Jump to content
Cruise Critic Community

Carnival Freedom is not for trivia lovers!

Texasl8dy

By Texasl8dy,
in Carnival Cruise Lines

 Share

Recommended Posts

Texasl8dy

Texasl8dy

Posted
Posted

We were on the 2/15 sailing of the Freedom. We loved the ship and had a great cruise. We will be sailing on her again in April and we also booked the blogger's cruise while on board. (YEA!!)

 

We liked the food and had good service with ATD dining in the MDR 5 out of 6 nights. On the one night we experienced slow service, the servers were just overwhelmed with too many people in the section. We LOVE Guy's burgers and had a few of those during our week!

 

The crew was always friendly and we had a smiling and very efficient room steward who kept us supplied with ice.

 

However, I was disappointed in the lack of trivia scheduled on this cruise. I am not a "Lido" person. I don't do pool, hot tubs, or hang out on the Lido deck listening to loud music. I LOVE trivia and all inside activities. (When I use the term "trivia" I am referring to all general trivia, name that tune, scategories, pictionary, etc.) With the exception of Super Trivia played on 3 of the 5 sailing days at noon each day, and one round of trivia at 10 AM one day, there was NOTHING scheduled during the day until 3:00 PM. This included Sea Days which usually have back-to-back trivia. It was like the "FUN" switch was turned on each day at at 3:00 PM. Up until that time you were on your own to find something to do. There was also no organized bean bag toss, ladder toss, or mini golf. There was PLENTY of shopping talks, health/spa seminars and Bingo ($$$). Another annoying thing was at 3:00 PM on Sea Days, after having nothing scheduled all day, they had Tea Time and a dance class both offered AT THE SAME TIME. I hated having to choose only one! Not once during the week was any trivia or games scheduled in the showroom during the day as you find on other ships. This was my 9th Carnival cruise on 5 different ships. I know what I have come to expect on board and this was NOT it. So, if any of you are planning a cruise out of Galveston, be advised that there isn't much trivia offered on the Freedom. On our last night, I did ask Jen the CD if the lack of trivia was normal for the Freedom and she seemed surprised that I asked. She thought that there was plenty of trivia.

 

Playlist Productions: We were not impressed. Getaway Island was the one exception because it had a stage setting and seemed more like a production show. Eight singers/dancers in front of a video screen didn't work for us. Bring back the Show Band!

 

VIFP Party: We arrived on time and by the time we made it to the door we were sent to the balcony because the lower area was full. We were offered ONE DRINK and never saw the bar servers again. It was the WORST VIFP Party ever!

 

This was no big thing to me because I have two other Freedom cruises booked, but this cruise had no Ships-On-A-Stick to give away. They had apparently given them all out on the repositioning cruise prior to ours. Medals were given out instead and the occasional bottle of champagne. I suspect that people who collect SOAS were disappointed by this.

 

It was an enjoyable relaxing cruise but there wasn't nearly enough scheduled trivia. I will take that into consideration when selecting my next cruise.

 

 

 

 

 

 

.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
trvlgirlmq

trvlgirlmq

Posted
Posted

I experienced this on the Fascination last year. It was torture as I had a broken ankle and could not use the pool or climb the stairs to mini golf, etc. It is up to each CD how many activities are planned and we had a dud for sure. I was so bored I have vowed to never even sail another small ship that doesn't offer some alternative activities.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Sweet Dutch Girl

Sweet Dutch Girl

Posted
Posted

In all honesty I have never played an organized game on a cruise ship, been to an art auction or the sales pitches for where to shop at ports, never been to a stage production, never played bingo, never done the "learn to line dance" on the Lido deck, never been to a VIFP party, and have never taken home a ship on a stick or any of the other memorabilia that is so prevalent, never had a spa treatment, my hair or nails done, or shopped in the stores. But every night I fell into bed exhausted and couldn't believe the time went by so fast. Now I need to figure out what I do do with my time.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
IPlayWithString

IPlayWithString

Posted
Posted
Hello,

Thanks for your opinions. Did you like the Cruise Director, Jen? I believe we have her on the Freedom 3/7/15. Is there anything that is a must do or a must don't on this ship? Thanks

 

We've sailed with Jen before on the Triumph and we really quite enjoyed her. She's very very British--loud, plain spoken, tends towards jokes that are slightly off color and she loves her bling. She is very, VERY sparkly in fact. We're actually really looking forward to seeing her again on the Freedom in a couple of weeks. :)

 

I kinda wish I knew who the ACD was gonna be..that makes the trip almost as much as the CD.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
sailor_jimc

sailor_jimc

Posted
Posted

hmmm maybe they were just short staffed that cruise. When we sailed Freedom there was tons of Trivia events. over a course of 16 days. (B2B) I have been on cruises where the entertainment staff was stretched thin because of various reasons (transfers, sickness, leave.. etc) So they have to pull some activities from the schedule.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
opshannon

opshannon

Posted
Posted

It really adds to the discussion to have people who don't like trivia, think it's boring, and think cruising is about more than trivia, post their feelings in here. When you're through, find a thread about something else you have no interest in and go post in it.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Texasl8dy

Texasl8dy

Posted
  • Author
Posted
Hello,

Thanks for your opinions. Did you like the Cruise Director, Jen? I believe we have her on the Freedom 3/7/15. Is there anything that is a must do or a must don't on this ship? Thanks

 

 

She was actually very upbeat and a lot of fun. She just didn't schedule any daily trivia until 3:00 PM which I had never seen before on the Magic, Triumph, Liberty or Miracle. I REALLY missed my trivia!

 

 

.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
jordanaire

jordanaire

Posted
Posted

I agree with the original poster. Not enough trivia on the Freedom! We were on the Freedom last month and was disappointed in the number of trivia games played. On the Pride last May, there were trivia games ALL day and night long. It was great!

 

:cool:Bill

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Sweet Dutch Girl

Sweet Dutch Girl

Posted
Posted
It really adds to the discussion to have people who don't like trivia, think it's boring, and think cruising is about more than trivia, post their feelings in here. When you're through, find a thread about something else you have no interest in and go post in it.

 

Uhh....isn't this an open forum AND a place where peeps can exchange experiences, comment on perspectives, and let newbies know that some complaints are pretty self-centered and experiences that one individual has won't actually ruin a cruise for someone else. I didn't know that all responses have to agree with an OPs point of view....but I'll take your "lecture" under consideration. Thinking! Nope, still feel I can post everywhere I like. People don't have to read my responses...scroll is definitely your friend.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Jenny in TX

Jenny in TX

Posted
Posted

We sailed with Jen on the Triumph and really liked her. She has a great personality, wears sparkly shoes and fascinators. We loved that she was very involved and we saw her all over the ship interacting with the guests. Freedom is in my home port now so I hope to cruise with Jen again before she is off of the Freedom.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
opshannon

opshannon

Posted
Posted
Uhh....isn't this an open forum AND a place where peeps can exchange experiences, comment on perspectives, and let newbies know that some complaints are pretty self-centered and experiences that one individual has won't actually ruin a cruise for someone else. I didn't know that all responses have to agree with an OPs point of view....but I'll take your "lecture" under consideration. Thinking! Nope, still feel I can post everywhere I like. People don't have to read my responses...scroll is definitely your friend.

 

The following is nothing but snark that's typical of these boards:

 

"I don't cruise for trivia -- can play trivia on boring, old land.

But whatever (literally) floats your boat I guess....."

 

Neither does it inform newbies of anything other than the fact that the poster of that comment feels the need to criticize the frustration of others.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
lucky13elec

lucky13elec

Posted
Posted (edited)

We were on the Freedom sailing 11/29/14. the trivia was in the Red Frog at 10:45pm sea nights. And you received a tube of beer if you won & got your picture up on the wall. On the last day of the cruise they gave you the picture back. I'm glad they stopped giving SOS crappy plastic.

Edited by lucky13elec
Link to comment
Share on other sites
John Reid

John Reid

Posted
Posted
It really adds to the discussion to have people who don't like trivia, think it's boring, and think cruising is about more than trivia, post their feelings in here. When you're through, find a thread about something else you have no interest in and go post in it.

 

opshannon =

 

Good for you; you are exactly right. A person posts that she likes trivia and this ship didn't seem to have as much as usual. A very valid disappointment. "I don't like/need trivia..." a very invalid response. It's like reading a review that disappointingly said only two meals were now being served per day and someone responding that he or she only needs to eat only once a day, why would anyone need more. And for someone to say that pointing out the lack of games from the norm is self-centered and can ruin a newbie's perception of cruising borders on bizarre. Rather, it seems to be an insight that would be very helpful to someone who would be expecting a different norm for trivia.

 

MANY people like the ship-on-a-stick. They didn't "stop" giving it at nighttime pub trivia; that is a different format with a different prize - spirits. There are also games throughout the day in other areas of the ship.

 

OP - something has changed. I was on the 12/6 Freedom cruise (different CD/Wee Jimmy was covering Jen's vacation). No comment good or bad about Jen; never had her as a CD. There were three to four trivia sessions per day, plus sports trivia in the EA bar in addition to pub trivia at night.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
kadeycat

kadeycat

Posted
Posted

We were on the same sailing of the Freedom. We noticed that even though the comedians were still onboard, there were only a few nights of shows. The magic had 5 comedy shows every night. We never once saw a piano player in the piano bar. The casino area band had a questionable singer. I thought it was karaoke at first.

Could not figure out if it was just the first cruise or the entertainment was typical.

I was pleasantly surprised with the new shows like Heart of soul and Getaway island. I still prefer the old show bands but at least the songs were good and the performers had alot of energy and enthusiasm.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Please sign in to comment

You will be able to leave a comment after signing in



Sign In Now
 Share
Go to topic listing
  • Forum Jump
    • Categories
      • Welcome to Cruise Critic
      • Hurricane Zone 2024
      • Cruise Insurance Q&A w/ Steve Dasseos of Tripinsurancestore.com June 2024
      • New Cruisers
      • Cruise Lines “A – O”
      • Cruise Lines “P – Z”
      • River Cruising
      • ROLL CALLS
      • Cruise Critic News & Features
      • Digital Photography & Cruise Technology
      • Special Interest Cruising
      • Cruise Discussion Topics
      • UK Cruising
      • Australia & New Zealand Cruisers
      • Canadian Cruisers
      • North American Homeports
      • Ports of Call
      • Cruise Conversations
×
×
  • Create New...