This was our eighth Carnival cruise. We chose the Carnival Freedom in order to accompany my wife's brother and his family and, with 8 nights vs. the normal 7, visits to Antigua and Tortola (two islands we had not yet visited), the benefits seemed to offset the fact that it was an older ship and went against our intent to frequent other cruise lines in the future (we have also cruised with Celebrity, RCCL, Princess and Holland America.
Now, while there is no such thing as a "bad" cruise (the Triumph experience notwithstanding), this trip turned out to be one of the least memorable of our 20 plus cruises.
Firstly, the ship borders on the ugly side. This is definitely not one of Joe Farcus' better creations. While the ships he decorates always tend to be on the bohemian side, this is one is a drab mix of dull and depressing colours, weird wood panelling and accents that make the ship dark and foreboding.
8270 balcony. Directly opposite the steward`s store room which resulted in early morning noise outside our cabin door by 7 AM. Also some noise from the Millenium main concourse.