This was our 6th cruise, 5th on Carnival, 1 on Royal. We love cruising Carnival, and this cruise was no different. We stayed 2 nights in FLL before boarding. 1 night at the Hyatt Pier 66, and 1 night at the Courtyard by Marriott Fort Lauderdale Beach. Both were wonderful, the Pier was almost a resort with 3 pools, and a water taxi stop. Courtyard was directly on the beach.

Embarkation was very easy, we like to get to the cruise port early, so we arrived around 1030, and were onboard around 1150. Not bad! Our room was on the spa deck. We liked the location, close to the elevators and the stairs to go directly out to the pool and the lido. However, we always get a balcony room, and while this had a nice balcony, because it was on the 11th floor, there was no roof to the balcony. People standing and leaning over the railings above could see down, you could hear them, and they you. Also, if it rained, you couldn't go out. I will definitely make sure that our future balconies always have a cover over them. The room itself was the same as all our other cruises, just what we need. Ample storage space and a bed. We don't spend much time here! Our room steward, Idewa, was great.

The Freedom: The only thing we didn't like about this boat was that you can't get from 1 end of the floor to the other. Its very choppy. But other than that it was beautiful. The Serenity deck was our favorite place, hammocks, small beds, and nice hot tubs for adults only. And it was just that, they didn't allow any kids, which was great.It was a nice place to go up to at night and during the day. The dining room was nice, our table was just the 2 of us, which has never happened before. Usually we like sitting with other people so that we can meet new friends. We had dinner twice on the Lido. The food was average, nothing exciting. We have had better on Carnival. The lines in the morning weren't too bad in the Lido, at lunch they were worse, but they moved quick. The deli was great! Read more