Freedom Review! Dec 14-20

[cruizinrican]

We left on Friday, December 12. Stacie, 28 (29th celebrated on the ship) and myself, 27. This was Stacie's first cruise and my 5th. I was very nervous about how she would do....sea sick? Hate the food? Feel confined? Those feelings slowly melted away when I saw her face the first time she lay eyes on that beautiful ship, sun sparkling all around!

 

Back to the beginning...

 

We both worked Friday morning and left around 11:30 am to start vacation. We decided that driving would be better...we would have our own vehicle, come and go at our leisure...take our time coming home, that sort of thing.

 

I got home around noon and Stacie was not home yet. I started to pack up what little we had left to do and prepare to pack it into my little Hyundai Accent! After some shifting of suitcases, we managed to fit it all in. Set up the GPS and we are ready to roll! I hop on the freeway and we do one more mental check to make sure we have everything....Stacie says to me "and you have your insurance and registration, right?"

 

What? Crap! Geez, I took it OUT of the car when I was loading the car!! What was I thinking? Quick, get back off the freeway and turn around so I am actually legal to drive for the next 2,000 miles!!!

 

And, the fun does not stop there.....

 

I told Stacie that I wanted to hop on 23 and she insisted that we go 33! Well, after an extra hour driving around Columbus, I got my way and we eventually got to 23! My family has traveled to Sunset Beach every year for the past many years and this is the way I always remember going. And, every year, I remember driving past Biscuit World...I told Stacie this and she seemed less than enthusiastic about it. We were getting closer and I was beginning to get concerned because I saw no sign of Biscuit World anywhere! As we approached a few signs of life, I saw it! The old, worn out building, no cars in the parking lot, the sign flickering...just as I remember it....

 

Take a picture, quick Stacie! I need documentation we were here to send to Mom and Dad!

 

WHAT, she says!?!?!?! You mean we are not stopping to eat!?!?!

 

Well, no, of course not! We never actually EAT there! It has been beat into my brain that you don't eat here....the biscuits are not as good as Grandma's!

 

Let's just say she was NOT A HAPPY CAMPER! Her seat goes back, blanket over her head and she is out for the count!

 

I drove most of the way to Columbia, SC (our first stop). This first stop included a drive on the WV turnpike. The trees were so beautiful....you could tell a snow storm had come through recently and everything was glimmering and shiny! That thought came to a hault when I suddenly realized that it was snowing! No, not a few flurries has it had been the rest of the trip....but, literally, the snow was FALLING, the road was covered, it was dark and, honeslty, I was very nervous!! My 70 MPH eventually turned to about 30 MPH. Afterall, I just purchased my new car in July and did not want to see it rolling uncontrollably down the mountain!!

 

After a few deep breaths and several cigarettes later, the snow diminished and we were still alive!

 

We stopped to get gas at a truck stop and decided it would be a really great idea to get a little something to spruce up the car for Christmas....it didn't take us long to find 2 very cheesy ornaments with our names written on them which we proudly displayed from the visor on our respective sides of the car.

 

Stacie took over driving the whole 2 hours left to Columbia. We arrived around 10 pm and we're pleasantly surprised to find that since we hold a gold card club/member thing, we got a special breakfast in the morning and also received a voucher for an ALCOHOLIC beverage...just what we needed after driving for 9 hours!! We both felt much better bringing all of our luggage into the room with us so, after unpacking everything, we headed to the bar for our free cocktail. It was only then that we realized they had JAMESON WHISKEY! So, a beer and a tiny shot of whiskey later, it was time to call it a night!

 

Little bit about the hotel...it was a Holiday Inn, right off of 26. Decent neighborhood. We did not feel nervous at all about staying there. The room was clean, had a safe, refrigerator, large television. The cost was about $100.....maybe less.

 

To be continued.....

 

 

Oh God, the trip from hell?! This is a great review.........please continue soon, I'm loving it!:D

[imykdzmom]

CRSNFN I'm loving your cruise journal, we just got off the Freedom the week after you. We had Yordan on day at lunch in the Posh and the girls (23 and 25) were soooo taken with him, they thought he was delicious, in fact he was mentioned many times during the rest of our cruise. And, the one thing I regret not doing on the cruise was having Sushi. After reading your post I really regret not having sushi!!! Darn anyway!!!!!:(:p:D

[crsnfun]

I hope you enjoy it, CruizinRican! :D

It gets better!

[crsnfun]

CRSNFN I'm loving your cruise journal, we just got off the Freedom the week after you. We had Yordan on day at lunch in the Posh and the girls (23 and 25) were soooo taken with him, they thought he was delicious, in fact he was mentioned many times during the rest of our cruise. And, the one thing I regret not doing on the cruise was having Sushi. After reading your post I really regret not having sushi!!! Darn anyway!!!!!:(:p:D

 

 

He was quite adorable and you gotta love the accent! :)

[cruizinrican]

FINALLY, after about 15 stupid posts and 10 attempts to upload a dumb picture of a frog, we actually get to a review of the cruise. Who really cares about your trip from home to wherever you are leaving from, the noise in the hotel, or your purchase of cruise supplies at Publix. Do you really think think that we want to look at pictures of your family.

 

Look up the definitions of "cruise" and "review" in a dictionary and also the definition of "diary". What you have written is a diary of your life, not a cruise review.

 

I just can't wait to see what else you come up with.

 

DON

 

What a sweetie?! Let me guess, you got nothing good for Christmas.

[crsnfun]

Sure he did...he got COAL! :D

Really, though, some people don't like these kind of reviews so, it is ok..he just needed to move on...:rolleyes:

[cruizinrican]

I am sailing Freedom 2/27/10 and can hardly contain myself after reading your what wonderful time you both had on your cruise aboard the Freedom!

 

Thanks for including all the details, review was top-notch!;)

[crsnfun]

I am sailing Freedom 2/27/10 and can hardly contain myself after reading your what wonderful time you both had on your cruise aboard the Freedom!

 

Thanks for including all the details, review was top-notch!;)

 

 

Thanks much! :D

[bbiggar]

Sorry bbiggar, the only person who brought us drinks by the pool and the big screen tv was a VERY tall gentleman....in fact, I saw him everyday, seemed like he was working ALL THE TIME!

 

Have a great time on your cruise and I look forward to your review when you come back!

 

I will try and do a review when we return. The tall waiter wasn't Petar was it?

[crsnfun]

I will try and do a review when we return. The tall waiter wasn't Petar was it?

 

Mmm, I am not sure...

All I know is he was so tall that he walked kind of funny. Thin and, obviously, from another country. Bald....maybe 28 or so...

[bbiggar]

Mmm, I am not sure...

 

All I know is he was so tall that he walked kind of funny. Thin and, obviously, from another country. Bald....maybe 28 or so...

 

Sounds like it could be Petar, we will soon find out in about 2 weeks. :) Thanks for the reply.

[crsnfun]

Sounds like it could be Petar, we will soon find out in about 2 weeks. :) Thanks for the reply.

 

Enjoy your cruise!

:D

[NS-Cruiser]

My DW and I did this same itinerary on the Freedom on Nov 30 2008 and loved it. We left the kids at home with her sister and had a blast. Carnival does such a good job at keeping everyone "busy" that the time flies by WAY too fast.

 

The next trip we will have the kids with us. This was our first cruise, and we kept telling the kids we would just go "check it out" to see "if they would like it" LOL (they would LOVE IT!)... on our particular sailing there were 3100 pax and 600 of them were under the age of 15. Guess what - I only saw about 12 of them the entire time. The youth staff does a wonderful job of entertaining the kids that they are almost invisible.

 

We only had a couple of "annoying" incidences on our trip. The first was a computer snaffu where none of the sail and sign cards were set up with the right FOLIO numbers, so they had to do all charges manually for the first two days, then re-issue everyone new cards. Not a really big deal to me, but there were a bunch of ticked off people on board. some people need to learn to relax - its a vacation... let the people who are working (the staff and crew) worry about the rest of the techinical stuff.

 

The other annoyance was when JULIUS fell over board when we left GC!:eek:

 

RELAX!- JULIUS was a stuffed monkey that fell off of a balcony, but it was still called in as "Man Overboard"

 

Did you know that a 950 foot long ship, travelling at 17 knots, can turn around 180 degrees in under 30 seconds?:eek:... it REALLY LEANS when it does that - but it can be done. My DW fell right off the bed:). She was not injured, it's OK... She was trying to rest after our shopping / beach day in GC, when the call came in. The man overboard call was not the problem... the problem came when everyone had to check in with there sail and sign cards... it took over 4 hours for everyone to realize that they too were part of the "everyone" and that they had to physically take their little card to the atrium on deck three and stick it into the APASS machine... go figure -I guess they thought it means everyone (but you)... not! The Freedom was stopped until everyone was checked in, (all pax and all crew) as well the othere 5 ships that had left Caymen also had to stop until we were all accounted for... 6 X 3000 PAX + Crew... 25,000 - 26,000 people sitting dead in the water (so to speak) because someone left a stuffed monkey on a balcony!!!:eek:

 

The captain and his crew did a wonderfull job and made up the time over night so we arrived on Ocho Rios on time the next morning... :) but it made for quite a rough night sailing (skipping along the tops of the waves) from GC to Jamaica.

[crsnfun]

That is so FUNNY! :D

I read a thread about that a while back! Regardless, it makes for a fun story to tell!

Where are you guys cruising with the kids?

[NS-Cruiser]

We haven't decided yet... still gotta save a bunch of cash.... :rolleyes:

 

It will probably be next winter, maybe over the holidays (New Years) - (costs more $ but uses less vacation time with the paid holidays in there:D) definately western caribbean - there is still so much to see.

 

This was our first cruise (it only took me 22 years to convince her to go, now she's hooked (like I knew she would be) - and I knew I would be, even though I had never gone before.:)

 

She even thinks it was her idea! She came home one night after visiting some friends and said "Rob and Vicki are taking a cruise - we should go too" to which I said - "Let me think - when should I pack!" Any way - it all worked out well for us - we had a great time.

 

Delta even gave us an 800.00 (Per couple) credit for future airfare :D(if we use it within 1 year). Our flight was supposed to be a 2 step process getting home... FLL to JFK then JFK to Halifax. Well the JFK to Halifax flight was fully booked, over weight due to extra holiday cargo, and extra fuel due to a storm, so they asked for 4 "volunteers" to get it bumped to the next day's flight... Rob & Vicki, my DW and I decided, after no one else would, that we would take them up on the offer, before they started to randomly select people and bump total strangers off. They gave us EACH $400.00 US travel vouchers, two meal ticket each (supper and breakfast) a room at the Ramada for each couple - not as nice as one would think, and airfare the next day through Boston and then on to Halifax.

 

We finally made it home (a day late) but "richer" for the experience in NYC.

 

We will most likely use the airfare for a weekend trip somewhere this summer, and then DRIVE to Florida in December:eek: - We will have 3 drivers if the kids both WANT to go (ha ha ... "IF"). It should only take 3 - 4 days to drive from Atlantic Canada to Florida - weather permitting, and there is so much of that part of the country that I want to see close up also.

[NS-Cruiser]

Regarding the RAMADA in JFK, the lobby was beautifuf.. lots of marble, and hardwood... just an illusion to get you to pay the high price 'cause once you get upstairs into the hallways and the rooms... they are cement block walls with only paint on them, and the carpet was a very old industrial grade - it looked like the old "indoor/outdoor" carpet that my gradmother had on her patio at the old folks home! What a dump (both the old folks home and the RAMADA) - good thing it was FREE to us... the card on the door said the rates ranged from 250.00 per night to 450.00 per night (depending on the season...) I can't imagine paying that price.

[crsnfun]

Still, you can't beat a deal like you got!

You should check out the Eastern Caribbean sometime! Nothing compares to beautiful St Maarten! That has to be my all time favorite port of call!

[zillabe]

I have a really lame question.....do you have a picture of the biscuit place? I'm so curious.....

 

Great Review :D

[crsnfun]

That is the best question yet!!

I hope this picture comes up!

ENJOY! :D

 

[Rstamper]

Thanks for the great review. It was sooooooo fun reading it! We will be on the Freedom in about 7 weeks for my niece's wedding in Jamaica. There will be 28 of us going from our family, the groom-to-be's family and friends. I can't wait, especially after reading your review and seeing all those pictures of the food.

 

I know you did not go to any of the shows, but if you have the Carnival Capers, how many shows did they have on the 6 day cruise that were the Broadway type ones? What were the names of the shows?

 

Thanks

[crsnfun]

Thanks for the great review. It was sooooooo fun reading it! We will be on the Freedom in about 7 weeks for my niece's wedding in Jamaica. There will be 28 of us going from our family, the groom-to-be's family and friends. I can't wait, especially after reading your review and seeing all those pictures of the food.

 

I know you did not go to any of the shows, but if you have the Carnival Capers, how many shows did they have on the 6 day cruise that were the Broadway type ones? What were the names of the shows?

 

Thanks

 

Sunday - Welcome Aboard Show

Monday - The Amazing Action Comedy of Dana Tison & The Freedom Singers and Dancers

Tuesday - Ticket to Ride

Wednesday - Freedom's Showcase of the Stars (Fellow guests entertain you)

Thursday - Big Easy

Friday - Christmas Show Starring Top Comedian Percy Crows

I hope this helps!

Happy Cruising! :D

[rebeljohn]

Enjoyed reading your review............Thanks for taking the time to post it and the awesome pics..............

[crsnfun]

I am glad you enjoyed it! Thanks!

:D

[MaryAnn261]

Did you notice if they offered Warm Choc Melting cake in the buffet?

[crsnfun]

Did you notice if they offered Warm Choc Melting cake in the buffet?

 

They did! :)

The night we skipped dinner and had Mongolian Grill, I had the Warm Chocolate Melting Cake form the buffet. No ice cream though.

Stacie suggested I get some frozen yogurt to go with it...don't do that! It is not the same thing!