Freedom vs. Independence

[Minnie368]

We just cruised for the first time with Royal. We were on Freedom of the Seas and had a good time. Previously had only sailed DCL and while we definitely prefer DCL, we enjoyed this cruise enough that for shorter more frequent cruises we'd sail Royal again and save DCL for longer cruises with extended family. We found Freedom to be clean and the food was good enough. We had the deluxe bev package and will definitely do that going forward. We didn't care for Windjammer and didn't eat there again after the first day. We did main dining room for breakfast, pizza or Mexican for lunch (or off ship), and main dining room for dinner except one night at Chops. We had a junior suite in a nice location that was low traffic and quiet. Only thing is we would prefer to sail from Port Canaveral vs. Miami and that means Independence of the Seas for the dates/length we can go. Can anyone offer thoughts on the similarities/differences between the two? Royal has so many ships it's hard to know how they all compare. I read some recent pretty negative reviews of Independence vs mostly good recent reviews of Freedom. Btw I personally really like the pizza at Sorento's so that was a big plus for me. Thanks!

 

[ScooterScott44]

The fact that "others" have given negative feedback should be taken for what it is, there opinion. We have done Freedom but like you have not done Independence even though we are in central Florida.

Here are a few facts, that make me comfortable that since I thought Freedom was nice, I'll be fine with Indy if and when we sail on her. The Freedom and Independence are sister ships, that is 2 of the 3 Freedom class ships. They both have been "amped", had a major dry dock with many updated and additions of features. Staffing is coming back to near normal levels since RCI has added quite a few staff in the last few months. It may take some time for everyone to get fully trained but they are in the process. Itineraries from PC and Miami are pretty similar for the most part.

All that said, you should find more things similar that different. If you, or anyone, has a chance to give direct comparisons that would be great.