Carnival Breeze Vs Carnival Freedom: What Sets Them Apart

Carnival Breeze and Carnival Freedom are both great ships and you may be struggling to decide which to choose for your next vacation. In this guide, we’ll take a side-by-side look at these two ships to help you pick the best one for your cruise…

Ship Details

Carnival Breeze is a more modern ship than Carnival Freedom, although neither of them are particularly new. However, despite being five years older, Carnival Freedom did undergo a major refurbishment in 2019 which saw the addition of a new mini golf course and a 203-foot-long water slide, amongst other things.

Read more: Carnival Ships By Age

Carnival Breeze is 18% larger than Carnival Freedom. However, 23% more guests are allowed on board the Breeze, so the smaller Freedom may actually feel more spacious despite the smaller size.

Feature	Carnival Breeze	Carnival Freedom
Class	Dream	Conquest
Year	2012	2007
Last Refurbished	2017	2019
Size	130,000 GT	110,000 GT
Guest Capacity	3,690	2,980
Length	1,004 feet	952 feet
Onboard Crew	1,386	1,150

Itineraries

Carnival Breeze sails out of Galveston, Texas all year round, while Carnival Freedom sails out of Port Canaveral, Florida.

On the Breeze, you’ll find only back-to-back four- and five-day cruises to Cozumel, with occasional stops at Costa Maya or Progreso.

By contrast, Carnival Freedom offers a range of mainly Bahamas cruises, also four- and five-days. Most cruises call at one of Carnival’s private destinations, either Half Moon Cay or Celebration Key (or both!)

Breaking Down the Best Choice

Carnival Freedom has better itineraries than Carnival Breeze, but only because of the private resort calls. Although if you just want a short trip to Cozumel, then the Breeze is reasonably priced.

Dining Options

Both Carnival Freedom and Breeze have a great selection of dining options. On the Breeze, you’ll find a few extra places to eat, like the Captain’s Pasta Bar and Guy’s Pig & Anchor Bar-B-Que which are both included in your cruise fare. For an extra fee, you’ll also get the option to eat at the Italian restaurant Cucina del Capitano.

The only other difference between the two is the Bonsai Sushi – on the Freedom, it’s the express version which means you can enjoy sushi to go, whereas on the Breeze you can enjoy sit-down service.

Restaurant	Carnival Breeze	Carnival Freedom
24-Hour Room Service	Free until 10 pm	Free until 10 pm
BlueIguana Cantina	Included	Included
Bonsai Sushi	Extra Charge	–
Bonsai Sushi Express	–	Extra Charge
Coffee Bar	Extra Charge	Extra Charge
Cucina del Capitano	Extra Charge	–
Dining Room	Included	Included
Dining Room Breakfast	Included	Included
Guy’s Burger Joint	Included	Included
Guy’s Pig & Anchor Bar-B-Que	Included	–
Lido Marketplace	Included	Included
Mongolian Wok	Included	Included
Pizza Delivery	Extra Charge	Extra Charge
Pizza Pirate	Included	Included
Seaday Brunch	Included	Included
Seafood Shack	Extra Charge	Extra Charge
Steakhouse	Extra Charge	Extra Charge
Steakhouse Selections	Extra Charge	Extra Charge
Swirls	Included	Included
The Captain’s Pasta Bar	Included	–
The Carnival Deli	Included	Included
The Chef’s Table	Extra Charge	Extra Charge

Breaking Down the Best Choice

While both Carnival Freedom and Breeze have a huge selection of included and speciality dining options, the Breeze has a few more, making this the best ship of the pair in terms of food variety.

If you’d like to sample some of the speciality restaurants, this is a great way to spend any onboard credit you may have. Check out my guide – 12 Ways to Use Your Carnival Onboard Credit Like a Pro for more tips and ideas.

Bars

For somewhere to enjoy a drink, both ships have the same bars, including the RedFrog pub, BlueIguana tequila bar and the Casino Bar. The only difference is that Carnival Breeze also has the SkyBox sports bar where you can catch all the latest games on the big screens and check out the real-time scores and headlines on the panoramic ticker.

Bar	Carnival Breeze	Carnival Freedom
Alchemy Bar	YES	YES
BlueIguana Tequila Bar	YES	YES
Casino Bar	YES	YES
Cheers!	YES	YES
Cruise the Vineyards	YES	YES
Exclusive Carnival Brews	YES	YES
RedFrog Pub	YES	YES
RedFrog Rum Bar	YES	YES
SkyBox Sports Bar	–	YES

Breaking Down the Best Choice

If you’re a sports fan, then Carnival Freedom is the better option of the two ships as you won’t miss any of the latest sports news. However, if you’d rather your other half didn’t spend all of their time glued to the big screen on vacation, then perhaps the Carnival Breeze is the better ship to choose.

Whichever ship you choose, make sure you check out my guide to Carnival drink packages to work out whether you should buy the package in advance or not.

Activities

Both Carnival Breeze and Carnival Freedom have so many activities to enjoy that you can never be bored. However, the larger and newer ship, Carnival Breeze has a few more things up on the top deck, including the SportSquare where you can play games like football and ping-pong as well as the high ropes course with epic views over the ocean.

Activity	Carnival Breeze	Carnival Freedom
Alchemy Martini Tasting	Extra Charge	Extra Charge
Art Auctions	Included	Included
Art Exhibitions	Included	Included
Art Games	Included	Included
Art Seminars	Included	Included
Atrium	Included	Included
Basketball	Included	Included
Bingo	Extra Charge	Extra Charge
Cooking Demonstration	Included	Included
Games	Included	Included
Library	Included	Included
Make It With Michaels	Included	Included
Master the Martini	Extra Charge	–
Military Appreciation	Included	Included
Mini Golf	Included	Included
Mixologist Competitions	Included	Included
Ocean Plaza	Included	–
Pools	Included	Included
Serenity Adult Only Retreat	Included	Included
SkyCourse	Included	–
SportSquare	Included	–
Twister Waterslide	Included	Included
Volleyball	Included	–
WaterWorks	Included	Included

Breaking Down the Best Choice

Although Carnival Freedom has been recently upgraded to add the waterpark with slides and a giant tipping bucket, the newer and larger Carnival Breeze still has the edge with more activities to enjoy on board.

Entertainment & Events

Both Carnival Breeze and Carnival Freedom have plenty of entertainment on offer throughout the day and late into the night.

The slightly larger ship, Carnival Breeze, features the Thrill Theater – a small 3D movie theatre with moving seats and lots of special effects for total cinematic immersion. Tickets cost $5.50 each.

Entertainment Venue	Carnival Breeze	Carnival Freedom
Dive-In Movies	Included	Included
Karaoke	Included	Included
Lip Sync Battle: Carnival	Included	Included
Live Music	Included	Included
Nightclub	Included	Included
Piano Bar	Included	Included
Playlist Productions	Included	Included
The Punchliner Comedy Club	Included	Included
Thrill Theater	Extra Charge	–

On a Carnival cruise, you can attend a variety of organised events during your vacation. If you like to dress up in costume then don’t miss the White Hot Night on the Breeze and the 80s Night on the Freedom.

Event	Carnival Breeze	Carnival Freedom
Mega Deck Party	Included	Included
80s Night	–	Included
White Hot Night Party	Included	–
Groove for St. Jude	Extra Charge	Extra Charge
Holidays Aboard	Included	Included
Sailaway Party	Included	Included

Breaking Down the Best Choice

When it comes to entertainment, there’s not much in it to distinguish between Carnival Breeze and Carnival Freedom. The Breeze has a slight edge because it has the 3D movie theater and White Night is always a great party that’s easy to dress for.

Kids Facilities

Carnival is definitely one of the best cruise lines for families and kids of all ages are sure to love the non-stop fun.

Activity	Carnival Breeze	Carnival Freedom
Arts and Crafts	Included	Included
Build-A-Bear Workshop at Sea	Extra Charge	Extra Charge
Camp Ocean	Included	Included
Circle “C”	Included	Included
Club O2	Included	Included
Dr. Seuss Bookville	–	Included
Green Eggs and Ham Breakfast	Extra Charge	Extra Charge
Night Owls	Extra Charge	Extra Charge
Seuss at Sea	Included	Included
Seuss-A-Palooza Parade	Included	Included
Seuss-a-palooza Story Time	Included	Included
Towel Animal Theater	Included	Included
Video Arcade	Extra Charge	Extra Charge
Zumbini	Included	Included

Breaking Down the Best Choice

Carnival Breeze and Carnival Freedom are almost identical in terms of what they offer for kids. The only real difference is that Freedom features Dr. Seuss Bookville – a children’s library where kids can enjoy reading Dr. Suess books in fun surroundings.

Spa & Fitness

Whether you want to work up a sweat or lie back and relax, Carnival cruise ships offer plenty of spa and fitness facilities.

Like all of the newer Carnival cruise ships, Carnival Breeze features the Cloud9 spa which is an upgraded version of the regular Carnival spa that you’ll find on Carnival Freedom and the older ships.

Both ships offer a range of spa treatments for women and men as well as the dedicated ZSpa which is just for teens.

As well as the standard indoor gym, Carnival Breeze also features the SkyFitness gym, located outside on the top deck! With punching bags and a host of exercise bikes and machines, you can work out while enjoying the best views of the ocean.

Facilities	Carnival Breeze	Carnival Freedom
Acupuncture	Extra Charge	Extra Charge
Cloud 9 Spa	Extra Charge	–
Cloud 9 Spa: Hydrotherapy Pool	Extra Charge	–
Cloud 9 Spa: Thermal Suite	Extra Charge	–
Facial Treatments	Extra Charge	Extra Charge
Fitness Center	Included	Included
Fitness Classes	Extra Charge	Extra Charge
Hair & Beauty Salon	Extra Charge	Extra Charge
Jogging Track	Included	Included
Massage	Extra Charge	Extra Charge
Medi-Spa	Extra Charge	Extra Charge
Men’s Spa Services	Extra Charge	Extra Charge
SkyFitness	Included	–
Spa Carnival	–	Extra Charge
ZSpa	Included	Included

Breaking Down the Best Choice

If wellness is your thing, then there’s no question as to which ship is best. Carnival Breeze wins over Carnival Freedom thanks to the Cloud9 Spa and the outdoor gym.

The Overall Verdict

After comparing these two Carnival cruise ships in detail, I would say that Carnival Breeze is the better ship overall compared to Carnival Freedom. The Breeze is larger, newer and has a larger choice of restaurants, facilities and onboard activities.

However, when choosing between these ships you’ll really want to look at the itineraries. If you’re considering a short cruise to Mexico or the Caribbean, you’ll want to pay close attention to the ports of call on offer as well as working out the cost of getting to the port to begin your trip.

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