Carnival Freedom New Year's Eve Cruise Review!!!

[soulsistah007]

Welcome to this review! Overall, we had a great time on the Freedom! This will be a mini review with an overview, tips, and pics of the ports we went to. As I love to research, I was having a hard time finding reviews of what others did in our ports (specifically Antigua and Tortola) and also reviews of what New Years’ Eve would be like on the ship. In the spirit of paying it forward, I hope this review helps someone else in the future. Before I start, here are some relevant details:

 

Who: Myself (30), DH (31)

What: 8 Day Carnival Freedom New Years’ Eve Cruise

Where: Starting in Fort Lauderdale, headed to St. Thomas, Antigua, Tortola, Nassau

When: December 29, 2012 to January 6, 2013

Why: Our honeymoon!

 

PRE CRUISE:

 

FLIGHTS:

Coming from Toronto, we drove across the border to Buffalo to catch our flight to Fort Lauderdale. We left just in the midst of a snowstorm and we’re glad that we factored in flying in the day before. We flew with AirTran on connecting flights BF-ATL and ATL to FL. The first flight was delayed by 45 mins. Some people ended up missing their connecting flights so that was a lesson learned in not leaving a short time frame in between flights. We built in a two hour layover so we were lucky. Another lesson learned that day was to not fly in the day of your cruise. We learned that day that AirTran overbooks their flights. That being said, one family who had a cruise that day, was so upset that they couldn't get on their flight because it was overbooked and would not be able to make it in time. The husband was causing a scene with the customer service people. I felt bad for them but let this be a lesson folks! Overall, I'd give AirTran a B- . Long delays (some of which were not their fault - FLL has an overbooked runway), small seats and mediocre on-board service.

 

HOTEL:

Redeemed with Aeroplan points we selected the Best Western Plus Fort Lauderdale Airport South Inn & Suites.

I would highly recommend to exercise caution if choosing this hotel. In a nutshell, at the airport, we waited more than 30 mins for a shuttle to come (when another driver from another hotel confirms that this hotel only sends shuttles every 30 - 45mins that’s a sign not to ignore), our first room smelled, the bathroom wasn’t cleaned and the bed had stains. In requesting a new room, we waited in the lobby (along with 40 or so guests who were also waiting for a room) for over an hour for our room. Our second room was alright but everything previous left a bad taste in our mouth. Here’s the room:

 

 

 

[MANDALOUWHO]

Very excited for your review! Booked on the freedom for March 9th! Thanks so much!

[Cupcrazy]

Great start. Very excited to read more!

[pafam4]

Looking forward to your review. Sailed the Freedom a few years ago, same itin, loved it! I enjoy reading about others' experiences on the Freedom...brings back great memories.

[soulsistah007]

EMBARKATION

We received the 1:30pm embarkation email but we ignored it. We got to the port around 12pm and were onboard within 25 mins. Barely any waiting!

 

THE SHIP

Pretty similar to other Conquest Class ships (I’ve previously been on the Glory and Liberty) so it was pretty easy to navigate (especially the elevator locations and getting to mid ship of floors 3 – 5). My fav part of the ship was the adults only Serenity deck. More often than not, it was pretty easy to find a seat up there. The only difference on this ship for me compared to other ships I’ve been on was the addition of the Steakhouse (more on that later). I felt the décor was a bit toned down compared to other ships. Lido music – much louder than normal! This ruined the feeling of the “serenity” deck whenever there were loud events/activities taking place.

 

 

 

 

 

 

CABIN

We were in an Oceanview room on the Riviera Deck (room 1411). We normally choose an oceanview so we knew what to expect. Overall, the room seemed a tad smaller than the rooms on the Victory. But it was a great location, no noise, convenient on port days and minimal feel of the ocean…just perfect.

The free toiletries were not as good as before. We got nasal strips, soap, toothpaste and shampoo.

 

 

MUSTER DRILL

When it comes to safety, I’m in the camp that likes to be prepared and know what to do in the event that something goes wrong. Better safe than sorry. Some people don’t ascribe to this and it was pretty obvious (more so than any other cruise I’ve been on before). When the staff members tells you to get off your phone and you continue to talk on your phone during the drill, or you let your children continue to talk loudly, you obviously don’t care about your safety, but you’re interfering with your fellow cruisers who want to be safe. Try to be considerate – the drill is only a few minutes.

 

 

More to come....food, entertainment activities and ports!

[soulsistah007]

One more thing I forgot to mention while photo's continue to load....

 

PASSENGER DEMOGRAPHIC

 

As the ship holds 2974 passengers, we were told that over 1000 were kids. I'll say that from what I saw, the majority of the kids and teens were really well behaved, especially on New Years Eve. So, lots of families and large groups of different ages. Many of my fellow Canadian's were on board as well. This was the first time I've been on a ship where they did the muster drill and other announcements on the first day in French! Overall, everyone seemed to be in a great mood and pretty friendly....no complaints about my fellow cruisers :)

[courtneymd9]

I'm excited to read your review! We are on in 3 weeks! Just so you know, all airlines overbook their flights, not just Air Tran.

[re-re]

Great start, looking forward to more.:)

[PathfinderEss]

Enjoying your review, looking forward to the rest of it. Thanks for posting it.

[BettyCruiser]

Enjoying your review so far, I'm looking forward to hearing about NYE, I'm planning on booking a NYE cruise and will likely chose Carnival.

 

Congratulations!

[wrigley80]

Really enjoying your review. We cruise on the Freedom on March 3rd. It's nice to see a review on the Freedom

[KirkNC]

Thanks for the report.

[SMSACE6]

Im enjoying your review! I like the Freedom a lot.:)

[soulsistah007]

Thanks everyone for your wonderful comments!! I'm glad I could be of help to you :)

 

Regarding overbooking of flights - yup, we noticed SouthWest calling over the PA system too about overbooking their flights. I guess more carriers are doing that these days!

[soulsistah007]

FOOD

We had ATD in the Chic Restaurant. There was only one night (second formal night) where we waited about 15mins. As I mentioned, there were lots of families on board so those who were waiting for large tables (i.e. table of 8) often had to wait longer than those who just wanted a table for 2. We ate in the MDR every night except for 2. I really can’t say enough about how wonderful the dining staff was in the MDR. Their hospitality was outstanding! We never requested to sit in the same section but we had great conversations with our dining team and on our last night we back to the teams we had to say thanks and goodbye and they all remembered our name! I’d give the MDR food a B+. I never had any trouble finding anything to eat and my meat dishes were never over or undercooked. Their dessert menu should change though. I don’t have that big of a sweet tooth so I often resorted to ice cream instead of their speciality desserts. We also missed out on lobster night. I know in the past, both formal nights had lobster but it wasn’t available the second formal night. If I had known, I would have booked our Steakhouse reservation on a non-lobster night. Lido deck buffet was just average for the most part. The Mongolian Grill, Pizza Station, Fish & Chips and Tandoor Station (absolutely loved the Indian food although it was always a wait to get naan bread) were always really good. The plates they have in replacement of the trays are still large enough to hold a lot of food. Overall food on the ship - B.

 

STEAKHOUSE

Being that it was our honeymoon, I thought it would be great to try out the Steakhouse on New Year’s Eve. The service and the food were amazing!! We both had the surf and turf as our entrée and yes, the portions are huge! Dh said he liked it so much that he wants to do it on every future cruise. It’s definitely worth the extra $35. I would rate our steakhouse experience as an A+.

 

TEA TIME

I remember reading a thread here on CC about Carnival’s Tea Time. It had me intrigued since I’m a big tea lover. Having never been to one, I decided this would be a must do on this cruise. So, I dragged hubby along (he didn’t want to go lol) and was pleasantly pleased by the whole event. You get to choose what kind of tea you want along with a selection of mini sandwiches and desserts. The sandwiches weren’t anything special but the desserts good. Hubby had a chocolate fruit tart which was really rich and I had vanilla scones…so delicious! Overall, tea time gets an A-.

 

ENTERTAINMENT & STAFF

Our CD was Brad Calabrese. I thought he did a great job! I didn’t see him around the ship like I did with other CD’s but Brad was really personable and funny when hosting events. We went to the Love & Marriage show, Carnival Legends, the Adult Only Game Show (the things people will do to win lol. Definitely a must see), the hypnotist show (super funny!!) , and both of the adult rated comedy shows (Tip: Arrive early to get a good seat – 9:30 was not early enough). As well, there was a live band night in the Habana bar and this was outstanding. Really good live music if you’re into brass bands. Entertainment overall – B.

 

NEW YEARS EVE

I guess it depends on the ship but the Freedom did not have free champagne on New Years Eve, contrary to what I read on CC. We had free champagne on Embarkation day (as many as you wanted as waiters were walking around the Lido deck buffet with glasses) but on new years eve, the waiters were coming around with bottles only. We asked how much and they said $24 or $29 a bottle. Everyone received noise makers and party hats. We headed up the lido just after 11pm and it was already starting to get crowded. Closer to midnight, it felt like everyone was celebrating outside although they showed the main lobby on the big screen and it looked like people down there were having fun too! Leading up to the countdown, the band played a mix of old songs and everyone was singing along!! So much fun!! They broadcasted the times square countdown on the big screen and we rung in 2013 with a bang! From there, the dj came on and the lido deck was rocking!! We joined in with the others and danced until maybe 12:45am. No one was rowdy and everyone was in a great mood! Definitely see if you cruise on a new year’s eve. It’s definitely quite an experience…my words (and pics) don’t do it justice!

 

 

 

[soulsistah007]

PORTS

 

St. Thomas

St. Thomas is one of those ports for us that we’re getting a bit tired of. DH likes it because of the alcohol (the cheapest place in the Caribbean to buy. Tip: If you are looking to purchase alcohol, walk over to the K-Mart – about maybe 15 min walk from port – to buy. DH got 6 bottles and I got 2—Cruzan Vanilla –so delicious). We have normally gone to Megan’s Bay and have family take us around (I have family that lives there) so this time we wanted to do something different. Not knowing how we would feel the day after New Year’s Eve, I was really looking to just relax on a beach close to port, so I chose Emerald Beach which is attached to the Best Western Hotel near the airport. We got a cab to the beach, $7 per person and then had a family member come pick us up. There were 7 ships in port that day so I was glad we chose Emerald Beach as it wasn’t too crowded. It’s about a 15 min drive from the Havensight Port as our cabbed stopped off downtown to let passengers out. The beach itself is gorgeous! The water that day was calm and didn't have a steep drop off. The bar has some good drinks and watch out for small iguana's walking around.

 

 

 

 

 

View from the Serenity Deck:

 

 

[hill6]

Great review so far.

[soulsistah007]

Antigua

 

Our next stop was Antigua and this was an island we were really looking forward to seeing as we’ve never been here before. DH’s feedback on Antigua was that he didn’t like how cab drivers were continuously asking us if we needed a cab before we even left the marketplace. We headed to The Museum of Antigua & Barbuda which was about a 5 min walk from the end of the marketplace. On each cruise, we try to go to a museum to learn more about the countries development and people. The cost was $3 per person and although it was relatively small, there is a lot of neat information and artifacts inside so I would definitely recommend checking it out. After the museum, we went back to the marketplace and got a cab to take us to Dickenson Beach. I initially wanted to go to Runaway Beach but then we would have to wait for a group of people to fill up a cab to go to the same beach. Since there was already a group headed to Dickenson, off we went. Driving to the beach was easy and unadventurous. It's relatively flat farm land that you pass through. There are many beach bars here but beware that the first beach bar will charge you to use the bathroom. Its only $1 but still. I ended up getting a drink here and I believe it was $4. Other things about the beach: its the same beach as the Sandal's resort (which looks gorgeous), there are lots of vendors, (I didn't see any vendors at Emerald Beach in St. Thomas), very busy (can be hard to find a spot to sit), the waves are strong! A couple of adults, even myself lol, got knocked down a few times from them. Also something to note, if you go with a large group (6 or more) its $3 pp/one way. If you want to go as a couple its $10 (total)/one way. We ended up paying the $10 on the way back as we wanted to leave earlier than our initial group did.

 

Arriving at the beach:

 

 

 

 

 

[thodges]

Good review. I was on that sailing, they did pass out free champagne on New Years Eve. But depending on where you were, you had to go get it. The servers were not getting too far out into the crowd from the bars before their trays were empty.

 

Basically, you had to go get some and could not just wait for them to make it over to where you were.

[soulsistah007]

Good review. I was on that sailing, they did pass out free champagne on New Years Eve. But depending on where you were, you had to go get it. The servers were not getting too far out into the crowd from the bars before their trays were empty.

 

Basically, you had to go get some and could not just wait for them to make it over to where you were.

 

Ah that makes sense. We were on the first platform of the lido deck and it was packed so it makes sense that if you were closer to the bar you would get free champagne! Thanks for clarifying! Hope you had a good time on this sailing as well :)

[Harrier1961]

Thinking about a trip on the Freedom in September; does she have the 2.0 upgrades?

 

Andy.

[soulsistah007]

Thinking about a trip on the Freedom in September; does she have the 2.0 upgrades?

 

Andy.

 

No 2.0 upgrades. According to a recent thread here, the Freedom is scheduled for dry-dock from 11/30/13-12/14/13. I think the Freedom is a great ship though but if seeing/experiencing the upgrades are more important to you, I'd choose another ship.

[crusinpsychRN]

Free champagne on embarkation -- that's the second time I've heard this. Is this new for Carnival? Is it in the atrium lobby or only on Lido?

[soulsistah007]

Free champagne on embarkation -- that's the second time I've heard this. Is this new for Carnival? Is it in the atrium lobby or only on Lido?

 

I'm not quite sure. Perhaps someone else would know better. I also don't know if it was just a New Year's thing or a regular occurrence. For us, it was given out in the lido buffet area. I think we each had about 5 glasses. They kept it coming!

[soulsistah007]

Tortola

 

This was also a new island for us but unfortunately we had a short time in port, 7am -2pm. We didn’t do much other than go to a beach (Cane Garden Bay). There really isn’t a marketplace area when you exit the ship. You have to go into town a bit. On the port of call boards, I read a lot about the drive to Cane Garden being extremely adventurous; winding roads, steep hills, etc. The drive up there was absolutely nothing to be worried about. Compared to the drive to Megan’s Bay in St. Thomas, Megan’s bay is far worst lol. The taxi rate was $8pp. It was raining a bit when we got there but it eventually cleared up. Cane Garden is absolutely beautiful!! Definitely ranks up there with “stepping into paradise”. I could have stayed here forever. The sand was soooo soft and the water was sooo warm! In terms of wildlife, there are a few roosters and chicken’s running about just behind the bars. Our taxi driver and the people that run the beach bars were super friendly.

 

 

 

 

 

 

As you can see, there's no close marketplace area where the ship docks like other ports: