For All Those Interested...Just got off Freedom of the Seas!

[goofy and max]

We just got back from our first Disney Cruise and loved it. We want to go on another cruise next summer and wondered if RCC is cheaper and what the pros and cons are for RCC vs. DCL. We were looking at their Eastern Carribean cruise on the Mariner. Has anyone ever sailed on that and could compare it to the Magic?
Thanks for any info.

 

[tezb]

We sailed on the Mariner in 2004 and did the Western. We did do the Eastern on DCL and I know that the Freedom and Liberty are both planning on alternating Eastern/Western Itineraries next year.

When we were on the Mariner, she was only 6 months old and was beautiful. Mariner is just like Freedom and other Class Voyager Ships...just that the Freedom is now the biggest and has a few extra things onboard, like Flowrider, Sorrentos Pizza, Motif, etc. You will love the Mariner. Much bigger than DCL and a lot more to do. However, if you have small kids, I would suggest The Freedom or the newer ship Liberty as they both have the H20 Zone which is a waterpark. Great for young kids as it's just walk thru and get wet, w/ little buckets that dump water, built in toys w/ squirt guns, etc. Great place for kids and parents to hang out and enjoy the sun. The Mariner is also perfect for families, but does not have this added feature and does not have a Flowrider.

 

[barbarac]

I was hoping you could answer just a few more questions -

How would you compare the size of the cabins. Do you think a family of 4 needs 2 cabins - on Disney we have plenty of room in there cabins that sleep 4 - plus they have the split bath which i love.

Also, how does the pricing compare to Disney -

 

[woody73]

. . . The food was okay. Some nights better than others. Enjoyed the lobster/prime rib night the best. The desserts were good I thought...esp in Windjammer. They had a Sorrentos Pizza onboard that was open til 3am everyday plus their 24 hr cafe on Royal Promendade. All these things FREE..and of course the ice cream machine w/ softies...in pool area. You did have to pay a nominal fee for Ben & jerry's, Smoothie Bar and Johnny Rockets charges a 3.95 surcharge fee. . .

Thanks so much for answering my question about the food.

Woody

 

[tezb]

I was hoping you could answer just a few more questions -

How would you compare the size of the cabins. Do you think a family of 4 needs 2 cabins - on Disney we have plenty of room in there cabins that sleep 4 - plus they have the split bath which i love.

Also, how does the pricing compare to Disney -

It would depend on how old your kids are. When we first cruised DCL, we had the family cabin w/ all 5 of us. After the 2nd year, it got too crowded due to my boys getting bigger and the privacy issue. My husband didn't want them in the room w/us either..haha. So we put them across the hall from us. Since you are only 4, I would go for the Promenade Rooms for your kids and you guys take one too or a balcony. The PR rooms are cool in that the window overlooks the Royal Promenade and you can watch the parade or people watch from your room. RCCL was cheaper than DCL. Our first cruise on the Mariner, we saved about 2000.00 compared to DCL..and still got 2 rooms and ours w/ verandah. Since the Freedom was new, it cost us about 200.00 more per person. Hope that helps...

 

[bengals01]

My Sister Went 6/18 $40 For The Pop, No Use Of Iron Or Washer, She Didnt Do The Dinners, Said The Deserts Were Not Very Good, No Chicken Tenders, Shows Were Okay,

Easy To Get On, She Did Say Getting Off Her Time Was 6;45 But Was Still Eating Breakfast, So Got Off At 7:15 Had To Wait A 1/2 Hour For Her Luggage, Also You Walk Thru Customs With Out Your Luggage, She Said The Pool Area Was Awesome She Said It Was Beautiful, Her Girls Loved It 12 And 14, They Didnt Do The Rock Climb, Skating Or Surfing, To Go To The Shows You Had To Get A Ticket In The Morning, She Didnt Care For The Shopping Couldnt Even Find Anything To Buy For Her 3 Year Old Twins, Have To Give Money To The People On Their Private Island For Chairs

 

[sillykidsmom]

My DH and I went on the Mariner in May. We were impressed by the ship but not the service. IMHO Disney has the best service in the cruise industry!!! In saying that we are off on the Magic Saturday with our DS & DD. We are thrilled to be going back with Disney.

 

[Kimmielee]

My DH and I went on the Mariner in May. We were impressed by the ship but not the service. IMHO Disney has the best service in the cruise industry!!! In saying that we are off on the Magic Saturday with our DS & DD. We are thrilled to be going back with Disney.

Have an awesome cruise!!!

 

[PizzieDuster]

Although there are a lot of pictures here, these are the best ones I've found so far for the H20 Zone... my DD8 and her friend we are taking DDfriend11, they are so excited for the H20 Zone....

(We sail the Freedom on 4/8/07 - DH44, me 42, DS17, DS14, DD8 and her friend DDfriend11).

To see the H20Zone, start at PAGE 10~

http://community.webshots.com/slideshow?ID=551140882&key=VbBlXn

 

[Marypoppinsiam]

Thanks for showing us your pictures. The H2O zone is so cool!

 

[eeyoregon]

FOS sounds pretty cool. My DS are 10 1/2 and 13 1/2 and would probably really enjoy the variety of activities. We LOVED our 1st Disney cruise this April but are certainly willing to branch out.

I did some price shopping and we probably won't switch until the ship has been around a while as the prices for a room similar to the one we stay in on Disney is quite a bit more expensive at this point. So for less money I get my Disney fix plus we are minutes from WDW and that there is priceless

Thank you so much for the report, comparisons and insider information!

 

[Marypoppinsiam]

Thanks for the trip report on the FOS. I think that the H2O zone would be a great place for kids. We might have to venture to the FOS or even the new Liberty sometime in the near future. But right now we are hooked on DCL.

 

[Float My Boat]

RE: the Cruise....Labadee is RCCL's island but not private. People actually live there so you are really on island with the natives. My husband and 2 sons did the waverunner excursion in Labadee and had a blast. It was 89.00 per person for an hour which is led by a tour guide. We didn't do any other excursions because we had done this route before on and had also done Stingray before. It was fun to just enjoy an empty ship once in a while. Yes, there is tendering in Labadee, but only takes about 3-5 mins.

Those people that "actually live there" are the residents of Haiti and the Dominican Republic. Labadee sits on the island of Hispaniola, which is shared by these 2 countries and is the 2nd largest island in the Caribbean. Labadee is on a tip of Haiti.

 

[DutchsMommy]

Thanks for the info. I think it is INCREDIBLE what these cruise ships offer!! It is truly a marvel and really lives up to the 'floating city' name! We loved our DCL cruise (and look forward to our upcoming) but it is really great to hear peoples' experiences on other lines.

 

[michboro]

I posted months back that I would let you all know how our Freedom Cruise was...(RCCL).

All I can say is...WOW! She is a beautiful and huge ship! We had a great time, perfect weather and calm seas. So much to do and so little time. As usual, we didn't want to get off the ship. The flowrider was very cool and my husband and son were hooked! Even though there were 4000 people onboard, you wouldn't know it...everything laid out well and didn't run into anything more noticeable (w/ crowds) than you would have on the smaller ships. Gloria Estefan and her family were on our cruise and my son got a pic w/ her on the last night. The H2O Zone is very cool and any parent w/ younger kids (or even older) would love this. Great idea for any ship w/ kids.

I can't remember everything at this moment...so if anyone has random questions, I'll try to answer for you....(BTW...we have cruised DCL 3 times and this was our 2nd RCCL cruise since 2004...(Mariner). My boys are no longer kids so RCCL is the better choice for us. They can't wait to go again..and they are 21,18 & 14.

Do you have any navigators listing daily activities on Freedom of the Seas?
Thanks.

 

[cruiseletters]

There is deffinately a vacant spot as far as age related activities go. my kids are 16 and 15. They no longer want to cruise Disney because they are left out of the 18 and older evening activities. They have very little going on for this age group during the day, unless you just want to lay by the pool. They've been to the teen stack but they tell me the kids that are there are as frustrated with having nothing to do as they are. Instead of kids waiting in line to climb the rock wall or surf in a surfing pool or skate or play miniature golf, you see the teens on the disney ships just walking around by themselves or in small groups doing nothing. If myself and other parents can see this you know the officers and other staff can. having been on my fifth disney cruise June of 2006, I have now promised my kids we will cruise with someone else. I'm sad disney seems to have chosen to ignore this segment of the family.
Thanks for the review of this beautiful activity packed ship

 

[exempt5]

we are scheduled for rcl next august and we are quite concerned if the rcl experience will meet our expectations also

 

[andy99]

I am a huge RCCL fan. My wife and I decided to try DCL for the first time this Nov. We have two kids 4-6 and Thought they might like the Disney Theme. (DCL is alot more $$$) But I have never had a Bad cruise with RCCL or Celebrity. We really didnt enjoy the Carnival cruise we took and will probably not cruise with them again. I just hope DCL can compare to the Great Royal Carribean cruises we have taken.

 

[grumpydude]

Labadee is a private beach, but not an "island". It is on Haiti, and is the most beautiful place I have ever been in the world.

Umm, Haiti is an island...although not a private island.

 

[xo pixie dust ox]

sounds like a lot of fun