Carnival Freedom 4/5 Review (Long) - What a Surprise!

This cruise was one of surprises, to say the least. I have to admit I went with some preconceived ideas about what to expect from a Carnival cruise---I have cruised only with Royal Caribbean (5 times, 4 different ships) prior to this, and was doubtful that Carnival would meet my expectations. But, as my following review will show, I was surprised in many ways, and will definitely consider Carnival for future cruises. Be forewarned, though…I do have negative things to say. I use Royal Caribbean (RCI) as a comparison, or purely personal opinion. That said……

April 5th – Embarkation

We arrived at approximately 11:30ish, DH found parking to be difficult. He had to park in parking lot ‘C’ (about 3 cruise ships’ length from Freedom terminal). Discovered at that time that parking lot ‘C’ is a cash only lot, and I (standing in front of terminal) had all the cash. Thank goodness for cell phones, although making the long walk in the hot sun was something I didn’t particularly care for. Met DH at parking lot C and gave him money. We walked in the Freedom terminal around noon, took about 20min to get to x-ray machine. Here our second problem was encountered. My carry-on was a soft-sided cooler, which I often use because it’s one of the few carryons I have that have wheels, plus its boxy shape is great for storing my many carry-on items—cameras, medications, etc. (and, of course, a few cokes and waters.) I’ve used it on past cruises before with no problem. Anyway, I put it on the xray machine, and the port security guy said it was too big to go through (it wasn’t) and we’d have to bring it back to the car. Me and hubby questioned this, as it was clearly not too big. He then changed his story, saying we couldn’t bring a cooler onboard. He opened up the bag and I showed him the items mentioned earlier (all on top of the cokes & waters). He once again said we couldn’t bring a cooler onboard. DH said that was not an option, and port security guy brought over a superior who said the same—no cooler. So we stepped to the side to allow others to process, and started putting items in our other carry-ons. I also had a small, collapsible cooler packed which I was going to use in-room to store my waters and cokes. I pulled it out and put my cokes, and meds and other small stuff in it. We then put the empty carry-on by the trash can, got back in line and I asked if my small collapsible cooler would be okay. It was clearly a cooler, and the port security guy looked like he didn’t want to allow it, but I guess just wanted to be rid of us so he allowed it. As a side note, I also noticed that they were making anyone with open containers in their hand—like bottled water—throw them in the trash before proceeding onboard. IMO all of these procedures were done at Carnival’s request—mind you, this is port security employees at x-ray, not Carnival…and is only a sad attempt to disallow any personal beverages being brought onboard. Anyway to continue on, we continued on our way, and stood in line for about 20min or so until we reached the Carnival desk. Since we had done on on-line registration, processing was a breeze and we were soon on our way onboard the ship. Walked on to Deck 3/Lobby Deck, and noticed the congestion in this area (a rather small area, containing Information and Excursion Desks as well as chairs for people to just park and sit). Made our way to Deck 1, just in time to see the access doors opened to stateroom hallways. Made our way to our Oceanview Guarantee, Room 1421.

Stateroom – Oceanview Guarantee – Deck 1-Riviera Deck - #1421

Our first—but not last—pleasant surprise. Cannot say enough good things about the room. The room was SO spacious! I was used to the size of RCI staterooms, even in their balcony rooms. The largeness of the Carnival stateroom—and only an OV at that—was wonderful! 3 closets (with shelving), King Size bed, broad walkways between furniture and storage galore—I was impressed! I had brought a toiletry organizer but never even unpacked it. The room had enough storage space for me, DH, teenage daughter and her friend. Bed and Bedding VERY comfy. Was very surprised to find 2 robes in the closet! (with RCI that’s a perk only available to those who have cruised several times.) Bathroom shower seemed a little more spacious than RCI’s, curtain always stayed in place. 6 glass shelves provided enough storage for all 4 of us. . Cabin attendant always kept my small cooler filled with ice, which became really important later on because my daughter got such a bad sunburn on her face I was making icepacks for her.

Muster Drill aka Selling to a Trapped Audience

I was expecting about a 20min prox muster drill—RCI gets everybody out there, does the drill, then a quick dismissal for sailaway. Carnival opted to make the most of the opportunity by adding on announcements for Shore Excursions, drink specials, etc. After being on deck for what seemed an eternity, we started moving before we were actually dismissed. As a result, we missed some of the sailaway—the ship was halfway down the ‘cruise ship canal’ before we made it on deck, and we were hustling to get there.

Food – Deck 9 – Lido Deck

Grade: Average

While on this cruise I ate in the Freedom Restaurant for a couple of breakfasts, lunch on sailing day, and routinely cruised through when looking for a snack. I also had some fries and onion rings at the Grille (near the pool), and oysters/fries at Fish & Chips (2nd level of Freedom Restaurant). Family had some of the pizza there (by the pool) as a snack. Also went for midnight Mexican buffet, and to look at Midnight Grand Gala Buffet (on Thursday). Food was good; I usually always found something to eat :) Nothing exceptional about any of it though, except family thought pizza was really good. Grand Gala Buffet was a poor comparison to what Royal USED to offer. Note I mentioned that in past tense—RCI has done away with their midnight buffet—a real shame, as it was quite spectacular and always well attended. So I guess, when discussing Carnival’s buffet, “something” is always better than “nothing”.

Food – Posh Restaurant Decks 3 and 4

Grade: Excellent

While on this cruise we ate here every night, as well as for several breakfasts and lunches. Food was almost always excellent…a couple of exceptions were the prime rib (which I thought was overcooked) and the seafood in tomato cream sauce (just didn’t care for it), but I LOVED the chateaubriand and thought the lobsters were both tasty AND large (I could only eat 2!). Filet mignon was very good, and of course the chocolate melting cake was Sooo good! Hubby didn’t like the Baked Alaska, I didn’t try that. Our waiter, Tony, was from Croatia but I swore he was Italian. He was very attentive. One person that wasn’t attentive was the Maitre D’. He came to our table twice, the second time because he didn’t remember if he came by before. Just a quick introduction then see ya…nuff said.

The first evening’s dinner service was more hectic than usual because the staff were trying to acclimate to the new dining schedule—both the Posh and Chic dining rooms have early and late seating at the same time now (6:00 and 8:15). So both are hitting the galley at once with food orders. By the next night, though, things were running smoothly.

Regarding the debate regarding dining room attire, our dinner table was #501, on Deck 4. We had a table for 4, right near the entrance to the dining room—got a really good view of everyone entering. I understand Carnival recently modified their policy to include ‘dress shorts’. I can tell you this…I saw everything—including the cut-off blue jean shorts with fringes…and no one was restricted access to the dining room. Honestly, though, I must admit that by and far folks did ‘dress’ for dinner—on casual nights I most often saw a nice pair of jeans/Dockers with a collared shirt for the guys. Most ladies tended to dress up. On formal nights I saw more tuxes that I did on RCI, and there were many women who were dressed up for the occasion….more that were than were not. Whatever the case, none of it really mattered, because the ‘ambiance’ was not affected by any dress code infringements…because there is no ambiance to begin with. Thus leads to my next section,

Overall Décor – Ludicrous, but what can you expect ;-)

Someone once said on a thread ‘there is nothing elegant about a cruise ship’. They must have only cruised on Carnival, because I could certainly understand that statement if they had never cruised on RCI. Although RCI does make use of light and color, it never overwhelms, and their dining rooms are a study in subdued tones. Carnival Freedom’s décor makes me wonder if its decorator was on a bad acid trip while designing public ship areas. I have never seen anything so overdecorated. Every little space has something in or on it, and not necessarily in complementary motifs either. Just about every light on the ship changes color (even in the elevators!). Everything from ceiling to floor is crazy. But hey, it’s Carnival—they never said they were trying to be an upscale ship, only a “fun ship”. And, I have to admit, their décor is “fun” to look at…and get a few laughs from. I was also thankful that the crazy decorating was minimized in my stateroom…I might never have gotten any sleep otherwise :)

Live Performances

Grade: Very Good, Better than Royal Caribbean

I have to preface this by stating that while I was watching the Welcome Aboard Show, I felt that I was in for a week of truly terrible entertainment by the Carnival Freedom Singers and Dancers. Their whole act was basically like watching a Carnival commercial—and in some cases dancers were noticeably out of sync. Carnival already had me, I was on their ship, there was no need to keep up the shtick! And good lord, what is up with the mascot? He looks like he’d scare kids half to death! Hubby dubbed him “Funnel Head Freddy”. Back to performances—the only good thing about the Welcome Aboard Show was the family-rated comedy act. I really enjoyed that, unfortunately, that wasn’t his usual style, since his act later in the week was a midnight R-rated show. I don’t care for that kind of stuff, so I never saw the comic again.

I was happy to discover that the show singers/dancers were up to the task of entertaining the audience—I really enjoyed the shows “The Big Easy”, “Jump, Jive, and Wail”, and the Beatles show “Ticket to Ride”. Only thing I personally could have done without were the occasional butt cheek flashes that made their appearance in every show…even the Beatles show! Maybe it was done to appeal to the younger crowds, I don’t know, but to me it just ‘sleazed up’ an otherwise great performance.

Larry Burroughs and the Freedom Orchestra – provider of music for the shows – awesome! Be sure to clap loudly for these guys, they sure are great.

Marcus Anthony – performed Motown classics, backed by the LarryB Orchestra. Marcus was EXCELLENT, even took requests from the audience. Don’t pass up his performance, it’s worth it. He had many of the audience (including me) on our feet dancing and singing along with him.

Some other entertainers/entertainment onboard:

Ocean Dream – plays classical music in the Lobby, also plays at afternoon tea in the Habana Bar. They are wonderful and truly talented.

Lifeline Band – awesome! They “play” the Beatles at the end of the Ticket to Ride show, and play nightly in the International Lounge. These guys are good, very adept at playing classic rock. They don’t really seem to get a lot of notice in the Int’l Lounge though. If you have a chance, stop in and listen for a few songs.

“DJ Shurland” – the DJ for the 70’s Dance Club. I don’t think he has a good instinct for what to play to appeal to everyone. Many times the club was packed, but the floor was almost empty. People were so desperate to dance that when he played the 3 line dances in a row (Electric, Cha Cha, Cuban) the floor got swamped. Then, when the regularly scheduled music was played, the floor was vacated once again. I danced several times in there, and it was disappointing to see such a great set-up go to waste. The 70’s Club is awesome, with a “Saturday Night Fever” type lighted dance floor, flashing lights, and even on occasion smoke and lasers (last 2 only seen a couple of times though). Another neat thing is a window near the dance floor that allows people on the stairwell outside to see the dance floor. Pretty neat! One last thing---18 is the minimum age and they were aggressive about maintaining that policy. A 19 year old friend of ours (who looks younger) was asked for a photo id each and every time she wanted to go in. And, a guy under 18 must’ve snuck in, because I saw the guy at the door come get him and escort him out of the place. So at least there’s one place where a policy is enforced!!!

I wanted to see Ron at the piano in Scott’s piano bar, but never got around to it. I heard it was a pretty cool place, though.

I bypassed some of the entertainment—like the comedian “Phat Kat”, ventriloquist Jerry Goodspeed, Carnival Fun Hop, because I wasn’t interested, and took the opportunity to get a little rest. On all my past cruises I’d made concerted efforts to do as much as possible—eat every breakfast in the dining room, attend every show, etc. – which left me feeling totally exhausted at the end of the cruise. This cruise, I opted to take it easy, taking afternoon naps or resting during performances that didn’t interest me, sleeping late on at-sea days…and I felt SO much better at the end of the cruise.

One last comment in this section---I’d like to know who had the bad idea of scheduling bingo in the Victoriana Lounge right before a show? More than once, we’d show up to find bingo players occupying the best areas of the theater. Was there no other place they could have put the Bingo game? Just a thought.

Ports of Call & Excursions

San Juan – Since we arrived in the evening, excursion options were limited. First surprise was in the port area, where free drinks were being handed out..woo hoo! Not a bad way to start a visit! After getting one (or two), we opted to walk around San Juan and visit the fort there (Castillo San Cristobal). The admission price was only $3, which was very reasonable. This Spanish fort is huge, and building was started in the 1500’s. What I found really neat were the two round wellheads in the plaza area. The garrison depended on rainwater for its fresh water source, and a system for collection and storage was built in the fort. Underneath the plaza are 5 huge cisterns that held up to 800,000 gallons of rainwater, enough to support the garrison for the year. The fort is also a great place to take some awesome pics of the water and surrounding area. After touring the fort we walked around looking for a bar with an outdoor seating area. We found one and settled down for a drink—my friend tried her first Mojito, and seemed to like it. I just had a beer, not being much of a mixed drink person. Returned back to the port area, which was pretty much deserted. We found where free liquor samples were being offered, if you go upstairs they have more and most of the stations were unattended at this time. I sampled the Bailey’s with Mint Chocolate more than once, found it pretty tasty. However, I didn’t buy any until St. Martin.

St. Thomas – we booked an excursion with Yacht Adventures (Island Girl) http://www.yachtadventures.biz/index.htm We did a half day sail and snorkel on Capt. Mike’s 45ft. sloop, and it was one of the best excursions I’ve ever done. One of the reasons I liked it was because I wasn’t sharing a boat with 75 people – there were only the 4 of us (6 is the max), plus Capt. Mike. We met Mike at the dock, where he took us in a small motorized raft to the Island Girl, moored near the cruise ships. We then sailed out to a snorkel site, where we were provided with motorized sea scooters, to pull us around in the water while we snorkeled. Awesome! We stayed there for a while, then sailed back with rum punch and beer to quench our thirst. I would recommend this excursion to anyone, and would gladly do it again. After returning to the dock, we went back onboard Freedom for lunch, then left again to walk over to take the cable car to Paradise Point. Although a bit pricey ($19per person), the trip up is cool, and once you’re at the top you have some splendid views of the harbor and surrounding area. There’s also a bird show and a one man band at Paradise Point. They offer a drink there called the Bailey’s Bushwhacker…it’s supposed to be one heckuva drink, containing many different types liquor. My DH and friend each had one, and both seemed pretty happy with it. We had more time in St. Thomas, as Carnival Freedom is preparing to change itineraries and make a transatlantic voyage, and was doing maintenance in St. Thomas. So we got to stay in St. Thomas until 10pm. It was nice having a leisurely visit there, without feeling we had to rush back to the ship for 4:30.

St. Martin – We rented a car here; we’ve done it before on a previous trip, and felt comfortable repeating the experience. We also realize that with renting a car comes an understanding…you NEVER leave anything you don’t want stolen either in the vehicle or in the trunk. AND…be extremely careful where you park. We only parked where we knew it was clearly okay to do so. That said, I reserved a Jeep online from Prestige Value Car Rental. However, when picking the car up at the port office we had to go to the place called

Best Deal Car Rental. No problem with that, they had my rental confirmation, and paperwork was processed. The part I didn’t like was that to get the Jeep the people at Best Deal “shuttled” my hubby over to a place where the Jeeps were, then he had to drive back into the port to pick us up. That took awhile, but he finally made it back and we were on our way. The Jeep was old and nothing fancy, but it ran and that’s all that mattered. We drove over to the Mullet Bay area, meaning to stop there, but overshot it and ended up at Cupecoy instead. Didn’t want to go there because of the clothing optional status, which we immediately noted when we pulled up. So we quickly turned around. NOTE: If you are looking for a particular beach, it can be difficult to find. The main road will often direct you to the general area, but there is no sign to tell you which road to turn on that takes you to the beach itself. Thank goodness I had read a post on the St. Thomas forum where it said the beach was alongside a golf course and there was a parking lot for Mullet Bay. We drove back along the main road to the golf course, and saw a side road alongside the golf course. Although there was no sign listed, we turned here, and it did bring us to a parking area for what was Mullet Bay. DEFINITELY worth the drive. Mullet Bay is exceptionally beautiful, the sands are pristine and the water gorgeous. There is even a small area to the left of the beach where there is a drop off, where snorkeling is possible. More importantly, there are shade trees if you (like me) want to enjoy the wind and view but need to stay out of the sun. There’s a small shack called Daleo’s. They offer lunch from 11:30 – 3:30, and a bar from 9:00am to 4pm. We should’ve stayed for the ribs, we decided to move on to Maho Bay to the Sunset Bar for lunch, but I think we would have liked Daleo’s better. Mullet Bay also has chair rentals for $5 each, and they do have umbrellas if that’s what you want. A couple of ladies approached us to sell stuff, but we kindly told them no thanks and they moved on. No aggressive selling tactics at all. DH wasn’t too impressed with the bathroom; I didn’t use it at all so I can’t report what the women’s restroom was like. Suffice it to say hubby asked me for something to use for tissue, and something to wipe hands with, as the sink wasn’t operational either. I would definitely return to Mullet Bay, I’d just be sure I went to the bathroom first :)

Moved on to Maho Bay for lunch and of course to watch the planes come in. Maho is very pretty, but it’s not really a beach for hanging out at, more like one to check out the planes that fly in low over the beach to land at the airport on the other side of the road. Unfortunately we missed the big jets, but still had a decent time watching the smaller ones fly in. Had lunch at Sunset Beach Bar. When we were in St. Marten in 2004, SBB was only a bar and a few covered picnic tables. It has really grown, with covered decks, a grille for cooking, and space to seat many. I was kind of saddened by the expansion, because I enjoyed the quiet experience of sipping on a beer and watching the planes come in. Now, it’s bustling with people, and much of the space once available for plane watching is now covered. There are only a few spots where you have a clear view of the planes coming in. We had lunch here, some overpriced hamburgers, and then went on our way.

We then just did a lot of island driving—heading over to Marigot area, then more driving around the French side. There were many beautiful landscapes to appreciate, and we were glad we had an open Jeep to really experience them. Drove back to the port, where we turned in the Jeep, then did a little browsing and had a last drink before returning onboard. I bought a bottle of the Bailey’s I had sampled in St. Martin; it was cheaper than the ship price. However, the port prices on rum cakes were more, so I opted to buy my rum cakes onboard the ship.

Disembarkation aka “Will we ever get off the ship?”

Per CD Todd’s info on disembarkation, luggage tag numbers assigned to passengers were ‘random’. Hmmm…so I guess it was pure coincidence that I, a first time Carnival cruiser, with a ‘cheap’ room, was assigned number 31 of 35??? Puhleeze! For those not familiar with the process, your luggage tag # determines when you get off the ship…the lower the number, the sooner you leave. We spent the morning on the Lido Deck by the coffee machine and ice cream dispenser. I was starting to feel like I had been forgotten, until our number was finally called at about 11:30. I got down to Deck 3 to find the long line of other people leaving. We finally got off the ship, went through customs, and got our luggage. By now PCD (Post Cruise Depression) was starting to set in.

Miscellaneous

IMO there was not enough one-to-one interaction with the Cruise Director, Todd Wittmer. On RCI cruises I have regularly seen the CD ‘out and about’, not just intro’ing shows, but actually talking with guests. Also, I never saw the captain, Capt. Orazio D’Aita. I didn’t realize my only opportunity would be at the Captain’s Reception, where he apparently set up shop in the International Lounge. I opted to go one of the alternate locations (70’s club) because I knew the Int’l Lounge would be jammed packed. The Captain’s Reception was held in the International Lounge, Scott’s Piano Bar, and the 70’s Club. There was a fairly good drink offering variety—I opted for a couple glasses of white wine. I was surprised to not see any champagne being offered, since that is the drink of choice for the Captain’s Reception on RCI ships.

“Afternoon Tea” – 3:30pm in the Habana Bar on at-sea days. I LOVED this! The trio Ocean Dream played classical music during this hour of tea, while waiters dressed impeccably (think English butlers) brought around carts of sandwiches and delicious desserts. One waiter would bring a box of teas for you to choose from, and when you selected one and placed the teabag in your cup another waiter poured the hot water. The whole thing was so nice, and I noted the desserts offered were ones never seen on any of the menus. Try this out if you have the chance—it’s a nice change of pace, and very relaxing.

Room Service: Fairly prompt, except for late afternoon. Even if I only ordered coffee, it took about 1 hour to get it. I’m guessing it had something to do with them getting ready for 1st wave of dinner.

Casino – I don’t gamble, so I didn’t go in there. Have to comment that I was glad I wasn’t forced to walk through it to get to another area of ship, like some RCI ships are styled.

Voyage Video – bought it, since I was on it several times ;-) However, I was disappointed that there was no footage of their shows, even just brief moments. RCI does this, as well as put a little about each port of call on their video. Carnival makes you buy a separate one. In this area, I wish Carnival would have just cut back on the huge amount of guest footage (who wants to see 15mins of one deck party?) and included some show and port of call highlights.

Shopping onboard – As previously stated, rum cake prices were cheaper on the ship. I had to buy a couple for my parents, who absolutely love them. Also, although I had the surcharge credit of $70 and a self-made promise not to spend anything over that, I still bought a few drinks and souvenirs and ended up spending more than the credit. My total Sign & Sail bill came to $109 (after onboard credit). This was by far the lowest amt. I’ve ever spent onboard a cruise ship. Maybe that surcharge thing irritated me more than I thought. Thank you Carnival for helping me resist the desire to buy after dinner drinks, Carnival logo items, and the like.

Public smoking – I’m a non-smoker, so I tend to notice smoke. It seemed like this was much less noticed than on the RCI cruises I’ve been on.

Water Slide – I like! We went down it a few times. At least one day it was closed because of high winds. If you want to do this, be up there at 10:00 when it opens. You can ride it, head back up and ride again before people really start to notice and a line forms. Also, for a better ‘slide’, use the overhead bar to propel yourself down the slide, then ride in a reclined position (your back to the slide), arms crossed. You’ll fly like a bullet! Just watch out for the water rush at the bottom…might wanna hold your nose!

Seaside Theater – Pretty neat! They play concerts and movies all the time on it. Also, the CD broadcasts a morning show that can be seen there. And all the video moments that the ship’s videographer have been capturing also play on the “big screen” (and your ship tv) too!

Airbrushed Body Art (temp tattoos) station by pool – tacky, tacky, tacky! Only on Carnival, LOL!

Gym/Whirlpools – One thing I didn’t care for was the fact that you had to go into the spa and walk in it to get to gym. Same applied if you wanted to use the whirlpool in the gym. I was glad I had read on this forum that it was okay to walk back there, otherwise I would never have thought I would need to go through the spa for anything. Side note about the spa’s whirlpool and one of the ones on Deck 9 – they didn’t feel hot enough to me, more like lukewarm.

Elevators – I was very impressed at the number of elevators available. We never had to wait long for an elevator, nor had a problem with elevators already full by the time they arrived at my location. This is a BIG difference to RCI’s ships, where this is a problem. We took the stairs many a time on RCI ships because we grew tired of waiting for an elevator, or knew we’d never get an empty one based on where we were at.

Liquor Availability To Minors on Board – We noted more than once people who were clearly minors were drunk out of their minds. Don’t know if they were sneaking from their parent’s hidden (smuggled) stashes or getting served by lenient Carnival staff, but thought this was pretty shameful to be happening. One evening a young girl, very much drunk, puked her guts up right outside the Victoriana Lounge.

To summarize, Carnival impressed me in many areas (stateroom, dining room food quality, shows) and left me and my family with the opinion that we would gladly sail Carnival again (but most likely their newer ships only). I am still a Royal Caribbean fan…I appreciate the quality of service, more elegant décor and design, as well as other touches that surpass Carnival. I hope no one was offended by my review; it is only my opinion of my cruise, and only that. I will be happy to answer any questions, or respond to comments.

Cindy

Nice review. I thought it was balanced fairly well. I enjoy both lines also.

After 17 cruises on different lines (see my signature), I totally agree with your review! All cruise lines have plusses and minuses. It is how you choose to deal with those that makes or breaks your cruise. Thanks for sharing....and yes, Carnival is now a cruise line I do consider when making my choices. It may not be my first choice, but it is in the top two to three choices.

Cindy,

Great review.

I have to agree that it's more relaxing to miss some things; I missed most on board activities and I'm still relaxed! :D

Thanks for the great review. I've sailed both cruise lines and think they have more in common than most people think. I do give the edge to Carnival for the size of their rooms especially the bathroom. I'm not so much into decor..so I rarely notice that aspect.

I have some RCI friends I would love to cruise with on Carnival but I'm afraid their minds will not be as open as yours. RCI was their first cruise and they are willing to try every other cruiseline except Carnival. I know if talked them into joining us on a Carnival cruise they would just spend the entire time comparing and Carnival would always come up short.

Thank your sharing your experience and glad you had a good time.

I really enjoyed your review. I will be sailing on Island Girl next month too.

Thanks for the review -- I am excited to sail in November. We were first time cruisers in November on the Valor and ended up with luggage tag number 8 or maybe 9. Anyway, we were off the ship a bit after 8 am. I felt lucky to get the number, so it seemd random to me. :rolleyes:

Thanks for the review. We will be on the Freedom Jan 31,09 for the 8nt.I have always sailed on Carnival, but next week I will be on RC Freedom of the Seas so I am anxious to see what it is like.

Thanks for the great review. I've sailed both cruise lines and think they have more in common than most people think. I do give the edge to Carnival for the size of their rooms especially the bathroom. I'm not so much into decor..so I rarely notice that aspect.

 

I have some RCI friends I would love to cruise with on Carnival but I'm afraid their minds will not be as open as yours. RCI was their first cruise and they are willing to try every other cruiseline except Carnival. I know if talked them into joining us on a Carnival cruise they would just spend the entire time comparing and Carnival would always come up short.

 

Thank your sharing your experience and glad you had a good time.

I understand the feelings of your RCI friends; my primary reason for choosing a Carnival cruise this time was purely a price-based one. And I did initially feel that Carnival would suffer in comparison to RCI--I was making mental comparisons the whole time I was on the cruise. But...even so, I could not help but notice where Carnival surpassed RCI, in areas that really make a difference. I'm sure your RCI friends...who would no doubt get a kick out of some of the Carnival-specific oddities...would also note that Carnival has some great things to offer as well. I know Carnival sure changed the perceptions of this RCI loyalist. :)

Thanks for taking the time to post your detailed review. Having never sailed Carnival before, I am anxiously awaiting our first sailing this November for 16 nights out of Rome and back into Ft. Lauderdale on Carnival Freedom and then 12 nights planned on Liberty for May 2009. Have sailed various lines and so far HAL is my favorite, but for the itinerary I'm doing both times on Carnival their price can't be beat. I have never had a bad cruise, and doubt I will on these upcoming ones eithe! On all the ships I've been on there were things I liked and things I didn't, to be expected so you just go with the flow. Thanks again!

No problemo! I had a great time, and hope all will enjoy my review. I'll also post a pictorial review, once I get all my pics assembled and uploaded.

Cindy

One of the most honest reviews I have read.

Glad you had a great vacation.

:D

Great honest review!

Cindy, thanks for a very fair and balanced review. I really enjoyed reading it and sounds like you had a pretty good cruise.

I have some RCI friends I would love to cruise with on Carnival but I'm afraid their minds will not be as open as yours. RCI was their first cruise and they are willing to try every other cruiseline except Carnival. I know if talked them into joining us on a Carnival cruise they would just spend the entire time comparing and Carnival would always come up short.

 

It's a shame that people don't realize that closing their minds to other possibilities limits them in ways they can't imagine.

They have no idea the fun they miss out on by creating a negative opinion on a cruise line they've never even tried.

How sad to be 'stuck'.

To the OP, you're review was great and I'm glad you kept an open mind. ;)

Cindy;

What a great review! Glad you had a good time. Thanks

Thanks for the review - I really enjoyed reading your comparison to RCI. I have always wonderd how much of a difference there is... I am thinking I will stick to Carnival until I find a great deal on RCI.

....for the great review. Looking forward to sailing on my first Carnival cruise in Jan. after sailing Princess & RCCL only...with Princess being my favorite.

FYI....Princess also had the *tacky* temporary tatoos by the pool :)

Happy Sailing

Great Review Cindy, I was so happy with this cruise, everything went great and my Mother-in-Law Cathy loved it also.

Thanks

Fred

Great review! I'm looking to branch out my cruiseline experience and it is helpful to read balanced reviews. Thanks for sharing.

PS- I was told that the numbers on the luggage tags for debarkation are given according to flight times, which Carnival does ask for that information. Since you were driving and didn't have to catch a plane, perhaps that is why you got a higher number. If it makes you feel better, we were 14 out of 37 and didn't get off Destiny in San Juan until about 11am! :D

Great review! I'm looking to branch out my cruiseline experience and it is helpful to read balanced reviews. Thanks for sharing.

 

PS- I was told that the numbers on the luggage tags for debarkation are given according to flight times, which Carnival does ask for that information. Since you were driving and didn't have to catch a plane, perhaps that is why you got a higher number. If it makes you feel better, we were 14 out of 37 and didn't get off Destiny in San Juan until about 11am! :D

We were #1 and #27, where the heck they get #27 from? beats me :D

Fred

luvmytbear, all I can say is yikes! I guess I should have brought the 'RCI comparison' in again; we've always driven to port and have always been given a color that allowed us to disembark fairly early. Maybe it was just the 'luck of the draw', who knows.

Of course, I fully expected that long-time Carnival cruisers and those w/early flights would get to leave first, I just found CD Todd's comments about a 'random, fair' number system funny. Also noted that many on my deck were given a 31. More coincidence? Hmmm... :) Oh, well, I took the opportunity to eat a second (albeit smaller) breakfast on Lido, plus hit the ice cream machine and coffee machine liberally. ;)

Cindy

Thank you for the great review. We set sail on Freedom in Rome in June so this review was really helpful!! I am really excited!

I agree with your comparisons between RCI and CCL, assuming RCI is Voyager class. We didn't find the Rhapsody to be any better than CCL, but the Mariner far outclassed the Triumph. That being said, the Triumph cost less, so it was a good value, and we were happy with our CCL cruises considering what we paid. We're getting ready to change our LOS to a CCL because of cost. :( I really wish we could get LOS for a comparable price, but we can't.

I agree with your comparisons between RCI and CCL, assuming RCI is Voyager class. We didn't find the Rhapsody to be any better than CCL, but the Mariner far outclassed the Triumph. That being said, the Triumph cost less, so it was a good value, and we were happy with our CCL cruises considering what we paid. We're getting ready to change our LOS to a CCL because of cost. :( I really wish we could get LOS for a comparable price, but we can't.

I too would like to sail LOS one day, who knows when that will be though :( Cost is always a factor for us when cruising.

My experiences encompassed 2 ships in the Voyager class (Voyager & Mariner), 1 in the Radiance Class (Radiance of the Seas) and 2 sailings on 1 ship in the Sovereign class (Sovereign of the Seas). I do realize that there are variations in quality based on ship (the newer ships get the better entertainment, food quality is generally better) in addition to the obvious perks that come with a new ship. I agree with you on Mariner; I think anyone who sails her or a Voyager class ship will fall head over heels. But I tell you, you won't be disappointed with a Carnival Conquest class ship either, and believe me I was VERY doubtful CCL would meet my previous cruise experiences with Royal. But they not only met, they surpassed--so much so they're on my list for future cruiseline choices. :)

Cindy