Freedom vs. Harmony with 2 & 4 year olds

After a two year cruising hiatus I decided that we are GOING on a cruise in January. My kids will have just turned 2&4 at this point, only one of which will be classified as potty trained. When our son was 14 mos we took him on the independence and though I wouldn't call it a relaxing vacation, it was nice. Pre children, for our honeymoon, we were on the Allure and though it was big and crowded in the common places, there were some things that I think the kids would love. I'm not too concerned with the kids clubs as I don't see that happening, but I'd like to know if both boats have the toddler splash area that was on the independence and if there is a height requirement for carousel on freedom. Also, any other tidbit or opinion would be great. We can can get 8 days on freedom for less than 7 on harmony so that is a bonus price wise. I think they'd love the carousel on the bigger ship but otherwise wonder if it's just too big (and slightly awkward layout) to enjoy with the kids. I contemplated trying Norwegian for the first time just for the flexible dining perks but it appears if pools are no go for the littles.

I'm also trying to decide between these ships for my family... our children will be 2 yrs. old and 6 yrs. old at the time. Maybe you'll get answers to your question if it's posted on the Royal Caribbean board: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=83

Yeah I though at least someone would chime in on the kid friendly ness of either ship...I'm sure whichever we pick we will be fine. Trying to narrow down by timeline and price and will just research the ships the best I can and make the best of it when we get there!!

I can't help just yet, but we're taking out 4 year old on Freedom in less than two weeks. I can come back and let you know about our experiences when we return from the cruise.

We did freedom with a 4 year old and 7 yr old. There are no water play areas for a the non potty trained and the staff was vigilant about removing any children with swim diapers.

The splash h2o zone also had 2 5ft deep pools in the far back so you had to carefully keep eyes on the kids if they weren't strong swimmers - it was easy to think they were shallow pools (and it would have made more sense if they were).

My kids loved the freedom. It was big enough to have a lot of excitement but small enough to not be overwhelmed. You have to be 6 for the rock walls and 54 inches for the flow rider but anyone can ice skate and the parades and shows and movie theater are all available as is mini golf.

Freedom kids club starts at 3 yrs old I believe. If you can hold off one more year for 3 and potty training, I'd highly recommend it as there will be a lot more for them to do. But that's just my 2 cents.

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Thanks Apex, I know they had a splash area on the independence when we took our son two years ago. It will be a deal breaker if big brother can play in the water and lil sis can't since she is a huge water girl. I guess if we are going to pay big money for a cruise it may as well have something for everyone. Thanks for the advise!

We were on Freedom - they have a tiny, triangular pool for kids in diapers. It should be same size and in same place as one on Indy.

I think Freedom is great ship for kids that age. We went last year and are trying Harmony this year.

Al of the ships welcome kids....some have "splash" zones...some don't...that doesn't make it less "kid friendly", tho!

The kids water area on Harmony is awesome! I haven't been on Freedom though so can't compare.

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