Carnival Freedom Review
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We took our first ever cruise on the Carnival Freedom. With nothing to compare it with I can only speak about this experience but we have no hesitation in recommending it.
Right from boarding - which was easy and painless - we found the entire cruise to be a most relaxing and pleasing experience. We had taken a cabin on Deck 11 (Spa) which had very few other cabins around it.
As smokers we were dismayed to find that smoking had very recently been banned from balconies and was now restricted to Deck 10 (Starboard), and of course the Casino. A bit disappointing but as it turned out this did encourage interaction with like-minded tobacco addicts and as often happens we had our best conversations with other smokers.
Cabin Review
Balcony
Our cabin was very well appointed with a good amount of hanging space, fridge, hair-dryer, and a very good bathroom and shower. The only issue that we had was with the plug stuck in the sink which 'K' fixed for us. Superb service all round from the steward and his team.Some fellow passengers had their own hair-dryer / straighteners / kettles taken away as they are considered potential heat-sources, and some had alcohol removed to be returned at the end of the voyage(there is a real drive to make sure you buy on-board drinks). All I would say is that if it is on display....As a very forward cabin the balcony did tend to catch and retain a lot of water on the deck of the balcony around your feet, and it would have been quite uncomfortable had we been allowed to sit and smoke (which we could not, but we did not know that when we booked and had considered that to be ideal!).On our trip we never used the balcony due to the water sloshing around and on some occasions the spray. But we would not consider an inside cabin under any circumstances.Debarkation at the end of the voyage goes by deck number, 11 being among the last to depart. If you can, or if you are in a hurry, take the Self Debarkation; if not you will be hanging around until the very last of the rest of the ship has debarked and your cases become available from Assisted Debark.