Freedom out of Galveston

[CMOTO]

It has been a few years since we have cruised. The last one was about 4yrs ago on the Elation. That has been the biggest ship we've been on!

 

Thinking about going on the September 19-26th cruise. I have a few questions.

 

1) are the menu's all different now?

2) no bottles of soda now, just cans Correct?

3) how do you eat in the Steakhouse, who do you make reservations thru?

4) besides the steakhouse, are there any other food places that you have to pay for??

 

Are the balcony's really worth the extra money, I would be letting Carnival pick it for me to save a little money. I know that this is a personal question, but has anyone ever got one and then wished they had a inside?? We have always stayed in the bottom of the ship and my husband is adamant about having a balcony or he wont go.

 

Any other tips or thoughts about this ship would be greatly appreciated!!

[CMOTO]

Also, the Red Frog Bar.....I've read some reviews there is games in there, how much do they cost to play?? Do you hand the bar tender your S&S card??

[HTownMC]

It has been a few years since we have cruised. The last one was about 4yrs ago on the Elation. That has been the biggest ship we've been on!

 

Thinking about going on the September 19-26th cruise. I have a few questions.

 

1) are the menu's all different now?

2) no bottles of soda now, just cans Correct?

3) how do you eat in the Steakhouse, who do you make reservations thru?

4) besides the steakhouse, are there any other food places that you have to pay for??

 

Are the balcony's really worth the extra money, I would be letting Carnival pick it for me to save a little money. I know that this is a personal question, but has anyone ever got one and then wished they had a inside?? We have always stayed in the bottom of the ship and my husband is adamant about having a balcony or he wont go.

 

Any other tips or thoughts about this ship would be greatly appreciated!!

 

I can't answer all of your questions. I was on the June 20 Freedom. I posted a review a couple of days ago so you can see it for my general thoughts about the ship.. We've been on 9 cruises. Only 1 without a balcony. As long as I can afford it I can't see myself going without a balcony. I guess it also depends on how much time you plan to spend in the room. We love to relax and enjoy the breeze on the balcony, especially on sea days. this time we had 2 cabins - 1 suite with balcony and 1 inside (across the hall) for the boys. It's a big difference. My boys often came over to enjoy the balcony.

 

I called Carnival before I left and they told me that the no bottles change starts on July 9. We don't really drink much soda so we just needed bottle water. They had a special on water for 2.99 for a 12 pack of water. I ordered 48 before I left and they delivered to the room the evening of our arrival.

[Redphotog]

We just got off the Freedom so this is what we experienced.

 

1- They now have the "new" American Table menu (but they still have the Chocolate Melting Cake!)

 

2- After our cruise I believe they only allow cans now. You can take a bottle of wine or champagne (we made mimosas) and a 12 pack of soda per person which was more than enough for us.

 

3- For the Sun King steakhouse you can make reservation requests under the "Manage Account" tab on your Carnival.com account, they will email back a confirmation or you can call the steakhouse when onboard and make a reservation. I don't think they were booked every night.

 

4- Beside drinks and extra coffee drinks like cappuccinos they only pay-for-food places I can think of were the Sun King ($35) and the Cat-In-The-Hat sea day breakfast ($5). I think the steakhouse is a great experience and totally worth it and for $5 the Dr. Suess breakfast is a must. We were six adults and we all enjoyed it!

 

As for the balcony, this is our fifth cruise and we had a window for the first time instead of an inside stateroom. We've never had a balcony but after loving the window I can see how having a balcony would be really nice and a slippery slope to ever going back to an inside cabin!

[tncap]

Also, the Red Frog Bar.....I've read some reviews there is games in there, how much do they cost to play?? Do you hand the bar tender your S&S card??

 

Games like foosball are free. Games like beer pong you pay using your S&S card. I think beer pong was $6/pp.

Edited July 16, 2015 by tncap