Quick Freedom Review - May 26 though June 2

We are sadly off the Freedom and making our own meals at home once again. Here is a short review of our trip. Sorry there are no pictures as we decided to live and experience the memories through our own eyes.

Galveston

We flew into IAH on Friday and used Galveston Express to transport us to the island. Our driver was right on time, friendly, and social. The price was $30 per person I believe. I strongly recommend this shuttle. The driver dropped us at our bed and breakfast, The Schaefer Haus, which we booked for the night. Great price, well under Motel 6 which was probably priced up due to Memorial Day weekend. Dunn and Rick were extremely hospitable in telling us the history of the house, serving mimosas, and directing us to places to eat. By the way, Sunflower Bakery just a few blocks away served a great breakfast and we will return. Ate at The Spot for supper Friday night. As usual it was great, but they were out of raw oysters unfortunately.

Shortly after arriving in Galveston, my wife and I received our first big surprise. My parents booked a cruise also and had not told us. They had driven in the night before. What a great surprise!

Parents were staying in a hotel in a nearby community, so wife and I used an Uber to get to the terminal. Uber driver was at the BnB in 3 minutes, so we arrived at the terminal 20 minutes before our 11:30 check in appointment. No big deal. We were placed in the early line. Galveston has gotten much quicker with the boarding process and even after being put in the much longer early arrival line, we were in the terminal in our zone at 11:35, about a 20 minute process. All in all we were on the ship within 40 minutes of arriving at the terminal.

The Freedom Food

-The Deli is still made to order. Thank you!!! Ate at the deli several times throughout the week. Corned beef, pastrami, reubens, and tuna were major highlights.

-Blue Iguana Burritos were also incredible. We had these for lunch and breakfast a few times and were always pleased.

-Guys Burgers were ok. Food is subjective. I liked the burgers, but would not stand in a line of over 10 people for one. The fries though were legit.

-Pizza. Still a good product, but unfortunately it seemed that the pizza cooks were the crabbiest workers on the ship. Not impressed with them at all. Also, at 11:30 PM it became Pizza Plus. A meatball hoagie and lasagna were added to the menu. Unfortunately, I wasn't hungry enough to try these at 11:30. Probably due to the 11:15 deli run.

-Buffet. Did not touch it once during the trip. Too happy with the other choices.

-BBQ. Parents tried it. Felt that is was dry and not that good.

Main Dining Room

Quick background - I had contacted the maitre d, Csaba (Chubby) a few weeks before the cruise to try and get us early dining. A week before the cruise, he emailed me back to confirm that he made it happen. Well, now my parents were with us, remember the surprise from Friday. We visited Csaba when we boarded and informed him about the new situation. He said come back at 6:15, seating starts at 6:00, and he would see what he could do. God bless this man. He arranged a table for 4 at early dining. Csaba is the most friendly and engaging maitre d I ever met. My dad told him the same at the end of the cruise and they have been on more than 30 cruises. One night Chubby asked if we would like to do a tasting the next evening. We jumped at the idea. Arrived in the dining room the following evening at 5:00 and were escorted to the galley. They had lined up every appetizer, entree, and dessert for that night. We got to try everything and give our feedback on what the dishes needed. After 30 cruises, my parents are still experiencing new things.

The food in the MDR was superb every night. Is it a 5 star restaurant? Beats me, we don't have many of them in Nebraska, but the food and service blows away the nice places we do have.

Cabin

We stayed in an inside cabin on deck 7. My wife and I use a cabin to sleep and love to be on deck, so we prefer to save money for other activities by getting inside cabins. Our steward was Ivan and he was super friendly every time we saw him. Only complaint was it seemed the AC was not nearly as cool as previous cruises.

Alchemy Bar

I was so excited to try this spot and see what the mixologists could create. I bellied up and said I like drinks along the line of a Old Fashioned or a Gin and Tonic. They pointed to the menu and asked which drink I would like. Don't get me wrong, the menu drinks were outstanding and creative, but the bartenders weren't creating anything new as other reviewers reported.

Red Frog Pub

Thirsty Frog beer needs to be bottled and sold in my hometown. Enough said. I love this place.

Jamaica

Booked a trip to Sunscape Beach. We've visited here before when it was Sunset Beach. Nice all inclusive. Food is average. Drinks are cold and taste good. Pool is nice as are the waterslides. Price point is getting too high though. A value at $60 a few years ago. Not so much at $80.

Grand Cayman

Stayed on the ship as my wife is not about to swim with a sting ray and we've done the shopping here before. Wife visited the spa for a hot stone massage and loved it. Awesome day with no lines for anything.

Cozumel

Two words - Mr. Sanchos. We looooooooove this place and couldn't wait to get back. It seems a lot more people have discovered it over the past four years (I saw three ships in port), but that is ok. Good business should be rewarded. Food is outstanding, especially the seafood ceviche and fajitas. The drinks are amazing especially at the swim up bar. The bathrooms and changing facilities are beautiful and clean. I got a massage while there and was sad that my 30 minutes ended. We will most definitely return. My only caveat is do not buy souvenirs at Sanchos. The same things will be available at the dock shops for a third of the price.

Shows

No input. We discovered night swimming in the aft pool and took advantage of it. This trip was all about relaxation.

Other Passengers

As usual we felt like the extreme northerners on the ship. Everyone is Texas, Oklahoma, and Arkansas. That is ok though as everyone seemed happy, hospitable, and having a good time. Please, thank you, excuse me, and I'm sorry were plentiful throughout the week.

Disembarkation

Man, I wish there was an easy way to get 3000 people off a ship through two doors. It was messy and time consuming as usual, but how wouldn't it be? I hope first time cruisers realize this is just something you have to get through, embrace the wait, and don't let it leave a bad taste in their mouth.

Thank you Freedom. We will return to Carnival again.

Awesome overview! We are sailing on the Freedom soon - so much fun to read about it - thank you for posting!

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I have booked our first Freedom cruise and your review made me smile. So glad you had a good time.

Thanks for posting.

Thank you for the review. We, too, only book inside cabins to save money for other things, especially on our retirement budget. We used to book balcony cabins years ago when we were both employed, and did love sitting out on the balcony for our morning coffee, or a cocktail at sunset, but it wasn’t worth the added cost once we retired. Now, we enjoy that morning coffee or sunset cocktail up on deck.

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