Freedom: 7Day Eastern or Western Itinerary??

[nerak11]

We are taking our kids (aged 5 & 7) on their first cruise this November and we have narrowed it down to Freedom of the Seas. Now I just can't decide whether we should do the 7 day Eastern or Western itinerary. There are aspects of both I like so just wondering which one others would recommend more, taking into consideration the ages of my kids and the excursions available on each. (My husband and I have been to many of the ports of call on both already.)

 

We are planning on going Nov 2012 so we need to book soon!

[SouthernBelle_N_Louisiana]

We have done all of these ports except Labadee and CocoCay, the private islands owned by RC. IMHO, the Eastern route is the best for kids this age. The four ports will be so tiring on the Western route. And on the Eastern route you have 2 days coming back so you and the kids can rest up before your cruise ends. Your kids will have so much fun in the Adventure Ocean program. Have they cruised with you before?

[MKESail]

We went on the Eastern Itinerary in April and it was just perfect for my 7-year old. Just enough days at sea to explore the ship and we absolutely love CocoCay! :D

[ryano]

We are taking our kids (aged 5 & 7) on their first cruise this November and we have narrowed it down to Freedom of the Seas. Now I just can't decide whether we should do the 7 day Eastern or Western itinerary. There are aspects of both I like so just wondering which one others would recommend more, taking into consideration the ages of my kids and the excursions available on each. (My husband and I have been to many of the ports of call on both already.)

 

We are planning on going Nov 2012 so we need to book soon!

 

The Eastern route is wonderful but just know that there is a GREAT chance of missing Coco Cay so it basically turns into a two port cruise with an extra sea day.

 

Plenty of things to keep the children occupied though on board if that happens :)

 

Tough decision!

[egill]

The Eastern route is wonderful but just know that there is a GREAT chance of missing Coco Cay so it basically turns into a two port cruise with an extra sea day.

 

Plenty of things to keep the children occupied though on board if that happens :)

 

Tough decision!

 

That was our only complaint about our cruise

[amster65]

Do Both :p

[FLACRUISER99]

I say do the Western as it's almost a 100% chance you will make Labadee and only say a 50% for CoCo Cay, also only 2 sea days so the kids wont get bored.

[Cheryl H]

I think the eastern is much prettier than western. I don't know for sure which stops you have on your cruise, but generally western includes Mexico and Jamaica, both of which I didn't care too much for. But we loved the eastern itinerary. I especially loved St Thomas. We took a catamaran ride over to St John. Just gorgeous! I know there are plenty who enjoy Mexico and Jamaica, it is just not my preference.

 

If you are booking a balcony, and you are going to St Thomas, try to book on the port side. If I remember right, we had a gorgeous view of all the boats in the harbor at St Thomas. It's been a while, but I think that is correct. I say that, but perhaps they park the ship both ways. Who knows. But when we were there port side faced out to the pretty harbor.

 

Have fun no matter which you decide on.

[kruzerci]

Eastern. We have done the Eastern twice on Freedom and Western once and the Western was our least favorite itinerary, with the exception of Labadee.

 

The Eastern is so much more relaxing having 3 days at sea and splitting up the port days. We are doing western again jn December but only because New Orleans is a short drive.

 

After this, I expect we will stick with Southern and Eastern routes

[ldeflavia]

We've done both itineraries without the kids on different ships. This time we are taking the kids on their 1st cruise and we'll be on the Freedom and chose the Eastern itinerary. We wanted the extra day at sea for more relaxation. I thought the extra port day for Western would be too much for the kids. Plus I wasn't a fan of Jamaica or Cozumel when we were there. We've been to St. Thomas several times. So this time we're going to take the ferry to St. John for the day. A great way to see another island :)

[lrn2cruise]

I have the same question. We did FOS last summer Eastern BUT........We ended up going West because of Tropical Storm Emily.

 

We made it to Coco Cay and snorkled. This was our DS first time to snorkle. Snorkling at Coco Cay was a bit tough for him because you work your own way out to the deep water. I was really proud of him.

 

We ended up going away from the storm and going to Caymen, Cozumel. I missed Eastern.

 

My thing is that I want to take DS to Labadee because of all the activities. He will be 13 next spring/summer

[HB Cruiser]

I would choose eastern for CocoCay over Labadee for the kids sake. Yes there is a possibility of missing it HOWEVER Labadee is a LOT of walking for kids 5 & 7. #1, the pier is long and #2 once on the island, it is a bit of a hike to anywhere you are going to want to go.

 

Personally give me a day at either CocoCay or Labadee and I'm a happy guy but for the kiddos I'm really thinking CocoCay.

 

Whichever one you choose will be the right one just remember watershoes for everyone.

 

Tim

[MelLG]

Forgive the possibly dumb question, but why is there such a good chance of missing Coco Cay? And does that chance vary during certain months?

 

We're doing Freedom's Eastern route next month; do we have a better chance of getting to Coco Cay?

 

Thanks!

[orville99]

We're on FOS in July with our GS, and we chose to do the western because he gets to visit four countries that he's never been to before. :) If it was just the two of us, we'd do eastern:)

[orville99]

Forgive the possibly dumb question, but why is there such a good chance of missing Coco Cay? And does that chance vary during certain months?

 

We're doing Freedom's Eastern route next month; do we have a better chance of getting to Coco Cay?

 

Thanks!

We've done 4 FOS Eastern's and never missed Coco Cay. However, we've missed 3 out of four times on Monarch.

[MelLG]

Thanks! I wondered if it was due to seasonal weather. The last time we did the Eastern route (on a different cruise line), it was August and we had great weather and smooth seas. So I'm hoping for the same next month!

[edjny]

The Eastern route is wonderful but just know that there is a GREAT chance of missing Coco Cay so it basically turns into a two port cruise with an extra sea day.

 

 

Why do you say that there is a great chance of missing Coco Cay?

[ryano]

Why do you say that there is a great chance of missing Coco Cay?

 

Because of it being a tendered port and the chance of high winds and rough seas making tendering too dangerous :)

 

Im 1 for 2 in making it there so far. There are some that have made it everytime and some that have never made it on to the island.

[RCI Cruisers 004]

Favorite cruise....Freedom, western Caribbean. Can't say enough good things about the 4 stops. LOVE Jamaica, Grand Caymen and Labadee. We just did the eastern in April, and the ocean was to choppy to stop at Coco Cay. So we did 2 stops on a 7 day cruise. That translates to a lot of cruise days and not a lot of port days.