Freedom from the Mouse! Our first non-Disney cruise, and we LOVED it!

Looking forward to the rest of the review. We sail on Freedom at the end of October and will be traveling down from SC as well.

Where in SC? We are in Greenville area and it's an easy 8-9 hour drive to PC....

I would love to hear more as well. I am a certified Disney nut & have been on 6 DCL cruises. Kids are older so don't care as much for the characters. I just priced the DCL Fantasy 5/31 vs. FOS 6/1/14 and DCL is $3600 more for a balcony room. Yikes!!!! I just can't justify that difference. It is really hard for me to book another cruise line but hearing your comparison is helpful, and the first line of your post is exactly how my husband feels. He would be thrilled if we did something NOT Disney related.

Don't get me wrong, I love Disney! But do you know how many drinks of the day $3600 will buy??? Jus sayin..... :rolleyes:

we too are certifiable.....disney nuts that is...

 

we're about to embark on our first RCCL cruise - on the allure of the seas...

 

i'll try to remember to post back here what our conclusions are!!

 

can't wait....6 days to go and we sail away.....weeeeeee....!!!!!!

Well???? I'm anxious to hear???

We are going on our first Disney cruise in February and are reading your comparisons between the two lines. We are going with family, but not our grandson....am very glad to hear Disney isn't just for kids. We have been on 14 Royal cruises and now going to try Disney. Keep the review coming, please?

You will love it! When I went on the Dream with my girlfriends we had a BLAST!!!!

Looking forward to the rest of your reviews!!!! I am also on the disboards and have read some of your reviews there.

Thank you!!!!

You will love it! No one in our party had any kids and it was the best CRUISE cruise I've ever been on. (I mean, Hawaii was GREAT cuz it's Hawaii! But I can't even remember the name of the RCCL ship I was on and the cruise itself wasn't very memorable, but the ports were all life time trips!) As for an all over magical fun and high caliber experience cruise, my 3 day DCL beats them all! And Castaway Cay was just perfection to us. All you can eat, drink, snorkel, swim, water slide, volleyball, you name it, even hermit crab races and character dance parties and we didn't even get to Serenity, the adult section! There was so much to do.

 

They are putting a lot into the adult areas on the ships and just like the parks, there is plenty to do for the adults! We enjoyed all the shows, but the Believe 'garden' one was a bit juvenile but the musical sequences (Lion King, Peter Pan, Pocahontas woohoo!!!) were all top notch and great. So even if the sub plot was a bit young, you cannot deny the talent! We also laughed our heads off at Villians (he was really bad at being bad, although if Ghosty stuff bothers you like it does us, skip the first 15 min because it goes for creepy underworld and my parents walked out and we almost did but then it changed its tone and was really slapstick after that.) We were thoroughly entertained. My 37 yr old honey never sits through musical shows and he was early to get us seats and stayed through the whole show every night!

 

We LOVE going to WDW parks because we love the rides, attractions, even the electrical parade, and we love cruising. Our service was incredible, we had the best stateroom we have ever had on a ship, and we liked DCL so much, we got the rewards card and continue to use it and have already gotten $165 taken off our deposit for next year due to the reward dollars!

 

There were plenty of kids, (not like there aren't on RCI and CCL either!) but they are supervised much better and to be honest, they were in so much awe of the princesses and looked so cute as pirates or princesses and ruffles and sparkles, I just loved it!

 

It's really a great line for families. (No high kicks in thongs in the dance show, thank you very much! No smokey casino either, again very pleasant for us! There is bingo available but they dont oversell it like other cruise lines do.) Its just REALLY FUN! And you can bring any beverages you want to on board with you. (I do mean ANY kind of beverage in any quantity as long as it comes on your person so no checked luggage and is able to fit through a security scanner. They do not confiscate any kind of liquor fyi like other lines do.) They only had diet coke so I think I'll bring some Coke Zero with me next time.

That is another difference to RCI. You don't have to buy a coke machine card because all the soda machines are included!

 

Have a great cruise!

One tip for CC, get off the ship EARLY to get chairs together! It gets really crowded with the larger ships. You will really love DCL, too.

Can't wait to read more!!!! I'm also from Sc!!!! I live in Charleston!!! Please come back!!! I'm loving through you lol :D

 

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Why ever leave, you live in the greatest city in the world!!!!

Looking forward to the rest of your review! We sailed Freedom in 2011 and loved it!!

 

We are also in South Carolina!

 

B

Clemson or Carolina????

Now Ally scooted out before dessert the night before because she was dreading the birthday celebration. Well.

 

Does this child not know me??? I will not be denied HER birthday!

 

 

Oh yeah, kiddo, it's coming, just a day late, that's all!

 

 

And since she had already ordered TWO desserts, the creme brulee and chocolate souffle, she now had THREE to eat! And she almost completed that task!!!

 

 

 

 

I love it! :p

Just back from our first RCI cruise after only sailing DCL.

And the answer is?

The most perfect cruise EVER!!!!

I can't see us ever going back to DCL!!

 

 

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As a friend of mine said.... Welcome to the Dark Side! :D

We find DCL very limiting.....and this is from my CASTMEMBER husband. With 35 years, we get extremely comfortable accommodations for a generous discount.

 

Still, RCI has kept us captive with better service, better itineraries and fewer limitations. For example, between RCI and Celebrity you have FAR better choices in Alaska. We enjoy combining a week on land first and what possible ship could be made better for Alaska than the Radiance with all her glass. Just one easy example.

 

Ok, here is another easy example. After Alaska we are doing a back to back on the Jewell from San Juan. DH is an nut for new islands. With 2 different itineraries and no need to waste days steaming back to the east coast, we will have a 2 week holiday and will need a vacation to rest after.

 

Also, after 35 years and all the drastic changes in the company the last 10 years, we each comment at least once......"this is how Disney USED to be". So we stay with Royal and enjoy the pampering.

 

We have tried both. Royal has kept us Loyal.

Not sure if I'd try RCI's Radiance or Princess for Alaska. But I'm thinking this is what I want to do for my 50th birthday!!!!

I think Royal is the one who has improved to match DCL since they came around. At least from what I'm hearing. I would go back to DCL, but not because RCI has done anything wrong. I can cruise MORE if I do RCI, and since it's about the ship for me, I'm loving Freedom!

RCI is a good cruise but they haven't gotten us back since 2002. Nothing wrong but not memorable (except Hawaii!) I honestly wish I could remember what ship it was on...It is still just Vegas style cruising and is just not magical like even my 3 day DC that blew us away. Its true that with only 4 ships in the fleet, the itineraries are a bit limited but I've done repeat ports (cozumel anyone?) on other cruise lines too. We liked it so much, we got the rewards card to add up towards our next one in May.

 

Maybe in 2014 we might try one of the others like Allure and Oasis but I'm kinda struggling with the idea of paying $950 pp (was what I had priced out at the time) and then still having to pay for soda, the up charged food options everywhere (like restaurants or parties with cover charges, I never remember that on RCCL growing up) or even for cupcakes or Rockets etc. I think my honey would be irritated and I know I would. We have never paid yet for food on a cruise. I know they are optional but did the non charged food areas used to be better quality? I also would find it odd to have to make reservations for shows etc. Just different from how my RCCLs were growing up.

 

We enjoy DCs BYOB policies, inclusive soda, no thongs on the stage, incredible attention to detail and excellent service, family activities like karaoke (for once not in a bar) and different included dining rooms etc. We enjoy their great staterooms. We are very happy there is no casino.

 

I guess if you have loads of dough, you could get burned out on Disney cruising. Just like any line, I suppose, they become a bit predictable. I hope that is a "problem" I get on DC! (Nice to have...) Not sure what RCI would have to do to bring us back but for the price, considering its not so tremendously far off from DC, its gonna be a while. Also we have zero kids. A couple married ten yes altho the argument could be made that my honey is like a big kid...

 

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I'll be honest, one thing I was worried about was clientele on RCI. I worried about the "trash" for lack of a better word. I saw just as much on my DCL cruises as on RCI. Which, luckily, was not much. Both cruise lines had well behaved kids, well behaved adults, and I've paid for food on BOTH lines, as well. I'm not a soda drinker so that's not an issue for me. We do the signature restaurants one night on any ship. And now that RCI has the all you can drink, that might work out better for us in the long run, plus we can bring 2 bottles of wine on board. I never took anything except for wine on DCL either and that's usually only just for a quick drink getting ready in the room. We actually did price out the "extras" and I think we may have paid about $75-100 on RCI for Ben and Jerry's and a couple of sodas for Ally. Never made Johnny Rockets.

Does anyone know how to upload iMovie clips to youtube??? I have some great ones that I want to share but youtube is failing each time.

More please :-)

You are such a breath of fresh air! I often feel like Disney fans can't admit they Iike any other cruise lines, or say anything remotely positive. Our next cruise is on the Disney Fantasy so I've witnessed that attitude a lot in various online groups lately.

So thank you for your review.

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Loving your review! We loved the Freedom when we sailed a few years ago, right before they did the overhaul. We are either sailing the Oasis or Allure next summer and can't wait!

I just started reading this last night and am not very far in, but I can't believe how similar our situations are....

We're a couple with 1 child (but he'll be 5 on our cruise).

We're sailing on the FOS for Spring Break.... 2014

We vacation at Disney once a year, my son and I love it, but my husband is "just OK with it."

DH wanted a trip that wasn't Disney.... that led us to the FOS.

Oh, and my son's birthday is the day we set sail.

Can't wait to read more!

Where in SC? We are in Greenville area and it's an easy 8-9 hour drive to PC....

 

 

 

Don't get me wrong, I love Disney! But do you know how many drinks of the day $3600 will buy??? Jus sayin..... :rolleyes:

Small world - we're in the Greenville area as well. :D We'll be splitting the drive into two days & staying the night somewhere between Savannah & Jacksonville. That's our typical routine when going to Disney - helps with the little ones stuck in car seats & gets us started on our vacation a day early.

What a fun trip report! We are ditching Disney for a RC (Jewel) trip in June. My girls are getting older (10,12) and the ports of call more varied. That said, our Eastern cruise on the Fantasy was out of this world awesome. I still have a "dummy cruise" on DCL that I can't seem to find the heart to cancel. I agree with your sentiment about just plain loving to cruise. We EVEN had a fantastic time on a... ahem... Carnival cruise. :)

As a friend of mine said.... Welcome to the Dark Side! :D

 

 

 

Not sure if I'd try RCI's Radiance or Princess for Alaska. But I'm thinking this is what I want to do for my 50th birthday!!!!

 

I think Royal is the one who has improved to match DCL since they came around. At least from what I'm hearing. I would go back to DCL, but not because RCI has done anything wrong. I can cruise MORE if I do RCI, and since it's about the ship for me, I'm loving Freedom!

First try I wrote a long post about Alaska. It's rugged beauty, wildlife and her people. My words not adequate. There is something about Alaska. It changes you. It becomes part of your soul. You leave it to fly home but there it a tiny bit that will always be with you.

I grabbed this video from You Tube. It explains far better than I ever will.

Next summer will be my 6th visit....week on land and a week on the Radiance. It's like visiting an old friend.

One more! Hubbard glacier calving.

You are such a breath of fresh air! I often feel like Disney fans can't admit they Iike any other cruise lines, or say anything remotely positive. Our next cruise is on the Disney Fantasy so I've witnessed that attitude a lot in various online groups lately.

 

So thank you for your review.

 

 

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This is EXACTLY how I feel! I see a lot of animosity and very defensive attitudes. Guess what? Not everything Disney does is perfect! There! I said it!!!! :p

Loving your review! We loved the Freedom when we sailed a few years ago, right before they did the overhaul. We are either sailing the Oasis or Allure next summer and can't wait!

Some friends going with us on our next Freedom cruise sailed Allure a couple years ago!

I just started reading this last night and am not very far in, but I can't believe how similar our situations are....

 

We're a couple with 1 child (but he'll be 5 on our cruise).

 

We're sailing on the FOS for Spring Break.... 2014

 

We vacation at Disney once a year, my son and I love it, but my husband is "just OK with it."

 

DH wanted a trip that wasn't Disney.... that led us to the FOS.

 

Oh, and my son's birthday is the day we set sail.

 

 

Can't wait to read more!

Is your family as devastatingly handsome as mine is??? :D

Small world - we're in the Greenville area as well. :D We'll be splitting the drive into two days & staying the night somewhere between Savannah & Jacksonville. That's our typical routine when going to Disney - helps with the little ones stuck in car seats & gets us started on our vacation a day early.

We stayed at a Wingate just south of Savannah last year and it was great! This next year we are leaving on Friday also, driving to St Augustine and the guys are golfing at World of Golf on Saturday morning. Then we are all driving on to Port Canaveral Saturday afternoon. And at some point I told one of the guys that they could golf Sunday morning too in PC, if they were back at the hotel by 12:00. I'm being held to that, so I guess us gals will just spend their money while they are golfing!!!!

I just started reading this last night and am not very far in, but I can't believe how similar our situations are....

 

We're a couple with 1 child (but he'll be 5 on our cruise).

 

We're sailing on the FOS for Spring Break.... 2014

 

We vacation at Disney once a year, my son and I love it, but my husband is "just OK with it."

 

DH wanted a trip that wasn't Disney.... that led us to the FOS.

 

Oh, and my son's birthday is the day we set sail.

 

 

Can't wait to read more!

Wait, what cruise for spring break? We are April 6!

What a fun trip report! We are ditching Disney for a RC (Jewel) trip in June. My girls are getting older (10,12) and the ports of call more varied. That said, our Eastern cruise on the Fantasy was out of this world awesome. I still have a "dummy cruise" on DCL that I can't seem to find the heart to cancel. I agree with your sentiment about just plain loving to cruise. We EVEN had a fantastic time on a... ahem... Carnival cruise. :)

Just get me on ANY vacation and put a drink of the day in my hand and I'm happy as can be! We had a NYE cruise on the Fantasy planned for this year but I couldn't get off work. I work in the gas fireplace industry and that's just our crazy busy time of year. I was really looking forward to is, not sure I'd want to do another line for a NYE cruise, but at least I have this one for Spring Break!

 

 

 

 

 

First try I wrote a long post about Alaska. It's rugged beauty, wildlife and her people. My words not adequate. There is something about Alaska. It changes you. It becomes part of your soul. You leave it to fly home but there it a tiny bit that will always be with you.

 

I grabbed this video from You Tube. It explains far better than I ever will.

 

Next summer will be my 6th visit....week on land and a week on the Radiance. It's like visiting an old friend.

I know the feeling. I was in Yosemite last summer and I just told someone today it was almost spiritual. You realize just how small you are in the whole scheme of things. It's that majestic beauty that can't be described unless you see it for yourself.

Is your family as devastatingly handsome as mine is??? :D

 

 

 

We stayed at a Wingate just south of Savannah last year and it was great! This next year we are leaving on Friday also, driving to St Augustine and the guys are golfing at World of Golf on Saturday morning. Then we are all driving on to Port Canaveral Saturday afternoon. And at some point I told one of the guys that they could golf Sunday morning too in PC, if they were back at the hotel by 12:00. I'm being held to that, so I guess us gals will just spend their money while they are golfing!!!!

Sounds like a great plan to me! I never seem to have trouble spending money ;).

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I know the feeling. I was in Yosemite last summer and I just told someone today it was almost spiritual. You realize just how small you are in the whole scheme of things. It's that majestic beauty that can't be described unless you see it for yourself.

I watched with horror as the wildfires danced around Yosemite. It is in on our bucket list in the next year or two.

Perhaps old John Muir or Teddy Roosevelt interceded with God to rescue Yosemite this year. It deserves the mighty to watch over it.

Have you watched Ken Burns' 'National Parks'? You will love it.

I apologize for getting off topic.

Wait, what cruise for spring break? We are April 6!

We're the week before you. :)

I don't know how I'm only now seeing this thread, but it's really interesting to me, for the opposite reason that you're posting it. We, too, used to go to Disney a lot (2-3 times a week for me when I lived in Orlando) and still somehow manage to love it despite legally owning Space Mountain by now, but we've always cruised RCCL and looked to taking a Disney cruise as a "someday" trip, wondering what we're missing out on. Now I'm thinking maybe that's not such an important goal, after all. Certainly Freedom has never left me wanting for anything, and reading about your experience coming to it from the other direction has been fairly enlightening.

And what's with all the South Carolina people around here, anyway?

I watched with horror as the wildfires danced around Yosemite. It is in on our bucket list in the next year or two.

 

Perhaps old John Muir or Teddy Roosevelt interceded with God to rescue Yosemite this year. It deserves the mighty to watch over it.

 

Have you watched Ken Burns' 'National Parks'? You will love it.

 

 

I apologize for getting off topic.

Not off topic at all. LOVED Yosemite! Jeff wants to go back and take Ally and let her bring a friend. I'm all for it. I felt so at peace there.....

Sounds like a great plan to me! I never seem to have trouble spending money ;).

 

 

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Me either!!!!