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

[karajeboo]

Hey There!

 

We are doing the Southern Route on RCCL Jewel of the Seas on June 8th!!! She leaves from San Juan, PR. We live just south of Tampa on the West Coast of Florida, but are driving to Ft. Lauderdale to fly to San Juan as the price difference in airfare was almost $800.00 cheaper. Everyone I have talked to says that the Southern Caribbean routes are stunning. If I get brave, I'll try to do a report.

 

I do think the Southern would be beautiful! That I would definitely like to try just for the ports. Hoping you get brave!!!! And for a minute I thought you were going to tell me you were driving to PR! lol

 

Service in the MDR was fantastic. I felt that both Indy and Freedom had excellent service. One day on Freedom my Sister returned late from Jamaca to the dining room and was still able to have a great meal.

 

The only difference I saw between Indy and Freedom is that Indy I felt was still in transition from the Europeon style of cruise to American style of cruise. When I sailed Indy she was just her 2nd cruise from a TA and first in America in like 2+ years. This was a great cruise and I have Indy booked for 2014.

 

I have just heard a couple times now that Independence has such horrible service..... hmmmm.....

[karajeboo]

Please give us some more tonight!

 

Maybe not "tonight" but soon, very soon!!!!

 

A great review just got even better... we are in 1700 in just a few short weeks!

 

You will LOVE it!!!! And that "long" walk to the cabin from the elevators kept me from gaining more than 3 lbs on the cruise!!!! :rolleyes:

[karajeboo]

You guys had one of the best views on the ship.

 

I couldn't agree more!!!!

 

Are 1400 and 1700 larger than most D1 cabins? It looks like it on the deck plan. :)

 

Actually bigger than JS in some cases. We passed by several junior suites and I like to peek inside when they are being cleaned, and ours was actually larger. It was strange with the pole in the center, and it wasn't a perfectly square room, but we had a couch AND a chair, and a dance floor in between. I mean, we had more than enough room even with the couch opened all the way (into a double, not just a single).

[karajeboo]

I am enjoying your review.

 

I've sailed DCL, Carnival and RCCL and find them all to be comparable. There are things I like about each line (and things I don't really like about each line) but I agree that there is life after the mouse and if you love cruising, you'll love cruising just about any ship.

 

I think you are right. This was the "test" to determine if we loved cruising, or if we loved cruising DCL. Can you guess? :p

 

I have loved reading all 3 of your reviews! I have only ever done celebrity. RCL and Disney are the two lines I would consider doing if we ever branched out.

 

I'm also a member of the DIS, though I don't post much at all. I am a long time Disney freak, er fan. :) DH tolerates my love of the mouse (he was nice enough to agree to have our wedding there :D but WDW is definitely not his favorite place over all. A cruise some day on DCL might be a nice alternative way to get a Disney fix.

 

Two questions -

 

1. are you going to post your moms only trip? I'd love to see DCL from an adults only perspective and the dream or fantasy would be the two ships I would chose between (mostly for the ability to dine in Remy, lol).

 

2. with RCL, I am torn as to how I feel about the promenade. It looks beautiful, but does it feel like you're in a floating mall?

 

Anyway, great reviews! Love your sense of humor and writing style! :D

 

Our DISmoms trip is on the DIS, not on CC though. I would personally never do the Dream again, and since the Fantasy is almost identical, not really interested. It was very chaotic, especially the pool deck. And the adult pool area was very congested on the Dream. I think our title was "DISmoms 4 - the Hunt for Jack Sparrow" - and we found him! lol

 

Oh no, not a floating mall. Although that's what we thought when we saw photos too. Its just not possible to really capture it in a picture. It really really is a neat concept!

[karajeboo]

Great review thanks for sharing your perspective of the DCL vs RCCL. We did our first 2 cruises on Carnival and enjoyed them also!

 

Betty

 

I really think ANY cruise can be a good cruise. It really boils down to attitude. We went into this with a positive attitude and came away with a great experience.

 

I had the same concern, but now that I've sailed her, my take is this:

 

There are times when one wants to be indoors. Perhaps it's windy or hot, maybe one's dressed up, or just wants to be out of the sun.

 

So now you're going inside. You're going to be in a public space. Would you rather be in one with a huge empty space and a ceiling that's way above you, or in the typical bar?

 

Of course in the Royal Promenade you actually spend most time in a venue not much different from most ships, but when walking about from place to place, it's so nice having that sense of space.

 

I'm 6'3" and I've often felt on cruises that the ceiling is way to close to my head.

 

So any "mally" feeling is more than compensated for by the long sightlines, the high ceilings, and the general sense of openness that is usually only found on deck.

 

Whoever designed it should be in the cruise ship hall of fame.

 

Well said!!!!:)

[karajeboo]

I too like the openness of the promenade. Also, it feels less like a mall to me and has more of a city square type feel--most malls I go to don't have multiple bars within 100 yards of each other! :D

 

Thank goodness or I'd NEVER get any shopping done!!!! :D

 

Seriously funny and makes me feel better. We did not and I must admit that my DH voice is one of the many things I ADORE about him.;) Just the right amount of Southern accent and depth! :rolleyes: Really, who knew that the voice could be such a turn on or off?! Giggles, looking forward to chatting on our M&M boards.

 

Voice is a BIG deal to me too!!!! Why do you think I love Matthew McConnaughy so much????

[karajeboo]

Looking forward to more!

 

HOld on, hold on! ;)

 

Loving the review! Will be on the same ship and itinerary in August!

 

Can't wait!

 

By the way, love the pictures and what camera did you use?

 

I use a Nikon D5000 but we also bought a new underwater camera from Wolf Camera when they went out of business, and that little thing gets GREAT shots, too! So I started carrying it around the ship with me instead of always lugging the big Nikon!

[Friend100]

I agree to a point. There is definitely something magical about Disney - whether its the parks, cruise line, movies, etc. But to charge so much more is just crazy to me. At first I was willing to pay it, until I realized it's just not necessary to still get that same incredible feeling. I cry every time I first see the castle (and I've been to WDW over 20 times). I cry at every DCL sail away. I cry when I hug Mickey. I love Disney. But I feel I got way more bang for my buck on Freedom.

 

Hence for the 2 times we cruised DCL, both were in January .... and one of them with kids sail free and we paid less than $90pp per day for an OV. I also can't justify the high price people are paying for Caribbean/Alaska cruises during high season. We've never been to WDW so every moment on the Disney cruise (my kids were 6 and 8 in last Dream cruise) was magical.

[SamsGoodLife]

This is a great review, I agree that your style is really similar to KansCocoa's.

 

I've sailed 6 times on DCL, 4 on the Magic, 1 on the Wonder and 1 on the Fantasy, but we're looking forward to our trip to the Baltic on Adventure of the Seas in June!

 

One thing we found that was a surprise, the balcony staterooms that fit 4 people consider the double bed as sleeping space for 2, which means my DD (12) is going to have to sleep in the same bed as my DS(10). I loved that DCL had the lower twin from the couch and the upper berth so they had separate beds. Is this the same on Freedom? I'm hoping it's just the Voyager class and we can have a balcony with 3 beds on another RCCL class ship?

[GraphicsChyk]

This is a great review, I agree that your style is really similar to KansCocoa's.

 

I've sailed 6 times on DCL, 4 on the Magic, 1 on the Wonder and 1 on the Fantasy, but we're looking forward to our trip to the Baltic on Adventure of the Seas in June!

 

One thing we found that was a surprise, the balcony staterooms that fit 4 people consider the double bed as sleeping space for 2, which means my DD (12) is going to have to sleep in the same bed as my DS(10). I loved that DCL had the lower twin from the couch and the upper berth so they had separate beds. Is this the same on Freedom? I'm hoping it's just the Voyager class and we can have a balcony with 3 beds on another RCCL class ship?

 

I know on the Enchantment in September we have a Balcony room that has the two beds, the sofa bed and a pullman, so all 4 of us will have our own bed.

[spammie]

can you answer a MTD question? We love having the same server - do you get this on MTD? Because that's the main reason we chose a seating time.

 

YES you can you just might have to wait a little bit for a table to open up in their section. We did that on one cruise and they would tell us when to come back after we checked in. They actually do try to seat you in the same area each night if they can and you don't mind waiting. Wanda

[spielbank]

Great review! Waiting for more:)

[Luna_Lovegood]

I'm loving your review! You are doing an awesome job of getting me excited for my September cruise on the Freedom (well... even more excited). :) Thanks for that.

 

I can't wait to read more.

 

And it's CRUISE DAY!!!! Finally, the app on my phone reads, "stop checking me every 2 hours, you leave today you psycho vacation geek!!!!"

 

Okay, so the entire review is awesome but this comment was the funniest thing I've read in a review.

[Mel8730]

Really enjoying your review and writing style. Nice job! I sailed Freedom in 2009 and am looking forward to my upcoming cruise.

[CC Help Jenn]

Thanks for starting yet another great review! I can't wait to read more

[alaska_planner]

i'm just starting your review and loving every word of it so far!

 

i haven't been on RCCL yet.....my first time will be this august...

 

we're as disney as they come...

at least 3 weeks in disney world every year for 30 years (yes you read that right :eek:)...

and 3 disney cruises (last one was on the Dream)..

 

we won't get entirely away from the mouse though - 4 days at WDW before the cruise and another 2 after the cruise....(i don't know how we're going to manage so little time in the world!! :eek: :eek:)

 

DD already paved the way for us - she and her husband did a honeymoon cruise on the Radiance of the Seas in Alaska and said RCCL was GREAT - so i can't wait to try RCCL out for myself! :)

[alaska_planner]

i'm just starting your review and loving every word of it so far!

 

i haven't been on RCCL yet.....my first time will be this august...

 

we're as disney as they come...

at least 3 weeks in disney world every year for 30 years (yes you read that right :eek:)...

and 3 disney cruises (last one was on the Dream)..

 

we won't get entirely away from the mouse though - 4 days at WDW before the cruise and another 2 after the cruise....(i don't know how we're going to manage so little time in the world!! :eek: :eek:)

 

DD already paved the way for us - she and her husband did a honeymoon cruise on the Radiance of the Seas in Alaska and said RCCL was GREAT - so i can't wait to try RCCL out for myself! :)

 

oops - i did the math wrong...it's been every year for the past 39 years (geez! since i was 19....i guess i just gave away my age :eek: )..

[alaska_planner]

I love Disney too, but I really think they have outpriced themselves. Especially after discovering "the dark side" as some of my DIS board friends refer to other cruise lines! lol

 

i agree with you that they've outpriced themselves....

(by the way, i'm disneyholic family over on the dis :) )

[alaska_planner]

Hi. Just found your review and got caught up. Excellent start! Love the details and pictures. You can see from my signature line that Freedom is our favorite RCCL ship. We have been on all the Freedom class ships at least once but Freedom is still my favorite.

 

We tried Allure but it just wasn't our cup of tea.

 

We do MTD and LOVE it. We have never waited more than 10 minutes for a table even with 6 people in our party. We never know what time we are going to head to dinner after a drink or two before dinner. We usually wind up in the dining room between 7:15pm and 8:00pm.

 

Can't wait to read the rest of your review. All of our "Freedom" cruises have been to the Western and we will finally be doing the Eastern on Freedom this September. Our cruises on Celebrity have been Eastern. Wanda

 

can you elaborate on why you prefer the freedom over the allure?

we still haven't booked for august (we're waiting until after final payment - since the idea of the cruise came up late, i figured i'd just wait and see if there's a price drop at that time)..

anyway, i haven't yet decided which we'll cruise - the freedom or the allure.. (freedom goes west that week and allure east)..

 

Sounds like we had similar experiences on the Allure. My wife and I will be doing the Freedom Eastern for the first time in September as well. We are doing the Sept. 8th sailing.

 

same question as above - can you elaborate on why you prefer the freedom?

[Lynandgio]

same question as above - can you elaborate on why you prefer the freedom?

 

In my opinion, you loose that personal touch that you get on smaller ships. Sure it's a huge ship and there's tons to do, but food wasn't that good anywhere except for the fee restaurants and service was really lacking. Overall our experience was not worth the money we paid.

[spammie]

In my opinion, you loose that personal touch that you get on smaller ships. Sure it's a huge ship and there's tons to do, but food wasn't that good anywhere except for the fee restaurants and service was really lacking. Overall our experience was not worth the money we paid.

 

Hi Beth. This is exactly how we felt. The ship is amazing to see but we cruise to relax. These ships are so HUGE that you have to allow a lot of time to get from point A to point B. You have to make reservations for all the shows before you get on the ship or you most likely won't get a seat. We like to play things by ear and have no clue what we are going to do from minute to minute. We found ourselves in the evening feeling very rushed and watching our watches so we wouldn't miss the shows. The entertainment was fantastic but service as well as attitude from the crew was not good.

 

I just think because the ships are so big and there are so many passengers the crew is just very overwhelmed. We always get at least a balcony cabin and the bathroom was so tiny you could barely turn around in it. I am 5' 4" and weigh 120 lbs. so it's not like I'm a huge person. We paid more for this cruise than any other. For us it just wasn't worth it.

 

I compared our cruise on Allure to a trip to WDW - you feel like you need a vacation after your vacation.

 

We really missed all the ocean views. The only time we really saw the ocean was sitting on our balcony. The focus of these ships seems to be "inward".

 

Every time I post something negative about our cruise on Allure someone posts something nasty that is why I usually don't. Just giving you our experience and my opinion.

[washywashy]

For $70 a day on Royal Caribbean, you get a room, unlimited 24 hour a day excellent food and great shows. $70 will not even buy you a ticket to get into Disney World.

[alaska_planner]

In my opinion, you loose that personal touch that you get on smaller ships. Sure it's a huge ship and there's tons to do, but food wasn't that good anywhere except for the fee restaurants and service was really lacking. Overall our experience was not worth the money we paid.

 

Hi Beth. This is exactly how we felt. The ship is amazing to see but we cruise to relax. These ships are so HUGE that you have to allow a lot of time to get from point A to point B. You have to make reservations for all the shows before you get on the ship or you most likely won't get a seat. We like to play things by ear and have no clue what we are going to do from minute to minute. We found ourselves in the evening feeling very rushed and watching our watches so we wouldn't miss the shows. The entertainment was fantastic but service as well as attitude from the crew was not good.

 

I just think because the ships are so big and there are so many passengers the crew is just very overwhelmed. We always get at least a balcony cabin and the bathroom was so tiny you could barely turn around in it. I am 5' 4" and weigh 120 lbs. so it's not like I'm a huge person. We paid more for this cruise than any other. For us it just wasn't worth it.

 

I compared our cruise on Allure to a trip to WDW - you feel like you need a vacation after your vacation.

 

We really missed all the ocean views. The only time we really saw the ocean was sitting on our balcony. The focus of these ships seems to be "inward".

 

Every time I post something negative about our cruise on Allure someone posts something nasty that is why I usually don't. Just giving you our experience and my opinion.

 

 

thanks for taking the time to elaborate! :)

 

i still don't know what to do...

 

it's probably a once in a lifetime opportunity to try out the allure (unless i get on board when the oasis or allure come to europe for dry dock)...

 

i get what you're saying.....ocean view is the biggest attraction for me...

and relaxation......and service (you'd think i'd switch to the luxuries with a priority list like that - if not for cost, i might)..

 

but on the other hand, i'd like to see it once...though it's going to be more expensive than the freedom the same week...

i also prefer the eastern itinerary (where the allure will be that week) over the western (freedom's route the same week)..

 

i dunno...

we shall see...perhaps the decision will be made for me...

who knows...maybe there won't be any rooms left after final payment..

 

by the way, does the regular balcony room on the freedom have a larger bathroom than on the allure?

Edited May 5, 2013 by alaska_planner

[juggler78]

Love the review. We're doing rccl this year but thinking of decline in a couple of years. DS is only 2 so if going to spend "Disney" money we want him to remember it!

[DisneyKidsDad]

More please!! :D