Carnival Freedom Review

4.5 / 5.0
1,366 reviews

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Review for the Western Mediterranean Cruise on Carnival Freedom

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Sail Date: May 2008
Cabin: Interior

We had six people in our group from Canada. Flew Alitalia because it has a direct flight from Toronto to Rome saving us 5 hours of stopover time. Unfortunately Alitalia lived up to its reputation of poor service on this particular flight - warm tea and warm coffee served by brusque stewardesses and no refills.

Stayed in Rome 3 nights before taking the cruise. Used Roma Shuttle to transport us from airport to hotel - punctual, speedy, and comfortable SUV shuttle service.... would highly recommend this firm as an alternative to the overpriced Carnival shuttle. The English speaking driver voluntarily warned us to be careful of the restaurants and pickpockets in Rome. Sights of Roman ruins and the Vatican visit were interesting, however as we are not history buffs, the detail historical narratives from the travel guides can cause headaches. We didn't throw a coin in the Trevi fountain because we wouldn't want to visit Rome again. Other than for its historical ruins and the Vatican, we found Rome a dirty city where tourists were regarded as sitting ducks for restaurant owners and scam artists. True to its reputation, one restaurant (Preconto Tavolo at the Coliseum area) scammed me by doubling the list price of the sandwich and coffee (15 euros) when the waitress insisted on moving me from the front counter to a table.

Again, right on time, Roma Shuttle drove us from hotel to port Civitavecchia on the May 22nd embarkation day. Having completed the Carnival Funpass, embarkation was a breeze. Within 15 minutes, we were in our stateroom and exploring the ship - our luggage arrived at our stateroom a few hours later. First port was Naples where we took Carnival's Sorrento and the Amalfi coast excursion. The tour bus drove us the complete Amalfi coastline, stopping at Sorrento for lunch and freetime then along the coastal road to the town of Amalfi itself. On the return trip, the tour bus took the highway from Amalfi to Naples, stopping at a cameo factory before back to the ship. We were lucky - the weather was perfect, we had a guide who not only spoke English well but was also friendly and informative. The Amalfi coast drive is probably one of the "must do before you die" experiences.

Cabin Review

Interior

Cabin 4A

Tight cabin and very noisy when ship arrives at port.

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