My Carnival Freedom Review - March 22, 2009

[spideyfam]

That was a tracking device on the Iguana and the statue of liberty is located in the Lido deck dining room. It really was a beautiful ship!

[spideyfam]

Sorry about the delay in posting, but DH and I were off to visit our new Granddaughter this Easter Weekend.

 

 

Thursday morning, and we were docked in Ocho Rios, Jamaica. A port of call that makes me scared and fascinated at the same time. This is the second time we had visited this beautiful island. We again booked our excursion through Carnival, rafting on the Martha Brae.

 

Once we disembarked, we were escorted to an awaiting van. The ride was about 1 1/2 hours along the Jamaican coast. A tour guide was on the van with us telling us everything that we needed and might not have needed to know.

 

We made a stop about half way to use the restroom, buy refreshments, or souveniers.

 

 

 

After reaching our destination, we were offered a complimentary rum punch and shown where the restrooms were. We were told it was about 1 1/2 hour trip so DH and I decided that we would use the restroom again. In front of the restroom building was and herb garden, I really didn't take notice of the plants until I came out of the restroom and my DH told me to follow him, so I did, and this is what he showed me.....

 

 

I thought it was illlegal in Jamaica????

 

So off we went to our raft. We grabbed our life vests and boarded our raft. DH and I were pleased with our raft guide. He fit the Jamaican profile.

 

 

The ride was amazing and very tranquill. We were told by Ray, our raft guide, that they own their own and make their own rafts and said that he had been doing this for 17 years. We noticed that the other rafters were all taking pictures of him. The only downside to this excursion are the peddlers on the side of the river wanting to sell you items.

 

[TakeMeAway1001]

Great review, love the pictures and your grand-daughter is beautiful :)

[TakeMeAway1001]

Just curious what airline you used, we are flying out of Logan on our next cruise and I am finding the airfares are expensive and that they have few direct flights. We might resort to flying out of RI instead to get a more direct flight that works with our schedule. We always fly in the day before but since our cruise is 8 days we may fly in the day of :)

[spideyfam]

After our raft trip, we of course ended up at a souvenier shop, they had pictures taken of everyone on their raft. The gentleman initially offered me a photo for $20 but when I declined he offered me the same picture for $4. DH and I bought a couple T-Shirts and walked over to the bar where DH decided to buy his first Red Stripe Beer.

 

 

 

We then boarded our bus and headed back to Ocho Rios, a great trip and would recommend this excursion to everyone.

 

Our van then took us to the Taj Mahal to do some shopping, a gaited shopping plaza. We went into several different shops trying to avoid the pushy shop owners. We finally ended up buying 7 T-shirts for $25, a pretty good deal I think, and a bib for my granddaughter.

 

 

The ship was about 5 minutes away, and DH and I had to walk on the streets of Jamaica to get there. I have to say, I was very nervous!

We did have one Jamaican gentleman ask my DH if he wanted to buy some marijuana, we politely said no, and hurried on our way.

 

Once we reached the ship and we had our bags checked by security, DH and I decided that we would have our passports souvenier stamped, which we try to do at every port. Asked where we needed to go, walked into the office, they stamped our passports and we were on our way to the ship. We noticed a few local boys diving after money the cruisers where throwing into the ocean. Food was the first thing on our mind, and decided to order room service for the first time in all of our 4 cruises. The service and food were great and we didn't have to bother with the lines on the lido deck. We took our daily nap and went to dinner, our second formal night. Tito, our waiter, had gotten off the ship in Jamaica, went to a chinese restaurant, and brought back some hot sauce for our table to try. I could tell it was it was very hot by the reactions of the consumers. Very fun though. We ended up going to a show in the palace with a couple at our table and went to bed. Having the late seating for dinner doesn't leave much time for play later.

[spideyfam]

We flew from Boston to Fort Lauderdale with Jet Blue and took Air Tran back home. To save a little more money, we parked at the Pre Flight parking in Chelsea. It was $108 for a week and we found a coupon online for 15% Off. They pick you up at your vehicle and drop you off at your vehicle. The driver also puts your luggage in the car for you!

[TakeMeAway1001]

We flew from Boston to Fort Lauderdale with Jet Blue and took Air Tran back home. To save a little more money, we parked at the Pre Flight parking in Chelsea. It was $108 for a week and we found a coupon online for 15% Off. They pick you up at your vehicle and drop you off at your vehicle. The driver also puts your luggage in the car for you!

 

Thanks for the info :)

[spideyfam]

The last day was a "fun day at sea". We turned the clocks ahead early in the a.m., so we lost an hour of sleep. Not much planned for the day, we sat on the lido deck, went to the casino and played a quarters game, looked at all of the pictures that were taken of us (and decided not to buy any), and walked around the ship one last time. Then it was time for packing our bags to put outside our door for pick up :(

 

The food at Dinner was great as well as the dinner show by the wait staff. We ended up giving Tito and Iwayan envelopes with money in addition to the tips that our sail and sign accounts were charged.

 

 

We made great friends with everyone at our table, we exchanged phone numbers, addresses and emails, and hugged everyone good bye.

 

 

Once we arrived in Fort Lauderdale in the morning, I immediately made a call on my cell phone home since I didn't have reception for the last 4 days. Needed to check up on my 17 year old son and daughter that just had a baby. We then went to breakfast on the lido deck. All of the passengers seemed either very tired or sad to leave, no one was smiling and the atmosphere was very different then when we boarded.

 

Our disembarking number was 23, so we headed to the lido deck, grabbed a couple chairs and waited for Todd to call our number. It started to rain, so leaving wasn't as bad as it would have been if it was sunny.

 

Leaving was a breeze, we walked through customs and grabbed our luggage and headed to pick up a cab. The ride from the port to the airport was about 10 minutes, this ride was $13, my husband ended up handing him a twenty and told him to keep the change.

[spideyfam]

Our flight was to leave at 2:50, so we had a long wait at the airport. Once we landed in Boston, we were off to Connecticut to visit our grandchild and then back home to very cold Maine.

 

DH and I had a great trip and the ship was beautiful. The only changes that I would make would be to have less children on the cruise and eliminate the chair hogs! We have our 5th cruise booked in September and we can't wait!!!!

[DJ56]

Thank you for the review and for all of the pictures you posted. I am booked on for freedom for september and am getting so excited....especially after reading a review like yours! This will be my 2nd cruise. A balcony this time!! A first for me!! :)

[breezycruiser]

Once we reached the ship and we had our bags checked by security, DH and I decided that we would have our passports souvenier stamped, which we try to do at every port. Asked where we needed to go, walked into the office, they stamped our passports and we were on our way to the ship.

 

Great review and beautiful pictures! Your grandaughter is beautiful!

What is a souvenier passport stamp? I just got my passport for the first time so sorry if I sound a little ignorant:o. Do they charge for one?

[04cruises]

Thanks for the info and pics. We leave on the Freedom in 11 days.Our first Carnival in 10 years.Thanks again.

[richbum]

Our flight was to leave at 2:50, so we had a long wait at the airport. Once we landed in Boston, we were off to Connecticut to visit our grandchild and then back home to very cold Maine.

 

DH and I had a great trip and the ship was beautiful. The only changes that I would make would be to have less children on the cruise and eliminate the chair hogs! We have our 5th cruise booked in September and we can't wait!!!!

 

 

Not to change the subject, but what part of Maine are you from? We are in Ellsworth.:D

[richbum]

Thanks for the great review...we are looking at the Freedom for next January. :D

[spideyfam]

Here is a picture of our stamps we have received on our passports, there is no charge,

 

[spideyfam]

We are from Lewiston, The Ellsworth area is a great place to visit in the summer!

[breezycruiser]

Here is a picture of our stamps we have received on our passports, there is no charge,

 

 

Thanks for the info! I'm definately going to get mine stamped!

[cbreit]

awesome review and pics! Can you tell me what deck you were on? It looks like the panorama which is where we'll be in six weeks.. I realize this was done a while ago so hope you're still reading the boards. Thanks

[mitchpam]

Great review... I never thought of getting the passports "fun" stamped!! Thanks for the good idea.... from another Mainer