Carnival Freedom Review
The freedom to do absolutely nothing but relax on the Freedom
Rating by category
Additional details
Another enjoyable CCL cruise!!!
BACKGROUND: My wife and I are both retired and “lucky” to be Platinum level. We try to visit at least one new POC on every cruise or at least cruise on a ship that we haven’t been on before. We hadn’t been to St Kitts and never cruised on the Freedom so this was a “two-fer” for us. I’ve given letter grades for each component I reviewed.
ARRIVAL + FORT LAUDERDALE: We booked our Jet Blue flight from Central New York State (Syracuse) to arrive the night before the cruise. The complimentary shuttle to the Best Western at Oakland Park picked us up around 6:00 PM and had us at the hotel by 6:30 PM even though it was Friday and the traffic was extremely heavy. The clerk (Gene) was very pleasant and check-in was a breeze plus we set up a shuttle run ($10 p/p) for noon the next day and we settled in for the night. The next morning we enjoyed the very good complimentary breakfast and later took the shuttle to the pier. Surprisingly, we were the only people on the shuttle so there was no problem loading bags or retrieving them when we got to the pier. The Best Western staff was helpful, professional and friendly and the price was a real bang for the buck. The Best Western is located a short walking distance from the Coral Ridge Mall which adjoins a Publix Market. Publix is great for munchies and the in-store wine selection is really good plus there’s a liquor store next door. There are several eateries nearby and we usually go to Miller’s Ale House which is a sports bar with good food + good prices and only about a two block walk. When you add in the comfy pool area with a Tiki Bar and great TV selection, the hotel is just what we need and we stay there every time we cruise out of Fort Lauderdale. Hotel + staff = A
Cabin Review
Balcony
The cabin is two decks below Lido and is close but not too close to the stairs and elevators - a great location for us. If you have assigned seating in the Posh MDR, you can take a short walk down the stairs and you're there. The buffet and other eateries are only two flights of stairs up. The cabin is comfortable and there is enough storage space on the closet shelves and in the closet itself BUT the closet doors open toward the bathroom door so you have to maneuver around to get stuff out. The shower had great water pressure but we had to put large plastic clothes pins on the bottom of the shower curtain to keep it in the shower area. We had no noise or cigarette smoke problems and there was no heavy elevator traffic.