A new experience

Item: Carnival Freedom
Rating: 4
Author: sandralhvincent

Carnival Freedom Cruise Review to Caribbean - Western

sandralhvincent

Contributor Level: Purser

Cruises: 1 cruise (first)

Review: 1

Helpful Votes: 26

Overall rating:

4 out of 5

7 Night Western Caribbean (Galveston Roundtrip)

Sail date: April 20, 2019

Ship: Carnival Freedom

Cabin type: Balcony

Cabin number: 6395

Traveled as: Couple

Reviewed: 5 years ago

Review summary

Decent... not sure I would travel with Carnival again unless the smoke issue was addressed.

Embarkation

4 out of 5

Can embarkation ever be a 5 star event? For what it was, it went smoothly enough. No problems encountered.

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

4 out of 5

For mass preparing, the food was good. I didn’t care for the BBQ, didn’t try the steakhouse or the sushi or seafood shack. The buffet was good, the pizza was good if you like thin crust but not a lot of options, the MDR was really good. The steaks were cooked to the correct doness at our table of 16. The lobster was ok. Everything else was really good. The wait staff was exceptional!

Onboard Activities

3 out of 5

I don’t like crowds or loud noises but all things considered I didn’t have a bad time. Only encountered people cutting in front of me and blocking my view to the entertainment a couple of times.

Entertainment

5 out of 5

High energy and lots of fun to watch.

Children's Programs

No children

Service and Staff

5 out of 5

All of our personal staff assigned to us were exceptional! The room steward always greeted us by name and engaged in just the right amount of conversation. The wait staff for our large group had to be the best in board! Always ask for Frederich Aquino. He and Brix and Karl worked wonderfully together and was the highlight of the cruise ship. The bar staff was spotty. Most of the time they were personable and friendly but occasionally one or two were too busy to be more than a drink mixer. The bars by the pool were really busy but I found them the most fun.

Ship Quality

3 out of 5

The ship seems to be maintained sufficiently however it seems older than it is. Being put into service in 2007 was surprisingly newer than I would have thought. The decor made me think of 1980 or 1990, however everything was clean and appeared to be in good working order. The layout should have been more thought through. The casino is midship and mid level. This creates a smoke issue for those non smokers that need fresh air. Our room was directly over the casino area and I am allergic to smoke. I ended up sick within 24 hours and had to cancel one excursion because of this. I was sick the entire trip and felt limited to what I could do. The casino should be aft with no rooms above and/or much more efficiently ventilated.

Cabin / Stateroom

3 out of 5

This cabin was exceptional and perfect with the exception of the smoke from the casino.