Freedom or Oasis??

[Frozen2014]

Great...so glad it's been helpful. I'm addicted to the site. (Keeps me busy and excited while waiting patiently for our cruise...lol).
Ask away...people are really helpful.

Let us know what you decide.

 

[minkydog]

I'm now worried maybe 14 nights is too much because I've never sailed RCL. I hate the "unknown"
Maybe 7 nights is enough and the kids and I can do something for the 2nd week in Orlando.
Originally, my friend and her 2 kids were coming, but she had to back out, so now it's the DH, the kids and I for the 1st cruise, and then the kids and I for the 2nd week. My DH can only come for 1 week.

Yes, cruise critic is a great idea and I'm reading posts as we speak

Thanks!

You're the one who knows your kids, but I know that my kids would not hold up for two weeks on a cruise. Mine are grown now, but back when they were elementary ages their away-from-home-and-routines limit was about 5-7 days. As teens, it was at least that, maybe shorter--they just didn't want to be away from their friends for longer than a week.

If it were *me*, I would do the cruise with the whole family, then spend the second week doing other things with the kids. There is plenty to do in Orlando, but you can also spend some time at Cape Canaveral or head over to the Gulf coast for mermaids and manatees.

 

[DnA2010]

You're the one who knows your kids, but I know that my kids would not hold up for two weeks on a cruise. Mine are grown now, but back when they were elementary ages their away-from-home-and-routines limit was about 5-7 days. As teens, it was at least that, maybe shorter--they just didn't want to be away from their friends for longer than a week.

If it were *me*, I would do the cruise with the whole family, then spend the second week doing other things with the kids. There is plenty to do in Orlando, but you can also spend some time at Cape Canaveral or head over to the Gulf coast for mermaids and manatees.

Where as we sure wished we had another week when we were on Oasis, although I know DD would have been very happy to do a week in Orlando also

 

[flinkerfrosch]

Thank you to all who has helped me

Things have changed quite a bit since I last posted, not for the bad though!

My DH told me he would rather do a land vacation vs a cruise cause we just got off the Disney Wonder, 14 night Panama Canal cruise on Nov 7th. He said he wanted to "switch things up"

So, now we're looking at doing 7 or 8 nights all inclusive to Jamaica, then he flys home to Toronto, and I fly to Florida solo with the 2 boys and do a 1 week cruise instead of a B2B.

Now, I'm going back and forth from the Freedom or Allure. If I do the Freedom, I would fly into MCO and stay a night in a hotel and then head to the ship or I fly into FLL, stay a night at a hotel and then head to the ship.

I'm planning on 3 or 4 nights at Animal Kingdom Lodge after the cruise, so the Freedom would be closer since it's out of PC.

Or...if I sail the Allure, I have to hire transportation to get back to Orlando which is a longer drive then if I sail of of PC. I won't rent a car cause I have a phobia of driving in cities I'm not familiar with.

So, fire away! What would you do??

Also, anyone have any suggestions of really nice All inclusive resorts in Jamaica. Right now I'm looking at the Jewel Runaway Bay.

Cheers!

 

[eskimoinparadise]

Don't have any experience with Jamaican AI resorts. If it were me, I'd do Freedom out of PC. Only an hour from AKL vs. a 3-4 hour drive from FLL.

 

[MrsPete]

I vote Freedom. I've looked at Oasis' deck plans and have tried to get excited about it ... but it just looks like "more", not "better". It's too big for me.

One thing no one's pointed out about the two ships: Freedom does more island stops. Oasis is too big to dock in some ports.

No, Freedom definitely does not have a lazy river, and I don't think Oasis does either.

If I were doing a back-to-back, I would not change ships. That's part of the enjoyment: Staying on the ship, not moving rooms. Packing everything up and making a drive in between cruises would be a no-go for me.

As for laundry, Royal Caribbean has send-out laundry, but the price is pretty high. I want to say it's something like $3 for a tee-shirt and $4 for a pair of shorts. You can google and see the prices. However, Royal does offer a fill-this-bag for $30 on Thursday; I personally think this is only worthwhile if you're doing a back-to-back.