SimplyAlbert

While I'm in the never eliminate or remove service charges camp, and on almost every cruise give extra for outstanding service, if I had extremely poor service or a problem and contacted the appropriate manager and the matter was ignored/the buck passed/not addressed/ or wasn't resolved properly, I would do it as soon as I knew it wasn't going to be/hadn't been resolved.

We sailed on the Carnival Freedom from March 16, 2024 though March 24, 2024. This trip was booked about three weeks before we sailed. We had airfare credits that needed to be used before April 1st so decided on a quick, inexpensive getaway. Grades are: A=Excellent; B = Good; C = Average; D= Below Average; F = Poor. Flight – Roundtrip on Delta. Uneventful, although the flights were completely full due to spring break. Didn’t cost anything due to flight credits. B Rental car – We did a one-way rental with Hertz. Hertz has an office right in Port Canaveral with a free shuttle to the ship. Super easy. Was $75 for the rental. A Hotel - We flew in the day before and stayed at the Quality Inn in Titusville, FL. $100 for the night and included free breakfast. There was a Cracker Barrel right across the street. Hotel was very clean, beds were comfortable, but it was very dated if that’s something that matters to you. We had dinner at Cracker Barrel and ended up going back there for breakfast the next morning as the breakfast area at the hotel is very small and it was super crowded. B Cruise – Overall we had a good time and thought what we got for what we paid it was a great value. $1,200 for an interior cabin on Deck 1. A Embarkation – We don’t like to wait in crowds so picked a later embarkation time. While we’ve sailed Carnival in the past, lately we’ve been sailing on Norwegian. We’ve found if we pick at time around noon, we can pretty much just walk through and walk on. When we arrived at the port there was a large group of people waiting outside, with some people being directed across the street. They were only allowing people with the correct boarding times to get in line to go into the building, so it looks like they are enforcing boarding time. The people being sent to line up across the street were people who arrived early. We got in line and once the line began to move we got through quickly and walked on the ship. We checked in at our muster station and then went to the Lido deck to get something to eat. Rooms were ready by 1:30 p.m. B Food – I think this is a very subjective category. Neither DH or I are picky eaters. For the complimentary dining we ate at the buffet, main dining room, Blue Iguana, and Mongolian Wok. We tried Guy’s Burgers on a previous cruise and didn’t care for them - - they were too greasy for us so we didn’t go there. I have a dairy allergy so we also didn’t get pizza (although it did look good). We also didn’t get anything from the Deli. The lines were always really long. One thing we found different from previous cruises was that if the menu in the main dining room didn’t appeal to you, you could go to the buffet and get something different. Here, the buffet was serving the exact same food. Overall, we both agreed the food was ok. There was nothing that we tried that was inedible, there were a few things that were really good (stuffed fried mushrooms, pot roast, vanilla French toast, prime rib, to name a few), but for the most part it was pretty average. C Sushi at Sea – We tried this on the night that we didn’t care for the dining room options and the same food was being served on the buffet. We both thought it was reasonably priced and very good. B (24 pieces for $25) Seafood Shack – We decided to try it for dinner one night and thought it was reasonably priced and very good. I had the fried clam strips with fries and DH had the combo (fried shrimp & clam strips with fries). B ($20) Service – Service on this ship was outstanding. Absolutely no complaints at all. Everyone we came in contact with was working very hard and still had a smile on their faces. Waitstaff remembered us by name, even if we only sat in their section once. Bar staff was attentive and we didn’t have to wait for drinks. A Cleanliness/State of the Ship – Another area where Carnival shined. Everything was super clean, and I didn’t see any areas that were in disrepair. A Entertainment – This is another category that can be very subjective. We saw the three shows with the singers/dancers and they were all good. We went to several comedy shows and while there were some jokes that fell flat, they were all funny. The electric violin players in the atrium were amazing. Rock band in the Red Frog Pub was good. We did not care for the singer in the piano bar. We went in a watched a bit of the karaoke, which was entertaining. We didn’t do any of the trivia, Deal or No Deal, Bingo, etc. so I can’t comment on those. B Turks & Caicos – We did a sail, snorkel, stingray trip that we booked through the ship. It was very good. Saw fish, coral and stingrays and the rum punch served after was really good. B ($180) Bimini – We took the free tram to get a bit of a look at the island and then just hung out on the beach at the end of the pier. Was a nice relaxing day. B Internet – Worked fine. No complaints from us. A ($95) Debarkation – Easily one of the fastest and easiest ones we’ve done. Literally just walked right off the ship. Never stopped walking. A Cruise ship shuttle back to the airport – Super easy. As soon as we exited the building it was right there to the right. Bus filled quickly and we were off. A While onboard we spent $361 (which included gratuities). We had about $100 in on-board credit which brought us down to $261. The rest was drinks, sushi, Seafood Shack and a pair of earrings I bought. Neither DH or I are big drinkers, but we drank what we wanted when we wanted. I didn’t buy the Cheers package as I know we would not have made full use of it. While the ship was full (spring break time), it didn’t really seem crowded to us. We hung out in the adults only area (Serenity) and really enjoyed it there. We were always able to find some shade and there’s a bar right there. Can’t comment on the spa or the kids club as we didn’t use either one. Overall, we had a good time and had a much needed break. We were happy with this cruise for the price we paid and felt it was a very good value for the money (total for the whole trip came to about ($2000, when adding in the meals at Cracker Barrel and the bus to/from our house to the airport and the Carnival). While onboard we did do a lot of comparing to Norwegian and it solidified for us that Norwegian is now our cruise line of choice for a variety of reasons. Would I sail Carnival again if the price and itinerary was right? Yes.

Almost three months.

I wouldn't buy it. I'd go with either putting $500 in cash down when I boarded or getting a $500 gift card and just tell your wife to order whatever she wants. DH and I never get the Cheers package as there's no way we'd have a bar bill that high, even with drinking anything we wanted.

For $300 I would get the balcony if you tend to spend time in your room. If you're just in it to sleep, I would use the $300 toward something else. I love balcony cabins because I get up really early and my husband likes to sleep in. I can get up, get my coffee, and hang out on the balcony with a good book until he gets up.

I've never heard of that! There's been multiple posts about families in different cabins being split up, but not people in the same cabin. Hopefully, they can get this resolved before you're due to leave.

Since the cruise line has already told you no, and if you decide to do it on your own, not only will you encounter immigration issues, you can also be banned by the cruise line. If it were me, I wouldn't risk it.

We're also a family of 6 and have sailed on the Breakaway twice now (Cozumel, Costa Maya, Belize & Roatan) and everyone had a great time. The stop in Belize is at NCL's private island and both time we just spent the day at the beach. We did a snorkel trip and a snuba trip (lots of fun) in Roatan. Costa Maya we did ATVs with a beach break one trip and just went to the beach on the other (short taxi ride) and in Cozumel we swam with the dolphins on one trip and did a snorkeling trip on the other.

We leave the auto gratuities in place, but leave a couple of dollars on the table when we eat on the Lido deck.

While we mostly cruise on NCL, we have cruised Carnival, RCCL, Celebrity, Princess and HAL. In fact, we took a cruise on RCCL recently and have one on Carnival coming up this year (along with one on NCL). For me, Carnival and RCCL are pretty much the same as far as food, service, and entertainment go. RCCL has a more "upscale" feel to their ships, while Carnival has a more "Las Vegasy" vibe. HAL's food and service were really good, but I found the overall vibe was geared toward "older" customers. When we cruise with them I was in my 50's and DH in his 60's and we were some of the youngest people on the ship. I also didn't find the entertainment options as good. Celebrity and Princess have both been hit or miss for us. We've had great food and service, with some really good entertainment, and they we've had pretty bad food, service and entertainment. There just hasn't seemed to be a good middle ground with them. It's either great or poor. As far as NCL goes, both DH and I think their food is overall better than the other lines. We also like that the drink package and wifi minutes are included, as well as specialty dining. When pricing out other cruise lines and adding those things in, it makes NCL come out as the best value, especially if we're traveling with our adult children, which usually happens.

I would call the Trip Insurance Store and speak with either Steve or Kim. They're both very knowledgeable about cruise insurance and will find the right plan for you and your family. They're also there for you if you have an claim/issue and will work with you to get it resolved. I also found their policies are usually less expensive and with better coverage.

Final update: Received our reimbursement check over the weekend.

Call Steve at the Trip Insurance Store. He's very knowledgeable and will help you to pick the right insurance for you.

I ran into the same thing. I sent detailed letters, attaching the documents in separate tabs to make it easy for them to see and I swear they didn't even bother to read what I wrote or look at the documents. I even withdrew a claim for some tours as soon as I received reimbursement, sent those documents too, and they kept asking for proof that I paid for the tours! If you bought the policy through the Trip Insurance Store contact them. I don't think my claim would have been resolved so quickly without Steve's help.

I've had a couple of trip delay claims through Nationwide and they paid out quickly and easily. We just had a medical claim through IMG, who were very difficult to deal with, and they initially denied the claim. We (with the help of Steve at the Trip Insurance Store) appealed the denial, and I just got an email this morning that the claim has been accepted and we should get a check shortly.