Freedom vs. Liberty

[maggieworkman]

Wow! I was curious and priced out my Freedom trip vs. Liberty and the diffence in cost is $1282!!

 

Freedom June 6

2 in D1 cabin and 3 in K cabin = $6155 (cruise fair only, no taxes, fees, etc)

 

Liberty June 13

2 in D1 cabin and 3 in K cabin = $4873

 

We will fly to either so no big difference in transportation costs.

 

Maggie

[kruzerci]

Ours comes out to $4223 on Freedom for 3 in a D1 or $3599 in a Liberty D1 the following week. The cheapest air I can get right now is $250 p/p, so that brings Liberty about a hundred dollars higher. But, being optimistic and hoping for 17 MPG my wife's Yukon, gas would cost about $200, plus $150 for parking.

 

So basically it comes down to, save the measly $300 and go on Liberty, or go on Freedom and have a somewhat better itinerary.

 

I think we're sticking with Freedom because she will be fresh out of dry dock, St. Thomas is on the itinerary, and driving will let us not have to worry about how much we're bringing and what not.

 

Still not positive, but it looks like Freedom for us.

[MrsPete]

We are staying at the Holiday Inn, just across from Bayside, it's not the best hotel, but they have nice suites, which we plan to share, and you can walk across the street to eat and shop.

We're leaning towards stopping in Fort Lauderdale, which would leave us only about 30 minutes from the port, but I'll look into this Holiday Inn. With four teenaged girls, we need a suite.

As far a tolls, depending on where in NC your from...I95 in FL to Miami has no tolls, but if you are west or in middle of state and come down I75, it is quicker to jump on the turnpike and that adds up, but we think its worth it!!

We're in the middle of NC, so our directions to Florida look something like this: Take 77 South to 26, in the middle of SC, pick up 95 and stick to it all the way through Florida. Is there a better way? My computer program says getting on 75 would add about 150 miles to our distance; that can't possibly be worthwhile.

Driving to PC is regular driving, once you get South of WPB I95 & even the Turnpike change drastically. You can easily be bumper top bumper going 5mph for miles.

I've never been farther than Port Canaveral on the Atlantic side of Florida, so I didn't know 95 is bad after Port Canaveral area. Any suggestions?

Wouldn't it be nice to live in FL and just have someone or yourself to drive to a port and get on?

Oh, yes!

Wow! I was curious and priced out my Freedom trip vs. Liberty and the diffence in cost is $1282!!

We're right there with you -- our price difference is $1287. Prices for my family, six people, oceanview rooms, same week:

 

Freedom: $8343

Liberty: $7056

 

Of course, when we changed to Liberty, we were able to get one of the few "balcony connected to oceanview" room pairs, so we raised our price a little by taking that -- but we're still under the Freedom price. I can't believe there's such a difference.

[HB Cruiser]

You might try http://www.valuetrips.com for a hotel in FTL. We stayed at the Hyatt Place in FTL precruise, booked here, got the room very reasonable.

 

Tim

[kruzerci]

You will have a much more international passenger mix on the Liberty this time of year. Last week's pax load was over 50% international with nearly 40% of the ship from Brazil. This is due to MIA being the major international airport for incoming South and Central American travelers and it's winter in the southern hemisphere right now so they are escaping their winter and coming north to the sunny Caribbean for their holidays.

 

We have found the flexibility of getting from the FLL and MIA airports to the ports is easier and cheaper than getting from MCO to Port Canaveral but we have to fly in as it's a 20 - 25 hour drive from the northern Ohio area.

 

I second that the Liberty is going to have a more diverse passenger mix. When we were on a couple weeks ago, less than 40% of the passengers were American. Many of our fellow passengers spoke Spanish as their first language, but most of them spoke at least some English. I think this is fairly common sailing out of Miami, when we sailed on the Freedom, the passenger demographics were similar. It didn't bother us, but it's definitely a different experience if you've never sailed out of Miami before, so keep an open mind.

[bmvcanton]

Here is the info for the hotel if your interested, I don't know any prices because when we stayed in 2007, our TA got us upgraded to the suite, so I have no idea.

 

HOLIDAY INN PORT OF MIAMI

340 BISCAYNE BLVD

MIAMI, FLORIDA 33132 USA

1-305-371-4400

 

Also, I95 is the better route to take in FL as far as not paying tolls, and yes it can get busy getting down to MIami, but it is no worse than any other major city, it's actually not as bad as most. If you stay in Fort Lauderdale, I just would certainly allow plenty of time, I've never felt bad getting anywhere to early!!

 

On another note....being from up near I77, do you have any idea when they do the balloon fest near Statesville??

 

Beth

[maggieworkman]

I'm seriously considering changing from Freedom to Liberty now. But I would lose the on board credit I received from the travel agent plus the reduced deposit and free gratuities. Although the Liberty is still cheaper even if I subtract off all those.

 

I might wait to see if there is a WOW sale by Royal Caribbean soon and switch then? I'm pretty sure the WOW sale is only good for new bookings, so if I switch now I will lose out on the opportunity to get the sale price later.

 

Hmmm. Decisions... Decisions ...

 

By the way I haven't been to any of the ports on either itinerary except Cococay.

 

Maggie

[HB Cruiser]

I'm seriously considering changing from Freedom to Liberty now. But I would lose the on board credit I received from the travel agent plus the reduced deposit and free gratuities. Although the Liberty is still cheaper even if I subtract off all those.

 

I might wait to see if there is a WOW sale by Royal Caribbean soon and switch then? I'm pretty sure the WOW sale is only good for new bookings, so if I switch now I will lose out on the opportunity to get the sale price later.

 

Hmmm. Decisions... Decisions ...

 

By the way I haven't been to any of the ports on either itinerary except Cococay.

 

Maggie

 

Are you sure you would lose all of the benefits if you changed? I believe if your TA would contact RCCL and keep your current booking number, just change ships, you might get to keep all those benefits.

 

Tim

[GatorWop]

I am assuming this change is a result of the Oasis entering service with a Saturday departure from Port Everglades.

[ehfl]

Liberty is farther south...meaning a shorter distance it has to travel to the Caribbean...and less fuel...hence, less cost. Simple logic.

[BadBoysDriveAudi]

Starting in a couple months, both will be Sunday departures. We're also considering moving to Liberty, both good iteneraries, Liberty is $600 cheaper, but we would pay that in airfare to Miami and can drive to Canaveral. We just can't decide!

 

In your case, let the itinerary decide your choice as both ships are identical. I sailed the Freedom on an eastern route back when it set sail from Miami. I would speculate that the price difference is a combination of sailing out of P/C and the date of departure.

 

The Liberty switches itineraries each week, as did the Freedom back when it sailed from Miami. I haven't looked to see if the Freedom is strictly one-sided now but I would suspect it also switches itineraries weekly.

[Gater Girl]

We're driving from North Carolina. It's a good nine hours, which is very do-able without killing ourselves . . . but 3.5 would bring us up to more like 13 hours of driving time. That means leaving super-early in the morning, stopping for two meals on the road, multiple gas stops, and still arriving very late. Possible? Certainly! Realistic with four teenagers? Not so much.

 

Mic Streets & Trips says that Port Canaveral is 568 miles from my house, while Miami is 757 miles. So you're probably right on track with the 3.5 hours, but that on top of what's already a full day's drive is a little much. And that's assuming that everything goes well: no traffic jams, no accidents, no closed roads.

 

If we were in, say, southern Georgia, Miami would be drive-able in one day, and I'd be all over the idea of booking the less expensive ship AND driving to save money. But from my front porch, it doesn't look all that realistic.

 

You can take the Florida Turnpike. It has not much traffic on it..no redlights...gas and restroom stops. I think you can pick it up at Melbourne? Daytona..Cape Canerval Area ( Port Orlando ...I still use the old name). It does cost, but not much. We took it once to Miami and it was a breeze. Eliminating the heavy traffic on the freeway makes for good, safe time. Can your husband or one of the teenagers,( if they have a valid license) spell you for a few hours?

 

That said......Port Caniveral is my favorite port. It is easy to board..and if you get there a day early..it has a lovely beach at Cocoa Beach.

Happy Cruising.

[kenevenpar]

Liberty is farther south...meaning a shorter distance it has to travel to the Caribbean...and less fuel...hence, less cost. Simple logic.

 

Not correct. It is simply supply and demand, and port charges.

 

In your case, let the itinerary decide your choice as both ships are identical.

 

Not quite, Liberty is currently the largest cruise ship. It is two inches longer than Freedom and Independence:D