Carnival Freedom Review
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I booked the Carnival Freedom because of the itinerary since we would be going to Cozumel, Costa Rica and Panama. I took my fiancEe with me and because of her love of animals; these were great stops to see a couple of rainforests.
Embarkation and Day 1: We arrived in Fort Lauderdale the night before the cruise on Saturday. Since I have lots of Marriott rewards points, we stayed at the Springhill Suites which has a free airport shuttle as well as a free port shuttle. We signed up for the 10:45 shuttle to the port when we checked in. Had a nice breakfast at the hotel (hot and free) and then boarded the shuttle and then left promptly at 10:45 which arrived at the port about 15 minutes later. Even if you aren't staying at the hotel when you come back, they will pick you up at the port and take you to the airport for $8pp which is much better than Carnival (we made that mistake since we had already booked with Carnival prior to the cruise). I would recommend always checking with your hotel before going to the port city to see if they offer something like that. The ship was great and as some others have pointed out, the dEcor was kind of funny looking but it didn't bother me because I was there to enjoy the cruise and not worry about the dEcor.
The driver took all of the luggage off the bus and then we got off and identified our bags to make sure they were all there and tipped the porters and they took care of them from there. We got in line which at that time of the morning was just barely outside the doors to the building so we didn't have to wait outside for very long at all. We were through the check-in and assigned to Zone 10 within a half hour of arriving at the port. They started boarding the ship at 11:30am and we were called to board about 15 minutes later. For me, Fort Lauderdale is one of the easiest embarkation ports I have been too. We got on the ship and went straight to Lido to have some lunch. I had told my fiancEe (her 1st cruise) that she should look around at all the food before she decided on something and then go back and get what she wanted. We walked around to each of the buffets and also by the deli and grilles before we decided on what to have. Luck would have it that the Taste of Nations was Italian that day so she was in heaven for that. After lunch, we walked around the boat for a few minutes to familiarize ourselves with where things are. Bought soda card for my fiancEe and a wine package for us as well (if you are a wine drinker, very good deal: we saved over $60 on 5 bottles of wine). After that, it was time to get in the pool until the muster drill. We did get into our room about 1:30 but none of our luggage was there. All of it did show up just after the muster drill so we were able to get unpacked. I was very surprised to find out that you don't have to take your life jackets to the muster drill with you anymore. They put your muster station on your sail and sign card so you just have to find that. Also another surprise, the staff was not in the stairwells and elevator areas to direct you to the correct station so you had to look for the signs. This would be harder for a 1st time cruiser I think. We found our spot and weren't really directed until about 15 minutes after the muster drill was supposed to start. I think they might have been running a little behind, but they failed to tell anybody this. We left the port about 45 minutes late and I'm sure we made the other 2 ships late that were leaving after us. One disappointing thing that I found unusual was the we didn't meet our cabin steward until the 3rd day. I guess we were gone too much for him to find us. To be honest, I don't even remember his name since we got a very basic introduction since he disturbed us while we were getting ready for dinner one night. Only saw him once or twice the rest of the cruise. Usually they make it a point to meet you early on and see if you have any questions or need anything specific for the room. I'm such a seasoned cruiser that it wasn't a big deal for me and if I had needed anything, I would have tracked him down very early on.
Cabin Review
Interior
Plenty of space for 2 people. Twin beds combine to a king bed which was very nice. We put our suitcases under the bed which worked out great. There are 2 hanging closets with a few hangers. One of the hanging closets does have a shelf at the top and some on the bottom. There is a cabinet next to the closets with several shelves. A few drawers are attached to the desk and some small storage space in the 2 nightstands. One of the drawers has the Bible and the hairdryer which is already plugged in through the drawer. There are a couple of counters to put stuff on and also a very small table that has the ships books on it, but these can be moved if you want to use it for something. Bathroom is a typical cruise ship bathroom. Small but functional. They do have body wash and shampoo in dispensers in the shower. A bowl of promotional items was included (razors, pepto bismol, etc.) Since this cabin is forward, you do feel some movement, but not too much unless the seas are very rough which we had a couple of nights. Did hear noise in the hallways a couple of times so if it is spring break or there are just noisy people in the vicinity of the cabin, recommend ear plugs.