Family Cruise Decision RCCL Liberty of Sea Vs Carnival Glory & Liberty

[dobytn]

Hey all,

Me and my partner just recently adopted a set of 8 year old twin boys from an orphanage and want to take them on their first cruise.

 

We are planning on going May 24 or June 1st depending on the ship and ports of call for the ship. Ship is mainly my concern. We have looked the RCCL Liberty of the Seas outside and balcony and also the Carnival Glory & Liberty also.

 

Being a former Princess and NCL passenger, I know nothing about RCCL and Carnival ships.

 

We want the kids to have fun but give us time alone also.

 

I know the Liberty of the Seas has the waterpark, skating ring, etc and I even heard they may have anytime dining in one of the main dining rooms. The Carnival Glory and Liberty are sister ships but Liberty has the movie under the stars which is a perk. I know both Carnival ships have waterslides. So here is my questions?

 

1.Which line has the better kids program?

2.Which ship is better RCCL Liberty of Seas, Carnival Glory, or Carnival Liberty for the boys?

3.Should we do outside or Balcony for them? I think that the bigger the cabin the better.

4. How much are soda cards on these ships for whole cruise?

5. How is it taking the assigned seating versus the anytime dining with kids?

 

Sorry for asking so much but really stuck. By the way all these ships are doing the eastern Carribean. Any ideas for things for them to do on the islands?

 

Thanks for all your help from a new dad here.

Dobytn:o

[timmy1958]

I can't speak for RCCL ships (yet) but my wife and I were on the Carnival Glory, and I would say it is VERY family friendly. Get the balcony if you can, but it isn't a must, since you will spend a lot of time up on deck anyway. Soda cards are around $29 for the week I think. Dining is what you make it - I wouldn't worry about assigned vs. anytime. Lots to do for both kids and grown-ups.

[crusinmama06]

Here I go again (RCCL, you BETTER start paying me commission)

 

With the Freedom Ships (Liberty included), RCCL created innovative family things that haven't appeared on any other cruiseline.

 

My kids think there is no better ship than a Freedom Class ship. Yes, Carnival and RCCL both have a great kids program. But for the ship itself, Liberty of the Seas is like nothing Carnival has.

 

--H20 zone water park (even has a lazy donut...lol...where kids can float around like a lazy river)

--FRESH water pools

--Flowrider Surfing

--Ice Skating Rink

--Rock Climbing

--Sorento's Pizza (Pizza, salads, desserts, breads), Cafe Promenade (sandwiches and cookies), Johnny Rockets, Ben & Jerry's, Sprinkles Self Serve Ice Cream

--When you want some adult alone time there is an ADULT only area called the Solarium (heaven on earth)

 

If you have the money to do it, then do a Liberty of the Seas balcony. There are many parents returning from their first Liberty of the Seas trip on this board. So you'll be able to find alot of recent info and reviews.

 

I'll post some of my pics here

 

[QTMichele]

Michele - I love reading your posts! They are always so positive and really show your enthusiasm for RCI! :) (Yes, you should be paid a commission! lol) We'll be going on a Freedom class next year... are there any significant differences that you know of between the ships besides itinerary? I'd appreciate your thoughts (and anyone else's!). :)

[crusinmama06]

Michele - I love reading your posts! They are always so positive and really show your enthusiasm for RCI! :) (Yes, you should be paid a commission! lol) We'll be going on a Freedom class next year... are there any significant differences that you know of between the ships besides itinerary? I'd appreciate your thoughts (and anyone else's!). :)

 

Differences between Freedom class ships? Honestly, the color of the beds...lol. Freedom was blue, Liberty is green and I don't know what color Independence is. :p

 

That's about it. ;)

 

One might start Freestyle type dining. Freedom had it on a couple of sailings.

 

I found the crew on Freedom to be over the top nice. :D

[QTMichele]

Michele, Thanks for your thoughts! Blue or green, eh? Decisions, decisions. ;)

[siryn]

We sailed the Adventure of the Seas (our only RC cruise) and the Carnival Glory and Conquest. We have 2 boys ages 8 and soon to be 12. My 12 year old loved the Adventure of the Seas, the rock wall, skating, etc. But my 8 year old preferred the Carnival ships. He loved the Camp Carnival program, and honestly I thought it was the better run and staffed kids program.

 

One big difference for the boys is Carnival has late night parties. Each night a different age group had a party that lasted until 1 am for my 8 year old, or with my 11 year old until 3:30 am. The charge for these parties was around $24 and the boys had the best time. My oldest was brought to our cabin at 3:30 am by the Camp Carnival staff (they have a cabin drop off service for the really late parties). He had the biggest smile on his face. Not only did he get to stay up until 3:30am, but his face was painted with war paint and they had been playing capture the flag on the boat. He said it was the best part of the entire cruise.

 

Carnival had scavenger hunts for the kids that they really enjoyed also. Plus they have a build a bear type deal where you pay for the bear (I think $16) and the kids stuff them and then color a t-shirt. The last day of the cruise the boys got to color Camp Carnival t-shirts to keep.

 

Also the boys got decorated cookies on their pillows twice during the cruise. And the entertainment during dinner was more fun also. And both boys thought the food was better on Carnival.

 

On the Adventure of the Seas, Lowes sponsored a ship building kit where the boys got to make their own minature version of the ship, very similar to the Saturday morning Lowes kids projects. And my oldest got to color a pillowcase and my youngest got a scarf. One nice thing Royal Caribbean did do was have the kids show up in the dining room during the late dinner hour and they sang a pirate song. It was adorable.

 

We are sailing next month on the Carnival Miracle and both boys are excited. They know the Miracle does not have as much stuff on it like the Rock wall, but they are excited to be sailing on Carnival again.

[crusinmama06]

One big difference for the boys is Carnival has late night parties. Each night a different age group had a party that lasted until 1 am for my 8 year old, or with my 11 year old until 3:30 am.

 

Plus they have a build a bear type deal where you pay for the bear (I think $16) and the kids stuff them and then color a t-shirt.

 

You're right, they do both have exceptional programs. My kids loved both of them.

 

I just wanted to let you know that RCCL does have a "Late Night Party Zone" it starts at 10pm and runs till 1am for the 6-8 crowd (later for the older kids). It's $6 per hour for the first child, $4 for any additional children.

 

And build a bear is up to $29.97 now (up from $19.97 just a year ago). Inflation ;)

 

Here are some of the choices. The new ones (for $29.97) come in sailor suits and hats.

 

[njmomof2]

We were on Liberty in November and paid $5/hour for each of the boys (1 in the 9-11 group, 1 in the 3-5 group). The older group didn't seem to go past 1 AM but then again, we only let them stay until 11 since we had things to do in the morning.

 

Both of my kids loved it. We leave in just about 2 weeks for Mariner and I'm hoping they meet some new friends there as well. I'm going to see if I can get them to let my younger ds move up to the 6-8 group as he'll be 6 in July but is finishing up kindergarten and really is too old for a group with 3 yo little kids in it. I know they try to tailor the program to suit all the kids but if there are mostly littlies, he'll get too bored. We'll see though.

[Dr_DNA]

I voted Liberty because:

 

1. I'd love to sail on her or another Freedom class ship.

2. There are so many "active" things to do for us and our son; even more than on a Voyager class ship (and that was plenty to keep us busy for 9 days!)

3. We had a good experience with AO on the Explorer in the past and overall, a great experience with RCCL. They "fit" us quite well as we are a very active family. We love the ice rink, rock wall, minature golf, inline skating, etc. So, if it's not broken, don't try to fix it.

4. Carnival (through no fault of their own) doesn't have the "family" atmosphere image in my mind. I see them as catering more to the party crowd. That might not be true, but that is the image that I have in my head.

 

We're going to wait to book a Freedom class cruise until our son gets old enough to enjoy the flowrider- he'll be devistated if he can't do it. They have one at Hershey Park and he was fascinated with it. It was a huge disappointment for him last year that he couldn't go on it. This year, he should be tall enough by the time summer comes around (we need 3/4 of an inch, but his shoes probably provide 1/4 of that).

[stsomewhere]

We just sailed on Carnival,DS-9 and DS-7 liked RCCL kid program better. They felt that Carnivals treated them like babies. They did go to the all night parties, but felt that the activities during the day were not much fun. Alot of trivia and crossword puzzles. RCL has slime and water balloon, survivior night, beaach themes etc.

We are sailing on the Explorer next MArch. The kid are so excited.