Freedom review - 11/5/11 - 11/13/11

[Irishlinny]

Just a little background...Dave & I are in our mid 50's and this was our 8th Carnival cruise. Our first was on the Celebration. Aside from that one and one on Destiny, all the others were on Spirit class ships, which we love. We didn't take a lot of pics of the ship, but I will post some. Fortunately there have been a number of good photo reviews of Freedom recently, so I don't need to feel too guilty...

We were very happy to leave CT (and the remnants of the historic ice storm) on Fri 11/4. We flew Jet Blue (great airline, and 1st bag free!) into Ft Lauderdale, arriving around 11:30. Grabbed a cab to Embassy Suites...about a 10 minute ride. We couldn't check in yet, so we stored our bags with them and went out exploring. Found an excellent NY Deli for lunch, but you'd never see it. If you leave the hotel and take a right, you will see a big Dollar store across the street. To the right of that are a complex of small businesses

and stores (sadly many are vacant). Walk toward the back of that complex and look for it tucked in the rear...Marina NY Deli. They make excellent sandwiches! Very nice folks, too! After we ate, we headed back to the hotel, but still couldn't check in, so we went out by the pool. That area was very nice and well landscaped...grabbed a few lounges and relaxed. Finally at 2:30 we got our room. Although it was more than we would have liked to pay, we felt it was very nice. The suites were large and clean, the bed was very comfortable, the atruim area was beautiful, and the service was good. Add in the Manager's Reception with free cocktails, and the

free breakfast (which was very good), and we felt it was well worth the money.;)

After getting settled, we went out to find Publix and Total Wines. It turns out they are actually across the street from the SIDE of the hotel. If you go out the front and hang a right, and then hang a right

at the first intersection, you will be heading toward their parking lot (you can also use the side entrance of

the hotel). Got our stuff, filled our rumrunners and we were set.

We went down to the Manager's reception and found the other people in our roll call who were staying there

(about 12 of us). Great people! I always enjoy meeting some people before the cruise! We left the reception

a little early and headed to dinner at Duffy's (which is right at the entrance to the Publix parking lot). It's a

big sports bar, and all the big screens they had made me feel like I had A.D.D., but the service was very good

and the burgers were excellent! Also, Dave ordered a beer and they brought him a huge one, and I ordered

a cocktail and got 2! Apparently it's 2 for 1 all nite!

After all that, we were pretty beat, so we just went back to the room and chilled. We got a good nite sleep

and we were ready to cruise the next morning! You can see the ships from the same side of the hotel where

Publix is...

I have to apologize...having technical difficulties with our photos. They are posting way too large, even when I resize them. So I will post a link to the group of photos after each section if you're interested in looking at them.

http://s1232.photobucket.com/albums/ff367/bigd31998/carnival%20Freedom%2011-2011/fun%20days%20at%20Sea%20and%20ship%20pics/

[Irishlinny]

After enjoying a good breakfast (which includes omelettes), we got a little anxious and grabbed a hotel taxi

to the port at 9:45. I think we had 20 people ahead of us in Security and breezed right through. Since we had

a suite, we headed up to VIP check-in and breezed through that as well. Then we got to sit...and sit...and sit.

Finally we boarded the ship and were at the empty aft Lido bar enjoying a DOD around 11:30! We had the Oasis

of the seas across from us...she is one massive ship...I'll pass.

Went down to check out our cabin at 1:30....the suite was very nice. We got this one because I had booked

one of the L-shaped cabins with the longer balconies back in Sept of last year, and Carnival gave it away

to someone else. After 4 days of battling Carnival over this, I finally managed to get them to give us a suite!

In addition to a larger balcony, my favorite part of the suite is having a full size tub/shower. Having the dressing

area and extra closets is also a plus.

Our roll call had planned to meet on aft Lido at 3:00...it was so good to meet the people we had been talking to

for months. We also planned a group cocktail party for the 1st sea day at 2:00. Muster drill was pretty

crowded and chaotic, and I never can see what we're supposed to be looking at anyway. But it was pretty short

and sweet at least.

Back up to the cabin to see if our luggage had arrived....nope. It was taking FOREVER...all we could think of was

that they had found our rumrunners.:eek: We went up to the deck above Lido for sailaway, as the daughters were

going to be watching on the webcam. Back down to the cabin (by this time, I was starting to feel the size of the

ship...LOL!). Luggage arrived before dinner and everything was in tact...phew! We unpacked and then headed

to get a drink and have dinner.

We had Anytime Dining on this trip and they had it down pat. Out of 8 nights, we were only given a beeper

2 nights (and only waited 10 minutes)...the rest of the time we were seated in 5 minutes. You might have to wait

5 minutes to get through the line at times. We usually arrived for dinner between 6:30 and 7. We sat in almost

every area of the dining room and were always pleased with the waiters. They were very pleasant and personable.

At times the service would be a little slow, but not usually. And unlike anytime dining on Miracle, when it comes

time for the shows, it appears that the anytime waiters also take part, so that interrupts service a bit.

I won't do a blow by blow of what we ate each day, and we have no food porn. But we were very happy with

everything we ordered. Dave loves cheeseburgers, but he refused to order one in the dining room. The only

comfort food I ordered was the Beef Stroganoff (but I would often order that when it was on the main menu).

We didn't try any of the Didja Ever offerings. The only thing that was not good was a langostino salad appetizer

that Dave ordered. It came out in the shape of a cat food can and he said it tasted about the same. I did miss

the shrimp cocktail as that was my go-to app when the others didn't appeal to me. But I found a great solution...

I ordered the cheese and fruit which is offered for dessert...perfect! And tasted better than the shrimp,

anyway...LOL! The lobster tail on the first formal nite was probably the best I've had on any cruise...we were

surprised. We were a little disappointed in the NY Strip...actually thought the Flat Iron steak was better.

The Lasagna Bolognese was delicious as usual. I tried a small order of the Bacon-Mac-Cheese and it was pretty

good, but not as good as I hoped. The desserts were good when we had them. Overall, we were pleased with

the dining room food, service, etc. We didn't even mind that the tables for 2 were close together...we ended up

having some great conversations with people on most nites!

After dinner we wandered around and then checked out the piano bar. I didn't have high hopes as I haven't

had a great piano bar since the Desitny in 2008 when Damian Brell was there. The streak was about to end...

Marty Gast is EXCELLENT!:D He has such energy and really gets the crowd involved...great sense of humor as

well. That became our hangout every nite (hence you won't see much about shows or evening entertainment,

sad to say). He was off the nite of the deck party, and we really missed him. If you go to see him, he likes

Tequila!

That was a full day and we headed to bed. We hate Carnival mattresses (but love the bedding), but this one was

actually not bad! Was nice not to deal with a hard as rock mattress all week!

I don't have much to report about the 2 sea days, except that we had our cocktail party for the roll call. That

was fun...we had a good group. We don't get involved in the activities unless we're watching them. We cruise

to relax. I will say that I couldn't really find "my spot" on this ship, like I have on Spirit Class. One of the

problems is that I smoke. Smoking is allowed on main Lido, but that gets way too crowded and noisy for me. I

would prefer the aft Lido or the Serenity areas, but you can't smoke there. You actually have to walk up a

flight of stairs to another smoking area, so it's a pain (literally in my knees!). I ended up spending alot more

time on my balcony than I have in the past. So rather than sitting on Lido, buying their drinks, I was in my cabin.

This might be a good time to talk about the decor of the ship, as we had plenty of time to look at it. I have

not yet minded Farcus or his odd sense of decorating...don't mind the urns on Legend or the grapes on Miracle.

However, the decor of this ship was so ugly that it actually annoyed me! The combination of colors and patterns

made absolutely no sense whatsoever...just downright ugly in many of the public areas. Even Dave noticed it

(and he drives a truck for a living!)...he said it looks like Farcus called up the warehouse and told them to deliver

whatever they had, and then just told the decorators to make it work.:rolleyes: UGH! I think the worst thing was the

wallpaper that was meant to look like paneling, but it was colored in avocado, rust and black (like a bad

flashback of a den in the 70's). This would have been bad enough by itself, but then they put it next to pink

tiles or a floral pattern...nothing matched or complimented. This wasn't going to ruin my cruise by any means,

but it was noticeable.:(

Next up....what we did in the ports!

[Irishlinny]

In St Thomas we had booked a Carnival excursion (which we don't often do) because we wanted to snorkel

with the sea turtles. It was called the 2 Island Power Cat Snorkel. Our tour was scheduled for 12:45 but

ended up getting pushed back to 1:30. We had breakfast and then got off the ship and wandered around

the port shops for awhile. It was really hot and humid, so my patience was low. We met the group at the

ship and then walked over to the boat (Bimini Breeze). What a great crew on this boat!!! They were so

much fun! We went to Christmas Island first and saw an amazing number of different types of fish...some I

have never seen...and also a small ray. After snorkeling there for a while, we went to Turtle Cove to see the

sea turtles. This was so neat...the turtles eat on the bottom for 10-15 minutes and then come up for air. If

you're in the right place, they swim right by you. Very cool to see these endangered creatures in their natural

habitat.:) Once we were done there, we headed back while they served LOTS of rum punch!:D They also had

soft drinks and water, and tortilla chips. On the way back, they let any children drive the boat...that was

pretty funny...and they played music. There was a beuatiful sunset and people were dancing...lots of fun.

When we arrived back at the port, it was almost dark and the ships and the island were all lit up...stunning!

Highly recommend this tour.

http://s1232.photobucket.com/albums/ff367/bigd31998/carnival%20Freedom%2011-2011/St%20Thomas%2011-08-2011/

[Irishlinny]

In Antigua, a number of us from the roll call were planning to take the bus to Valley Church Beach.

Unfortunately I had been having trouble walking distances for some unknown reason, so we met them and

told them we were just going to grab a cab to Dickenson's Beach. Figured since it was closer, it wouldn't

cost an arm and a leg for a cab. When we got off the ship, we talked to the taxi folks and they were telling

us it would cost $24! We decided to catch up with our friends and just give Valley Church a shot. One of

our folks was a master negotiator and when approached by the taxi people, she got them to agree to $16

per couple, round trip. We took it...better than having to deal with the bus. After an interesting 20 minute

through the countryside (lots of goats, cows accompanied by sea birds, chickens, and no stop signs!), we got to

Valley Church. I was very happy we didn't take the bus when I saw the long walk to the beach from the street!

It was a very nice day...got some chairs under the trees. I wasn't thrilled with the sand there...more like

crushed shells. There was also quite a drop to get into the water (which was fairly rough that day). Went

in the water for a bit...very nice. The problem ocurred getting out and trying to climb back up that ledge. I lost

my balance, a wave knocked me down...rolled me around...I felt like a beached whale!:eek: LOL! Dave came to my

rescue, but I was done going back in the water that day! When all else fails, drink!;) They have a nice little

bar/restaurant there. Drinks were good (but for some reason they like to add ground nutmeg to their drinks),

and we didn't eat, but the food looked good!

Our taxi was there to take us back and we paid him upon return. Worked out very nicely. I would have liked to

have shopped around more at the little local booths, but I was dying to get all the sand off me. That was an

experience! Since the sand is crushed shells, it actually embeds into your skin, so you can't just shower it off.

I scraped that stuff off every part of my body for 20 minutes!:rolleyes: With 365 beaches in Anitgua, I will find another

next time....LOL!;)

http://s1232.photobucket.com/albums/ff367/bigd31998/carnival%20Freedom%2011-2011/Antigua11-09-2011/

[Irishlinny]

Tortola was our favorite port! It is just beautiful there, the people are very friendly and we had a great

excursion. A bunch of us from the roll call had booked a trip to Jost Van Dyke (White Bay Beach and Soggy

Dollar Bar) with Tortola Charters months ago. Suddenly things seemed to be going badly with Tortola

Charters...nobody could reach them via any means...and I got nervous. So I found BVI360 which can arrange the

trip for you. They quoted me $60pp for 6 people. They would pick us up at the port and drive us to the dock at

the West End where a boat would take us over to White Bay Beach, with a snorkeling stop first, if desired. I

ended up getting 10 people and they gave us a reduced price of $50 pp. I will admit, I was nervous, being that

I didn't see any reviews of them on CC (but good reviews on Trip Advisor).

Our ship docked at 7 am and they were picking us up at 7:30. Julio was right there waiting for us. He was very

nice and professional and a good driver. Got us to the boat where a nice young man took over. We told him

we didn't want to do the snorkeling (water was pretty rough anyway), so he fired up all 3 engines and took us over.

The tricky part about White Bay Beach is that the boats pull up close to the shore and most people say they

swim to shore. On this trip, they were taking us to shore on a dinghy. I figured I had a better chance of just

jumping off the boat and swimming in, rather than trying to navigate my plus size self into that dinghy.:o So I gave

them my backpack and off I went. It may have only been 10 strokes before you could touch bottom...piece of

cake! The beach was PERFECT...wouldn't have been surprised if Jimmy Buffet or Kenny Chesney came

strolling out.:p There were Adirondack chairs and lounge chairs (included in our price), the water was wonderful,

and there were no crowds. The Soggy Dollar bar and restaurant was great...just hanging out on the beach. I

will admit, I didn't care for the Painkillers that are so popular (again, ground nutmeg), but the beers were good

and cold. We had a brief 10 minute storm when we got there, but the rest of the day was fine. We spent

about 4 hours there before heading back. The interesting part came when we had to get back on the boat...there

was no ladder. They told us we would get back on the boat from the dinghy....uh oh! I had terrible visions of

how this was going to go for me.:eek: Amazingly, it worked perfectly...no clue how...it just did. Phew! Crisis averted!

;)They had a cooler of soda & water in the boat for us, but we barely touched it. When we got back, Julio was

waiting to take us back to the port. Everything worked perfectly! They had a number of local vendors near the

port, and I would have liked to have shopped a little, but we figured we'd better just get on the ship. Great

day, and we now rank Tortola in a tie for Roatan as our most favorite places! We are used to flat islands and all

these islands are parts of gorgeous chains of lush mountains...it was a feast for the eyes!:)

http://s1232.photobucket.com/albums/ff367/bigd31998/carnival%20Freedom%2011-2011/Tortola%2011-10-2011/

[Irishlinny]

We had another sea day where I actually got very bored. With as many people as we had met, you would

think that you would run into them on the ship here and there. However, except for the shore excursions,

where we had some with us each time, we only saw one couple on the ship! This doesn't usually happen on

Spirit Class ships, so it was a mystery to us. I was hoping that maybe Freedom would make us more accepting

of the larger ships (Destiny didn't do it), but there is just something special and more homey with Spirit class

to us. We're not fans of the big screen. It creates alot of extra noise and most of the time, there is nothing

on it except a slide show of shore excursions, etc (which you see over and over). I was hoping to catch a movie

at nite, but 2 nites it was football and the other nites it was movies geared more for children (even the 10:30

movies). I got annoyed by having to either walk upstairs to have a cigarette or else go try to find somewhere in

the middle of the mayhem on main Lido. Eventually I just headed back to the balcony.

Our last stop was Nassau and we have been there many times, so we decided not to get off the ship. There were

also 5 ships in port, so we figured the town would be a madhouse. We actually enjoyed the main Lido that day

because many people had gone ashore. We were there from 12-7 and we just hung out, packed, and relaxed.

Disembark was painless! We had #1, so we were off the ship by 8:15 and at the airport by 8:45! Despite the

fact that we were there over 3 hours before our flight, we came close to missing it! We went through Security

at 11:15 for a 12:10 flight. It took FOREVER! They had 3 out of 5 lanes open. But if they Xray a piece of

luggage and want someone else to look at it, the whole line waits. Insane. When we got through the scanners,

they were doing final boarding for our flight (which was at the end of the terminal!) even though it was 15 minutes

before we were scheduled to leave. My advice is to go through Security earlier.

Some random thoughts:

The staff on this ship was excellent! I wouldn't have a complaint about any one of them. Our steward and

and his assistant were great and very personable. I was very disappointed to find out they had both left the

ship the last night, so I couldn't give them their extra tip.:(

We encountered more rude people on this sailing than any other and I have no clue why. It was not rudeness in

talking, it was in how some people conducted themselves. The cutting into the buffet lines to grab something

they wanted was rampant. Stopping in the middle of aisles to talk was another. Then we had a very large lady

on the aft Lido who decided to take one of the regular chairs and park herself right in the middle of an aisle

between lounges...and then proceed to just watch everyone struggle as they tried to get around her.:mad: I went to

leave Lido one day and was walking up the ramp...a group of 4 people were coming toward me lined up across the

ramp. They actually didn't move behind one another, and forced me to actually back down the ramp...seriously???

But in defense of the children, I really witnessed no bad behavior! The worst I saw was 3 separate children

bouncing a basketball across Lido at 3 separate times one morning...not bad!

There was evidence of chair hogs, but not too bad. I imagine it might have been worse on Serenity, but we didn't

bother to go up there after the first couple of days. There were plenty of lounges on Deck 10, both in the sun and

the shade. There were very few lounges to be found on aft Lido where the adult pool is, but plenty of seats at

tables much of the time. The one exception to this was at embarkation. We put our insulated water bottles on

a table to reserve it and then went to get food. When I came back, a man and his 2 children were sitting there.

When I pointed out that our bottles were on the table to reserve it, he flat out refused to move! Fortunately

for him, I had had a couple of drinks and chose not to get into it with him.:cool:

The buffet food was pretty good and the lines were not nearly as bad as they had been on the Destiny. They

had 6 omelettes cooking at once in the morning...went very quickly. The Deli is literally in a "hole" in the wall on the

port side of the ship...easy to miss it...their sandwiches are good. There are 2 grills for burgers, etc, one on main

Lido and one on aft. The aft one closes after lunch.

As I said, we didn't do much besides the Piano Bar at night...I can honestly say that Marty was the highlight of

our ship experience. The Swingtime lounge is across from the Piano Bar, so I would visit there from time to time

to have a cigarette. There was a decent husband/wife (I think) duo playing in there, and people would actually

dance from time to time. There was a country singer (old time country) at the casino most nites...I like some of the

newer country, but not a fan of the older twangy stuff. I had seen the Ticket to Ride show on the Miracle

and it was very good. Others told me they enjoyed Jazz Hot. We meant to see the comedians but somehow time

got away from us and we never did. The deck party was not much of a party. It got lively when the dancers and

the CD came out and led some line dances, but then they all left and the party was a goner. I remember a great

deck party on the Celebration that really rocked...it's all how the CD handles it. Jacques was our CD...he seemed

ok...easy on the eyes and being Australian, he was pleasant to listen to...but not all that visable. Give me John Heald

any day!:D Not sure who the CD is now, as Jacques said he was heading home after our cruise.

Overall it was a very good cruise! It was different for us because we are used to different ships and we always

cruise with a group or friends, so was lacking the "fun factor". But we chose this ship to get to some different

ports and they did not disappoint! If anyone has any questions, I will do my best to answer them!

http://s1232.photobucket.com/albums/ff367/bigd31998/carnival%20Freedom%2011-2011/Nassau%2011-12-2011/

[sunsetme]

thanks for taking the time to write a review. We have the same itinerary on Freedom 12/3.

[jmcancruise]

Thanks so much for the review. As you can see we sail on her in September. Till then I am living vicariously through others.

[gelo7]

Really enjoyed your review.

[apdchief]

Thanks for your review we sail on the Freedom with the same ports in March.

[Irishlinny]

thanks for taking the time to write a review. We have the same itinerary on Freedom 12/3.

 

Thanks so much for the review. As you can see we sail on her in September. Till then I am living vicariously through others.

 

Thanks for your review we sail on the Freedom with the same ports in March.

My pleasure! Wish I could have gotten the pics to work:( But you all will love the ports! Many different choices of things to do, and whether you're in the water or on land, the views are just spectacular! Enjoy!:)

[TakeMeAway1001]

Welcome back, looking forward to having time to read your review when I get out of work :)

[Irishlinny]

Welcome back, looking forward to having time to read your review when I get out of work :)

Thanks! My review was not as good as yours...LOL!:p But it was a good cruise (I've never had a bad one!).

[bartleby112]

Thanks for the Review. Our group was hoping there would be one or 2 more reviews before we sail in 2 weeks.

[Jeafl]

Great review! Thanks for sharing. I always like hearing the bad as well as the good so I know exactly what to expect. We'll have to make sure we get through security early on the way home because we have a noon flight. Hopefully we won't have a problem!

[LBumb]

now that is a detailed review. great job

[crewsweeper]

WooHoo, been waiting for this one! Thnaks for sharing. Loved reading about your adventures and looking forward to cruising with you this time next year! Crew

[Irishlinny]

Thanks for the Review. Our group was hoping there would be one or 2 more reviews before we sail in 2 weeks.

:) You lucky ducks! Have fun!

Great review! Thanks for sharing. I always like hearing the bad as well as the good so I know exactly what to expect. We'll have to make sure we get through security early on the way home because we have a noon flight. Hopefully we won't have a problem!

There really was very little to complain about, but the decor did get on my nerves;) But that doesn't have any effect on my cruise! Hopefully you won't encounter the rude people...LOL!

 

If you don't get a really low debark number, just go to Guest Services and let them know you have an early flight...they will make sure you get off early. But I wouldn't worry about it...debark seemed to roll along quickly!

now that is a detailed review. great job

awwww, thank you!:o

[Irishlinny]

WooHoo, been waiting for this one! Thnaks for sharing. Loved reading about your adventures and looking forward to cruising with you this time next year! Crew

Thanks! Can't wait til our group makes its own adventures a year from now! (And I've sailed with some of these people before...they can make adventures out of a napkin! LOL!:D)

[seacat66]

nice review linda.

luckily i didn't seem to run into those rude people.

the last sea day i did the behind the fun tour. that was awsome!

[Irishlinny]

nice review linda.

luckily i didn't seem to run into those rude people.

the last sea day i did the behind the fun tour. that was awsome!

Thanks! Glad you enjoyed that tour...we haven't done it yet. We couldn't find you in the lobby on Antigua day...did you change plans?:confused:

[LUPY48]

GREAT review Linny!!

Now you know you'll never be far away from OUR group on the Miracle!

[Irishlinny]

GREAT review Linny!!

Now you know you'll never be far away from OUR group on the Miracle!

Thanks, Sha! You got that right! This cruise was a little lonely!;)

[Let'sDoThisCruiseThing]

Great review! I appreciate you taking the time!

 

I have to say that I have a totally opposite opinion of Valley Church Beach...this place is AMAZING and not overly crowded. I loved every minute of being there and it was my favorite place of this itinerary. I loved the sand and even brought a bag of it home with me! :) It's a beautiful powdery white color. Closer to the water there are a lot of broken shells, but the sand is lovely.

 

I am very jealous that you got to go to White Bay Beach on Jost Van Dyke. :o We booked this excursion through Tortola Charters and never got to go there due to rough waters and our boat not being capable...blah blah blah. We were taken to an alternate destination, but we really REALLY wanted to go spend the day at the Soggy Dollar Bar. Owell, maybe next time. Glad you had a great time!

[hill6]

Great review linny