Before I get into my gripe about all of the things we did not like about our experience on the Carnival Freedom, let me start by saying that this review does not apply to the wonderful workers - room service, housekeeping, and dinner service. I should also preface by saying that we KNEW that we were going on an older ship in order to save money but DAYUM - this ship has probably not been updated in 20+ years! So think about it... pillows, lavatory, sofas, beds, yuck yuck yuck.
Here are the things we did not like about this trip - and I will say that I have already spoken with Carnival Customer Service who said repeatedly that they will not give us any kind of response, courtesy call, or customer satisfaction benefits.
* THE FOOD IS TERRIBLE - If you care about having fresh meat and produce in your food, this is not the cruise for you. Many people complained and apparently the Freedom has changed food vendors in the last year and the new one (American Table) is not as good as other ones. We even heard from other guests that they have had much better food on other Carnival ships, as I have had that experience as well. The buffet food looks like retirement home food (or Vegas buffet); the ice cream machines are dirty (we got a glimpse when they were refilling - putting yogurt in the soft serve btw); and we ate at our dining reservation only twice before we boycotted it the rest of the trip. My chicken looked like it was out of a Tyson's bag; the mushrooms tasted like old fish; and nothing tasted right. The recipes seemed well-conceived and prepared but the taste and quality are horrific. Many said that their meals were barely palatable. The only food we liked was either fried (burgers) or that we had to pay extra for - i.e. the Sun King Steakhouse, the Seafood Shack, and room service. Don't let them fool you with "free room service" - you can only get about 6 things for free.
not enough beach time - cool snorkeling - beautiful turquise water and island
loved this / great snorkeling / food you had to pay extra for and it wasn't that great