March 10, Freedom, Grand Turk, La Romana, Curacao, Aruba review

[greely dan]

Just back from the 8 day southern Caribbean inaugural sailing of the Freedom. Here are some of the high and low points of the trip, and suggestions for activities before and during the cruise:

 

 

Fort Lauderdale, prior to sailing: Like most cruisers, we arrived the day prior to the sailing. We stayed at the Hilton Airport location, which was reasonably priced ($71 thru last minute travel.com), however they had us in a smoking room when we had booked a non-smoking room. They comped us a breakfast buffet for 8 people as an apology, saved $176, score!

Found a great place for a casual dinner through Yelp called "Gilberts 17th Street Grill", which is located about 5 miles from the hotel. Please check this place out for great burgers and key lime pie. The owners are on-site, hands-on, and very friendly. Right next door is a Publix and Total Wine store, so you can shop for the cruise. This was a very pleasant area to spend the evening before the cruise.

 

 

Aboard the Freedom: The boarding process was handled very smoothly, as our shuttle driver suggested we do not rush to get there, instead we arrived at the port around 12:30pm. We were on the ship within 20 minutes, start to finish. Deck was very crowded, with everyone dragging their carry-ons scrambling to get lunch. As the ship was over 100% capacity (March break), this was especially problematic.

 

 

Pros: The crew were for the most part unfailingly polite and happy. Wait staff (Alex, Senet and Lincoln) working hard, but did a magnificent job. Breakfast and lunch buffets were consistently good, and kept sparkling clean by the staff. Try the chicken nuggets, despite the long lines! The steakhouse experience was also well worth the investment, however I would suggest waiting until the end of the cruise to do this, as it put the MDR to shame, and we were constantly comparing the two. The deck attendants also were responsive when asked to "free up" chairs that had been "reserved" and not used for 30 minutes or more. I saw several towels, etc being cleared away when requested. Take that hogs!

 

 

Cons: As mentioned elsewhere, there are way too many photographers on the ship. When going or coming to the MDR, you must walk a gauntlet of 4 or 5 photographers with limited space, not to mention the requisite 3 photo ops during port calls. Additionally, the layout of the ship requires that you pass by the casino to get just about anywhere, generating additional revenue opportunities. I understand that CCL needs these to be profitable, however I felt like I was on the beach in Montego Bay being accosted by locals.

 

 

Grand Turk: Took the advice of CC and rented golf carts and went to Jack's Shack for the day. GT is a magnificent locale for scuba and snorkeling, whereas the island itself is a little blah, unless donkeys are your thing. Skip the carts, which are a little tired mechanically, and spend the day on or in the water. Governors Beach was especially nice. Jack's Shack was okay, Jerk Chicken was good, however pricey ($11 for a cheeseburger plate?). The overall atmosphere there is friendly but disorganised. Go to Jack's for the beach, have a beer or cocktail, then head past the ship's pier and grab a conch shell from the beach, there are lots of them.

 

 

Dominican Republic: Most in our group took the Seavis tour to Soana, which was okay. We headed to Dreams resort for the day, which turned out to be the right call. Spectacular private beach, 3 pools, fantastic food and drinks. Try the fresh cut fruit by the beach. Lots of activities for kids, or just hang around the resort for the day. Taxi was $8 pp each way, easily arranged at the port terminal, 25 minute easy drive. Dreams was $60 pp, 1/2 price for kids. Towels included. Very pretty resort, would consider doing this as an all-inclusive.

 

 

Curacao: Port time is 2-11pm, which is odd. Only wandered around the downtown area and shopped. Willemstad is a beautiful city, worth hanging around there. Got some local souvenirs, had a nice drink in the Rif Fort area, which you walk through to get to the city. There is a vibrant music scene in Curacao, found a great article to point you to the hotspots, alas, we are old and weary after dinner and don't make it back on land after dinner on the ship.

http://travel.nytimes.com/2012/03/18/travel/with-curacaos-music-you-can-hear-the-cultural-mix.html

 

 

Aruba: This is a great opprtunity to check out the famous Aruban beaches. We took a cab from the pier to Eagle Beach, which is a little quieter than Palm Beach. Grabbed an umbrella and 4 chairs, and was set for the day. There is a great food truck located about 500 meters from Amsterdam Manor called "Mama's Truck", that serves cheap and cheerful Aruban food. Make sure you get the Aruban sauce on your chicken (red, with onions, not spicy). Ask any local, they will send you in the right direction. Cost for 4...$24.

 

 

Disembarkation: Unfortunately was too smooth. We were in zone 16, when Brad the cruise director told us we could go with group 5 as our bags were ready on the pier. He even addressed me by name, shockingly, as I had never met him during the week! We were off the ship in 10 minutes, in a cab by 15, and at the airport within 30 minutes of being on the ship.

 

 

Notes: We had arranged a meet and mingle for our roll call through JH's Facebook page, which went off beautifully. This was a great way to put a face to names we had met on CC.

The on-board entertainment was generally very good, however the entertainers with pre-recorded backing tracks were pretty cheesy. Carnival needs to spend a little more money to hire a full band. Speaking of bands, the group that backs up the main shows and plays around the ship are amazing, very tight.

I found the comedians to be a little lame, that's only my opinion however.

 

 

Any questions, don't hesitate to ask...

[ajhunt2]

officially a month from this sailing so was looking for some insight as to what to do in Curacao also. Seems like a lot of people just hit the beach for a few hours. Go back on ship and clean up, eat, then check out the night life. Still confused on this one.

 

But thanks for all the info!

[ck53]

Thanks for the review and suggestions. We just booked for Thanksgiving so I am just starting to look into the excursions. We are a party of 10 w/ 4 kids so Dreams sound like it just might fit everyone to a T.

 

Thanks again!

[ajhunt2]

I thought of a question. What time, ship time, was sunset in Curacao? Just trying to figure out how much beach time we'd have before it gets dark

[John F]

How was the piano bar entertainer?? Have heard no good reviews. Thanks. John F

[greely dan]

I thought of a question. What time, ship time, was sunset in Curacao? Just trying to figure out how much beach time we'd have before it gets dark

 

Set at around 6:30-6:45pm, ship time and local time were the same throughout the cruise.

It was ungodly hot there when we were walking around downtown, very high humidity, FYI.

[greely dan]

How was the piano bar entertainer?? Have heard no good reviews. Thanks. John F

 

Alas, we did not go into the piano bar, so cannot comment on this. The band supporting the Superstar Karaoke and shows in the Victoriana Lounge were great, but the music on the Lido deck from the steel drum guy and the CW performer opposite the casino were not stellar.

[joepeka]

Dan, for your day at Dreams did you arrange that ahead of time or just catch the taxi at the port and show up at the resort? We're considering this and keep hearing great things about it.

[greely dan]

Dan, for your day at Dreams did you arrange that ahead of time or just catch the taxi at the port and show up at the resort? We're considering this and keep hearing great things about it.

We did reserve via email about 2 weeks before, ostensibly to allow security at the front gate to allow our cab onto the resort.

However, our driver went right by the booth, and I am fairly certain we could have walked right by the front desk and onto the resort without paying. There is no wristband required and very lax security.

Probably better to let them know ahead of time...

[blue_water]

We're booked on the 4/7 Freedom and the Seavis tour and I'm surprised on the "okay" report from your friends after reading nothing but consistently rave reviews. Was there something in particular someone didn't like or just the overall experience? We have friends who may not take the Seavis tour due to an injury and I know many folks go to Dreams and you get clean restrooms and pools there. But we all prefer to see more of the area on our first visit and so they will be visiting both the Dominicus and Bayahibe areas for the beaches and shops. That sounds like a good plan actually if anyone else is still looking for an option here.

 

Curious about the Seavis report and about this being the Inaugural sailing...inaugural 8-day southern? Sorry, I don't follow these closely...

 

Thanks for the report!

[beachbaby2]

thanks for your review! we are doing this exact itenerary on the breeze next year and you pretty much did what we are planning on doing on each island lol

[greely dan]

We're booked on the 4/7 Freedom and the Seavis tour and I'm surprised on the "okay" report from your friends after reading nothing but consistently rave reviews. Was there something in particular someone didn't like or just the overall experience? We have friends who may not take the Seavis tour due to an injury and I know many folks go to Dreams and you get clean restrooms and pools there. But we all prefer to see more of the area on our first visit and so they will be visiting both the Dominicus and Bayahibe areas for the beaches and shops. That sounds like a good plan actually if anyone else is still looking for an option here.

 

Curious about the Seavis report and about this being the Inaugural sailing...inaugural 8-day southern? Sorry, I don't follow these closely...

 

Thanks for the report!

 

Inaugural as in first time on this itinerary for Freedom.

 

Reports from Seavis group included items going missing during the tour from travellers with the group, don't know if it is accurate or not.

[ajhunt2]

Did you by chance keep your fun times for this trip?

[Lady_Jag]

Thanks for posting! Any recommended shopping spots in Curaçao?

Also, what nights were formal nights, and when was the past guest party?

Thanks!

[Jeafl]

I'm flying to Fort Lauderdale this afternoon, and we sail on the Freedom TOMORROW!!!

 

Thanks for your review! We are also staying at the Hilton Airport tonight and have read some not-so-favorable reviews on it. Other than the smoking room issue, did you see any other problems?

[greely dan]

Thanks for posting! Any recommended shopping spots in Curaçao?

Also, what nights were formal nights, and when was the past guest party?

Thanks!

Formal nights were 1st full sea day and second last sea day.