Carnival Cruise Lines Carnival Spirit

Page 25

Vs. Carnival Freedom

Overview

Carnival Cruise Lines Carnival Spirit	Carnival Cruise Lines Carnival Freedom
Double Occupancy: 2124	Double Occupancy: 2974
Gross Tonnage: 88500	Gross Tonnage: 110000
12 decks	13 decks
CDC Score: 96	CDC Score: 100
Launched: 2001	Launched: 2007

Debuting in 2007, Carnival Freedom is a fairly modern ship, a member of Carnival’s Destiny Class. It was the first in the line to offer the Serenity Adult Retreat, a pool deck where the ankle biters are kept at bay. It’s also larger than Spirit, carrying 40 percent more passengers. Most of those additional passengers will find themselves in an inside cabin—almost 40 percent of Freedom’s staterooms are interior berths, offering no view (only 20 percent of Spirit’s cabins are interior). But cabins, even inside, are thoughtfully designed to maximize their limited square footage.

Both ships can feel crowded at times, especially at pool areas on sunny sea days, but Spirit boasts slightly more elbowroom—per passenger—than Freedom. Food was not great on either ship, although the steakhouse was a winner on both. A couple extras Freedom had were a dedicated movie theater and a wine bar, both of which we would have liked to have seen on Spirit; Freedom also had a slightly broader dining scene, which is nice on a longer cruise. But otherwise, the mood and culture on the two ships was fairly consistent.