Carnival Freedom Review
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We flew into Rome the morning before our departure date (May 22)- we had a long, yet uneventful flight aboard US Airways out of PHL into FCO. I had pre-arranged ground transportation through our B&B (58 Le Real De Luxe) which was a cheaper alternative (60 Euros for 4 people) than those we researched through Carnival and our travel agent. Our stay at 58 Le Real De Luxe was fabulous - the minute we crossed the threshold, we were warmly welcomed and felt immediately at home. The staff of 58 Le Real De Luxe, Paulina, Luka & Consuela were spectacular and made sure we had all that we needed to make ourselves comfortable. They also went out of their way to make sure we were familiar with the surrounding area and provided several recommendations for meals, shopping and entertainment.
After thorough research, I secured driverinrome.com for a half-day tour of Rome. The morning of embarkation we were greeted by our driver Daniele who was fantastic. We managed to do in 4 hours what would have taken us 2 days on our own. We took in the Colliseum, Roman Forum and Pantheon along with a number of other interesting sites. Daniele had a thorough knowledge of the city, was very charming and extremely entertaining. Doing a private tour is the way to go - you can customize the tour to suit your needs and getting around the city and attractions is much easier in a smaller vehicle and you don't waste time waiting for 50+ people. The cost for 6 of us was 260 Euros total.
We also arranged for transportation from the hotel to the ship through our B&B - this was again the cheapest alternative (160 Euros for 6 people). Embarkation was a breeze - we were aboard the ship in a matter of minutes and our luggage came about 15-30 mins later. Once unpacked, we had little time to check out the ship prior to the CruiseCritic.com meet & greet and muster which was at 7:45pm, however, true to expectations, the decor was on the gaudy side. We had late seating for dinner which was in the Chic dining room. We were fortunate to have seating near the windows so we were afforded a view each night. Our waiters, Darko & Bojan were fabulous and they kept us well fed and entertained through the duration of our trip.
Cabin Review
Ocean View
Our cabin was perfectly placed - close enough to the elevators but little to no noise from the halls or elevator bay. It was located on the Main level and towards the bow of the ship. The cabins are of a decent size, much larger than the last time I cruised. The only complaint we had was in regard to the shower as we had problems with the water draining and no matter what precautions we took, we ended up with a 1/2 inch of water on the bathroom floor after each shower.