Just back from Freedom (10/7-10/14)

Back from Freedom yesterday - had a great time overall. Only big disappointment was the food. Thanks to the app we were able to check MDR menu each day. Menu didn’t look great most nights so we only ate in there 3 nights. Food on those nights was just okay for us (except for the chocolate melting cake of course!). Wait staff was great though. Dined in the steakhouse on the first night - fabulous as always! CD Malcolm was fantastic - loved him! Staff/crew were amazing and so friendly! Loved staying on board during port days and enjoying the adults only pool area on the aft Lido deck. Comedians were some of the best we’ve had on our cruises. Cabin stewards did a great job! Our cabin wasn’t serviced on the last evening for some reason, but otherwise great. The app is VERY handy but be aware that not all activities are listed. For instance, we didn’t discover until the last sea day that Tea Time happens each sea day at 3:00 PM - it wasn’t listed in the app; only in the hard copy of the Fun Times. That may be why there were only about 15 people in attendance. Embarkation was super easy - arrived at our appointed time (12:30 PM) and were on board in 15 minutes. Disembarkation was also easy - we are Platinum so we were in the first group to leave since we also did self assist. Apparently customs forms are no long required when returning to Galveston, so that was one less thing to do. Freedom is a nice ship - still in great shape, and crew works hard to keep her clean. Even though MDR food was disappointing, we still had a great cruise and wouldn’t hesitate to sail Freedom again. We choose to focus on the positive aspects of every ship! This is a good sized ship - not too large or small. As with other CCL ships we’ve sailed on, it’s not the most user friendly due to dead ends, but you learn to find your way around. Avoid peak dining times on Lido as we did, and it will be even more enjoyable. Freedom and her crew are definitely recommended by us - happy sailing!

I am glad you wrote this and glad you had a great cruise minus the MDR

Did you play in the casino, play any slots, how is it, tight or you won, hoping you won something if you played.

Gambling isn’t our thing, so we didn’t play in the Casino. However, we met a couple on the last night who said a friend of theirs won $20K in there one night. But they indicated he was also putting a lot of $$ down to win like that. We did see a lot of passengers with Players Club cards around their necks if that means anything - LOL! Good luck to you! I do think you’ll enjoy the Freedom. This was probably our most relaxing cruise ever since we planned no excursions and stayed on board. We’ve visited these ports several times, and will be back in December. We’ve grown to love the ship on port days because it’s so quiet! Some of our best MDR experiences have been on CCL, so as you said, it really varies from ship to ship. But hey - I was on a CRUISE and NOT at work, so it was great!!

Sorry I noticed I thought I was on the Carnival board, took out a few lines from my above post. Thanks for that info, and your right any cruise is better than no cruise and definitely better than being at work. :D

Thanks for the report.

Thanks for sharing your trip report.

Keith

Appreciate the feedback.

Thank you for the report.

Thanks for your review. Embarkation at Galveston is certainly easier with staggered check-in times. Were your S&S cards in your mail box? They are now doing that on the Breeze and it made embarkation so quick and easy.

Happy sailing to you.

Yes - our S&S cards were in a sealed envelope in our mailbox outside of our room at 1:30 PM. I did notice that first time cruisers were very confused by the new staggered times check-in. The signs are there indicating which line to get in, but if you are a first timer, I can certainly understand the confusion since it's just a mass of people standing outside. I helped a few people that I saw struggling and had that look on their face. I'm glad that we arrived promptly for our time slot. I wouldn't want to end up in the "early/late" check-in line - it was VERY long, and it was quite warm/humid outside.

I was on the Freedom also for that week. I again thought that the food was really good. Ate in the MDR every night. The only food that disappointed me was a lobster roll from the Seafood Shack. Long wait and it wasn't good at all. Service was great everywhere else. Love the Mongolian Wok for lunch. The Alchemy Bar was the best. Marina, Zsolt, and Janelle made the best off the menu drinks. I just told them what I liked and a drink was made.

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We never ate at the Seafood Shack, but I hate to hear it wasn't that great. Service was definitely great throughout the ship as you said. We were just disappointed in the MDR food/selections. But we sure didn't starve either - LOL!

Just an fyi, the computer system was down for the first hour last weekend when you checked in. Staff did a great job of keeping things on track, especially considering it was double ship day too!

Even in the FunTimes Tea Time is no longer listed under activities. It now appears on the "want more?" section under food. Thanks for mentioning this, more people should know where to look in case they are interested in attending a tradition that goes back to the days of the Atlantic ocean liners.

Even in the FunTimes Tea Time is no longer listed under activities. It now appears on the "want more?" section under food. Thanks for mentioning this, more people should know where to look in case they are interested in attending a tradition that goes back to the days of the Atlantic ocean liners.

This is one of our favorite activities for sure - makes the cruise more special to us. We missed the first two tea times on this cruise because it wasn't on the app. I expect others did as well. Sure glad we at least caught the final one - the scones were amazing!

This is one of our favorite activities for sure - makes the cruise more special to us. We missed the first two tea times on this cruise because it wasn't on the app. I expect others did as well. Sure glad we at least caught the final one - the scones were amazing!

I also didn't realize they had Tea Time this cruise until I happened to finally tap on one of the First Responder Table activities just to see what it was a few days into the cruise.

I also didn't realize they had Tea Time this cruise until I happened to finally tap on one of the First Responder Table activities just to see what it was a few days into the cruise.

How were the First Responders Table Events?? I hope they were great - that group certainly deserves praise!! Same for the Veterans Table events!! We also enjoy the Veterans tribute event that is held usually on the first sea day. CCL is the only line to do this - at least the only line that we've experienced. It was held on this cruise, and it was special as always. I've started making sure I pack my Army shirt for this day on our CCL cruises. I wear it in honor of my Grandfather's memory.

One other item I meant to add. There was a young couple at the table next to ours in the MDR. Several crew members came by on the second formal night and made a presentation to their baby girl for being the youngest passenger on that cruise. It was so precious! They gave her a really nice framed certificate and a stuffed teddy bear wearing a pink Carnival shirt. We've never seen this done before - we just happened to be sitting next to them. So special! And that baby girl was ADORABLE! She looked to be maybe 6 months old, if that. So precious! :*

We sailed on the Freedom last October and enjoyed our Cruise very much! It is a good ship!

Just booked Freedom and haven't been on Carnival in years. Could you answer a few questions?

What would the peak times be for the Lido at breakfast or lunch?

How is the embarkation check-in time scheduled? Can I choose my time frame?

What restaurants are open on Embarkation day for lunch?

Does this ship have a T- pool?

I havent cruised in a couple of years. What is this app and does it work offline? How do you get the app.

the one that shows the menus. Im used to having to go down early and read the posted menu.

Seems something else new if there is a app for that. can i access it on my tablet offline?

Just booked Freedom and haven't been on Carnival in years. Could you answer a few questions?

 

What would the peak times be for the Lido at breakfast or lunch?

 

How is the embarkation check-in time scheduled? Can I choose my time frame?

 

What restaurants are open on Embarkation day for lunch?

 

Does this ship have a T- pool?

when you go to fill in the paperwork to get on the ship, now it comes up with a bunch of times to pick from. the earliest time that came up from me was 11 to 11:30, but im platinum and now decided to get on later, and avoid the rush onboard But thats how you pick your embark time.

If you want to avoid peak times at breakfast get up early. After about a hour seems to get crowded, but early is usually quiet.

imo the mongolian wok always has a line, it used to close at 2 pm, maybe its changed, but a line there is unavoidable except on port days like if you stay on the ship. I would eat there more often if there wasnt a line.

Guys burgers has a line before it opens, wait a hour or two and the closer to closing the less of a line as they dont close until 6 pm and its running into early dinner.

First day unless you are platinum and rush right to the buffet, its a madhouse. wait until 2 or 3 pm if you want to avoid a buffet line, or get faster to the fun pass or be platinum or ultra gambler cruise. once those people grab seats, the first day it gets hard to even find a seat for the next few hours imo.

try the brunch on sea days instead of the buffett? its good,

but nothing like as good as the buffet where you can get eggs or omelets cooked to order. get up early is my best advice.

on embarkation day usually only the buffet was open unless they have changed. its a madhouse.

Just booked Freedom and haven't been on Carnival in years. Could you answer a few questions?

 

What would the peak times be for the Lido at breakfast or lunch?

 

How is the embarkation check-in time scheduled? Can I choose my time frame?

 

What restaurants are open on Embarkation day for lunch?

 

Does this ship have a T- pool?

What's a t-pool?

What would the peak times be for the Lido at breakfast or lunch?

How is the embarkation check-in time scheduled? Can I choose my time frame?

What restaurants are open on Embarkation day for lunch?

Does this ship have a T- pool?

Lido breakfast: We slept in every day, so we didn't get to buffet until about 10 or 10:30 AM. That time worked well for us on both sea days and port days since we didn't do any excursions. Best to go very early or late. We did brunch one day and it was okay. The cheesecake was fabulous!!

Lido lunch: I would say avoid 11:30 AM - 1:00 PM.

Embarkation check-in: go into your reservation on the CCL web site and choose your time. The earlier you do this the more options you'll have, in my experience.

Embarkation restaurants: Lido buffet, pizza, Guy's Burgers, Mongolian Wok; BBQ; not sure about the Seafood Shack since we never went there. We were on board by 12:45 and had no problem getting to the food or finding a seat on embarkation day. I think we just got lucky - it's usually not like that.

T-pool - there may be one in the spa area; didn't go there so I can't confirm

As for the app: go ahead and download the app from the app store on your phone/ipad before boarding. Then once you board and have your room keys, you can log in. You'll need your room key to get your portfolio number from it. You'll put your phone in airplane mode and turn on the wifi and connect to Carnival's ship wifi. The menus for the MDR will be posted under the "food/drinks" section. Just click on your dining area/time, and there will be a menu link. Just play with the app for a while after you get on board. You'll get the hang of it!! VERY handy.

The app was terrific, and we actually had a pretty good experience with the chat feature.