Just got back from the Freedom - Bigger is not always better

[Florida_cruisers]

We just got back yesterday morning from a week cruise on the Freedom of the Seas. This was our first time on a mega ship after sailing other RCL ship classes. We really wanted to see and try out all of the features that the biggers ships offered. Although we had a great cruise and had a lof of fun sailing the Freedom, we came to the conclusion that bigger is not always better. Keep in mind that this is our personal preference...

The Freedom is quite large and never felt crowded, lots of families onboard, which was great since we had our 3 year old boy with us and the grand parents too. The staff is really friendly and the service is outstanding. Kuddos to the Adventure club by the way, they did a great job entertaining the little ones. The one thing we did not like was the fact that it felt really enclosed and not very open to the ocean. Also because of the layout of the ship and so many activities going at once, the clubs and bars are never attended by more than a few people. You just sit there waiting for the party to start or the rest of the people to show up, but it never gets really good because everyone else is doing a million other things going on around the different parts of the ship. This ship runs almost like a circus, with so many things juggling at once, you never got a chance to relax and soak in the true feeling of being on a ship.

Of all of the ships we have sailed on Royal Caribbean we concluded that our favorite ship class is the Radiance class, we loved the Jewel and the Brilliance far more than the Freedom. Again this was just our personal opinion (if it makes a difference we are 32 and 38 years old).

[suni]

Again , all of this is opinion.
I have family on the same ship with you. In talking with them yesterday,they had a wonderful week. They had older children sailing with them. They have cruised on the other classes of ships as well. They loved the ship! The kids had a great tine. However, compared to some other sailings, they felt there were not as many children onboard as some other weeks, They thought the food was good, but not as good as in the past. The wondered if that was because of the size of the ship. They also LOVED the DC, Richard Spacey.
They are 40 ish and the kids pre-teens.
Am now trying to convince them to sail on the Oasis with us!

[tazdeb]

I too found the Radiance to be my favorite. However, my wife and DD love the Voyager/Freedom Class better so we have to cruise those classes. If Oasis ever comes down in price I'll have to try that as it seems to be trying to bring the ocean feeling in by design. The best thing about the Radiance class is the glass everywhere especially in the atrium elevator areas. I hope Oasis steals this concept.

[Desert Cruizers]

Florida Cruisers enjoyed reading your review. My husband & I have only sailed Radiance Class and will be doing our 1st Voyager Class on the Mariner in April 2011 for a group cruise. We love the openess of the Radiance Class, yet are anxious to see the Mariner. We keep an open mind and am sure we will enjoy the Mariner for what she has to offer. I doubt we will ever do the Oasis for awhile, to far to fly for 7 day Cruises.

[sailor moon]

When DH & I sail, we love the Radiance class best for size and all the views of the water. When we take our 2 teens, we enjoy the Voyager class from a teen standpoint. We have not tried the Freedom class or above as I am not ready to deal with the volume of people those ships hold. I love seeing the water and feeling the motion of the ship!

[pg.]

HI,, well, your review is great,, but it makes it sound like it wasn't any problem with the size of the ship( or the food or the service ),, so much as the ship was just not filled with people??
I am thinking that it may have something to do with time of year too.. I bet our spring break cruise will be full,, and bet the nightclubs will be hopping..

[Florida_cruisers]

Originally Posted by pg.

HI,, well, your review is great,, but it makes it sound like it wasn't any problem with the size of the ship( or the food or the service ),, so much as the ship was just not filled with people??
I am thinking that it may have something to do with time of year too.. I bet our spring break cruise will be full,, and bet the nightclubs will be hopping..

We had a full sailing, the ship was completely sold out.

[micro yaya]

Originally Posted by Desert Cruizers

Florida Cruisers enjoyed reading your review. My husband & I have only sailed Radiance Class and will be doing our 1st Voyager Class on the Mariner in April 2011 for a group cruise. We love the openess of the Radiance Class, yet are anxious to see the Mariner. We keep an open mind and am sure we will enjoy the Mariner for what she has to offer. I doubt we will ever do the Oasis for awhile, to far to fly for 7 day Cruises.

you will love the mariner, we cryed when she left florida...........captain johnny is the best and most popular captain in the fleet

[njmomof2]

We cruised Liberty with our then 9.5 and 5 yo kids. They absolutely loved the H2O zone, the flowrider, the rock wall and the ice skating rink, not to mention the promenade. They both loved their respective kid clubs.

We followed up with Mariner, and as many say, Capt. Johnny is one of the best out there. However, my kids missed the H2O zone and the flowrider. And I missed the H2O zone too. It's so great to know that the kids are having fun in that part of the ship and you can sit and watch and not worry. Without the zone, we had to be extra vigilant watching our younger one near the water and it just wasn't as kid friendly as Liberty.

We are booked for Oasis next October and my kids can't wait. I know many feel that it's more circus than ship but when my kids are happy, my vacation is that much better. Conversely, we are booked for a 3 night next month on Carnival Sensation (only have a few days for travel) and that is a smaller, older ship. But it did have Waterworks installed during dry dock so I'm hoping that the kids will have fun.

Hey, being on any ship is better than stuck home, right?

[Rala]

Originally Posted by Florida_cruisers

We just got back yesterday morning from a week cruise on the Freedom of the Seas. This was our first time on a mega ship after sailing other RCL ship classes. We really wanted to see and try out all of the features that the biggers ships offered. Although we had a great cruise and had a lof of fun sailing the Freedom, we came to the conclusion that bigger is not always better. Keep in mind that this is our personal preference...

The Freedom is quite large and never felt crowded, lots of families onboard, which was great since we had our 3 year old boy with us and the grand parents too. The staff is really friendly and the service is outstanding. Kuddos to the Adventure club by the way, they did a great job entertaining the little ones. The one thing we did not like was the fact that it felt really enclosed and not very open to the ocean. Also because of the layout of the ship and so many activities going at once, the clubs and bars are never attended by more than a few people. You just sit there waiting for the party to start or the rest of the people to show up, but it never gets really good because everyone else is doing a million other things going on around the different parts of the ship. This ship runs almost like a circus, with so many things juggling at once, you never got a chance to relax and soak in the true feeling of being on a ship.

Of all of the ships we have sailed on Royal Caribbean we concluded that our favorite ship class is the Radiance class, we loved the Jewel and the Brilliance far more than the Freedom. Again this was just our personal opinion (if it makes a difference we are 32 and 38 years old).

I could have written this identical post as far as the comments about the ship. Unless the cruise is a phenomenal deal, I think we will stick to Radiance and maybe Vision class ships. I thought maybe it was just because we are getting older, but the OP is just about the same age as our kids, so I don't feel like it is an "old fuddy-duddy" thing.

It's nice there are choices for all of us!!!

[Samira0207]

[quote=Florida_cruisers;21710740] Also because of the layout of the ship and so many activities going at once, the clubs and bars are never attended by more than a few people. You just sit there waiting for the party to start or the rest of the people to show up, but it never gets really good because everyone else is doing a million other things going on around the different parts of the ship. quote]

that's sad to hear my fiance & I are very outgoing & big nighttime people so i hope that the bars/clubs are good at night...but we're sailing with friends; so even if it's just the 4 of us; I'm sure we'll order a few rounds of drinks and get our own party started

[akcruz]

[quote=Samira0207;21713412]

Originally Posted by Florida_cruisers

Also because of the layout of the ship and so many activities going at once, the clubs and bars are never attended by more than a few people. You just sit there waiting for the party to start or the rest of the people to show up, but it never gets really good because everyone else is doing a million other things going on around the different parts of the ship. quote]

that's sad to hear my fiance & I are very outgoing & big nighttime people so i hope that the bars/clubs are good at night...but we're sailing with friends; so even if it's just the 4 of us; I'm sure we'll order a few rounds of drinks and get our own party started

I have to agree with the OP on this one. Last year we noticed the same thing, finally realized there were so many places for people to hang out they were spread all around the ship. We also were on a sold out sailing so was surprised. We too like to chat with others on board, not have the bar/club all to oursevles.

[Samira0207]

[quote=akcruz;21713483]

Originally Posted by Samira0207

I have to agree with the OP on this one. Last year we noticed the same thing, finally realized there were so many places for people to hang out they were spread all around the ship. We also were on a sold out sailing so was surprised. We too like to chat with others on board, not have the bar/club all to oursevles.

Well, at least i'll know this going forward...if the nighttime activities seem under populated I'll know exactly why; guess it's best to hop around to several places and try to take in everything that is offered.

[clancy43]

I have been on the Mariner with my 2 kids (15 & 17 at the time) and they had a good time but 7 days was about 2 days too long for such close quarters ~ we had two cabins for 4 people. Hubs and I greatly enjoyed the ships amenities and the cast and crew were great ~ just finished a 3 nite on Monarch of the Seas and felt the service was a bit better on the smaller ships (also sailed on Grandeur of the Seas) the entertainment was far better on the Mariner; however the food was best on Monarch. Currently looking for a 5 day that we can do as I think this may be best. I am concerned that the smaller ships may not offer enough for my young adults as clubbing is not our thing.

[abridalmaven]

I am an old "fuddy duddy" and I perfer the larger ships, Radiance size and smaller are ok , but not MY preference.

[HOHSgunny]

Originally Posted by micro yaya

you will love the mariner, we cryed when she left florida...........captain johnny is the best and most popular captain in the fleet

My understanding is that Capt Johnny is now in charge of the FOS

[Sky616]

I was on this sailing as well and I agree with Florida Cruisers that most of the bars were not full due to the many things going on around the ship. The only exception to that was the Schooner Bar where we tried twice to get a seat but could not find one.

As for us I was really suprised about how crowded it seemed. The windjammer was unreal. We couldn't find a seat about half the time. And for the theatre we arrived 15 minutes before every show we attended and were pretty much relegated to the sides of the stage on the main floor and balconies. I remember on other ships we arrived 5-10 minutes before each show and could always find a seat in the middle section. Don't get me wrong we had a great time. Richard Spacey as always was great. I swear that guy is hilarious and truly loves his job. The weather was outstanding. Hot and sunny all week. We had an hour downpour in Cozumel and that was it. The production shows were the best I've ever seen on any ship. They had a Beatles tribute band one night and found myself singing along. They looked like the Beatles and sounded like them and even moved like the Beatles. I'm only 38 so I don't remember many songs. The RC singers and dancers were terriffic and there was a good comedian on the first night. So there were a lot of good points but it just felt a little crowded sometimes.

[CruiseLover15]

The Freedom is my favorite ship to date, but I have only sailed the Voyager and Freedom class. I will have to try the Radiance class some day soon.

[akcruz]

Originally Posted by HOHSgunny

My understanding is that Capt Johnny is now in charge of the FOS

Captain Johnny is still on the Mariner as of now. Rumor is he is heading to the Allure when it begins its sailings next year.

[HeavySurf]

Originally Posted by abridalmaven

I am an old "fuddy duddy" and I perfer the larger ships, Radiance size and smaller are ok , but not MY preference.

Hey! Me too. I am 66. The bigger the ship, the better for me. Can't wait to sail on Oasis.