Celebrity Silhouette vs RC Freedom of the Seas for Christmas EC cruise

Hi everyone - new to this forum and posted this in general section but wanted to post here as well. We are a family of 6 with kids ages 15, 15, 13 and 11.

Want a 7 night caribbean cruise over the Christmas holiday. Wanted to try the Oasis but availability is not there. We are not regular cruisers so just began doing a lot of research.

We are considering Celebrity Silhouette with stops in San Juan, St Kitts and St Maarten vs. Freedom of the Seas with stops in Labadee Haiti, San Juan PR and St Maarten.

Priorities: On ship: dining options, entertainment, spa, cabin / suite with good balcony, areas to just relax and enjoy. Excursions: snorkeling high on the list. Port of departure: Tampa or Ft Lauderdale best (we are in Atlanta).

Interested in cabin recommendations too. Celebrity has "Concierge" but also looking at Aqua level. Pros/cons of various cabin levels? How is the spa on the Silhouette?

Initial research suggests Freedom prices are at a good premium to Silhouette - is it worth it?

All input much appreciated!

At almost any other time of the year I would suggest the RCI ship simply because there would be more kids for your kids to hang out with, but over Xmas week the Celebrity line certainly will have it's fair share of teens and tweens.

Our boys have been on both Royal Caribbean (nothing newer than Voyager class) and Celebrity (Horizon, Summit and Equinox) ships. We prefer Celebrity overall as it is a more refined and elegant experience...not by leaps and bounds, but just enough to make a difference. We feel the food is generally better. We've also cruised Princess and HAL, but would rank them 3rd and 4th, so you are definitely fishing in the right waters with RCI and Celebrity.

Freedom of the Seas will offer more bells and whistles in terms of ice rink, and wave rider (I think) as the two major amenities I can think of offhand, but I am not sure the price difference justifies it, especially when you factor in the possibility that you are going to be paying for soda cards for 4 children, excursions for 6, etc. etc. We are traveling on the Reflection December 13th, and part of the reason we chose that ship was due to how much we enjoyed the Equinox 2 years ago, and both are sister ships of the Silhouette.

I don't think you can go wrong either way. We have done a few Caribbean cruises over the years and frankly none of the itineraries excite us anymore; for me and my wife it's all about trying to sneak in one more family trip before the boys (24 and 20) are out on their own and scheduling such a trip becomes next to impossible. That being said, if I was itinerary driven I would take St. Kitt's over Labadee.

Best of luck moving forward and have a great time!

We have done both holiday trips and preferred the Silhouette. We are sailing on her again this Christmas. I just found the FOS a bit too big. Even the big wide shopping 'boulevard' in the centre felt a bit like a mall. I don't know, it's just a personal opinion but it seemed like a big Las Vegas type hotel while Silhouette had less vast double/triple height areas and seemed more comfortable. Food, entertainment etc comparable. As a previous poster mentioned, at Christmas there will be plenty of kids on board either ship and plenty for them to do. Itineraries as you say, are similar. We'll prob end up doing a beach day on St Kitts anyway so Labadee would have suited us either. FOS departs Port Canaveral as far as I remember which may suit you better, but in my opinion - Silhouette ...

You didn't mention if there were children included. If there are, than the Freedom. If not, definitely the Silhouette and Aqua if possible. Just a warning, it might be very difficult to go back once you've sailed AQ.

We are loyal Celebrity cruisers who have sailed the Silhouette twice in Aqua with two more sailing booked on her in 2015 also in AQ. However, when we took our children and eight grandchildren, ages three to thirteen, on a family cruise, we chose the Freedom. IMO, there were so many more "fun things" for the kids.

Did I notice the differences between Celebrity and Royal Caribbean as far as service, food quality(especially compared to AQ), and serenity, absolutely. Were our grandchildren thrilled on the flow rider, in the H2O zone, and the Dreamworks experience, ABSOLUTELY.

Bottom line, I recommend making the decision based on who is sailing.

OOPS! Just re-read your post and you did mention children and ages. Sorry.

Our oldest three grandchildren are now 13 and 15 and would still recommend Freedom.

I am not sure but wonder how Aqua would work. With it restricted to 2 persons per cabin how would it work out? Having said that I agree you can't go wrong with either ship. We love the Silhouette for it's atmosphere and feel more relaxed on that ship. The Freedom has lots to do and geared towards fun. I guess it comes down to your cruising style.

You may want to read a review I recently posted specifically comparing Freedom to Celebrity S class ships - you can find it on the member reviews link, under Royal Caribbean.

If you are looking for more 'family fun', with more for the kids to do then I would recommend Freedom. It is a great ship, and is more lively for families. There will be a lot of kids on-board that week so be prepared. Sailing out of Port Canaveral was no big deal - you can fly in and out of Orlando if you plan to fly, and rent a car easily enough - it is not real far.

If you prefer a more quiet atmosphere that appeals more to adults, then choose Celebrity. Don't get me wrong - they treat children well and for that cruise there will be other kids for them to hang out with, but they do not have all the perks Royal offers for kids. Personally, I prefer Celebrity for the more relaxing atmosphere (and I think their food including the buffet is miles above what I got on Freedom), but then again I am not a kid.

Since I have cruised a lot with Celebrity (25+ times) and just last month took a Freedom cruise, I will be more than happy to answer specific questions you may come up with. Feel free to post - I will follow this thread and respond as soon as I can.

I am leaning toward Celebrity even though kids are 11,13,15 and 15. Here's why based on the feedback, but please challenge and/or offer your thoughts.

1. The kids haven't been cruising in 10 years. Will they be "bored" on a more toned down Celebrity cruise? I am betting they will be fine and even love it. They will have a ball just exploring and enjoying what is there. I don't think they need over the top entertainment (although wave rider and better shows would be fun)

2. Better food always makes a better vacation

3. Livelier isn't always best for kids -- I have two extroverts and two introverts. Or maybe two that go back and forth and two that are definitely introverts but love adventure, nature and being outside. Just a bit lower key may fit the bill for my gang.

4. Price seems just a bit better -- Freedom with bells and whistles garners the premium but I could use those extra $ to upgrade.

5. So far, on this forum, seems there are more Celebrity die-hard fans. Many of you were in the same place once and as my wife and I get ready for several years of cruising going forward I can see us heading the same way. Would you all agree or is this just because I posted in the Celebrity section?

6. Ports of call on this one -- slight edge to the Silhouette?? (St Kitts vs Labadee Haiti?). We want to snorkel and enjoy the island.

Welcome any thoughts or discussion -- we are new and looking to learn as much as we can before we pull the trigger!

Thanks!

I am leaning toward Celebrity even though kids are 11,13,15 and 15. Here's why based on the feedback, but please challenge and/or offer your thoughts.

1. The kids haven't been cruising in 10 years. Will they be "bored" on a more toned down Celebrity cruise? I am betting they will be fine and even love it. They will have a ball just exploring and enjoying what is there. I don't think they need over the top entertainment (although wave rider and better shows would be fun)

2. Better food always makes a better vacation

3. Livelier may not be best even for kids -- I have two extroverts and two introverts. Or maybe two that go back and forth and two that are definitely introverts but love adventure, nature and being outside. Place to relax, enjoy, hang out important. Big party - not so much. Just a bit lower key may fit the bill for my gang.

4. Price seems just a bit better -- Freedom with bells and whistles garners the premium but I could use those extra $ to upgrade.

5. So far, on this forum, seems there are more Celebrity die-hard fans. Many of you were in the same place once and as my wife and I get ready for several years of cruising going forward I can see us heading the same way. Would you all agree or is this just because I posted in the Celebrity section?

6. Ports of call on this one -- slight edge to the Silhouette?? (St Kitts vs Labadee Haiti?). We want to snorkel and enjoy the island.

Welcome any thoughts or discussion -- we are new and looking to learn as much as we can before we pull the trigger!

Thanks!

We cruised a lot on Celebrity with my youngest son, who is more introverted. He always enjoyed the cruises very much. But he also said, after cruising on Freedom, "I wish they had cruise ships like this when I was a kid" (he is now in his 20's). But there is something to be said for more quiet family time. We hung out together a lot - at the pool, playing card games or Scrabble or Yahtzee (we brought the latter from home). Sometimes even kids need to chill. Of course the problem nowadays is that the kids see all the commercials for the big, fancy, fun-filled ships and their expectations may be different.

As to itinerary, I do not recall the itinerary for Celebrity, but I will say that the itinerary on Freedom was not to my liking. The time in ports was short, and there were not many of them. I am already having brain fade, but I think our cruise went to CoCoCay, although we have been to Labadee as well. They are both very nice private beaches which we enjoyed a lot, although we were disappointed at the short time in port that Freedom offered. You would think at a private island/beach you could spend the whole day. I personally love St. Kitts but I think kids might like these islands better. But as to port calls in general, Celebrity would definitely win that contest versus Freedom IMHO.

Regarding point 5 - I think if you posted on the Royal Caribbean boards you would find equally die hard Freedom fans. It is a very popular ship. Both ships are great - it really depends on what is most important to you.

Hi everyone - new to this forum and posted this in general section but wanted to post here as well. We are a family of 6 with kids ages 15, 15, 13 and 11.

 

Want a 7 night caribbean cruise over the Christmas holiday. Wanted to try the Oasis but availability is not there. We are not regular cruisers so just began doing a lot of research.

 

We are considering Celebrity Silhouette with stops in San Juan, St Kitts and St Maarten vs. Freedom of the Seas with stops in Labadee Haiti, San Juan PR and St Maarten.

 

Priorities: On ship: dining options, entertainment, spa, cabin / suite with good balcony, areas to just relax and enjoy. Excursions: snorkeling high on the list. Port of departure: Tampa or Ft Lauderdale best (we are in Atlanta).

 

Interested in cabin recommendations too. Celebrity has "Concierge" but also looking at Aqua level. Pros/cons of various cabin levels? How is the spa on the Silhouette?

 

Initial research suggests Freedom prices are at a good premium to Silhouette - is it worth it?

 

All input much appreciated!

While we are fans of both, with the heterogenous ages, I recommend the RC ship. Celebrity has better food, especially speciality restaurants. The RC freedom class much nicer spa. We always sail CC or above and the cabin is comfortable. AQ IMO isn't worth it unless abt the same price. We do not love Blu, and cabin locations under pool and gym deck. Also only two guest may occupy each cabin.

I would book balcony cabins on RC or consider above if ok with your budget Enjoy

Hi,

we have sailed on both ships - Silhouette and Freedom-Class (Liberty otS).

Liberty has been my favourite - before and until we sailed on Silhouette.

She is simply the best ship we have ever sailed on...

However, for cruising with kids I would still prefer Freedom.

Public areas on Silhouette are very "grown up" and stylish. I think kids will prefer to hang out on the Royal Promenade, the ice rink etc.

And don´t forget - they might also prefer the entertainment on Royal... such as the parades with the cartoon characters (Dream Works).

Whatever you do: have fun!

Have sailed both classes. I would prefer the Freedom over the Silhouette. We were blown away by the Liberty of the Seas and we were sixty something adults. Definitely go for Royal Caribbean with kids. The parades, pool area, wave runner, characters, rock climbing wall, etc. made the trip amazing and most of it we were just watching others participate. Also, the ice show was the best ever as was the cirque de Solei type show. We love Celebrity also, but would choose the Freedom Class with price and itinerary being comparable.

We have sailed both. I would go with the Freedom. Although there will be lots of kids on both ships, Freedom of the Seas will have far more activities for your kids especially for your teens.

We like Celebrity as adults but don't think it can compare to Royal when it comes to activities for kids.

In our opinion, the quality of food has declined on Celebrity so we would never pick Celebrity solely based on food.

Jeal, I agree with your food comment as a general statement. However, having just sailed on Freedom last month, I can say that for that particular ship the food quality was significantly worse than on any Celebrity ship I have sailed in recent years. I was truly surprised at how bad it was, in particular the buffet (but dinner was no great shakes either). That said, I would still recommend Freedom overall in general for families sailing with multiple children.

I am leaning toward Celebrity even though kids are 11,13,15 and 15. Here's why based on the feedback, but please challenge and/or offer your thoughts.

 

1. The kids haven't been cruising in 10 years. Will they be "bored" on a more toned down Celebrity cruise? I am betting they will be fine and even love it. They will have a ball just exploring and enjoying what is there. I don't think they need over the top entertainment (although wave rider and better shows would be fun)

 

2. Better food always makes a better vacation

 

3. Livelier isn't always best for kids -- I have two extroverts and two introverts. Or maybe two that go back and forth and two that are definitely introverts but love adventure, nature and being outside. Just a bit lower key may fit the bill for my gang.

 

4. Price seems just a bit better -- Freedom with bells and whistles garners the premium but I could use those extra $ to upgrade.

 

5. So far, on this forum, seems there are more Celebrity die-hard fans. Many of you were in the same place once and as my wife and I get ready for several years of cruising going forward I can see us heading the same way. Would you all agree or is this just because I posted in the Celebrity section?

 

6. Ports of call on this one -- slight edge to the Silhouette?? (St Kitts vs Labadee Haiti?). We want to snorkel and enjoy the island.

 

Welcome any thoughts or discussion -- we are new and looking to learn as much as we can before we pull the trigger!

 

Thanks!

We like both lines for different reasons, so I think I'm fairly objective.. Having said that we really disliked our cruise on Freedom and will never sail that class of ship again. The food was mediocre, even Portofino's which I would actually label as poor, we had to send entrees back that weren't cooked properly and I don't think we've EVER done that on a ship before. The ship is large, not as large as Oasis, which we enjoyed-so it wasn't that the ship was too big, but we just felt like the ship was lacking in so many ways. The one thing that Freedom had that we really liked was the movies on the pool deck...that was fun. It was crowded feeling everywhere and certainly will be even more on a holiday cruise(ours was a summer cruise) there were no quiet spots that we could find.

The room was fine, we were in a JS, which is one of our favorite rooms on any line and it did not disappoint, but we left the ship after a week just not "wowed" at all and won't sail that class again, too bad too because the port is so close to where we live.

We LOVE the Silhouette, it is our favorite X ship. Yes, Royal probably has more kids stuff, but X has a nice children's program too if you decide to utilize it. The food is leaps & bounds better. Silhouette as the Lawn Club Grill which is great fun. The service in general is better on X and if the itinerary is better too then, for us, there would be no discussion, we would always select Silhouette over the Freedom.

It depends on what you want.....if you want rock walls, and wave runners and constant activities for the kids then I guess Freedom would suit you, it just didn't work for us.

It's interesting how different viewpoints can be for the same ships - none is right and none is wrong - they are just different.

We also were very disappointed with food on Freedom as I have mentioned. But there were many aspects of the ship we thought were great, and if we were traveling with kids, that would be our choice. Interestingly, of all the Celebrity ships we have sailed (and we have sailed on each, past and present, except for Reflection and Meridian, for over 25 cruises total), we were least impressed with the Silhouette. We didn't dislike it, it just did not wow us. Maybe we have just sailed on Celebrity too many times to experience wow anymore - who knows. If it was our first S class ship I am sure we would have been awestruck. But overall, as sailing adults, we still vastly prefer Celebrity and I would be happy sailing any ships on that line.

I was just in labade - and would not want to go back ever -

would have to agree though RC is better for the kids - but definitely not for the adults

I also have sailed princess, royal and celebrity and celebrity is definitely my favorite and the free drink package doesn't hurt either though

carol

I was just in labade - and would not want to go back ever -

 

would have to agree though RC is better for the kids - but definitely not for the adults

 

I also have sailed princess, royal and celebrity and celebrity is definitely my favorite and the free drink package doesn't hurt either though

 

carol

We are big fans of labadee without kids we take a cabana and enjoy the butler service. Of course the weather has to cooporate! We will be sailing to coco key instead on our next royal cruise and hope it is as nice.

We have sailed both ships. I would take the Silhouette over the Freedom for more elegance and better food by far. Celebrity's buffet at dinner is a thousand times better than Royal's Windjammer. If you are interested in snorkeling, Labadee isn't the place. I wouldn't pay extra for a Concierge Class cabin as the amenities aren't worth paying extra for (IMHO) and the cabin is the same size as a regular balcony on Solstice Class ships.

Hi JOURNEYONTHEFLY,

Welcome to Celebrity

Read your post & subsequent replies with interest.

Have not sailed with RCCL as of yet, but from a Celebrity POV a few things stood out for me

1- As others have mentioned more to do on the RCCL Ships when it comes to kids & families

2- Aqua Class is designed for 2 in a cabin ( and Celebrity strictly holds to this). Means finding accommodations would be more expensive (3 Aquas) or trickier... Finding a Deck with Aqua Cabins currently vacant (for You & Souse) AND that have Non Aquas Close by (either 2 Cabins or 2, or 1 Cabin for the 4 Kids). Considering you are looking at cruising at Christmastime THIS YEAR making that all work / availability wise, could be problematic

3- Snorkelling... Celebrity's Itinerary with Sint Maarten / St Martin & St Kitts is going to be better

Cheers!

I've been on both ship classes and that's a real tough choice, but due to you having 4 kids in your group, I recommend the Freedom. If it was just the 2 of you, I would say Silhouette. There's just so much more for the kids to do on Freedom.

Here is the dilemma:

1) Lots of "kids" activities - rock wall, wave rider, kid-friendly feel, etc = choose Freedom

2) Better food, better excursions, more private spaces, more relaxing = Celebrity

3 or 5 years ago this would be a no brainer. Kids would have been 12, 12, 10 and 8. or 10, 10, 8 and 6.

But they are older now. I can see the older two (15), in their teenage way, wanting to just chill out and regarding kiddie attractions as for the "little kids". I may be kidding myself but I can see the whole crew enjoying exploring the ship without the need for "entertain-me-now" attractions.

And finally, and some may have an issue with this, if the best cruise for my wife and I is a more relaxed, more refined Celebrity cruise then why not do that? If Mom is happy, we are all happy the theory would go.

Thanks again for all the thoughts.

Hi, OP, welcome to the forum. We have done many holiday cruises with our kids, first young, then tweens, then teens! And we've done Freedom and Solstice class, but not Sillie. I love both Freedom and the Solstice class ships for different reasons, as well-articulated by other posters. IMO you should go with what feels right for you and your wife, which sounds like X. The kids will have a blast no matter what--there will be a lot of peers on board! If you are splurging on a holiday cruise and feel like going all in, they will love the Lawn Club and Qsine dining venues. We are big snorkelers--way better to book an independent operator, see the Ports of Call section and look for recs. Better price, better experience, IMO. I would try to do that in St Kitts, as in St Maarten, the America's Cup race is, hands down, the most fun thing you can do with those kids. I think we did it on Christmas Day once. It is a hoot to be in the islands over Christmas, as folks will be doing water sports with Santa hats!

Really, you can't go wrong whatever you choose. Holiday cruises give your family a unique time to really focus on each other, more so than back home when all the frenzy of creating "the perfect holiday" demands adult time that could have been spent with kids.

Cheers!

Sent from my iPad using Cruise Critic Forums mobile app

I am leaning toward Celebrity even though kids are 11,13,15 and 15. Here's why based on the feedback, but please challenge and/or offer your thoughts.

 

1. The kids haven't been cruising in 10 years. Will they be "bored" on a more toned down Celebrity cruise? I am betting they will be fine and even love it. They will have a ball just exploring and enjoying what is there. I don't think they need over the top entertainment (although wave rider and better shows would be fun)

 

2. Better food always makes a better vacation

 

3. Livelier isn't always best for kids -- I have two extroverts and two introverts. Or maybe two that go back and forth and two that are definitely introverts but love adventure, nature and being outside. Just a bit lower key may fit the bill for my gang.

 

4. Price seems just a bit better -- Freedom with bells and whistles garners the premium but I could use those extra $ to upgrade.

 

5. So far, on this forum, seems there are more Celebrity die-hard fans. Many of you were in the same place once and as my wife and I get ready for several years of cruising going forward I can see us heading the same way. Would you all agree or is this just because I posted in the Celebrity section?

 

6. Ports of call on this one -- slight edge to the Silhouette?? (St Kitts vs Labadee Haiti?). We want to snorkel and enjoy the island.

 

Welcome any thoughts or discussion -- we are new and looking to learn as much as we can before we pull the trigger!

 

Thanks!

I like both cruise lines but Celebrity wins out for us for several reasons.

Better food across the board. Only one announcement per day. With RCI you will hear announcements for the art auctions, inch of gold, bingo, hairy chest contest and the list goes on. More restricted smoking policy on Celebrity. No smoking inside the ship at all. Not so on RCI. They still allow smoking in the casino

Freedom has the ice show but other than the Oasis class Celebrity's S class ship provides just as good entertainment as the Freedom which I have cruised on twice.

Service is about the same. Good on both lines. During the Christmas holiday your kids will find plenty of kids their age on Celebrity so I doubt they will be bored.

Hard decision but I'm a Celebrity convert after many cruises on RCI.