Which ship? Which Port?

Question

Having to decide on Mariner out of Orlando, or Freedom out of Miami. Live alot closer to Orlando. Is it worth the extra hours in the car to go on the newest ship? And getting to the port in Miami, is it a nightmare? I do like Freedoms places to go better though. They both have ice skating rinks, and climbing walls. Any opion will be greatly appericated.

Answer 1

I have been on the Freedom and although not on the Mariner yet (will be going on it in a few weeks) I have also been on the Adventure which is identical to the Mariner.  The layout, deck plans for both the Freedom and Mariner are very similar.  The Mariner is like a scaled down version of the Freedom, except it does not have the Flowrider on the back of the ship.  Both have the huge multistory atrium and mall down the center of the ship.  The Freedom also has a mini-water park for kids (and us big folks too) on its pool deck that is called the H2O Zone.  Its a really nice place for kids to enjoy the water with water falling and water cannons and a mini-pool.

I have driven to the port inn Miami about 5-6 times and it is very easy to get to and there is ample parking that is about $12-13. a day.  The exit off I-95 for the port (there are signs marking the exit) is exit number 3 (if I remember correctly) and once you exit I-95 its only about 5 blocks to the bridge over the causeway to the port.  You can probably do a Goggle or Yahoo map request for driving directions, but its really an easy into the port and also back out.

I lived the Freedom and drove a lot further than you will to go on it.  I also loved the ship's private island, Labadee.  Its the biggest and best private island of any of the cruise lines I have ever been on.  its huge;they provide a free tram to take you from one end to the other.  It has multiple beaches and plenty of shade trees, a market with local crafts, and water sports are available.

I saw go for the Freedom!!

Answer 2

I just came back from Royal, Service was awful, I think Royal ships have gone down. My travel agent said to stay away from royal as he says look at other lines instead, I wish i listened.

Answer 3

Check for remodel date.  If it is recent, there will not be a big difference.

Answer 4

I have been on the Navigator of the Seas, which is one year older and the same class as the Mariner of the Seas and I have been on the Freedom of the Seas.  I am also booked on the Mariner of the Seas after it arrives in Los Angeles.

I fly into Miami and end up taking a taxi to the port.  So I cannot really comment on how hard it is to get to the Port of Miami, though it does not seem any harder than the other ports that I have driven to (including in a rental car to Port Canaveral).  

You are correct that both ships have ice skating and rock climbing.  In fact, the Freedom of the Seas is basically a larger version of the Mariner of the Seas.  The major differences are, the Freedom has the Flowrider (a surfing simulator) where the Mariner has an inline skating track.  Also, the Freedom as a mini water park known as the H2O Zone.  This is a favorite place for the kids.  Other than that, the ships are very similar.  

If you have kids that would be interested in the water park, or if you or anyone in your group would be interested in the Flowrider, than it might be worth the drive to you to go to Miami.  Otherwise, it most likely is not worth it to drive to Miami just for the ship.  Or to put it another way, based on my experience on the Navigator, I was able to navigate the Freedom of the Seas without a deck plan - the ships are that similar (and the Mariner is just like the Navigator).

You mentioned that you like the Freedom's itinerary better.  Since both ships have the same western Caribbean itinerary, I assume you are on an eastern Caribbean itinerary.  

For the eastern Caribbean itinerary, in some cases, both ships have the same itinerary, going to San Juan, Puerto Rico, St. Thomas and St. Maarten.  

However, in some cases the Mariner goes to Coco Cay instead of San Juan.  Coco Cay is a RCI's private island.  I have been to Labadee (RCI's private beach on Haiti) twice, but I have not been to Coco Cay.  Nonetheless, both are similar.  If you like beaches, you will enjoy Coco Cay.  If you are more interested in sightseeing, then you might not enjoy Coco Cay as much.  Also, note that when both ships do go to San Juan, they arrive late in the afternoon (2:00 to 3:00pm) and stay until late at night (10:00 to 11:00pm).  If you are interested in daytime sightseeing in San Juan, these itineraries might not be to your liking.

Answer 5

You must be cruising the eastern, because the ports of call for the western are exactly the same. I don't think it makes a difference, you'll enjoy yourself either way. I went on the Mariner in May and had a blast. It's not the newest ship but its not that old either, and has lots of stuff to do. Go with whichever ship has the ports you want to visit.

Answer 6

Go to CruiseCritic.com, click on "Boards", then "Royal Caribbean".  Also check out "Reviews".  You'll find lots of opinions about all the RC ships, as well as lots of other useful information.