LIVE MLK cruise on Freedom to Amber Cove & Grand Turk w/ ninjacat123 and family!!

[princess76021]

My computer went bananas sorry @KmomChicago some how you got involved!

 

What I was going to say to @ninjacat123 was "great review, fantastic photos and thanks for taking us on this adventure with you"

 

Hugs from Texas

[ninjacat123]

7 minutes ago, KarmaCruisers said:

We opened an office in Charlotte so we were going to move out there from central california..but forgettttt that humidity!

now I may move out there this year..of course the prices of houses in Tega Cay have skyrocketed, so I’ll probably only be able to afford Pineville or something, lol (our office is in Ballantyne)

You are correct about the prices skyrocketing!  Pineville is closer to Ballantyne so there's that. The humidity is rough in the summer but just think of the East Coast ports you can drive to😉

[ninjacat123]

6 minutes ago, princess76021 said:

My computer went bananas sorry @KmomChicago some how you got involved!

 

What I was going to say to @ninjacat123 was "great review, fantastic photos and thanks for taking us on this adventure with you"

 

Hugs from Texas

I've had that "bananas" happen on my laptop and phone.  Crazy!!  Thank you princess76021 for the sweet words and hugs!!  🥰

[ninjacat123]

We are home and all is forgiven 😻

[ninjacat123]

Tomorrow I will do a recap of the cruise, excursions etc. just in case I forgot anything. It’s jammy-time watching “Memory” with Liam Neeson. Nitey-nite!

Edited January 21 by ninjacat123

[KmomChicago]

52 minutes ago, princess76021 said:

 

 

9 minutes ago, ninjacat123 said:

We are home and all is forgiven 😻

Welcome home! The kitties make it easier to end a vacation for sure. ❤️❤️❤️

[mlshum]

2 hours ago, ninjacat123 said:

Thank you mishum!! Your next cruise is pretty soon?

Not until the end of April.  Looking forward to getting some snorkeling time!

[Stallion]

2 hours ago, ninjacat123 said:

We are home and all is forgiven 😻

That Kitty still looks a little bit perturbed by your unexplained absense. He seems to be reviewing appropriate sanctions

Edited January 21 by Stallion

[Essiesmom]

A scritch under the chin forgives a lot…EM

[#55worktoplay]

Great review, enjoyed following and your pics were great. Thanks!

[IntrepidFromDC]

Thanks ninjapuddytat!  I enjoyed every bit!

[ninjacat123]

10 hours ago, Stallion said:

That Kitty still looks a little bit perturbed by your unexplained absense. He seems to be reviewing appropriate sanctions

You never know with gray kitty.  He can act all lovey dovey and then a quick bite.  Especially to me.  I must taste good.😹

[ninjacat123]

10 hours ago, Essiesmom said:

A scritch under the chin forgives a lot…EM

I always have to wait till he decides it's "chin scratching time".  My little diva😻

[ninjacat123]

10 hours ago, #55worktoplay said:

Great review, enjoyed following and your pics were great. Thanks!

Thanks #55worktoplay!!  Love your CC "handle" because that's basically what I do.  Work to play🥰!

[ninjacat123]

9 hours ago, IntrepidFromDC said:

Thanks ninjapuddytat!  I enjoyed every bit!

You are welcome Intrepid!!😺 Your next trip is the Far East one, correct?

Edited January 21 by ninjacat123

[monykalyn]

Sittin in bed, drinking hot coffee (freezing outside) and wishing we were back in GT! Missed the beginning of the live but sure looks like fun! We were on Freedom last august for our anniversary. Had so much fun. Think we closed alchemy down most nights 🤣

On 1/18/2024 at 8:15 AM, ninjacat123 said:

Carnival started the Towel Animal invasion a couple years ago. It’s a huge endeavor and people (especially kids) love it!!❣️

My sons first cruise (on Sensation-RIP-we got an awesome offer to upgrade to suite) he discovered the towel animal takeover on his own and came back to cabin all excited. So cute. 

14 hours ago, ninjacat123 said:

We are home and all is forgiven 😻

sweet face! 
No cruises booked this year 😞. Sons graduation from HS and he wants Disney. Have tried talking him into another cruise for 3 years but no go. 
 

Thanks for taking us along!

[ninjacat123]

Just now, monykalyn said:

Sittin in bed, drinking hot coffee (freezing outside) and wishing we were back in GT! Missed the beginning of the live but sure looks like fun! We were on Freedom last august for our anniversary. Had so much fun. Think we closed alchemy down most nights 🤣

My sons first cruise (on Sensation-RIP-we got an awesome offer to upgrade to suite) he discovered the towel animal takeover on his own and came back to cabin all excited. So cute. 

sweet face! 
No cruises booked this year 😞. Sons graduation from HS and he wants Disney. Have tried talking him into another cruise for 3 years but no go. 
 

Thanks for taking us along!

My girls would probably want DisneyWorld as well but that's probably because I've taken them on a cruise almost every year and the last time we were at Disney, they were 4 & 6. It was Mickey's Very Merry Christmas at night.  Very cool but I don't think they remember much. Have fun at DW and thanks for following along on my cruise!! 😺

[travelinjess85]

Thanks for the fun live! Mr Jess and I are doing our first Caribbean cruise next year on the Mardi Gras (have only done previous ones to Mexico out of California) and going to Amber Cove and Grand Turk so loved seeing those stops on yours. Looks like you had a great time! 

[ninjacat123]

3 minutes ago, travelinjess85 said:

Thanks for the fun live! Mr Jess and I are doing our first Caribbean cruise next year on the Mardi Gras (have only done previous ones to Mexico out of California) and going to Amber Cove and Grand Turk so loved seeing those stops on yours. Looks like you had a great time! 

Thanks travelinjess85!! We had a ton of fun and loved the Freedom!  When you are on MG, check out Emeril's (odd hours but sooo worth it!), Big Chicken for lunch (I enjoyed bfast there but others have not been fans of the biscuits), Street Eatz (changes every day) and gelato on Lido (near the Shwarma station, I believe).  I'm glad our time in AC and GT could give you some ideas for your cruise there.  Cruise Critic is a great place for info!!😄

[travelinjess85]

47 minutes ago, ninjacat123 said:

Thanks travelinjess85!! We had a ton of fun and loved the Freedom!  When you are on MG, check out Emeril's (odd hours but sooo worth it!), Big Chicken for lunch (I enjoyed bfast there but others have not been fans of the biscuits), Street Eatz (changes every day) and gelato on Lido (near the Shwarma station, I believe).  I'm glad our time in AC and GT could give you some ideas for your cruise there.  Cruise Critic is a great place for info!!😄

Thank you so much for the tips! Look forward to reading more from you and everyone else here 😊

[ninjacat123]

Alllllright!  Wrapping up this 5 day cruise on Freedom!  Let's start with our thoughts about Freedom:

 

The ship is a Conquest class and quite easy to navigate.  We were very happy with Embarkation in PC, especially since we were pulling our suitcases and the ramp only went up two levels.  Very small mountain to climb as we entered on Level 3 (atrium). Our cabins were in the Aft on level 7 and we only had to get to level 5 for Alchemy, Casino, Comedy.  Our dining room was four levels down on 3 but we were fine using the stairs.  Usually elevators didn't take too long, maybe a minute or two during the day.  Lido was two levels up on 9.  We usually ate in MDR for bfast (both Sea Day brunch and regular) so I don't know if it was a zoo then.  We would get a coffee and proceed on with our day. Guy's burgers were tasty as usual but it took about 10 minutes to get one.  Mongolian Wok took it's usual 20 minutes.  Pizza was super quick the time I got it, probably because they had extra mushroom/pepperoni and I grabbed it.  Other times the line was pretty long.

We brought on 4 bottles of sparkling wine and with OJ from Lido (procured before it was taken away at 10:30am) we made mimosas in our Carnival tumblers for our days out on Serenity.

Serenity has two levels but we stayed on the lower level.  Not as windy.  Padded chairs on one side of the ship only.  Didn't see waiter service much, not that it mattered for us.  There is a bar. We were able to get lounge chairs but it did fill up by noon.

The theatre was very Joe Farcus and we could always get good seats even when it was five minutes to showtime. I'm glad we went to Comedy twenty minutes before the first show.  We had decent seats and by the time the show started, the place was packed.

 

MDR: We were very happy that our party of four was seated in a booth.  We noticed many of the ten-tops remained empty at dinner throughout the cruise. Our waitstaff was wonderful! Efficient without rushing us, personable without being intrusive and quick to take care of any issues.  We agreed that they were probably the best waitstaff out of all of our cruises. From the first time we met Yarden the magician, we were hooked!  He dazzled us with a plethora of sleight of hand tricks and his charming personality. He came by our MDR table every night.  We wished we could take him home. 

The food was very good in Steakhouse (first night) and pretty good in MDR.  My favorite entrée was the herb crusted salmon. Almost every dish came out hot (my parched pig and cheddar soup wasn't hot but I didn't care for it anyway) and our waitstaff lead always checked that we were happy in a timely fashion.  We purchased two bottles of wine at 50% off at Steakhouse and then got the premium wine package of 5 bottles the second night from our waitstaff leader.  If we didn't finish the bottle, we would take the rest back to our room.  The selection of wine for that package is on the back of the wine slips.

 

Gym: We worked out the second day and the third day (before we left for our excursion) and the gym was busy the first day, not so much the second.  Not enough 10 or 15 pound weights. Clean, good separate exercise room for stretching and there is a sauna in the changing rooms, although I didn't use it.

 

Our rooms:  We had extra long balcony rooms and the same steward for each.  Dyan was very pleasant, kept us in ice twice a day and our room nice and clean.  He always greeted us by name and asked if we were having fun and if we needed anything.  Didn't get to know his assistants. We used our balconies during the day and at night for star gazing.  Definitely a bonus that is worth it to us.

 

Amber Cove: Our Fricolandia excursion was cancelled due to lack of sign ups.  They had the more expensive excursion to Fricolandia which included a catamaran to a snorkel site but didn't include lunch or drinks.  We decided to go to Amber Cove Beach Club which included lunch & drinks and was a 20 minute bus ride as opposed to Fricolandia's hour long bus ride. The beach club was very comparable to other beach clubs we have been to.  Got chairs with an umbrella (there are chairs under palm trees if they run out of umbrellas) and Melvin was our go to for drinks.  He was always on top of it, getting us lemon drop shots and refresher drinks when our ice had melted too much.  I would recommend bringing cash to tip Melvin.  He suggested we could buy him a bottle of rum from the gift store in lieu of cash which we did. Everyone that worked there was friendly.  The lunch was dry chicken, rice and beans, pasta salad, green salad and rather unremarkable.  Best thing was the rice pudding.  Would we go back?  I don't know, not really worth the $100 per person since my girls had 2-3 drinks each. We loved the Catamaran 2 snorkel stop excursion many years ago and would do that but Carnival has canceled it twice before so we are a little apprehensive about booking that.

 

Craig and I climbed up to Sky Bar at AC port and enjoyed a  cocktail with the stunning view.  If you can make the climb, it's worth it!

 

Grand Turk: Craig and I were excited to hit Jack's Shack after many years of not coming to GT.  We knew that to secure a chaise lounge and an umbrella we would need to move quickly in the morning as soon as we ported.  Unbeknownst to us, Mardi Gras ported first (this happened at AC as well and something to keep in mind if you want chairs at the AC pool) and we could see people already walking toward Jack's Shack from our balcony on the ship.  The girls knew where JS was and said they would meet us there.  JS is a good 15-20 minute hike through very soft sand from the pier.  There was no hard packed sand.  If you have mobility issues, I would suggest following the service road from the port area to JS, maybe even see if there is a taxi.  There are other venues and chairs closer to the port.  Once we made it to JS we approached two guys with JS shirts on.  I asked about chairs and they said $23 a piece which included an umbrella which can be charged on your credit card at the bar.. No waiter service at the chairs.  The attitude was not welcoming (nervous look, no smile) which I could see could turn people off.  We set up our towels from the ship and went to the bar.  Not busy but the same not welcoming demeanor.  After we got our drinks, I introduced myself and Craig to our bartender and asked her name.  Indira's face lit up with a smile and she warmed up to us.  My impression of the customer service at JS is that the staff has been trained on their jobs but they are nervous about the large crowds that show around noon and apprehensive about the anger that crowds can display when things don't move quick enough.  Maybe waiter service would keep most people in their chairs and out of the bar area, which also serves as the food order area.  The gift shop area person was welcoming but it was quiet most of the time. Beautiful water (no fish when I snorkeled) and a great day.  Drinks range from $11-13.  We didn't eat there so I don't know prices or quality.  We would go back to JS!

 

Entertainment: The stand up comic Valerie was very funny!  We only saw the one show.  The band at Red Frog Pub was excellent! Freedom Rockband put on a great show.  We went once.  The main theatre shows were very well done, high energy and crisp.  I am always impressed with their dancing, costume changes and singing.  

 

Casino:  The girls and I spent about 30 minutes a night for about 3 nights total at the roulette table. Other players were gracious and the dealers were appreciative of our tips.  Not super busy, we were able to get seats most nights.

 

Debarkation:  We pulled our luggage off and we picked the line getting off the ship (getting our cards "dinged") that was the slowest.  Our Carnival gal was the least friendly out of the whole cruise.  Maybe the little handheld "ding" machine was giving her grief. Once we got to passport face recognition, the machine recognized me and Craig but not the girls.  Got out the passports and went on our way.  Drive home 9 hours and chilled with our beasts and my mom.

 

Passenger attitudes and manners: We felt passengers on Freedom were well mannered and had positive attitudes.  Compared to our Thanksgiving cruise on Elation out of Jacksonville, this cruise had passengers that we usually expect.  Made our cruise more relaxed and happy.

 

Please let me know if you have any questions or if I didn't cover something you're interested in.  If I can't answer it, maybe a CC member will chime in.  Thank you for reading my review!!😻

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[ninjacat123]

Our pic that the Red Frog Pub bartender wanted to take and give to us on our first day!

[pcvtmom]

I always enjoy your reviews! Thanks for taking the time and effort to transport us along with you, at least in spirit!!😁

 

 

[ninjacat123]

9 minutes ago, pcvtmom said:

I always enjoy your reviews! Thanks for taking the time and effort to transport us along with you, at least in spirit!!😁

 

 

Thanks pcvtmom!! I truly enjoy writing these LIVE reviews and fortunately I have family who don’t mind👍😁

[Indiansbaseball]

Conquest class is my favorite and Red Frog is a fun place to spend time. Looking to book Freedom or another of this class soon ! Thanks for the review !