Freedom Review 1/29 to 2/6

[toomuchluggage]

After sailing the NCL EPIC 14 days we took a shuttle from Miami to Fort Lauderdale to sail first time on Carnival and was not impressed!

 

Started off on the wrong foot by having my hard sided luggage one corner pushed in and cracked, luggage had lots of yellow paint skids all over it. I know it's not Carnivals fault but they need to know about it and handle the situation which they did but not without a hassle.

 

We found the ship to be just down right hideous! I had a headache for three days from the decor of the ship, too many patterns clashing from bark prints to snake skin and everything in between from floor to ceiling.

The atrium with the protruding lights from floor to ceiling reminded me of a

red face kid with a face full up pimples that were all ready to pop.

The steakhouse reminded me of Liberace's bathroom, for anyone that has been to his now closed museum would know what I'm talking about.

 

Service in the cafe area was all attitude from the floor staff to those behind the counters every day.

One day while waiting for pizza my partner witnessed the male behind the counter slamming and throwing the pizza pans and dishes, he decided not to stay so I went up and witnessed the same except I saw him whip a pizza onto a plate which missed the plate and went to the floor.

WE saw a woman whose large toe was bleeding while we were sitting having lunch, she said someone had stepped on her foot and she thought her nail was ripped. She was with about 3/4 other people and I heard one of them say something about still being on blood thinners. As they were looking for help I told the woman to sit down and elevate her foot up on to the lounge seating to slow the bleeding, I gave her some tissues that I had in my bag along with a bottle of hand sanitizer and then got her a couple cloth napkins. In the meantime I saw staff being asked to get some help and they just stood there doing nothing. Finally someone in their party saw a staff person all in white and asked him to get a wheel chair all in all took over 10 minutes.

Mean while we try to finish lunch and watched for someone to come and clean the trail of blood to no avail then we see one person walking through with bare feet but does miss walking in it.

I finally had had enough and asked for someone to get me the manager, when he arrived a ripped into him about what had just happened as well as the pizza episode. It turned out to be the head maiter'd who we saw every evening moving throughout the upper and lower level of Posh.

 

We only ate where there was no line up so most mornings was grab a bowl, box of cereal, carton of milk and a banana. For lunch we usually got either a slice of pizza or sandwich from deli, again where there was no line up.

Bottom line is that the cafe is just poorly setup and crammed together.

 

Dinner in Posh upper level. Service was ok with one great wait staff and one with attitude. We had 6 dinners there with two being not so good such as grisly veal parma served with potatoes and some sort of baby food looking pureed yam ( I had to ask what the stuff was). Since when was veal parma served with potatoes and yams, what happened to pasta.

The other was tough beef stroganoff.

Yes I'm aware that I could have sent these meals back but that's not my point!

The appetizers were always good and there was always a large selection

 

We had two meals in the Sun Steakhouse, 1st night and second to last night. Note that they offered a free bottle of wine on the 1st night which was a good deal.

The food was excellent as was the service. Well worth the extra fee.

During our cruise we got to talk to a couple staff. One was from the art gallery and the other was a wait staff and it was through these two that we realized that there was a real moral problem on board.

 

I'm glad that this was not our first cruise as it would have been our last!

[Disconnections]

After sailing the NCL EPIC 14 days we took a shuttle from Miami to Fort Lauderdale to sail first time on Carnival and was not impressed! Sorry you thought that way.

 

Started off on the wrong foot by having my hard sided luggage one corner pushed in and cracked, luggage had lots of yellow paint skids all over it. Carnival is not in charge of the luggage handled by the porters. Contact the Port Authority.I know it's not Carnivals fault but they need to know about it and handle the situation which they did but not without a hassle.Contact the Port Authority

 

We found the ship to be just down right hideous! I had a headache for three days from the decor of the ship, too many patterns clashing from bark prints to snake skin and everything in between from floor to ceiling.

The atrium with the protruding lights from floor to ceiling reminded me of a

red face kid with a face full up pimples that were all ready to pop.Can't comment. Haven't sailed Freedom yet.

The steakhouse reminded me of Liberace's bathroom, for anyone that has been to his now closed museum would know what I'm talking about.Can't comment. Haven't sailed Freedom yet.

 

Service in the cafe area was all attitude from the floor staff to those behind the counters every day.

One day while waiting for pizza my partner witnessed the male behind the counter slamming and throwing the pizza pans and dishes, he decided not to stay so I went up and witnessed the same except I saw him whip a pizza onto a plate which missed the plate and went to the floor.You could have contacted the Food & Beverage Manager

WE saw a woman whose large toe was bleeding while we were sitting having lunch, she said someone had stepped on her foot and she thought her nail was ripped. She was with about 3/4 other people and I heard one of them say something about still being on blood thinners. As they were looking for help I told the woman to sit down and elevate her foot up on to the lounge seating to slow the bleeding, I gave her some tissues that I had in my bag along with a bottle of hand sanitizer and then got her a couple cloth napkins. In the meantime I saw staff being asked to get some help and they just stood there doing nothing. Finally someone in their party saw a staff person all in white and asked him to get a wheel chair all in all took over 10 minutes.We were on the Imagination, docked right next to you in Nassau. I saw John Heald and Ryan Fitzgerald at lunch at Double Dragon (Chinese Restaurant). I also know Calvyn (Social Host, now Asst. Cruise Director) was on the Freedom from John. We had him come off the ship to talk to him. Calvyn would have ran to help if you asked for him. John Heald and Ryan Fitzgerald would have helped or contacted the right person i.e. Medical on Deck 0.

Mean while we try to finish lunch and watched for someone to come and clean the trail of blood to no avail then we see one person walking through with bare feet but does miss walking in it.

I finally had had enough and asked for someone to get me the manager, when he arrived a ripped into him about what had just happened as well as the pizza episode. It turned out to be the head maiter'd who we saw every evening moving throughout the upper and lower level of Posh.What did he do about the problem?

 

We only ate where there was no line up so most mornings was grab a bowl, box of cereal, carton of milk and a banana. There are lines everywhere. Have you ever been to Disney? Coming from NCL Epic, you should know there are thousands of people on the ship. It is not always fun to wait, but you have to wait sometimes...For lunch we usually got either a slice of pizza Were you satisfied with the pizza guy enough after witnessing what you saw to order pizza?or sandwich from deli, again where there was no line up.

Bottom line is that the cafe is just poorly setup and crammed together.Having been on Liberty, Glory, and Valor- three of Freedom's sister ships, I don't see how it is setup really poorly. The Dream is a little crowded, but you can still find a table and get where you need to be.

 

Dinner in Posh upper level. Service was ok with one great wait staff and one with attitude. We had 6 dinners there with two being not so good such as grisly veal parma served with potatoes and some sort of baby food looking pureed yam ( I had to ask what the stuff was). Since when was veal parma served with potatoes and yams, what happened to pasta.

The other was tough beef stroganoff.

Yes I'm aware that I could have sent these meals back but that's not my point!

The appetizers were always good and there was always a large selection

 

We had two meals in the Sun Steakhouse, 1st night and second to last night. Note that they offered a free bottle of wine on the 1st night which was a good deal.

The food was excellent as was the service. Well worth the extra fee.

During our cruise we got to talk to a couple staff. One was from the art gallery and the other was a wait staff and it was through these two that we realized that there was a real moral problem on board.Everyone is different.

 

I'm glad that this was not our first cruise as it would have been our last!Sorry you had a bad time on Freedom.

 

^See above.

[Lanzador]

John Heald :D

[JO-TRAVEL ALOT]

We were on the Freedom in May and we really enjoyed ourselves. The decor is a bit loud, but a headache REALLY? If you will only be happy cruising new ship, then cruise new ships! and we also enjoyed Ryan the cruise director.

[bdtzc21]

My wife and I were on the Freedom from 1/21 - 2/6 as well, and I think your assessment of the staff was spot on. I also found that they became ruder and ruder as the cruise went on. It seemed that by Friday, we hit a spot where they no longer cared about doing their job.

The long lines were also crazy, and while I like to see things clean, to have someone step in front of a long line to wipe down an already clean try shelf drove me nuts.

I don't know if you did any of the Carnival excursions, however what a cluster F:confused::(:eek:. Kind of like, "get off the ship, and good luck" Not what you would expect for the price.

And the not too bright moment that just summed up the trip. My wife and I decided to have a quiet night and catch a movie on lido. It started at 8pm so we were there just before it started so we didn't miss anything. Then, about 2-3 minutes into the movie, Ryan decided it would be a good time to make a 5 minute announcement. Talk about clueless as to what is going on.

All in all, this was my first cruise, and it may be my last.

[toomuchluggage]

My wife and I were on the Freedom from 1/21 - 2/6 as well, and I think your assessment of the staff was spot on. I also found that they became ruder and ruder as the cruise went on. It seemed that by Friday, we hit a spot where they no longer cared about doing their job.

 

The long lines were also crazy, and while I like to see things clean, to have someone step in front of a long line to wipe down an already clean try shelf drove me nuts.

 

I don't know if you did any of the Carnival excursions, however what a cluster F:confused::(:eek:. Kind of like, "get off the ship, and good luck" Not what you would expect for the price.

 

And the not too bright moment that just summed up the trip. My wife and I decided to have a quiet night and catch a movie on lido. It started at 8pm so we were there just before it started so we didn't miss anything. Then, about 2-3 minutes into the movie, Ryan decided it would be a good time to make a 5 minute announcement. Talk about clueless as to what is going on.

 

 

All in all, this was my first cruise, and it may be my last.

 

Well I know that there are moral problems from two employee's we talked to.

 

The only thing I can say is look at trying a smaller ship and look at NCL and Princess.

[MNLIvin]

This entire thing takes me a bit off guard. We were on it the week before and both the wife and I commented almost every day how much we liked the ship and have already talked about the possibility of the B to B on it.

 

The staff thing is confusing as I am a talker and after a couple I found the staff to be very very cordial and polite. I also have never read before someone complain about too clean. As for me, butt in, wipe the tray and do what you need to do if it in any way may help with the virus deal.

 

I could go on and on about how much we liked this ship and its folks so this the review I just read is certainly not indicitive of our experience the week before.

[SMSACE6]

Pretty much all of Carnival's ships have a very colorful decor. I must admit the decor of the Freedom was not my favorite, but after the first few hours on board, I didnt even notice it anymore, or it grew on me.

 

I experienced excellent service on that ship in every venue, and I found the food to be very good with more than enough variety, to find something I liked. And if I had a side dish with an entree that I didnt like, I would just leave that on the plate and eat what part of the dinner that I did like.

 

I guess we are all different, and what some find more than acceptable, others find horrible. Sorry you had a bad cruise. Better luck next time, whichever line you choose.:)

[Cobra1365]

Opinions...everyone has one.

[cruzin4our10th]

I was also on this sailing . . . the decor is as it is on most Carnival ships but to say a headache is a little over the top. After day one I don't think I even noticed it, or I was having a good time on vacation and didn't care;). Our dining room service was hit or miss, some days took a long time. I honestly didn't think the lines on Lido were long . . .most times I could walk right up or only stand for a few minutes. I didn't necessarily go right at peak time as most would expect lines then!

 

I had a friend with us who really didn't want to cruise and he had a good time and said he'd definately do it again . . .he's not easy to please so I think this says a lot. Any vacation is what you make of it to some extent.

[mrpayroll]

We were on Freedom one week earlier. All i can say, is they must have changed the entire crew . Doesn't sound anything like our cruise.

[LBumb]

opinions always vary. i always have a great time cruising. everyone is different but i would never let a ship's decore take away from my enjoyment.

[mimgan3]

We were on the Freedom in March with a group of 23, and is it a great decor job, probably not, are there lines at buffet, sure, are some of the meals in the MDR not to my liking, maybe so, but tell me where anywhere will you not have some things that are not to your liking.

 

Loosen up, you're on vacation, and it is all what you make of it. I have found that any time I'm on a cruise, I can always find something to make a unpleasant situation better. I will agree if your luggage was damaged they should take care of that, but attitudes from the staff, somehow I find that hard to believe and in my experiences most of these folks are smiling even when dealing with the most demanding of passengers. Sometimes I think we tend to forget that this is a resort like any land based, and since it is moving makes their jobs more difficult.

 

Lastly, worse cruise I was ever on Mariner of the Seas, right after Hurricane Jeanne, was still good, what made it bad, Jeanne cut it short 2 days.

 

Lighten up Sandy, you're too tight.

 

Mimgan

[manonreal]

I was on the Freedom last March and had a fantastic cruise and the employees were great...no complaint from me...Sorry if you had a bad experience!!!!

[alreadypacked]

Everyone is entitled to their opinion, but I have to say that my experience on the Freedom was vastly different than the OP's.

 

I have sailed the Freedom twice--September, 2009 and February, 2010--and both times were thoroughly enjoyable, the staff was awesome, and I would definitely sail the Freedom again.

 

Here's the link to my 2009 Freedom review:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1153516&highlight=freedom+mini+review

[mrpayroll]

My wife and I were on the Freedom from 1/21 - 2/6 as well, and I think your assessment of the staff was spot on. I also found that they became ruder and ruder as the cruise went on. It seemed that by Friday, we hit a spot where they no longer cared about doing their job.

 

The long lines were also crazy, and while I like to see things clean, to have someone step in front of a long line to wipe down an already clean try shelf drove me nuts.

 

I don't know if you did any of the Carnival excursions, however what a cluster F:confused::(:eek:. Kind of like, "get off the ship, and good luck" Not what you would expect for the price.

 

And the not too bright moment that just summed up the trip. My wife and I decided to have a quiet night and catch a movie on lido. It started at 8pm so we were there just before it started so we didn't miss anything. Then, about 2-3 minutes into the movie, Ryan decided it would be a good time to make a 5 minute announcement. Talk about clueless as to what is going on.

 

 

All in all, this was my first cruise, and it may be my last.

Better check your dates. The Freedom sailed on Jan23rd.

[dst]

WOW - we were on the same cruise and this was by far one of our best cruises we have been on!

 

We never waited "long" in the Lido area and we ate lunch there every day; no one in line was rude and the food was very good. Mongolian is my favorite. We had the pizza a few times, never an issue.

 

Posh Dining Room - we had late seating on the lower level; the Maitre D' was the best we have had in all of our cruises. Jorgi (sp) was interacted with the tables, asked us how our service had been on several occasions and danced and wore silly glasses every single night.

 

The bar staff was exceptional - there were a few times that the servers up on the Lido were slow but that was due to the sea day. They can only run and make beverages so fast....

 

The decor of the ship; really- have you noticed what some people wear at the pool :eek:

 

I guess people have different expectations, but to say it was horrible........can't agree

[dst]

John Heald :D

 

 

John was not the Cruise Director on the ship; Ryan was and did a fine job.

 

Yes John was on the ship however, he was not acting as the CD and was not very visible during the trip. He did do the Morning Show with Ryan; which was quite funny

[dst]

Well I know that there are moral problems from two employee's we talked to.

 

The only thing I can say is look at trying a smaller ship and look at NCL and Princess.

 

 

Or maybe it was moral problems of two employees :rolleyes:

[DanAnna]

We're on board early April. I'm banking that our experience will be more in line with the positive's shared by most in the reply's. Thanks for all your opinions! Can't wait till April!

[jakenjacksmom]

I was on the same cruise! We were a group of 12 and we all thought the same. The FOOD was terrible the STAFF was terrible! We never met our cabin steward, our dinning room staff never bothered with us. One night one of us did not like our food at all she tried to tell them they ignored her and acted like they did not hear her! We did not complain much we had a wonderful time because we were with old friends and family. We did not complain to anyone we believe we will just take our money else where and enjoy the service and good food from another cruise line.

[luv cruising 007]

THEN GO BACK TO NCL! My opinion the EPIC is way more "hideous" just look at it, & the rooms are tiny unless you are in a Garden Vila! Been on the Epic they dont even ave a grand atrium! Save room for all as Carnival lovers & loyalists! Plus all the FOR PAY restaurants on NCL is ridiculous! plus there MDR food sucks when i was on it for a short travel industry cruise! The Freedom & carnival ships are great & in my opinion BETTER than any NCL ship!

[mpcaruth]

Funny. I posted an extremely long review of our cruise on the Freedom last month, and I don't even recall commenting on the decor. The ship decor is so LOW on my list of ratings for my cruise experience.

 

However, I thought the decor was fine and typical of Carnival. It is loud, but it says FUN, in a Vegas sort of way. I like it. I bet the OP has his entire house painted eggshell top to bottom.

 

We had a blast on our Freedom cruise and out of 1000+ Carnival employees, I did notice a few looking exhausted and non-personable. However, the other 998+ crew members were great. I also noticed a few guests looking crabby, but most were having a blast.

 

I am a Carnival fan!

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1347741&highlight=

[golfusaofcs]

WOW!!!. I just had to respond to this thread. My wife and I just got off my first Carnival Cruise since I was 12 on the Freedom. I have to say that over reactive hard to please people have kept me off this line for the longest time for there perceived "reputation. My last 6 cruises include. Voyager of the Seas, Navigator of the Seas, Solstice,Caribbean Princess,NCL Sky, and Century. I have a review coming forward once I gather all of my thoughts.Here are some comments so far. I have to say that the "Free Food" was the best I had on any line. Sun King Steakhouse was on a different level compared to other specialty steakhouses, Entertainment was top notch, Crew was very friendly and helpful. I can understand if you spoke with individual crew members and they were not happy. You would get the same responses if you had a poll on every major line.My wife thought I was taking her on Carnival for a Major Disappointment. She was thrilled. She loved it!!! As for the decor. It definitely slaps you in the face the moment you walk on. In the end it all works. Lots of fun. In the end I believe there are more similarities between lines then differences. There really is something for everyone. Would I book Carnival again. Absolutely!!!! Just after Oasis or Allure!!

[dst]

I was on the same cruise! We were a group of 12 and we all thought the same. The FOOD was terrible the STAFF was terrible! We never met our cabin steward, our dinning room staff never bothered with us. One night one of us did not like our food at all she tried to tell them they ignored her and acted like they did not hear her! We did not complain much we had a wonderful time because we were with old friends and family. We did not complain to anyone we believe we will just take our money else where and enjoy the service and good food from another cruise line.

 

Stewards are required to meet all of their guest, they will confirm your dining time and ask if you have any special requests. Some will even have you sign the sheet that they have to turn into their supervisors; other than that why do you need to see your cabin steward?

 

If the dining room staff never bothered with you how were you served dinner? Can I ask, did you do anytime dining?

 

Not trying to be a smart-ass but seems that if you had this attitude on your trip, I may have avoided you as well.......