Is The Freedom Really That Bad

[islahopper]

I've been reading the reviews of the Freedom and it sounds like this is a bad ship. Is it or is the mind set of the Med cruiser different from the Crib cruiser? I'm booked on it in Jan and am now alittle leary. I booked it because it is the newset ship and was looking forward to movies on the big screen. It sounds like the decor and layout are poor and the movies are old and lame, the ship crowed. Gosh, I sure hope not. Thank-you and have a great day.

[dlbutler5]

Here is a review from MSNBC, an independent look, of the Freedom. John Heald's blog says they are working on the Camp Carnival concern. I think you'll like it. Almost forgot the link!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/20037391/

[SheriNtexas]

I've been reading the reviews of the Freedom and it sounds like this is a bad ship. Is it or is the mind set of the Med cruiser different from the Crib cruiser? I'm booked on it in Jan and am now alittle leary. I booked it because it is the newset ship and was looking forward to movies on the big screen. It sounds like the decor and layout are poor and the movies are old and lame, the ship crowed. Gosh, I sure hope not. Thank-you and have a great day.

 

 

Well, I haven't been on her and can't reply to much, but I would think it might be crowded because the ship holds more people!:confused: :) Movies old and lame? People actually wrote that in their reviews? I DO think that Med cruisers are different than Caribbean cruisers, i've heard that is true about other ships as well. Not only are the cruisers different, but the cruises are different as well. I'm sure you will get LOTS of responses on this topic!:D

[7toEleven]

I've been reading the reviews of the Freedom and it sounds like this is a bad ship. Is it or is the mind set of the Med cruiser different from the Crib cruiser? I'm booked on it in Jan and am now alittle leary. I booked it because it is the newset ship and was looking forward to movies on the big screen. It sounds like the decor and layout are poor and the movies are old and lame, the ship crowed. Gosh, I sure hope not. Thank-you and have a great day.

 

 

Isn't the average review a 4 out of 5? We were on the Freedom for a Med cruise in May. The only thing that continued to bug me was having to go to deck 5 to transverse the ship. Things got bogged down at the elevators around the dining room. Taking the stairs wasn't an option because of the knees. Did I like every decorating item on the ship?, No. But, I haven't been on a ship yet where I liked everything. Would I go on this ship again if the location is where I wanted to go? Yes. That is the first priority with me is location first, then the line & ship. But, to answer your question, yes, it is more crowded as it is a bigger ship. I didn't find the mix of people to be that much different than the Caribbean, or Mexican or Alaskan cruises. But in the Med, the ship really empties at each port. Not so much in the Caribbean or Mexico, maybe because they are done more frequently by people. The staff was fantastic! The Lido had lots of choices, remembering it is a buffet. The dinners were very adequate, we always remember just how many different palates and number of people they are serving. The King Supper-out of this world! I really hope you enjoy your cruise!

[bguppies]

I am pretty sure that Carnival gears much of their european cruises to a more upscale european group of passengers.

 

NOT to American tastes.

 

Thus the 3 Tenors on the big screen instead of Prince or Shania Twain.

Soccer matches instead of baseball or football.

etc., etc...

 

At least that is what I have been taking from the generally great reviews I have been reading.

 

Bill

[7toEleven]

I am pretty sure that Carnival gears much of their european cruises to a more upscale european group of passengers.

 

NOT to American tastes.

 

Thus the 3 Tenors on the big screen instead of Prince or Shania Twain.

Soccer matches instead of baseball or football.

etc., etc...

 

At least that is what I have been taking from the generally great reviews I have been reading.

 

Bill

 

Bill

I didn't find that to be the case (gears much of their European cruises to a more upscale European group of passengers.). The ambience, food, games, movies etc. were all very similar to previous Carnival cruises, and to other lines as well. While on the ship (except for looking out) it would be really hard to say you were in Europe and not the Caribbean, or Mexican Riveria. I don't want to downplay at all because it was just really fantastic in all aspects.

[GeeBee1022]

Although, I haven't been on it, I had read mixed reviews. I have 4 very good friends who were on Freedom in late June, so I was curious about their take on it. They said it was great! :) One of the criticisms I had read was how hard it is to navigate around the ship. My friends said that it was an unusual layout, but it didn't take much getting used to at all. They had only good things to say about their cruise!

 

I would have been hesitant about booking on Freedom until hearing from them. Now, I wish I could book Freedom next summer, but it is not to be. :(

[alinehu]

What??? The Freedom bad ?? Who says so ?? I was there in June, Im been in many cruises different cruise lines and I can tell you this this was one of the best if not the best I have been on. Why? Great entertainment in general, great service, great food and I could go on and on. Love it! Decor ? It is really that important? its a new ship , its clean its not your taste sooo what? It nots going to spoil my vacation.

[okgirl]

I was on the maiden voyage in March and the only thing that surprised me was the number of things that weren't ready yet. Some of the bars weren't completly set up and stocked with liquor, there were still manufacturers stickers on windows.

 

I guess I thought everything would be spotless and polished and it wasn't. It didn't take away from the excitement of my 1st European vacation but it was just not what I expected.

 

I also don't get why people are continuously surprised at the layout on Conquest class ships!!! They have been around for at least 10 years with the Freedom being the last of about 5 or 6 in this class. Doesn't anyone look at deck plans before they choose a ship.

[DavidandPaula]

I would not agree with Freedom being bad, but then again I would not say it was perfect.

 

I did not expect the Queen Mary or something in the vein of the classic cruise ship of old. So the ship met my expectations. There is always something that is not to your liking. I would have liked bigger payouts in the casino but I want that at home also.

 

It was comfortable, we never did get to try out all the entertainment options, the food was great, crew happy and pleasant in general. We had a big itinerary for a first cruise but not overwhelming. I did not reach the stage where I felt enough was enough and let me get off the ship right now.

 

Service levels did seem to lower in the last day before debarkation and I had some issues with returning an extension lead to the pursurs desk and some rudeness with some of the waiting staff in Open Dining dining room on the last day. Our regular dining room staff were fantastic at all times.

 

I think most of the niggles were with shore excursions but Carnival cannot do anything about that.

 

On our cruise American passengers were in the vast majority with a liberal spinkling of other nationalities including us Aussies. A good mix I thought and it made open dining really interesting to find out where everybody was from. Every one we spoke to seem to be very satisfied.

 

May not cruise next time with Carnival but only because I would like to try out some others for a comparison.

 

David

[Jolimont]

I'm going to be on the Freedom in a few days, good friends of mine with an 8yo went a few weeks ago and LOVED it. Too much to see, but we knew the itinerary when we booked it, right?! Thanks for the review from MSNBC, I enjoyed reading that. Unfortunately I've got a sinus infection brewing, so I'll see my doctor about some heavy drugs before we set off. I'll come back and report in a couple of weeks.

[magical914]

We sailed on the Freedom in early July and had a great time.

 

Our rooms were a good size and very clean. Our Steward was always on top of everything and nothing was a problem for him.

 

The Dining room staff was excellent, always remembered out preferences and was happy to get us any request we had. As a matter of fact, one night the drinks we wanted were not available from the Dining room bar, only from the Casino (it was one of the nightly specials) our beverage server, Dawid, went out of his way to go up to the casino for us so we would not be disappointed!

 

The entertainment and cruise staff was excellent. They had us laughing every day!

 

We didn't find the ship over crowded at all. We devised our own family(10 of us) cocktail hour by the sushi bar and never had a problem finding a seat or having great service(thanks Doris).

 

I think your vacation is what you make it. We showed appreciation to everyone who serviced us and we were treated liked royalty in exchange.

Our philosophy was, how bad could it be? "Were in Europe".

 

We laughed all the way home from the airport reminding each other of all the great memories. Was everything absolutely perfect? No. But I can't remember what wasn't.

 

Have a GREAT cruise.

[BillnBobbi]

I've been reading the reviews of the Freedom and it sounds like this is a bad ship. Is it or is the mind set of the Med cruiser different from the Crib cruiser? I'm booked on it in Jan and am now alittle leary. I booked it because it is the newset ship and was looking forward to movies on the big screen. It sounds like the decor and layout are poor and the movies are old and lame, the ship crowed. Gosh, I sure hope not. Thank-you and have a great day.

 

We leave on the Freedom on Sunday morning to the eastern Med. It does not sound like a bad ship to us, and the professional reviewer on board here is giving an excellent review of his cruise.

We have been on the other Conquest Class ships and have had a wonderful time on all of them, esp. The Liberty when we did two weeks in the Western Med two years ago.

In fact this was why we booked the Freedom this time.

 

Granted, the decor may be a bit over the top in some of the areas, but frankly, we don't choose our cruises because of decor. We'll take a look at the imitation BLUE Statue of Liberty in the lido buffet, chuckle and move on.

That the music lounges might be a bit crazy is also no problem since in our experience, the playful decor put US in the mood to be playful as well.

 

The layout is EXACTLY the same as the other sister ships in this class, and is very easy to get adjusted to after about a day. The only "defect" if you want to call it that is that it takes a slight detour to get to the aft dining room from the main deck. You need to go up one level to the promenade and then down. Big Deal.

As for the big screen and the movies being "lame", who cares? We didn't choose a cruise in the eastern med based on what movies are being shown.

Do you choose what airline you are going to take because of what on board movies are being shown? In this day of DVDs, take along a portable and watch whatever you like in your cabin. Or take one of the newer ipods and plug it into your tv.

If the food is the same as the other sisters, then it is very good to excellent.

All the activities are the same, the spas, gym etc.

 

The only thing that bothers us is that we heard they changed the adults only F deck into a miniature golf course. How tacky. Why ape RCCL? All the tacky imitating of US malls is one reason we DON'T take RCCL.

 

Have a great cruise.

 

BnB