedom the slight edge over Adventure at this time.

[skiiergirl]

We have done both, and are doing AOS again in February, we loved it so much.

 

However, I truly believe that Freedom is a ship not to be missed. She never felt larger to us than Voyager class, no overwhelming crowds, there is soooo much to do on this ship and it is gorgeous! Also, it is a "plus" to sail on a ship when it is fairly new.

 

Whatever your decision, you can't go wrong, but if the ship is your main destination, I would give Freedom the slight edge over Adventure at this time.

 

HEY NAHA! (I've got to get back over to rollcall and catch up on last 3 months! I miss you guys....but life has been too crazy....and I feel like I have probably missed out on a lot. I probably need 24 hours solid at the computer to catch-up! Hope all is well with you! Isn't this the week Em is back on FR?)

 

We like AOS if it is on the southern route that does NOT include Aruba. While Aruba is ok we do not like Curacao. If you are going when AD is rotating routes then choose a week that does the Antigua, St. Lucia, Barbados run rather than the Aruba run. If you are going when they aren't rotating then I would recommend doing this route on the SR instead of AD. But (as NAHA said) if the ship is the draw rather than the islands....definitely FR!!!!!!!!! If choosing by itinerary then the southern route w/ Antigua is our favorite. But if choosing by ship then we love the RD class ships, then FR, then would go to AD. We didn't play in the H20 zone......but we wanted to.. Loved the flowrider area.

[minnie00]

I am having the same delima trying to pick between the FOS Eastern and the AOS Souther (not Aruba one). I LOVE the southern route but the new ship appeals to me. I want the new BEDDING !!!

Are the rooms more attractive in real life on the AOS...the pictures make the colors not too pretty imho.

I would love to hear more comparisons. For us...the airfare is almost the same to Puerto Rico and Miami....just more stops to PR.

we are definately port driven but want the ship to be nice too.:)

[GMoney]

I have done both and, while not a fan of anything bigger than Vision Class, I would choose AOS over FOS.

 

The southern route is so much nicer IMO than the East or West. And as far as the ship goes, FOS was simply too big.

 

If these were my only two choices, I would choose Adventure.

 

I totally agree. Freedom is a lot of hype. I would not pay a premium price to sail her.

[MszKitty]

I did the AOS Aruba route and the FOS. There are pros and cons to both. If you go with the AOS, typically the airfare will be more because you have to fly to Puerto Rico. With the FOS, its typically cheaper to fly to Miami (or in our case, we flew to Ft Lauderdale, which was even cheaper yet, then got transportatin to Miami).

AOS has Aruba. And as someone else mentioned, you are there until midnight. Thats a nice plus.

FOS has Montego Bay ... I wasn't so crazy for that port.

 

Also, as someone mentioned, FOS has the H2O zone. Even I enjoyed that area, and my kids are grown...LOL FOS has Labadee. I enjoyed that beach day much more than I did several years ago when I was there on the Voyager.

 

I know this isn't much help because I loved both ships equally. You can't go wrong with either. Good luck in your decision making.

[spbflseas]

I have yet to do Freedom, but have done Adventure twice (both routes). A couple of considerations. First is weather. If you are looking for warmth in February, leaving from Miami will put you in some cooler temperatures on both the first and last days of your cruise. Adventure starts in the warmth and only goes further south from there. Ports of call. Having done nearly every Caribbean port multiple times, I would rather go back to the southern Caribbean than revist the Western Caribbean. If you have any older people in your group, the tendering process can sometimes be inconvenient. No tendering on the Adventure. Two tender ports on Freedom. Hotel accommodations will likely be a wash. Even as a travel agent, Priceline can be a phenomenal resource for discounted hotel rooms. Cost of the flights may be a more important consideration. Speaking of price, the Adventure is likely going to be the better value. I would rather spend the money on other luxuries...shore excusions, maybe a dinner at Portofino, gambling, etc. As a whole, I lean toward the Adventure in this case. The Adventure is personally my favorite ship. Both times, the cruise was FUN. Hope I have helped. Happy cruising.

[abridalmaven]

I have done both and prefer the Freedom, but would go on either again. I have been to Aruba 2x and if I never went again, it would not bother me at all. I think it is an over hyped island, very dusty, dirty and windy. If I ever go again it will be only to bar hop maybe, no much left for us to see or do there. But if you have never done it, it might be worth seeing once . But once you have done a jeep tour, there is nothing left to do but the beach, which is no different than any of the other islands. I think St John, St Martin and St. Thomas are much nicer and Curacao is pretty.

When we went on the Freedom the ports were not bad, Labadee is great and I was pleasantly surpised how pretty Jamaica was. for me Freedom has more to do, so if I were to do either, I might opt for that.

[WhiteSoxFan]

Another plus for the southern route that I forgot to mention earlier was that we were the only ship in port in Aruba and Curacao and there was only one other small ship in port in St. Maartin. Of course this may not be true any more.