Freedom or Legend

[cruisinbeeze]

We are looking to take our first Carnival cruise in May 2011. We would appreciate feedback (both pros and cons) for Carnival Freedom or Carnival Legend and if you have been on both, which you would recommend.

 

Thanks!

[vawalkers]

We sailed on the Legend two years ago. When we got off the ship it would have been hard to convince us that we would ever love another ship better. In April, we sailed on the Freedom. We had some concerns prior to sailing about the ship holding more passengers. We were concerned that it would feel crowded. It never did.

 

For a first cruise, the Legend is GREAT! It is very easy to get around on. The crew is great. We loved the itinerary (Grand Cayman, Cozumel, Costa Maya, Belize). Tampa is very easy to deal with.

 

The Freedom exceeded our expectation. After sailing both, the Freedom is our favorite. It seems to have more room around the pool areas. The Serenity (adult only) area is excellent. Our 9yo liked the water slide on the Freedom better. I felt the food was better on the Freedom. We did the San Juan, St. Thomas, Antigua, Tortola, Nassau itinerary.

 

You will be thrilled with either ship. Have a great time. If you have specific questions, just ask!

[marshhawk]

Have not sailed both, just the Legend, but we really did love our cruise. It was a wonderfully laid out ship. For us the choice was where did we want to go, all of the ports on the Legend were on my "bucket" list, Cayman,Cozumel,Belize, and Roatan.:)

[SkyMaster]

We too, have sailed 'em both. We prefer the "Legend" by a small margin. I just simply love the Spirit Class ships for ease of getting around, and not having to walk as far when going to different activities aboard. Either ship is a winner, but once again, I prefer "Legend". (Actually, I'm booked aboard "Legend" again in September!) Come on along!

 

"SKY"

[Ruggled]

Technically, I have not sailed the Legend but her sister ship the Miracle. We sailed Freedom last Christmas.

 

First, let me tell you that I thought the crew on the Freedom were great. I am, however, not fond of the Conquest ship layout. (we also have sailed the Glory). I don't like the pool area (don't like the stadium seating and prefer the Spirit class layout). I also think that the Freedom in particular can be very crowded on the Promenade deck. The photo stations crowd the aisles and the addition of the teen club on a mostly "adult" deck adds another level of crowd as the kids hang around waiting for each other--trust me, I had one of those kids, but it didn't make it any less crowded. Granted, we cruised at Christmas, we cruised full, and we cruised with 1200 (yep 1200) kids under 18. Even the Dream on Spring Break only had 1400 kids on a much larger ship.

 

You can't go wrong on either ship...we liked them both (DH now prefers the Dream to all others, but I still love the feel of a Spirit class ship and will be sailing the Legend in December during the Christmas holidays---in a "surprise" aft wrap vista suite! :D Had to throw that last one in there because I can't share with anyone in the house! :o

[cruisinbeeze]

Thank you vawalkers, marshhawk and skymaster! It may come down to which itinerary we decide on. We have two middle-agers :), 22 yo daughter, 20 yo son and his girlfriend who's also 20! Would that make a difference which ship you would choose?

[cruisinbeeze]

Thanks ruggled.Sounds like both ships are still in great shape,even though the Legend is somewhat older.By the way,the aft wrap vista suite is the kind of surprise we would love to find out about.Have seen pictures of it and it surely will be a suite surprise!

[Ontario_Cruiser]

I note that you have sailed Costa Magica - this is a sister ship to the Destiny. Freedom has a very similar layout but is a bit larger.

[WhiteDane]

We sailed the Legend, and the best part of our cruise was our waiter, Ozay. I don't think I've ever had service like that. He found out we liked the blue cheese and grapes, and had it waiting for us before we arrived every night. He was so fast, and so funny. When the music came on, he grabbed our daughter and had her dancing around the restaurant with bunny ears on. We all just loved him. He made us look forward to our dining experience. And in hindsight, as first time cruisers, we took that for granted.

 

We just got off the dream and our waiter was slow, smug, impersonal and condescending. Poo! Our dining time was 6pm and we never got our food before 7pm. His section was always the last one to clear out in the restaurant. I finally started getting sick of missing the sunsets and bolted after I scarfed my dinner down.

 

BTW, we sat at table 217, Crimson room, May 22-29 if the Carnival reps happen to be watching. He needs to go.

 

Anyway, if you can get Ozay on the Legend, you'll love him. I googled him when I got back and other families mention him. He was truly special.

[KruznKel]

Sailed them both Legend twice.. and would definitely say the Legend.. ;)

[jkjmt]

We love the "spirit" class ships as you can tell from our cruises listed below. They are so easy to get around. There is no galley in the middle of the ship to have to get around. When we went on Freedom, it was soooooo crowded. We couldn't have found a chair by the pool if we wanted to. Luckily we had a huge wrap-around balcony in the back of the ship so we hung out there most of the time. This was wonderful, and it's considered a 9A category. Also, we got stuck with late dinner because of so many requests for early dining. Late dinner was too late. They also changed the clocks and made dinner even later. I don't know if Freedom still changes their clocks, but we've never changed clocks before on any of our other Carnival cruises. Also, the lines at the Lido deck buffets were always long. On the Freedom we went to Key West (which surprising we loved), Cayman Islands, and Jamaica. We had a great time.

 

Of course all of this depends on when you'll be going. We went in March which is probably considered Spring Break. But.....If you're like us......you'll enjoy either cruise.

[Cruisin'Trooper]

We have sailed them both and recommend them both 110%. The only thing that would be my deciding factor would be itenerary and embarkation port. Freedom is 3 1/2 hours from us and Legend is 1/2 hour.

[cruisinbeeze]

Thank you everyone for all the help!It looks like it will be Legend.The layout of the ship sounds better and we like the itinerary.We can also get two balcony rooms for alot less than two OV on the Freedom.Happy sailing!

 

Wayne

[tls630]

Sailed both and it's Legend hands down, no question about it..........