Freedom or Voyager Class for Carribean Cruise??

[dyad1978]

I've posted here before and found your comments very helpful

My sister and I, both in our 20s, are planning on going on a Royal Carribean cruise (our first cruise), either to the Southern or Eastern Carribean, in Jan of 2008. We want a reasonably new cruise ship, with lots of activities, good nightlife, ports with sightseeing, and passengers closer to our age.

Which ship and which itinerary do you think would be best for us?

Thanks,

Dan

[rclcruzer]

I've posted here before and found your comments very helpful

My sister and I, both in our 20s, are planning on going on a Royal Carribean cruise (our first cruise), either to the Southern or Eastern Carribean, in Jan of 2008. We want a reasonably new cruise ship, with lots of activities, good nightlife, ports with sightseeing, and passengers closer to our age.

Which ship and which itinerary do you think would be best for us?

Thanks,

Dan

gosh I wish I could help here, we have been on both classes to both the Eastern and southern carib. and loved them both! Freedom does have the ice-rink, larger rock climbing wall, and the Flowrider, if those things interest you, and both ships are very new, maybe that's the way to go. We were on 2 Voyager class ships and loved them just as much as Freedom, but our kids prefer Freedom due to what I mentioned above.

(Freedom class also has a huge casino and a huge arcade as well :)

Whatever you choose, I am sure you will have a great time! Factoring the ports is important as well, like you mentioned.

Happy Cruising :D

[rclcruzer]

I've posted here before and found your comments very helpful

My sister and I, both in our 20s, are planning on going on a Royal Carribean cruise (our first cruise), either to the Southern or Eastern Caribbean, in Jan of 2008. We want a reasonably new cruise ship, with lots of activities, good nightlife, ports with sightseeing, and passengers closer to our age.

Which ship and which itinerary do you think would be best for us?

Thanks,

Dan

gosh I wish I could help here, we have been on both classes to both the Eastern and southern carib. and loved them both! Freedom does have the ice-rink, larger rock climbing wall, and the Flowrider, if those things interest you, and both ships are very new, maybe that's the way to go. We were on 2 Voyager class ships and loved them just as much as Freedom, but our kids prefer Freedom due to what I mentioned above.

(Freedom class also has a huge casino and a huge arcade as well :)

Whatever you choose, I am sure you will have a great time! Factoring in the ports is important as well, like you mentioned.

Happy Cruising :D

[rclcruzer]

sorry.........DP!

[Cuizer2]

I've posted here before and found your comments very helpful

My sister and I, both in our 20s, are planning on going on a Royal Carribean cruise (our first cruise), either to the Southern or Eastern Carribean, in Jan of 2008. We want a reasonably new cruise ship, with lots of activities, good nightlife, ports with sightseeing, and passengers closer to our age.

Which ship and which itinerary do you think would be best for us?

Thanks,

Dan

 

Well, if you are both in your twenties and you are both looking for passengers closer to your age, I would not be looking southern. The southern itineraries leave from San Juan and the cost to fly there would mean most people are going to be well off, which usually starts around the upper thirties to forties.

 

If you are considering a Freedom class ship, then I would recommend eastern, since there is no tendering. Tendering on the western off the Freedom of the Seas was rather time consuming.

 

If you are looking for a reasonable new ship, then I would recommend the Navigator (2002) or Mariner (2003 - both Voyager class ships) or one of the three Freedom class ships (2006, 2007 & 2008). The Navigator does four and five night cruises out of Ft. Lauderdale. Since the cruises are shorter, it is more likely to have young couples on board. The Mariner does one week cruises out of Port Canaveral until January 2009, when it will reposition to Los Angeles.

 

The Mariner's itineraries are the same as the Freedom's itineraries (see below). So the only advantage is that the Mariner is smaller, and thus tendering is a little easier.

 

The Independence is still being built, and will begin in Europe. So it will be a while before it arrives in US waters. The only difference between the Freedom's western itinerary and the Liberty's western itinerary is the Freedom goes to Ocho Rios while the Liberty goes to Montego Bay. Between those two, I would take the Freedom and Ocho Rios.

 

On the eastern itinerary the advantage is only Labadee is a tender port. All the other ports the ships will dock (given the size of the ships, that is good). The Liberty goes to San Juan, St. Martin & Labadee, with a day at sea between St. Martin and Labadee. The Freedom goes to San Juan, St. Thomas and St. Martin, with no days at sea between any of the ports.

 

I don't see one itinerary drawing a different age group simply because one goes to St. Thomas while the other goes to Labadee. So, having a day at sea between the second and third port is nice (in my opinion). St. Thomas is considered the shopping capital of the Caribbean while Labadee is RCI's private beach. It is a great beach day (if you like beach days) but the area is fenced in (like I said, it is private) and thus there is very little opportunity for sightseeing. If sightseeing is more important than beach days, then go with Freedom's itinerary.

 

Getting back to the Southern itineraries, the one week cruises choices are Serenade and Adventure of the Seas. The Serenade is a Radiance class ship and when compared to the Adventure is likely to draw a slightly older group of passengers, since the Serenade is smaller and there is less to do (no ice or inline skating and no Royal Promenade).

 

The Serenade was built in 2003 and goes to five islands and spends one day at sea. This might result in a younger group of passengers, as five consecutive ports days can be tiring.

 

The Adventure was built in 2001 and goes to four ports with two days at sea, including a day at sea between ports two and three.

 

Other options include:

 

The Empress of the Seas (1990) on nine or eleven night cruises also out of San Juan. Being smaller and going on a longer cruise are both factors that would lead me to believe there will be an older group of passengers on this ship.

 

The Legend of the Seas (1995) out of Santo Domingo also does one week cruises to the southern Caribbean. Again the extra cost of flying and the smaller ship would lead to an older group of passengers while the five ports in a row would lead to a younger group of passengers.

 

Finally there is the Brilliance of the Seas (2002). Leaving out of Miami reduces the cost of flying. However, this ship is doing nine, ten and eleven night southern cruises, which requires people with more vacation time and money (in other words - older).

 

Please understand that most of what I am telling you are my opinions based on very general principles. Nonetheless, I hope this is somewhat helpful.

[ChristieNJ]

Either class of ship, you can't go wrong. I personally love the Freedom class, but that's because I *love* the Flowrider! So if that is something you're definitely interested in doing, then shoot for the Freedom class. There's also the H20 Zone on the Freedom class, but you & your sis won't need that of course, lol. Also there's Sorrento's on the Freedom class, which has great Italian snacks, and I love it there. Those are the major differences. Both classes have ice skating, rock climbing, and host of other activities. The ones I mentioned above are the major differences. :) Let us know what you decide!

[dyad1978]

any more feedback on this topic?