Help in deciding Freedom Western or Independence Eastern

[rtross5]

Due to scheduling conflicts we have to travel week starting May 24. Our only options on RC appear to be Independence Eastern stopping at St Kitts, St Marteen, San Juan (4pm to 11pm) or Freedom Western stopping at Cozumel, Labadee, Falmouth, Grand Caymen. We have done the Western ports before so prefer the Eastern (though the San Juan times do not seem ideal) but the Freedom is $1K less expensive and we can get connecting balcony cabins on deck 12. We think that will be a good area with the recent updates and our boys are 18 & 24 and want to spend a lot of time in the gym and in the Solarium. We could also get Liberty out of San Juan on Carnival with 5 ports. Would appreciate any advice as we need to decide quickly since it is so close. :)

[LilBlackDress]

Due to scheduling conflicts we have to travel week starting May 24. Our only options on RC appear to be Independence Eastern stopping at St Kitts, St Marteen, San Juan (4pm to 11pm) or Freedom Western stopping at Cozumel, Labadee, Falmouth, Grand Caymen. We have done the Western ports before so prefer the Eastern (though the San Juan times do not seem ideal) but the Freedom is $1K less expensive and we can get connecting balcony cabins on deck 12. We think that will be a good area with the recent updates and our boys are 18 & 24 and want to spend a lot of time in the gym and in the Solarium. We could also get Liberty out of San Juan on Carnival with 5 ports. Would appreciate any advice as we need to decide quickly since it is so close. :)

 

Either way you go, I think you will be happy....

Although it seems to me you have already made up your mind and just wanting confirmation. I have never been on Freedom but I was on Indy and from my understanding they are very similar. Less Money, Connecting balconies.... I think that says it all

[RCI Cruisers 004]

We have done FOS western 7 times and love the stops, but you mention you like eastern better. Either way you will enjoy yourself !

[APDMOM]

If I were in your situation, I would take Freedom with connecting balconies. Although I like Eastern more than Western, you are right that San Juan hours are not great. Also, we like Freedom better than Indy.

 

Just plan a future getaway for Eastern or Southern :) There are so many options now!

 

Enjoy planning!

[rtross5]

Thanks for replies. RCI cruisers have you also done these eastern stops? We have never been to them. That is the only reason we were leaning to the Independence. For those who have done both - do you have a preference?

[APDMOM]

Thanks for replies. RCI cruisers have you also done these eastern stops? We have never been to them. That is the only reason we were leaning to the Independence. For those who have done both - do you have a preference?

 

San Juan is great, but we were there in the day when the free trolley runs, so your hours may cloud the experience there.

 

St Maarten is our favorite port (tied in second place are are Curacao and Aruba) - easy water taxi to Philipsburg and lots to do. So, this ia the biggest sell for this itinerary. There is quite a bit about St Maarten in my Independence review here:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2014636

 

St Kitts is beautiful, but I took an excursion since I read some issues about safety there. I went to Brimstone Castle and a Batik place (can't remember the name right now). It was very windy and I donated a hat to the island :D You can see some pics of St Kitts in my Norwegian Dawn (2011) review:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1540036

 

Hope this helps! Whatever you choose, have a lot of fun!

[APDMOM]

PS: Norwegian Dawn has a lot of pics of St Maarten too. I forgot that cruise stopped there too.

[CanadaRob]

Kind of a related question, lots of love for Freedom as people's favourite ship even over quantum or oasis class, a lot less love for independence or liberty yet as Freedom class ships they are very similar, what separates Freedom from its two sisters?

 

To the OP I would save the money and do the Freedom

Edited March 22, 2015 by CanadaRob

[mickev99]

We are doing the eastern on Indy in July and I booked mainly because of the evening in San Juan. We are doing the bioluminescent bay tour and we are super excited. Also excited about st Martian and st kitts (first time in any of these ports). We book cruises only for the ports, so I would pick the new itinerary. But it depends on why you cruise and what is more important. If seeing the same ports isn't a big deal, definitely save some money. I would definitely do grand cayman again once we've done other stuff.

[RCI Cruisers 004]

Thanks for replies. RCI cruisers have you also done these eastern stops? We have never been to them. That is the only reason we were leaning to the Independence. For those who have done both - do you have a preference?

 

Yes we have, with the exception of St Kitts! St. Marteen has been a beach day for us, and San Juan a shopping day. But that's just us ! Also, consider with Freedom you are getting 4 stops compared with 3 on Indy. We are doing FOS again this Oct. and have already booked our excursions.

[APDMOM]

Kind of a related question, lots of love for Freedom as people's favourite ship even over quantum or oasis class, a lot less love for independence or liberty yet as Freedom class ships they are very similar, what separates Freedom from its two sisters?

 

To the OP I would save the money and do the Freedom

 

I don't know about Liberty. We have not been on her.

 

Freedom vs Indy:

Shows on Freedom = better, Staff on Freedom = more friendly and engaged much more with us in conversation. We even got to talk to the captain and the hotel director in the Promenade Cafe. They were very interactive throughout the cruise. We never saw this on any other ship.

 

Indy sails Europe part of the year. I don't know if that is why we felt it had a very different atmosphere. It is hard to describe unless you experience it. Both ships are great though! We just like Freedom better. Considering all the info OP posted, I would personally save the money by taking Freedom now and look for a more attractive Eastern option at a later date.

[Betsynh]

We took the Adventure out of San Juan in January 2013 for our honeymoon cruise. I was unprepared for the fact that 31 families were on board with their daughter's Quincinera (sp?) parties with assorted friends and relatives. The way the promenade was configured, it was always way over crowded and one couldn't sit and have an ice cream of coffee without massive crowds -- it was a bit overwhelming for us.

 

I have no idea whether this is the norm for cruises our of San Juan, but we plan to stick to Florida departures in the future, and to avoid the same class of ships as the Adventure since the primary indoor entertaining space was so awkward. If only RCCL had offered lounges or other party spaces, it would have been more fun for the families celebrating, and a little less hectic for the rest of us. (Yes, I included that on my feedback...)

 

We're on the Freedom next month on the Eastern itinerary. I agree with the poster who said "Go for Freedom now and find an affordable Eastern itinerary for the next one..." Have a blast!

[kruzerci]

We picked the Independence (same cruise date as you are considering) because of the itinerary. It's a unique Eastern Caribbean itinerary for Royal Caribbean but they have offered the Freedom Western itinerary forever and its not a great itinerary.

 

St. Kitts and St. Maarten win in my book any day over the Jamaica, Grand Cayman, and Cozumel.

[Betsynh]

Our favorite excursion on the Western itineraries is Xcaret Ecological Park, accessible from the stop in Cozumel. We specifically did the Brilliance last January to go back to Xcaret. Worth checking out if you pick Western this trip...

[rtross5]

mickev99 I do not see the bay tour you are taking. Was it booked through RC or did you book that separately? Thanks so much to everyone for the input. Happy Cruising!

[mickev99]

Hopefully this link works:

 

http://www.royalcaribbean.com/shoreExcursions/product/detail/view.do?sourcePage=shorexByPort&ProductCode=SJ36&DestinationCode=CARIB

 

If not, just search shore excursions by ports of call. It's on the first page of the San Juan excursions. This is the first time that we have done an excursion through the cruise line, I always book independent tour companies (cheaper, less people, more individualized and private), but with the timing of this, I was concerned that we only had an extra hour to play with and if the transportation broke down on the 90 minute drive to and from, we'd be in trouble.