Anything You Ever Needed to Know About Carnival FREEDOM

[ronkay]

How does a balcony guarantee work? Do you have the best available and as the higher categories get filled you get bumped down until you can't get bumped any lower than an 8A (or whatever the guarantee states)?

 

Basically yes, you are guaranteed at least an 8a balcony cabin at a minimum. You might not get your cabin assignment until you arrive at the port, or it could be within a couple of weeks of sailings. But there is also the opportunity to get an 8d or 8e or even a category 9 or higher if the stars align right.

[themnms]

I also would be interested to know if people think it is worth the extra dollars to take the 9a cat over 8? We were in an 8d on the valor and loved it but are considering a 9a for a med cruise for 09...lol..we willbe on the Glory in two weeks so maybe I should just get on early and grab a look!!!

 

Mel

[dwink]

I have always been somewhat confused by the higher is better theory with cabins, can anyone explain why we would want to be higher up on the ship?

 

We are booked on a January 2009 western (Cozumel, Costa Rica, Panama) and our (great!!) planner has us on a guarantee also. I could not see any reason to pay more as all the rooms are similar. Also, if any more experienced cruisers care to comment on location (fore to aft) I would appreciate it. I realize that the elevators tend to be noisy, but what else should I think about?

[pe4all]

Supposedly, the more mid-ship you are, the less you will feel the movement of the ship. We have been towards the aft (last Freedom cruise), mid-ship (Valor, Destiny) and bow (Liberty, upcoming Freedom) and luckily, have had no issues no matter where we were. As for deck to be on, though they charge more for the higher decks, 1. the higher you are, again, the more movement you will feel, and 2. the cabin sizes are the same, whether you are in an 8A or an 8e, etc. (unless you book a suite) Our main consideration for booking a cabin is what is above/below us. We would rather be sandwiched between cabins than under the casino, showroom, lounge, etc.

[dwink]

Thanks, that is helpful!

[kiffrig]

Just in case anyone is interested in laundry rooms / laundry facilities on board the Freedom:

 

Deck 1 – Riviera: across from cabin 1359

Deck 2 – Main: across from cabin 2367

Deck 6 – Upper: across from cabin 6387

Deck 7 – Empress: across from cabin 7339

Deck 8 – Verandah: across from cabin 8351

Deck 9 – Lido: across from cabin 9270

 

Thanks to sea_u_onboard for this info (cut and pasted it from another thread).

 

 

 

[WiggleBay]

Thanks for the info about the laundry room

We will be on the Lido deck & our cabin is 9270

 

cheri

[Zacky]

I have booked an aft cabin on the Verandah deck (8450). Are the stairs that are marked on the deck plan right beside cabin 8442 accessible by PAX or are they for crew only?

[cruiseaholic21]

I agree about the decor. The dining rooms oragnge python skin was not the most attractive. i was in cabin 6287 and five of the seven nights, i could not sleep due to the non-stop creaking from our walls. it was not the greatest cruise ive been on. VERY disappointing.

[ronkay]

My gtr balcony for March 29th just got assigned, it shows 8C-8202. this cabin is all the way in front on the port side on the veranda deck. I like the idea of nobody on one side but does anyone have any expereince in these cabins? is the view to the front obstructed? I believe we are behind the bridge? any noise associated with that?

[Declady]

Zacky - I believe I read somewhere on these boards that the aft stairs are service stairs only, although I could be wrong. ??

[Zacky]

Zacky - I believe I read somewhere on these boards that the aft stairs are service stairs only, although I could be wrong. ??

Thanks! They do look like service stairs don't they?!

[yaletown605]

Oner simple question about the Freedom to those who have been on her.

 

Is all the pool salt water? What about the water slide. I love swimming in the pool but not particularly excited about salt water pool.

[pe4all]

All the pools are salt water. The slides also seemed to be salt water. (or a very wierd-tasting salty chlorine!)

[nanadeborah]

We've just gotten our cabin assignment for our April 26th B2B Transatlantic and Eastern Mediterranean cruise on the Freedom. That will be 26 days in cabin #8209.

My DH and I are very interested in knowing about our soon to be home away from home!

Anyone have any experience in that area of the ship?

TIA

[ronkay]

we will be in 8202 for a week on 3/29, I will let you know how the area is and how the room stewarts in the area are when we come back. It should be a quite area with rooms above and below.

[kiffrig]

Anyone have any updates/additions to add to the FREEDOM thread? I will be sailing her in November of this year (Key West, Grand Cayman, Ocho Rios) with my entire extended family and my daughter.

 

Anyone have some "not to miss" things on the ship?

 

What was your favorite thing about the Freedom?

 

What was your least favorite?

 

We will have our 5yr old daughter with us and it is her first cruise. Any suggestions/tips for cruising the Freedom with a 5yr old?

 

Fill me in! Thanks!

[SunshneNC]

We sailed on the Freedom in November 2007. You may view my pictures on myspace. I tried to paste them here but it didn't work. We had a wonderful time and did not find the decor to be outlandish. Enjoy!!

www.myspace.com/SunshneNC

[travel_lover]

Hello, we are sailing on Freedom Nov/09 Last time I was on Carnival was the Destiny in 2003. Does anyone know if there is a midnight buffet like on some other ships of theirs? Also is the a mini golf course?

[lincolndog]

Anyone on the Freedom For A Christmas Cruise. I was wondering if it is decorated for the holidays,and if they do anything special?

[kiffrig]

Last I knew, there is still a midnight buffet (at least as of a year ago when I cruised) but if anyone has info contradicting this, please speak up.

 

We will be on the Freedom in November---can't wait!

 

Is there anything I should know about her before we sail? Fill me in!!

[kiffrig]

can anyone give advice/details about the Freedom? I will be on her in less than 2 months! Help if you can!

 

Thanks!

[WendyCn]

Tavel Lover - According to another thread, the CC'er on one of the Carnival ships stated that it was announced that as of September this year, they have discontinued the midnight buffets. Also, on one of the other threads with photos, there was a mini-golf course.

[pe4all]

Nice to see that this thread re-surfaced. They did have a midnite buffet when we sailed in April, but heard they were discontinuing it as of Sept. We sailed during Christmas also - ship is nicely decorated. Tree in lobby, wreaths and gold trimmings all around. Santa visits Christmas eve for photos, and candy canes for the kids (and not so little kids!) They had a special "Christmas dinner" - turkey, ham, etc. They also celebrated Hanukah - had a party, menorah in lobby, potato pancakes, singing - very family oriented. Our ports Grand Turk, Half Moon Cay, Ochos Rios. Did a stingray/snorkle tour in Grand Turk, catamarran/Dunn's River Falls climb in Ochos Rios (cool runnings cat thru Carnival - very nice) Freedom is a great ship, and I wouldn't hesitate to sail on her again if the opportunity arose!

[idocdlw]

Just in case anyone is interested in laundry rooms / laundry facilities on board the Freedom:

 

Deck 1 – Riviera: across from cabin 1359

Deck 2 – Main: across from cabin 2367

Deck 6 – Upper: across from cabin 6387

Deck 7 – Empress: across from cabin 7339

Deck 8 – Verandah: across from cabin 8351

Deck 9 – Lido: across from cabin 9270

 

Thanks to sea_u_onboard for this info (cut and pasted it from another thread).

 

 

On Empress Deck there is white space on the back side of the elevators midship. Now I know what's on the starboard side - the laundry room. Does anyone know what's on the corresponding port side across from rooms 7334, 7336, 7338? The carnival rep assured me it was empty and definitely not a housekeeping closet which was my biggest worry (no sleeping in possible)...now I'm not sure she was being straight with me.

 

TIA,

Dawn