We sailed on the Carnival Freedom Oct. 19-27 immediately after a seven-day cruise on the Royal Caribbean Oasis of the Seas. After a fantastic week on the Oasis, we were a bit leery of what we might find on a Carnival ship, but the dates, port, and interesting ports of call coincided perfectly with our first cruise. We literally walked off the RC ship and onto the Freedom as they were docked next to each other. We were delighted to learn that there would be self-service laundromats on the Freedom so that we could wash our clothes from the first cruise.

After our initial shock at the bizarre and gaudy decor of the Freedom, we settled in and began to enjoy immensely our 8-day cruise. Our cabin was a bit larger than the RCI cabin and the bathroom was more spacious. We were in balcony cabin 8417 which was toward the rear of the ship near the elevator and stairs and just one flight of stairs up to the buffet on the 9th deck.

The entertainment all week long was outstanding with elaborate production numbers, a Motown singer, a very enjoyable comedian/juggler, two shows that featured fellow passengers singing, a great four-piece band that played in three different venues, and a married couple who sang together. We enjoyed the comedians in the comedy club for the family-friendly shows. The only entertainer we were disappointed with was the guy in the piano bar. We left when he started using four-letter words and singing some embarrassing and totally uncalled for gross stuff. Read more