Carnival Freedom 8 Day Eastern Caribbean Review 09/10/11 - 09/18/11 LOTS of PICS

Let'sDoThisCruiseThing · September 24, 2011

OMG..your review is really making me think of changing my itin to this one. especially since I have never been to Antigua or Tortola..hmmm :D

Hi mosweet,

This was a great itinerary and I really enjoyed all of the ports. You should DEFINITELY get to Antigua and Tortola someday. You won't be disappointed!

MistyRo76 · September 24, 2011

Great Review - I would really like to try this itinerary some day! Tortola and Antigua look really beautiful! We are going on the Freedom in April and after seeing the pictures of your aft-extended balcony, it really has me wanting to book one...specifically 8450! I just checked and it is available on my sailing....might have to check with the boyfriend to see if he is up for upgrading! :)

Misty

Spring1onu · September 24, 2011

I was in limbo between the Dream and the Freedom 12/3 and reading your review and seeing your beautiful pics absolutely sealed the deal on choosing the Freedom! The itinerary for the Dream was really nice too, but seeing those pics of Antigua made up my mind. This will be our first cruise ever and we are excited! Thank you a million times over for providing such a detailed review w/such amazing pictures along with great tips. I'm starting a list and adding details from every review I read :D

We have an OV room booked on deck 2, but am really considering an upgrade to balcony -- aft would be wonderful, of course, but I would definitely be satisfied with having a balcony. Thank you again - looks like an amazing time was had!

bartleby112 · September 24, 2011

I was in limbo between the Dream and the Freedom 12/3 and reading your review and seeing your beautiful pics absolutely sealed the deal on choosing the Freedom! The itinerary for the Dream was really nice too, but seeing those pics of Antigua made up my mind. This will be our first cruise ever and we are excited! Thank you a million times over for providing such a detailed review w/such amazing pictures along with great tips. I'm starting a list and adding details from every review I read :D

We have an OV room booked on deck 2, but am really considering an upgrade to balcony -- aft would be wonderful, of course, but I would definitely be satisfied with having a balcony. Thank you again - looks like an amazing time was had!

Come join our Roll call http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1228298 also we have 3 or 4 of the aft balconies on 7th deck. Come join us back there!

Spring1onu · September 24, 2011

Come join our Roll call http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1228298 also we have 3 or 4 of the aft balconies on 7th deck. Come join us back there!

Thank you for the invite! I'm definitely joining :D

futureAG · September 25, 2011

Great review!!! Thanks for sharing!!!

Let'sDoThisCruiseThing · September 25, 2011

I was in limbo between the Dream and the Freedom 12/3 and reading your review and seeing your beautiful pics absolutely sealed the deal on choosing the Freedom! The itinerary for the Dream was really nice too, but seeing those pics of Antigua made up my mind. This will be our first cruise ever and we are excited! Thank you a million times over for providing such a detailed review w/such amazing pictures along with great tips. I'm starting a list and adding details from every review I read :D

We have an OV room booked on deck 2, but am really considering an upgrade to balcony -- aft would be wonderful, of course, but I would definitely be satisfied with having a balcony. Thank you again - looks like an amazing time was had!

Hi Spring1onu,

Thank you so much for your nice comments! I'm so glad that my review is helping other first time cruisers. That was my intention because I read a lot of good reviews, but not too many for my exact itinerary. I also had to read many reviews to find bits and pieces of helpful tips. I hope you have a wonderful time on your cruise.....It's just around the corner!

Let'sDoThisCruiseThing · September 25, 2011

Great review!!! Thanks for sharing!!!

Thank you futureAG!

I'm glad you like it!

Buffettfan 225 · September 25, 2011

As a first timer reviewer, doing great and helpful for many CC readers. I like the idea of keeping a packing list word doc page for ideas you come across while reading CC.

finzup-kt · September 25, 2011

You are getting me so excited for my cruise (same itinerary)... however I have to wait 153 days :eek:

Let'sDoThisCruiseThing · September 25, 2011

█▓▒░★ Bahamas ★░▒▓█

Saturday, September 17, 2011

We arrived at Nassau before noon and had to be back on the ship at 6:30pm for 7:00pm sail away. We stood out on the balcony to watch our arrival. It was raining, but cleared out soon after debarking. While we were pulling in, I could see another ship following us in the distance, but I couldn’t see which ship it was yet.

We did a full turn and backed into the dock. This gave us a full view of Atlantis.

And to the right...

Carnival Imagination was already in port and we got a great look at her.

Shortly after we got there, the other ship that was in the distance arrived. I still couldn’t tell which ship it was because it docked on the other side of the Imagination. Once we debarked, we found that it was the Monarch of the Seas.

We purchased the Atlantis Aquaventure Half Day excursion through Carnival. There was a group of people surrounding a covered area that had a sign that said “Atlantis”. We went over to this area, gave them our ticket and they provided us with a wrist band.

Edited September 25, 2011 by Let'sDoThisCruiseThing

Let'sDoThisCruiseThing · September 25, 2011

-:¦:-•:*"'"*:•.-:¦:-•* Bahamas Continued *•-:¦:-•:*"'"*:•.-:¦:-

We were soon told to join the group to head towards the busses to Atlantis. We walked down the dock and lined up in front of the “certified hair braiding” building. We waited for a few more minutes and we were on the bus headed to Atlantis "Paradise Island". When we arrived we were given a short tour that lasted about 15 minutes.

The inside of Atlantis is just as amazing as the outside. Here's a few random pics.

Edited September 25, 2011 by Let'sDoThisCruiseThing

ibcnusoon · September 25, 2011

"certified" hair braiding. hahahah! :D

Lovin' the review and pics!

Let'sDoThisCruiseThing · September 25, 2011

-:¦:-•:*"'"*:•.-:¦:-•* Bahamas Continued *•-:¦:-•:*"'"*:•.-:¦:-

After that, we were free to do whatever we liked. We were told that the busses back to the ship ran every 30 min and that the last bus was at 6pm. This place is absolutely beautiful and so much fun. There is no way that you can see/do everything in a half day excursion. If you book this excursion, I would advise you to have a waterproof watch with you as there are no clocks…anywhere for you to keep track of time. Atlantis has lockers available for a fee. They have Sm, Med & Lg lockers available for $7, $9 & $12. Our backpack fit comfortably in a small locker. You will be provided with a map by your tour guide and they will tell you where the locker station is located during the tour. Please make sure that you bring a credit card if you need a locker as they do not accept cash for locker rental. I’m sure that there were people that waited in line for a locker that did not bring a credit card.

Here are several pictures of the grounds.

ginnyanne · September 25, 2011

Oh my goodness this review is awesome! I can't wait to read through it again when I have more time. DH & I (and several other posters) are doing the same cruise on 10/8. 13 days!!! Your review is getting me even more excited!!! :)

Let'sDoThisCruiseThing · September 25, 2011

-:¦:-•:*"'"*:•.-:¦:-•* Bahamas Continued *•-:¦:-•:*"'"*:•.-:¦:-

Let'sDoThisCruiseThing · September 25, 2011

-:¦:-•:*"'"*:•.-:¦:-•* Bahamas Continued *•-:¦:-•:*"'"*:•.-:¦:-

Let'sDoThisCruiseThing · September 25, 2011

Let'sDoThisCruiseThing · September 25, 2011

-:¦:-•:*"'"*:•.-:¦:-•* Bahamas Continued *•-:¦:-•:*"'"*:•.-:¦:-

This excursion gives you access to everything that Atlantis has to offer, the beach, the pools, the water park, The Dig…everything. We went to The Dig first to make sure that we got to see it. It is the most impressive aquarium that we have ever seen. It is set up to look like the sunken ruins of the real Atlantis were found and this is the real ancient place. It’s awesome!

Edited September 25, 2011 by Let'sDoThisCruiseThing

Let'sDoThisCruiseThing · September 25, 2011

-:¦:-•:*"'"*:•.-:¦:-•* Bahamas Continued *•-:¦:-•:*"'"*:•.-:¦:-

Let'sDoThisCruiseThing · September 25, 2011

-:¦:-•:*"'"*:•.-:¦:-•* Bahamas Continued *•-:¦:-•:*"'"*:•.-:¦:-

They have a lazy river with rapids that takes you all over the park. It also takes you through a shark tank. One of several shark tanks. There is also a waterslide that takes you through this same shark tank. I went on it and it’s crazy! They also had a predator exhibit with sharks, barracudas…etc, but it was under construction, so we didn’t get to see it. There is so much to do, but so little time. We would love to come back on a separate vacation to just be at Atlantis.

We didn’t eat or drink anything there because it was really expensive. We could eat for free back on the ship and had every intention of waiting. I would suggest that you pack a backpack and bring water with you or order breakfast and pack something to take with you such as fruit or cookies to tide you over until you get back to the ship.

We had a great time at Atlantis, but thought that we should make our way back to the ship at about 4:30. We wanted to make sure that we had time to stop by the straw market to pick up a few souvenirs before we left. We caught the shuttle that ran every 30 minutes and we had a very entertaining shuttle driver. He gave us a lot of interesting history of the Bahamas and drove us past sites like the hospital that Anna Nicole Smith had her daughter in, and then the public hospital…vastly different. He said that the Bahamas has no taxes….nice! He also told us that Johnny Depp, Nicolas Cage & David Copperfield own islands in the Bahamas. He said that Johnny Depp paid $3.6 million for his island & they filmed parts of Pirates of the Caribbean 2 there. David Copperfield owns 4 islands and he paid $60 million for them! It was a nice ride back and I really enjoyed the history. I wish I could remember more, but by now my brain is starting to fizzle out.

We are dropped off near the straw market. That place is crazy! The tents are really close together and packed with people. There is a narrow walkway between the tents that everyone is corralled into. We couldn’t stay in there very much longer. After buying a few random items at random tents, we found a nice lady that had reasonable prices and we ended up buying everything else from her tent including a nice Bahamas bag to carry everything back in.

Today was another great day, it started off rainy, but it cleared out pretty quickly. We went back to the ship, had a shower, grabbed some dinner, purchased some drinks at the bar and went back to the cabin to start packing. I can’t believe it’s already over. We had to have our luggage packed and out in the hallway by 11:00pm. This was kind of difficult because this means that we had to carry the clothes we were wearing with us the following day as well as any health & beauty items. I also had to keep all jewelry with me as well. (Ummm, yeah, I did go ahead and pack those watches from the watch sale in my luggage outside the door) If someone thought it was worth going through my luggage to steal those, they must have needed them more than we did! We were still awake when they came around to pick up the bags. That made me feel better.

Tomorrow…..Debarkation.

Goodbye Bahamas....

Let'sDoThisCruiseThing · September 25, 2011

-:¦:-•:*"'"*:•.-:¦:-•* Debarkation *•-:¦:-•:*"'"*:•.-:¦:-

We were zone 12 and our zone tags were delivered to our cabin the previous day along with a pamphlet including the debarkation process and a customs form.

The pamphlet said that zone 12 would be called at around 8:30am. You were also able to self assist debark. This meant that you were off the ship first and you carry your own bags off. We had 4 luggage bags, my purse, a backpack and the bag that I got in the Bahamas. This was definitely not for us. There was a Carnival program where you paid $20 and Carnival would ensure that your bags made it to your home airport. We went to the debarkation Q&A with Jacques and someone asked about airline baggage fees and if they still applied…he said no….then he said he wasn’t sure…then he said to ask guest services. Yeah, this program was not for us either even though we didn’t pay baggage fees with Southwest. We were up at 7am to ensure that we had enough time to gather our things and make sure that we didn’t forget anything.

We got dressed, did a once over of the cabin, sat on the balcony one last time and took a few pictures. It was getting close to 8:30 and we decided to go wait in the Lido buffet and maybe have a light breakfast before we go. The bells kept ringing like they do when Jacques is making an announcement, but there was just static afterwards. This went on for about an hour starting at about 7:45. I guess someone finally told Jacques that people weren’t getting off of the ship and he called several zones at once and they began to close the buffet. It was now about 8:45. We were ready to go, even though our flight wasn’t until 2:10. We got off the ship and through customs very quickly and easily. :(

We filled out the customs form the night before as well as printing our information on our zone tags. Hardly anyone was in the lobby. They had the area roped off to ensure that they corralled everyone easily off the ship. Down the gangway we went. We found our luggage in the zone 12 section very easily and headed to the customs line. The line moved very quickly. We followed the taxi signs and got into a taxi immediately.

Off to the airport we go. I miss being on the ship already. Since our flight wasn’t until 2:10, we had some time to kill. We sat in the airport and did crossword puzzles, read magazines, played with our phones & weighed our bags. I talked to a couple of nice ladies from Pittsburgh that just came from a cruise with RCL. They went to Mexico, Haiti & Jamaica. I liked them...if you are reading this…”Hi nice ladies from Pittsburgh!”

We didn’t see the sign at the Southwest line that said that we could check in our bags up to 4 hours before the flight until about 2 hours before the flight. I have to laugh sarcastically thinking about that one! We finally got rid of all of our bags and we were free to go down to security. I was first to put my bags through the x-ray. I got pulled to the side to have my bag searched because of a “strange bottle” that got flagged by the person watching the scanner. I had a message in a bottle with sand and shells that I got from St Thomas. I kept it with me because I didn’t want it to be broken. It was ok and I was on my way.

Now, I’m waiting for DB because his backpack was getting searched as well. Now that I think about his backpack….I can see why they needed to search his backpack. This was totally my fault. I packed all of my sand bags, shells and 2 coconut head souvenir cups in his backpack with other random clothes and things. The security guy thought that the coconut heads were pretty funny, but the sand bags totally looked like something else. The security guy actually had to put a test pad on the end of some type of tester thingy to make sure that the bags didn’t have drugs in them. When they tested negative…DB was sent on his way. Ooops! For future reference…if you save sand from beaches like me, don’t put the sand in your significant other’s carry on!

We went to our terminal to try to find a plug to charge our phones. When we found a seat, DB pointed out a couple that had on royal blue polo shirts with gold writing….the writing said “Cruise Critic”. Wow, people from Cruise Critic are everywhere! We did the same flight in reverse…Ft Lauderdale to Baltimore to Kansas City. When we stepped out of the MCI airport doors, it was raining, chilly & people were wearing jackets. I miss you Caribbean!

Debarkation pamphlet:

My next postings will be the FunTimes, towel animal pictures & collector cup pictures + prices ….

jmcancruise · September 25, 2011

Amazing review. We don't cruise till next September, but really enjoyed seeing your pics, especially of Antigua and Tortola. Wonderful shots of Atlantis, some of the best I have seen.

Cushing985 · September 25, 2011

I love it when I run into reviews like this...well-written with lots of great pictures. Thanks!

Hogladyrider · September 25, 2011

FABULOUS review and photos, bet you are "hooked" on cruising now along with balcony rooms.

What an amazing first cruise, we are gonna have to add this ship to our "to do" list thanks to you!

Hope you are able to keep cruising it is the best vacation ever!

Susan

Carnival Freedom 8 Day Eastern Caribbean Review 09/10/11 - 09/18/11 LOTS of PICS

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