A quick Freedom review

[ALWAYS CRUZIN]

Forgot to mention. Diamond priority boarding was honored. 

[kctwinmommy]

Thanks! We sail on her next week!

[ALWAYS CRUZIN]

There is another negative. They painted all the railihngs a dark brown. No longer the beautiful wood. Guess the upkeep caused that.

[ALWAYS CRUZIN]

FYI Power outlests in the room. Only one. However, behind the TV there was also one.

[Atlgator]

A couple quick questions. We will be on the Freedom the end of Nov., and it has been pre-covid since I have been cruising.

What is the name of the restaurant for the Your Time Dining?

Where do you go on embarkation once on ship to make the show reservations, or is it stand in line and first come first serve at show times?

Thank you in advance.

[kctwinmommy]

1 hour ago, Atlgator said:

A couple quick questions. We will be on the Freedom the end of Nov., and it has been pre-covid since I have been cruising.

What is the name of the restaurant for the Your Time Dining?

Where do you go on embarkation once on ship to make the show reservations, or is it stand in line and first come first serve at show times?

Thank you in advance.

 

The YTD is in the Chic Restaurant. It's on Deck 3, behind the lobby staircase. I only know because we accidentally tried going there for our first evening. LOL!

 

And shows are all first come, first served. We didn't go to any of them because we saw them 7 months ago.

 

[kctwinmommy]

On 11/4/2022 at 10:27 AM, d12j28 said:

Was the Freedom band still playing in the Atrium? They were awesome when we went in March.

We just sailed her last week, Freedom Rock band was in fact playing in the atrium in the evenings! They did a nice job.

[kctwinmommy]

On 11/3/2022 at 7:12 PM, mz-s said:

 

Those of us who have cruised Carnival for years can recognize the marked decline in their food quality, especially in the past few months and years. The buffet serves more and more rice and other cheap foods. The "sausage" on the breakfast buffet is often just cut up hot dogs, but that's not new (I experienced that on the Fantasy in 2014 as well). The shrimp in the MDR shrimp cocktail are smaller and you get fewer of them. They've shortened hours and cut out some meals out completely. Nothing is available 24/7 included in your cruise fare anymore for example.

Totally agreed! We were on the Pride last April and enjoyed several of our meals. This time, more misses than hits. I'll write my own review, but definitely some disappointment in this cruise for us.

[Fishwife2016]

On 11/14/2022 at 10:27 PM, kctwinmommy said:

Totally agreed! We were on the Pride last April and enjoyed several of our meals. This time, more misses than hits. I'll write my own review, but definitely some disappointment in this cruise for us.

Totally agree.  I think we were on the same cruise as you.  Food was very underwhelming.  We didn't go away hungry, but weren't looking forward to the next meal.

[quattrohead]

Me and the kids enjoyed our little Freedom run in August. Her funnel is so cute although I think that engine is still acting up sometimes.

[kctwinmommy]

47 minutes ago, Fishwife2016 said:

Totally agree.  I think we were on the same cruise as you.  Food was very underwhelming.  We didn't go away hungry, but weren't looking forward to the next meal.

Yep! I don't think we sent anything back, but we did ask for something else like 1 or 2 times. And again, we truly appreciate the work they are doing, the dining room staff was doing all they could, but it felt so rushed by them. Not that they rushed us at all, but they seemed to be scurrying way more than ever before.

 

 

[spazilla1]

Very glad to hear buffet was good, as i hear the MDR is going to be charging now, but not sure if this is for 1st entree or 2nd at same mes.  We aew on Freedom for the first time this Dec 5.

 

[kctwinmommy]

3 hours ago, spazilla1 said:

Very glad to hear buffet was good, as i hear the MDR is going to be charging now, but not sure if this is for 1st entree or 2nd at same mes.  We aew on Freedom for the first time this Dec 5.

 

We thought the buffet was just OK. Much more limited options, IMO. But I do understand trying to limit waste.

 

And no, the MDR doesn't charge for meals with exceptions - one is if you ask for a 3rd entree. And if you're on a 5 day or shorter cruise, you don't get a steak option for free on formal night. It's an additional charge if you want to order it, and you can do that on any night. For me, personally, it turned out to be not worth it. But our friends steak was much better.

[Atlgator]

We just got off the Freedom on 12/1 after a short 4 day trip down to the Bahamas, and I can easily say that this was the worse food we have ever had on a cruise ship.  The Lido Buffet was not that good and had short serving hours. Only bright spot was the Mongolian Wok and the Deli. We ate in the MDR 1 night, and that was enough. We had a chicken breast that was small enough to fit in the palm of my hand and was so dry and tough you could barely cut it. The best meal on board was the steak house. The meal and service were excellent !! It is a shame that you have to pay $100 to get good food on board.  On a bright spot, the bar tenders were awesome, especially Larry in the Sports Bar and Zara in the Alchemy Bar. I was shocked at how some people spoke to the staff on board. Very rude to the employees. Just made me tip these hard working people even more, and they were very appreciative.

 

I realize that there are people that live and die with Carnival and I will continue to cruise with them sometime in the future, but it will be a 7 or more night cruise and on the Mardi Gras. For now, I have 2 future cruises on Norwegian and will see how they perform post covid.

[BETSY DOLL]

On 11/3/2022 at 3:12 PM, Jamman54 said:

Very nice! We'll be on her in January. Thanks for sharing! 😎

Hey Jamman54. We have missed several cruises together over the past 3 years! I will be on the Freedom 1-21 out of Port Canaveral. When is your cruise? This is my 29th on Carnival!

hope you’re doing good!!!😍

[groundloop]

6 hours ago, Atlgator said:

We just got off the Freedom on 12/1 after a short 4 day trip down to the Bahamas, and I can easily say that this was the worse food we have ever had on a cruise ship.  The Lido Buffet was not that good and had short serving hours. Only bright spot was the Mongolian Wok and the Deli. We ate in the MDR 1 night, and that was enough. We had a chicken breast that was small enough to fit in the palm of my hand and was so dry and tough you could barely cut it......

 

I was on Freedom the week of Thanksgiving, and while there were plenty of things to complain about, one of them (for me) was not the dining room food or service.  I wouldn't write it off after trying just one dish.  To be honest, I don't care for how Carnival prepares fried chicken either, but have always found plenty of other dishes I like.  If you get a dish you don't like your server will be happy to bring you something else, 

 

 

[ninjacat123]

Just off Elation on a Thanksgiving cruise and the MDR was great!  Service was professional and so friendly.  The food was great too, a step up from some of our previous Carnival cruises after Restart.  Hope this is a continuing trend.

[kctwinmommy]

15 hours ago, Atlgator said:

We just got off the Freedom on 12/1 after a short 4 day trip down to the Bahamas, and I can easily say that this was the worse food we have ever had on a cruise ship.  The Lido Buffet was not that good and had short serving hours. Only bright spot was the Mongolian Wok and the Deli. We ate in the MDR 1 night, and that was enough. We had a chicken breast that was small enough to fit in the palm of my hand and was so dry and tough you could barely cut it.

 

I realize that there are people that live and die with Carnival and I will continue to cruise with them sometime in the future, but it will be a 7 or more night cruise and on the Mardi Gras. For now, I have 2 future cruises on Norwegian and will see how they perform post covid.

Yep! We weren't thrilled with the food either. I didn't eat much at the buffet, just lunch once or twice. And I always get a sauce of some kind to go with the grilled chicken because otherwise it is nothing. And like you said, we might cruise Carnival again, but it will also be at least 7 days, and on a different ship. We're looking to try a different line when we cruise again, although nothing is planned at this time.