We cruised the Freedom over Thanksgiving week. As always, Carnival did a great job! Our cabin was ready when we stepped on the boat at 11 am. We immediately met our room stewart Wayan. He was great all week long. Attentive when we needed him to be and respectful when the kids wanted to spend most of the day chilling in the room.

The only *slightly* dim spot to the week was our dining experience. We do not like the new American Table menu, the food just isn't great. Not at all as we havve come to expect of Carnival. In addition, because we were a party of three we were seated at a table for 12. Amongst several large tables. This always seems to be a problem in getting good service for the dining staff. I couldn't tell you our dining teams name, nor they mine. They are simply overshelmed with having 3-4 of these huge tables. Add to that we were seated with a group of people who had zero conversation skills and it made for awkward loooonng dinners. We gave up after two nights and ate elsewhere on the ship. Now I can HIGHLY recommend the steakhouse or the Chef's Table excursion. Both were top notch. :)

The real stars of the week were the bartenders in the Alchmey bar and the Swingtime lounge. Drazen, Jade, and Vera took care of you from the first drink to the last of the week. They knew our name in two visits and greeted you even when you were just passing by. Art in the Swingtime lounge made nightly cigars enjoyable and funny. We learned a few bar tricks from him too! Read more