Carnival Freedom 09-06 to 09-12-09

[DJ56]

This was an amazing 6 days on the Freedom. This was my 2nd cruise. Was on the Glory Sept. 2007. Had an oceanview room then and was excited for a balcony this time. So here goes the review: Arrived in FLL on 09-04-09 and stayed at the Holiday Inn Express on the 17th Street Causeway. Chose it since it was close to Port Everglades and had a shuttle from the airport to the hotel. Ate at Carlos & Pepes Mexican just down the street. Excellent! On Saturday just walked around and rode the Sun Trolley for $1.00 down to the beach. Actually rode the whole loop before getting dropped off!! Convenient location of the hotel. They were remodeling the lobby. Will be nice when it is done. The room was very adequate with a microwave and frig in the room. We were on the 4th floor at the end. Sunday morning woke up and looked out the hallway window and could see the Freedom all lit up! Ate breakfast at the hotel and then walked down on the Causeway Bridge and took some beautiful pictures of the Freedom. Took a cab to the port for around $10.00 in total. Had booked a balcony room (my first balcony) on the upper deck. 2 days before leaving got a phone call from Carnival asking if we would like to be upgraded to a suite balcony on the Empress deck for some $'s. Of course we said yes!! Now we are more excited!! Left for the port around 11:00. Was on the ship around noon. Quite congested when we arrived. Since we had a suite we were VIP. The line was much shorter!! Once onboard we went to the Lido deck for some lunch. Then off to our cabin #7239. It was absolutely beautiful. So much room. Muster drill came next. Not bad. On the balcony for sail away. We actually spent quite some time on the balcony. Had fun looking for 'flying fish'....yes! We saw a couple hundred probably over the next 6 days. Totally entertained us! Had the 6:00 p.m. dinner in the Posh lower level. Our table was at the back of the ship center. There were 8 of us at the table. Amazing view of the water and the sunsets were gorgeous. We all got along so well and really had alot of fun. Key West we just walked around. Walked to the Southernmost Point Marker. Very hot and humid. Had a nice (& sweaty!) day in Key West. Next was a day at sea. We did go to the cooking demonstration in the Sun King supper club. That was fun. The marriage game was so funny! Captains cocktail party in the International Lounge. Wednesday was Grand Cayman. booked our excusion through stingraysailing.com. They were wonderful. Picked us up in an airconditioned van. Small group (less than 25) on a catamaran boat. Saw so many star fish and even some lobster on the way out. Very friendly and went out of their way to make sure you have a good enjoyable time with the stingrays. Then went a little farther out where we snorkeled. Even saw an eel there! Saw many beautiful fish. The water was a beautiful light blue. Off we went back to shore. Served bottled water and fruit. You could purchase beer and/or pop. Walked around the shops. Thursday was Ocho Rios, Jamaica. Booked through Carnival the Sky Explorer. Oh my gosh! This was amazing. Rode the Sky Explorer to the top of Mystic Mountain. We were so high up way above the trees. Ocho Rios is just like a jungle. Felt very safe on the Sky Explorer. A small museum at the top, restaurant, gift shop, infinity pool, beautiful flowers and then the awesome Jamaican bobsled ride. Loved, loved the bobsled! The pool was beautiful. Even had a water slide. Also there is an observation deck where you can take amazing pictures of the Freedom off in the distance. We rode the Sky Explorer down to the bottom and then came back up. Really had a fun day. Then went to the Tajmahal Shopping center. Never had an issue about not feeling safe. Friday another day at sea. Just enjoyed our last day on the Freedom. We went to the Posh Restaurant also for breakfast every morning except 2. Really enjoyed that immensely. Wonderful eggs benedict! Was so relaxing eating there in the morning. Kept in contact with the family through email at the internet cafe. Purchased quite a few of the Carnival photos that we had taken. the suite cabin was amazing. So glad that we paid the extra and said yes! We actually did spend quite a bit of time out on the balcony just watching the ocean, watching when we would get into port and then of course at sail away we were out there. Was very private and quiet. All in all the cruise was absolutely amazing. Really enjoyed the Freedom. Looking forward to my next cruise. Took over 500 pictures. Just don't know how to post them. Sorry!

[spotter27]

thanks for the great review. i am on freedom dec. 19th 8 night. cant wait

[beerman2]

Will be doing that same cruise in 2 weeks. Can't wait! Glad you enjoyed yourself.

[reno3]

Thanks for the review.

I have a little bit of a wait:(

Hey, I broke the 200 day wait:D

[DJ56]

Thanks for the review.

I have a little bit of a wait:(

Hey, I broke the 200 day wait:D

It is totally worth the wait!! :)

[california7]

do you have any pictures of cabin 7239 on the Freedom

[meteoaviator]

Just upgraded to 7239 for Feb 13th. Can't wait. I'd like to see the pictures of the room too! Does anyone know if the bed in this room two twins or one big king...or both?

 

Jon