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Freedom of the Seas/Carnival Freedom

evolutiondob

By evolutiondob,
in Carnival Cruise Lines

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evolutiondob

evolutiondob

Posted
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Ok, I'm traveling with two children - ages 17 and 12. If there was just a $200 difference in cost for a Thanksgiving cruise between the two ships (with RCI being the higher of the two) which ship would you go on? Itineraries are the same. Honestly, I have no particular preference as I've only cruised once, but this cruise is for my children and I want for them to have a memorable experience. I'm really stuck here so any advice would be great. I am currently booked on both ships and need to cancel one.

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blackwing Great Review Rare

blackwing

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I love Carnival, but for only a $200 difference I'd be tempted to try out RCI because of all the activities your kids would probably love. Rock climbing wall, surfboard flow rider, roller blade track, ice rink. The Carnival ships are nice, but Freedom of the Seas is like a floating city. That 4 story interior Royal Promenade looks like an indoor mall.

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kristikae

kristikae

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Is that $200 per person or total?

 

If it's total then I'd try RCI. They do have a lot of extras. If your kids were younger I'd say definately Carnival as Camp Carnival is the best out there! With the age of your kids I think they'd like the activities on RCI better.

 

Either way you can't go wrong.

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evolutiondob

evolutiondob

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Kristi,

 

Yes, that's $200 total - actually $209 to be exact. I was kind of wondering if the kids really have an opportunity to participate in all of those activities or if there is a really long line. I've heard some folks say that they can only rock climb once or twice during a cruise because of the number of people or that the ice skating rink is only open for a couple of hours during the day.

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Cuizer2

Cuizer2

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Kristi,

 

Yes, that's $200 total - actually $209 to be exact. I was kind of wondering if the kids really have an opportunity to participate in all of those activities or if there is a really long line. I've heard some folks say that they can only rock climb once or twice during a cruise because of the number of people or that the ice skating rink is only open for a couple of hours during the day.

 

For $200 I would go for RCI, but for $209, I don't know. Just kidding. Your concerns about the lines are valid. However, the reason the ice skating line and the rock climbing line and the Flowrider lines on Carnival are shorter is because those activities are not offered on Carnival. That just means more people in the pool and on the slide. By the way, the lines for the slide on the Freedom of the Seas are really short. Yes you guessed it, Freedom of the Seas does not have a slide.

 

Given the age of your kids, unless they just cannot get enough of the water slide, I think they would enjoy the Freedom of the Seas more. If they are interested in rock climbing or Flowrider surfing or ice skating, then they have a better chance of being able to do these activities on the Freedom of the Seas (even with a long line) than on the Carnival Freedom. If they are not interested in these activities, then save the extra $209 for a shore excursion and go with Carnival. Either way I think you will have a great time.

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FitzLA

FitzLA

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I love Carnival, but for only a $200 difference I'd be tempted to try out RCI because of all the activities your kids would probably love. Rock climbing wall, surfboard flow rider, roller blade track, ice rink. The Carnival ships are nice, but Freedom of the Seas is like a floating city. That 4 story interior Royal Promenade looks like an indoor mall.

 

I can tell you from experience that Freedom of the Seas awesome. Your kids will love it. There is really nothing to compare it to, so if price is not an issue, I would go for Freedom o/t Seas. The H20 zone water parks is the coolest for kids, the solarium is a nice spot for you to get away from the kids, the flowrider is a blast, the promenade has the addition of Sorrentos Pizza with pizza, antipasto, deserts etc. A full Ben & Jerrys was a nice addition also. And don't forget Johnny Rockets up on the sports deck. I could go on and on, but I won't. Just let me know if you have any questions. We are about to book Carnival Splendor for our next cruise, but we don't have kids so we don't need to do a Freedom class again. Once was enough for us. lol.

 

Ok, I'm traveling with two children - ages 17 and 12. If there was just a $200 difference in cost for a Thanksgiving cruise between the two ships (with RCI being the higher of the two) which ship would you go on? Itineraries are the same. Honestly, I have no particular preference as I've only cruised once, but this cruise is for my children and I want for them to have a memorable experience. I'm really stuck here so any advice would be great. I am currently booked on both ships and need to cancel one.

 

There is no roller blade track on Freedom of the Seas. That is only Voyager class ships.

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Cuizer2

Cuizer2

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I can tell you from experience that Freedom of the Seas awesome. Your kids will love it. There is really nothing to compare it to, so if price is not an issue, I would go for Freedom o/t Seas.

 

What about Liberty of the Seas? :confused:

 

Sorry, but I could not resist. :o

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FitzLA

FitzLA

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What about Liberty of the Seas? :confused:

 

Sorry, but I could not resist. :o

 

 

ROFL! Okay, so I change my wording to There is nothing to compare a Freedom Class ship too. lol.

 

Very funny, though.

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Cuizer2

Cuizer2

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ROFL! Okay, so I change my wording to There is nothing to compare a Freedom Class ship too. lol.

 

Very funny, though.

 

Genesis class?

 

I'm not getting much work done, but I sure am having fun. :)

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crusinmama06

crusinmama06

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Oh there is NO doubt...FREEDOM OF THE SEAS!!!! I just got off there on Sunday and it was the most magnificent ship I had ever seen. The service is 2nd to none. I cannot tell you how pampered we were. The dining staff and our cabin attendant addressed me and my children by name. Soooo many extras it is just too hard to comprehend. And I am not talking about the ice skating, rock wall climbing, flow rider surfing or golfing cause I didn't have time to do ANY of those. I am talking about the Solarium adult only area. I feel asleep there twice! The promenade with Seattles best coffee...you can pick up sandwiches there anytime and the cookies/desserts of the day...HEAVEN...all included in the price. Then there was sorrentos pizza which included all of their pasta salads, seafood salads and Italian desserts...ALL included. Ben and Jerry's...you DO have to pay a small price for that when you eat there but it was worth it.

 

Here are some pictures. The ship is phenomenal. And with only $200 difference...no doubt go for it

 

Flatscreen TV's in the room!

 

And IF you go suite class...holy moly did we get ALOT of extras. We had champagne upon Priority embarkation....robes, fruit/nut tray one night, ice show tickets, congierge lounge with open bar, fresh flowers in the room...it just went on and on.

 

IMG_0864.jpg

IMG_0867.jpg

IMG_0866.jpg

IMG_0717.jpg

IMG_0750.jpg

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eeyore81

eeyore81

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We are leaving on our 4th Carnival cruise in a week. Last week we were considering taking the Freedom in November, but saw that the Freedom on the Seas was so close to Carnival in price that we decided to give RC a try. The only problem we ran into was that they only have cabins for 2 available, so we have to find one more person to go with us (that was really tough :p ). We are looking forward to trying something new in November. Which ever one you choose, I am sure you will have a great time!!!!

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Jayfo

Jayfo

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My DD and I watched "Great Cruises: Freedom of the Seas" just the other day on the Travel Channel. They showed everything on the FOS. It looks awesome! Anyhoo, they are showing a repeat this Sunday.

I keep waiting for that program to show a Carnival ship...;)

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crusinmama06

crusinmama06

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My DD and I watched "Great Cruises: Freedom of the Seas" just the other day on the Travel Channel. They showed everything on the FOS. It looks awesome! Anyhoo, they are showing a repeat this Sunday.

I keep waiting for that program to show a Carnival ship...;)

 

Agreed! We taped this and my kids watched it all of the time...just waiting patiently for the cruise.

 

Richard Spacey, the cruise director, was so hilarious! I usually don't pay any attention to cruise directors but he was hard to ignore.

 

And evolutiondob if you have a computer that has some speed to it, take a look at this site...

www.freedomoftheseas.com

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