vase

1 hour ago, craig01020 said:

We sailed on Freedom last year...no complaints.  Is Monika still working in the MDR? We loved her!

We didn't have Monika but the we loved our two main waiters!!

2 hours ago, hurricane0226 said:

Will be on the Freedom the week of 18 March, what shows were in the main theater? 

I see someone responded  - we saw 80s Pop to the Max and one other singing show and thought they were very good.  On the last night the CD hosted music trivia at the lobby bar.  As he gave the answers, the songs were played and sung by 3 floors of people watching.  This was incredible!

We were very worried about this cruise after seeing negative comments here as well as on YouTube - especially concerning food quality and the nasty smell on the ship.  First,  we very rarely encountered "the smell" and it was no more than on other cruises. Our cabin was on the 8th floor.  The service - room steward, bar and lido staff, wait staff etc... was excellent!  It felt like there was a renewed and genuine effort from ALL the service staff to be  very friendly and to remember our names and preferences. AND they were constantly cleaning!  MDR food was very good - much better than on the last 2 cruises we've been on.  No, it's not like it was 15 years ago but we always left full and satisfied.     Everyone has a different idea of what constitutes a great cruise.  For us, service, cleanliness and quality/variety of food are our priorities and Carnival Freedom definitely exceeded our expectations.  Would be happy to answer any questions....

On 3/3/2020 at 10:44 PM, Bobrunner said:

Did you notice any extra cleaning do to the Coronavirus issue?  

Yes the crew was constantly cleaning

13 hours ago, Joebucks said:

I have a hard time believing there was that many kinds in February. But if you guys say there was, then there was. I don't ever remember having winter break during then.

 

I don't mind kids on a cruise, but I do refuse to go during peak season when school is out.

The cruise director told us there were 1000 children.

20 hours ago, Hoosierpop said:

Going on the Breeze twice later this year, so glad you enjoyed it. And that is a lot of kids. But I also agree that adult behavior can be worse. Maybe because they should know better? But I don’t let it bother me. I’m on vacation.

 

Did you find the food areas crowded? Lido, guys, Iguana, pizza?

I agree adult behavior can be worse!  The worst lines we saw were for Guys BBQ on sea days and the Blue Iguana for breakfast.   We must have hit places at the right time because we really didn't have to wait long for anything including pizza and seafood shack.  Guy's burger line was very quick.  We had breakfast at the buffet most mornings and other than the omelet line, it truly wasn't bad.  We never had an issue with finding a table

20 hours ago, maryhou said:

Did you guys spend any time in the piano bar?  Just curious if the PBE was very good.  We love spending our evenings there, but were not impressed at all in the past twice. 

It was never open when we walked by it!  Loved the piano bar on the Pride a few years back but like you I haven't been impressed on the last 2 cruises!

 

 

14 hours ago, meanjean80 said:

Heading on the Breeze on March 21... can't wait!

 

Expecting a lot of kids as well because we chose that week because it coincided with Florida's school break, and we're sailing with my eight year old great-niece.

 

Not worried about her wrecking havoc, however...she's the kind of kid who was able to easily sit through a steak-house dinner when she was five, far better than her uncle did!

 

Wondering if you saw any of the increased sanitation Carnival has been talking about?

 

We did see the crew cleaning constantly.  But what I thought they should've done was force people to wash their hands before entering the buffet like RCCL does.  We took our own measures as well - avoid touching hand rails, washing our hands constantly, using hand wipes, etc. 

Yes the beach chairs were the issue in Grand Turk.   And I also encountered some rude adults but fortunately none near my room.    And yes that last night was pretty scary! I also agree that an additional announcement would have helped.  Years ago we were on the Triumph and hit scary weather as we were returning to New Orleans.  The captain did give us several updates including telling us we would be safe.  But again I want to reiterate these things did not ruin our cruise!  We loved it and loved the Breeze

We knew ahead of time that it was winter break and to expect lots of kids.  And I agree with all of what all of you have said. I loved the ship as well and I actually do appreciate that Carnival is all about families.  I love watching kids have such a good time.  We stayed in 7275 - just a standard balcony.  I have never stayed in a cove balcony.  We were close to the atrium elevators and we could hear the noise when there was something was going on.  That didn't bother us at all but beware of that location. Capecruzer - we said the same thing almost verbatim!  

Couple of other things -Cruise director was Leigh and he was fantastic and full of energy.  Had lunch at the Italian place one day and it was very good.    The buffet for breakfast was always busy but honestly didn't feel overwhelmed by the crowds as some reviewers have said.   

Cruised the Breeze from 2/15-2/22 and thought I would give some observations.  This is our 6th or 7th with Carnival and have also done a couple with RCCL.  We had an excellent time!!  We found the servers, bartenders room stewards etc. to be very friendly and accommodating.  There are so many options for food on the ship and we tried as many as we could...and loved almost everything.  The MDR food was surprisingly good!  We saw staff cleaning the ship constantly.  

The "not-so-good"  - there were 1000 (literally) children on board.  That is one of the things Carnival caters to and we knew that ahead of time.  But what irritates me are  parents who do not teach children manners and correct them when they are not behaving. Examples - kids running, cutting lines, riding elevators up and down, purposely sliding across a wet lido deck at night.  I also would love for there to be more adult-only hot tubs and areas.  Most of them looked like kid -soup all the time.   Children do not belong  in the casino.  And later at night - children should not be at adult lido deck parties or lobby parties.   

My other gripe is getting off the ship in ports.  It was absolutely nuts!  They did such a GREAT job of disembarking us on our last day.  If they'd only use some of that organization when we visited the ports it would be so much smoother!   Grand Turk was a nightmare.  It was compounded by the fact that there was another ship there before us and we never arrived there until noon.  There were NO chairs available anywhere by the time we got off (unless we wanted to pay the locals for one)

Bottom line is that we wouldn't hesitate to book this cruise again.  There were more good things than bad.   And I would be happy to answer any questions

We were on the same cruise...we ate in the Windjammer the second formal night because we didn't feel like changing! It wasn't crowded at all while we were there.

Maybe formal nights are the best times to go to the Windjammer for dinner. Our dining room was more crowded on those 2 nights.

Just curious what you thought of the crew on the ship. I was expecting over-the-top friendliness. While this was true at dinner, the "washy-washy" guy at the windjammer, and the bartenders at the schooner bar, we didn't experience it with any consistency elsewhere on the ship.

We didn't eat dinner at the Windjammer but I would imagine it wasn't. I think most people had dinner in the MDRs and Specialty Restaurants. Sorry I couldn't be of more help!

We chose My Time dining when we made our reservations and thought it was strange that we were supposed to make reservations ahead of time for each night. It really wasn't necessary. The second night, we were seated at different restaurant (they all serve the same food), loved the waitstaff and from then on we requested the same table. It was always ready for us. We varied our dinner time each night between 6:30 - 7:30 - never at our original reservation time of 8 pm. The menu and quality of food in the MDR was okay - always found something we liked but I can't say it was excellent. The Windjammer was ridiculously crowded at times..not just on embarkation day. We were able to do the Chef's Table one night and if you like wine and food pairing, I highly recommend it. Next time, we will definitely spend the extra amount for specialty dining and maybe even the utimate dining package.