Hard, droopy beds took away from a potential great experience

Carnival Freedom Cruise Review to Caribbean - Eastern

Cruises: 7+ cruises
Review: 1
Helpful Votes: 46

Overall rating:

3 out of 5
Verified Review
Carnival Freedom

8 Night Eastern Caribbean (Ft. Lauderdale Roundtrip)

Sail date: May 18, 2013

Ship: Carnival Freedom

Cabin type: Oceanview

Traveled as: Couple

Reviewed: 11 years ago

Review summary

This would have been a wonderful cruise, as the service, entertainment, and activities were all pretty good. The main thing that took away from our experience was the very hard, droopy, sunk in beds. It made our sleep at night quite a challenge. We couldn't get a good nights sleep to save our lives. Considering we went on this cruise to get some rest, the objective was completely unachievable. We did have several extra comforters put on our beds, but even still, it didn't help enough to illiminate the pain and discomfort we went thru every night we hit the sack. As soon as we walked into our room, we could see the beds dipped horribly. We had an extra comforter put on the bed, but it didn't help the dipping, nor did it make the bed more comfortable. We then had another one added and it still didn't solve our problem. We found 2 additional comforters under our bed and proceeded to triple them over and place them in the center parts of our beds to try and add more bulk to the part that dipped, but still it looked like a hammock. The edges raise so much higher than the center that we could only sleep in the very middle of each twin bed pushed together. When we tried to cuddle, it was like trying to keep ourselves from falling down a cliff. At least, that's what it felt like to us. It is so wrong to keep beds like that on board. They should replace them when they get that bad. It is impossible to get a good nights rest when a bed is that hard and that con caved. We were so tired the entire trip. We didn't even schedule any tours because, not only were we tired, but our backs, hips, and shoulders hurt so bad. We even took pain pills and sleeping pills to no avail. So unfair to put customers thru that kind of experience. Had it not been for that, out trip would have been so much better. Lack of sleep and rest can change your entire vacation, and that it did. We are still trying to recover from those beds. Too bad, because the trip could have been so much better. We even had to miss the 2 best nights of entertainment because we were just too tired. We even tried to sleep in, but the pain got the best of us. It was also impossible to get lounge chairs around the pool, as many put blankets out early to save their spots and made it difficult for others to lay out. It was like that all over the ship, actually. Even at the serenity deck for adults only, we couldn't find lounge chairs. We weren't the only ones complaining about that. Many were. I guess, that was to be expected. Carnival tried to get that under control, but it was nearly impossible.

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

5 out of 5
Food was good, not excellent, but a good value for the price

Onboard Activities

5 out of 5
Usually fun by the pool. Wished they played more Caribbean music bedsides just on the departure day.

Entertainment

5 out of 5
What we saw of it, it was good. We apparently missed the 2 best nights of entertainment

Children's Programs

Didn't use

Service and Staff

5 out of 5
Most were quite friendly and willing to serve.

Ship Quality

5 out of 5
The ship was clean in all areas

Cabin / Stateroom

3 out of 5
With the exception of hard, droopy, saggy beds, the room was clean and large. We did have issues with both the toilet & frig, but they worked on that.

Ship tip

Don't set your sites on the Mongolian stir fry. The lines were never less than 45-60 mins & sometimes longer. Great food & we would have eaten there every afternoon, but the lines were just ridiculous. Pizzas were great, as well as the grilled sandwiches. The Lido deck for lunch was good.

Ports of call

Ft. Lauderdale (Port Everglades), Florida

3 out of 5

Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas

3 out of 5

St. John's, Antigua

3 out of 5

Tortola, British Virgin Islands

5 out of 5
Best island of the trip! Take an island tour, as it is beautiful from every angle!

Nassau, Bahamas

3 out of 5
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