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I miss my Carnival cruises, but not the cruise directors.  There have been some that I enjoyed, and others not quite as much.  They dont make or break my cruise.  Some good, some not so good.

Sensation, October 2000. 7 day out of Tampa.  Fantastic cruise, got me hooked on Carnival.!🙂

one other thing about riviera deck port hole rooms is that you dont have high traffic noise from above, the only thing would be noise from the stateroom above, and I dont think that happens very often if ever, unless you happen to have active guests above lol!  I have mostly always done these types of rooms because I sail solo, and am looking for the best deal for me. 

I have had the 1a sofa bed and twin with portholes on Freedom.  I think it might have been the deck above Riviera deck though.  As the others above say, there will be those noises.  But for me, the thing was that once I knew what those noises were, it did not bother me so much.  And that particular cruise the seas were calm, so there were those wave noises, but did not seem to bother me much.  Also, I am an early riser, so the anchor noise in the morning while docking also did not bother me because I was either up on deck already to watch arrival in port, or just getting ready to leave the room.  Again, knowing what the noise was, helped me to deal with it, understand it.  I have had the same room type on Riviera deck on Victory, and the noises were the same.  I would book these rooms again any time.  Enjoy your cruise.  Freedom is a nice ship.

I have never sailed on the Fantasy, but I did on the Sensation, and that was my first Carnival ship in 2000.  Though I have not been on Fantasy, I am sad to see the sad end to her.  My first cruise ship of all was NCL Norway in 1999, and it was so horrible to see what became of that ship in the scrap yard.  I know that at some point cruise ships do become out dated and have to sent to pasture so to speak.  As I get older,  I am having more difficulty with our throw away world.  Guess I am getting older now at warp speed, and am sounding more and more like my parents did in the past.

My PVP who I have dealt with since 2009,  is also no longer with Carnival, but seems she left of her own will, and is working elsewhere now.  I dont blame her, as I know she has children to support and needs to work.  I only found out because my emails from Carnival were sent by a new PVP, and I found out why she left through the grapevine.  I dont really hold Carnival accountable for this, but it would have been nice to have a notice directly from the PVP herself, just a quick word saying , sorry to say goodbye, but she must move on.  I have no ill feelings toward her either for not doing that.  Just saying, it would have been nice after many years of doing business to have a few short words of farewell.

Liberty is still my favorite!

I would hate to lose lido, as a food option, but certainly understand the need for adjustments in serving. 

I will have no problem observing the distancing, ie feet here, and behind the next person here etc.   I also have no problem being served my food at lido by staff.  I am not considering a cruise anytime soon, nor another type of vacation,  but I do hope some day to get back to enjoying travel, as i think it is sadly something that we are missing now very much.

i am speaking only of conquest class ships, which are mostly what I have sailed on with Carnival, and cannot say how it was with rooms above the theather, but have often been below the theather, and have heard some noise above, but only during show times, and never anything disruptive after about 11pm or so.  So, dont know about how it is in rooms above, but can only think that noise would only happen during or a short time after show times.  And after 11pm, all should be quiet with regard to the theather.  Not sure how it is on other class ships, though it should be quiet after showtime.

I have only cruised in the Caribbean, so my choices would be St Martin, San Juan, and Barbados.  Some of the places that people mention above in Europe, I have visited before,  not on cruises, and Croatia would be top on my list for those places, as well as anywhere in Italy.  But love St Martin, San Juan and Barbados, among my cruise port favorites for a land vacation.

I admit to not being a business expert, but at this point in time, I dont think that Carnival Corp is alone in this situation. Other cruise lines, major hotel chains and restaurant chains, airlines, so many business are facing a huge loss these days, and may mean great changes to whether they remain solvent or not, or have to regroup and whatever to stay in a position to reopen operations when it is feasible.  JMHO. 

my staycation is at home, my house, my back yard, my front yard and porch.  Same as it has been for the last four years.  I have not been able to travel for my own reasons, being caregiver to elderly parents.  Some things have changed here for me.  For one, I am down to one remaining parent, having lost one three weeks ago. I am in no hurry to try to travel anywhere, and even if I could , I am limited to where I or we can go.  Borders are closed between countries, and even some provinces here.  Having still one parent to look after, I dont even entertain the idea of travelling, even to a neary resort, hotel, because  i dont want to expose my mother to infection.  For me it is home for now...and a good thing that I like my house, and my gardens.

thanks for posting this.. yes certainly good news amid all the bad.  As others say, Carnival crews are the best, always there to help and do their best.  

Now that looks like a great resort Tapi!  Wish I had something like that two hours away from home LOL!  

I would choose Freedom 8 day cruise, both because 8 days better than 6 for a cruise IMO, and also for the itinerary.  I have been on Freedom twice, only ship I have sailed on twice, and would have no hesitation to do a third given the right opportunity.  I really dont know anything about Horizon or that class of ship, have not been on , so cant comment on the ship that way, but I find 6 day cruises are over before you know it.  Whichever you choose, I wish you a great cruise.

friendly staff.

great food, MDR, seaday brunch, even lido.

decent prices. even solo at 200pc, was doable for me.

I once saw a lady wearing twinkle lights in her hair on elegant night.  I made no judgement about it, but just wondered how it was powered, ie, usually you have to have lights plugged into something.  She had a very shimmery dress on as well.  Again no judgement.  I thought that she was just enjoying the dress up evening to the fullest.  Yes, she got a lot of attention, and looks, mostly positive ones and smiles.  I on the other hand would look rather dull on elegant night, while I adhere to the rules of dress, I will almost always just blend in to the background LOL.  We are all different, but can appreciate each others differences.

I really have loved them all, but my favorite class of ship is conquest class, and my favorite ship in that class is Liberty.  Just loved the decor, the lights in the atrium, and was absolutely the best cruise of my life, taken with my Mom.  I also loved the Splendor which was similar in some ways in layout, and yes, I do love pink!.  My next favorite was Victory.  Triumph was ok too, but, my least favorite although conquest class was Valor, just did not quite like the decor on that one.  but it was a great cruise. So favorite class conquest, favorite ship Liberty.

what the OP described has no doubt occurred in their previous cruise experience, but as others have said, they have never had such details provided by their wait staff, nor have I, but admitted, my cruise experience is limited to 10 cruises.  So not saying it didnt happen to the OP or others, but having happened to them, I find it very unprofessional of wait staff to offer this info, and have always had very professional wait staff on Carnival and other cruise lines as well.  There are always some not so good apples in the barrel, no matter where, so this is what OP has experienced.  Good service from the wait staff, but also an unnecessary mention of some who remove tips making OP feel bad for them, and just doesnt seem right for wait staff to share that kind of info regardless of how true or not.   Just my own humble opinion of course. 

I have been cruising solo since 2000, and while I have in the earlier years met some wonderful people on my solo cruises, as time went by, there were also some not so pleasant interactions especially with dining,  so as of recent years have learned to very much enjoy my solo bubble, and while I still do meet some very nice people , as a solo who is getting older at warp speed, I do much enjoy my solo bubble, both with cruising and other types of vacation. Just my perspective though, we are all different and depends on our age and personalities.  Op, do wish you some very pleasant solo cruises to come however you choose to do them.

yes , thanks for posting this article.  The cruise lines have always been fodder for negative reporting, much as the airlines are. Always good to read about things from the worker's perspective which brings things closer to the way things really are.

I miss the continental breakfast buffet.  The croissants and the round cinnamon swirl pastries, the fruit, cheese , and I miss the smoked salmon and bagel that was on the room service breakfast.  I would even have paid the extra for it, when it was no longer free.  I miss the pepperpot soup from many years ago, the tom ka gai soup also.  I miss the chicken fajita wrap from the room service menu.  I miss the creme brulee, the cheese plate that was on the dessert menu in the mdr, but you could also order it as an appetizer.  I miss some of the old drinks, like goombay smash, and the twilight zone.  there are so many more.  Mostly I just miss cruising in general.

I may have missed some info along the way, but had the refurbishment of Victory already started? or not.  If not, than I hope they retain Victory as she was, or is.  I sailed on her in 2015, loved the ship, loved the sea oriented theme, of coral, sea horses, (yes those seahorses!) LOL.  I would much rather see the Victory just updated with more modern rooms, and maybe some new food venues, but not add extra rooms, and reduce the public space.  again, just my own opinion, and I know others will differ.

Chief93, I hope you are doing well with your medical condition.  I have not always enjoyed Indian food and curry, but learned to do so, when I had a group of friends who were from the culture, and others who were vegetarian, and so I gradually learned to try new things, and found that WOW, | really liked it, not all of it, but most of it. When I was on cruises and expressed interest in the cuisine, the waiters and chefs really seemed to be more than happy that I enjoyed it, and that I wanted to try new offerings.  They just could not do enough.  

I did one similar to this in 2000, on the Sensation, but it left from Tampa and went to Grand Cayman and Cozumel, then to New Orleans and back to Tampa.  It was 7 days, and also my first solo cruise, as well my first on Carnival.   I enjoyed it very much.  I might like to do one like that again, but whenever I do get to cruise again, I would like to take a longer cruise.  I think 10 days minimum would be what I want, so may have to look to another cruise line for that.  Or maybe take a back to back.  I would really also like to get back to Key West again.  Went there on a different cruise, just felt the port time was too short, and no time to see what I wanted.   But yes I would give it some consideration.