Mariner or Liberty?

[kruzerci]

The divorce is final as of Friday and I finally have time to book another cruise! I'm taking my two kids (17 and 19) to kind of unwind from all the stress their mom put them through the last 7 months.

 

I think we can all fit in a JS. My options are Liberty of the Seas 6/7/08 and Mariner of the Seas 6/8/08, both are the Eastern itenerary. I've been on both Voyager and Freedom class, so that doesn't really matter to me. The price is almost exactly the same and cabins are similar. I'll use frequent flyer miles either way, so which one should I go with? I'm leaning towards Mariner because I think I actually prefer Voyager class over Freedom, but Liberty is just a year old and Mariner is pushing 5.

 

Any ideas either way?

[cb at sea]

I think either ship would be fine! RCI really does maintain their ships, so age shouldn't be a factor! We love Voyager class, too, but Freedom is basically Voyager--stretched!

 

Flip a coin!

[ranger-red]

For the same $, take the Liberty it is newer ship. We have sailed both and are scheduled for the March 30th on the Mariner due to the cost difference. We love them both but the Liberty is newer and bigger. Either one would be great, though.

[Merion_Mom]

Yes, the 3 of you will be very comfortable and happy in a JS.

 

Since you have sailed on both classes, you know as much about these ships as anyone. You can't go wrong with either choice.

 

Figure out which airport is more convenient, schedule-wise, to fly into, and use that to guide you, since you say that the cruisefares are comparable. (I'm not overly fond of either Miami or Orlando airports)

 

Actually, I'm not all that fond of flying these days, period.

[FLACRUISER99]

The major difference between the two classes is Freedom class has more people.

[Sue Dawson]

I notice no one has mentioned ports that are visited. I believe but haven't actually checked these 2 dates that Mariner has 4 ports and Liberty visits 3 ports. This may be a factor depending on whether you like to spend a lot of time on the ship or enjoy the ports more. We did both east/west on Mariner and this year we are doing Liberty west. We chose the west vs east because of the extra port. I'm sure you will have a fabulous trip no matter what you choose.

[LLindaC]

I can't believe that nobody has mentioned the FlowRider! The teens just go CRAZY over that thing! We just got off Liberty and I've done Mariner twice. Go for the Liberty!!!

[kruzerci]

Yes, the 3 of you will be very comfortable and happy in a JS.

 

Since you have sailed on both classes, you know as much about these ships as anyone. You can't go wrong with either choice.

 

Figure out which airport is more convenient, schedule-wise, to fly into, and use that to guide you, since you say that the cruisefares are comparable. (I'm not overly fond of either Miami or Orlando airports)

 

Actually, I'm not all that fond of flying these days, period.

 

Haha, that's true.

 

I'm not too fond of flying these days, either, but considering I have to fly at least once a week for work, it's just a part of life now. At least I can rack up a bunch of FF miles. I'd rather drive, but when I thought about it, I drive an Escalade, my daughter drives a Yukon, and my son drives an F-150, so no matter which car we took, it would be a fortune in gas round trip :eek: . We might as well fly and save the time and gas.