Carnival Freedom Review

4.5 / 5.0
1,366 reviews

Carnival Freedom - Western Caribbean

Review for the Western Caribbean Cruise on Carnival Freedom
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mulefa
First Time Cruiser • Age 50s

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Sail Date: Nov 2007

This was our first Carnival cruise after several other cruise lines. I booked 4 nights on Carnival Freedom at the last minute. We flew in with JetBlue to Ft. Lauderdale, took TRI-rail to Miami. Line up at check in was crowed but well managed, people in a good mood. Agent at the counter worked as if this was her first day on the job, always running around asking information from other agents about our passports and paperwork. This became a little annoying after 20 minutes. But finally we were directed to the ship entrance where we accosted by photographers. Thankfully we were left alone after the first "no thank you". Later, we became accustomed to these mini assaults for the duration of the cruise.

I was very excited about the Freedom when found out how new she is. My excitement plummeted when I saw an interior. This haunted me until the end of the cruise. I found somber dark color palette, truly ugly "zebra" stripes, muddy and depressing hues throughout: none of the joyful or restful or even elegant interiors of the previously visited ships. For us, a big part of the cruise is exploring the ship. On this one every public room was spoiled by something truly hideous. Such as blue phantom-like masks of Statue of Liberty that haunt the Freedom restaurant and beyond, horrible snake skin patterns of The Posh restaurant spoiled our appetite. Even the table tops were not inviting, each bearing a sharp "spear" design that points directly into you gut, no Feng Shui here! The bars are too "plastic", elevators nightmarish. The theater is not bad; a bit too childish to be called Victorian. The best bar so far is The Habana, with its warm Cuban(?) feel.

Always a big fan of the spa - this is where I went first. The attendants were bent on selling me as many services as possible. I found their attitude pushy; they quickly lost interest in me when told them to take it easy. The spa interior is minimalistic; locker area looks like a morgue. Whirlpool uncomfortable to sit in and the lap pool water too hot. Generally I went there to escape from the crowds. But found flooding shower floors a bit too unhygienic.

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