My family experienced our first cruise with the Freedom on June 24, 2012. (Western Caribbean)

We flew into Fort Lauderdale the morning of the cruise. I was very nervous as the weather was really bad. In the future I will plan to arrive a day early. We choose transportation services with Carnival which proved to be a great idea.

Embarkation/Arrival...Easy and fast. We submitted all of our information online. We checked in on our rooms and our luggage arrived later that evening. We had a balcony room on the Panorama deck and our boys (12 and 14) had an interior room across the hall. They claimed they liked their room better, but I think they just like having their own room! I am definitely hooked on having a balcony. The water was so soothing and relaxing. I wouldn't want to go somewhere else on the ship in order to enjoy it. When we arrived, we went to the Lido deck to grab a bite. It was a bit confusing, as there were different food stations and the deck was huge. For a first-time cruiser, this was a bit intimidating. Each of us wanted something different and I think it was by luck that we all found each other again when it was time to sit and eat. We decided at that moment, we would always grab seats ahead of time. We also made rules at that time for what to do if/when we were separated and felt lost. Read more