OK family vacation just to take a break from work, but not outstanding in anyway.

Carnival Freedom Cruise Review to Caribbean - Western

LNgo

Contributor Level: Purser

Cruises: 2-3 cruises

Review: 1

Helpful Votes: 38

Overall rating:

3 out of 5

Verified Review

7 Night Western Caribbean (Galveston Roundtrip)

Sail date: June 03, 2017

Ship: Carnival Freedom

Cabin type: Balcony

Cabin number: 7401

Traveled as: Family (young children)

Reviewed: 7 years ago

Review summary

Our stateroom (balcony) on level 7 - the bathroom had a constant pee smell (must be a leak somewhere) - doesn't matter how often they clean it.

The balcony walls cannot be opened when you book 3 rooms together - this would have earned more starts.

The favorite parts are the 3 ports that it stopped at - that's where you want to swim, not on the ship - pools are small and always overcrowded. The serenity area for 21 and over had a handful of POD stations and people just outright take them early morning so everyone else miss out. They *SHOULD* enforce a rule of a max 30 minutes per use to give other people a chance to use. Should enforce with a check-in/check-out pass or similar.

Food is average - filet mignon are not even near comparison with TX Roadhouse; breakfast is all the same for all 7 days. Desserts at the main dining halls are probably the best. The 2 hours per night in the main dining room is a torture when you have young kids traveling, and especially for late dining. They fall asleep sometimes before the main entree comes out - this alone should lose a star.

Shows are okay but since we had to wait so long for our dinner, we usually miss part of the start of the shows, and most of the time we just give up and not go to the shows.

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

3 out of 5

Main dining services needs improvement. Needs to be served faster instead of taking the whole 2 hours to serve the 3 courses. We can't even request early dining with young kids (5 years old) - they should allow that as prioritized booking.

Onboard Activities

1 out of 5

Nothing interesting. I've cruised RCCL before - much better activities available for all ages.

Entertainment

1 out of 5

Children's Programs

3 out of 5

I've got young kids, but none of them wants to join the children's program. Small places - did not impress them.

Service and Staff

3 out of 5

Some of the staffs just walks by with serious faces - stewards especially. The last cruise we went on (Carnival Fantassy - the staff there were so much more happy and cheerful).

Ship Quality

3 out of 5

The ship is a little old - definitely can see from the wear and tear and some areas not so clean - or clean but still has that smell. However, the promenade sitting areas are very nice - great to walk and chill around. Coffee bar is great.

Cabin / Stateroom

3 out of 5

Nice cabin size - this is the first time we did Balcony, and we'll never go back to interior or oceanview again. The balcony is a good way to get out and enjoy the breeze in your own privacy - if only the walls between cabins can be opened, it would have been 10 stars better.

Ports of call

Galveston, Texas

5 out of 5

Cozumel, Mexico

3 out of 5

If you've nothing to do, at least do a beach transfer. Not much to see for shopping around the port.

Thumbs Up 3

Belize City, Belize

5 out of 5

Excellent! Must do at least the cave-tubing and zip lining once in your lifetime here.

Thumbs Up 13

Mahogany Bay, Roatan, Bay Islands, Honduras

5 out of 5

Beach was overcrowded, but the facilities were great. We came out late with 2 families (10 ppl), so most of the chairs were taken and the ones with upcharges were booked out, but we found a spot under the coconut/palm tree and was able to chill for 4-6 hours. Easy to watch all the young kids swimming close to us.

Thumbs Up 2

4 Comments

BethAnne1975 7 years ago

We were in M91

Thumbs Up 0

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Cruisejunkies 7 years ago

Which cabin number were you on? Cruising in august.

Thumbs Up 0

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BethAnne1975 7 years ago

I've never had late dining before until this past cruise & even I was ready for bed after dinner! I think the early dining is a much better option with kids. They are much faster during this dining time as well!

Thumbs Up 0

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CruiselineSarah 7 years ago

Next time try booking anytime or early dining if you don't want to eat so late with little ones. It's not Carnival's fault you had late dining, and if that's all that was left, next time book your cruise further in advance. Plus, there's always the buffet if you want the dining process to be faster.

Thumbs Up 1

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