My overall experience on this cruise was not good. Everything felt crowded and rushed. The staff was not very friendly and/or attentive. I have had better cruises with Carnival.
Embarkation
1 out of 5
The Disney cruise ship caused the Freedom to disembark late which slowed down our embarkation process. The guest services line was filled with customers whose rooms were messed up. I was in that line because I did not have a room key for my room.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
1 out of 5
The main dining experience felt rushed and not personalized at all. On previous cruises the wait staff was very courteous and took time to get to know all of us, but that was not the case on Freedom. At one point, one of our servers was giving everyone the wrong dinner plates and we were passing the plates around to one another.
Onboard Activities
1 out of 5
The activities were repetitive without variety.
Entertainment
1 out of 5
The entertainment in the main theater was terrible. The vocalists were singing classic songs and tried too hard to do too many lyrical runs. It was a disaster. The casting on the songs for 80s night was way off point.
I must say that we did really enjoy Joel and Nicole in the rock band.
Service and Staff
1 out of 5
Fully dissatisfied.
Ship Quality
1 out of 5
The smoking area outside the main theater made sitting in the theater uncomfortable as I am an asthmatic. There was not a casino area that did not allow smoking.
Cabin / Stateroom
1 out of 5
I originally booked my vacation on the Carnival Elation, but Carnival changed their ship routes which resulted in them automatically rebooking us on Carnival Freedom. With this change, they "upgraded" our balcony room to an aft-view. The room size was good, but it was located above a club which meant the music was loud at night. We were not prepared for this. Additionally, Carnival Freedom had set on fire weeks prior and as a result the whale tail was broken. The smoke from this tail was causing soot to be all over our balcony which meant we could not use it. At one point, we left a bathing suit out there to dry and found it covered in black soot when we went to retrieve it. The fee we paid to have a balcony was a complete waste.
I hate that you had a bad experience. We’re booked on this ship in a few weeks, and I’m getting worried because I’m seeing reviews detailing more bad experiences than good. High capacity and low staffing seem to be Carnival’s MO lately.
Our aft cabin 6th floor on the Freedom in March was excellent! We were on the other side of the ship than you based on your hearing noises from the club and had no problems. Even sitting out on the balcony late - we didn’t hear anything. Also, the first day our room steward advised us about the soot and we kept our suits and towels drying under the overhang close to the windows.
Sorry. This cruise didn’t meet the Carnival standards. We’ve had two like that. Unfortunately, it seems like right now the bar is set very low. Hope you cruise again and the next one is better.
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