Cruise review

Carnival Freedom Cruise Review to Caribbean - Eastern

PatinTexas

Contributor Level: Second Mate

Cruises: 7+ cruises

Reviews: 2

Helpful Votes: 48

Overall rating:

4 out of 5

Verified Review

7 Night Eastern Caribbean With Carnival Live (Galveston Roundtrip)

Sail date: June 17, 2017

Ship: Carnival Freedom

Cabin type: Balcony

Cabin number: 6431

Traveled as: Large Group

Reviewed: 7 years ago

Review summary

This was our 13th family cruise but our 1st time with Carnival. We had heard so many negative stories about Carnival, most notably the Triumph incidents, and had been told that Carnival was just a party cruise. However we are closest to the Galveston, TX port and the other cruise lines seem to have abandoned using Texas as their port so we booked on Carnival this time. So much for our Gold status on Norwegian :( Anyway my entire family was overall impressed by this trip and will not hesitate to choose Carnival again in the future.

Main positives; 1) Very friendly and caring staff at every position. We have had other cruise line trips were it seemed the staff was not happy and you could tell. So this was a very pleasant surprise and helped make this trip very enjoyable. 2) Food quality was above average and in the top three experiences we have had on a cruise line. Lately on different trips we have had to upgrade to the specialty restaurants in order to get the quality and service you desire while on vacation. On the Carnival Freedom we received excellent service and top quality food in the main dining room using general seating.

So main negatives: 1) Unfortunately for half of my family we were on the floor above the dance club. So from 11 PM until 2 AM sleeping was almost impossible with the steady thump, thump, thump of the deep base from the music. They did a great job of stopping the mid to high frequencies but that deep base just pounded for three to four hours every night. ARRggghhh we would get up more and more tired every morning. 2) The only other complaint I heard from the group was how crowded most events were, meaning either they would not have enough seating for the events and/or the lines and waiting time were long at most events and areas. This being said the crew did a great job with getting everyone on and off the ship at ports in a timely manner. Happy sailing!

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

5 out of 5

Onboard Activities

3 out of 5

Entertainment

5 out of 5

Service and Staff

5 out of 5

Ship Quality

5 out of 5

Cabin / Stateroom

5 out of 5

Ports of call

Galveston, Texas

5 out of 5

Key West, Florida

5 out of 5

Freeport, Grand Bahama Island

3 out of 5

Carnival Live Concert

5 out of 5

Traveler Photos

19 Comments

Shsutxgal14 7 years ago

Unfortunately on any ship, we have to be mindful of the rooms we choose. I remember one time being directly underneath the Lido and we heard chairs until 2am. My next cruise, in 39 days, we have cabins above and below us so hopefully it will be a good nights sleep. But happy to hear you enjoyed Carnival. That's the only line we cruise with. Always happy, no matter the experience. Just thankful to have the privilege of cruising!

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kitten1943 7 years ago

8 mid ship? How does that look for noise?? Can't tell.

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debijoemsmetrocastnet 7 years ago

We always book a room midship on deck 1. We don't spend extra for a balcony. It is always so quiet and dark...we sleep like babies listening to the motors hum. We love it down there.

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kitten1943 7 years ago

Cool. Thanks for advice. Will do!

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jbbinder 7 years ago

kitten1943, we always book directly through the Carnival website. If the fare drops (you can check easy through their fate viewer page) they will match the price drop (even if it's on another website). We have snagged price drops on all of our cruises, often getting multiple drops. We book WAY in advance (up to 23 months) so we can get the exact cabin we want, but we never worry about that original rate because we watch for price drops & OBC offers.

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kitten1943 7 years ago

PLEASE REPOST if u r the one who went to aquarium w ruines on the Bahamas. Some reason my phone lost it ... or maybe the fish from the aquarium ate it! Thanks n have a great weekend.

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kitten1943 7 years ago

K. Guess I just thought there was a price difference. I usually book through cheap cruises or another web site. Only draw back when u book early n pay in full you may miss a lower price. Worth the booking ahead though to me. I agree most of the time u do not necessarily get best room if u let them assign. Just a FYI. A friend had an interior room booked n called at last minute to see if there was an upgrade available on Norwegian. She got a rear balcony for the same rate. VIP and all ... chocolate covered strawberries, bottle of wine, etc. Going to try that next time myself. She was blessed to say the least. Happy sailing. Count down to July 22 ... getting closer. Carnival is going to get ck out! Fun in the open sea and relaxing ð!

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jbbinder 7 years ago

kitten1943, that's not true. We only book early saver rates (& you select your room), and those rates are ALWAYS the cheapest rate available. (There are websites to check cruise fares AFTER a cruise to see what the best rates were for your cabin category.). If Carnival chooses your cabin they just fill in the cabins no one has picked yet, which are the less desirable ones. I would never do that.

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kitten1943 7 years ago

When they choose is cheaper by few $. Personally I want to pick myself ... but this is my preference. We like midship. We r on 8 on the freedom.

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jbbinder 7 years ago

Danagail, you didn't book a specific cabin?? Is Carnival choosing for you??

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Danagail 7 years ago

I don't know which floor yet it's TBD

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mleonardelli5 7 years ago

You can look at the deck plans on here. And as long as you book a cabin from mid to fwd of the ship you'll be good

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christine1234 7 years ago

Next time check out deckplangenius.com for your ship before booking a cabin. Being between two passenger decks is good if that is possible.

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rodarl 7 years ago

PatinTexas, was the aft 9 pool/hot tub with the 24 hour pizza no longer adult only?

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jbbinder 7 years ago

4B is a category, but where is it located?

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Danagail 7 years ago

I got 4B know it's going to be noisy

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Danagail 7 years ago

I got 4B know it's going to be noisy

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jbbinder 7 years ago

VRoberts1977, look at the deck plans for Freedom on Carnival's website to see what is directly above and below you. PatinTexas's review points out the importance of checking those deck plans before you book. We always book the same category room (aft balc) and always book deck 7 because there are cabins above and below us. Very very quiet.

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VRoberts1977 7 years ago

I'm going on my first cruise in August on the freedom. what room did you have? I'm trying to judge how close mine is to this dance club lol

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