We choose this cruise for two reasons: New Year's Eve and leaving from Galveston which is a day's drive for us. We have been on only one other Carnival cruise on the Breeze. The Freedom has had the 2.0 update so it is similar to the Breeze in several ways although it is smaller. For public areas, the Freedom seems to have everything concentrated on decks 5 and 9. The adults only Serenity Deck feels like an after thought and doesn't integrate in well. If you like the spas, the Freedom has one but it is not like Cloud 9 on the other ships. Guy's Burger has lost its focus as a gourmet burger joint when you have 50 on the grill at one time and most of the cheese has melted off the patties. The toppings are on a buffet for you to add yourself. We did do the Chef's Table and it is well worth the $75 per person price just for the French Champagne and wine alone. The food and experience are excellent. Getting the Chef's Table reservation was a bit frustrating as it is apparently run by the ship and not through Carnival's regular booking process. I sent in the email request months in advance, but never heard anything. You are suppose to get a reply 24-48 hours before departure and no one knows anything before that. First thing when we got on the ship, we found the Chef's Table presentation. All four planned nights were already full but they didn't have our name down. They were taking names to put on a waiting list for a possible fifth night. We were lucky and got on that. So if you are interested in the Chef's Table make sure you book as soon as you can.
We like the Ocean View which is only slightly higher than the interior and does have a large window to see outside. The cost difference to get a Balcony room isn't worth it and those rooms are actually a bit smaller. The Freedom doesn't have Ocean View Deluxe with two bathrooms like the newer ships, but still a great room.
Walked on our own to tour Hemingway's House and Truman's Little White House. Found an out of the way Tapas Restaurant for an excellent lunch. Also walked around the shops and saw Sloppy Joe's.
Arrived in Galveston the night before and stayed at the Commodore on the Beach. Got to the cruise parking lot between 10 and 10:30am and shuttle took us and luggage to terminal. Were ahead of most people, so lines at security were not that bad. Checkin line was longer, but that was because Carnival only had about 25% of the agent desks staffed. The waiting room was packed even for staggered checking which we were early for.