Serenade of the Seas 10 day cruise vs Freedom of the Seas 7 day cruise

I am trying to decide between a 10 day southern Caribbean cruise on the Serenade of the Seas from South Florida or a 7 day southern Caribbean on the Freedom out of San Juan. Thinking the Freedom might be a better ship but also like the idea of a longer cruise and not having to fly. (We live in Florida)

Would love recommendations!!!

We're also in the JAX area and drive to Port Canaveral, FLL, MIA or Tampa. So, to save on air fare and get a longer cruise, would be a simple decision for us.

If you care about the Flowrider or Royal Promenade or kiddie swim diaper pool, then I'd go with Freedom. Otherwise I'd go with the longer cruise.

Bob,

You always are a fount of information. We love the promenade and will miss it, but also would love the longer cruise. Where can you go for coffee in the morning on the Serenade? We usually go down to the promenade and get some coffee and a pastry to take back and have on our balcony.

Just got off Serenade 11 night S Carib. a few weeks ago. The longer sailing was very nice. 7 days seems too short now!

You have to decide if the ship size and activities are what you are looking for. I will say that the longer sailing ups the average age significantly. Less than 10 kids, very few people under 40. Guessing the average age was 65+.

Bob,

You always are a fount of information. We love the promenade and will miss it, but also would love the longer cruise. Where can you go for coffee in the morning on the Serenade? We usually go down to the promenade and get some coffee and a pastry to take back and have on our balcony.

Park Cafe in the Solarium is open for breakfast. However, it does not have the almost 24-hour access of Cafe Promenade. There is also a drink station aft of Windjammer that may have coffee available before Windjammer opens. Not sure about that.

Bob,

Is the Park Cafe similar to the one on the Allure and Oasis, where they have breakfast and also soup, salad and sandwiches for lunch?

S&C2 - The age sounds great! We are 62 and 67.........

Bob,

Is the Park Cafe similar to the one on the Allure and Oasis, where they have breakfast and also soup, salad and sandwiches for lunch?

 

S&C2 - The age sounds great! We are 62 and 67.........

Yes, very similar to Oasis class. It's open later too, because there's no other "free" late night venue on Serenade. That's where you get the late night pizza slices.

Coffee at the Park Cafe is available from 6am. I am up at between 4am and 5am and have always been able to get coffee in the room next to the Windjammer.

The coffee station next to Windjammer on Serenade is open 24 hours. But when I was aboard last December, the coffee was often lukewarm at 5:30 AM ship's time.

Just got off the 10 night Serenade cruise a few days ago and really enjoyed the food, staff and ship! Hubby is a flowrider and was pleasantly surprised with the ship, activities and ports of call. We were on the freedom in December and it was fine but I have to give a 2 hands up to the Serenade!

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Forgot to mention. Lots of seafood on this ship. Shrimp, crab legs, muscles and lobster in main dining room for lunch and in Windjammer.

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The extra days on Serenade cruising from Florida give you several more sea days to relax. Most of the itineraries from San Juan are port intensive, with fewer sea days. B2B's from San Juan are super nice because of the variety of ports, but if you don't have the time for that, the 11 days on Serenade sound better than 7 on Freedom.

The longer the better.

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Hi,

I have not sailed on the Freedom class, but I have sailed on Serenade several times. I can very highly recommend Serenade. The only thing that I will suggest is to look at the itineraries on both ships and pick the one that appeals to you the most. Have a wonderful trip.

Anne

My family ( Wife and two teen age daughters) and I set sail on the Serenade next Friday April 7th on the 10N. We will be live posting as well as a periscope or two :}

I too shared your concerns. It's been a few years since we sailed on a "smaller" ship. Have generally stuck with Oasis and Freedom Class lately, most recently on Oasis last March. I am sure we will be making some comparisons between the two with regards to offerings etc. Keep an eye out.

Thanks for all your input. We have decided on the 10 day Serenade Southern Caribbean cruise and have a nice hump cabin. Now to wait until next year!!!

Barbara

The Freedom is 1 of 4 RCCL ships that still have a cigar lounge. Supposedly when they go to drydock(2020) they will be removed. If you got them,smoke them!!!

We love both ships (and dearly miss the Freedom here in Port Canaveral). Had been once again on Serenade 11 night this last February. Yes, longer cruise, but more sea days also. (Two on the way down, two on the way up). Coming out of San Juan you have a "head start" and will get to pretty much the same amount of ports on that shorter cruise. We don't mind sea days, but also tend to weigh cost of both option bottom lines.

For our situation, (we live near Port Canaveral) we can fly from Orlando non stop on Jet Blue for a seven night, versus having to drive to Ft. Lauderdale through awful traffic. Cost wise for us the seven night is cheaper, even with factoring in flights versus the big hike in cruise cost they charge for those popular 10/11 night cruises on Serenade.

Doing favorite ship Jewel out of SJ for that reason in January.

Bob the small room off the WJ had coffee going on our 2015 cruise from Quebec, daughter loved it because she could always refill her mug.:). They also had the area on Port Side just before entering the WJ.

Bob the small room off the WJ had coffee going on our 2015 cruise from Quebec, daughter loved it because she could always refill her mug.:). They also had the area on Port Side just before entering the WJ.

Good to know, thanks.

Your welcome, we ate in there several times but enjoyed the area aft of the WJ.

Gay