The latest of the Carnival Cruise Lines’ Conquest-class ships, Carnival Freedom, represents a perfect stage for the elements that have proved so successful for the company in recent years.
Joe Farcus, who has worked with Carnival on ship design since 1977, stated at the ship’s naming ceremony in Venice, “This is some of the best work I’ve ever realized on a ship.” He noted that the Carnival Freedom continues his philosophy of ship design that stresses getting away from normal life and its worries.
The ship’s theme of decades through the centuries gave Farcus a chance to freely indulge his taste for making history into fantasy, and his choices were wide ranging, mostly from the 20th century, but going back to Mesopotamia and forward to 2010. In addition, because he knew the name of the ship unusually early in the process, he was able to bring the freedom theme into the design.
One of the surprising aspects of the ship is that, although a huge range of textures appears on walls and ceilings, most of it is computer-generated color and design on steel.
In addition, the ship features granite floors and wood paneled walls that look like tiger’s eye stones made huge — they use ground wood, dyed and reassembled, manufactured from the ground up.
The 1,400-seat Victoria Show Lounge was inspired by London’s West End circa 1880, using ornate classical forms and reproductions of pre-Raphaelite paintings on the walls and tables; these are actually all steel, printed by computer. A new “Big Easy” show debuts on the Freedom, featuring more than 40 songs that showcase the musical heritage of Louisiana and a Mardi Gras finale with 12-foot jester puppets dancing with the performers and the traditional beads tossed to the audience. On the ship’s 12-day itineraries, three full production shows will be staged, including “Ticket to Ride” celebrating the Beatles and “Jump, Jive and Wail,” a Big Band swing show.
Surfaces are not the only fool-the-eye aspect of the ship; op-art paintings and three dimensional realistic murals are placed along public areas, including the heavily used Centuries Promenade, one of the most delightful areas of the ship, with comfortable seating groups conveniently close to the Viennese-looking Promenade Café with its specialty coffees and pastries.
Along the side is the teen club, the very attractive Sushi Bar with its beams and Japanese lanterns, the Disco, the aft Promenade Bar and the surreal Scott’s Piano Bar, with keyboards literally everywhere. Named for American composer Scott Joplin, the bar features jazz among its brilliant primary colors. The keyboards are placed in high relief against the walls with keys and hammers working and lines of light connecting them. There is a non-working keyboard wrapped around the curved bar. The chairs are authentic bentwood from that era, with a single red leg twisted like a pretzel on each one and miraculously coming out even with the others.
The Babylon Club Casino features the legendary Ishtar Gate, for which Farcus made drawings and clay models. A ceiling mural of the Hanging Gardens was designed from imagination, as there are no existing images or accounts of them.
In the main dining rooms, the Posh and Chic restaurants, Farcus thought of lampshades in elegant restaurants and the warm, intimate atmosphere they create. A huge central chandelier was fashioned from nested lampshades and the theme is carried out throughout. The python skin walls were designed from a printed photograph of a real python skin. Fruit and leaves in the restaurant-style decorative grillwork are backlit by changing lights.
The casual Freedom Restaurant is taken from the 1880s with typical broken pediments. The Statue of Liberty theme repeats throughout the casual buffet restaurant with its granite floors and carefully placed stations.
The Sun King reservations-only supper club has the diners slightly separated from the dance floor with its live musicians. The menu and wine list are excellent, showcasing prime beef but also including fish and chicken dishes and seductive desserts. A huge statue of Louis XIV at the door covered in gold leaf sets the tone, with gold everywhere and decor from Versailles backed by tapestries in the style of Louis’ court.
A new addition to the culinary scene is the Tandoori Grill on the pool deck, which offers Indian food daily. Another are the very elegant new “Spa Carnival Fare” offerings in all dining room menus, with nearly 50 different salads, appetizers, soups, entrees and desserts, all complete with figures stating their lower calories, fat, cholesterol and sodium content and lack of trans-fat. Virtue seldom comes without sacrifice, but enjoying Langoustine and Shrimp on Shaved Fennel Salad and Peppered Filet of Tilapia over Ratatouille, Zucchini Cannelloni and Asparagus Norge gives you unearned points for being careful about your food.
Another form of care comes with the 13,000-square-foot Spa Carnival, with a treatment menu ranging from Aroma Stone Therapy to seaweed wraps, facials and even the new, far easier tooth whitening treatments at prices well below those charged on land.
The ship’s Millennium atrium displays futuristic rounded steel forms covered with iridescent color changing under LED lights controlled by computers with eight or nine different programs.
Among the most popular watering holes on board is the Players Sports Bar with décor drawn from the 1950s. Farcus used extraordinary detail here — you have to look at the ceilings on this ship — with sports figures and championship teams represented. The room has lots of ’50s chrome. Big video screens allow guests to enjoy their favorite sports among the squashy leather sofas and chairs.
The Habana Cigar Bar at the end of the Promenade was a favorite, taken from the Hemingway era of the 1940s. Farcus bought art from period cigar boxes on eBay, displayed the blown up images and showed them framed on the walls, as well. The pedestals for the tables and bar stools are cigars, complete with textured leaves and colorful cigar bands. The floors are covered with reproductions of real Cuban tiles and the columns look like carved coral. A good dance floor and live music are draws here at night, but the room is so attractive, it was never empty.
Further down the Promenade the 1,800-square-foot Club ’02 is a new concept for Carnival, an area set aside for teens who make up an important part of the customer base that is, as Carnival president and CEO Bob Dickinson said, an annuity for upcoming decades. It’s really a group of spaces, with chairs made of giant open hands, music stations and projectors shining color patterns on the walls There is a dance lounge area, a media section with teen-oriented books and magazines, a Game Room and more.

The Freedom’s disco, Studio 70, is based on the 1970s. You can’t possibly mistake the theme, since all the furniture is shaped like a 7 or a 0 and the walls, carpet, etc., all carry some variation on the number.
The Old South is represented by the Drawing Room, designed for mixed use. The style reflects an antebellum plantation circa 1860 and the family crest over the fireplace is the O’Hara crest from “Gone with the Wind.”
The Dynasty Room is a multifunction conference room taken from the 19th century with Chinese-style sculpture along the wall and art prints.
The Monticello Library is also tied to the Freedom concept. It features a 13-star American flag and the design team went to the National Archives for permission to photograph the Declaration of Independence to make reproductions.
One of the most attractive rooms is the International Lounge, designed in the international Style of the influential 1920s Bauhaus headed by Walter Gropius and Mies van der Rohe. The sofas and banquettes were inspired by Mies’ Barcelona Chair and the workmanship of the tables in the lounge is outstanding. Farcus calls the whole a triumph, and it really is as far as it gets from the usual perception of cruise ship interior design.
The staterooms are softer and less stimulating than the public areas, with warm colors and the delicious Comfort Bed systems with pillows, duvets and sheets that make it hard to leave. Dozens of rooms can be connected for the family groups traveling together that make up a large share of Carnival’s business.
A 4,200-square-foot play area is the heart of Carnival Freedom’s “Camp Carnival” program. There are actually five sections: a movie room with films and cartoons, a Play Station 2 area, an arts and crafts center, a “soft play” area for very young cruisers and a library of children’s books.
Children ages 12-14 and their parents can enjoy body and beauty treatments on port days in Carnival’s YSPA youth spa program. Carnival’s teen shore excursions provide counselors to accompany kids ages 12-17 on “just-for-teens” experiences on Europe voyages.
Families can enjoy four swimming pools and the spectacular 214-foot-long “Twister Waterslide.”
The Freedom home ports in Civitavecchia (Rome) for the summer, debuting new 12-day Mediterranean and Greek isle cruises departing April 7 and 19, June 18, Aug. 5 and Sept. 22 that call in Naples, Rhodes, Izmir, Istanbul, Athens (Piraeus), Katakolon, Livorno and an overnight in Rome. The 12-day Grand Mediterranean cruises depart May 1, 13 and 25, June 6 and 30, July 12 and 24, Aug. 17 and 28, Sept. 10 and Oct. 4 and 16. The ship calls in Naples, Dubrovnik, Venice (two days), Messina, Barcelona, Cannes and Livorno.
After a 14-day trans-Atlantic cruise to Miami, the Freedom is scheduled to sail 7-day alternating Eastern and Western Caribbean cruises beginning Nov. 17.