A Few Thoughts on the Freedom

[bury me at sea]

My daughter, granddaughter, and her husband returned yesterday from our first cruise on the Freedom.  Having loved the Magic and the Breeze, I wasn't sure what to expect.

 

We missed the spa and the T-pool.   That's all we missed.

 

The Freedom is lovely.  Beautiful atrium and decor.  Compared to the Magic and the Breeze it felt crowded only when we were in the Fun Shop area during a sale.

 

The young ones had an interior cabin on deck 6, and Cheers.  They said the cabin was comfortable and they never had a wait either in ordering or getting drinks.

 

My daughter and I had a scenic ocean view on deck 9.  The view was spectacular and the extra seating area was delightful.  Our cabin steward was attentive and cheerfully gave us both morning and evening service.

 

The Chef's Table was amazing as usual.  I enjoyed the quiet location in a private room off the mid-ship dining room.  It was nicer than the noisy area in the galley where it was held on the Breeze.

 

We had early seating in the aft dining room.  The food was very good, served promptly and at the proper temperature, and our wait team was top notch.  I was disappointed that butter pats were no longer available on request.  The last night they were out of souvenir shot glasses but I came home with several to add to my collection, including two pink ones which are my favorite.

 

We skipped the steakhouse this cruise and didn't regret it.

 

We once again were very glad we had purchased FTTF.  Embarking and debarking were both smooth and easy and our cabins were ready when we boarded.

 

The young ones enjoyed the night entertainment, and we all enjoyed Hannah at the Piano Bar.

 

Key West was a lot of fun, as usual.  We had an incredible lunch at a crab restaurant on Duval.  I highly recommend it.

 

We shopped some in Freeport.

 

The young ones really enjoyed Cabbage Beach in Nassau while I enjoyed relaxing on the quiet ship.

 

I have booked the Freedom again for next spring for another daughter and me and am already looking forward to that cruise.

[runner15km]

Thanks for the review. As for Cabbage Beach are there any restroom facilities yet ? 

[PhillyFan33579]

Enjoyed reading your review. Conquest, Dream and Miracle class ships are still my favorite Carnival ships.  Obviously people have different opinions, but I don’t understand how the design of Vista class ships took a big step backwards from previous classes of ships. 

[bury me at sea]

20 minutes ago, runner15km said:

Thanks for the review. As for Cabbage Beach are there any restroom facilities yet ? 

I'll ask my granddaughter.

[bury me at sea]

15 minutes ago, PhillyFan33579 said:

Enjoyed reading your review. Conquest, Dream and Miracle class ships are still my favorite Carnival ships.  Obviously people have different opinions, but I don’t understand how the design of Vista class ships took a big step backwards from previous classes of ships. 

 

I agree.  I was pleasantly surprised at the uncrowded feeling on the Freedom.  When there were lines they were short and moved quickly.  There were loungers available on Lido every time I passed through. 

 

As much as I loved the Breeze I think I liked the general feeling on the Freedom even more.

 

Carnival isn't having any trouble selling the newer ships so they won't notice that I'm not interested in them!

[Joebucks]

Glad you had a good time! 

[jimbo5544]

2 hours ago, bury me at sea said:

My daughter, granddaughter, and her husband returned yesterday from our first cruise on the Freedom.  Having loved the Magic and the Breeze, I wasn't sure what to expect.

 

We missed the spa and the T-pool.   That's all we missed.

 

The Freedom is lovely.  Beautiful atrium and decor.  Compared to the Magic and the Breeze it felt crowded only when we were in the Fun Shop area during a sale.

 

The young ones had an interior cabin on deck 6, and Cheers.  They said the cabin was comfortable and they never had a wait either in ordering or getting drinks.

 

My daughter and I had a scenic ocean view on deck 9.  The view was spectacular and the extra seating area was delightful.  Our cabin steward was attentive and cheerfully gave us both morning and evening service.

 

The Chef's Table was amazing as usual.  I enjoyed the quiet location in a private room off the mid-ship dining room.  It was nicer than the noisy area in the galley where it was held on the Breeze.

 

We had early seating in the aft dining room.  The food was very good, served promptly and at the proper temperature, and our wait team was top notch.  I was disappointed that butter pats were no longer available on request.  The last night they were out of souvenir shot glasses but I came home with several to add to my collection, including two pink ones which are my favorite.

 

We skipped the steakhouse this cruise and didn't regret it.

 

We once again were very glad we had purchased FTTF.  Embarking and debarking were both smooth and easy and our cabins were ready when we boarded.

 

The young ones enjoyed the night entertainment, and we all enjoyed Hannah at the Piano Bar.

 

Key West was a lot of fun, as usual.  We had an incredible lunch at a crab restaurant on Duval.  I highly recommend it.

 

We shopped some in Freeport.

 

The young ones really enjoyed Cabbage Beach in Nassau while I enjoyed relaxing on the quiet ship.

 

I have booked the Freedom again for next spring for another daughter and me and am already looking forward to that cruise.

Thanks for the review, we have not cryised on the Freedom, but were just discussing that fact last week and when we could rectify that.   Love the fact you travel with kids and grand kids.  

[bury me at sea]

1 hour ago, jimbo5544 said:

Thanks for the review, we have not cryised on the Freedom, but were just discussing that fact last week and when we could rectify that.   Love the fact you travel with kids and grand kids.  

 

Thanks jimbo.  I was impressed with the easy flow on the Freedom.  It took a couple of nights to learn how to navigate our way from the front of the ship to the aft dining room, but it was a real pleasure never to feel crowded.

 

Among my three daughters and two beloved adult granddaughters, it's always easy to find one, two, or three ready for a cruise.  Different cabin mates make for very different cruise experiences.  All of them are fun.

[jimbo5544]

3 minutes ago, bury me at sea said:

 

Thanks jimbo.  I was impressed with the easy flow on the Freedom.  It took a couple of nights to learn how to navigate our way from the front of the ship to the aft dining room, but it was a real pleasure never to feel crowded.

 

Among my three daughters and two beloved adult granddaughters, it's always easy to find one, two, or three ready for a cruise.  Different cabin mates make for very different cruise experiences.  All of them are fun.

Glad you had a good time.  We will get on her, the wife is not a huge fan of how far the airport is from rhe pier in Galveston, but we want to sail on the Freedom. 

[bury me at sea]

5 minutes ago, jimbo5544 said:

Glad you had a good time.  We will get on her, the wife is not a huge fan of how far the airport is from rhe pier in Galveston, but we want to sail on the Freedom. 

 

Fly into Hobby rather than the international airport.  It will put you on the south side of Houston and lessen drive time to Galveston considerably.

 

Fortunately we can drive to Galveston, which makes it our port of choice.  Unfortunately sailing only out of Galveston limits our cruise choices considerably.

[jimbo5544]

All three times we did Bush, will have to look at Hobby.  Glaveston is Carmival best port with many million within a 3+ hoir drive.  A Journey cruise out of there would offer the port options we would love.  

[Shaded Lady]

4 hours ago, bury me at sea said:

Key West was a lot of fun, as usual.  We had an incredible lunch at a crab restaurant on Duval.  I highly recommend it.

 

I have booked the Freedom again for next spring for another daughter and me and am already looking forward to that cruise.

Hey my friend! Glad to hear you had a great cruise! And you made it to Key West! I hope you gave it a big hello for me, and tell it I'll make it there next time (darned Harvey!!!)

 

As for your next cruise, I'm a bit old to be your daughter or granddaughter, but can I cruise with you as your slightly younger sister???? 

 

LOL glad you had a good time. Can't wait for that Vista cruise in 62 days! I'll tell you all about it when I get back!

[bury me at sea]

4 hours ago, runner15km said:

Thanks for the review. As for Cabbage Beach are there any restroom facilities yet ? 

 

My group reported they didn't see any restrooms.

[bury me at sea]

Thanks shaded lady!

 

I do love Key West.  A younger sister would be delightful, but I am probably old enough to be your mother.  My oldest grandson is 29 and your grandson is 7 or 8?

 

I am particularly eager to read your Vista report and will watch for it.

 

Happy sailing.

 

 

Edited April 14, 2019 by bury me at sea

[SLCruisers]

Thank you for the review!  I've been on the Freedom one time but I honestly don't remember much.  We are sailing on her in June on the same itinerary.  By chance, do you have the Fun Times?  I would love to see what's happening and the spa specials.  I know they change but I also know they can be very similar.  Thank you again!

[jbwilson1988]

My fiance and I are going on what will be her first cruise in April of next year on Freedom! I really appreciate the info you have provided!

 

[TEXSUN46]

We were on Freedom last October and loved it. It was one of the least crowded feeling cruises we have been on. The lobby area could get crowded when something was going but otherwise it was not bad. There was always areas you could go and seem to have it all to yourself. Some of that I think is the layout which isolates areas which can be frustrating sometimes trying to go from one area to another. 

[Shaded Lady]

Based (not exclusively but in great part) on bury me at sea's recommendation, we booked Freedom for Thanksgiving 2020! I just wish it wasn't so far off! But as a plus, because of the 50% Future Cruise Credit we got from our Vista cruise in June, I was able to book our coveted aft wrap on deck 7! I've wanted one of those for ages, and with this, I could finally afford it!

[bury me at sea]

1 hour ago, Shaded Lady said:

Based (not exclusively but in great part) on bury me at sea's recommendation, we booked Freedom for Thanksgiving 2020! I just wish it wasn't so far off! But as a plus, because of the 50% Future Cruise Credit we got from our Vista cruise in June, I was able to book our coveted aft wrap on deck 7! I've wanted one of those for ages, and with this, I could finally afford it!

Oh you got an aft wrap!  I look at them every time I book but have never felt I could afford one, especially after Carnival stopped allowing smoking on balconies.

 

I hope you have a great time.  I have two more booked on her and they seem a long way off.

 

Hope you will post a review.  Sailing at Thanksgiving should be fun. I will think of you while preparing dinner.

[jbwilson1988]

1 hour ago, Shaded Lady said:

Based (not exclusively but in great part) on bury me at sea's recommendation, we booked Freedom for Thanksgiving 2020! I just wish it wasn't so far off! But as a plus, because of the 50% Future Cruise Credit we got from our Vista cruise in June, I was able to book our coveted aft wrap on deck 7! I've wanted one of those for ages, and with this, I could finally afford it!

I wish there was an aft wrap balcony available for our cruise but there wasn't so I settled for a standard aft balcony room. This will be my first balcony of any kind so I am excited for that. 

[Shaded Lady]

We started looking at the extended aft balcony, but then, for not a lot more, the aft wrap showed up as available! And like I said, since it was half off it made it really worthwhile! I'll let you know how it was in 453 days! (not that I'm counting, LOL!)

[jbwilson1988]

3 minutes ago, Shaded Lady said:

We started looking at the extended aft balcony, but then, for not a lot more, the aft wrap showed up as available! And like I said, since it was half off it made it really worthwhile! I'll let you know how it was in 453 days! (not that I'm counting, LOL!)

We started in a regular balcony room and stumbled across an aft extended for $50 more. I will keep my eyes out to see if a wrap comes available!

Edited August 26, 2019 by jbwilson1988

[Joe817]

I want to thank all of the posters in this thread to seal the deal for my wife and I to do a 6 or 7 day on the Freedom. We'd been looking at the Freedom for the past 10 days, but couldn't decide on this or the Vista. After coming off the Dream on Aug.1, we wanted to try a smaller ship, and not peak cruising season. So we decided to do it in September, 2020,  the 9/20 sailing.

 

The Dream cruise was a great one for us and our first. But sometimes the crowds became a little overwhelming. So....on to the Freedom! Thanks everybody!

[bury me at sea]

7 minutes ago, Joe817 said:

I want to thank all of the posters in this thread to seal the deal for my wife and I to do a 6 or 7 day on the Freedom. We'd been looking at the Freedom for the past 10 days, but couldn't decide on this or the Vista. After coming off the Dream on Aug.1, we wanted to try a smaller ship, and not peak cruising season. So we decided to do it in September, 2020,  the 9/20 sailing.

 

The Dream cruise was a great one for us and our first. But sometimes the crowds became a little overwhelming. So....on to the Freedom! Thanks everybody!

 

I hoe you have a great cruise.  My favorite ship was the Breeze until Carnival moved her away from Galveston.  I still think she has the best Cloud 9 Spa in the fleet.  But the Freedom is in another class and I prefer it.  

 

We all enjoy different aspects of cruising but the Freedom fits every generation in my family.

 

Happy sailing.