I don’t really like to rate trip reports. They are all uniquely entertaining and informative in their own way, and one has to appreciate anyone who makes the effort.

With that said, Spaniel Lover has written the Best.Cruise.Report.Ever!

This report is amazing. The photos are spectacular. He also includes video reviews – this room review provides a good example:

And Spaniel Lover shares details and insights into almost every imaginable part of the Carnival Cruise experience:

Interior Decorations

Back when the Conquest-class was the latest thing, the principal ship architect for Carnival was Joe Farcus… and he wanted to express the fun of a Carnival cruise with a particularly loud style of interior design: lots of neon, shiny stuff, bright colors and over-the-top craziness that sometimes bordered on tacky. Luckily, by the time the Carnival Freedom came to be (it was the last of the Conquest-class ships), Farcus had started to tone things down just a little.

Entertainment

It’s fun to see big production shows during a cruise, as I would just never go out to see live theater at home. The one downside to seeing four Playlist Production shows during a 12-day cruise is that all four shows have the exact same cast. The songs are different, the sets are different, the costumes are different, the choreography is different… but it’s all the same people each time.

The Water Slides

The best waterslides in the whole fleet, however, are on Carnival Legend and Carnival Spirit. They have the “Green Thunder” water slide… which is a vertical-drop waterslide that will scare the heck out of you for the first two seconds of the ride!

And that’s just a small taste. In fact, the report also contains a video taken by Spaniel Lover of the Green Thunder water slide that went viral on YouTube and has been viewed more than 35 million times!

If you haven’t taken a cruise before and are considering it (like me), this is the best report I have ever seen in terms of providing a good idea of what to expect. And even though this report focuses on a cruise on the Carnival Freedom ship, because Spaniel Lover has also cruised several other Carnival and non-Carnival ships he is able to explain how this ship is different and set expectations as to what you might expect if you were cruising on other ships or cruise lines.

This is one of those must-read trip reports. Seriously, even if you have no interest in ever taking a cruise, do yourself a favor and click through and read this report.

Thank you Spaniel Lover for setting the standard for cruise reports.

Read the trip report and thread in its entirety: Carnival Freedom 12-day Repo: Full review with 100+ pictures