First and last Carnival Cruise -where is the "meh" star rating?
Carnival Freedom Cruise Review to Caribbean - Western
Western Caribbean
Sail date: March 12, 2016
Ship: Carnival Freedom
Cabin type: Inside
Cabin number: 2334
Traveled as: Family (older children)
Reviewed: 8 years ago
Review summary
This was our 2nd cruise, 1st with Carnival. It started with, although being asked about our flight arrival time, not being told we would sit at the airport for 2 hrs waiting for the shuttle. After almost getting into 3 wrecks on our way down from Houston, the boarding process was nothing short of chaotic. Why do you have set boarding times only to make people sit like cattle for over an hour?!?
Once on board, the ship itself was not very clean, the windows were streaked so badly you could hardly see out and silverware had to be double checked for food stuck to it, repeatedly.
Also, leaving. We did would rush back from our ports, to make sure we were boarded on time, only to sit and wait for a minimum of 2 hours. Every port, starting with Galveston.
We also bought the drink package and were not informed that we would not be able to take advantage of it until the 2nd day of the cruise (even for a diet Coke!), nor were we informed Club Ocean wouldn't open until the 2nd day as well. Knowing that up front would have been nice.
The ports were awesome and overall the staff was pleasant. The rooms were what you would expect and the food was decent (I never ate at the buffet after the 1st morning due to the poor way it is set up).
We will not use Carnival to cruise again. For the money we paid, it was not worth it.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
Onboard Activities
Entertainment
Children's Programs
Service and Staff
Ship Quality
Cabin / Stateroom
Ship tip
Plan on waiting. For everything on the ship. Food, drinks, boarding, leaving, help... Plan ahead for all!