Brief Freedom Eastern Review plus compasses, menus, etc.

[CatLover4]

Loving your review so far and thanks so much for the Cruise Compass!

 

At the risk of sounding like I have no clue (because I really have no clue), how does it work with reserving the cabanettes?

 

Thanks so much!!

[bobmacliberty]

Loving your review so far and thanks so much for the Cruise Compass!

 

At the risk of sounding like I have no clue (because I really have no clue), how does it work with reserving the cabanettes?

 

Thanks so much!!

 

We went to the excursion desk as soon as we boarded because I believe that they sell out. I don't remember seeing the option to reserve a cabanette online ahead of time, but that might also be a possibility. Someone else might be able to confirm. Once we got off the tender on the island, we went into the excursions building and checked in. We then waited for the next tram to take us to the area where the cabanettes are located. Once you arrive at the cabanette area, there is someone to assign you your particular cabanette, and then bring you water. The fruit was delivered late in the morning (don't remember exactly when). The cost was a little more than $50 for 2 people and the charge goes on your ship account. Shade, water, fruit, and a nice beach with fewer people. Worth the money to me.

[bobmacliberty]

I have a lot of info about St. Thomas and St. Maarten, but let me quickly cover a few random bits of info.

 

Internet - We decided that it would be cruel and unusual punishment to deprive our teen daughters of internet access for an entire week. How would they survive without Instragram, Twitter, and Snapchat? The price was $20 per day for one device at a time, and an extra $10 a day for 2 devices at a time. I was only willing to pay for 1 device at a time and told my daughters that they'd need to share. We were never sure about how to log off one device so that we could log on a different device. We ended up just logging onto the second device and assumed that the first device would automatically log out. About 5 days into the trip we realized that we had more than one device with access at the same time. I verified that we were only being charged for 1 device. Not sure why this happened. Maybe it's a loophole in their system? In any case, it worked.

 

Internet speed was slow but manageable. Uploading pictures took a couple of minutes. Uploading videos to Snapchat took longer, but worked. DD17 tried to Facetime her boyfriend but they couldn't even get audio only to work. They had to settle for iMessaging and Direct Messaging on Twitter to communicate with friends.

 

Entertainment - We thought the singers/dancers/production numbers were just so-so. We really enjoyed some of the other entertainers though. Kelly Goodrich was the piano player in the Schooner Bar and he was great. He would do a themed hour most nights, dressed in a costume. One night was Billy Joel, another was Elton John, and another was Jimmy Buffet. He also did 30 Beatles songs in 60 minutes one night but we missed it. Here's a short clip of Kelly playing Rocket Man dressed as Elton John:

 

[YOUTUBE]W-b0W2b23j4[/YOUTUBE]

 

One of the comedians was Chris Bliss. He also does an amazing juggling routine sync'd to a medley of Beatles music. See a Youtube version here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nfiq8Z4dBwE

 

We very much enjoyed the aerialists. Their routine in the Welcome aboard show was good, but their routine in the Farewell show was even better. A few things they did in the Farewell show had me nervous about witnessing a major fall that would not have been good.

 

The Now You See It Drew Thomas Magic Show was also very good. I'd read mixed reviews here with some really liking it and some thinking that integrating the ship's singers and dancers was too forced. Overall though, I thought his magic was very good and left me very entertained.

 

I was pleasantly surprise by the Headliner who was a former member of Foreigner. I'm blanking on his name and it's not in the Cruise Compass. He actually only played a few Foreigner songs at the end of the show and that was the least enjoyable part to me. He had a nice voice and played the clarinet, trumpet, sax, and guitar. I thought he played very well with the Freedom orchestra. My only complaint is that his "style" is a little too Vegas, if that makes sense.

[John&LaLa]

I have a lot of info about St. Thomas and St. Maarten, but let me quickly cover a few random bits of info.

 

Internet - We decided that it would be cruel and unusual punishment to deprive our teen daughters of internet access for an entire week. How would they survive without Instragram, Twitter, and Snapchat? The price was $20 per day for one device at a time, and an extra $10 a day for 2 devices at a time. I was only willing to pay for 1 device at a time and told my daughters that they'd need to share. We were never sure about how to log off one device so that we could log on a different device. We ended up just logging onto the second device and assumed that the first device would automatically log out. About 5 days into the trip we realized that we had more than one device with access at the same time. I verified that we were only being charged for 1 device. Not sure why this happened. Maybe it's a loophole in their system? In any case, it worked.

 

Internet speed was slow but manageable. Uploading pictures took a couple of minutes. Uploading videos to Snapchat took longer, but worked. DD17 tried to Facetime her boyfriend but they couldn't even get audio only to work. They had to settle for iMessaging and Direct Messaging on Twitter to communicate with friends.

 

Entertainment - We thought the singers/dancers/production numbers were just so-so. We really enjoyed some of the other entertainers though. Kelly Goodrich was the piano player in the Schooner Bar and he was great. He would do a themed hour most nights, dressed in a costume. One night was Billy Joel, another was Elton John, and another was Jimmy Buffet. He also did 30 Beatles songs in 60 minutes one night but we missed it. Here's a short clip of Kelly playing Rocket Man dressed as Elton John:

 

[YOUTUBE]W-b0W2b23j4[/YOUTUBE]

 

One of the comedians was Chris Bliss. He also does an amazing juggling routine sync'd to a medley of Beatles music. See a Youtube version here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nfiq8Z4dBwE

 

We very much enjoyed the aerialists. Their routine in the Welcome aboard show was good, but their routine in the Farewell show was even better. A few things they did in the Farewell show had me nervous about witnessing a major fall that would not have been good.

 

The Now You See It Drew Thomas Magic Show was also very good. I'd read mixed reviews here with some really liking it and some thinking that integrating the ship's singers and dancers was too forced. Overall though, I thought his magic was very good and left me very entertained.

 

I was pleasantly surprise by the Headliner who was a former member of Foreigner. I'm blanking on his name and it's not in the Cruise Compass. He actually only played a few Foreigner songs at the end of the show and that was the least enjoyable part to me. He had a nice voice and played the clarinet, trumpet, sax, and guitar. I thought he played very well with the Freedom orchestra. My only complaint is that his "style" is a little too Vegas, if that makes sense.

 

Thanks for the YouTube link, that was my favorite juggling routine ever. I actually spent time today looking up the song. Medley from Abbey Road. Did you catch the guitarist Voytek? He was our favorite

[JamesEM]

Enjoying our review and photos...

[bobmacliberty]

Thanks for the YouTube link, that was my favorite juggling routine ever. I actually spent time today looking up the song. Medley from Abbey Road. Did you catch the guitarist Voytek? He was our favorite

 

Interesting story on Chris Bliss and his juggling routine. About a month ago, I was searching the internet for a video that I could play during a meeting at work to get the attendees inspired. I found that Youtube video and while it wasn't what I wanted for work, I watched it several times and told several friends. Fast forward to sitting in the Arcadia Theater while he wraps up his jokes and transitions into the juggling. When the music started playing the Beatles, I nearly jumped out of my seat and screamed to my wife, "That's him! That's the juggler from Youtube!"

 

I don't recall the name Voytek. Maybe he replaced the Foreigner guy who's name I can't remember as the headliner?

[bobmacliberty]

Enjoying our review and photos...

 

Thanks. Looks like it might be a little longer than I thought. I have more pictures to post and will have time over the upcoming holiday weekend to post.

[luvsun22]

Great review so far! I'm looking forward to this itinerary in September. If we choose not to rent a Cabanette (or if they sell out quickly) are other chairs in the Barefoot Beach area or just the Cabanettes?

[Clarea]

Great review so far! I'm looking forward to this itinerary in September. If we choose not to rent a Cabanette (or if they sell out quickly) are other chairs in the Barefoot Beach area or just the Cabanettes?

Barefoot has loungers in the area.

Edited July 2, 2015 by clarea

[John&LaLa]

Interesting story on Chris Bliss and his juggling routine. About a month ago, I was searching the internet for a video that I could play during a meeting at work to get the attendees inspired. I found that Youtube video and while it wasn't what I wanted for work, I watched it several times and told several friends. Fast forward to sitting in the Arcadia Theater while he wraps up his jokes and transitions into the juggling. When the music started playing the Beatles, I nearly jumped out of my seat and screamed to my wife, "That's him! That's the juggler from Youtube!"

 

I don't recall the name Voytek. Maybe he replaced the Foreigner guy who's name I can't remember as the headliner?

 

We got on the 21st. I don't recall the Foreigner guy. Voytek was a really tall bald guy that played classical guitar in MDR and Boleros. I don't recall him in theatre. I bought his CD

[ham_bone]

This thread has me as excited as I have been to go on this cruise in 9 days!

[kdnurs]

Sorry for the delay after teasing you with cruise compasses...real world problems got in the way. Let me start by getting some of the negative stuff out of the way so that I can focus on the positive, starting with the spa giveaways. My wife and daughters wanted a spa treatment during the cruise and were excited about filling out the slips of paper that we received that would be drawn for free spa stuff. The first catch, you must be present to win. Sailaway was scheduled for 4:30 and the drawing in the spa was at 4:00, so no problem. Or so I thought. The second catch...It was a glorified sales pitch as each member of the staff seemed to get time to stand up and explain what their treatments can do for you. It was taking forever. 4:30 came and went and the Carnival ships sailed past us:

 

 

Carnival Sunshine sailing past us from the Fitness Center window

 

I love sailaway. The music, the excitement, hopefully the perfect weather...what a great way to get the vacation started. Instead, I'm sitting in the spa listening to how a detoxifying wrap will change my world. My stress level is growing, not receding. Since I'm whining and complaining like a bored 6 year old, DW suggests that I go up to deck 12 without them. I'm not falling for that. My name gets drawn and I'm not there for her to take advantage of the free treatment?? Was I just married yesterday? (No)

 

Sailaway didn't actually happen at 4:30 and after the final drawing was made, we scrambled up to deck 12 only to find all of the rail space taken. As the ship started moving, we eventually found our way to the railing where I could take what is now a couple of traditional sailaway pictures for us:

 

 

 

There were quite a few announcements being made, all of which seemed to be focused on selling something. I don't remember this on other cruises. Time for the first drink from my drink package to calm myself down.

 

Beautiful Family!!!

[nywill]

Thank you for sharing. My family is going on her in late August for my birthday. This gives ideas for how to shape our trip.

[bobmacliberty]

Beautiful Family!!!

 

Thanks. Fortunately for my daughters, most of the credit goes to my wife (as is true for many things in our marriage). :)

[bobmacliberty]

One more post on entertainment. The Love and Marriage Game Show, and the Quest were both outstanding. I think it was the best Quest that I've seen. Lots of audience members were very engaged, including a guy who had what I'll call a wardrobe malfunction, and an older woman who at different points donated both her teeth and her bra. Now that's commitment.:D

 

The CD was Jamie Fentiman. At first impression, he was a little too over the top for me, but he definitely grew on me as the cruise progressed. He showed great improv skills at the Quest, Love and Marriage, and Belly Flop contest, building in whatever happened. His staff also did a very good job. The Millionaire, If you know it dance it, and Friendly Feud game shows were all packed and lots of fun.

 

Since I mentioned Jamie, here is the Officers and Staff Handout:

 

Captain Tor and Hotel Director Michael Rasmussen were both very visible on TV and throughout the ship.

[S.A.M.J.R.]

I was pleasantly surprise by the Headliner who was a former member of Foreigner. I'm blanking on his name and it's not in the Cruise Compass. He actually only played a few Foreigner songs at the end of the show and that was the least enjoyable part to me. He had a nice voice and played the clarinet, trumpet, sax, and guitar. I thought he played very well with the Freedom orchestra. My only complaint is that his "style" is a little too Vegas, if that makes sense.

Second page of Day 3... Domenick Allen.

 

Sorry, just because I looked over your compasses and remembered that section. :D

 

Keep up the great review! We're just over a year from boarding. lol

[brillohead]

One more post on entertainment. The Love and Marriage Game Show, and the Quest were both outstanding. I think it was the best Quest that I've seen. Lots of audience members were very engaged, including a guy who had what I'll call a wardrobe malfunction, and an older woman who at different points donated both her teeth and her bra. Now that's commitment.:D

 

Hey now, that Wardrobe Malfunction got us an extra point! :eek: (Way to show commitment, Jerry!)

 

Not that we needed it, because Section Ten beat the pants off the whole place (yes, pun definitely intended!)! :D

[bobmacliberty]

St. Thomas was a very good day for us. Weather was a little overcast, but that kept it from getting too hot, and from us getting sunburned. The plan for the day was to rent a car, drive to Coral World for a Sea Lion encounter, drive to Mountain Top, and then return to the pier area for shopping, with enough buffer to get back in plenty of time before the ship leaves. All went according to plan.

 

Pulling up to the pier

 

The pier area with shuttle buses lined up.

 

We walked through the shopping area to Avis where we picked up our car. Cost was $72 for the day for a generic 4 door sedan (don't even remember the make and model...maybe a Chevy). We used the map that we got from the Avis counter which was not great, but good enough. There's a detour on the way to Coral World that was fortunately well marked, as it took us down some small and bumpy roads. We also just followed the taxis that were also headed to Coral World and/or Coki Point Beach. If you're planning on driving yourself to Coral World, you first park in the fairly small lot, check-in, and then go back to the parking lot to put the pass that you receive at check-in on the dash of your car. They apparently WILL tow you without a pass, since people try to park there to use the beach.

 

We weren't quite sure what to expect at Coral World but it exceeded our expectations...especially the Sea Lion encounter. The one complaint that I would have is that you were not allowed to use your own camera with the Sea Lions (we knew this in advance). They claimed this was a safety issue, which I guess is a legitimate enough concern. They provided their own photographer, which we learned was an intern. You could buy all of the pictures, plus a bunch of stock pictures of the facility, which you can use any way that you want, for $99. That seemed like a lot of money to me but I really had no choice but to buy the pictures. Here then are some of the stock photos of Coral World:

 

Overhead shot with Coki Point Beach in the foreground

 

Entrance to Coral World

 

Observation Tower

 

Walkway to the Observation Tower

[bobmacliberty]

Hey now, that Wardrobe Malfunction got us an extra point! :eek: (Way to show commitment, Jerry!)

 

Not that we needed it, because Section Ten beat the pants off the whole place (yes, pun definitely intended!)! :D

 

I was in Section 4 and thought we should have finished higher than we did, but I definitely have to give it to Section 10. You guys brought it big time. More bonus points for the pun. Even more bonus points if you stand and dance while reading this...shots, shots, shots, shot-shots, shots, shots, shots!

[bobmacliberty]

More stock photos of Coral World:

 

Inside the Observation Tower

 

Inside the Observation Tower

 

Shark Shallows

 

Sea Turtle Pool

 

Nature Trail

 

Marine Garden Exhibit

[bobmacliberty]

We had lunch at Coral World and sat in the outdoor area near the food stand and shark shallows. The place was crawling with Iguanas of all shapes and sizes, roaming free. There were signs all over the place saying not to feed the iguanas, but they were obviously there for the food:

 

 

 

[brillohead]

I was in Section 4 and thought we should have finished higher than we did, but I definitely have to give it to Section 10. You guys brought it big time. More bonus points for the pun. Even more bonus points if you stand and dance while reading this...shots, shots, shots, shot-shots, shots, shots, shots!

 

Was that the corner section? I thought the corners got screwed, both with distance, and number of participants.

 

But yes, we went in with the attitude that we were gonna WIN THIS THING, and Sam (our male spokesperson, and Jerry's son) was up to the challenge. We were the group in the front row, all the way across, including Nana, who celebrated her 75th birthday that week. She had a blast!

[bobmacliberty]

The Sea Lion Encounter was definitely the highlight of the day. DD17 afterward said it was the best thing we've ever done on a vacation. It was just our family of 4, and trainer, and the intern/photographer, plus Remo. Remo is one of 4 male sea lions that they have. We went back into the area where they keep and train the sea lions, and the brought Remo out to meet us. He was trained to do all kinds of things with us. We did several group poses, and several one on one interactions. The trainer told us a lot about Remo and the other sea lions...where they came from, how they are trained, facts about sea lions etc.

 

 

 

 

 

[bobmacliberty]

 

 

 

[bobmacliberty]

After Coral World, we drive to Mountain Top. I'm glad we did it once because the views were great (even though it was overcast) and the banana daiquiris were tasty. It was mostly though just a big tourist shop with lots of t-shirts and other nick-nack sort of stuff. Looking at Magens Beach from the outdoor deck made me decide that Magens Beach would be part of our plan the next time we are at St. Thomas.

 

Magens Bay

 

Magens Bay Beach

 

We then worked our way back to the pier and returned the car. We had a couple of hours until all aboard so we shopped for a bit. A tip, or maybe a warning depending on your perspective...Alex and Ani have bracelets for both St.Thomas and St. Maarten. Both of my daughters love Alex and Ani and both had to have these bracelets. Can you see they "I have to have it" look on my daughters face? Yes...I'm weak.

 

Edited July 2, 2015 by bobmacliberty