We (Kimberly 43, Toby 37, Luke 18 & Jackson 7) returned a few days ago from the 8 day Eastern Caribbean itinerary for the Carnival Freedom. First, let me say that I have never been on another cruise line, so my observations are somewhat limited and have no comparison. I am someone that can be very easy to please, or easily pissed off, given my mood. I've been 'well off' and I've been dirt poor, so I can usually roll with the punches and deal with most things...except rudeness. You've been warned ;)

THE TRIP: We flew in from Atlanta to Ft. Lauderdale on Friday night in the rain. Hurricanes and tropical storms had been abuzz for weeks, threatening to ruin our trip, so I was not pleased...but even moi cannot change the weather. We had booked our hotel through Expedia, which has always been fine. We stayed at the Hampton Inn Airport North in Ft. Lauderdale...being that our cruise left on September 11th I didn't want to fly in the morning of and have any crazies pull something that shut any air travel down. We called the hotel for our *FREE* shuttle and waited 45 minutes for the 15 minute shuttle...in the rain. But hey, it was free. The hotel was the nicest 2 1/2 star I've seen...clean, updated and comfy bed, *FREE* hot breakfast buffet, then the *FREE* shuttle to Port Everglades. I had read that the shuttle was overcrowded...we are not ones that have to be on the ship asap, so we waited til 1:30, extended our noon checkout to 1:00 and watched some TV while we enjoyed the spacious lobby area. All went smoothly, never waited more than a few minutes at embarkation...took a pic and boarded the ship.

THE SHIP: We immediately noticed the decor (and I use that word lightly). It's just pattern overload! There's not a square inch of surface on that ship that is untouched, unadorned in some way. I called it "My Big Fat Greek Wedding meets Jersey Shore". The orange, lime and purple tiger stripped paneling is the worst, and it's everywhere. After a while you make a game of seeing how many different patterns you can find in any given area. I can't say it grew on us...but cruise ship decor is never subdued, right? The ship was very clean, though...and that matters more to me than the ugly decor. The layout always seems to take some getting used to. We always find our favorite places and figure out the easiest way to get there. Same as on other ships, not really worse, as I have read in reviews. There were many different options for food, swimming, sun bathing, reading in quiet, etc. We never had trouble finding a chaise...but the pools got overcrowded at times, and lines at the Lido deck were as we usually find...not too bad and not worth complaining about...remember you are on a boat with 2973 other passengers and 1150 crew members, they all get hungry at lunch time just like you do. Serenity deck is also too crowded, but when it's not and that hammock becomes free...there's nothing better than laying next to the husband swinging in the breeze with the Caribbean Sea as a backdrop. Camp Carnival was the absolute best! My 7 yr old son loved it, loved the companionship of the kids and felt like it was his vacation, too and not just being dragged along with the grown ups. We hit the casino once, I'm one of those prudes that's very intolerant to cigarette smoke, so bars and casinos gross me out. Read more