Are Freedom and Liberty too big?

[CaribbeanCrush]

We are just back from a cruise on Navigator and we are thinking that we want to take the kids with us next year. We were planning on the same ship and itinerary. But it looks like our only choices will be Freedom or Liberty. We both agreed that Navigator was big enough and we both agreed that we did think we wanted to cruise on a ship any bigger than that. Will we be overwhelmed by the size of these ships?

[nlcentralchmps03]

I have never sailed one, but I don't think so.

 

They seem to handle the mass amount of people well.

[nlcentralchmps03]

Darn You

[nlcentralchmps03]

Cruise

[nlcentralchmps03]

Critic

[Jay Bee]

We are just back from a cruise on Navigator and we are thinking that we want to take the kids with us next year. We were planning on the same ship and itinerary. But it looks like our only choices will be Freedom or Liberty. We both agreed that Navigator was big enough and we both agreed that we did think we wanted to cruise on a ship any bigger than that. Will we be overwhelmed by the size of these ships?

 

I don't think it's that the size of the ship itself is overwhelming, but consider how many more people there are to get on and off at ports and how crowded ports can get. I have decided that if I have to tender, I would prefer a ship that had, oh, maybe 30 passengers tops. ;)

 

Jan

[globetrotter7]

Hello,

I've sailed on the Freedom and it is huge. However, the only difference I noticed vs. the Navigator was outside on the decks, where the Freedom

has a greater beam (width). I would go with the Freedom which has some different activities for the children.

Rob

[The Big Booper]

We have been on the Freedom and the Adventure / Navigator. The only time we noticed the difference was getting off at the end of the trip. The luggage was handled with carousels, similar to an airport and there were lots of sections. That is when you aware that you have been with 4000 + people on the trip.

 

Also, while on board, it took longer for the rear elevators to show up. Not enough elevators to handle the 800 + more people and the programming was deficient as they traveled in herd mode.

 

Other than this the Freedom type played just like a Voyager type. If you liked the Navigator you will like the Freedom. Surfs Up !!!! :)

[isujim]

IMO................YES...............

 

Radiance Class Please:)

[negc]

It really is a matter of personal opinion as to whether or not Liberty and Freedom are too big. Actually,IMHO they do not seem that much bigger than the Voyager class ships, so if you were not put off by the size of Navigator et al. you should be perfectly happy onboard Freedom or Liberty. As others have stated, we believe that Radiance class is an ideal size and has some features that we like better than the Voyager class, but we have also enjoyed our cruises on Explorer, Voyager, Mariner (twice) and Freedom of the Seas. If you are taking kids along, the H2O zone, Surfrider® and other features will prove especially attractive to them.

[Silvery Seas Cruiser]

Freedom did not seem dramatically bigger than Mariner of the Seas to me. We liked Freedom so much we signed on for LIberty late in May. There are features on each class of RCI ship that we enjoy. I don't have a favorite class of RCI ship. The itinerary is the main thing.

 

If I had children sailing with me, I would choose Freedom or Liberty because the H2O Zone is a paradise for kids and the Flow Rider is fabulous for older kids. The ice skating show was amazing.

 

The only ship I am concerned about is the upcoming Genesis. Now that is a ship that may seem too big...but even then I'll give RCI the benefit of the doubt because they do very well with handling large numbers of passengers...most of the time.

[rccl9876]

No they handle the crowd very well. They also just have more and more things to keep you and your kids entertained. I think unless you enjoy the feel of a smaller ship (The rocking) you will enjoy a larger ship just as well

[rccl9876]

The only bad experiance I have had with RCI and crowd mangement was on time going through customs on the ship. We got there early and the line swung all the way around to the other side of the promenade. When they opened up the doors to the dining room where customs was everyone at the back of the line simply turned around and merged in with the front of the line who had been waiting for an hour. RCI's staff did nothing about this. But for the most part they are on top of things like that

[abridalmaven]

IMHO...... NO, it was less crowded than any ship we have been on.

[FitzLA]

It won't feel that much larger than Navigator cause it isn't much larger and the extra activities, like the h2o zone, keep all the kids busy. We had a sold out cruise in october and it still only took us 40 minutes to get through customs and into the cab. The extra size and people is not that noticible. You will love it.

[Firefighterhoop]

With kids, I would for sure say the Freedom/Liberty! They have the water park (H20 Zone) That the kids seemed to really enjoy. Even the main pool almost had NO Kids in it due to the H20 Zone!

 

If the kids are older I am sure they will enjoy the surfing area, and other stuff.

[zqvol]

The problem with these ships is not so much the size when you are on board, but when they hit a port.

 

None of the Caribbean ports really have the infrastructure to handle these giants. Can you imagine St. Thomas or St. Martin with one of these giants, one of Carnival's new ships, the QM2, the Queen Victoria, and a few small ships there? The answer is wall to wall people.

 

IMO these large ships are going to become destinations in themselves and port calls will be unheard of, they will simply do week to 10 day long cruises to no where.

 

My main reason for cruisng is to explore the various ports of call, not the ship and I think even the Radiance class ships are too big.

 

I guess we will wait and see what happens.