This was our 2nd time on Carnival Freedom having sailed on it April 2011. Timing and pricing was right so we sailed it again. As a family (couple in early 50s + 20 yo son), we probably enjoyed this sailing more than the one in 2011 basically because we had lowered our expectations.

We flew in the day before and stayed at the Embassy Suites. Good location. We had upgraded from a balcony cabin to an ocean suite on deck 7. Husband raved about the additional space in the cabin but I am not sure it was worth the extra $500. Shower had mold (yuck). Good cabin location in a quiet area forward. No smokers on the nearby balconies. Because of the suite we had VIP embarkation which was rather meaningless since we still had to wait for our zone to be called. We dropped out waters in our room even though it wasn't ready yet.

Food: Seemed worse than last year. Seemed like the vegetables with the entrees were frozen. Seemed like wedding banquet food. Service in the dining room was slower than last year - we had anytime dining. The Lido buffet always seemed packed. Getting an omelet or getting the Mongolian choices required LONG waits. Read more