Review - 1st time cruisers - Freedom 8nt eastern - Feb 29 - March 4, 2012

[finzup-kt]

Hi! I have read a lot of reviews on here that have helped me learn all about cruising and Carnival. I wanted to write a review of our 1st cruise - I am going to just do highlights of each facet of the cruise rather than a day by day thing so if you're interested in a certain thing (i.e. the food) jump to that section. I do have pics I'll be linking in as well.

 

Oh and I can get to be a bit of a Wordy McWorderson so hopefully I won't ramble on too much :)

 

OK here we go.

 

about us

I'm Katie, I'm just a smidge under 40 (did I really just post that number on a public forum... yikes.) and I'm pregnant with my first baby (although we have 2 dogs that we are insanely madly enamored by, that we do at times consider our 'children', lol). At the time of travel I was 15 weeks. My husband is Matt, 34, also his first cruise. So I guess we can say this was a babymoon of sorts - although not sure how I feel walking around saying I went on a babymoon. Let's just agree to call it a vacation and forget all about the term babymoon.

 

So more about us - We live in the northeast, in Rhode Island and we both work in the software business so we're a little bit dorky at times. I love to travel. You could tell me I'm going to go to [some random place nobody's ever heard of] or [some place you've heard of but would never visit] and I would be psyched. I'd go into full on research mode and find a way to enjoy every bit of the trip (well, probably not the long flights - I hate flying).

 

I've traveled to Western Europe, the Caribbean, and parts of Mexico. Never been to southeast Asia but have always wanted to go. My husband is a bit less enthusiastic about travel but after 7+ years with me, he's learned to enjoy it :p

 

Prior to this trip, I really didn't think I'd enjoy a cruise. I'm the type that likes to get on a plane, fly somewhere, and be on the beach drinking a drink by 2pm. I like to stay in smaller type places, and explore my surroundings. Going to an all-inclusive resort has it's time and place, but I really prefer staying in a small place, and immersing myself in my vacation location - love the local bars, restaurants, and experiences. Anyway so, you get the picture. Not a fan of resort-y type things, like local things, people, etc. All that contributed to my perceived dislike of cruising.

 

So if you skipped all that babble, the summary is that we're mid-late 30's, live in Rhode Island, like to travel, I'm pregnant, and we've never cruised.

 

 

Here's a picture of what it looked like outside on the day we left Rhode Island

 

 

 

...to be continued

[ejincali]

I will be cruising for the first time soon (CCL Liberty 4/28)! Similar attitudes on travel to you, so really looking forward to the rest of your story...

[finzup-kt]

 

Ok still with me? good :)

 

pre-cruise stuff - booking / joining cc / OBC and things

 

So I knew I was trying to get pregnant, so I had to ensure that when we booked the cruise, I wouldn't be more than 25 weeks pregnant on the cruise. We booked around the end of September, 2011 for the cruise, and we booked early saver.

 

Seeing as I wasn't sure I would like the cruise, we just decided to go cheap and book an inside cabin (deck 2), that way we wouldn't be spending all kinds of money on something that we might not really like. I booked through [the company that has the tagline of 'don't leave home without it']* because I had some membership rewards points and I applied them to the booking. Cruise was $1200 total for the both of us, minus membership rewards $$, we ended up paying about $1050 total.

 

*I know I can't mention travel agents but wasn't sure if I shouln't mention this, so pardon the sillyiness in brackets.

 

 

Anyhow, we booked the Freedom, Eastern Caribbean (St Thomas, Antigua, Tortola, Nassau). I'd been to all those places already except for Antigua but I loved the fact that it was 8 nights and still departed and returned on a weekend. The fact it went out of FLL was a bonus as we flew Southwest and they have a non-stop flight from PVD to FLL.

 

I used up my old SW rapid rewards credits free flights (well, they charge $5 per ticket, but that's so close to free I hesitate to even mention it) and I booked a room at the Hyatt place in FLL using my Hyatt points. So at this point, cruise, hotel, and flights are only about $1060 total.

 

Note, we're not cheapasses or anything, I just like to get good deals and pay as little as possible for things. This doesn't mean we automatically buy the cheapest thing going - I'm a big fan of paying for quality and good service... anyway I'm slowly drifting away from the topic at hand.. back to the review :)

 

I joined CC right around the time of booking as well, and began to read all about early saver, OBC, tipping, chair hogs, and menu changes and how horrible or great everything was on Carnival. I probably read too many reviews but overall I think that's a good thing - I could then formulate my own opinions, see trends in reviews, and of course, take everything with a super ginormous grain of salt. :D

 

I made a reservation at the Steakhouse for our 2nd night on the cruise, then quickly changed it when I found out I had made it for the lobster night in the MDR (and also when I heard about that free bottle of wine... not that I could drink it, but anyway free wine is free wine, and I could at least watch hubby drink the whole bottle (or at least try to)).

 

I got an e-mail confirmation within 24 hours from the Steakhouse on the freedom confirming my reservation, and subsequent change to the reservation.

 

I also ordered a fruit basket and a bottle of champagne from bon voyage. I sent it from our dogs, Oliver and Astro. It was then that I knew I must be crazy. But who cares, it was great to see the look on hubbys face when we got on the ship and saw the champagne with the note from Oliver and Astro :D

 

Next, the waiting came (oh and I got pregnant and for the first 12 weeks I was a complete zombie and slept every moment I could). Thankfully the cruise was in the 2nd trimester so the exhaustion subsided.

 

Like clockwork, I faithfully checked the price of the cruise and looked for price drops (although I didn't think we'd get any since we paid so little).

I was right, no price drops.

 

About 2 weeks prior to departure, I decided to upgrade to an OV room on Deck 1. I called Carnival but they referred me to [company I booked through] since they did the booking. I called them and paid $253 to upgrade to an OV Guarantee room.

 

Within maybe a few hours, we had our room assignment, although I suspected it could change at anytime, it never did. We got Riviera deck 1386.

 

After that there was a price drop and I did get $85 in OBC which was very nice. Total price for cruise (excluding bon voyage) was $1218 for the two of us.

 

 

Summary: We booked an Inside room, early saver, then later upgraded to an OV room. We booked the Hyatt place and flew southwest to FLL on a non-stop flight. Oh, and we're not cheapasses.

 

 

here's a picture of the plane - we were 1 hour delayed waiting for a truck labeled ICEMAN 2 to come and de ice us.

 

Funny thing was this was the mildest winter I've ever experienced. It hardly snowed and it was repeatedly 40+ degrees. Just dumb luck that it snowed and got all icy on the day we flew out. Either way, we couldn't wait to get to the warm weather and sunshine!

 

 

 

...to be continued

[remharri]

Great start! I did this cruise a few years ago and it remains to be one of my favs!

[finzup-kt]

 

Am I boring you yet? Don't say I didn't warn you that I'm wordy, lol. Verbose is my middle name (not really - that would be a cruel middle name).

 

Pre-Cruise Hotel Stay, Restaurants, FLL Area

 

We stayed at the Hyatt Place 17th Street Convention Center. This is called Hyatt Place North.

 

They had a complimentary airport shuttle - we just called when we arrived, and then went outside of the airport and a shuttle came by within 10 minutes. Others were not so lucky - there was a group waiting with us that said they had been waiting for over an hour. They were angry. Driver asked them if they were going to Hyatt Place North and they said no. He said to keep waiting and the other Hyatt shuttle would be by soon.

 

We picked up another group at another terminal, then the driver got a call from the hotel, yelling him to go back and pick up the people at the first terminal. He told the woman that they weren't staying at HP north. We had to go back anyway. Turns out they WERE staying at North and just didn't know it so they probably missed several HP shuttles.

 

It was a debacle, the driver got in trouble, many of shuttle passengers were upset. Some people in the van were complaining about anything and everything possible. I hoped they weren't on the same cruise as us. I wanted to say, "hey, relax, you're on vacation!" (but I kept quiet.).

 

The moral of the story here is to know that there are more than one Hyatt Place Hotels in Ft Lauderdale, and to know which one you are staying at. Oh and to be kind and not complain about everything under the sun.

 

When I travel domestically for work, I try to stay at Hyatt Place hotels - they're usually nice rooms with comfy beds, free breakfast, and have friendly people working there.

 

The HP in FLL was no exception. Check in staff were great and we got a room on the highest floor, facing the cruise port.

 

After checking in, we were starving so went in search of lunch. We wound up not too far away at the Harbor Shops Plaza. We ate at Gilberts 17th Street Grille. Gilberts is a burger type joint - not a chain restaurant. I had a burger with goat cheese and carmelized onions served with sweet potato fries. Being el prego, I ordered it medium well (still can't bring myself to order red meat WELL done, so figured medium-well is probably good). Hubby had a chicken sandwich of some sort with regular fries. He enjoyed a cold beer while I had an all-natural black cherry soda.

 

Staff was super friendly and the food was good, I wouldn't say great, but I'd go back again. My burger was definitely not medium well and I'm ashamed to say that I ate it anyway. I love a good medium rare burger. Thankfully, no problems but I silently vowed to eat things more fully cooked next time.

 

We left Gilberts and went to the Publix where we stocked up on suntan lotion, soda, water and wine for the cruise. In hindsight we should've brought our rolling suitcase - it majorly sucked to carry two 6-packs of soda, a 12-pack of water, 2 bottles of wine, and 3 economy size jugs of suntan lotion back to the hotel. Luckily darling hubby carried ALL of the heavy stuff for me :cool:

 

Now, I'm a planner and researcher. I had all these plans to go to all these places for dinner, shopping, etc. After we got back, literally I was just too tired to do anything. Did I mention the beds at the HP are very comfy? We took a nap and rolled out of bed around 7pm and just decided to go to the Outback Steakhouse, so close to the hotel, you could see it from the parking lot.

 

We walked by another restaurant that literally had probably $5 million dollars worth of cars parked in the front. More than one Bentley and every car in the front row surrounding the building was "at least" a Mercedes. I can't remember the name of it but apparently this is the place to go if you want to show off your car. We walked right by and into Outback.

 

Outback was, well, the Outback. Same as every other one. It was mobbed but we were able to snag a seat at the bar. Hubby enjoyed a giant Fosters beer and I sipped strawberry lemonade. I won't bore you with the food choices, it was all decent, standard chain-restaurant type eats.

 

Back to the hotel and I checked my "good" camera and whoops, I left the memory card at home. Crap. I only have like 1548 memory cards lying around everywhere at home, and stupid me, I forgot to bring one. In the morning hubby went to CVS to buy one and we got robbed - $32 for a 8mb class 6 SD card. Just last week I had bought my mother a 16gb class 10 one for only $9.99 on amazon, and I know if i searched I could find even better deals. But whatever, we were stuck so we bought it.

 

Packed up all our stuff and took the 10am shuttle to the cruise port.

 

 

Here's some pictures of the cruise port from our room:

 

 

 

 

Summary - Hyatt place is great, know which one you're staying at and bring a rolling case to carry home your drinks when you go to Publix. Oh and try to not be miserable when something goes wrong on your vacation ;)

 

 

 

 

 

...to be continued

[sharecruises]

Congrats on baby to be....

 

I admire your "deals"...good job!!

 

I am going on this cruise in Sept, and am looking forward to the rest of your review, especially

 

what you did in Antiqua and Tortola

 

how were the shows? did they have a "cover band" or other good

entertainment?

 

Thanks

[Celandine]

enjoying your review so far.

 

Love your wordy-ness!

 

 

And congrats on the pregnancy!

[SoundDawg]

Good start to your review! I like your writing style. Definitely subscribing!

[Cathy p]

Love,love and love your review! We are not going on this cruise but once I started your review is was like a book I could not put down. Come on sweetie on with the show!

[finzup-kt]

 

OK we've finally reached Feb 29th - Embarkation day! :D

 

Arriving at Port and Embarkation

 

So we took the 10am shuttle from the Hyatt place to Port Everglades ($7 pp). Shuttle was on time, and organized. We got into the port very quickly and we were the first stop I think. There were a lot of other cruise ships in port that day as well. I think I saw at least 5 - Celebrity, MSC, Royal Caribbean, Holland America, and Princess.

 

We got off the shuttle, and the porters whisked our luggage away and then asked for tips. I am always prepared to tip porters so I didn't see it as a big deal. In different areas people act differently - some would never ask for a tip but would just 'stand around' waiting for one, while other places, people will politely ask. Either way, I tipped them and we were off to the terminal.

 

First stop they check your passport. This went super quick, we were so early there weren't any lines. Next, was security. Relatively painless although they did want to search our carryon with all the drinks in it. Only one person could be there, so hubby went inside while they opened up the suitcase and proceeded to open up the 12-pack of water and shake every single bottle. They didn't pay any mind ot the 2 bottles of wine (I know they are allowed but I felt like there could've been 9 bottles of wine in there and they wouldn't have noticed - they were that focuses on the bottles of water.) Anyway our water was really just water so after a great deal of investigation and shaking, they put it back in the suitcase and sent me on my way.

 

We then had to go through the line where they give you your sign and sail cards. This went quick as well. Nobody asked if we were sick or had been sick although I heard other people being asked the question, so I guess it all depends on who is checking you in.

 

Prior to the cruise, I had to fax in a letter to Carnival from my doctor stating I was in good health and less than 25 weeks pregnant. I did this and had an e-mail confirmation of receipt. I still brought it with me anyway but it turns out the rep checking us in didn't ask for it or need it. Still, if you're prego, I'd say even if you fax it in, bring it with you anyway because, well, you never know if you'll need it.

 

We got boarding group 5 and were directed to sit down in these long rows of chairs. After about 5 minutes of sitting down, I went to check for my phone and well, I realized I didn't have it. Crap. Mistake #2 for me. Turns out I left it in the hotel room. So, we called the Hyatt back and they confirmed they had it and said they'd send it on the next shuttle (which was the 11am shuttle. It was 10:45 or so so hubby went outside to wait for the shuttle around 11:00.

 

I won't bore you with the details (well, maybe a little) but he waited there until 11:45 and no shuttle. Called the hotel back and they said the shuttle was already there but they'd look into it for him. Heard nothing back for a while, around 12:20 called them back and they said it would be there soon. To make a long story short, poor hubby stood out there for almost 2 hours before someone dropped the phone off.

 

If this happens to you, I would highly recommend just sucking it up and paying for a taxi. Even with traffic he would've been there and back in probably 30 minutes. Live and learn, I guess.

 

Our boarding group 5 had long since boarded (along with all the other groups) and I was sitting in an empty room. Hubby finally made it back through security and we boarded the ship a little after 1:00.

 

I have to say I feel like an idiot for leaving the phone - I don't normally leave things behind in hotel rooms. But no matter, we laughed and said that if this was the worst thing that happened to us this trip, we were going to have a great time.

 

 

Here are some pictures of the port and boarding:

 

 

Boarding!

 

 

 

Summary: Don't forget your phone in the hotel, and if you do, take a taxi back to get it.

 

 

 

 

...to be continued

[finzup-kt]

 

OK so we're (finally) on the ship. I'm not going to go day by day but just describe different facets of the trip (food, entertainment, ports, casino, etc). I'll try and be objective and give you the great stuff along with the not-so-great stuff. So in no particular order, we'll start with something near and dear to my heart - food. :D (more background on us: hubby and I are minor "foodies" - we love to go out to eat and we love to cook. We even started an "at home iron chef" thing where we cook meals based around a "secret" ingredient... I mentioned we were a bit dorky, right? )

 

Ok so back to the review - I'll break it up into Main Dining Room, Lido, Room Service, and Steakhouse sections.

 

 

The Food - Main Dining Room

 

I wasn't too sure what to expect for the MDR food. I had read reviews where people raved about the food, but I'd also read reviews where people were complaining about everything. I understood it to be somewhere in the middle - not super awesome fantastic, but not terrible, either.

 

We had anytime dining and that worked out great for us. We always requested a table for two at dinner. Breakfasts and lunches we didn't mind sitting with others. It's not that we're anti-social or hate other people, we're just more private and we both get a little awkward trying to keep up conversations with strangers. But, in MDR dinner, when you got a table for two, you were never far from another table for two. We did end up having conversations with these other tables and I'll admit, it wasn't so terrible ;)

 

That all being said there were some things we loved, and some things we hated about the MDR.

 

Main Dining Room (Chic) - The Great Stuff

 

* Warm chocolate melting cake. Yep, this one was really good. Sometimes we got two sides of ice cream and sometimes one. Either way we pretty much devoured the dessert. It was on the menu every night so one of us usually ordered it each night. I realize there's a lot of hype about the cake, and some people really hated it, but trust me, if you like chocolate cake with a brownie-like taste to it, warmed up, with creamy vanilla ice cream, then you'll love this dessert.

 

* Elegant night Lobster - How can I put this -- I've never met a Maine lobster that I didn't like. The Maine lobbies in the MDR on elegant night were no exception. Sure they weren't huge but you could order more if you wanted. They came with some shrimp which were grilled and not that great but the lobster was delicious.

 

* Escargots - They were on the "didja" menu, one of the later days in the cruise. They were really tasty and served swimming in a sauce of butter and an insane amount of garlic. Very tasty!

 

* Breakfasts in the MDR (Posh) - Several morning we enjoyed breakfast in the Posh dining room. It was great to order off a menu and be served a single portion rather than gorge ourselves on anything and everything at the buffet. I had french toast and sausage one day and both were good. Portions were smaller in MDR breakfast but that was fine - considering all the food we ate during the cruise. Hubby and I both joked that Carnival should advertise with the tagline, "Carnival Cruises - if you go hungry, you're an idiot"

 

* Comfort menu chicken pot pie - Ok I know that chicken pot pie is not the most glamorous or highfalutin thing to be ordering while on a cruise, but whatever, it was damn good! I'd order it again, for sure.

 

* ATD and the ATD Host staff - Very professional and personable. We waited 45 minutes I think on elegant night (it was mobbed). We weren't unhappy to wait, we wait all the time when we go out to dinner at home. Anyway the next day we received a plate of chocolates and such from the ATD host apologizing for our wait. It was a nice touch. All other nights we either got right in when we got to the dining room, or we had a 10-15 minute wait.

 

* Soups - I loved the variety of soups - always something new. Most unique was a chilled orange + tapioca soup. Sure it tasted like a dessert or smoothie but it was refreshing and delicious. We pretty much loved every soup we tried.

 

* Waitstaff - every server we had (we typically got different servers every night) was great! From breakfast to lunch, to dinner, everyone was professional, personable, and trying their best. Zero complaints about any of the waitstaff.

 

 

Main Dining Room (Chic) - The Bad Stuff

 

There were things we didn't like but of course we expected that - nobody likes everything! These are a few things we really disliked in the MDR.

 

* Bread Pudding - I was so excited for bread pudding - I know it's an old fashioned dessert but I love it. Bread soaked in an eggy custard and baked. What's not to like? Anyway, I think this was white chocolate bread pudding. I like white chocolate, and I like bread pudding. Fantastic. Not so much though. The bread pudding was horrible. I didn't taste any white chocolate in it. It just was really grainy/gritty bread in a ramekin, heated up. I could taste no eggy goodness and there definitely was no yummy creamy texture to the bread. No white chocolate to speak of. Luckily, hubby ordered warm chocolate melting cake for his dessert and we shared that.

 

* Bitter and Blanc - Now I know there are those here that LOVE it and I was prepared to love it as well, but sadly my love affair for bitter and blanc was only limited to the time I spent anticipating it's deliciousness. When it arrived, the waiter poured on the vanilla cream. I was so excited for it. I don't know what I expected, but when I took a bit of it, it was terrible. Gritty and grainy like the bread pudding. Hardly any chocolate to speak of and the vanilla sauce was it's only redeeming quality. Again, luckily hubby had chocolate melting cake to save the day :)

 

Maybe the pastry chef had an 'off' week and we just got awful batches of these desserts.

 

* Salmon - From the 'everyday' side of the menu. It was so over cooked and dry it was inedible. No amount of lemon squeezed over it could resurrect it from it's dried out fate. Turns out this was a good thing, as I ordered the chicken pot pie to replace the salmon. Chicken pot pie was great and so if the salmon was not overcooked and horrible, I never would've discovered carnival chicken pot pie.

 

* Shark cakes - from the 'didja' menu - I don't know what we were expecting but basically they were just clam cakes made with shark instead of clam. They were over fried and basically just tasted like a bad fish cake. The 'fried' taste completely overpowered them. We're from New England so no stranger to fried seafood - when done right, it's delicious. Unfortunately these just missed the mark - by a lot. (wow, I think I just sounded a bit like Tom Colicchio on top chef, lol)

 

* This one guy we sat next to - OK I know that this has no bearing on the cruise, but I wanted to mention it. One night we sat next to a couple - the tables were so close, we could hear their "conversation" easily - we weren't trying to eavesdrop, trust me! Well their conversation consisted of the gentleman complaining that there was a (*gasp*) BURGER on the menu in the dining room and they were going to now have to start looking at other cruise lines because of it. I almost fell out of my chair. He went on and on about how terrible it all was while his wife (i assume it was his wife) just kind of sat there not saying much. Now this guy could be a member here, and if so, I apologize for calling you out, but I couldn't *not* mention something so ridiculous. I mean going to a different cruise line because there's a flippin' burger on the menu? Note that this was the night I ended up with chicken pot pie, and that must've just added to his new-found distaste for Carnival and everything non-hoity-toity on the menu. I secretly wished I had ordered a burger. I just don't get why something so silly as having a burger on the menu can affect your vacation one way or another. It's not like it was the ONLY option and it's not like there weren't any other choices! Ok, rant officially over (for now).

 

 

Main Dining Room (Chic) - The OK Stuff

 

So those were the two extremes - Great and Terrible. Everything else fell somewhere in the middle. We enjoyed it though!

 

* Waitstaff Shows - I think I'd add the MDR singing/dancing shows to the "OK" category though. I mean it's kind of cute at first, but as the week goes on, it gets kind of old. So that's why I'm adding it to the "OK stuff" category. I'd be fine whether they did the shows, or they didn't.

 

* Most of the appetizers, meals, and desserts , for us, fell into the "ok stuff" category. Not awful, but not great. Certainly more than acceptable and always well presented on the plate.

 

 

 

Pictures? Well, unfortunately we didn't take any pictures of the food. I meant to, really I did, but we just kept forgetting the camera at dinner.

 

Here's a picture of some drinks we had while waiting for dinner one night:

 

(virgin strawberry daiquiri for moi and a sapphire gimlet for hubby).

 

 

Summary: MDR anytime dining is a great option, soups are unique and inventive, and don't be afraid to try the chicken pot pie.

Oh and Carnival's new slogan should be "Carnival Cruises - if you go hungry, you're an idiot"

 

 

 

 

...to be continued

[Folsom]

We were on the same cruise as you. Thanks for giving me a reason to re-live the week.

 

And no, it was not me that complained about the burger being on the menu.

 

Looking forward to more...

[finzup-kt]

 

next up on the food list - the Steakhouse! We had reservations for the 1st night (with free bottle of wine) and we also went back another night. So two trips to the steakhouse for us. Personally I could've eaten there every night, lol

 

The food - The Steakhouse

 

The steakhouse is called the Sun King and it's located aft on deck 10.

 

I'm going to skip the whole "great, terrible, and OK" sections here because in all honestly, everything about our steakhouse experience was fan-freakin-tastic.

 

Let's go over what we ate (and boy, did we eat).

 

Steakhouse 1st Visit

Day 1, not crowded so I see why they entice folks with a free bottle of wine. We had our choice of a white (can't remember what kind) or a red (Merlot). Hubby ordered the Merlot. The Sommelier poured me a glass which I couldn't drink but I let it sit there in front of me anyway. I have to say that I really miss enjoying a good glass (or bottle) of wine with dinner. I also miss ketel one dirty martini's before dinner, coffee drinks after dinner, and foo foo rum drinks by the pool. OK wait, I'm supposed to be talking about the steakhouse and not my desire to drink everything under the sun. Sorry for the tangent :)

 

So for appetizers - I had the New England crab cake and hubby had the mushroom appetizer. I don't remember the name of it - but there was only one mushroom appetizer so if you order that you'll get the same one. The mushroom appetizer was different types of mushrooms, with other stuff. Forgive me for not paying more attention to his. I remember he really loved it and was impressed by it, but I was far too smitten with my appetizer choice to pay him much attention.

 

The crab cake was phenomenal. Loaded with lump crab meat and not a lot of "filler". I hate it when I order crab cakes and they are deep fried and mostly breading and filler and you can't find the crab meat. Not this - this one was loaded with sweet crab, and there were a smattering of roasted corn kernels in there to give it a slightly smoky flavor. The lightly pan fried crab cake sat on a bit of greens and a mildly spiced remoulade sauce. Delicious and I could totally eat that every day.

 

Salads - we both had the spinach salad and we both loved it. Very delicous.

 

Entrees - I had the surf and turf and hubby had the NY Strip. We both got baked potatoes with all the fixin's for the sides. The surf and turf was a petite filet mignon served with a 7 ounce warm water lobster tail. I know I'm supposed to order medium well and up and I realize I already failed while in Fort Lauderdale when I ate that burger, but I just couldn't bear to order a piece of filet mignon medium well done. I am ashamed again to admit I ordered it medium. It was cooked perfectly medium when it arrived and as I devoured it, I secretly hoped it would've arrived medium rare. Hopefully you all reading this don't think I'm a terrible person for my questionable food choices. I justified it by thinking about all the times I've gotten food poisoning from eating rare or medium rare meat in my life - which would be zero. I know I was taking a risk but I thought overall, pretty safe bet that I'd be fine with a medium cooked steak - after all the outside edges were cooked. Ok the lobby - Like I mentioned in the MDR posting , I'll never turn down a Maine lobster. Well this wasn't a Maine lobster, it was a warm water lobster tail. Not the same at all, but still very tender, sweet, and delicious. It was grilled so it had a slightly woody taste to it. Would I have preferred a gigantic Maine lobby tail, sure, but this was really delicious!

 

Hubby's NY strip steak was delicious, he devoured it. He ordered medium rare and it was perfectly cooked. Our baked potatoes were good - but its' hard to mess up a baked potato, right?

 

Dessert - We both ordered decaf cappuccinos. Hubby got the chocolate sampler and I got the caramel apple tarty thing. The chocolate sampler surprised me a bit - I mean I know people have reviewed it and I must not have paid much attention to that part - I expected it to be 4 portions of chocolate... It was 4 portions, and each had some chocolate component, but I wouldn't say chocolate was the main focus. For instance there was a tiramisu portion - this to me is a coffee/cheese type dessert, not a chocolate one. The other portions had various non-chocolate ice creams on them as well. All that being said, don't let me dissuade you from ordering it - it was delicous. All four items were very good!

 

The caramel apple tart thing was super amazingly awesome though. Thinly sliced apples, pastry, caramel, and vanilla ice cream. Goodness I don't know how that could be bad. I devoured it even though I was so full I could barely move.

 

Hubby did a good job with the wine, he almost finished the entire bottle.

 

We left there completely stuffed and completely happy.

 

 

 

 

Steakhouse 2nd Visit

 

Our second visit we tried to order different things than the previous visit. I couldn't resist though, and I ordered the crab cake again. Hubby ordered it as well. SO good!

 

For drinks, hubby just ordered wine by the glass - they have some excellent choices. I ordered a huge bottle of San Pellegrino sparkling water and some limes to go with it. Hey, at least it *felt* like I was having a drink!

 

For our salads, I had the Caesar salad and hubby had the spinach salad again. The Caesar salad was delicious and prepared right in the dining room. I think between the spinach salad and the Caesar salad, I preferred the spinach salad. Both totally different and really not fair to compare them, but well, I just did. Anyway I don't think you can go wrong no matter what you order.

 

Entrees. You're going to think I'm evil - you really are. I ordered the full portion filet mignon, and yes, I ordered it medium again. I mean to say medium well, but the words came out 'medium'. Oops. It was delicious. I also ordered a side of Bearnaise sauce and poured it over every amazing bite. SO good. For my side I had the wasabi mashed potatoes, hold the wasabi. (I'm not a fan of wasabi, especially in something like mashed potatoes). The mashed potatoes were delicious, and I think they probably had about 8,214,000 calories per serving.

 

Hubby had the 5-spice rubbed rib eye. Of course I can't remember what the 5 spices were - I *think* I remember the 5 spices as garlic, rosemary, chili, black pepper, and ??? can't remember the last one. Maybe it was salt. Of course there was salt, but I don't know if it was considered one of the 5 spices. I'm rambling again, I know. He LOVED it.

 

Desserts - I really wanted the caramel apple thingy again but wanted to try something different - we split the cheesecake. Meh. If there was anything I wouldn't order again, it'd be the cheesecake. It was not dense and creamy like a NY cheesecake - it was more light and fluffy - almost like an Italian cheesecake made with ricotta cheese in place of some of the cream cheese. It wasn't terrible - with the decaf cappuccinos we ordered, it was a nice ending to the meal. Oh and be forewarned the cheese cake is immensely hugely gigantic. One person has zero hope of finishing it. But you can bring it back to the room if you want and enjoy it later or on a different day.

 

Again we left there completely stuffed!

 

 

 

Steakhouse - the one mildly annoying thing

 

Sommelier asked for our sign & sail cards to bring the check. When he brought it back there was a spot on there to add a gratuity. Now, I know that gratuity is supposed to be included, but for the uninformed, it appears that it's not. That's a bit shady on Carnival's part, in my opinion. Both times we did add extra tip - thinking that Carnival probably doesn't give much tip out of the $30 - but it would've been nice to know that a) some amount of tip is included and b) what that amount is.

 

 

Pictures -- we only took pictures in the steakhouse on the first night, and I did not bring my "good" camera ... i also turned off the flash so as not to disturb others around me -- so while I tried to keep a steady hand, the pictures are a bit blurry. Oh and of course I didn't get a picture of the amazingly awesome i-could-eat-this-everyday crab cake. Oops.

 

Here's my surf and turf - the filet in the middle with the two halves of lobster tail on each side:

 

 

Here's hubby's NY strip:

 

 

 

 

Caramel apple tart:

 

 

chocolate sampler:

 

 

 

 

In summary - go to the steakhouse, bring your appetite, and order the crab cake.

 

 

 

...to be continued

[reerun25]

Enjoying the review, great job!!

[cruisinsly]

Great review! Cant wait for the rest. This is one of the more detailed I have read. I have the same problem as you and I talk to much. lol

[CaribbeanLuver]

I absoultely love your sense of humor and writing style! I usually can't read a whole review (perhaps a little ADD...). Can't wait to read more and see more pics!

[finzup-kt]

 

 

Food - Lido Deck Options

 

Ok so on the lido deck lives the buffet, the pizza place, the mongolian wok, a sandwich area, a grill with burgers/hotdogs, a seafood place "fish and chips", and an indian food station.

 

At breakfast, it's only breakfast buffet.

 

We never went to the lido at dinner.

 

We did eat breakfast and lunch a few times in the lido area, and we had a snack of pizza in the afternoon once (or twice).

 

I'm going to preface this section by saying I generally HATE buffets. I typically find the food to be average at best, and for the most part, I dislike a lot of the people eating at the buffet. I know, I know it sounds so snobby of me - and I know most people are fine - but it's the people that totally suck that ruin it for me. Why do the people suck? Well glad you asked :)

 

Note: I know I said I'd remain objective in this review - this next part is a departure from that. You've been warned!

 

Katie's completely subjective reasons why people suck at buffet's**: (In no particular order)

 

* People cutting you in line

* People sticking their fingers in and grabbing food without using utensils

* People piling so much food on their plate that it's completely disgusting

* People sneezing our coughing near the food

* Little kids running around everywhere unsupervised with dirty hands grabbing desserts and food

 

**Note this list applies to any and all buffet's, whether on a ship or not

 

 

So anyway, you get the idea. I'm just not a fan of buffets.

 

OK so back to the Carnival Freedom and the Lido food options.

 

Food - Lido Deck Options - The Great

 

Honestly? Nothing here was great. Sorry. I just wasn't blown away by any of it.

 

 

Food - Lido Deck Options - The Terrible

 

Only one thing stands out to me as truly terrible:

 

* The fish and chips. That fish was just awful! I don't know what they put i the batter (I think maybe it was cider?) but the batter was horrid and the fish wasn't much better. In between the batter and the fish was a layer of soggy mushy moistness that was so unappetizing. The fish in the middle wasn't bad but at that point, I just didn't want any of it.

 

oh maybe I'd also add the nacho chips. Totally stale and soggy

 

Food - Lido Deck Options - The Just OK

 

Most everything fell into this category.

 

The breakfasts were standard buffet breakfasts. I enjoyed the egg stations and having them make omelettes and such but it was just standard stuff.

Lunches - again food was just okay.. some things better than others.

 

Sandwiches - I had a tomato/mozz/pesto pannini thing. It was decent. Hubby had a pastrami sandwich and that was pretty good.

 

Pizza - just okay, I could see really enjoying this at 2am after having drinks but maybe on another trip!

 

Grill - burgers were "meh" at best. Oh and definitely well done (and then some). Next cruise I want to be on a boat with the Guy Fieri burgers. Those sound really good.

 

mongolian wok - again, nice idea, mediocre execution. We had it and it was good, nothing great.

 

fish and chips - already discussed the horrendous fish.. the "chips" were good - standard skinny fries. Also tried this calamari zucchini thing which was like a big fritter - it wasn't bad. They also offered tuna sashimi which of course I had to refrain from eating - but it looked good.

 

desserts - some good, some not so good. Luckily it's a buffet and you can go get more and try other things. Chocolate cake was pretty good as was the key lime pie.

 

I know I sound like I'm complaining but honestly the food on the lido was good, not great, and that was OK. It totally served it's purpose and would not be a detractor from booking another cruise.

 

 

Some pictures:

 

Fish and chips from Lido (I realize they don't look bad, but trust me, it was awful)

 

 

Mongolian Wok items:

(beef with thai bbq and chicken with schezuan)

 

 

Desserts:

 

Summary: Lido deck food options are average quality but you can find some good things. Oh and I hate buffets :)

 

 

...to be continued

[navybaby1113]

Loving your review. Our last cruise was on the Freedom and it was one of our favorites.

[finzup-kt]

 

OK MDR, Steakhouse, and Lido deck done - only one more food item to review:

 

Room Service

 

I loved that we could order room service as part of the cruise price. We took advantage of room service mostly for the continental breakfast, but we did order snacks (veggies and dip) one time as well.

 

Room Service - The Great Stuff

 

* great thing about room service is that it exists!

* I enjoyed using room service as my "wake up" call. Nothing better than waking up to the knock on the door, throwing on "presentable" clothing, and opening the door to a hot pot of coffee.

* Room service was prompt and efficient and always got our order right

* Croissants and butter. Yum times 10!

 

Ok in all seriousness we usually ordered a pot of coffee, some juices, skim milk, and some toast or croissants. Some days we got all crazy and ordered boxes of lucky charms. Nothing like vacation to bring out the kid in us :)

 

 

We always tipped them $1-2

 

I have nothing to put into the "terrible" or "just ok" categories.

 

 

 

Pictures - sorry I have no pictures of room service...

 

 

Summary: Order and enjoy room service.

 

 

 

 

...to be continued

[finzup-kt]

 

Thanks everyone for the comments so far!

 

 

Going to take a bit of a break now from writing the review. Be back soon with reviews of the boat, the rooms, entertainment, ports, casino, etc.

 

 

 

 

...to be continued

[ibcnusoon]

Thanks so much for the review, ummm, yea I'd love to cruise this ship and itinerary, but I'm thanking you for making me laugh on my lunch hour here at work. I'm reading your review and seriously chuckling out loud!

 

I'm subscribing and looking forward to hearing more!

[sunsailsand]

Love it,love it,love it. Keep up the good work.

[ibcnusoon]

hahahaha about room service, I did the SAME THING!

 

I'd leave a wakeup call 5 minutes before I had scheduled room service from the night before. I'd put my robe out and wait for THE KNOCK.

 

LOVED getting a pot of coffee, croissant, jam, orange juice and a bowl of LUCKY CHARMS delivered to my cabin before getting dressed and ready for the day!

[finzup-kt]

 

I'm back. I'm home sick from work today - hence having actual time to write this review. Anyway I just took a soup break and am sipping an ice cold lemonade which always makes me feel better.

 

Back to the review!

 

The Room

 

We stayed in an OV room - room 1386 on the Riviera deck - deck 1. We were in a mid-ship location, but more towards the back. The location was perfect - it was an easy walk to the back or mid elevators which gave us good access to the entire ship.

 

The room was a good size - bigger than I anticipated it being. The window was pretty big (bigger than I expected) and the bathrooms were not as cramped as imagined. You'll note a theme there - everything was bigger than I thought it would be - I guess I half expected to be in a closet with a bed and a porthole, lol

 

The bathroom had a stall shower, and the sink had several metal shelves to store things. I had one of those hanging organizer thing-a-ma-bobs so I kept stuff in there as well as on the shelves. We didn't have any problem with organizing our stuff.

 

In the room were 3 closets - one had shelves and 2 had bars for hanging clothes. There were a few drawers as well for misc items. We unpacked everything and it all fit fine into the space provided.

 

The room had a mini-fridge, tv, and a hairdryer as well.

 

We had an adjoining room but we never heard the people next to us (on either side). I wish I had a "better" neighbor stories to report but it was very uneventful.

 

What else.. oh the room had a couch and a chair and a table. We ate our room service breakfast while sitting on the couch.

 

Our suitcases fit fine under the bed and we never really felt cramped for space during the trip.

 

We did empty out the refrigerator and put the stuff on the shelf. We filled the fridge with the sodas and waters we brought on.

 

There was no ice bucket in the room but one call to housekeeping and we had an ice bucket (and some limes). Our room steward refilled our ice bucket twice daily.

 

Speaking of our room steward, he was great! I don't recall his name as I was hiding in the bathroom when he came by to meet us. I was actually getting dressed and had no pants on and when I heard the knock at the door, I just ran into the bathroom. Come on, we've all done that, right?

 

Anyhow we didn't see our steward much, he was very stealthy. We'd go to the MDR for breakfast and there'd be no sign of him, yet when we got back, our room was clean, ice refilled, etc. He was super efficient. No complaints at all about him.

 

Most of you are seasoned cruisers and you all know how it all works, but this was my first time, so I was pleasantly surprised when I found out the room steward visits twice - once in the morning and once at night - the nighttime was not only to turn down the bed, but to replace wet towels, empty the trash, replace the ice, etc.

 

 

As for seasickness and motion - we didn't feel much on deck 1 - except in the first few days of the trip when it was super windy. But the motion we felt on deck 1 was nothing compared to up on the higher decks. I think we did hear /feel a bit of vibration from the boat but nothing that bothered us or kept us awake. It was almost a gentle sound, like white noise.

 

That's all I can think of to say about the room - any more questions, just ask!

 

 

Pictures:

The map of the ship - our room was in between the mid and aft elevators.

 

 

The room:

 

 

 

Summary: We had ocean View room 1386 on Riviera deck and we had a awesome, stealthy steward

 

...to be continued

[finzup-kt]

 

 

Bon Voyage

 

So we had a few things from bon voyage

 

* the champagne and fruit basket from my dogs Oliver and Astro

* a bottle of rum hubby ordered for himself

* canapes from my father in law

* a fruit basket and wine also from father in law

* drink tickets from father in law

 

Now, I was unaware that my father in law had sent wine, fruit, canapes and if I had known I probably would've skipped the fruit basket and champagne from the doggies. But it was all good.

 

 

Here's how it all arrived:

 

When we first got to our room, the bottle of rum my hubby ordered and the bottle of champagne was in the room waiting for us.

 

About an hour later, the fruit basket from the dogs arrived.

 

About an hour later, we got a phone call from room service asking when to deliver the canapes. "Right now" we replied, excited for the canapes.

 

Much later a knock on the door arrived and it was the other fruit basket from my father in law - this one with a bottle of wine. The tag said fruit basket + bottle of RED wine, yet clear as day it was a bottle of white wine.

 

The following evening at dinner in the MDR, a woman comes up to me with drink tickets and asks me to sign for them. Thought that was a bit weird but it's all good.

 

So it took a full day and a half for us to receive all of our bon voyage items. I'm not complaining, but it's good to know that everything won't necessarily be waiting for you in the room when you arrive. Makes sense, they have to make up the canapes and fruit baskets after the food gets loaded on the ship. Regarding the drink tickets, no idea why that was a full day and a half later.

 

 

So, we had a lot of fruit to eat, and hubby had a lot of booze to drink! If you remember from embarkation day, we brought on 2 bottles of wine. Add that to the champagne + rum + wine - hubby had his work cut out for him!

 

Turns out he did a great job - he managed to go through the 2 bottles of wine we brought on, and almost all of the rum. We ended up bringing the champagne and 1 bottle of wine home with us.

 

Fruit baskets - Full of fruit. The small one from the dogs had apples, oranges, kiwi, grapes, and bananas. The larger one that came with the bottle of wine had apples, oranges, bananas, kiwis, grapes, all sorts of cheeses, dried fruits, nuts, and crackers. The dried fruits/nuts/crackers were great to take on port days for snacks.

 

The canapes were delicious. There were 4 different kinds that I'll try and remember accurately.

 

* Smoked salmon / cream cheese / on bread

* creamy cheese with radish

* beef, creamy mayo and a mango

* chicken confit with mango garnish.

 

There were a 32 canapes on the tray (8 of each type). The BV menu on line currently has a 16 pc canape plate with the description of:

Carnival's Canape trays include Salmon and cream cheese on white bread, Grilled Portobello mushrooms with roasted peppers, Chicken Confit with Mango wedge on wheat bread, and last but not least, Duck Confit and bean Cassoulet on wheat bread.

 

So ours was similar, but not the exact same. Delicious nonetheless!

I only wish I could've enjoyed champagne or a glass of wine with it. I had a nice sparkling ginger ale though

 

Pictures -

 

 

 

 

Summary: Bon voyage is great, not all the items arrive at once.

 

 

 

 

 

 

...to be continued