Carnival Freedom, profile, photos, review, interviews

Carnival Freedom was the last of Carnival's Conquest ships to be built. The basic design began with Carnival Destiny and evolved through Carnival Victory and Carnival Triumph. With Carnival Conquest, the design reached a plateau and the line built four more essentially identical ships - - Carnival Glory, Carnival Liberty, Carnival Valor and Carnival Freedom. Subsequently, the design morphed again into the somewhat larger Carnival Splendor and then into the substantially larger Carnival Dream class.

Because there are five ships in the class, the Conquest class ships can be considered the mainstay of the Carnival fleet. There are more Fantasy class ships but they were developed in an earlier era and are used for shorter cruises or for cruises from ports that are away from the more competitive cruise ports.

When I say the five ships are essentially identical, I am speaking in terms of their technical qualities and their layout. The décor in each ship is quite different. Each was designed by Joe Farcus and he followed a different theme in each. On Carnival Freedom, the theme was time and as usual Mr. Farcus' work is imaginative and often flamboyant.

Carnival Freedom attracts an above-average percentage of repeat Carnival cruisers. She is currently the only Carnival ship cruising regularly out of Fort Lauderdale. However, there are several other Carnival ships based in Miami just down the highway a few miles. Thus, her homeport does not explain why Carnival cruisers keep coming back to this ship.

Part of the answer may be the ship's itinerary. She does not do the same circuit each week. Instead, a given month may take the ship all over the Caribbean. This is appealing because guests can put two or more cruises together and visit several different ports.

However, I was also impressed by the efficiency of the ship's officers and crew. They have been together for some time and know how the operation works. Of course, this makes for a better cvruise experience for the guests.

We have added quite a lot of new material to our coverage of Carnival Freedom. To begin the profile and the multi-page photo tour of the ship have been updated.

We have also added a menus page with copies of the menus from the different dining venues on Carnival Freedom http://www.beyondships2.com/carnival-freedom-menus.html and a page with a collection of daily programs from cruises on Carnival Freedom, which lets you see the type of thing that they do aboard her. http://www.beyondships2.com/carnival-freedom-daily-programs.html

There is also a new interview with Captain Rosario Arena http://www.beyondships2.com/carnival-freedom-captain.html and an interview with Stewart Howard, the Hotel Director, in which he talks about the importance of having an experienced team running the cruise ship. http://www.beyondships2.com/carnival-freedom-hotel-director.html

We have a photo feature http://www.beyondships2.com/carnival-freedom-photos.html and a video http://www.beyondships2.com/carnival-freedom-video.html of Carnival Freedom in various ports.

Finally, we have something we have not done before - - a video tour of the interior and open decks of Carnival Freedom. http://www.beyondships2.com/carnival-freedom-scenes.html

Exploring Carnival Freedom

I was trying to think of how to describe Carnival Freedom and the words “big, exciting and fun” came to mind. Now, I suppose I have to say why.

At 110,000 gross tons, 950 feet in length and 106 feet wide, Carnival Freedom certainly is big. Still, she can maneuver in and out of Caribbean ports quite handily with no external assistance. She can carry between 2, 970 to 3,700 passengers depending upon the number of beds that are occupied in each cabin. That is a lot of people. However, the design of the ship is such and things are organized so that one does not feel overcrowded.

The décor of Carnival Freedom kindles the excitement. I admire the way designer Joe Farcus sets out to make each ship in the Carnival Cruise Lines fleet have its own character. Yes, the general layout of each class of ship is the same but the use of color and design makes each one unique. Moreover, the bold colors and often whimsical designs make the public spaces exciting. You probably would not want to have your home decorated this way but it is fine for a get-away.

Fun comes both from the whimsical designs and from the fact that there are so many different options for things to do. These include not just the facilities but the organized activities. They may not be intellectual but they are good light hearted fun.

My profile of Carnival Freedom is posted at http://www.beyondships.com/CarnivalFreedom-Profile.html and my photo tour and commentary begins at http://www.beyondships.com/CarnivalFreedom-Tour-1.html