We have always cruised on the voyager class of ship but we have now booked to go on the Freedom of the Seas in Feb. I read quite a few reviews stating that the Freedom is crowded and hard to get a seat in the Windjammer etc. They say Royal Caribbean has added too many more people on board a ship that really isn't all that much bigger.
Do any of you feel this way? I know on the Voyager class, I never get a sense that there are thousands of people on board except maybe around the pool on sea days which is to be expected.
Wilson,
I think you will feel the same way about the Freedom also. I have been on three of the Voyager Class ships in the last six months. I thought there were times when the Windjammer was very crowded. It just depends on what time you hit it. I never noticed the Freedom being any more crowded that the Voyager Class ships.
Unless they've changed things from a few years ago we never thought the Windjammer was that crowded. The Cribbean Princess was much more so than any ship we've been on on RCI.
Just returned from the Liberty (same class ship) We love the Voyager class, and did not find this to be any more crowded. They day we went ashore at Cozumel the Windjammer was packed, lots of people all wanting to go to shore at about the same time. We shared a table for six with a foreign couple (I guess everywhere but in the US this is typical, and they were welcoming in their generosity to us). This may have been the case the day we went to Grand Cayman as well . . .
We otherwise had no trouble at all in the windjammer. Just that little traffic jam of everyone wanting to eat and leave at once.
We did notice quite the line up to return to the ship at Grand Cayman (tender port), but they were running three tenders and a line that looked ridiculous, after all probably all 4000 people needed to get back--actually moved along very well.
I noticed very little difference in crowding from a Voyager to the Freedom class, and actually the H2O splash zone made for less congestion in the main pool area with kiddies congregating over there.
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Laurie
RCCL Nordic Empress 1993
RCCL Nordic Prince 1994
RCCL Explorer 2003, 2005
RCCL Navigator, 2004, 2007
RCCL Mariner 2006
RCCL Liberty 2008
RCCL Adventure 2009 Read and post cruise reviews
The Windjammer can be a madhouse at certain times. Embarkation day, debarkation morning, and the mornings when you are arriving in a port.
Not much you can do about the embarkation day lunch crowd other than get aboard early and hope to be among the first to get to the buffet (like we did last year on the Liberty Of The Seas). As for the other peak crowd times - go to the dining room and all your troubles will fade away.
Otherwise, I've never felt these ships were crowded and I've sailed with maximum passenger loads on both the Freedom and Liberty.
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