Freedom Eastern Caribbean - 5/23/09 Sailing

Hello to all cruisers interested in the Freedom!

We just returned from the 8 day Eastern Caribbean cruise (San Juan, St. Thomas, Antigua, Tortola, Nassau) that sailed on 5/23/09. Since we benefited so greatly from the trip reports of others, and since there appears to be an insatiable appetite for details (especially about the Freedom and this itinerary), we wanted to share our experiences.

A little background – on this trip there was myself, my DW, and our 8 year old DS. This was our first cruise, so you’ll get observations through the unspoiled eyes of new cruisers. We had a Cat 11 suite on the Empress deck - #7282. More on that in a bit.

I hope to provide a fair bit of detail, probably spread over several posts and several days. Again, many of you hunger for details, so I’ll do my best to provide them and will also answer any questions you have. One final prelude – we had a wonderful group of Cruise Critic people on board. It wasn’t an “official” CC cruise, but we had a large roll call (had over 100 registered cruisers on it), and about 25-30 active people who came to the meet & greet and hung out together throughout the cruise. That was fantastic and I highly recommend getting involved in your cruise roll call. It will only enhance your vacation!

Okay, where to begin? Hmm…how about the monsoon that was Florida the week we were to sail? We chose to drive from Alabama to FLL for a couple of reasons. Our first drive took us to St. Augustine. And it didn’t stop raining the whole way. Ugh! We wanted to spend some time exploring that interesting, historic town before continuing on to FLL, but once again, rain, rain, and more rain. So we drove around, decided to pass, and pointed the car south.

We actually saw the sun twice during the trip down I-95. Much celebration commenced in the car. At least as much of a happy dance as you can do with a seatbelt on! :D But it was short lived, and we were teased between rays of sunshine and angry clouds.

We stayed the night before embarking at the Embassy Suites near the port. Great location and I love that chain. It was especially interesting because it was the host hotel for the North American Chinese basketball tournament, so most of the guests were young, athletic Asians – almost felt like being in China. They were a really nice group of people - enjoyed talking hoops with several of them. Dinner that night was a walk across the street to Outback. Not my favorite place, but it was easy and low key. Just what we wanted since we were so excited about getting to the port the next day.

FINALLY! Sail day arrived. We could see the beautiful Freedom from the top floor of the hotel. It was still a grey day and very windy, but it wasn’t raining! Woohoo! We made the 5 minute drive to the port (the hotel is very convenient!). Wow, swarms of people. :eek: And this was about 10:45am – before the rush. Dropped off the bags, parked the car, made a mental note (3 times) of where the car was left, and started the check in process.

Checkin was flawless for us. Since we were in a suite, we had VIP status. Basically that moved us to the head of the line for getting Sign and Sail cards. Felt guilty about that, but it came with the real estate, right? We were checked in in less than 10 minutes. But others were moving through the line quickly too – I’d guess about 20-30 minutes. We waited in the lounge a bit until they opened the doors around 11:30. Got the first (of many) pictures taken, up the gangplank, and WOW, we’re on board!

Our eyes were wide open and heads swiveling around as we tried to take it all in. Now this look and behavior may be a common affliction of first time cruisers, but I think even jaded veterans get excited, especially about a ship as spectacular as the Freedom. We found a table on the Lido deck and began to eat. This will be a common theme during this review. Eat. then eat more. Then see if you can eat a little more.

After the gorging, we explored the ship, aft to stern, port to starboard (great nautical talk for a rookie, huh?) :cool:. We found our cabin and were really happy. The location was perfect – two flights down from Lido, two up from Promenade – noise insulation from the common areas yet easy access. 7282 is just about 10 cabins down the hall from the main atrium elevators, and generally midship, so again, great access. The suite was spacious – about like a standard hotel room. King sized bed, with a couch that folded out to a twin size for our son. Big balcony - four chairs and a small table. Tons and tons of storage area. There were three closets for hanging clothes, and more drawers than we needed (and we overpacked!). A desk with minibar and more storage area. It had a nice little dressing room just off the large bathroom that had two sinks. And a jetted tub. Another question I see on these boards – yes, it had a DVD/VCR player. We were a very happy family.

Okay, it’s been a long day, going to call it over!

Tomorrow – will post pictures and more pictures, and will cover days at sea, food, and get started talking about the ports.

Talk to you later!

We're sailing on the Freedom this Saturday 6/6, but the western/southern caribbean. I am so excited with anticipation I can hardly stand myself. Reading and looking at pictures from your review will be great and make my anticipation even more. Just five more full days of work and we will be on ourway.

Could you please tell if there are laundry rooms with ironing boards on every floor?

Can't wait to keep reading your review, please keep it coming!!!!

Hello to all cruisers interested in the Freedom!

 

We just returned from the 8 day Eastern Caribbean cruise (San Juan, St. Thomas, Antigua, Tortola, Nassau) that sailed on 5/23/09. Since we benefited so greatly from the trip reports of others, and since there appears to be an insatiable appetite for details (especially about the Freedom and this itinerary), we wanted to share our experiences.

 

A little background – on this trip there was myself, my DW, and our 8 year old DS. This was our first cruise, so you’ll get observations through the unspoiled eyes of new cruisers. We had a Cat 11 suite on the Empress deck - #7282. More on that in a bit.

 

I hope to provide a fair bit of detail, probably spread over several posts and several days. Again, many of you hunger for details, so I’ll do my best to provide them and will also answer any questions you have. One final prelude – we had a wonderful group of Cruise Critic people on board. It wasn’t an “official” CC cruise, but we had a large roll call (had over 100 registered cruisers on it), and about 25-30 active people who came to the meet & greet and hung out together throughout the cruise. That was fantastic and I highly recommend getting involved in your cruise roll call. It will only enhance your vacation!

 

Okay, where to begin? Hmm…how about the monsoon that was Florida the week we were to sail? We chose to drive from Alabama to FLL for a couple of reasons. Our first drive took us to St. Augustine. And it didn’t stop raining the whole way. Ugh! We wanted to spend some time exploring that interesting, historic town before continuing on to FLL, but once again, rain, rain, and more rain. So we drove around, decided to pass, and pointed the car south.

 

We actually saw the sun twice during the trip down I-95. Much celebration commenced in the car. At least as much of a happy dance as you can do with a seatbelt on! :D But it was short lived, and we were teased between rays of sunshine and angry clouds.

 

We stayed the night before embarking at the Embassy Suites near the port. Great location and I love that chain. It was especially interesting because it was the host hotel for the North American Chinese basketball tournament, so most of the guests were young, athletic Asians – almost felt like being in China. They were a really nice group of people - enjoyed talking hoops with several of them. Dinner that night was a walk across the street to Outback. Not my favorite place, but it was easy and low key. Just what we wanted since we were so excited about getting to the port the next day.

 

FINALLY! Sail day arrived. We could see the beautiful Freedom from the top floor of the hotel. It was still a grey day and very windy, but it wasn’t raining! Woohoo! We made the 5 minute drive to the port (the hotel is very convenient!). Wow, swarms of people. :eek: And this was about 10:45am – before the rush. Dropped off the bags, parked the car, made a mental note (3 times) of where the car was left, and started the check in process.

 

Checkin was flawless for us. Since we were in a suite, we had VIP status. Basically that moved us to the head of the line for getting Sign and Sail cards. Felt guilty about that, but it came with the real estate, right? We were checked in in less than 10 minutes. But others were moving through the line quickly too – I’d guess about 20-30 minutes. We waited in the lounge a bit until they opened the doors around 11:30. Got the first (of many) pictures taken, up the gangplank, and WOW, we’re on board!

 

Our eyes were wide open and heads swiveling around as we tried to take it all in. Now this look and behavior may be a common affliction of first time cruisers, but I think even jaded veterans get excited, especially about a ship as spectacular as the Freedom. We found a table on the Lido deck and began to eat. This will be a common theme during this review. Eat. then eat more. Then see if you can eat a little more.

 

After the gorging, we explored the ship, aft to stern, port to starboard (great nautical talk for a rookie, huh?) :cool:. We found our cabin and were really happy. The location was perfect – two flights down from Lido, two up from Promenade – noise insulation from the common areas yet easy access. 7282 is just about 10 cabins down the hall from the main atrium elevators, and generally midship, so again, great access. The suite was spacious – about like a standard hotel room. King sized bed, with a couch that folded out to a twin size for our son. Big balcony - four chairs and a small table. Tons and tons of storage area. There were three closets for hanging clothes, and more drawers than we needed (and we overpacked!). A desk with minibar and more storage area. It had a nice little dressing room just off the large bathroom that had two sinks. And a jetted tub. Another question I see on these boards – yes, it had a DVD/VCR player. We were a very happy family.

 

Okay, it’s been a long day, going to call it over!

 

Tomorrow – will post pictures and more pictures, and will cover days at sea, food, and get started talking about the ports.

 

Talk to you later!

Wow so happy to see this! I have had such a tough time finding a recent review about the Freedom. We leave on her Nov 7 and will be doing this exact route. Please keep your review flowing and pictures will be wonderful.

We also enjoyed the Freedom. The itinerary is amazing to some ports we had never visited.

San Juan is always a favorite, while Antigua was stunning.

Can't wait for the rest of your review!!

Please also talk about what you did at each port (excursions or none). I am taking the same cruise in January on Freedom and doing my planning this summer.

Could you please tell if there are laundry rooms with ironing boards on every floor?

 

Can't wait to keep reading your review, please keep it coming!!!!

Hi LivetoCruise,

Yes, there are laundry rooms w/ironing boards. I'm not sure they are on every floor. I think maybe every other? There was on on deck 7 where we were. About midship. There are like 4 washers and 4 dryers. But only one iron and board! Often there were a couple of people in line to iron something, especially on elegant nights. Just another opportunity to meet your fellow travelmates!

Please also talk about what you did at each port (excursions or none). I am taking the same cruise in January on Freedom and doing my planning this summer.

newlife - will do. We did a lot of planning to pick our excursions. The boards were really helpful. I'll also try to mention a few things that friends did that they were positive about.

I wish some one would post a review for Freedom with the Costa Rica/Panama intinerary.

Still looking forward to hearing your perspective of the ship. :)

Okay, continuing on with this review. Uploaded some of our pictures, so can add a few along the way!

The Freedom

It's really a beauty. Very noticeable when docked in ports next to other ships. You'll see those pics later when I get to the port reviews :)

Here's the Freedom, from a distance. This was from the top floor of the Embassy Suites. A gray, rainy, day, so its a little fuzzy

We came in the port via the "side" entrance (not off the Freeway/Airport). Here was our first real view of the Freedom. Really exciting stuff when you've been waiting 8 months!!!!!

As I mentioned in the previous post, after eating, we toured around the ship. Here are some pictures of various locations/rooms. The color seems a bit off. Either it's a result of the Carnival "style" overwhelming my camera :rolleyes: or more likely, I was too excited to take time to adjust it!

The grand lobby. From deck 9 (Lido) looking down to deck 3

Okay, have to create another post for more pictures.

Cant wait to read the rest of your review and see some pictures! :D

The Freedom (continued)

Here's the Lido deck, from the slide area looking at one of the pools and the big screen.

And from the other direction - under the big screen looking back across (forward). Look at all the empty chairs! You won't see that again..hehe.

The Casino Bar. We got to know this area quite well :D Made it a personal mission to sample many of their concoctions. I recommend the "Cruiser" - a nice tropical taste with good potency...lol.

Some of the colors seem a bit off. It could be my camera was overwhelmed by the design scheme of Carnival ships :rolleyes:, but more likely, I was too excited to take the time to adjust it right!

Here is the Victoriana Lounge. It's really nice and huge! It's hard to believe you're on a ship when you're sitting in it.

Okay, will post more later. Have some more of the ship, then of the cabin. Eventually will get back to a review of the days and ports. Too much good stuff!

Also, I have capers for each of the days and will scan those in.

Enjoy!

Love the review, cant wait to see the capers, my family leaves on June 20th same itinerary, we have an 11yr old.

We are booked in the same exact cabin, #7282, in Jan '10. We also booked the room across the hall #7284 so this is exciting to see the pics and hear your review! We will be doing the 6 day Western itinerary but love to hear about the ship. More please! :)

Love the review, cant wait to see the capers, my family leaves on June 20th same itinerary, we have an 11yr old.

Our 8 yo loved Camp Carnival. There weren't as many kids as I expected on the whole ship (or they were occupied all the time!). There were 31 kids registered in his age group. Your 11 yo will be the next group. There were always 8-15 kids in that group and looking like they were having a lot of fun.

We are booked in the same exact cabin, #7282, in Jan '10. We also booked the room across the hall #7284 so this is exciting to see the pics and hear your review! We will be doing the 6 day Western itinerary but love to hear about the ship. More please! :)

Check out my review from our 6-day Western Caribbean if you want to see what we did in those ports.

Love Freedom and LOVING this review...Thank you!!!

Check out my review from our 6-day Western Caribbean if you want to see what we did in those ports.

 

Love Freedom and LOVING this review...Thank you!!!

Found it! Thanks! This is fun reading these reviews knowing I'll have my turn soon...but not soon enough!

Hooray for an Eastern Caribbean review on the Freedom! :) Can't wait to see the full review!

Keep the review coming! I'm hungry for more!

hooray for an eastern caribbean review on the freedom! :) can't wait to see the full review!

ditto!!!!!

Okay...you guys asked for more, here you go.

A few more Freedom pics first. You may have seen these on other threads, but in case you haven't, a couple more of various interior locations.

Here is the International Lounge - basically the second largest entertainment area after the Victoriana theatre. Several events held here - daytime and nightime

Here is the Players bar...a sports bar. We didn't hang in here too much, but its got a cool decor

This is Bar Noveau (see the lit sign that are on all the rooms). A wine bar at the end of the Promenade walk through. Great rendezvous location!

This is the Havana Bar...the cigar lounge. There was usually some nice latin, calypso, or swing band playing in here. Beautiful wooden floor. And the internet cafe ("The Web") is hidden off to the side of this bar, took us 3 days to find it!!

Just one more interior shot so I don't bore you to death....this is one of the dining rooms, I think it's the Posh dining, which is in the rear. (Chic is forward) In addition to dinners, this dining room is open for walk-in breakfast and lunches, ordering off menus (in case you don't want to eat buffet at the Lido)

We started off in a booth in the upper level, then relocated to a 10 top table in the main area with some new friends. Dining with new people was one of the highlights of the cruise for us. It's fun to reconnect at the end of a day and see what experiences everyone had!

Cabin pictures coming next! And yes, I'll scan the capers and get to the ports, dining, entertainment....wow, lots of stuff!

We are booked in the same exact cabin, #7282, in Jan '10. We also booked the room across the hall #7284 so this is exciting to see the pics and hear your review! We will be doing the 6 day Western itinerary but love to hear about the ship. More please! :)

We loved the cabin, cruiznfevr! It really is a great location. Quiet (can't hear the community floors above or below like on some decks. Not too much ship movement, but enough gentle rock to lull you too sleep. And our steward was Jerry - great guy, always a smile on and fast, fast, fast service.

Thank you very much for taking the time to do this. We are on the 7/18 Freedom Eastern Itinerary and really appreciate this.

Your photos are amazing. I sail in January on the Freedom, I cant wait.

How was the Mongolian Grill? What type of sauces?

Did any places have HOT WINGS?

We are on the Freedom in November. Thank you for posting and the great pictures:D. Waiting for more................. LU

Thanks for all the nice comments everyone. I'll keep them coming. Sorry its dragging out. Took today off as an extra vacation day. And we're running around, unpacking, doing some errands, loading pics....etc.

Okay, here are a couple of our cabin, 7282. See my first post for a more detailed description. Tons of storage and all the room we needed.

From the entry hallway

King sized bed. That's a luggage pad on it. The bed was comfortable - good mattress, 4 nice feather pillows, and soft linens. It's about on a par with a nice mid-priced hotel - think Hilton/Marriott level. Not a Four Seasons, but not a Motel 6.

And looking back towards the entrance. I don't have pics of the changing room and bathroom. They are on the left as you enter, on the right in the hallway in the pic below