On February 13 my daughter and granddaughter joined me in Fort Lauderdale to board the Carnival Freedom. Embarcation, despite all the people, was quite easy. I have noticed on many of my Carnival cruises that people come on board with coolers, beer, etc. and it seems to be accepted with Carnival. i usually pack a couple of water bottles with liquor in it and am really glad I did this time.
In October I sailed on the Carnival Glory and it was a wonderful trip. This trip was the most disappointing cruise I have ever taken. The staff were totally unfriendly. They would lower their eyes when they passed you in the hallways and never smiled. Our cabin attendant, although very conscientious about the cabin, was not very friendly either. The ship was kept clean but I saw many areas where sickness could occur. such as the servers handling food did so without gloves. Ashtrays on deck were never emptied and were hard to find for those who smoked.
Our waiter at the main seating was the absolute worst I have ever seen. We sat with a family of five and he never told us his name, nor did he ask ours. One night as I was eating my salad, my main course was put down beside me. I asked the waiter why and he just responded that it was ready. We bought a bottle of wine and on the second night,he forgot to bring it. On the fourth night, as I was eating my dinner,he laid the desert menu down by my plate. That was it for me. I went to guest services and told them about all the incidents and they called the head waiter who came and told me that "this was just his personality". I refused to eat in the dining room for the remainder of the cruise. The food was mediocre, at best, and I didn't mind going to the buffet on the 9Th floor for dinner. I had the waiter's tip reduced by half since I only attended the dining room for four nights.
Our cabin was 6263, a balcony cabin. While the balcony was small. it was adequate and the room was not noisy at all and very pleasant.