Our S2S Adventure - Freedom / Spirit (with pics) - 1/7/23

Jamman54 · January 27, 2023

Patti heads up to Serenity on Decks 12 & 14 forward…..

Looking aft from the top of the slides on Deck 14…..

To be continued…..

Jamman54 · January 27, 2023

This is the Camp Ocean Playground, located on Deck 12 Forward, Port Side…..

Pool tables and table tennis also on Deck 12 Forward, Port Side…..

Here are a couple of views of Water Works…..

Looking at the Timeless Pool hot tubs…..

To be continued…..

IntrepidFromDC · January 27, 2023

On 1/26/2023 at 11:02 AM, Jamman54 said:

Ahoy, Cruise Critic family! My beautiful wife Patti and I have just returned from another two cruise adventure. I don’t think that we have ever sailed in January before, as we are usually busy with projects and such, but this year we decided to take a much needed post - Christmas vacation. The focus for these cruises was going to be the Carnival Spirit. We love this class of ships, having done sixteen cruises on them between the Legend, Pride, and Miracle, but we had never sailed on the ship that the class was named for, the Spirit.

We were going to book a B2B on her, but then something caught our eye. We are striving to sail every ship in the fleet that’s still sailing, and we noticed that the Freedom was sailing from Port Canaveral. She’s another one we hadn’t been on, so we decided book her and create a S2S with the Spirit. So now that’s two more ships crossed off the list. In fact, our next three ships will also be new to us, the Celebration, Venezia, and Vista. That just leaves the Valor, (1 covid cancellation), Radiance, (5 covid cancellations), Luminosa, and soon to be Jubilee, on the list.

So, on January 4^th we will begin our journey by driving down to Florida, and then boarding the Freedom on January 7^th for a 5 day cruise to Amber Cove and Grand Turk. After getting off the Freedom on January 12^th, we will drive down to Fort Lauderdale for two days, and then board the Spirit in Miami on January 14^th for an 8 day cruise to Princess Cay, Grand Turk, Bonaire, and Aruba. After debarking the Spirit on January 22^nd, we will then make the two day drive back home to New Jersey.

As I mentioned, we will be driving down to Florida once again. Being away from home for so long it just makes sense to have your own car down there. You can pack as much of your stuff as you want to, since you don’t have to worry about luggage weights and car rentals. Back in the day when our vacation time was limited, we used to drive straight through in one shot which used to take about 16 hours. Since we have the time now, we break it up into two days.

As usual, our reviews start and end at home and cover everything in between. I know that some people like to get right into the cruise stuff and I understand that, but when doing these reviews we want to re-live the whole vacation, not just part of it. Our format will remain the same as our past reviews with a day by day account. As always, there will be many, many pictures with plenty of explanations and details. For those that are wondering, our go to camera is the Canon PowerShot XS740 HS, and our water, and back-up camera, is the Fuji FinePix XP60.

So, let’s get this party started! We strive to make you feel that you are cruising right along with us, so grab yourself a DOD, and hop on board with us and join the fun!

Days # 1 & 2 - (January 4^th & 5^th) - Heading South!

As always, we begin our travels around 9pm in the evening. This allows us to bypass the morning rush hours in Baltimore and Washington. Our son Ryan will be minding the house and our cats. He takes our picture as we head out the door…..

When we left it was an unseasonably warm 60 degrees, and it was a beautiful moonlit night. Just perfect driving conditions. I don’t mind the drive at all. There is hardly any traffic, so I set the cruise control to 79 mph and listen to tunes all night. Patti on the other hand, tolerates the drive as long as I stop at Cracker Barrel along the way. As usual, we stop at the Cracker Barrel in Santee, South Carolina just as they open at 7am…..

After filling our bellies, and Patti getting a little shopping time, we are back on the road again. We make it to today’s final destination, Kingsland, Georgia around noon. We are going to be staying at the Comfort Inn & Suites. Knowing that our rooms won’t be ready yet, we stop at a Ruby Tuesday’s a block from our hotel…….

Patti had some boneless Teriyaki wings and a large Ruby Relaxer. I had a Philly cheesesteak, fries, and an Angry Orchard. That sure hit the spot after the long drive!

To be continued……

BEEN WAITING FOR THIS! AWESOME INTRO AND START!!

Jamman54 · January 27, 2023

Patti catches me at the Red Frog Rum Bar…..

Here are a couple more Timeless Pool views…..

Delano is entertaining us with his Caribbean sounds…..

Here are the Blue Iguana Tequila Bar, and the Red Frog Rum Bar…..

Patti next heads all the way aft on Deck 9 to the Endless Pool and hot tubs…..

This is the Endless Pool Bar…..

To be continued…..

Jamman54 · January 27, 2023

The Pizza Pirate is back here on the Port side…..

The Seafood Shack is across the way on the Starboard side…..

Across from the Seafood Shack is a Swirls…..

Patti heads forward into the Freedom Restaurant and finds a Bonsai Sushi Express on the Starboard side…..

On the other side, on the Port side, Patti finds the Deli…..

All the way forward in the Freedom Restaurant, you’ll find the Mongolian Wok…..

To be continued…..

Jamman54 · January 27, 2023

13 minutes ago, IntrepidFromDC said:

BEEN WAITING FOR THIS! AWESOME INTRO AND START!!

It's about time you got here! Welcome aboard!

IntrepidFromDC · January 27, 2023

2 hours ago, Jamman54 said:

There’s a couple pieces of exercise equipment back here…..

To be continued…..

They remind me of the torture chamber devices at Chateau Chillon in Switzerland.

Tinag7381 · January 27, 2023

Loving your review! Thank you, Jeff & Patti, for sharing.

Jamman54 · January 27, 2023

2 minutes ago, Tinag7381 said:

Loving your review! Thank you, Jeff & Patti, for sharing.

Thanks for hopping aboard. Welcome to Cruise Critic!

Webecruzen · January 28, 2023

Glad you and Patti will spend some time in Orlando in April. We look forward to getting together. Great start and wonderful pictures. We have been on the Freedom twice but many years ago. The Spirit was to be our first time on her, so we can’t wait to hear all about her.

Steph0224 · January 28, 2023

Excited to be tagging along for another great trip!!

CruisinginWonderland · January 28, 2023

You’re my favorite cruise reviewer on here! 😄 Looking forward to this! We will be on the Spirit in August!

AKR2011 · January 28, 2023

Thank you, Jeff and Patti! I always look forward to reading about your trips and I'm so excited to follow you along on this special ship-to-ship sailing. That kind of cruise is on my bucket list, so I'm looking forward to your take on it all. Thanks again!

Saint Greg · January 28, 2023

4 hours ago, Jamman54 said:

Holy price increase, Jamman!

Lobster roll and seafood platter are up.

Saint Greg · January 28, 2023

5 minutes ago, Saint Greg said:

Holy price increase, Jamman!

Lobster roll and seafood platter are up.

And all the buckets are up.

Anyislandwilldo · January 28, 2023

following

Jamman54 · January 28, 2023

12 hours ago, Steph0224 said:

Excited to be tagging along for another great trip!!

Glad to have you along for the ride!

12 hours ago, CruisinginWonderland said:

You’re my favorite cruise reviewer on here! 😄 Looking forward to this! We will be on the Spirit in August!

Awww, thanks for the kind words. Glad to have you aboard. Be sure to take notes!

Jamman54 · January 28, 2023

11 hours ago, AKR2011 said:

Thank you, Jeff and Patti! I always look forward to reading about your trips and I'm so excited to follow you along on this special ship-to-ship sailing. That kind of cruise is on my bucket list, so I'm looking forward to your take on it all. Thanks again!

Glad to have you along for the ride once again. Enjoy!

1 hour ago, Anyislandwilldo said:

following

Thanks for following along!

Jamman54 · January 28, 2023

11 hours ago, Saint Greg said:

Holy price increase, Jamman!

Lobster roll and seafood platter are up.

11 hours ago, Saint Greg said:

And all the buckets are up.

Yes, we had noticed that. I think on the Spirit some of the prices were even higher. I don't think I have a picture of the Spirit's menu board, but I think I paid $22 for the Seafood Platter.

Saint Greg · January 28, 2023

2 minutes ago, Jamman54 said:

Yes, we had noticed that. I think on the Spirit some of the prices were even higher. I don't think I have a picture of the Spirit's menu board, but I think I paid $22 for the Seafood Platter.

I’m wondering if it’s different per ship now. I had the celebration one sent to me last night and it was still $7 buckets, $15 rolls, and a $14 platter. Now that was the hub version. Maybe they changed it on the board but not hub. Otherwise different ships have different prices.

Jamman54 · January 28, 2023

52 minutes ago, Saint Greg said:

I’m wondering if it’s different per ship now. I had the celebration one sent to me last night and it was still $7 buckets, $15 rolls, and a $14 platter. Now that was the hub version. Maybe they changed it on the board but not hub. Otherwise different ships have different prices.

I'm inclined to believe that different ships may have different prices, depending on their suppliers.

Jamman54 · January 28, 2023

Patti decides to head down to the Promenade on Deck 5. As she passes Deck 7, (our deck), she sees a couple of luggage carts waiting to be delivered. I think I see her red “body” bag on the far cart…..

Patti has reached the Promenade Deck 5. It is called the Centuries Promenade. All the pictures on the next two pages will be from venues on this deck. This is the Viennese Café (Coffee Bar)…..