Jamman54

Thanks for hopping aboard. Welcome to Cruise Critic!

I'm thinking that you're going to need to plan for transportation after each leg. If your Royal ship is the only one in port that day, you will dock at Terminal 1. If there is more than one royal ship, you could be docking at Terminals 5 or 6. The Glory, which is taking over for the Liberty, will dock at Terminal 3, the same one used by the Mardi Gras. The Freedom usually docks at Terminal 6. None of these scenarios are conducive to walking.

It's about time you got here! Welcome aboard!

The Pizza Pirate is back here on the Port side….. The Seafood Shack is across the way on the Starboard side….. Across from the Seafood Shack is a Swirls….. Patti heads forward into the Freedom Restaurant and finds a Bonsai Sushi Express on the Starboard side….. On the other side, on the Port side, Patti finds the Deli….. All the way forward in the Freedom Restaurant, you’ll find the Mongolian Wok….. To be continued…..

Patti catches me at the Red Frog Rum Bar….. Here are a couple more Timeless Pool views….. Delano is entertaining us with his Caribbean sounds….. Here are the Blue Iguana Tequila Bar, and the Red Frog Rum Bar….. Patti next heads all the way aft on Deck 9 to the Endless Pool and hot tubs….. This is the Endless Pool Bar….. To be continued…..

This is the Camp Ocean Playground, located on Deck 12 Forward, Port Side….. Pool tables and table tennis also on Deck 12 Forward, Port Side….. Here are a couple of views of Water Works….. Looking at the Timeless Pool hot tubs….. To be continued…..

Patti heads up to Serenity on Decks 12 & 14 forward….. Looking aft from the top of the slides on Deck 14….. To be continued…..

Patti checks out the Women’s Locker Room…… Here are the Women’s Sauna and Steam Room….. Here are the Beauty Salon and Massage Room….. To be continued…..

Patti heads all the way forward on Deck 11 to the Fitness Center….. To be continued…..

Thanks for coming along for the ride! Be sure to take notes! When you sail on her she'll have a brand new Whale Tail. Thanks for following along! Our balcony was on your side as we sailed out. Did you see us waving back?

There’s a couple pieces of exercise equipment back here….. This is where the jogging track is located….. The Sports Court is in front of the funnel….. There’s the parking garage where our car is….. Here are a couple of views of the Timeless Pool area….. Looking towards the stadium seating and the Water Works….. To be continued…..

It takes the newbies a few days to find this place, so for now it is almost completely deserted….. Looking down at the Sweet Spot from Deck 10….. Now that we have eaten, Patti is going to begin her picture tour, while I head over to the Red Frog Rum Bar. Patti heads up to Deck 11 aft, and the mini-golf course….. To be continued…..

Patti steps outside and takes these pictures of the Disney Fantasy, Norwegian Escape, and Wonder of the Seas….. It’s time to get muster out of the way. Our muster station is “G”, which all the way aft on the starboard side on Deck 4. We cut through the Chic Restaurant on the way back there. This is the restaurant used for Your Time Dining (YTD)….. After muster we head up to our cabin to drop off our carry-ons. The cabin isn’t ready yet, but we meet our cabin steward, Agung, and let him know we’ll be leaving our carry-ons in the closet. No problem. We’re getting hungry, so we head up to the Lido buffet on Deck 9, which is called the Freedom Restaurant. Here is today’s buffet menu and carving station….. We decided to go to the Ol’ Fashioned BBQ up on Deck 10….. Here is my plate….. Here is Patti’s plate….. Patti had gone down to the buffet to make a salad, and she brought me back a bowl of jambalaya….. To be continued…..

The picture was taken when we got there around 4pm. It got a lot busier as the evening wore on.

Yes, the Lobby Bar can get chaotic once embarkation really gets rolling. We'll head elsewhere once it starts to crowd up. Hey Barb! Glad to have you along for the ride again!

Now that we are on board, here are today’s “Fun Times”….. The first stop of course, is the Lobby Bar….. Here are our first drinks of the cruise….. Here are the menus at the Lobby Bar….. Guest Services and Carnival Adventures are both located in the Millennium Lobby….. To be continued…..

After eating, we went back to the room and finalized our packing and attached the tags. We checked out of the hotel at 8:45am and made the drive over to Terminal 6 where the Freedom was waiting for us….. After dropping off our bags with the porters, we pulled into the parking garage. We were parked a little after 9. As we exited the garage, Patti took this picture of our location in the garage. We are old people you know! We found the priority line and got in it. We were the second people in line…. They opened the doors at 9:30am, and we began the check-In process. Everything went very smoothly. Because we are stopping at Grand Turk, they asked us if we were vaccinated, but didn’t ask to see our cards. We were directed upstairs to the Diamond seats. We were seated by 9:45am. At 10:45am they began boarding. They announced the order of boarding as follows: Diamond, Platinum, Suites, FTTF, Boarding zones. We were the first ones to board the ship. Here we are happily heading up the gangway….. On the Freedom you board into the Millennium Lobby….. To be continued…..

Day # 4 - (January 7th) - We board Ol’ Stubby!! We are up to a sunny, though a cool 57 degree day, here in Port Canaveral. It’s embarkation day! Looking out our window, we can see the Mardi Gras over at Terminal 3….. Patti heads down the hallways to get pictures of some of the other ships in port today. Here is the Wonder of the Seas….. This is the Norwegian Escape……. And finally, the Carnival Freedom. Texas Teach in one of his Mardi Gras reviews, referred to her as Ol’ Stubby, so I’ll give him the credit. I think that it’s the perfect nickname for her now. She will be getting a new Whale Tail in October….. The Disney Fantasy is also in port today, and we will have pictures of her a little later. Now it was time to partake of the free breakfast that the hotel provides. There are two breakfast areas. One is on the Hampton Inn side of the lobby, and one is on the Home2Suites side. You can eat at one or the other, or even both of you choose. Here are some views of the breakfast area on the Hampton Inn side….. Here are some views of the breakfast area on the Home2Suites side….. To be continued…..

Are you sure that wasn't the Mariner? Patti's zoom got a good look at that one, but not on the Independence.

Hey Karry! You're not late as we are just getting ready to board the Freedom! I was ready to start a little earlier than I thought. Glad to have you on board once again! Yep! Thanks for following along again!

Thanks for coming along for the ride once again! Thanks for following along once again, and for your kind words. It's our pleasure to do them!

It was great seeing you guys again aboard the Freedom. It's been much too long. We also had a great time, and I see you've added some more Freedom cruises! Thanks for pointing out that we indeed stayed at the COUNTRY Inn and suites in Kingsland, Georgia. I don't know how I messed that up since we have stayed there over a dozen times, and we'll be back there in April. Must have been a "senior" moment, and to top it off, I messed up on two posts!

Glad to have you along once again! What have you guys been up to since last we saw you? Hey Heather! Our review wouldn't be complete without you! Thanks for jumping on board yet again. You know I have to say it, Go Devils!!!

Yay! Back at you! We can always count on you to be along for the ride. Thanks for following along, and your kind words. Welcome aboard!

We sure missed you guys on the Spirit, but things happen for a reason, and it seems to be working out just perfectly for you. I'm sure we will all cruise together again at some point. Yes, we will be heading up to Orlando for five days after our Celebration cruise, so for sure we can get together. I'll send you the dates as we get closer.