Cost Cutting Is Hurting Carnival

Item: Carnival Freedom
Rating: 3.2
Author: alanrelyea

Carnival Freedom Cruise Review to Caribbean - Eastern

alanrelyea

Contributor Level: Purser

Cruises: 7+ cruises

Reviews: 3

Helpful Votes: 42

Overall rating:

3.2 out of 5

Verified Review

5 Night Eastern Caribbean (Port Canaveral Roundtrip)

Sail date: February 04, 2023

Ship: Carnival Freedom

Cabin type: Balcony

Cabin number: 8430

Traveled as: Couple

Reviewed: 1 year ago

Review summary

Carnival used to be our cruise line of choice. They're making changes that no longer honor their faithful customers (an example of which is the fact that the loyalty items available to platinum and diamond are now not even delivered to the cabin - it's a scavenger hunt to find them), and the cost cutting is highly evident everywhere. While I understand that its been a rough couple of years, if Carnival doesn't reverse course on this they'll lose a lot of loyal customers - including me.

Embarkation

4 out of 5

Very good only because it was Platinum VIP

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

3 out of 5

Almost every aspect of this cruise evidenced Carnival cost cutting. It was most apparent in the food served and in the cost of beverages.

Onboard Activities

3 out of 5

Really only used the Serenity deck

Entertainment

3 out of 5

The live musicians were very good. There were no production shows offered. The DJ music on the Lido deck was far, far, too loud and was heavily biased to hip-hop.

Service and Staff

4 out of 5

The staff we encountered were great, however, they've reduced staffing to a point that dirty dishes don't get removed very quickly.

Ship Quality

2 out of 5

This was an older ship and age has not been kind to it,

Cabin / Stateroom

4 out of 5