Freedom Review sailing of 6/29/13 - 7/7/13

[Railshot]

Background

Wife and I (mid-fifties) cruised the Carnival Freedom Southern Caribbean itinerary over 4th of July week. 8th cruise, but 1st without our now grown children.

 

Pre Cruise

We were scheduled to fly from DC and arrive Friday night to stay at the Hilton Garden Inn for Saturday cruise departure. Due to weather and cancelled flights, we ended up on a flight to Jacksonville, FL arriving at midnight and then driving to Ft. Lauderdale through the night (without our luggage which didn’t follow us). We checked into the hotel at 6:00 a.m., slept two hours, then showered and went shopping for some basic clothing and toiletries should our luggage not arrive.

 

Embarkation

We had purchased FTTF and with arrival at the port at 12:30 after we finished shopping, it paid off immediately as we were able to skip the long line for check-in and were checked in and on the ship in 15 minutes. We immediately went to guest services to report lost luggage, went right to the front of the line with FTTF, and they could not have been more helpful in taking all our information and assisting us. Luckily our luggage arrived just before departure so we ended up with extra clothes on the trip.

 

The Ship

We had an aft balcony for the 1st time and did like the extra balcony space. Being at the back of the ship meant we were constantly walking the length of the ship to go to the gym, dinner, shows, etc., but exercise was much needed with all the food. We had purchased Chef’s Table and it was the single best on-board activity we had ever done on a cruise. We used any time dining and food was good in main dining room. Breakfast in lido was ok, don’t care for mass produced eggs so mostly went to omelet station to get custom eggs. By the end of the week we went with mostly cereal and fruit or just two meals a day. Lido lunch was mostly good; fish and chips and deli line were our favorites. Room steward Jeffery was excellent. Spent a lot of time on the serenity deck which was close enough to lido to hear the music but far enough away to fall asleep on the comfortable sofas and chairs in the shade. Production shows were well done, especially Ticket to Ride. 4th of July deck party was standing room only and staff, DJ, and show band put on a great show. Piano bar was fun. Casino was up and down but strong last night at blackjack table and I walked away a slight winner for the week. Ship layout was somewhat awkward, but was easy to get around after a day or two. Both wife and I felt overall service was the best ever on Carnival, not sure if it is just the Freedom or all Carnival in in response to earlier media issues.

 

Ports

1st stop was Grand Turk for short half day stop. Didn’t do anything but sit on the beach and wander through Margaritaville but both were nice and well maintained.

 

Next was Dominican Republic where we did the private Seavis tour to Saona Island. There was a great deal of confusion in catching the shuttle to the marina, difficult to figure out where to go and once we got on the shuttle it took a threatened munity by us and others in the van to leave the port since they were two people short of capacity. Once we arrived at their location at the marina, all was well and the tour itself was wonderful. Carlos was a great guide and the boats, private island, starfish, and non-stop drinks made for a great time and party!

 

In Curacao, we met up with a family we had met the previous day on the Seavis tours and negotiated an island tour ($20pp) with one of the vendors right off the ship. Went to the Curacao distillery, a lovely resort, multiple sites in and around the island, and a non-scheduled, but requested by our group, stop at the Jewish cemetery which was fascinating with the intricate stone work of centuries old monuments. As requested, tour dropped us off in town which we didn’t find much different than most port stops.

 

In Aruba, we did the Trikes tour which was loads of fun. Ten minute taxi to Trikes location, you then quickly learn how to drive the three wheeled cycle and your off following guide Michelangelo around Aruba. At every stop, it appeared that the other tourists on buses, vans, etc. took more pictures of us in the Trikes than they did of the local landmarks. Besides being fun to drive, we were able to see a great deal of a beautiful island. Aruba was the one stop that we would love to go back and spend some real time not limited by the ships sailing.

 

Debarkation

Our flight was not until 2:00 so after breakfast we just sat out on lido deck until most had departed. No long lines getting off the ship or in customs as things were winding down.

 

Conclusion

Overall we had a wonderful time with complaints so minor they are not worth mentioning. It’s almost worth circling the ship daily to hear all the “good morning sir”, etc. greetings from every single staff member and almost all of the passengers you pass as opposed to the heads down murmur you mostly get as you pass people on the street on a daily basis off the ship. Would be happy to answer any questions you may have about our trip.

[deedle7544]

Happy to hear you had a great time! What cabin were you in? Any pictures?

[scm1063]

Sounds like you had a great time. Wife and I are doing back to back next week. Can't get here soon enough. We have the Trikes scheduled in Aruba but no other excursions planned. We also have an at wrap, totally spoiled with that now. Which cabin did you have? Spend much time out there? Thanks for the short review and glad you got your luggage!

[TwoSue]

We were on that cruise too, and also had a great time! This was our third cruise (second on Carnival) and I was particularly impressed this time with the friendliness of the wait staff in the dining room. Even though we had Anytime Dining, they called us by name, and after a couple of nights we just asked to be seated in the same section so we could have the same servers. Made for some fun conversations! We took in most of the shows, really enjoying Ticket to Ride and the comedians. My daughter and I went to the 4th of July Deck Party, which was tons of fun!

We also went to Saona with Seavis. The taxi drivers asked me to split up our family... I told them there was no way that either my husband or I would be separated from the kids! That's just nuts. They should really get their own shuttle buses.

I don't remember where I was... must have been in line for something... but I heard you tell your story of driving across Florida in the middle of the night. So glad you made it and had such a great attitude!

[lovebelle]

Happy to hear you had a wonderful time! Sounds like the beginning of your vacation had a few hiccups, but you all took it in stride and glad it worked out in the end :) how did you enjoy dining in the MDR and did you have anytime dining?

[Momma Mojito]

Thanks so much for your review. We are going to be on the Freedom doing the 8 day cruise in August. From all the reveiws I've read the Freedom sound like a great ship to cruise on. There will be 12 of us ( 6 adults 6 Grandchildren) and our cabins are on the Panorama deck.

 

Sorry that you had all that trouble getting to Ft Lauderdale. That is one reason we always fly a day early!

[Dare2Believe]

Thanks for your review! We are on the Freedom next week!!! We're SO excited, it's our first time sailing on her, and we've read nothing but great reviews. :D

 

I'm glad you enjoyed your cruise, apart from the luggage snafu in the beginning. We are flying in a day before the cruise so HOPEFULLY that doesn't happen to us. Fingers crossed!

[Bunkie103]

Thanks for your review. It's our turn in 8 weeks.:D

[Railshot]

We were in cabin 6498. Seemed slightly narrower than our previous balcony cabins but still adequate room for the little time we spent in the room. Would probably have seemed cramped it we had more than two in the room.

 

We did enjoy the aft balcony most evenings. Not much breeze during the day in the hot sun but we generally spent an hour or two each evening enjoying the solace with a glass of wine. We also found it to be a more communal experience which was enjoyable as we chatted with neighbors above, left, and right as balconies are tiered and more open than side-by-side balconies on side of ship. Balcony is large enough that you can sit back by the window/door if you don't want to interact with your neighbors.

 

We used the anytime dining each night other than Chef's table and steakhouse visits. We varied our dining times between 6:00 and 8:00 with never more than a five minute wait. All meals were good, the lobster was better than previous cruises - flavorful and not mushy as we had experienced in some earlier cruises. Wait staff varied with some being more bold in offering suggestions and conversing but all were pleasant and eager to provide good service. Didn't get the name but the bar service waiter who was fairly new from Romania was especially good. Didn't approve of our choice of wine one evening and steered us to a much better choice displaying his knowledge of the wine list beyond just more $'s = better wine.

[Railshot]

A few photos, the Trike, a couple beach shots, and a quaint little chapel in Aruba.

[KarenMF]

I was also on this cruise and it was my favorite so far - and you can see I've now done 15! Great ship, great staff and I was with great people!

[4104ever]

How did you schedule your Chef's Table experience? We will be on the Aug 10th sailing and I so want to do this. Have they changed the menu yet or do they still have the cornish game hen as one of the courses? Any info you have would be much appreciated. Thank you.

[y7anks3]

Hey

Nice review.....

Going on the same trip in August..... just curious do u have the funtimes..... would love to check them out ...... Thanks in advance

[okcruizer]

We were also on that cruise. We did the Chef's Table. You should call the steakhouse as soon as you can when you get on the ship to make a reservation. They only had it on Monday and Tuesday nights, and space was limited. It was a great experience. We is have the Cornish game hens. There was also seafood, but since some of us mentioned not liking seafood, we were given alternatives -- lamb chops and chicken :)

 

 

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