Anything You Ever Needed to Know About Carnival FREEDOM

Hi Everyone-

Well, it seems that there isn't an "everything you ever wanted/needed to know" thread about Carnival Freedom. (at least not that I can find in multiple searches on the forum)

So, since I have never sailed on her, can someone else who has, please kick us off?

What are the best things about the Freedom?

Favorite places to go on board?

What is the Sun King supper club like?

Is the decor as crazy as I have heard?

Please fill the rest of us in. Oh, and anyone who wants to share pics, please post them. I know I would love to see real photos of the ship before I sail on her (aside from the ones I have seen on webshots).

Thanks to all who will contribute to this thread!!

We sail her on the 26th. Will try to add to your thread when we get back.

Shirl

I'll be there on the 26th as well.... My First 7 Day cruise..... We've done 3, 4, 5 and Now 7 can't wait.... I'll post the Awesome, the Great, and the Good.... NO Bad & Ugly. When we get back!

Hopefully someone will get us some info between now & then!

Hi Everyone-

Well, it seems that there isn't an "everything you ever wanted/needed to know" thread about Carnival Freedom. (at least not that I can find in multiple searches on the forum)

 

So, since I have never sailed on her, can someone else who has, please kick us off?

 

What are the best things about the Freedom? The crew! The lobby, restuarant, pool, movie screen, food.

 

Favorite places to go on board? Mmm, our balcony, sorry that might not be very helpful for you, but that was our favorite place

 

What is the Sun King supper club like? Great! Service outstanding, food just a outstanding, wonderful dining experience.

 

Is the decor as crazy as I have heard? Yup! But it didn't bother us.

 

Please fill the rest of us in. Oh, and anyone who wants to share pics, please post them. I know I would love to see real photos of the ship before I sail on her (aside from the ones I have seen on webshots).

 

Thanks to all who will contribute to this thread!!

Have a great time!

We did a Med cruise back in July, seems like so long ago now.

There are many ship reviews on this board and they cover a huge range of topics and cruisers so you should be able to get a good spread of opinions.

We loved our time on Freedom (12 night port intensive cruise). It has the usual problems with that class with access from bow to stern at certain levels. The decor is a real mixture of subtle to garish but nothing is so bad that it would spoil a cruise. Wouldn't use the decor for my hoem however.

We found the service pretty good most of the time. We liked the food and as we are both oriented to gourmet cooking that was rather a surprise.

We dined in the Supper King one night, Paula loved it except she ate to much and I thought it was okay but I can be very picky about restaurants.

We had an inside cabin on Riviera but found it very comfortable. Med was pretty smooth in July so felt no motion at all deep down on the galley deck and none of the other rowers were heard to complain.

Downside was the payouts in the casino. Never enough so we finished up having to pay for our cruise and are saving for the next.

David

We are leaving on Freedom this coming Saturday! Woo hoo seems like I booked this cruise so long ago

We were extremely disappointed in the Freedom. The decor in certain areas can be quite nauseating. The ceiling panels look like worms reminds me of Raiders of the Lost Ark, snake scene, uck. The best thing on the ship was the nightly movies on Lido, that was pretty nice. Cuisine was common nothing special not once were we offered bar service during dinner that pissed me off, we made a pact that we would not request it just to see if they came around and even mentioned it to the Maitre'de George, still nothing. I will say I truly enjoyed the wait-staff's nightly entertainment some of it was extremely funny and entertaining. We actually just saw our dinning room table assistant, Win, on the Imagination and he remembered us which was nice. We received nightly cocktail service on the Imagination though. Some of the Pursers are rude but most were fairly nice, they have a different attitude on that vessel we the client must prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that we are right before they will even consider taking some sort of action. Nightly John Heald would entertain us to try and put us in a good mood before heading off to bed. I must say he is excellent at his job, but most of us came to find that even though he entertained us most of the time he was feeding us so much BS that many times they turned out to just be blatant lies. Our group has vowed not to book another cruise where he is the Cruise Director, I don't think I could stomach seeing him again after we discovered his last deception on our last excursion which was post-cruise.

I don't want my remarks to deter you from the Freedom just be prepared and all should be fine. It is a Carnival ship so you already know that it is not the best on the ocean but you are not paying for a better ship/experience its just mediocre for the cruise industry. I wont go on another long cruise with them because I want better than mediocre. Short cruises, 3-4 nights, is fine barely on them, just a hotel not a resort. Want better spend more for Princess, Royal Caribbean, Celebrity, or Holland America.

Just got off Freedom Dec. 22nd cruise to Western Carr. Had a great time. Dining room experience was fine - hit and miss on some dishes, as usual. Maitre-d had a great voice, and sang every evening - nice guy. I kind of enjoyed the decor - was a little way out there, but everything seemed to blend well. It grew on me over the week. The crew seemed friendly - kept the ship clean. Ship was sold-out, and chair hogs were out in full force (my only real complaint). Entertainment was standard Carnival entertainment - don't miss Ron in the piano bar - he is great! Went there each evening for a while. Casino was kind to me on the slots - dh broke even on blackjack. Buffet was crowded - again, standard food there. Fish and chips was a touch greasy, but good. Pizza station and grill fine. They put an Indian food station and another grill (chicken fingers, fries, nachos, onion rings, burgers and fries) on the corners by the midship pool (under the movie screen area) which helped with the lines at lunch. Movie screen showed movies, Monday night football, concerts. Was a bit too noisy in that area for us (band also played during the day under the screen area). We spent most of our time by the aft pool area - they played nice, quiet music there, and it was very relaxing. Didn't eat at the supper club - sorry, can't help you there. Cabin stewards were like little fairies - flitted in and out - never introduced themselves, but were very good. Our balcony cabin was nice and quiet (7414/7418) Had adjoining cabins with our teens - had balcony divider opened first day, and had nice, long balcony. Todd W. was our CD, along with Nortje (sp?). He was fine - didn't over-do the announcements, introduced the shows nicely. Not full of himself, like some are. Entertainment staff worked hard - James was a rip. Club 02 was good for my 16 year old dd - she went 1st night, met some kids to hang with, and had a good time the rest of the cruise. They mainly used the club as a meeting spot - then went and did their own thing. I'm sure there are a million things we missed. Hope this helps a bit. We were sad to leave the ship, but will be going on her again in April (eastern it.) with no regrets or second thoughts. Are prepared to have a good time again, and a very relaxing vacation.

Glad someone started this thread since even doing a search not a lot has been written about Freedom yet by cruisers. Have read everything there is so far, but as usual, a glutton to read more.

Taking Freedom from Rome on Nov. 6, 2008, for 16 nights doing Mediterranean, transatlantic and a stop in St. Maarten before docking at home (my home) Ft. Lauderdale. Have never sailed Carnival before but could not pass up the price on this cruise. Balcony cabin for less than $100 a day per person when I booked. What a deal!

Am really looking forward to more postings here. Am not a very picky person, so it would have to be REALLY horrendous for me NOT to have a good time. Have sailed HAL, Princess, Cunard, RCCL and now Carnival coming up, and I figure either after 16 nights on board will never want to get off or be ready to throw myself overboard just to escape. 16 nights, we'll see!

Thanks everyone for sharing. Happy sailing!

Do a search on my name, katcas. I was on the Freedom in November (first time cruiser) and answered a lot of questions for people and wrote down everything I could think of. If there is anything else, just ask.

Kathy

Does any one know if there are hair dryers on the Freedom and If they work well? Do I need to bring a robe or do they have them in the cabin

(ocean view)?

Does anyone know if there are hairdryers on the Freedom and if they are good? Are there robes in the state rooms (ocean view).

Can you have your digital prints developed on the ship?

Does anyone know if there are hairdryers on the Freedom and if they are good? Are there robes in the state rooms (ocean view).

Can you have your digital prints developed on the ship?

Yes, there were hairdryers....and they worked well. Robes were in the cabins. Digital prints available.

Hey, KSJHAWK74!

Hope you like your cruise on the Freedom. We had a blast! Maybe we'll see you next Christmas if you decide to cruise at that time again. We'll be on the Miracle!

We sail her on the 26th. Will try to add to your thread when we get back.

Shirl

Don't forget to go and see "Music Boardwalk" they are a great cover band. They should be there. Please tell Enrique that Mary Ann from New York says hello. Also, go see Ron Pass. He's one of the best. Can't wait to read your review. Have a great time. Mary49

Music Boardwalk was not on our sailing. Nevada Band was. Don't know if they moved to a different ship, or what. We had seen them on the Liberty - they were fantastic. This band was pretty much playing to an empty room each time we stopped by. Maybe it picked up later in the eve - we were at the piano bar most evenings with Ron.

Does anyone know if there are hairdryers on the Freedom and if they are good? Are there robes in the state rooms (ocean view).

Can you have your digital prints developed on the ship?

Yes, Yes, and Yes to all three questions. :)

We had an interior room on the Riviera Deck. There is a hair dryer in the second drawer at the desk. Robes are in the closet. Digital pics can be processed on Deck 3 (I think).:D

Thanks for the info. I can't wait to go.

Music Boardwalk was not on our sailing. Nevada Band was. Don't know if they moved to a different ship, or what. We had seen them on the Liberty - they were fantastic. This band was pretty much playing to an empty room each time we stopped by. Maybe it picked up later in the eve - we were at the piano bar most evenings with Ron.

Thanks for that info. Now I'm really confused. First Carnival tells me they will be there in December. Then when I called back; they are now saying they will be there starting January 26th and will be there for 8 months. I guess the Entertainment Department can't really be sure. But either way you should maybe see them again in April when you go back. I just happen to be a big follower of there's and it seems that it's not an easy task to keep tabs on these guys. Thanks Mary49

Thanks for the info. I can't wait to go.

The new bathrobes are so nice! Terry on the inside and waffle weave on the outside. Not so bulky and heavy like the old ones!

Hairdryers work well with a button for on / off, unlike the older ones.

Hope you love it!

Thanks everyone for your input! I appreciate it! Most of the complaints I have heard about the Freedom revolve around the decor, which doesn't matter all that much to me, so hopefully I have nothing to worry about. Definitely looking forward to our trip in November!

If anyone has more info/details about the Carnival Freedom, please feel free to enter that info here! Thanks!

The best thing about this site is that when you say you are so excited and just can't wait, everyone knows how you feel.

I know, readboat, I agree! Cruising is an illness that some people just don't understand. Glad all you other "sickos" out here have the same illness as me. :D It's nice to be understood!

I am sorry but I don't agree with the other person that says if you want a better cruise, go on Royal Carribbean. We went on them. Didn't like them at all. We had drunks outside our room. Saw more drunks on that cruise then any of our Carnival Cruises. Food was very bland. Room was smaller. We are happy with the Carnival Cruises. We like the newer cruises. We are also on Freedom next month. I heard some people say Freedom was a great ship. We like John . We had him for a cruise director on the Liberty. He was funny. You can't please everyone all the time. Most people love him. He is funny and makes you laugh. I met some people that didn't like Carnival. They were Cunard People. They were Total Snots. You can keep them. We have done different cruise and still enjoy Carnival.

Hey, KSJHAWK74!

Hope you like your cruise on the Freedom. We had a blast! Maybe we'll see you next Christmas if you decide to cruise at that time again. We'll be on the Miracle!

My young adult kids and I had the best time....our first cruise.....and we loved it!!! We may consider one for next Christmas. Where is the Miracle going?

To all others who read negative things about the Freedom.....we thought she was a wonderful ship, great crew, good food. I still marvel that we had about 3600 passengers and how short the buffet lines were. I have nothing but praise about this wonderful adventure.