Very disappointed

Carnival Freedom Cruise Review to Caribbean - Western

Cruises: 4-6 cruises
Review: 1
Helpful Votes: 47

Overall rating:

2 out of 5
Carnival Freedom

Western Caribbean

Sail date: September 03, 2016

Ship: Carnival Freedom

Cabin type: Balcony

Cabin number: 1043

Traveled as: Couple

Reviewed: 8 years ago

Review summary

I was very disappointed with the Carnival cruise line itself.  I really did not appreciate the way my husband and I were treated while on board.  We were on the cruise to celebrate our 3rd wedding anniversary and both of our birthdays (mine is 8/24 and my husband's is 9/19) and they went completely unnoticed.  They did acknowledge my husband's birthday.  We have been on other cruises before with other cruise lines and they bend over backwards for people who are celebrating different things and Carnival did not give us a second thought.  Not that I was expecting a whole lot, but they could have at least acknowledged it in some way.  When it was brought up, I was told I must not have booked my cruise directly through the Carnival website.  It really should not matter where I booked my cruise through, I still chose to cruise with them and customer service is customer service.  Also, I have food allergies and needed to order my food special the night before so it could be prepared a certain way as I cannot eat off of a buffet.  We were unaware that there would be two elegant night aboard this cruise as every other cruise we have been on only ever had one so we had only prepared for one.  We went to the restaurant on this night, dressed up the way we had been every night and they would not let us in because my husband did not have on pants.  He still had on a dress shirt, docker shorts and dress shoes.  They turned us away but let in others with ripped jeans and wife beater tank tops.  That did not make any sense to me as that is not elegant dress attire either.  I was unable to eat dinner that night since my only other option was the buffet.  With the amount of money we paid for the cruise, there is absolutely no reason why I should not have been allowed to eat a dinner for a night.  The Chic Restaurant did not even allow me to take the food I ordered to go just so I could have a dinner.  To me, this is very poor customer service.  Carnival should really get more dining options on the ship and have some options for those who cannot eat off the buffet and do not want to do elegant night.  You should not be forced to participate in the elegant night.

The staff that took care of our state room, Ernie, in particular, was very nice and did a fantastic job.  He was the only one to acknowledge our anniversary after my husband asked him if he was told about it.  Then when we were away at dinner, he went in and made up the room a little bit.  I thought that was sweet even though it was a couple days late.  The waiter, Preston, who we ran into several times around the ship always took care of us and was very nice.  He remembered us by name and knew exactly what drink we were getting before we even ordered it.  My husband and I still made the best of the cruise but will never take a Carnival cruise again, nor would we ever recommend one.

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

1 out of 5
not enough choices, and see above.

Onboard Activities

3 out of 5

Entertainment

3 out of 5
Comedy shows are great. The other night shows were awful. Tried to get through two and ended up leaving after only a few minutes.

Service and Staff

3 out of 5
Please see above comments about Ernie and Preston.

Ship Quality

3 out of 5

Cabin / Stateroom

5 out of 5
Ernie took very good care of the room for us.

Ship tip

Use a different cruise line.

Ports of call

Galveston, Texas

3 out of 5

Cozumel, Mexico

5 out of 5

Belize City, Belize

3 out of 5
Kind of dumpy

Mahogany Bay, Roatan, Bay Islands, Honduras

5 out of 5
Was this review helpful? 47

34 Comments

LMG1988    8 years ago

Msladydi, fiends have, and they make for great family pics w/o a sitting fee. Just pay for the pics you like. If you want copies, you can get a waiver from carnival, or pay for some there.

msladydi    8 years ago

Do I need to bring dress up clothes for the children on "elegant " night?? First time cruiser

bmnjm626    8 years ago

We were just on the Miracle to celebrate my father in laws 73rd bday and I let Carnival know that it was his bday beforehand and they gave him a discount on a massage, discount on pics, 15.00 to spend in the casino, and at dinner they came to sing for him. Our room steward acknowledged his bday as well when we saw him. They aren't mind readers and they don't know if you don't tell them.

mcutler    8 years ago

This review made me laugh out loud. Total lack of research and planning. On our last cruise Carnival recognized our anniversary and my birthday by singing to us at dinner and brining a fancy desert. And if they hadn't, who cares. I've read countless reviews where carnival will prepare special foods IF you let them know of food allergies, etc. 2 star due to lack of planning and research...smh

mikeskiles    8 years ago

Perhaps you and your husband should have stopped by McDonalds to party down for your birthdays before you got on board! On elegant night just order room service ..problem solved!!!

jportugal    8 years ago

I don't care if strangers acknowledge my birthday....

deni1073    8 years ago

I researched, looked up, talked to people that have cruised with Carnival, website specifically says 6 day or longer: two cruise elegant nights, we were there celebrating my nieces birthday and she received champagne, strawberries, and gift cards. You are the idiot for your lack of knowledge not Carnival

ladyt357    8 years ago

Once you have your special occasions tie into your cruise it's almost a give that they will recognize it. Nonetheless if the doesn't then you do something special for each other. I celebrated on the ship many times and were always recognized.

sassi    8 years ago

I was just thinking about that I always cruise in January and it's always around my son's birthday January 14th I usually just tell the cruise line ahead of time before we get on its my son Birthday they always decorated the rooms gave him a cake sang happy birthday to him at a specialty restaurant for a small fee so people 😲

LMG1988    8 years ago

I don't understand getting bent out of shape over not remembering a birthday or anniversary. We are going for a few bdays in January, and 2 in June, along with our anniversary. I didn't know it was such a big deal for the cruise line to remember or forget. We are still going to have a great time. Sorry, just don't get it.

sassi    8 years ago

rodarl    8 years ago

If you did any research at all you would know there is 1 elegant night for a 5 day cruise and 2 for a 7 day cruise.

LoveToCruise10    8 years ago

I only been on the Magic and they ask you to dress up but if you did not they would not turn you away.

rosemetal2    8 years ago

Can't we all just get along

twangster    8 years ago

Unrealistic expectations. Glad they enforced the dress code for the MDR. Seems cruising isn't your thing.

batch123    8 years ago

Most of the ops post is BS and narcissist embellishment. All of the ops complaints would have been avoided with a little prior planning and communication on their part. Stay home and be misrable in your own home next time. Bye.

rosemetal2    8 years ago

Ya'll like to party nothing wrong with that I'm more laid back enjoy

loves2cruise2    8 years ago

Exactly @gatoraugustine

gatoraugustine    8 years ago

Must be another drive by! If someone can find this site and drop a huge complaint why can't they find carnival.com and do they're research. Love Carnival and 12 trips later no complaints at all.

rosemetal2    8 years ago

For your comment your lacking

Caribbeanjuicee    8 years ago

Really? How come it shows youve been on 2 and going on one more @rosemetal2

rosemetal2    8 years ago

You got to have class to go on royal Caribbean Cruise I've been on 22 cruises sonny

Caribbeanjuicee    8 years ago

Couldnt agree more @trmn8tr

rosemetal2    8 years ago

Hate carnival

loves2cruise2    8 years ago

No, the OP

Caribbeanjuicee    8 years ago

Are you refering to me? @lisaandbob

loves2cruise2    8 years ago

Says noname, so once stop drop I bet

Caribbeanjuicee    8 years ago

Haha @wildbill24

loves2cruise2    8 years ago

Lol @ wildbill24

wildbill24    8 years ago

oh geez, here we go again........

trmn8tr    8 years ago

It does matter with whom you booked your cruise from. If you booked it from a TA, then it was up to them to let Carnival know that you were celebration a special occasion. If you booked it yourself, there is something on the website that asks are you celebrating an anniversary, birthday or any other special occasion. You just check the box. That will be in their system and they would have acknowledge it somehow. I booked my cruise from a Carnival PVP. If informed him that it would be our anniversary cruise. The dinner staff came to our table and announced it and gave us a free bottle of wine with our dinner. As far as not knowing about 2 elegant nights on your cruise, that was up to you to do research. Again, if you did book your cruise from a TA, that was up to them to inform you with all the details about your cruise. I always book my cruise from the same PVP since 2009.

loves2cruise2    8 years ago

It specifically says no shorts though....guess you didn't read either

Caribbeanjuicee    8 years ago

Thats not true on formal night carnival would never let anyone in with jeans and a tank top

loves2cruise2    8 years ago

Wow, just wow, but....did you link your birthday & anniversary to your booking? We did and got a little surprise. It was very nice

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