We had an amazing time! I didn't know what to expect. We were first time cruisers. We had mixed reviews from our friends about cruises. But this was Fantastic! We used EZ Cruise Parking in Galveston. You get a 20$ discount if you walk to the terminal. It was worth it for us because it was only like two blocks over. I read alot about what to take and what not to take, so I didn't overpack (I think I used everything in my suitcase about 2 or 3 times!). We only had two suitcases and a backpack each so the walk was easy. The embarkation process was pretty quick.It took about 30-45 minutes. Once we got on the ship we weren't sure what to do, but there were plenty of Carnival reps telling you where to go and answering questions. We spent some time exploring and eating until we set sail. I was really not impressed with the theme of the ship. That was one thing, I don't know if I was looking in the wrong places, that I definitely did not expect. It looked like something out of the gawdy 70s. Don't get me wrong, it was really really clean and I could appreciate the intricacy and detail put into it. Just wasn't my thing. The staff was amazing though. We will try a different ship next time, but if we don't love it I would do Freedom again just for the staff.

Loved the Carnival HUB app that let us know what was going on and we could pick things we were interested in and it would remind us 15 minutes before.

We most enjoyed dinner. Definitely do dinner and definitely do elegant night. If you're on the fence, just do it! Our waiter Richard was awesome and always genuinely interested in how our day went and what excursions we did. We sat with a couple the first couple nights, but they came with some friends and ended up eating dinner with them. So we asked our waiter to see if the couple sitting next to us, also by themselves, if they would like to join us. They were like yes please! haha So we ended up making some new friends. The food was always great! You had your main meals and then the Ports of Call menu. We would always try something new. Read more