HAL vs Carnival Freedom

[djhsolara]

I'm looking for some help if anyone has it to offer. We've cruised three times now on HAL (and once on Princess) and are considering a sailing on Carnival Freedom. Has anyone sailed on her? How was the experience? Does it compare in any way to a HAL sailing (we've been on Westerdam and Eurodam)?

Thanking you in advance for any advice you may have!!

[lilrainy]

I can't offer you a comparison to HAL we are sailing on the westerdam in August, first HAL cruise, I have sailed on Carnival,princess, RCI and NCL, of the four I prefer Carnival,we did a med cruise on the Freedom in Sept. It was a wonderful cruise, I honestly cannot say one negative thing about the whole experience, my husband who does not really like to cruise had no complaints and after our trip on the freedom he gladly signed up to go to Alaska this summer. The cabins were a good size,the beds were extremely comfortable,the crew were great and we never had a bad meal.We sailed with a large group we met on the roll call on CC, some who have cruised a great deal, everyone had a great time. I am not sure the experience in the carribean will be the same but I would gladly give it a try.
loraine

[djhsolara]

Thank you for the quick and positive response.

I'm hoping to hear from others as well. We're just concerned that Carnival is more of a "party" atmosphere than we want...and I'm wondering if the atmosphere will be different in the Caribbean than it was in the Med.

I have posted the same question on the Carnival board as well.

[DaveOKC]

I was on the Freedom last month. I did a comparison on the Carnival board about three weeks ago that would be a great read for you as I compared HAL vs Freedom.
As a recap, the Freedom is a fine ship - large, new and in fine shape. The cabins were a good size and comfortable. The food quality was far below HAL IMO, especially at dinner. THe pizza and ice cream were a plus though.
On sea days Freedom was crowded compared to HAL, especiallly the pool areas and the buffet.
All in all, Freedom was a good experience for the money (very reasonable), but it is no HAL ship - they have just plain spoiled us. For a family trip I would recommend Freedom, but for two adults over 50 I would definately go on a HAL cruise.
If you have any specific questions, I would be glad to address them.
DaveOKC

[ideastoday]

I'm not qualified to address your question on the specific ships, but I can say that in my limited experience having cruised both lines, I had better service on my cheaper Carnival cruise than I did on Holland America's flagship, which surprised me more than a little.

In my opinion, Carnival definitely has party elements, but its nothing you can't get away from if that doesn't suit you. If I found a good deal on Carnival I wouldn't hesistate to give it a go.

[QM2 Cruiser]

HAL and Carnival are polar opposites. The ships, food, service and activities onboard are like night and day. I have been on both the Eurodam and Carnival Freedom this year, and I am actually embarrassed to say I went on the Carnival Freedom. The experience was a nightmare and I could not wait to get off of the ship. The Carnival Freedom is downright ugly and the food is bland and repetitive. I posted very detailed reviews of both ships. They will give you a good idea of what to expect on each cruise. If you enjoyed your cruise on the Eurodam, you will find nothing like it on Carnival Freedom. It was by far my worst cruise ever.

Eurodam Review: 5+ stars
http://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=53431

Carnival Freedom Review: 1 star
http://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=50589

[u4ea]

Here is a thread/review I did a few months ago.
http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=917386&highlight=

I had a good time, but the ship was too crowded for me. I'm done with mega (cruise) ships.:cool:

Mark...

[Cadet Jack]

Class for class the ships are virtuaslly the same. Different emphasis in ambience, but the longer Carnival sailings have similar clientiel. Just go, have some fun and enjoy the savings!

[rkacruiser]

I sailed on the March 8th voyage of Carnival Freedom and on the March 14th voyage of the Noordam. I enjoyed both. On Freedom, there are so many entertainment options that I could not experience all of them during my 6 days aboard. The cast shows on each ship were very good. But, the Freedom has a live 8 person band to provide their music during the shows while the Noordam is using prerecorded music. I had very good dinners/cuisine on both ships and I had disappointing dinners on each, also. The Sun King Supper Club on the Freedom was a superb dining experience, far exceeding any Pinnacle Grill experience I have had on any HAL ship.

The biggest difference is with their crews. I received more smiles and friendly greetings from the Noordam's crew during the first afternoon I was aboard than from the Freedom's crew for the entire 6 days I was a guest. The Stewards, bartenders, and shop employees on Freedom with whom I had direct contact were friendly and polite. But, others that one passed or that saw me made little or no effort to acknowledge my presence.

I intend to do my own review of my two cruises in the near future.