munchkin4

On 9/20/2018 at 3:33 PM, riviera said:

I’ll answer my own question as we were in Grand Turk today. The shuttle is up and running. It is very nice with a 2 hour tour and 4 stops. The guide was great and we loved it. Cost is $34.95 and you go into the pier area and there are kiosks for tours. Sign up there and YES you use your ship card to pay.

 

 

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We will be there in January on Carnival Sunrise and this sounds awesome.  Do you remember the specific name of the company/kiosk you used??  And by paying with ship's card I'm guessing you mean our sign and sail card??   Thanks!!

I forgot to ask you, how was Fish n Chips?

Sorry it took so long for me to reply....unfortunately I must work at some point. I thought the Fish 'n' Chips was good. Similar to Long John Silvers. DH not so much. He told me last night he didn't think it was worth the walk up the stairs. You have to access it from inside the Lido Buffet. They do have several other things beside fish and fries. Probably worth a look.

Agreed!! I hung mine on the hooks on inside of door. I think they don't want it hanging over the door which might damage it.

Last & Random Thoughts

I did say I would give my thoughts on the American Table Menu. It was okay but in my opinion not spectacular. I had no problem with not having table cloths. And there was something every night that we could find to eat. But we didn’t eat there the last 2 nights (which is unusual for us) because nothing just came out and grabbed us. It was all good and food was hot and service was excellent….but it just wasn’t quite “there”. It is really hard to explain but the choices just were what I was used to. Now that is not to say they weren’t good. Change is good and I really want to give it another chance before I give final judgement.

The internet was fine. I had no problem with the price and it seemed fast enough for us. I loved the Hub App. Instead of carrying the Fun Times, I used it. I had my phone with me most of the time anyway to use as a camera so it fit perfectly.

Our room steward, Puta, was terrific. He took excellent care of us without being pushy. Always a friendly smile.

Our overall cruise experience met and maybe even exceeded our expectations. The Carnival Freedom is a beautiful ship and the staff was wonderful. We have absolutely no complaints and look forward to sailing on her again.

I'll be happy to answer any questions. I'll monitor this for a few days. And hopefully I can get the pictures posted soon. Happy Sailing!!!

Day 4

Cozumel

We have been to Nachi Cocum and Playa Uva beaches and even did a educational thing about the history of the area a couple of years ago so we tried Paradise Beach this year. Again, debarkation went very smooth. We walked through the many shops to get to the taxi area. I think we stood in line about 10 minutes. As we got to the front, a young couple next to us said they were also going to Paradise so we shared a taxi with them. The cost was $15 for 1-4 people plus a tip.

Paradise Beach is beautiful. The charge to get in was $3 each. They do ask that you spend at least $10 on food or drink. They also have a wrist band you can purchase which gives you access to inflatable toys in the water. After paying, we were taken to chair right up front. They didn’t have the umbrellas out as it was too windy. The water was very cold so we mostly just enjoyed the sun and people watching. We had several drinks which were very good the settled up and headed back to the ship. We got there a little after noon. We might have stayed longer if we’d had umbrellas for shade.

After lunch, we stumbled upon the trivia games in the Atrium Lobby. We stayed for several of those and it was a lot of fun. Some people get really serious about these games.

We did not eat in the Main Dining Room tonight, opting for pizza and buffet and more casino time. Hubby hit his points in the Casino to qualify for Drinks on Us. Neither of us are huge drinkers, but do enjoy once in awhile, especially when someone else is buying.

Day 5

At Sea

We both have very involved jobs, so relaxing is a big must for us. This is exactly what we did on this day. Not much of anything!!! We attended the ice carving on the Lido deck and had lunch at Fish ‘N’ Chips and dessert from the Chocolate Extravaganza. I spent the afternoon packing.

Since we are Gold card holders, we waited around until 5 pm for our free drink. I chose a Choclotini and hubby had a Tiramisu. They were both very good but extremely strong so that is about all we did for the night!! Supper was at Guys Burgers with a late night pizza snack.

Last Day

We purchased 5 bottles of liquor so hubby was there to pick it up at 6 am. He said that went smoothly. We were doing self-assist for the first time and I really wanted to try to pack our bottles in a suitcase to make it easier to carry. It worked well and we were at the Lido for breakfast just after it opened. After breakfast, we finished little things in our cabin and decided to head to one of the designated waiting areas on Deck 5. They had made the first call for Deck 7 to begin self-assist. I don’t think we’d been there 10 minutes when Malcolm came by and told everyone sitting there that was doing self-assist to go ahead. We headed to the elevator and it was 8:00 am. We were off the ship, through customs (we did wait in line here), and on the Lighthouse shuttle by 8:50. I was very impressed. Not that I wanted to leave the ship but knew we had a long drive home. You will have to pay a tax in Galveston for liquor purchased. Old law just decided to implement. It is by volume so know the size of your bottles. The only one I remember is 750ml is $3.50.

It was a great cruise and we loved every minute of our time on the Freedom.

Day 2

Day at Sea

Since we are early risers for work, it is hard for us to sleep late while on vacation. So we were ready for coffee and food when the Lido buffet opened. We had a leisurely breakfast and coffee time. And then we wandered a bit. Just relaxing and enjoying. We played in the casino and looked in the shops and sat on deck. It was really great and I love sea days. Just before lunch they had a Mardi Gras Mask making class. They provided everything including masks, feathers, jewels, etc. It was really fun. Hubby did not participate, but I did make him a mask. Lunch was at the Lido buffet and then casino and naps until dinner in the Main Dining Room for Elegant Night. After dinner, we went to the International Lounge to see the comedian. Tommy Drake was very funny. This was the family friendly show and we were basically killing time. It was great and we had every intention of going another night but just didn’t make it. We participated in the Mardi Gras Parade and Party. There was lots of laughter and dancing and shouting. It was a lot of fun. This usually isn’t something we take part in, but are so glad we did this cruise. Since we have taken the same itinerary several times, we try to do something different each cruise. The Mardi Gras celebration was great!

This is where I must say something about Malcolm, our cruise director. I think he was one of the best we have ever had. He made things so much fun and acted crazy but had everything under control. He made our cruise so much more enjoyable. You can tell he really loves his job.

Day 3

Progreso

We were up early as usual for breakfast on the Lido. I think we docked about 7:30 am. We took our time getting ready to go into Progreso as we did not have an excursion planned and we knew many others did. When we finally got off, it went very quickly. We walked through the shop area to the busses that take you into town. There was very little waiting. Our goal for Progreso was a massage on the beach. We walked to the end of the beach area and back just looking. I guess it was still early because nothing was open and none of the chairs and umbrellas were out. On our way back we decided to get the massage. It was $30 for 2 people for 30 minutes. A bargain, so we went for it. They did an excellent job. It was now about time for lunch so we headed back to ship and lunch at the Blue Iquana. We spent part of the afternoon in the hot tub.

I was somewhat disappointed that we missed the Love and Marriage Show as that is one of our favorites. It was a late night show and due to our work schedules, we just couldn’t stay up that late. We didn’t want to get too far off our routine and make going back to work that much harder so we didn’t do too much late night stuff. We also wanted to watch one of the outside movies, but the wind blew most of our cruise and it was a bit chilly at times.

Note: I have pictures to post but am having trouble with that so be patient and hopefully I'll get them soon.

Embarkation and Day 1

Just some thoughts about our trip and for those of you looking to sail on the Freedom. I understand that her itinerary has changed.

We chose this cruise because my husband got a Player’s Club Offer and it was too good to pass up. We live in Northern Oklahoma so Galveston is about a 9 hour drive for us. We drove to our daughter’s in Oklahoma City on Saturday so that cut a couple hours off our trip. We left bright and early Sunday morning (about 4 am which is our usual get up for work time) and headed south. The drive was uneventful for the most part. We love to picnic so I had packed a lunch and our plans were to stop somewhere along the way. South of Huntsville, we saw the signs for a State Park. We thought this would be perfect so we took the exit. As we got closer there was a line of cars. After waiting about 30 minutes, we got close enough to ask what was going on. Come to find out, they charge $5 per person to get in to the park. Since we were only planning on about a 20 minute stop we decided to pass and made a U-turn. Ended up eating our picnic in the pick-up in the parking lot of a convenience store. But it gave us a memory and a good laugh.

Arrived in Galveston and stopped at Wal-Mart first as we wanted to buy hats to wear. Next stop was the Red Roof Inn on Seawall (formerly Best Western). We had stayed here several times when it was a Best Western and were always pleased. Now, I got a really good price for this room (less than $50) and I got what I paid for. I will say the room was very clean. It had several cosmetic touch ups that were needed but those can be overlooked. The breakfast, which stated waffles, was a little to be desired. There were waffles, but they were the frozen kind you put in the toaster. The only other thing were cereal and bagels and a little bit of fruit. It just wasn’t what I was used to from when it was the Best Western so we were a little disappointed. But…..the room was clean. After resting for a bit we went to The Spot for supper. This place is excellent!! In fact, the servings were so large that we ordered way too much food. We got the seafood platter to share and were going to also share nachos. They were a meal in itself. But it all was very good. Neat place and plan on going back.

Galveston now does the staggered embarkation and our time was 10 am. We did not purchase Faster To The Fun. We left the motel at 9:30 am and drove to Lighthouse Parking. Got luggage loaded and on the shuttle and to the port. By the time we found a porter and headed toward the building it was about 5 minutes til 10. They had several Carnival employees verifying your check in time along the way. At one point, I noticed a line of people along the wall that I’m guessing were early and having to wait. We walked right in the building, through security and up the escalator and right to the check in desk. We received Zone 2 for boarding and sat down to wait. It was probably about 10:30 ish. Our wait really wasn’t long. Embarkation went very smooth and by 11:45 I was eating my Guy’s Burger and drinking my Red Frog Beer.

I honestly cannot say if the staggered times makes the lines any shorter or makes the process smoother. This is about the same time we always show up to the port and we’ve never had to wait. For those that showed up later and had to wait, I’m sure it made a difference.

We wandered the ship until 1:30 so we could get in our stateroom. I had read several reviews that the Freedom was showing her age, needed work, out dated, etc. So I tried to take specific notice to find things wrong to see if these claims were valid. Honestly, I couldn’t find anything. There were no stains on carpets or upholstered chairs. We were on Main Deck Aft and there was no foul smells in that area. Since we were Aft, we often had to walk the length of the ship and never smelled anything foul in any of the hallways. I saw no paint chipping. The décor was spectacular. Everything was very clean and shiny and in really great shape. And I looked really hard!! After the muster drill we went to the Lido for sail away. It was a bit windy and chilly so we didn’t stay long. Our luggage was there shortly so I unpacked and got ready for dinner in the Main Dining Room. We chose Your Time Dining so we were in the Chic which is forward. I will post menus and thoughts on the American Table later.

Thanks everyone! That was a big help!

We usually purchase alcohol on board but this is the first time we will do the Self Assist Debarkation. I know that they now make you pick up purchased alcohol on that morning. Is the "picking up the alcohol" time early enough that we'll still have time to pack it and do the self assist??? Or will we just need to pick it up on the way and carry it off?? Not having done the self assist, I can't remember what time they have you begin getting off. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

John Heald is supposed to post the February movies on his Facebook page sometime today.

Enjoying your review. Definitely not too long! Looking forward to being on the Freedom in 10 days. We have sailed this itinerary several times but the Freedom will be new for us.

I'd be nervous too and I'd be calling Carnival to make sure everything is okay. Good Luck!!

The responses are interesting to me.

 

Even though we don't cruise as often as most we have been lucky enough to travel the world over a couple times now. Never once have we used a travel agent. I do the planning and booking online. Usually with online travel sites. Never once have we missed as much as a train or plane connection and never have we had an issue at a hotel with our reservations. Not once. I do believe in a former life, I was a travel agent. lol I love to do the planning and I book everything down to the exact nano second. I know where we'll be when we'll be there and who I'll be speaking with when we get there. Doesn't matter if it's across the street or 15 or 20 thousand miles away. I'm in charge.

Like you, we don't use a travel agent.....I do it all myself by doing my research and my own booking. I do use a PVP for Carnival mainly because if I have any issues I can just email her and she takes care of it. BEFORE I call my PVP though, I have done my homework on the Carnival site. I know exactly what cabin I want and anything else she might need to know. I just like the assurance that she can help me out if something comes up.

PVP!! Couldn't do it without her!!

I'm trying to book a cruise my wife and I have been planning for 4 months. I know I should've found a way to book it sooner but we were waiting on a reimbursement check to pay for it. Now we have the check and I can't find a single sailing for the Liberty on the southern carribbean itinerary, especially the feburary 28th that we want!

 

Does this happen often, there were plenty of rooms available a few days ago, I find it hard to believe that all rooms filled since I last checked on Friday for all sailings in February.

 

Hope I didn't really screw up!

If you've never dealt with Carnival you probably don't have a PVP (Personal Vacation Planner). If you do have a PVP then I would call them immediately. It is a free service but they can be invaluable. If you don't have a PVP, call Carnival and they will assign you one. Let them see what they can do. Mine is awesome and unfortunately I cannot give you her name on here. Good Luck!

Power strips without surge suppressors can and do have pushbutton circuit breakers/on-off switches. And power strips with surge suppressors don't always have a pushbutton switch/breaker. The two functions have nothing to do with each other.

 

If you look at the fine print on the back of the power strip, if it says things like "650 joules protection" or "520v clamping voltage" then it has a surge suppressor. The key words are "joules" of energy and "clamping voltage" or the voltage where the surge suppressor starts conducting to ground. Absent these words, it does not have a surge suppressor.

 

Another tip, if there is a small green LED that says "protected" on it (like the Belkin does), then it has a surge suppressor. If it is the pushbutton that lights up when switched on, that is not a surge suppressor.

Thank you so much!! I looked at the ones we had here at the office and sure enough most of them actually say "surge suppressor" (in very small letters, I might add) on the back. But now I know what to look for. I'm printing out your post to use when I go to Wal-Mart!!!

All of the lines I have seen in Galveston are very long. By the time we usually get off, that warehouse is a nightmare! Even though we usually only have 1-2 bags for each of us, we always use a porter because they by-pass those lines and get you right through Customs. If we can just walk off and right through customs then we won't need a porter.

Has anybody ever laminated them and then zip-tied them on? That's what I'm planning on. Hope it works.

This is what I do all the time. I have access to a laminator at work so that makes is easy for me. I punch a hole and attach with zip ties. Since we usually drive the day before, I attach them before we leave the house.

I'm guessing that if a power strip doesn't say "Surge Protection" then it doesn't have it????? Is there a way to tell just by looking at it??? I've seen several that have On/Off switches but that isn't necessarily surge protection is it???

Absolutely and you should. Much quicker.

We have always used them but never done self assist. We drive to the port so we are in one of the last groups to get off. But the drive is long (9 hours) so we'd like to get on the road. Thinking self assist might be quicker.

Thanks for your help!

Refresh my memory.....if we get off the ship using the self-assist method, we can still get the porters once we get in the terminal/warehouse to get us through the customs line and outside.......correct????

I try to print it only a few days before our cruise because they change the rules at the drop of a hat and without notice. It should print the date at the bottom of your page. Good Luck!!

We are considering staying on board at Progresso also. We've been there several times. I plan on taking advantage of the water slide. I'm a kid when it comes to that and it is usually less crowded on port days.

We sail out of Galveston on most of our cruises. We only live about 8 hours away so we usually drive down a day or two before. As for where to stay, it depends on what you want. We have stayed at Red Roof Inn and Quality Inn & Suites Beachfront. They are less expensive and I have found them both to be clean and nice. They also serve a free breakfast and I'm pretty sure they have shuttle service to take you to the pier. The main reason we stay at these places is they are across from the beach which means we can take evening and morning walks which are one of my favorite things to do. They are also next door to a Starbucks (Inside Kroger Grocery) which is my other "Vacation Vice". There are several other "resorts" along the seawall where you have access to the beach also. Just depends on what you want and your budget. While most of them time when we travel, we stay in more high-end hotels, these are what works for us in Galveston.

Sorry I can't help with the transportation issue. You might check into a rental car though. When we sailed out of Port Canaveral, we found it cheaper to rent a car for a day than to take the shuttle. We then picked up another car when the cruise was over. It also gave us the freedom to get where we wanted during our stay.

Let me know if you have any other questions.

I always pack my fan in carry on now. A few years back on one of my cruises out of Puerto Rico I got called down to luggage security area and they confiscated my fan. I tried to tell him that I had done the same cruise out of there two years in a row prior to this one with my fan and no problems. He didn't believe me and argued that I was wrong so he kept my fan. I was seriously mad because I can't sleep without a fan either (didn't really sleep all week). Later as I thought about it I realized that the other two times I had done the cruise out of there I had my fan in carry on. So the next and last time two years later that I did that cruise again I brought my fan carry on with no problem. The funny thing is when he opened suitcase to take fan my steamer was right there and he left it.:confused:

I print out the list from the Carnival website that shows fans and power strips are allowed. Then if they try to take those from me.....I can show them! I've never really had any problems but will be taking my fan in my Carry-On along with my wine!