Carnival Freedom Review

[bigslick1974]

My wife and my family were on the Freedom from December 28 - January 5. It was our first cruise. What a great trip! The ports were great, the ship was alot of fun and the crew was awesome. We are from Canada so the warm weather was quite the treat.

 

Embarkation was a bit crummy but was what I expected. It took us about 90 minutes to board. What do you expect when 3,000 people are boarding?

 

Our first stop was on dec 31 and it was St. Thomas. I won a free excursion from carnival for a tour of the island and a shopping tour. It was a very interesting island. Nice people and very nice scenery. I felt very safe there. Too much shopping though - just kidding as my wife and I bought a few small pieces of jewelry.

 

On January 1, we went to Antigua. Another beautiful island. We went on a stingray sensation excursion($70). What a great time. We went out onto a sand bar in the Caribbean and got to interact with stingrays in the wild. We got to feed them and to hold the massive rays. What an experience. Well worth the money. The rum punch packed a punch too.

 

On january 2, we went to Tortola, BVI. Another great experience. The locals are very friendly. My wife and I did the Treasure Island sail and snorkel trip($80). Well worth the money. It was out first time snorkelling. It was great to see all the fish and the coral. It was interesting as I need to be rescued from the ocean. I got a bit too far from the catamaran, scrapped my leg pretty bad on coral, and then got a lung full of salt water twice. A res he diver helped me get back k to my boat. The only bad thing was that we did not get angst to explore Tortola.

 

On January 4, we went to Nassau, Bahamas. I don't mean to complain but we did not enjoy it at all. We went on a carnival excursion - Balmoral Island Beach Day Deluxe. We were told that the excursion is handicap accessible - it is not. My mother needs to use a walker. To get on and off the shuttle boat, the step is between 2 - 3 feet. Too hard for my mom to do but we somehow managed to get her on and off. The shuttle boat was extremely packed and it took about 1 hour to get to the island. The island was nothing special. The food was pretty poorly the island. The excursion took 5.75 hours when we were told it was only 4. 5 hours. We spoke to guest services upon our return to the ship and carnival returned our money for the excursion. Good job to carnival on that. Also on a sad note, when we were walking back to the ship at 7:00 pm, it was dark and dangerous. We had to walk through throngs of street peddlers and dealers trying to sell drugs. Where are the police? I will not be in a rush to get back to Nassau.

 

I will continue with my review of the ship with a few pics.

 

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[bigslick1974]

The ship was a lot of fun. It was our first cruise. I was shocked with how clean everything was. Very impressed. I give credit to the crew. They work very hard and are always pleasant.

 

Brad the cruise director was cool. Always kept everyone engaged, super friendly and is Canadian.

 

We had anytime dining and that was a nice experience every night. The food was good. We had different things that we don't get to try that often - steak Carpaccio, frog legs, alligator, cold soups, warm melting chocolate cake, etc... The food was plentiful, hot, tasty, and the service was awesome. I have no idea how they remember our names and preferences so easily. We had a severe food allergy at the table and that was handled great by carnival. The performances by the autostart was also enjoyable every evening. A special shout out to Desak our server - great job!

 

We went to the steakhouse one night and all I have to say is WOW! Well worth the money. The steaks were top grade and were prepared to perfection. The escargot were tasty. The cheesecake was enormous. I experienced probably the best service of my life in the steakhouse. I was talking to my wife quietly while walking into the steakhouse and the hostess - Elena overheard me saying to my wife that my hand was stinging from my scrap from the coral. Next thing you know, the hostess discreetly approached me at the table and gave me antibiotic lotion, a bandaid and tape without asking. I told carnival about this excellent service.

 

More to come.

 

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[bigslick1974]

The first night we were on the ship, the ship made a sharp turn. Sent us for a loop. The captain made an announcement that lights were seen in the water and they had to do a rescue. Later, we found out, two guys threw two life jackets overboard. The coast guard was dispatched and the ship got delayed. I was informed that the turn around and increased speed cost about $20 k. Ouch. It made for an interesting first night.

 

The lido deck, dj, pools and hot tubs were a lot of fun. It was very busy. The serenity deck was a gem. Much more comfortable seating and not as many people.

 

The casino was loads of fun. I played craps two nights. The staff was courteous and friendly. Too bad I did not win.

 

Our room steward did a pretty good job. Too bad for him, he had to clean up after me. :)

 

I went on the behind the fun tour. What a great tour. Well worth the $75. I got to see behind the stage, went to deck 0 and got to see the working parts of the ship. We went to the laundry, staff dining areas and saw where the employees live. I saw where the brig and the morgue were. We went to the galley. What an operation. The head chef made us soap sculptures and chocolate covered strawberries. We went to the engine control room and got to meet the head engineer. Pretty cool. We went to the bridge and met the captain. We posed for pictures with the captain. It is pretty interesting up in the bridge. The captain spoke to us for about 15 minutes. We finished the tour in the steakhouse. They gave us sweets and champagne. We got our pictures back in our room. Well worth the money. Very interesting.

 

The new years eve celebration on the lido deck was rockin. There was about two thousand peo e out there rocking it out. Great party.

 

The comedy club was pretty good but always packed.

 

My only complaints were the passengers. If you were not out and reserving a chair by the pool by 9:00 then good luck. I am not one to do that. I find it very rude and carnival does not enforce the rules.

 

In addition, the general rude behaviour of the passengers is appalling. I waited for elevators with my mother as she uses a walker and I cannot even count the amount of times that able bodied people would race in front of my mother and fill up the elevators and make my mother wait even if they got there after my mother. Unbelievable.

 

To summarize, it was a great trip on a fun ship. Given that it was my first cruise, I think it is going to be addictive.

 

Thanks for reading.

 

 

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[cruiseclues]

Very good review...glad you enjoyed the Carnival Freedom. :):):):)

[busymom_ot]

Enjoyed the review. We're on the Freedom for the 2nd time in 4 weeks. (I had the exact same experience at the elevators on the Dream a couple years ago. I started blocking entry on an elevator til elderly & disabled people had time to get on then I would take the stairs!)

 

 

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[riclop]

Thanks for the review.

[rolloman]

Embarkation was a bit crummy but was what I expected. It took us about 90 minutes to board. What do you expect when 3,000 people are boarding?

 

 

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I certainly do not expect 90 minutes to board, nor do I expect 30 minutes to board. Typically boarding takes about 10-15 minutes on most cruiselines. Glad you enjoyed your first cruise.

Edited February 14, 2014 by rolloman

[RWolver672]

 

In addition, the general rude behaviour of the passengers is appalling. I waited for elevators with my mother as she uses a walker and I cannot even count the amount of times that able bodied people would race in front of my mother and fill up the elevators and make my mother wait even if they got there after my mother. Unbelievable.

 

We ran into the same thing on the Conquest. SIL was in a wheelchair and after about ten times getting shoved by so that able bodied people could get on the elevators, her granddaughter politely, no, angrily shouted that the next person that got in front of them was going to wish they hadn't. She got on the next elevator.

 

I certainly do not expect 90 minutes to board, nor do I expect 30 minutes to board. Typically boarding takes about 10-15 minutes on most cruiselines. Glad you enjoyed your first cruise.

 

It's all in the timing. If you get there between 10 and 11, you will wait. If you get there after they have started boarding, it doesn't take long at all.

[KPfromCT]

The first night we were on the ship, the ship made a sharp turn. Sent us for a loop. The captain made an announcement that lights were seen in the water and they had to do a rescue. Later, we found out, two guys threw two life jackets overboard. The coast guard was dispatched and the ship got delayed. I was informed that the turn around and increased speed cost about $20 k. Ouch. It made for an interesting first night.

 

The lido deck, dj, pools and hot tubs were a lot of fun. It was very busy. The serenity deck was a gem. Much more comfortable seating and not as many people.

 

The casino was loads of fun. I played craps two nights. The staff was courteous and friendly. Too bad I did not win.

 

Our room steward did a pretty good job. Too bad for him, he had to clean up after me. :)

 

I went on the behind the fun tour. What a great tour. Well worth the $75. I got to see behind the stage, went to deck 0 and got to see the working parts of the ship. We went to the laundry, staff dining areas and saw where the employees live. I saw where the brig and the morgue were. We went to the galley. What an operation. The head chef made us soap sculptures and chocolate covered strawberries. We went to the engine control room and got to meet the head engineer. Pretty cool. We went to the bridge and met the captain. We posed for pictures with the captain. It is pretty interesting up in the bridge. The captain spoke to us for about 15 minutes. We finished the tour in the steakhouse. They gave us sweets and champagne. We got our pictures back in our room. Well worth the money. Very interesting.

 

The new years eve celebration on the lido deck was rockin. There was about two thousand peo e out there rocking it out. Great party.

 

The comedy club was pretty good but always packed.

 

My only complaints were the passengers. If you were not out and reserving a chair by the pool by 9:00 then good luck. I am not one to do that. I find it very rude and carnival does not enforce the rules.

 

In addition, the general rude behaviour of the passengers is appalling. I waited for elevators with my mother as she uses a walker and I cannot even count the amount of times that able bodied people would race in front of my mother and fill up the elevators and make my mother wait even if they got there after my mother. Unbelievable.

 

To summarize, it was a great trip on a fun ship. Given that it was my first cruise, I think it is going to be addictive.

 

Thanks for reading.

 

 

Sent from my SGH-I747M using Forums mobile app

 

Were those guys thrown off the ship at the next port of call?:eek::eek::eek:

20K joke? Wow!