Lots of Grey

Item: Carnival Freedom
Rating: 4.3
Author: KKEE8775

Carnival Freedom Cruise Review

KKEE8775

Contributor Level: Second Mate

136 Days Till Next Cruise

Cruises: 4-6 cruises

Reviews: 3

Helpful Votes: 64

Overall rating:

4.3 out of 5

7 Night Western Caribbean (Galveston Roundtrip)

Sail date: December 15, 2019

Ship: Carnival Freedom

Cabin type: Balcony

Cabin number: 7348

Traveled as: Family (older children)

Reviewed: 4 years ago

Review summary

We didn’t make two of our ports bc of the horrible weather and bc of the weather my parents were sea sick more nights than not. Unfortunately it was a pretty crummy cruise but we did get to go to costa Maya which was very nice and the weather was perfect. My dad declared it the best port ever. (Maybe bc we had been out at sea in the stormy weather for 3 days haha!) the cruise fun squad had tons of things for us to do since we were stuck at sea longer than expected.

Embarkation

5 out of 5

We had Faster to the Fun. Walked right through but if you get there before 11 you have to sit inside and wait.. which I didn’t realize. I guess we’ve always been late before now! Haha! Our fault really. We were on the ship by 11:10.

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

3 out of 5

All the food was good. My mom HATED brunch on sea day mainly because from standing in line to having someone take our order was 45 minutes. We didn’t get our food for another 20 minutes. Not sure why it took so long. It’s usually quicker. My mom refused to go again. They did have some new items on the menu that were very nice but make sure you want to spend the time. Rest of the ship food was normal carnival fare. Nothing was cold or gross. Nothing super amazing or fantastic.

Onboard Activities

3 out of 5

I’m more than happy to find a quiet place to read usually in the Habana Bar during the day and 10 arrive the buffet bc there aren’t a lot of people around. My parents love doing the trivia and watching the LSBattles and karaoke.

Spa Carnival

1 out of 5

Welp, I’ll never go to the Spa again. If you pick a specific treatment and book it online I’m not sure what happens (but it says $135) If you go to the spa on the ship not only will it cost $175 same day and time but they make you get an assessment (which made my chin breakout after they told me it wouldn’t) and after my assessment she spent 10 minutes telling my how horrible my skincare regime was and basically shaming me. Once we get to the back room she told me which facial I needed (not the one I wanted) and when I asked her if I could have the one I wanted she said no and the one I needed would cost $50 extra. I told her I didn’t have $50 extra. The facial I got was what amounts to a mask to clean out my pores, a face wash/cleanse with their “extra special, very expensive” products and a 5-10 minutes face/ scalp massage. My face looks and feels exactly the same except for the chin breakout. Also.. the assessment they make you do.. $35 extra which they don’t tell you until afterwards. So $135 online ended up being over $200 on the boat plus some shaming.

Entertainment

3 out of 5

Service and Staff

5 out of 5

Katam our room steward was so kind. Could not have been happier with him. Our waitstaff were very nice.

Ship Quality

5 out of 5

Cabin / Stateroom

5 out of 5

First time getting a balcony. It was ok. I liked having it but it was horrible weather the whole time so we didn’t get to stand on it very much.

Ship tip

Habana bar is nice quiet place to read if the weather is bad outside but it can be very cold.

Thumbs up

Ports of call

Belize City, Belize

4 out of 5

We didn’t get to go this cruise bc if the weather but I love Belize. I’ve been on 3 cruises to this port and then for a 10 day vacation. The people are kind. Sure there are soldiers out on rounds keeping the peace and it’s has some trash in the streets but just because the country or people look poor doesn’t mean it’s not a great country. I overheard a man telling his wife (when we still thought we were going to get to go) not to look at the people, they are dangerous and not to eat any of the food. How dare he! I’m glad Belize wasn’t subjected to this horrible person.

Thumbs Up 1

Mahogany Bay, Roatan, Bay Islands, Honduras

4 out of 5

Didn’t get to go here either. 😰😰 I love Honduras though. Little French Key is great or just going on the air seat thing/walking to the free man made carnival beach is fun too. Good shopping.

Thumbs Up 1

Galveston, Texas

5 out of 5

Cozumel, Mexico

5 out of 5

Disembarkation

5 out of 5

We came into port late but once we started the process it was very quick.

6 Comments

cruisereckoning 4 years ago

Sounds like fun times.

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Fiesta83 4 years ago

Glad you guys enjoyed your cruise despite the bad weather

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KKEE8775 4 years ago

We definitely all had medication for sea sickness. Not our first rodeo. Ha! Didn’t help much. Out of all of my cruises it was definitely the roughest.

Thumbs Up 2

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15mustang 4 years ago

Always bring medication for seasickness and take it before rough seas. Glad you had at least 1 good port.

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AuntPinkie 4 years ago

Thanks for sharing your experience. Sorry you had crummy weather! At least you didn’t bump into any other ships like the Glory did in Cozumel. Thanks for the warning about the spa! Hope the weather cooperates on your next cruise!🛳

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missnotanlines 4 years ago

On your comment on Belize yes people can be rude

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Other reviews of this sailing

1st cruise amazing. Weather a little rough

Sucked

Horrible experience!! Cabin HOT! No day activities! One activity was ADULT COLORING. Slept for 2 days and watch same movies over and over with 4 people in a Hot room. Missed 2 ports. Called customer care said they would not give ANY refunds.