Former Celebrity cruiser, goes FREEDOM

[Blondie008]

Okay.. here are my thoughts (as opposed to a review as such) on Carnival Freedom

We spent 14 nights on board, 8 night followed by a 6 night.

We got off the ship TWICE

Once to clear customs after the 8 day

Second time to meet our daughter in the Caymans

Other than that, we did NO ports what so ever. Have done them all many many times before, our destination is the ship.

We are big party animals. Rightly or wrongly, we laugh, dance, and get mixed up with all the naughty people on board. We ARE people magnets, and find ourselves always caught amidst the laughter on board..and yes, drinks are always a part of it.. (dont judge us-just telling it like it is)

We spent three days before the cruise(s) around Scotland, London and Miami, carting around in a limousine, hitting spots like the Hard Rock Casino etc.. lot of fun

We went to Carnival basically due to Celebritys all out smoking ban. Again, rightly or wrongly, our choice, our money, we put it where we know we will be comfortable. Carnival won the deal.

We went therefore, with fairly low expectations..comparing all we read on Celebrity Vs Carnival - we thought..okay, go with the flow and lets see what happens..

wanna know something...

CARNIVAL ROCKS!!!!!!

Being fairly partied out when we boarded, for the first two days we knew only - cabin - lido bar - tandoori station - cabin - lido bar - tandoori station..

Night two, we made formal night dinner and the swingtime jazz lounge..

We dont do shows.

We dress up every night, and without a doubt, didnt feel uncomfortable in any way what so ever. We saw ALL kinds of dress on board, but on cruise one, nearly ALL dressed up, and on cruise two, slightly more relaxed, but saw only ONE family "vesting" it in the restaurant. We couldnt care less but as a whole, saw only people comfortable having a great time!

People on board. It differed on the 8 day to the 6 day. the 8 day people were shall we say "a little more refined". There was a very obvious difference in ambience from the 8 to the 6 but BOTH cruises were FABulous!

STAFF = the best ever. Friendly, helpful beyond the call of duty and yes folks BETTER than Celebrity!!!

FOOD - Absolutely great! NO problems what so ever, better than RCI for sure, and comparable to Celebrity. On one night I didnt fancy anything (out of fourteen nights remember!).. I asked could I have "something curry from the staff canteen" - within five minutes a spice lovers banquet arrived..it was incredible!

By around day five, we found lobby deck and the shops...:eek:

Things we really loved on board. Lido deck doesnt die at 7pm OR on port days! We find on nearly all cruises, after dusk, Lido deck becomes zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzing and bars often close up. It was WONDERFUL on Carnival to find Lido deck alive in evenings, and right up until 1am, still "happening" and full of ambience and life. Same on port days, music still on, bands still playing..its true..on Carnival, the fun truly never stops...

CABINS: We had 8450 for the first cruise, an aft extended balcony. We tried to get a suite (which we had for cruise 2) but even after boarding, couldnt get one. I know many love these aft extended,, we really disliked it VERY much! Didnt like the same wake view EVERY day, found the cabin too small for us especially the wardrobe space as we are on travel for three weeks in different climates we need a LOT of wardrobe space, and we were so FAR from everything...

We thought we could happily go back from the suite life to balcony..no we cant. yes, we are pehaps spoiled..but no, once you've been there, its too hard to go back and no we wouldnt do it again.

But even if booking a normal balcony, I would choose a mid side balcony over an aft. We dont like getting off the ship on port days, but its nice to see whats happening around the port. Aft gives ONE view..which after eight days becomes zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzing to say the least.

B2B changoever was a bit of a pain. Those waiting in the B2B lounge cannot get off the ship until the ship is cleared..and thanks to around six people who were faffing around late late late... we couldnt go clear customs. Folks..when its time to go its time to go, get off your as* and GO please!!!

Re boarded once cleared in around 30 minutes..and YAHOOO into our new suite.. FAB!!! Lots of space, separate vanity area, tub, double vanity, and nice sized balcony on the port side..PERFECT!

My husband got sick and was confined to cabin for 24 hours... staff were wonderful, just wonderful...

Our friends and family joined us on cruise two..so lots of love and fun came with them..

BON VOYAGE bottles... we bought a HOARD of drink before we boarded..I think we must be the only people ever who smuggled booze OFF the ship!! Undrunk, we had around 20 bottles of champagne and six bottles of liquer which we hadnt touched (too much time at the bars!)..so, in the Caymans we took the booze OFF the ship for our family who live there... wouldnt pre buy drinks again..

We met some amazing friends on board, some of whom, have put footprints on our heart and will be with us forever..for sure!!

Smoking! Never had one single person give us the "cough cough" routine. We stuck firmly to the rules, and never found it a problem. I did think it was kind of mean of people who just strolled into the swingtime jazz lounge JUST to smoke.. the bar man must get fed up with this... If we went in there we always bought at least one drink...

There was one island band on board, who played the jazz lounge most nights and they were awful! They mimed all the time...he sure wasnt playing that steel drum much.. the tape deck was! The singer stood through a whole session once with a towel around his neck, kinda making an attempt to "move to the beat" but didnt sing once! Hence why folks didnt stay long in the jazz lounge... I'd say that was my only grievance on board. Same band (whom we bought a few drinks for incidentally).. One night we met him in a rush, I asked him where was he going. he said.."OH disco, 70s club" all the staff go there at night. I said "Yeah, we noticed..the DJ changes the music for the staff, all the guests clear out, and it becomes "staff party night out".. his reply to me "WHO LIVES HERE!"..my reply "Who PAYS to be here"..

Needless to say I wasnt impressed by that comment and if he is reading this, it has been passed on to the appropriate people;)

Other bands on board were great! There was a rock band who were terrific, a guitarist and Latino style band..all "cruise type" bands but MUCH better than both RCI and Celebrity!

DJ - rubbish! Played for himself and not for the crowd. Cleared it at night for staff... again, comment noted.

We dined anytime..(hmmm usually arriving around 9pm)..Jogi Maitre'dhe..= superstar! Waiting staff = superb...almost same every night, for 14 nights..broke our hearts to say goodbye!

I LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE Carnivals restaurant dance show..LOVE IT!!!

Fourteen fun days, fourteen fun filled nights.. Our bar bill for 14 nghts was just over 3K, but hey, we dont cross half way around the world to have a quiet time, we budget for that, and only mistake was buying bon voyage drinks..

Freedom - you rocked our world..we love you..and as for you Celebrity, stick your pipe where the sun dont shine!

If anyone has any specific questions be happy to answer them (if they dont relate to anything regarding shows or anything sensible as I am unlikely to know the answer).

Casino and casino bar = FAB!!! So many laughs there we laughed till we cried!

Rude people on board - only on cruise two - cant people say PLEASE and THANK YOU????? Amazes me..but hey... we KNOW the staff know...

Sunbeds on board...rarely had a problem - didnt find many hoggers either..

LOVED the twister and conquered my fear, am now a superstar whizzkid twister expert!

Children on board, few on cruise one, more on cruise two, but never encountered a problem... found children having fun with good parents...envied them their kids clubs - wow - wish I had known that kinda life when I was a child!

Carnival DOES work for us. yes, we are professional people, business proprietors, who are "normal" Celebrity style cruisers..but for us..to let steam off, let our hair down and release all those months of pressure... LOVE CARNIVAL and cant wait for the next time for sure it will come!

ELEVEN out of TEN FREEDOM!!!

[PROCRUISE]

Great review! Being older, we like the refinement and ambience of Celebrity and even HAL. However, we still schedule cruises with CCL (will be on The Breeze in December) because Carnival is just plain "fun." We'd only pick cruises of 7-8 days, and wish CCL would offer longer cruises in the Caribbean, but I can honestly say we've never been on a CCL cruise we didn't enjoy. This is the great thing about cruising: there is something for everyone and we've enjoyed trying several lines and have never been disappointed yet. Leaving a week from today to try out Princess for the first time!

[Blondie008]

Great review! Being older, we like the refinement and ambience of Celebrity and even HAL. However, we still schedule cruises with CCL (will be on The Breeze in December) because Carnival is just plain "fun." We'd only pick cruises of 7-8 days, and wish CCL would offer longer cruises in the Caribbean, but I can honestly say we've never been on a CCL cruise we didn't enjoy. This is the great thing about cruising: there is something for everyone and we've enjoyed trying several lines and have never been disappointed yet. Leaving a week from today to try out Princess for the first time!

 

Have a great cruise!!! One thing we did miss about Celebrity most was the "disco". Especially on M Class ships. Celebrity just dont allow the "staff party" routine at all..and the dj plays very much for the crowd. On Celebrity, one cna find numerous age groups, up there till the wee sma hours.. the big round dance floor..yeah..we missed that..

That aside though, on our last cruise on Constellation, we LOVED our cruise, but did notice food standards were slipping..hence..why we found Carnivals to be surprisingly GOOD!

HAL I'd like to try.. but maybe wait until I grow up a bit (wont tell you my age lol!)....

Our next cruise is with Costa.. its just been re scheduled due to all the changing around of ships etc. On the NeoRomantica..looks VERY nice...

Its my ?0th birthday cruise... :D

[myfamilyluvs2cruise]

So excited to read your comments. I have a large group cruise planned as a surprise for my husband's birthday. More than half are virgin cruisers, half are kids, some are Four Seasons types, and some have never had a nice vacation. Trying to find the perfect venue was challenging- but we booked the Freedom. (We are usually RCCL cruisers) .Sounds like we are going to have a blast!!!!!

 

So glad you had fun!

[koolforkatz]

Thanks for such a great review. We will be sailing on the Freedom three weeks today - 8-night itinerary, after which we're getting on a 7-night Celebrity so it's nice to hear your perspective from a Celebrity cruiser point of view. Glad to hear people were dressing up on the 8 night, wasn't sure how much of that there would be.

 

And am so happy to hear the Tandoori Grill's on the Freedom :D :D :D

[Blondie008]

So excited to read your comments. I have a large group cruise planned as a surprise for my husband's birthday. More than half are virgin cruisers, half are kids, some are Four Seasons types, and some have never had a nice vacation. Trying to find the perfect venue was challenging- but we booked the Freedom. (We are usually RCCL cruisers) .Sounds like we are going to have a blast!!!!!

 

So glad you had fun!

 

Its a GREAT ship, really great! And ideal for your situation. Hope you all have a fabulous time! I am gluten/wheat free, so found the Tandoori station perfect, and I love Indian food. There truly is something for everyone though on Freedom, from quiet chilled out corners, to hmmm shall we say... "more lively" corners for die hards like us.. and yes plenty for the kids...cant go wrong for sure!

[myfamilyluvs2cruise]

Its a GREAT ship, really great! And ideal for your situation. Hope you all have a fabulous time! I am gluten/wheat free, so found the Tandoori station perfect, and I love Indian food. There truly is something for everyone though on Freedom, from quiet chilled out corners, to hmmm shall we say... "more lively" corners for die hards like us.. and yes plenty for the kids...cant go wrong for sure!

 

We are definitely a lively bunch as well! :D

 

My son and husband are celiac, and we try to eat gluten free as a family. Loved the gluten free Chocolate Melting Cake on our last cruise. Did you ever have it? WOW- you cannot taste the difference side by side.

Great tip about the Tandoori, thanks~

[Blondie008]

Thanks for such a great review. We will be sailing on the Freedom three weeks today - 8-night itinerary, after which we're getting on a 7-night Celebrity so it's nice to hear your perspective from a Celebrity cruiser point of view. Glad to hear people were dressing up on the 8 night, wasn't sure how much of that there would be.

 

And am so happy to hear the Tandoori Grill's on the Freedom :D :D :D

 

Wow! thats quite a trip!

The 8 day... yes, def the better one! Ship doesnt change, but "the feel" does.

Which celebrity ship you going on?

[Blondie008]

We are definitely a lively bunch as well! :D

 

My son and husband are celiac, and we try to eat gluten free as a family. Loved the gluten free Chocolate Melting Cake on our last cruise. Did you ever have it? WOW- you cannot taste the difference side by side.

Great tip about the Tandoori, thanks~

u.

I didnt (wish i did now!)..but there was an amazing lemon GF cake I had..oooh it was GOOD!!

I try to stay away from temptation places, but I rarely had to ask for GF. Every night, after first night, GF bread was brought to my table, and waiting staff knew what options I could have...never ever an isssue

the ONLY struggle is the room service menu. So I used to at some point of a day, leave myself a little plate of cheeses etc in our cabin, so I knew I had a standby snack as opposed to room service which is very much breads and wraps aside from the veg sticks and dips. Also Id ask for the cheese plate to take away from dinner...never a problem!

[koolforkatz]

Wow! thats quite a trip!

The 8 day... yes, def the better one! Ship doesnt change, but "the feel" does.

Which celebrity ship you going on?

 

We like to do a 14-night cruise once a year and there seems to be less of them each year - thus an 8 night followed by 7 night.

 

So there were def tuxes on the 8-night? I know there will be on the Celebrity ship for sure. We're going on the Solstice - first time on S class!

[Blondie008]

We like to do a 14-night cruise once a year and there seems to be less of them each year - thus an 8 night followed by 7 night.

 

So there were def tuxes on the 8-night? I know there will be on the Celebrity ship for sure. We're going on the Solstice - first time on S class!

 

 

There was everything from Tuxes, to suits, ties, etc... for sure wont be out of place. My husband wore his highland wear, (we had four formals in all) and also wore his white tux one night. I wore full on evening dress, (as in full formal) and also long slinky evening dress..on casual nights we wore very dressy cocktail wear.. never felt out of place one bit! Sure, there were some around total opposite..but seriously, just not an issue...

never been on solstice class...woooooo will wait to hear how it goes for you. As I say for us..deal breaker was the balcony smoking ban rule.. until we quit..its a no go. We know lots of the Celebrity Captains and crew, and miss seeing them...but hmmmm.... whilst we CAN still party... Carnival might have us for a while yet;) On an enjoyment score... it hit the spot for sure!

[MissKIA]

Very entertaining review! Sounds like Carnival was a much better fit for you than Celebrity. Thanks for sharing!

[myfamilyluvs2cruise]

u.

I didnt (wish i did now!)..but there was an amazing lemon GF cake I had..oooh it was GOOD!!

I try to stay away from temptation places, but I rarely had to ask for GF. Every night, after first night, GF bread was brought to my table, and waiting staff knew what options I could have...never ever an isssue

the ONLY struggle is the room service menu. So I used to at some point of a day, leave myself a little plate of cheeses etc in our cabin, so I knew I had a standby snack as opposed to room service which is very much breads and wraps aside from the veg sticks and dips. Also Id ask for the cheese plate to take away from dinner...never a problem!

 

That is a GREAT idea!

[Blondie008]

Very entertaining review! Sounds like Carnival was a much better fit for you than Celebrity. Thanks for sharing!

 

 

"Entertaining" LOL!!! I will never regret our times with Celebrity, and hey, we partied on those ships way just as much as we did on Carnival. I guess though, times have changed, and the Celebrity we once knew, perhaps is not as it is now. So perhaps, at this point in life, Carnival was our better fit.. who knows...

 

We have memories on celebrity which we cherish dearly... and we were so sad to say goodbye to them...

I guess though, what I AM saying, is the friendliness and kindness of the staff on board carnival, made up for the "hand behind the back" little touches of Celebrity. They are two totally different experiences.. but... yup.. Carnival DID work for us..much much much more so than we expected!!

We didnt go to the supper club. reason being, once you have dined in the Olympic Restaurant aboard say Millennium... well... nothing compares to it does it...

BUT we were MORE than happy with the MDR.. we thought the food was WAY better than our last cruise on RCCL Explorer of the Seas and the service FAR FAR better!!!

There is a special magic aboard Freedom which I cant quite put my finger on.. yes... she stole a little corner of our hearts for sure ;)

But I got lots of corners in this heart of mine still waiting to be filled :)

[Blondie008]

We are definitely a lively bunch as well! :D

 

My son and husband are celiac, and we try to eat gluten free as a family. Loved the gluten free Chocolate Melting Cake on our last cruise. Did you ever have it? WOW- you cannot taste the difference side by side.

Great tip about the Tandoori, thanks~

 

Incidentally, at the tandoori station there are beef type thingies - like meatballs/patties but look as if they are in breadcrumbs..they are not..they are made with cornflour!!! And the poppadoms are fine too! Riceflour. Nearly everything at the tandoori station is GF friendly, I was never ill once during the 14 nights with GF probs!