Carnival's Version of Freedom ...
From Ancient China to Art Nouveau: Carnival Freedom, debuting next March, features interiors from ancient Babylonia onward. Shaping up at Italy’s Fincantieri shipyard, the 2,974-passenger Freedom enters service in 2007 with 12-day Med cruises —including the line’s first-ever visit to the Greek Isles and Turkey — starting March 14. As usual, Joe Farcus, CCL's ship architect, has outdone himself on decor. Freedom’s Millennium atrium transports to the near-future with iridescent lacquers and veneer dyed like tiger skin. The Victoriana show lounge, hailing Queen Victoria, evokes London West End theater with ornate moldings, fancy marble, gold leaf and pre-Raphaelite paintings. Chic and Posh dining rooms reflect the 1990s, with python skin patterns. Named after Louis XIV, Sun King Supper Club represents 18th-century glory, with chandeliers, tapestries, and a trompe l’oeil mural. Player’s Sport Bar highlights the '50s. Bar Nouveau steps back to the 1890s. Babylon Casino recalls Hammurabi's palace . Poolside Freedom Restaurant has Statue of Liberty replications. Habana Cigar Bar has stogie-like stools, Monticello Library brings American colonial to mind, and Dynasty Room pays homage to ancient China. Freedom's Grand and Med & Greek Isles cruises are from Rome. Med & Greeks, for instance, sail March 14, 26, April 7, 19, June 18, Aug. 5, and Sept. 22, for Naples, Rhodes, Ephesus, and Istanbul, Athens, Katakolon, and Livorno. Details? Call 800-CARNIVAL.