Carnival Freedom Cruise Reviews - Reviews

The trip was good but I could have done without the sales aspects on board. Also, you will go broke if you like beer or cocktails. Drinks we're $9.00 a pop, beer is $6.00. Makes things less enjoyable for those on a budget.

The first 3 days were great.  The stewart  Made was the great.  Absolutely loved him.   He was so special.  There was a man named Nicolae (Nicolais) that worked in the MDR and on the Lido deck.  He was from Romania and had 1 month left before vacation.  He went well above his duties.  He got us milk, tea, and one day found my husband for me.  The food was also really good the first 3 days.

                                                                                                                             Then on Thursday evening the toilet kept running.  We moped it all up with our towels.  They sent a plumber that said it was fixed   Friday when we got up our floor was saturated.  I had to put on some clothes and run to the 3rd floor to go to the bathroom.  All day we had no access to our room due to the fan and wet floor.  We couldn't nap, watch TV, and I was scared to use this bathroom.

We finally went to guest services and asked for another room.  They gave us room  was 8334.  The steward locked the refrigerator while we were out.  He thought he had taken all of our stuff out.  We were missing a can drink.  We thought it was a Sprite (was a Root Beer).  He said No everything left was his and wasn't going to open it until we insisted.  We did have a Root Beer in there.  I really didn't like his attitude at all. 

Then while waiting for pizza one evening there was a group of about 7 teenagers.  They went to the tables set up for the condiments and each got a bottle of soy sauce.  Each child was going to take a shot.  They took of the lid and started to take a drink.  I yelled at them, that was a health issue and put them down.  They mumbled at me and left.  I reported it to the front  desk and they said there would be better supervision up there.  Nothing changed.  I also showed some of the workers on the Lido deck, kids playing chase and running into people.  They said they could only tell the children once to stop running, if told more than once the parents would complain.  The workers should have the right to talk to the kids.  During the whole trip the same 2 children RAN, played chase, and tried to jump and hit the signs hanging from the ceiling.  I told them to stop, but the parents just sat there.

I love Carnival and will continue to cruise with her.  We received a credit of about $87 for having to pack all our stuff and move to another room.

I was initially reluctant to be "trapped" or confined to the ship, but in the end, I realized that throughout the trip, I never felt that way.  Certain times of the day were very crowded on the Lido deck (where the buffets are located), but once we got the hang of it, we scheduled our comings and goings to avoid the most frenetic times.  We enjoyed the Posh dining.  We were assigned the late eating and found it to be later than we would choose, but the staff and the cuisine were very enjoyable.  We especially enjoyed our evening in the Sun King Steakhouse.  The food was very good and the service was great-worth the reasonable upcharge.

This was my first cruise!  I took my 7 year old daughter and we also went with my sister, brother in law and my two young nieces.  The entire crew was so friendly and treated the kids like they were important.  They remembered their names at dinner and made them feel special.  There was a wide variety of activities to participate in and they were all really well done!  

This is the second cruise I have been on Carnival and I have to say that the service that Carnival offers is HORRIBLE!!!!! From calling customer service and getting wrong information to the service on the ship. You need to wake up and get it together.

Sixteen of us went on this cruise to celebrate two friends 40th birthdays and I have to say there were some in our group who this was the first cruise they had ever been on and after our experience, they will probably never go on another one!

I was trying to coordinate everyone and the customer service gave us wrong information saying that there would be no alcohol on the ship on the first day due to Texas law which was not true. They also could not help us with getting the same dinner time which was something important to us and my travel agent was saying that it showed the late seating wide open. So when we got on the ship, I had to go take time to coordinate that while my friends were enjoying the boat.

The drink package was ridiculous that you had to wait 5 minutes to order multiple drinks and that there was a 15 drink minimum. I have been on other cruises and there are no restrictions like that. You needed to be able to order more drinks due to the SLOW, did I mention SLOW service that we encountered at the bars.

The bars were understaffed and we had to continue to wait for sometimes up to 30 minutes for a drink which is completely unacceptable! There were people on the boat that were walking away to go see if they could get service at a different place. The servers were also rude and did not seem to be happy to be there. The night club was understaffed and the music was horrible. Someone broke into the DJ booth while we were there to try to change the music until the DJ showed up.

It is very disappointing because the first impression you left on our group was horrible. The only way I will go on another Carnival Cruise is if it is dirt cheap and it is something I would take my kids on so that I would not have to worry about service or the quality of the food. With the new Houston port open, you have nicer cruises that you will need to compete with and unfortunately unless you are just looking for a cheap ride, you will not be able to compete with Royal Caribbean, Princess or Norwegian.

Very disappointed.

Five days of awesome vacation.

Suite Host rated 10.  He was always right on everything and very happy and friendly to all of us.

Cruise director, Malcomb, was great at entertaining his guests. Awesome job.  

Dining room service rated 10.  Food wasn't anything great, but the service was excellent.  The only complaint is that our table was not in the dining area, it was placed like an extra table was set up to accommodate us. Our table was next to the serving station,  right by the entrance and hostess desk.  Not happy with seating and would rate 1.

Hot tubs should have longer hours and be a little warmer.  Open around 7 and stay open a little later. This is the relaxing time of vacation for some.

When the weather got calmer the game areas still remained closed, like volley ball, minature golf.  We were not able to access that area our whole cruise which was very disappointing.

Overall I would definately cruise Carnival again. 

Great experience, rooms were clean, the staff was awesome. The food on the buffets were great. The dining room staff were great but the food was so so.

Parking in the cruise line parking lot was very easy and reasonably priced ($10 per day). The shuttle buses bringing you to the ship were prevalent and the drivers were very helpful. Getting on and off the ship was very smooth. The buffet was all ready when we boarded. Staff was very pleasant but they were always hurried so no time to chat with them. The room and the meals were OK. Variety of entertainment was so-so. Housekeeping in the casino was not very good.

When leaving the ship on Cozumel you are funneled through duty-free shops and then venders so it's like running the gauntlet, very unpleasant. Even in town the venders jump on you everywhere. I gave up trying to buy a ring because the pressure was unbearable.

So no major complaints but nothing inspiring jumps out at me either.

This is a get-what-you-pay for cruise. I was pleasantly impressed with the entertainment, the Cruise Director but the ship is definitely older, food is totally mediocre.

The ONLY reason I couldn't give 5 stars is because of the my experience on the Serenity Deck. This deck is beautiful and has chairs, beautiful sitting areas, hot tubs, cute little hideaways at the very end of the deck, etc.... The only problem is that I was unable to relax because of the loud music on Lido Deck.  It is even fairly loud, even up on Serenity.  I was so excited to read about the Serenity Deck on the ship's website because it seemed like a quiet place to escape to.  Many other people I came across on Serenity had the same problem. I had earphones with spa music playing and could still hear the loud music on Lido!!!  Can something not be done to decrease the volume a little of the music on Lido Deck? 

Carnival was wonderful.  The meals were superbly prepared and our dining room staff was fantastic.  I was prepared for the rough weather our last two days.  Malcolm, the Cruise Director, is a gem!!!  We had two issues - our excursion (not thru Carnival) was upsetting as we were transported in a van to Chichen Itza that lost its air conditioning after the first hour of the drive.  Our second mishap was finding our car in Lot B with a flat tire.  Not the fault of Carnival but would have appreciated a bit more help rather than being referred to the wharf parking police who pretty much disposed of us and our situation.

This was our first cruise we been on, and we had a good time. The cruise director Malcolm Woo Hoo made it an fun time when he done his shows. He knows how to have fun and make you laugh and have an good time. I hope our next cruise he is the director, because I'm going to check to see if he is.

Had a good time with family and friends and it was my very first cruise and the food and entertainment was excellent  and only wish i could have taken a tour of the wheel house and see d big engine room but all and all had a blast and it will be a next time 

This our 16 cruise so we have many to compare this one too.  It would be right at the top.  It was just a great cruise.  Malcolm our Cruise Director was probably the best we have ever had!  He got "everyone" involved and he was everywhere!  The food was great!  Houston and his crew were some of the best!  The ship was very clean and up to date.  The Shows were just unreal!  Those "8" eight people put some of the best shows we have ever seen on a ship!  Can you tell we were very pleased!  Outstanding!

For the price the cruise was okay. I did not like the layout of the ship. Difficult on main decks to get from point A to point B..... Confusing.  Food and service was good in the main dining room in the evenings. Buffet on Deck 9 was mediocre at best. The entertainment was good. Cruise Director was very entertaining and knowledgeable. 

Seemed like one big party ship with folks carrying around drinks and beer, being rude and making lots of noise. Doubt I will travel on Carnival again. Guess I am getting old. Need a little more refinement in my shipmates and better food outside the nice dining room.  Wanted to make a comparison with another cruise line compared to my last cruise on Royal Caribbean. Will go back to Royal Caribbean in the future.

Hi, Carnival Crew - 

Thank yo so much for your excellent customer service.  Enjoyed the entire experience, shows, activities, nightly dock movies, etc.

Thanks to Malcome and the entire entertainment crew!  Housekeeping and dining staff were wonderful and friendly too.

Jenn 

An excellent 5 day vacation with lots to do onboard. The food was outstanding and easily available all hours of the day. Embarking was easy and the ports were easy also. The staff were outstanding also, very accommodating to all your needs and wants. The ship was a little hard to get around on. Could only go horizontially  on the 5th floor ( without changing elevators). IT IS A BEAUTIFUL SHIP THOUGH. We would highly recommend this cruise

Overall the cruise was great....Our Cabin Steward Patrick was wonderful......Only problem we had was our shower overflowed really bad and with 4 people in a room that was kind of a huge mess!

Fun trip with large group of female friends! Lynette Borrel was a great travel agent who handled all the details of our cruise and answered so many questions for me....even last minute questions & was always a delight to deal with!

Our accommodations we're poor. The bed was extremely uncomfortable. My Wife and I are both in good shape and woke up daily with back pain. The food on the ship in most cases was bland and tasteless. The evening entertainment was poor and uninviting. If you're not a smoker this is not the ship for you. Deck five has many of the bars and casino on the boat. Smoke filled a good portion of this deck. Bottom line, the cruise is inexpensive for a reason.