Anything You Ever Needed to Know About Carnival FREEDOM

[lds26]

Couldn't have said it better myself about the decor. Let's face it, a cruise isn't like being at home (YAY :o) and the ocean is an alien environment anyway, so why shouldn't the decor take us away from the ordinary too? Joe Farcus takes an idea and free associates with it, and the result is a Carnival ship - and if the decor ranges from cool to hallucinogenic, well, it's all done in good humor and the execution can be pretty amazing, look close and you'll see the quality of the craftsmanship. I've always enjoyed it.

 

You didn't say which itinerary you're sailing, but if you're on the 8 day one and headed for Cozumel, the one must-see there (I think) is Tulum for the Mayan ruins and the fantastic views of the Caribbean - there's a great beach there too.

 

Sorry Gordon,

I just saw this thread today. We are doing the Eastern route. FLL - San Juan, Tortola, Antigua, St Thomas, Nassau. I am hoping to find out any info that is out there about this route.

Linda

[lds26]

We're going in Nov too.

 

Switching over from Norwegian and giving Carnival a tryout.

 

We are on the November 7th Sailing. Which one are you on? I already signed up on our roll call. I am so EXCITED!!!! I have started filling out our fun passes already. Its sad b/c i cant wait for spring and summer to be over (that sad in Canada) to await November!!!!! LOL Just wished we lived closer to a cruise port so we could cruise more often. I am gettin others involved in my addiction and hoping that it catches on so I can have my friends and thier families join me and my family on future cruises ... oh yeah and there will be many more to come!

[pooh/tigger]

We are on the November 7th Sailing. Which one are you on? I already signed up on our roll call. I am so EXCITED!!!! I have started filling out our fun passes already. Its sad b/c i cant wait for spring and summer to be over (that sad in Canada) to await November!!!!! LOL Just wished we lived closer to a cruise port so we could cruise more often. I am gettin others involved in my addiction and hoping that it catches on so I can have my friends and thier families join me and my family on future cruises ... oh yeah and there will be many more to come!

 

Know what you mean. We're all excited for Nov to get here too.

 

First vacation without the kids in 26 years. We're going with 2 other couples. Will be weird traveling without the kids for the first time. :D

 

Now we have too much time to research. :mad:

[lds26]

Know what you mean. We're all excited for Nov to get here too.

 

First vacation without the kids in 26 years. We're going with 2 other couples. Will be weird traveling without the kids for the first time. :D

 

Now we have too much time to research. :mad:

 

I see that you will be getting on as we get off. Wow it would be so cool to see each other as we depart and as you embark??? Keep in touch.

[pooh/tigger]

I see that you will be getting on as we get off. Wow it would be so cool to see each other as we depart and as you embark??? Keep in touch.

 

 

Yeppers, make sure my room is ready, ok? :D:D:D:D

 

Where are you staying the night before your cruise? We were thinking about the HI near port or Embassy suites. Then, taking a cab instead of a shuttle.

[cruisernewbie1]

I hadn't really given any thought to this until I saw a comment from a poster about people smoking on balconies. Where is smoking allowed on the ship? I realize that there have to be smoking areas, but as a non-smoker, I hope there are also parts of the ship where I won't be encountering smoke.

[lds26]

Yeppers, make sure my room is ready, ok? :D:D:D:D

 

Where are you staying the night before your cruise? We were thinking about the HI near port or Embassy suites. Then, taking a cab instead of a shuttle.

 

I dont know but I think my husband got travel gift certificates for the Best Western chain from our airmiles program. I have checked out the rates and they were kinda high. I will have to keep checking on rates. But yeah I am hoping that we can find something fun, close and nice.

[GaNavy]

Sorry Gordon,

I just saw this thread today. We are doing the Eastern route. FLL - San Juan, Tortola, Antigua, St Thomas, Nassau. I am hoping to find out any info that is out there about this route.

Linda

Old San Juan is pretty neat, but the timing of the port call can be tough - if you're there during the daytime, you can walk to El Morro (you can actually do it outside the old city walls, next to the water) and have lunch at Butterfly People (if it's still in business, on a side street in OSJ not far from where the ship docls) where the food is good and the gallery/gift shop of butterfly displays is pretty amazing. St. Thomas is shopping (an extra duty-free liquor allowance if your purchase includes a bottle of booze that's made in the Virgin Islands) and the beach - on my next trip there I want to go to St. John for some beauty away from the crowds. Have fun!

[lds26]

Old San Juan is pretty neat, but the timing of the port call can be tough - if you're there during the daytime, you can walk to El Morro (you can actually do it outside the old city walls, next to the water) and have lunch at Butterfly People (if it's still in business, on a side street in OSJ not far from where the ship docls) where the food is good and the gallery/gift shop of butterfly displays is pretty amazing. St. Thomas is shopping (an extra duty-free liquor allowance if your purchase includes a bottle of booze that's made in the Virgin Islands) and the beach - on my next trip there I want to go to St. John for some beauty away from the crowds. Have fun!

 

I know that we are planning some really good beach days because when you are taking a pile of ppl who come from quite young to quite old (children and MIL) we want to find places that everyone can visit but I know that the kids want to do the beaches in every port! The husband always wants to find ways to bring back alcohol too! He is a rum drinker and I drink cocoanut rum so we hope we can find both at a reasonable price.

[AnnieB925]

We're going in Nov too.

 

Switching over from Norwegian and giving Carnival a tryout.

 

I think you'll be very happy with Carnival.

[LizaMM]

I hadn't really given any thought to this until I saw a comment from a poster about people smoking on balconies. Where is smoking allowed on the ship? I realize that there have to be smoking areas, but as a non-smoker, I hope there are also parts of the ship where I won't be encountering smoke.

 

Smoking is allowed in your own cabin and on your own balcony if you have one).

 

As far as the outdoor areas, smoking is only allowed on one side of the ship (starboard) and the other side is no smoking.

 

Inside, there is no smoking allowed in the Dining Areas or Show Lounges. The Piano Bar, disco and the cigar bar allow smoking and also the Casino. Some Piano Bar Entertainers put up little signs asking for no smoking directly around the piano but this varies from entertainer to entertainer.

 

I think you will find many non-smoking areas and this is enforced.

[kiffrig]

I can't remember if I have posted these pics or not from my cruise in November, but in case anyone is interested...here are pics from the Spa Deck cabin #1105. It has the floor to ceiling windows and we LOVED it!!

[kiffrig]

In case anyone was wondering about the dent in the back of the Carnival Freedom...here is a picture and an explanation:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=963503

[breezycruiser]

I can't remember if I have posted these pics or not from my cruise in November, but in case anyone is interested...here are pics from the Spa Deck cabin #1105. It has the floor to ceiling windows and we LOVED it!!

Oh wow I bet the view from the windows was amazing!

[kiffrig]

Oh wow I bet the view from the windows was amazing!

 

 

It was great! We LOVED it! We got the room from the upgrade fairy and we were certainly quite pleased! Plus, I had purposely shyed away from a balcony on that cruise because my 5yr old daughter was with us and I was scared she would climb the railing....so this gave us a view similar to a balcony view but I didn't have to be paranoid about my daughter falling overboard due to her being a serious "climber".....she climbs EVERYTHING.

 

It was also extremely quiet on that floor because there were only a handful of cabins up there AND we were just a flight of stairs away from Camp Carnival, which was terrific! Last but not least, it was quite private. We pretty much left our window shades open all the time because since there was no deck/balcony/anything outside our windows there was no chance of anyone seeing you change clothes. :p

 

Totally loved the room and would book it again, in a heartbeat. I hope this isn't true but I have heard a rumor that Carnival is going to convert all of those Spa Deck rooms into rooms with balconies and get rid of the floor to ceiling windows. I am hoping that doesn't happen on all the ships because we would love to book this type of room for our next cruise.

[LizaMM]

It was great! We LOVED it! We got the room from the upgrade fairy and we were certainly quite pleased! Plus, I had purposely shyed away from a balcony on that cruise because my 5yr old daughter was with us and I was scared she would climb the railing....so this gave us a view similar to a balcony view but I didn't have to be paranoid about my daughter falling overboard due to her being a serious "climber".....she climbs EVERYTHING.

 

It was also extremely quiet on that floor because there were only a handful of cabins up there AND we were just a flight of stairs away from Camp Carnival, which was terrific! Last but not least, it was quite private. We pretty much left our window shades open all the time because since there was no deck/balcony/anything outside our windows there was no chance of anyone seeing you change clothes. :p

 

Totally loved the room and would book it again, in a heartbeat. I hope this isn't true but I have heard a rumor that Carnival is going to convert all of those Spa Deck rooms into rooms with balconies and get rid of the floor to ceiling windows. I am hoping that doesn't happen on all the ships because we would love to book this type of room for our next cruise.

 

 

I had one of those cabins on my first Triumph cruise....I also loved it! I was not comfortable with a balcony at that time because my kids were young, we had never cruised before and I had no idea what to expect. Also, the cabins are larger which made for a bit more room for us.....I am a single mom with 4 kids and all five of us were in that cabin :eek: THAT I would never do again...but it worked for me on that cruise.

 

They have converted these to balconies already on several ships. I remember reading that it was supposed to be done on the Liberty when she went into Drydock this fall but the windows remained. Maybe thay will keep them on the Freedom as well.....

[kiffrig]

I'm keeping my fingers crossed that they keep these rooms just how they are!! :)

[Ellanora]

Hi, my son and I will be cruising on Freedom in September. He's twelve, and it will be his first time in the Circle C program instead of just Camp Carnival. If anyone knows anything about the Circle C activities or where they meet up on Freedom, I'd appreciate the info.

[elsplace2]

I'm not sure if this has already been answered but I did read this board from when it first started, and have been trying to keep up with it, but now that I have a question, there are too many pages to go back to, so sorry if this has been asked already. My question is as far as the times in the ports on the Freedom.....there is alot of conflicting answers to whether or not a ship stays on ship time or changes to the local time. Some posters say it is up to the captain......what did the captain of the Freedom do for the time, stayed on ship time, or changed to local time?? We will do the western caribbean (Cozumel, Costa Rica, and Panama). Thanks in advance for any answers on this!

[breezycruiser]

It was great! We LOVED it! We got the room from the upgrade fairy and we were certainly quite pleased! Plus, I had purposely shyed away from a balcony on that cruise because my 5yr old daughter was with us and I was scared she would climb the railing....so this gave us a view similar to a balcony view but I didn't have to be paranoid about my daughter falling overboard due to her being a serious "climber".....she climbs EVERYTHING.

 

It was also extremely quiet on that floor because there were only a handful of cabins up there AND we were just a flight of stairs away from Camp Carnival, which was terrific! Last but not least, it was quite private. We pretty much left our window shades open all the time because since there was no deck/balcony/anything outside our windows there was no chance of anyone seeing you change clothes. :p

 

Totally loved the room and would book it again, in a heartbeat. I hope this isn't true but I have heard a rumor that Carnival is going to convert all of those Spa Deck rooms into rooms with balconies and get rid of the floor to ceiling windows. I am hoping that doesn't happen on all the ships because we would love to book this type of room for our next cruise.

 

I would love to have one of those rooms on my daughters first cruise but it will be on the Dream and from what I've seen they are going to be the family rooms and have balconies. My daughter is only going to be 3 when she goes on her first cruise and she already likes to climb things so I don't think I'm comfortable with a balcony.

[LizaMM]

I'm not sure if this has already been answered but I did read this board from when it first started, and have been trying to keep up with it, but now that I have a question, there are too many pages to go back to, so sorry if this has been asked already. My question is as far as the times in the ports on the Freedom.....there is alot of conflicting answers to whether or not a ship stays on ship time or changes to the local time. Some posters say it is up to the captain......what did the captain of the Freedom do for the time, stayed on ship time, or changed to local time?? We will do the western caribbean (Cozumel, Costa Rica, and Panama). Thanks in advance for any answers on this!

 

I was on the 2/14/09 8 Day Western Sailing and we stayed on Ship Time.

[dalsti]

Could someone tell me how I can take a tour of the galley? I had heard they didn't allow it anymore, but I still see reviews where it seems some people are allowed. As always Thanks!

[blackmudsal]

If there is a galley tour they will post it in the capers. My last cruise there was one, the one before there was not. It was very interesting, so be sure to go if they offer it.

[vegastigr]

We were on the Freedom last October in the Mediterranean for 12 days. We didn't want to leave the ship, our experience on it was that fantastic. From the service to the decor to the great places to eat. It is a beautiful ship and I would go back on it in a heartbeat.

[GaNavy]

Sailin' away...

Eight weeks from today....

 

(hey I'm a poet and don't know it :eek:)

 

I can't waiit! 8 days of breakfast on the balcony, ships on a stick, Funship Freddie (I think he's kinda creepy but kids like him), lots o' food, pools and water slides, fruity beverages, and oh yeah we might as well stop a couple of places along the way... what could be better?? (Well, Seabourn maybe if that's your style... :))

 

If you're on this board and sailing before me, happy sailing! And if you're sailing after me, I may want to ask later if your suitcase is big enough for me to fit inside.......