jjgomez1375 Posted February 17, 2019 Report Share Posted February 17, 2019 Hello - First time cruiser, first time posting...so many questions, so much second guessing! I recently made a change to our reservation (Dec. '19) from the Independence (Labadee and Falmouth) to Adventure of the Seas (George Town, Costa Maya, and Cozumel) to gain a extra night (was 5 night, now 6 night) for the same total price. I'll be traveling with my husband and our 4 year old kiddo so looking for a family friendly ship. We did have to downgrade our room from Ocean View to Interior to keep the cost the same. I noticed however that Adventure doesn't have as many 'quick' service dining locations and fewer activities. My question for this Board is did I make the best decision ever or should I harass the nice people at RC to switch the reservation back?! My original thought was an extra day for the same price cruise is totally worth it, but now I'm worried our overall experience would have been better on Independence. Any feedback is much appreciated! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twangster Posted February 17, 2019 Report Share Posted February 17, 2019 Welcome to the message boards! First of all, a great place to start is a tab at the top of this page "Getting Started": https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/getting-started Adventure is part of the Voyager class series of ship and Independence is part of the Freedom class series of ships. Freedom class is a stretched version of Voyager class. Same basic ship, just a little longer. When first introduced, each was the largest class of cruise ship in it's day. Both are excellent ships and both have been updated recently. I've sailed both over the past six months. Itineraries are two ports (Indy) versus three ports (Adventure). In my opinion Adventure's itinerary does look more appealing, especially for a first time cruiser while Indy's extra length does allow it to have a few more features. So it comes down to choosing the cruise leaning towards either itinerary or the ship. That is the real choice. Both are family friendly ships. Both have ice skating shows, water slides and plenty of things to do. For seasoned cruisers that know exactly what they want or seek, it would be easier for them to decide. In the case of a first time cruiser, both ships are going to seem incredible upon first sight, as they should because both are incredible in their own way. George Town is a tender port meaning the ship anchors offshore and tender boats are used to ferry passengers to and from shore. Once ashore the Cayman Islands are beautiful with many excursions and activities to choose from. Labadee is Royal's private destination. Beautiful and a favorite of mine but it's a beach day at a private area versus visiting a port where you can explore another country beyond the port area. As far as excursions, being a new cruiser the easiest thing to do is book your excursions through Royal Caribbean. There is some safety in this approach too since its your first cruise and you can get the swing of things on this cruise. If you enjoy cruising as mush as most of us do, on future cruises you can venture further out on your own. As more people respond you may see answers where the itinerary is more important to that user and answers where the ship is more important to that user. We all cruise differently and what each of us prefers is different but that's okay, and that is the nice thing about having so many choices. Indy does have a few more features as you have noted. However as a first time cruiser are you likely to notice or use them all? My first cruise was on a ship much smaller than either and with none of the features they have. I was still blown away by the overall experience. I'm not going to tell you what I'd do because you are not me. What is important to you may not be what is important to me and that is perfectly okay. I will say you will have an awesome experience on either cruise. Sweety, Matt, Vee2525 and 2 others 4 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jjgomez1375 Posted February 17, 2019 Author Report Share Posted February 17, 2019 Thanks twangster...your insight was incredibly helpful! twangster 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vee2525 Posted February 17, 2019 Report Share Posted February 17, 2019 @jjgomez1375 My first cruise with Royal Caribbean was in May 2018 on the Adventure of the Seas. I cruised with my boyfriend on our first vacation together. I fell in love with the ship and cruising. Casino on that ship was nice, clean, and friendly staff. But you should know the staff on the whole ship was amazing. Especially I felt our Room Attendant did an over the top amazing job. Casino bar and Pool bar was my favorite. But you should know there are plenty of bars all over the ship to get a drink. Overall great amazing time on Adventure of the Seas. Would recommended and cruise again on Adventure of the Seas. Back to cruising life when you go too in Dec 2019 on Rhapsody of the Seas ship. Needless to say we are counting down 293 days. Happy Cruising. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Traveler Posted February 17, 2019 Report Share Posted February 17, 2019 I think you did the right thing , Voyager class (which Adventure OTS is part of) is a very nice ship to start with. she has enough quick free food options (although she dose not have the Sorento Pizza they will offer Pizzas in the promenade cafe). Enjoy the cruise. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jjgomez1375 Posted February 17, 2019 Author Report Share Posted February 17, 2019 Thanks everyone! I appreciate you taking the time to respond! twangster 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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