Carnival Freedom Review

4.5 / 5.0
1,366 reviews

Lots of Disappointing Changes

Review for the Western Caribbean Cruise on Carnival Freedom
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seacruiser717
10+ Cruises • Age 70s

Rating by category

Cabin
Value for Money
Embarkation
Dining
Public Rooms
Entertainment
Service

Additional details

Sail Date: Jan 2016
Cabin: Balcony

I have been on 39 nine cruises and 13 have been with Carnival (I say this only to clarify that I have been on past cruises to judge against this cruise). In the past when someone would put down the Carnival Line, I was quick to defend that Carnival did an amazing job and kept their prices affordable. However, I am so disappointed after this trip on the Freedom, that I may not be so quick to defend in the future. This is the 3rd Conquest class ship I have sailed on and it is among one of the best for layout and ease of getting around. They have maintained the ship quite well so there are no complaints there. As you may have read from others on this site, the entertainment is so lacking that unless you are a bar person, there is not much to do. Only live band entertainment was in the casino and it did not have very long sets and closed early.

Speaking of the casino, you can die of thirst in there waiting for cocktail service. Several people at the roulette table asked for a waitress and the dealer said "if I see one, I will let you know". The drinks are not free, so why such poor service? One gentleman had a free drink coupon, but unless he was sitting at a table or a slot machine they would not honor it. He was hopping mad because he could not even enjoy his free drink as he was not able to place an order for it. Seriously, he had to earn 1000 points to get the free drink and could not walk up to the bar to cash it in and enjoy his drink. Sort of takes the thrill out of getting one, doesn't it?

My first shock was going to the dining room and finding they have stripped off the tablecloths and are now setting the table with a folded napkin and your knife and fork set on top. There are carafes of water on the table for you to serve yourself. Bread baskets have been placed on the table as well and then your waiter is gone trying to take orders from far too many tables to give any of them any attention. Now I know to some a tablecloth is not that important, but remember this is a "dining room" where more formal service is expected. One of the issues with this was sweating glasses dripping on you when you tried to drink your water or tea. The other was the puddles of water on the table. We had a rocky night and plates kept shifting on the table (slick,wet tables and rough seas = messy dining experience.

Cabin Review

Balcony

Cabin 8B

Our cabin was just fine. We had a balcony just aft of the center of the ship, so we were between two elevator banks and that made getting around very easy. Our cabin steward did a great job of cleaning our room, made towel animals and kept our ice bucket full as we request. They have maintained this high level of service.

Port Reviews

Progreso

Have been to this port before, so we went into town, had a massage, ate and had fun shopping

Cozumel

Been here so many times we don't do excursions, but always enjoy shopping and walking in town.

Galveston

We live in Houston, we have done Galveston so many times, we would never book and excursion here.

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