What are your favorite things about Freedom and the Freedom class ships?

We haven't been on Freedom but do have a cruise booked on her for 2/2019 doing the Southern Caribbean. We have been on Liberty (pre-water slide monstrosity) and liked the ship a lot. Even though it does feel a little shopping mall-esque, the promenade is nice to have the 'heart' of the ship all centralized, especially in the evening. I don't think there are are many bad balcony cabin locations. The pool deck and upper decks have a nice layout without all of the junk on top like some NCL ships that make you feel like you're under a cage. The food on our Liberty cruise was pretty terrible, but I'm hoping that was just a fluke. Without being able to pinpoint a ton of specifics, I would say Liberty was our favorite ship overall and there are negligible differences between the two ships.

Freedom is the only ship we've sailed on twice, both eastern and western itinerary - we absolutely loved our aft balcony the first time. I'd say the Promenade is our favorite thing overall, and the ship felt a good size for the number of passengers. And as another poster said - it can port at Grand Cayman! We are on Oasis in November, so we will see if we like it better or not. :)

I really love the Freedom too!! My absolute favorite thing was the Solarium. But I also loved the Royal Promenade. We hit Starbucks / Cafe Promenade a lot on our Freedom cruise. We also had one of the most amazing meals ever at the Chef's table on the Freedom. We loved it so much it will be our next cruise and we are debating doing yet another out of San Juan after it moves down. Having a hard time making up my mind!

Enjoy your cruise!!

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Strangely enough, DH and I have had tremendous success with food on all four cruises in the main dining room. I planned our specialty dining to be in the middle of the week so that we can meet our server team and be familiar with them for the cruise.

Freedom is the only ship we've sailed on twice, both eastern and western itinerary - we absolutely loved our aft balcony the first time. I'd say the Promenade is our favorite thing overall, and the ship felt a good size for the number of passengers. And as another poster said - it can port at Grand Cayman! We are on Oasis in November, so we will see if we like it better or not. :)

My 6 night itinerary says Tender at Grand Cayman. I was wishing it would port. Is that something new or just on specific itineraries?

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Freedom is the only ship we have sailed 2x and looking to sail her for a 3rd. We love the size it has all the big ship amenities, RP, flowrider, ice show but with the heart of a smaller ship.

It was the first ship outside of Disney my kids cruised on and quickly they said we don't need Disney anymore and my wallet sang for joy.

Oh and the dog on the RP. He still there? Every time we walked by him ( we names him Brutis) one person in our family says " Look, someone brought a dog" Its a sculpture fyi not a real dog.

My 6 night itinerary says Tender at Grand Cayman. I was wishing it would port. Is that something new or just on specific itineraries?

 

 

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The larger ships can't tender.

The Freedom class is my favorite within the Roayl Caribbean fleet.

The design is unique: a classic cruise ship made large.

The original design revealed a huge ship with modern facilities, excellent pool areas, excellent entertainment options. At the same time the ship was spacious, with beautiful circle promenade deck, open views forward, unobstructed balconies, quiet private-feel sun deck.

 

The best one at the momemt is the Independence that has not been "renovated" yet.

The Freedom and the Liberty have lost some of their charm, character, and uniquenees due to mercyless "renovation". But the most of the beauty is still perseivable.

 

It's a good idea to book a couple of extra charge restaurants as the food quality is not the strongest part of RCI product.

 

Liberty of the Seas video

 

=PDHFDh1Oleg

What are the differences between the renovated pair, and the Independence?

Unless I missed it, surprised no one mentioned the unique "Ben and Jerry Suite"....IIRC, there are only the three in the entire RCI fleet....:cool:

The larger ships can't tender.

I thought all ships tender in Grand Cayman?

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I liked that the kids pool area is at the back, separate from the main pool area and some of the more adult activities. But I'm not sure if that is unique to freedom.

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I thought all ships tender in Grand Cayman?

 

 

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My SO died very unexpectedly shortly after our last cruise. After twenty cruises with him, cruising will be a different experience in the future. We had the Independence booked for the week after Thanksgiving and I will now be sailing with a total cruise newbie. I was initially uncertain about the Freedom class as a first cruise, thinking the Radiance class would have been a better introduction to cruising, but after reading these comments I am pleased and excited to be on the Indy. All of the options on this ship will make it easier to form new habits and hopefully share my addiction to cruising. I am looking forward to seeing this ship through the eyes of a newbie.

My SO died very unexpectedly shortly after our last cruise. After twenty cruises with him, cruising will be a different experience in the future. We had the Independence booked for the week after Thanksgiving and I will now be sailing with a total cruise newbie. I was initially uncertain about the Freedom class as a first cruise, thinking the Radiance class would have been a better introduction to cruising, but after reading these comments I am pleased and excited to be on the Indy. All of the options on this ship will make it easier to form new habits and hopefully share my addiction to cruising. I am looking forward to seeing this ship through the eyes of a newbie.

I hope you have a wonderful time!

Thanks for info on MDR for lunch, we be on the Freedom in Jan..

My SO died very unexpectedly shortly after our last cruise. After twenty cruises with him, cruising will be a different experience in the future. We had the Independence booked for the week after Thanksgiving and I will now be sailing with a total cruise newbie. I was initially uncertain about the Freedom class as a first cruise, thinking the Radiance class would have been a better introduction to cruising, but after reading these comments I am pleased and excited to be on the Indy. All of the options on this ship will make it easier to form new habits and hopefully share my addiction to cruising. I am looking forward to seeing this ship through the eyes of a newbie.

I am so sorry for your loss I hope you have a wonderful time on your cruise and find your new normal.

My SO died very unexpectedly shortly after our last cruise. After twenty cruises with him, cruising will be a different experience in the future. We had the Independence booked for the week after Thanksgiving and I will now be sailing with a total cruise newbie. I was initially uncertain about the Freedom class as a first cruise, thinking the Radiance class would have been a better introduction to cruising, but after reading these comments I am pleased and excited to be on the Indy. All of the options on this ship will make it easier to form new habits and hopefully share my addiction to cruising. I am looking forward to seeing this ship through the eyes of a newbie.

We were sorry to read about your very sad news and sincerely wish you all the best and hope you enjoy your cruise on Independence.

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We love the Freedom Class Ships. We will be sailing on Liberty Of The Seas October 1st and this will be our 4th time on her. What's not to like. You are on a beautiful ship. We also like the Voyager Class Ships. It is the Promenade that attracts us to these ships. Tried the Oasis and it was nice but we felt it lost the intimacy of cruising. Crew IMHO was stretched way too thin.

Thank you for the kind words. It has been difficult, but I am looking towards the future and having the Indy to look forward to is definitely a positive thing.

I think the others pretty much covered it. I love the diversity. If you want the more upbeat atmosphere of the sports/regular pools, you can have that. If you prefer the more peaceful serenity of the solarium, you can have that too. I love the Royal Promenade. Even if I'm not in the pub a lot, I do love the singer/guitar player in there. There is such a great variety of venues and things to do, yet they are all organized in way that makes it easy to find your way around. I was REALLY looking forward to my cruise on Allure last year, but found I prefer the Freedom class to the bigger ships.

I couldn't agree with you more! Freedom is our favorite class too. Not too big and not too small. Lots of things to do and not get lost. Lol the Allure was beautiful but just a little too big. Not as homey feeling as the Freedom Class.

We are set to sail on her in June 2018. Getting excited. Just hope all this hurricane activity slows down. So very sad and scary for all those that have been devastated by Harvey and Irma. Let's hope Maria slows down and fizzles out😳

Tigers2425

Lori