Freedom of the Seas and Disney

[Flagger]

We are sailing on FOS in January of 2007. We wanted to try a Voyager class ship, and is this will be newly launched we think it will be perfect. From all I have read, it is basically a stretched Voyager class ship with one extra deck higher. While a new class of ships in itself it is still got many of the ammenities as on Voyager and its sisters. We have an AFT JS for the same price as Disney wants for a Category 7 in Dec. 2006.

We will however be booking the Magic for December 2007 and combining it with three days at WDW. However, I love the idea of the Flowrider surfing tank as well as the water park. The clubs may not be open as long as Disney, but I am willing to give this a try.

It may end up being too big for us and many RCCL fans love the Radiance class of ships with some of the Voyager ammenities as well as the self-leveling pool tables AND all of the glass in the public areas.

 

[TNTcruise]

FOS Thanksgiving 2006

 

[Jsme]

Booked two rooms for November 5, 2006.

 

[Honu]

After doing 7 days on the Navigator this past November, I can say without hesitation I have no desire to step onboard the FOS or any other RCI ship. While those RCI ships are big and pretty, the food and service truly pale in comparison to DCL.

 

[roliepolieoliefan]

We also looked into Freedom of The Seas. Actually Ds (7) picked it over DCL when we were discussing booking the cruise. DH and I picked DCL though, since the kids will be 3 and 8 when we cruise, and soon DCL prices will be out of reach for us. Hopefully we'll do FOS in 2007.

 

[DISNEYFAMILYOFFOUR]

We will do another DCL in November or December 2007 while the kids are still young, then will probably try FOS after that.

 

[Keggy]

We looked at cruising FOS next year but the 11 day DCL itinerary inticed us too much! Looking forward to the FOS reports!

Kelly

 

[staceymerrill]

I just looked into FOS for a cruise 10/1/06 vs our booked 9/30 Magic....we were quoted for 5 of us (2 adults, 3 children under 12, 1 is an infant) $3200.00 for an outside non-verandah stateroom....conversely, I booked connecting cat 9s for 9/30 onboard for $4200.00....thus, because of DCLs rule of no more than 4 to a standard stateroom, I paid $1000 more....

This ship really looks magnificent, and offers alot of great things for all of us except,

No nursery like Flounders onboard....this is a deal breaker for us, since the only other alternative is in-room babysitting at the discretion of whomever may want the job.....our baby will be 11 months at the time of cruise, and nothing beats Flounders in terms of the care, cleanliness, and staff there...I simply do not trust an unsupervised individual alone in our stateroom with the baby....no way....

Quite frankly, on a "family oriented" ship like FOS, I am surprised that RCCL did not include a common area babysitting facility or nursery....especially a ship at 158,000 tons....disappointing for now, but we will definitely cruise on this ship once our youngest is a bit older.....

 

[Flagger]

RCCL does not do in-room babysitting for anyone under one year so it would not be available for you on FOS anyway.

 

[Disney with Triplets]

We returned from a 7 day sail on the Magic in early December. Disney Cruise Line is great, especially with the kids, but we'll do RCCL for our next family cruise. We've sailed Princess many times before, so we're really over being "impressed" by a cruise in general.

Our kids are 6 years old and enjoyed the clubs from time to time, but I think they were a bit confining for elementary aged and older children. FOS and other RCCL ships seem to have more outdoor activities for older children and more geared for families than our favorite Princess.

We've looked at both on the internet and seen a few RCCL commercials on TV and the kids agree with us, next year, RCCL over DCL - and it's a few dollars cheaper, to boot!

 

[Julylady]

With six Disney cruises under our belts, we are booked on a Dec 06 Freedom of the Seas cruise. Three different extended families are cruising including five teenagers.

 

[Jsme]

I have cruised on DCL three time and RCI once. I have to say I thought the food was as good on the last Disney cruise I went on compared to the first RCI I was on. I think it really has to do with where you eat while on board. The buffet did nor do anything for me on RCI. I refused to go back we had to go to the dining room for breakfast and lunch. I have to say the Eggs Benedict was truly amazing on the RCI cruise. Could not compare to DCL. But it really is a matter of taste on what each person likes. I felt where DCL was better on somethings they lacked on the things RCI exceled on. It is a give take situation for my family.

 

[rtphokie]

With six Disney cruises under our belts, we are booked on a Dec 06 Freedom of the Seas cruise. Three different extended families are cruising including five teenagers.

We've cruised Carnival twice and RCL once. Our first DCL cruise is booked for the end of April. The only reason we cruised Carnival twice was because it was part of a group, given the choice between the 2 I'd definately go RCL over Carnival.

The dining room food is a bit better on RCL than Carnival. Carnival had better buffet food than RCL.

RCL had better activities for adults than Carnival. I still talk about the bartending seminar I attended on RCL, my wife still talks about the cooking seminar she attended, we both talk about the towel and napkin folding seminars.

RCL's cruise director and staff also had a much more laid back style than either Carnival cruise we've been on. Carnival seemed to be trying to force people to have a good time, constant annoucements about limbo contests and hawking the drink of the day. Every time a Cruise Director opened their mouth it was "are we ready to party?", even at the shopping talk. RCL let the activities speak for themselves and focused on making the activities fun and including passengers rather than spending time and energy trying to make people think they are having fun.