Carnival Freedom Cruise Reviews - Reviews

Wonderful cruise for my husband and I! There were long lines in Galveston during the embarkation process but well worth it when we finally got on the ship. We had a balcony cabin on Empress deck that was fantastic. Food was wonderful especially loved Guy's Burger Joint. The burgers were absolutely delicious. This was our third cruise with Carnival and really loved the decor on this ship. The crew and staff were very friendly and personable in all areas. The itinerary was reversed last minute but worked out very well because we liked two sea days at the end of the cruise instead of the beginning. We did an excursion in Grand Cayman that included the Nautilus semi submarine. It was a great excursion and highly recommended. Would absolutely do this cruise again.

The staff working for Carnival is outstanding!   Mark took care of our stateroom and ensured all of our needs were taken care of.  On day two while cleaning our cabin he noticed we had a cpap machine.  The use of the machine was difficult since the only plug was across the room.  Without asking, he brought by an extension cord that evening, so it would be easier to use.  This was the mentality of the entire crew, to make our trip as relaxing and enjoyable as possible.    There was always plenty to see and do.  We are already planing our next cruise with Carnival.

getting very commercial, a lot of side selling

room given us was next to painting storage, a lot of knocking around with paintings

caught a sore throat and then a chest cold second day out, inquired at infirmary if anyone else had complained of sore throats and chest cold, but answer was no.  later as I mingled around the flagship I noticed several people with deep chest coughs like I had.  Infirmary was no help, only wanted to sell me medicine for cold.

But Hey, food was plentiful and very good.  Crew always met you with a smile and were helpful.

Maybe next cruise I can stay well.

The port of Galveston Tx. is very dirty and not well organized. All the Cruises that I have taken before everything went like a smooth oiled machine, NOT THIS ONE. The old saying the left hand had no idea what the right hand was doing, fit very well. From having our late dinner start at 8:15 and not ending if we were lucky until 10:30 pm, which made attending many of the ships programs not able to be attended. And NO you could not change your dinning time.

My Husband and I were sitting in the dinning area on the Lido deck and we had just sat down to eat lunch, when wait  staff dumped a whole tray of dirty dishes and glasses full of leftovers ON ME from my hat down to my shoes. His response was to give me cloth napkins and leave. Much to my astonishment nothing was done to relive the situation. I finally asked at the customer service desk on board, what protocol was in this situation and this is the answer ---we could clean your cloths. (nothing more). If this is what Carnival cruise Lines is striving for I feel sorry for them. Ruined hats and shoes my mean nothing to then but, it does to me.

     My husband and I (we are both in our 60's) have been on 8 cruises.  The Carnival Freedom is a beautiful ship, and we especially enjoyed the entertainment.  The special effects were outstanding. We also were pleased with the pools and hot tubs--plenty of places to sit outside. We did not like the long line to get onto the ship.  We did not like the buffet.  There was not much variety.The food in the dining room was just okay, and the service was barely adequate.  Every night we ordered coffee, and every night we did not get a spoon to stir it.  My husband saw on the menu you could get chives and bacon with your baked potato and he kept ordering that and never got it.  

 Our cabin was very comfortable.  I did notice that the shower had no metal bar to prop your leg up for shaving purposes.  Other cruises have had that amenity, and I missed it.  We were in an ocean view room and there was plenty of storage room.

Problems arose from the beginning.  The time to get on board was so difficult as it took  forever to get through all the areas.  I have feet problems and standing that long with no where to sit was very hard on me.  Our room was right above the auditorium where the four major shows were held  That was convenient only to get to the shows.  For breakfast and lunch the distance to walk was hard on my husband and he developed a low back ache which bothered him till after we got home.  I ended up going to breakfast and bringing him breakfast to keep him from having to go to the dining rooms.  We needed fruit for breakfast but for some reason they kept them so far back on the serving area that we could not reach them.  We had to wait for a server to hand us the fruit. The snack pizzas were very thin and we had to stand in line for quite a while. 

The things we enjoyed the most were the four main shows in the evening with the same four gentleman and four ladies.  They were very professional in their performances.  Thought we would enjoy the library but there were only a few  books, the room was a mess and the children were utilizing most of the room.  My husband took with him two bottles of wine and when we tried to get them  opened they were going to charge us about believe $16.00 each so he brought them back home.  That was a disappointment. Looking for our pictures at the

The Easter service was nice and I really enjoyed the readings.  After the service I asked Yvette "Ya Ya" Williams if I could have a copy of the reading and she said she would sent a copy for me to pick up at the guest desk.  I went several times and the receptionist left her messages to remind her to send it but it wasn't sent.

Looking for our pictures at the photo gallery was difficult and very time consuming. 

Having to spend time in our room was difficult as there were not enough movies to see and then the same ones were repeated.

Dinner was enjoyable but at times we needed water, tea or whatever and they had not been by to see if we needed anything.  Watching the waiters perform was most enjoyable, and they seemed to really enjoy there prepared songs and movements.  We had Elvis and others with him and they were very pleasant.

I could not say enough about Mark the young man that kept our room so pleasant,  I love animals so the towel animals he left made my room feel like home.  One of our neighbors said they had found out that the workers had to pay for the service to allow them to call home.  It seems that they could be allowed to use the service free to call home etc., even if they could use it only say between midnight and four in the morning.  They give up a lot to be able to leave their homes for such a long time to make a living.

The persons having supper with us were interesting but one couple did not dress appropriately for dress up evenings.  The gentleman wore a cap on his head every night for dinner.

The heavy set comedian (lady) was very good.  The other comedian used the audience to compose his performance which was pretty cleaver.

We are very positive persons so we tried to make the best of all situations.  Maybe in the future we will return and remember to take a bottle opener with  us, how about that.  The workers that we talked to were so very pleasant and seemed to enjoy doing their jobs. 

God Bless all of you!!!   The Walker's

Great vacation, great cruise, great ship, great service, not all that crazy about Freeport and the Carnival arranged all inclusive Beach day was a rip off and was our only downer for the trip.

Carnival should take a look at this excursion and improve it or take it off their list. Scheduled time on the beach and service was lousy and all inclusive is not all inclusive.

Over all it was a great cruise.  We have been on Magic and we got a little spoiled there.  Freedom is a great ship, just not as pretty as Magic.  The Food was wonderful, and the wait staff was fantastic.  

We had an awesome time on this ship. The crew and the boat were great. We also had great seats for the Little Big Town concert that was on the cruise. Would highly recommend.

First off lets get one thing straight! I would not consider a different Cruise line. My wife and I feel at home when we are on a Carnival ship. That being said, the crew on the voyage was the best crew we have ever had. The ports of call were great. The food was good. The Stage shows were beyond our expectation.  I was most impressed by our dining room staff. We sat in the lower Chic Dining room at Table 134. John was our head waiter, followed by Ketut, Antonio, and Henson. They were great. But when the head guy, I'm talking the boss took off his coat and rolled up his sleeves when they got busy, and started carrying out trays of food and serving them. I was really impressed. He didn't get on to his staff. He didn't point out rights or wrongs. They were slammed with full tables all at once. He ask the head waiters in each section how could he help them. Then he became a server. In my book that is how you earn respect from you peers and today he has my respect. The next morning at breakfast in the Posh Dining room I shook his hand and told him what I observed. And that I was impressed. Now that that is said, Could someone please tell Carnival that they need more ships designed along the lines of their Spirit class ships. The Miracle is the finest vessel in the fleet. It is easy to navigate. Has wider isles. Has multiple decks that go from forward to aft without going up or down to get there. The Miracle is a lot more Handicapped friendly, and family friendly for children. It takes days to get used to a cruise ship layout.  The miracle took a day. The Conquest and the Freedom takes about 4-5 days. About the time you finally figure out the design, The cruise is over. We are going on the Glory in December. We would change to the Legend or Miracle but we want the Glory itinerary. We have learned from our chopped up floors, and going around obstacles that the Freedom was not so free and it was a challenge to beat the Conquest. We are hopeful that the memory of conquering the Freedom, We will bask in the Glory and long for a Miracle.  

The ship was fine,  Employees were not as gracious as other trips we have been on.  Belize was VERY disappointing -- a dangerous place to go.  Each port has the same shopping - nothing different.  Not many places to go for an easy side trip. Everything was geared toward the very active only!!  Anything that said Easy or Moderate had tons of stairs. Very disappointing.  Shows were nothing to talk about..

I'd have to say that we met more nice people on the Freedom than on any of our previous cruises.  We had never left out of Galveston before, and we probably won't do it again!  It was foggy and flooding the day we left, so the boat was late boarding, and it was a mess!  However, getting off the boat was another story--really quick!  A few negatives:  security was in question in the stateroom.  The safe had to be locked and unlocked with a credit card.  How secure is that?  Also, the food wasn't as good as other Carnival cruises that we've been on.  Last, the cruise director, Jen, was terrible!

The ship was nice.  The food was okay, but nothing out of the ordinary.  The hamburger's were great and so were the burritos were good.  The pool area was crowded.  There was not enough entertainment for the kids, they basically followed their parents everywhere.  The comedy shows were too crowded,  The service in the main dining room was great and the steward was also great. The ship could use some updating.  I would rather not pay extra for items like steak.   

We have only sailed with Celebrity before and we were  a little concerned how Carnival would match up. I must say the accommodation, food and service where very good considering what we paid. The staff in all areas of the ship worked extremely hard to please us.

The only major problem we had was on docking at Jamaica, and all the confusion as people didn't know  which buses to get to the main Terminal. I know the delay wasn't Carnivals fault, that it was windy and everyone was leaving the boat at the same time but we feel there should have been signs to direct us as no one knew where to go. Saying that the two other destinations we arrived at we had no problems.

We must say our trip which we booked with Carnival at Cozumel was excellent and our guide JC was a perfect host. The excursion was to Chankanaab to snorkel, including lunch and access to the lovely beaches.

We also liked the way you needed to sign in and out for your beach towels which stopped people leaving them on the sunbeds while they went off for lunch, so we could always find spare beds when at sea.

We would definitely sail with Carnival again, it was well worth the money we paid. 

It seems that some crew members on the ship have different takes on thinks so if at first you don't succeed Keep trying, Our room was on the second floor the very last cabin at the back. The walls were shaking all night and the bed vibrated all night, now some people pay for that experience, however when you can't turn it off it isn't so niece. I went to guest services several time even wanting to pay for an upgrade as my agent said they will once on the ship but he was misinformed NO UPGRADES ON SHIP. eventually after being in a washing machine for two days we invited the head of house keeping into the room and he couldn't believe it, He acted decisively to fix the problem so at 10PM on our 3rd wedding anniversary we moved to the front down a floor to the1st floor, much better just a few bangs and clunks through the night which ear plugs helped. There is a lot to say but better not said, this was my third cruise and probably my last, I have been back on land for tree days now and we're still rocking around.

I was pleasantly surprised with the assigned stateroom and the food service people including the Maitre'd were very accommodating.  The quality of the food was quite good.  And the gym was well equipped.    The only negative were the stateroom stewards.  They never introduced themselves and were never around when you needed them.  They didn't provide ice, or luggage tags, or the customs forms or the final bill.  The automatic tip policy has taken the incentive away for them and it shows. 

This was a good cruise and I enjoyed it.  This was my second  cruise experience and the second cruise on the same ship.  The ride this time around was not the greatest, could really tell we were on a ship and felt it for days after we disembarked.  Was good to be on the same ship, had a good feel to be there and the knowledge of knowing my way around.  Did not care that we ported in Galveston, port charges were high and the rules for bringing back item to the US were taxed in my opinion excessive.  The destinations were great and we had the weather with us to make it a great experience. 

This was our second time on a Carnival Cruise. We had taken one last year at this time (the week before Christmas) on the same ship and enjoyed it so much we decided to try it again....it was , once again a very nice experience all the way around.

The staff is friendly and well run, the food was of high quality, the entertainment was very good and the ship is clean, everywhere. I will book another Carnival Cruise in the future.

I have been in this vessel before, and the quality of the service, food, entertainment and overall treatment of passengers gets better with each new cruise.  The itinerary is the reason why I selected this cruise since it goes to most of my favorite ports. The only thing that I was not happy about is the cruise director, Wee Jimmy.  Although he is funny as a comedian, his Irish accent is stronger when he is using the loudspeaker to announce information that is important to new cruisers, such as debarkation details and overall information.  In person, he is likeable and friendly but somehow that does not carryover to when he uses the loudspeaker - either his voice is too low and/or speaking rather fast.  Otherwise it was a great cruise.

Very, very disappointed with Carnival allowing smoking in casino. You could smell the smoke on both the floor below and above the casino. Service in Posh dining room was sub par. Carnival entertainment has gown downhill since our last cruise. Other than that, food was good, housekeeping service was excellent and island stops were interesting.