Carnival Freedom question

[ArcaniteReaper]

Hello,

 

First time poster here. I have been on three cruises, all on carnival, all on Fantasy Class ships. While I have enjoyed all my cruises, I have always thought the ships I've been had not aged well. For reference, I have been on the Imagination, Inspiration, and most recently Sensation.

 

My wife and I were looking to take a cruise on our first wedding anniversary in November, and I had decided to find a trip that was on a newer boat. We have found a good deal on the Freedom, but I did have a question regarding it.

 

One of the good things I did enjoy on the fantasy ships were the open air dining and the many places where i found lean on the railing, look down and see the waves. After looking at pics of the freedom online, I cant seem to tell if there are those places on this boat. Most of pics make it look like the lido deck is kind of boxed in, and before i booked, I just wanted to ask for opinions on this.

 

TLDR:

Is the freedom a big upgrade from any fantasy ship and can I find a place to relax and feel the wind and watch the water?

 

Thank you so much!

[Ragdollbd]

Hello,

 

First time poster here. I have been on three cruises, all on carnival, all on Fantasy Class ships. While I have enjoyed all my cruises, I have always thought the ships I've been had not aged well. For reference, I have been on the Imagination, Inspiration, and most recently Sensation.

 

My wife and I were looking to take a cruise on our first wedding anniversary in November, and I had decided to find a trip that was on a newer boat. We have found a good deal on the Freedom, but I did have a question regarding it.

 

One of the good things I did enjoy on the fantasy ships were the open air dining and the many places where i found lean on the railing, look down and see the waves. After looking at pics of the freedom online, I cant seem to tell if there are those places on this boat. Most of pics make it look like the lido deck is kind of boxed in, and before i booked, I just wanted to ask for opinions on this.

 

TLDR:

Is the freedom a big upgrade from any fantasy ship and can I find a place to relax and feel the wind and watch the water?

 

Thank you so much!

 

 

 

The Deck above the Lido is open with railings where you can lean over and look at the water. Lido Deck has windows around it so there is no open air dining that I can remember.

[ArcaniteReaper]

Thanks for the fast reply.

 

Do you recommend the freedom as opposed to one of the fantasy ships?

[SMSACE6]

It has been many years since I was on the Sensation, and I liked it a lot.

 

Since then I have been cruising on Conquest class ships ie; Freedom. I like the Freedom, and am going to be sailing on her a second time in November.

 

The ships are quite different in layout, but I think Freedom is a very nice ship.

[sailor_jimc]

Yes, the Freedom is a big step up from the Fantasy class ships. She is much newer, has been updated with the 2.0 upgrades and is a larger vessel. Don't get me wrong, I like the Fantasy ships for their size and coziness, but if you are looking to try a larger ship with more amenities, the Freedom would be an excellent choice.

[snc_cam]

Have been on the Freedom twice now and going on the Liberty in Dec. Freedom is a nice ship, does allow eating out by the pool area (both midships and aft), and a lot of open space where you can watch the ocean roll by in the fresh air. As others have said, it is a bigger ship but provides at least all of the same amenities as the Fantasy class plus more.

 

Enjoy it.

[ArcaniteReaper]

Excellent, looks like I'm going to go ahead and book it.

 

Thanks so much for input everyone!!

[aarep]

We just got off the Freedom 2 weeks ago. This was our 36th cruise but only 2nd on Carnival. Other Carnival was on the Liberty. Although they are the same class ships we much preferred the Freedom. This was one of the most relaxing and fun cruises we have been on. Staff was excellent. Only thing we didnt really enjoy was the entertainment in the main lounge.

[winddawn]

Hello,

 

First time poster here. I have been on three cruises, all on carnival, all on Fantasy Class ships. While I have enjoyed all my cruises, I have always thought the ships I've been had not aged well. For reference, I have been on the Imagination, Inspiration, and most recently Sensation.

 

My wife and I were looking to take a cruise on our first wedding anniversary in November, and I had decided to find a trip that was on a newer boat. We have found a good deal on the Freedom, but I did have a question regarding it.

 

One of the good things I did enjoy on the fantasy ships were the open air dining and the many places where i found lean on the railing, look down and see the waves. After looking at pics of the freedom online, I cant seem to tell if there are those places on this boat. Most of pics make it look like the lido deck is kind of boxed in, and before i booked, I just wanted to ask for opinions on this.

 

TLDR:

Is the freedom a big upgrade from any fantasy ship and can I find a place to relax and feel the wind and watch the water?

 

Thank you so much!

I agree with the others. Freedom is a nice ship. Since you enjoy watching the water, have you considered booking a balcony cabin? One big difference between the newer ships like Freedom and the older Fantasy class ships is that the newer ships have many, many more balcony cabins.

 

Hope you have a great cruise.

[WAHMto5]

The Freedom was our first ship ever to cruise on and we are heading back on the Freedom this weekend, can't wait! IMO, with the new updates to the Freedom I think you will see a HUGE difference from the Fantasy class;)

[Trnkk]

Just got back from the Freedom the end of Aug. on deck 3 by the guess services desk there is a door to outside railing area with a couple benches with the name Carnival Freedom you 'll have a great time there not many people at all, closer to the water also!!

 

 

Hello,

 

First time poster here. I have been on three cruises, all on carnival, all on Fantasy Class ships. While I have enjoyed all my cruises, I have always thought the ships I've been had not aged well. For reference, I have been on the Imagination, Inspiration, and most recently Sensation.

 

My wife and I were looking to take a cruise on our first wedding anniversary in November, and I had decided to find a trip that was on a newer boat. We have found a good deal on the Freedom, but I did have a question regarding it.

 

One of the good things I did enjoy on the fantasy ships were the open air dining and the many places where i found lean on the railing, look down and see the waves. After looking at pics of the freedom online, I cant seem to tell if there are those places on this boat. Most of pics make it look like the lido deck is kind of boxed in, and before i booked, I just wanted to ask for opinions on this.

 

TLDR:

Is the freedom a big upgrade from any fantasy ship and can I find a place to relax and feel the wind and watch the water?

 

Thank you so much!

Edited September 24, 2014 by Trnkk

[Pellaz]

Just got back from the Freedom the end of Aug. on deck 3 by the guess services desk there is a door to outside railing area with a couple benches with the name Carnival Freedom you 'll have a great time there not many people at all, closer to the water also!!

 

Cool, I was JUST about to post something about this.

 

Deck 3 port and starboard has outside walkways where you can sit or stand and watch the ocean slide by. The fixtures and appearance have always struck me as being kinda utilitarian -- take away the lounge chairs and it could almost be a scene from Titanic. Note that the starboard side of Deck 3 is a little-known, seldom-used smoking area.

 

You'll find that the Freedom is a huge change -- and for most, an upgrade -- from Fantasy-class ships. That does come at a price, though. If your ship sails full, it will seem a lot more crowded than on your Fantasy-class sailings.

 

I DO like the location of the Serenity area on Fantasy ships more than the Conquest-class ships like Freedom: on Fantasy-class ships it is located aft, so you get a lot less wind, and right under the Lido pizza place.

Also, in my experience (between Imagination and Liberty) the Serenity hot-tubs closed much later on the smaller Imagination (at midnight...one night at 2 am) than on the much larger Liberty (9 pm).