big ships vs small ones!

[mom2mybugs]

Yeah I'm back! Last year we took our first spring break cruise on Vision (my 2 girls, my son and me since hubby had to work). This year the girls (19 + 13) and I are cruising again on freedom of the sea. Royal has already bumped our deluxe ocean view to a balcony ...so thrilled!

My question is how different did people find their experience on a small vs big ship. Was everything more crowded on the bigger one, or were the people spread out enough? Did you spend more time on the boat because there was more to do and sea days were too crowded? Were the restaurants and seatings more crowded or less because more restaurants? Just wondering about the differences and id love any opinions or advice on freedom. Is there anything I have to know?

Oh yeah, and it was a huge bummer to my kids that vision didn't have a freestyle machine. Does freedom have one and is that included with the soda pkg?

Thanks in advance...I used to love reading the blog and I got out of the habit...so excited to be back and cruising in less than 2 months! Jane

[DocLC]

I sailed the Brilliance in July and the Liberty this month by comparison. I felt the crowds were more spread out on the Freedom class compared to the Radiance class because there was more open space and more venues to accommodate all the people. The only exception was when it came to ice skating and sometimes with the elevators.

 

We love to explore the ports, so I can't report what the ship was like then, but I will tell you that we were able to do everything we wanted onboard during sea days except for ice skating, so I don't think you'll have a problem.

 

The soda package does include the Freestyle machines on the ships that have them and I'm pretty confident that the Freedom does.

 

Edit: http://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/2015/07/20/coca-cola-freestyle-machines-royal-caribbean

 

According to the blog, Freedom DOES have the freestyle machines.

[Matt]

When you consider big vs small ships, there are some basic differences but I always compare them to sedan vs a pick up truck: they are both cars and both get you places, but it's a different experience in either one.

 

Big ships offer those whizz-bang and OMG moments with things like the FlowRider, ice skating rink, 10 pools, etc.

 

Smaller ships offer a more intimate experience and you will definitely notice that you recognize more guests because it's a smaller crowd.  Also, the smaller ships have their own charm to them.

 

The good news for you is that the big ships offer a lot to see and do.  For your kids especially, it will be a real treat.

[jticarruthers]

As noted by others Freedom definitely does have the soda machines.

 

The Freedom class is probably our favorite RCI offering ... they are big enough to have more options (multiple pools, flow rider, mini golf, sports court, etc.) but still have places to sit and enjoy the water views.

 

Haven't really had issues with crowding on any boats except when a show lets out or there is a parade something along those lines.

 

Definitely notice the same people more often on the smaller ships.

 

Having done both Vision and Freedom I don't think you will be unhappy on Freedom, pretty much everything is a plus on Freedom compared to Vision.

[monctonguy]

I just cruised Independence which is the sister ship to Freedom. It was only a 5 night, and I felt I didn't have enough time to take in and do everything I wanted to do or go back and try again.

 

I have cruised mostly smaller ships and shorter cruises....and I didn't find Independence too busy or long waits or too crowded at all. For the extra 1300 ppl or so compared to my previous cruises, there was a lot more room and things to do which help spread it out. I was impressed with this.

 

The biggest thing is I found that you didn't as easily get to know the bartenders or seem to run into people you have met earlier or recognized from previous events or meet ups. For some this may be a plus, for others maybe not.

 

Overall the pros weighed out the cons for me. I liked that there was so much to do and see.....I am cruising Adventure for 7 days in April so that will give me chance to experience this again for an even longer time and compare again.

[bobroo]

Let me add, in all the sailing we have done here is something that continues to amaze me no matter how "small" a Royal Caribbean ship is. You spend 7 days and 7 nights on the boat, you do all sorts of things, and at all sorts of hours. You'd think you have seen it all....

 

Yet during disembarkation after you've gathered your luggage and are waiting in line for customs.....I look around and there are passengers I have never seen before!  Check it out after your next sailing.

 

Regarding "big" ships: we sailed on Oasis for the first time 8 months ago. I still think about how remarkable that ship was. How well designed. How good the staff was. It really was worth the premium you pay.

[mom2mybugs]

Thanks everyone! We are really looking forward to this second cruise!

[JohnK6404]

We're in the bigger and newer is better group right now.  My first RC cruise was on the smallest (Majesty) in the fleet, the next was on the Explorer, my last was on Liberty and the next two will be on Allure and Anthem.

 

We (my wife and I) are now craving a more modern, clean decor and lots of activities/entertainment and dining choices so the newer, larger ships are for us.  Although the Majesty was nice, we felt it was badly outdated for our taste in all aspects (decor, amenities and condition).  We also had been on a Disney cruise prior to that sailing (honeymoon cruise), so it was a little bit of a downer and an unfair comparison.  It was a free cruise for us as it was a recognition cruise paid for by my employer (the Majesty is often booked by corporations for recognition events due to it's small size).  My company had booked the whole ship.  Bottom line, we still had a nice time (free is nice) and it obviously did not affect our decision to start cruising with RC.

 

I can say that bigger does not equal more crowded in our experience.  As we continue to go up in class (size), we notice that the ships seem to be so well designed for traffic flow.  The only time we feel crowded (which is probably the case on all of the ships) is on the pool deck on a day at sea, parades/events in the Promenade, or when piling out of the theater (of course) after a show.  As we go up in class we also notice that due to sheer size of the vessel, you often find more areas that are quiet/uncrowded.  My wife's coworker loves RC and has been cruising 2-3x/year for many years mostly on RC (she is approx. 60 yrs old)... she finally went on Oasis two years ago and said emphatically that it was her favorite cruise of all time to that point.  She too assumed that a ship that large with so many passengers would be crowded, but she was so pleasantly surprised!

 

I guess the question is do you want an intimate cruise with more limited activity, etc., on an older, smaller vessel (they are all refurbished periodically) or do you want to be blown away with the sheer scale, technology and amenities of the newer ships?  Of course many itineraries cannot accommodate the larger vessels so you will have a limited choice in those situations.  One thing to consider is the length of your cruise... my gut feeling is that anything less than 7-nights and you will not have the opportunity to fully explorer the larger Quantum or Oasis class ships (even 7-nights might be too short :)!).  I wish they offered a 10-night cruise on an Oasis class ship on a somewhat regular basis!  We elected to book a 12-night cruise in FEB 2017 on Anthem (just because a cruise can never be too long!). 

 

I'm starting to like being the biggest ship at port (started with Liberty)!  Enjoy your next cruise!!!   :)

[GrandPa]

Big or small, for us, it has to have a traditional promenade deck and windows on public decks.  We're sticking to the older ships.

[bcarney]

Our preference is Voyager class or smaller.  We haven't done a Freedom class ship yet; it looks like a Voyager class only larger, so I'd probably like it.  Didn't care much for Oasis, and have done a Quantum class ship yet.  

 

We cruise mostly for the ports, with the ship as a secondary consideration.

[jticarruthers]

If you like Voyager you will like Freedom, basically the same ships with the same layout and a couple more options in terms of shops/bars/activities.

 

With you on not loving Oasis class although I think we will give Harmony a try in 2017 depending on itineraries and pricing.

 

No interest in Q class, enjoyed Radiance and Vision class but would only do them again for a specific itinerary / short notice sailing.

[bcarney]

With you on not loving Oasis class although I think we will give Harmony a try in 2017 depending on itineraries and pricing.

I think we would have liked Oasis better if we were doing a back-to-back cruise.  As I noted above we really go on cruises for the destinations, so having just 3 stops in 'mega ports' really abbreviated the experience for us.  A B2B could remedy that.

[jticarruthers]

Heading off topic a bit but we had a bunch of small "bad reactions" through the course of the cruise that built up to a generally less than wowed end point from Allure.

 

Our general takeaways were:

 

1) its not a cruise ship its a floating mall ... no water views anywhere except the top deck. We typically like to spend time in various bars and venues and be able to see light/ocean, it felt like we could have been in an office building, shopping mall, etc. and not known the difference.

2) minor attitude .... had a handful of very minor customer service issues but the response to almost all of them was "shrug, your on the biggest cruise ship in the world, things happen" ... not necessarily a bad response but we were annoyed by it by the end of the cruise. (No limes onboard, "shrug", no nuts at the bar "shrug", etc)

3) limited itineraries ... one eastern, one western, no other options

4) higher prices ... premium for O class generally sepeaking

[DocLC]

Heading off topic a bit but we had a bunch of small "bad reactions" through the course of the cruise that built up to a generally less than wowed end point from Allure.

 

Our general takeaways were:

 

1) its not a cruise ship its a floating mall ... no water views anywhere except the top deck. We typically like to spend time in various bars and venues and be able to see light/ocean, it felt like we could have been in an office building, shopping mall, etc. and not known the difference.

2) minor attitude .... had a handful of very minor customer service issues but the response to almost all of them was "shrug, your on the biggest cruise ship in the world, things happen" ... not necessarily a bad response but we were annoyed by it by the end of the cruise. (No limes onboard, "shrug", no nuts at the bar "shrug", etc)

3) limited itineraries ... one eastern, one western, no other options

4) higher prices ... premium for O class generally sepeaking

Good observations overall that I largely agree with. However, I think the clientele drawn to these large ships and those that these ships are designed to attract are very different than the cruise veterans many of us are. Thus, many of these "issues" (for lack of a better word) largely go unnoticed or are overshadowed by everything the large ships offer.

 

While I like what the large ships offer, itinerary is king in my book, so I haven't yet sailed an O class ship yet and only this month sailed the Freedom class, but am going back to the Radiance class this summer because of itinerary.