Carnival Freedom Review
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This was my second cruise with Carnival and I was excited as II hadn't had a vacation in over a year. Overall it was a good cruise.
We got to Fort Lauderdale the night before and stayed at the Marina Hilton which is across the street from Port Everglades. The hotel was nice and they have a $6 shuttle that takes you to the port. You can even choose what time you want to head over to Port Everglades.
Embarkation: As people in previous reviews have noted, the line was wrapped around the building when we arrived. There were not enough security screeners so it took a while to get through the metal detectors. If you brought your own water with you, once you went through the metal detectors you had to go and get your water screened. Please be aware that if you try to bring alcohol in water bottles, they will do everything in their power to stop you. The person checking water was opening packs of water and shaking the bottles (to check for bubbles because alcohol bubbles when shaken). They were also squeezing the bottles to see if they had been opened and in some cases opening the water bottles and smelling inside. After that you had to wait in line to board the ship.Total time from getting in line to walking onto the ship was about an hour.
Cabin Review
The cabin was nice. 7th deck is a great location because it is 2 floors from the Casino and 2 from the Lido so you won't have to wait for an elevator. The room location was perfect because it was close enough to the elevators and stairs where you don't have to walk far to them but far enough so that you won't hear the noise. The balcony was nice but if you don't smoke and your neighbors do, you will smell it.