Good overall with a few minor issues

Carnival Freedom Cruise Review to Caribbean - Western

Cruises: 2-3 cruises
Reviews: 2
Helpful Votes: 27

Overall rating:

3 out of 5
Verified Review
Carnival Freedom

Western Caribbean

Sail date: May 21, 2016

Ship: Carnival Freedom

Cabin type: Oceanview

Traveled as: Couple

Reviewed: 8 years ago

Review summary

Boarding the ship in Galveston was chaotic from parking all the way through registration, My traveling partner is Canadian and was told she could not board the ship because the stamp on her passport was over 30 days old and therefore expired. (Canadian citizens can stay in the US for up to 180 days) we had to go three tiers of the supervisory ladder to get the correct law verified so she could board the ship which was unacceptable and just boils down to poor training. 

 

Once aboard, we found the staff very fast, friendly and helpful and enjoyed our time from that point forward. see my pros and cons below:

 

Room Steward - FANTASTIC! couldn't have asked for better.

 

Food - Average at best, I realize Carnival's target market is family's with kids so they of course have to put out foods in the main areas that kids will eat but I found it a little much for my taste, too many greasy deep fried items on the main buffet as well as greasy burgers, pizza, etc. etc. as the alternatives during mid day.

 

Entertainment -  Very good, was quite impressed by the talent on board.

 

Steakhouse - Superb!, one of our most enjoyable and memorable experiences while on the ship.

 

Ports of Call - great! getting on and off the ship seemed very professional and  orderly.

 

Overall - Good experience! Food issues were during breakfast and lunch but got better at dinner. A special plug for the  the bar staff, they really kept the drinks coming and their mixology skills were excellent. - Cheers!

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

3 out of 5
Not impressed by the food quality options during the breakfast and lunch servings but dinner fare was much better.

Entertainment

5 out of 5

Service and Staff

5 out of 5

Ship Quality

3 out of 5

Cabin / Stateroom

5 out of 5

Ports of call

Montego Bay, Jamaica

5 out of 5

George Town, Grand Cayman

5 out of 5

Cozumel, Mexico

5 out of 5
Was this review helpful? 18

2 Comments

askeegan    8 years ago

Glad that you had a good cruise and that this mishap did not ruin your vacation.  Being a Canadian myself, I always ensure that I have all my documentation properly aligned with where we are going as there is nothing worse than being turned away or playing the 20 questions game when all you want to do is go sit in the pool with a frosty beverage.

 

And I do agree with you, the food in the buffet and MDR is rather blah.  Carnival has cut many corners and food quality is one of them that is suffering!

sbgarre    8 years ago

Sailed March 2016 of this year. Had a great experience with my fiance. Also loved all three ports on the itinerary. Thanks for the review!

Other reviews of this sailing