If not DCL...Oasis or Freedom of the Seas

[Disneyfied4]

We sailed the Magic this past Spring break and don't want to do the same itinierary this Spring Break 2012. The Dream is out b/c we want a 7-day cruise, we miss the Fantansy by 3 weeks and don't want the MR.

We know nothing is Disney and this is comparing apples to oranges. But would you jump to the world's largest ship, the Oasis or cruise the larger Freedom of the Seas? Will we be overwhlemed with the size and # of passengers on the Oasis? My thinking is.... if it's not Disney lets go for the biggest. Reading on another cruise board, the Freedom sailors love that ship. They say the Oasis is too big and impersonal. Thoughts? TIA

 

[tinkerbell2181]

I have yet to go on my first cruise so you could totally ignore my post lol. However, from this article (which I seen posted on here a few days ago) you can see the top rankings. FYI, http://www.travelandleisure.com/worldsbest/2011/air-cruise-more

I think I'd check out the companies in the top 3 spots above DCL if looking for another cruise line to go with.

 

[bigedwin]

Hi
We have sailed Disney Magic / Wonder / Dream.
Also Allure and Liberty(sister of Freedom)
I got to say we love Disney and are actually doing similar week in March for a Wonder Mexican Riviera at a great price compared to Florida sailing!
Also Allure and Oasis are huge ships but they are so well built and innovative it is more like staying on a land based resort with many destinations within the ship! Older teens love the Allure due to Rock climbing ice skating and the flowriders! The freedom will be about the size of the Dream with a lot of the same amenities of the Oasis class!

Good luck deciding!
They are all great ships!
I would not be intimidated by Oasis class the neighborhood concept makes it flow very well!
Ed

 

[Zandy595]

Have you thought about doing a back to back on the Dream?

 

[lvstitch]

I sailed the Oasis last year and I can honestly say, it never felt crowded (except on formal night when they were giving away from drinks.) I was even able to get chairs by the pool on a day at sea. There are of couse little things that remind you you are not on a Disney cruise but overall I would go on the Oasis again in a heartbeat...and I thought the food was way better on the Oasis.

 

[Edd]

I have sailed the Freedom (2), Oasis (1) and the Magic and Wonder (3). The first question would be the money. The Freedom sails about the same itinerary as Oasis and the Allure. The other RCL big ship. The difference is the Freedom can be about $300 - $400 less than the Oasis or Allure and that makes a difference in a big family. If you have the finances and don't mind traveling to Fort Lauderdale the Oasis is the ship for you. If you are watching your dimes a little bit you can have just as much fun on the Freedom out of Port Canaveral. I like the PC terminal much better than the Fort Lauderdale terminal. Also it is a big miles advantage for me to cruise out of PC.

You will not get intimidated by the huge ships. In fact you might like the room that you get walking around the ship. The Freedom is actually bigger than the Disney Dream. I will guarantee it has much more to do and see than the Dream. The pool area is larger and a lot more room for the children to play in. The adult pool area is about twice the size of the Dream adult area with two huge whirlpools and a lot of shaded area out in the open.

If you are fairly new in cruising I would jump up to the Freedom first. If you like that ship than you will look forward to one day sailing on the Oasis or Allure. I Think I prefer the Freedom because it is about 200 miles closer to home for me, but enjoyed myself immensley on the Oasis. They are both beautiful ships with a ton of activities for adults and kids of all ages.

http://ekorgan2.com/freedom_of_the_seas.htm

Check out these pictures from my last Freedom cruise

 

[triplefigs]

We sailed Freedom in June (Eastern) and loved, loved, loved it!!! Great ship, great crew, tons and tons of fun stuff. Kids had a blast, and the Dream Works characters were really fun. I wouldn't hesitate to sail her again. We are going on the Fantasy this next summer, and it will be fun to compare the two ships.

 

[lovethedream]

We have sailed on the RCCL Freedom and the DCL Wonder. We did not care for the RCCL Freedom. We decided to go back to DCL and our next cruise is booked on the DCL Magic.

A relative of mine recently came back from a trip on the Allure (or Oasis, can't remember which) and she did not care for it.

Good luck in whatever you choose!

 

[Princess Olivia]

We sailed Freedom in June (Eastern) and loved, loved, loved it!!! Great ship, great crew, tons and tons of fun stuff. Kids had a blast, and the Dream Works characters were really fun. I wouldn't hesitate to sail her again. We are going on the Fantasy this next summer, and it will be fun to compare the two ships.

We sailed the Freedom in April and also loved it. It's hard to compare with Disney. I thought the food was a bit better with DCL but I loved our cruise director Graham Seymore, he was the best I've ever cruised with!! This was a cruise without our children but I know our big kids would have loved it. Especially our teen son with rock walls, flowrider, ice rink, and big pools!! I love DCL but it's fun to try new things.

 

[TXDCLfan]

We have sailed on the RCCL Freedom and the DCL Wonder. We did not care for the RCCL Freedom. We decided to go back to DCL and our next cruise is booked on the DCL Magic.

A relative of mine recently came back from a trip on the Allure (or Oasis, can't remember which) and she did not care for it.

Good luck in whatever you choose!

We tried RCCL twice and had poor service and crummy food quality both times. All of our friends that have cruised with Disney and then tried RCCL said that they will never set foot on a RCCL ship again.

 

[ededmd]

I think I'd check out the companies in the top 3 spots above DCL if looking for another cruise line to go with.

Two of those listed are luxury lines and one is a premium line. All cost significantly more per diem than DCL and none sails the caribbean during spring break times - at least for 2012.

 

[TXDCLfan]

I have sailed the Freedom (2), Oasis (1) and the Magic and Wonder (3). The first question would be the money. The Freedom sails about the same itinerary as Oasis and the Allure. The other RCL big ship. The difference is the Freedom can be about $300 - $400 less than the Oasis or Allure and that makes a difference in a big family. If you have the finances and don't mind traveling to Fort Lauderdale the Oasis is the ship for you. If you are watching your dimes a little bit you can have just as much fun on the Freedom out of Port Canaveral. I like the PC terminal much better than the Fort Lauderdale terminal. Also it is a big miles advantage for me to cruise out of PC.

You will not get intimidated by the huge ships. In fact you might like the room that you get walking around the ship. The Freedom is actually bigger than the Disney Dream. I will guarantee it has much more to do and see than the Dream. The pool area is larger and a lot more room for the children to play in. The adult pool area is about twice the size of the Dream adult area with two huge whirlpools and a lot of shaded area out in the open.

If you are fairly new in cruising I would jump up to the Freedom first. If you like that ship than you will look forward to one day sailing on the Oasis or Allure. I Think I prefer the Freedom because it is about 200 miles closer to home for me, but enjoyed myself immensley on the Oasis. They are both beautiful ships with a ton of activities for adults and kids of all ages.

http://ekorgan2.com/freedom_of_the_seas.htm

Check out these pictures from my last Freedom cruise

Since you have never cruised on the Dream how can you make such a statement

 

[SFed]

I sailed on the Dream in June and the Freedom in July. I've been lucky to travel quite a bit over my life and have stayed in very nice hotels, done all inclusive resorts and cruised a fair amount. I say this so you understand I am not a Disney fanatic nor do I only cruise DCL. I have sailed on DCL because I think the service is great, the ships are beautiful and my kids have a great time. I think the food on DCL is decent in the main dining rooms and that Palo is great and Remy is unbelievable.

I think the Dream is a great ship. There are certainly some quirks and I will go along with everyone else that the pools could have been done better. I really never felt like the increase in the amount of people over the classic ships was overwhelming, except you did need to get to the shows early to get decent seats. Overall it was a great trip and I look forward to sailing on the Fantasy next year and the Magic again here soon.

This is only one guy's opinion, but how you could find the Dream comparable to the Freedom is beyond me. On the Freedom, the food was bad to inedible at times. The vast majority of the crew was indifferent to downright rude. There are many times you feel the mass of people on the ship. It felt like I spent half of the time waiting in line. I would say it took about an hour of waiting on their island to tender back, the same for Grand Caymen. It also took an hour in Cozumel and we were docked at the pier. Next, prepare to be nickled and dimed to death. I hit a royal flush on the first night and took the casino for a fair amount, so I actually one upped RCCL there. We also thought the shows were boring at best and actually left one early. I don't consider singing rock songs in a costume to be quality entertainment. I did like the ice show, although my wife and daughter did not. My 6 year old boys liked their club, but my 10 year old daughter did not. These are kids I have to beg to come to dinner with us on DCL because they love the clubs so much. I won't sail RCCL again, ever. Not for free, not if you paid me to go.

 

[AbsyBabsy]

I have sailed Disney 9 times and RC 2 times. I sailed the Oasis last year without kids. I loved the Oasis and I agree with the other poster, only crowded on formal night. They were giving away drinks and folks were waiting in line for photos.

I am not sure there is a lot for the tween group with the programming that my 11 year old would like. At her age, I give her freedom on the Disney, but the Oasis is too big for me to give her freedom. Plus there were a lot of teens and some were hanging with the tweens - which I did not like - they always appeared to be just about to get into trouble. Too much loitering in the halls and hanging in dark corners. They were not a bother to other passengers, just a concern for parents of young girls.

If I go again, I would pick the Allure, they made some changes that are a little more kid and passenger flow friendly.

One of the best parts of the Oasis was the adult area - I absolutely loved it and really missed it when I went on the Dream. Because I liked the adult area so much, I probably won't go on the Oasis or Allure with my daughter - I will be missing the adult section too much!